Besides, Mo Hua also gave each of them a set of water-avoiding armor and taught them some water-repelling and demon-avoiding spells, so that if something went wrong, they could jump ship and escape.
Situ Jian had a letter token in his hand.
This was something specifically for the Taoist Court, and Mo Hua had specially requested it from Gu Changhuai.
Mistwater City is quite far from the Taixu Gate. Without the Yuan Magnetic Core as a relay, with the Yuan Magnetic weakened upon reaching the Mistwater River, the Taixu Token might not transmit a message.
Therefore, this kind of letter token, which doesn’t rely on the Yuan Magnetic Array for relay and can transmit one-on-one within a certain range, became very necessary.
As for Mo Hua himself, he had to think of another way to sneak in.
Mo Hua wandered around outside.
In Mistwater City, a branch of the Mistwater River flows through, so there are many ferry ports in the city, and now at each port, there are plenty of exquisite boats.
All these boats set off together onto the Mistwater River at 5 p.m.
But the problem is, from the surface, all the boats are mixed together, colorful and indistinguishable, making it impossible to tell which ones are regular boats and which are the "Rouge Boats" filled with hidden pleasures.
After finding them, he still had to figure out how to sneak in.
Mo Hua tried several times but found he couldn’t locate the Rouge Boat nor figure a good way to sneak onto the boats.
Seeing the sun nearing noon, he had to first find a place to fill his stomach and see if he could think of any other ideas after eating.
With limited time, Mo Hua opted for convenience, so he just looked for a small food stall near the market town, picked some of his favorite small dishes, and ate them with noodles until he was full.
When settling the bill, it was a total of five Spirit Stones.
The shop owner, holding the five Spirit Stones, beamed with joy and kept complimenting Mo Hua.
Mo Hua, however, suddenly felt a bit dazed.
Five...
Ordinary cultivators with diligent businesses usually earn Spirit Stones one by one, and when they spend Spirit Stones, they spend them one by one too.
But on the boat.
A single ticket costs a hundred thousand Spirit Stones.
Mo Hua turned to glance around.
Most of the market town consisted of small vendors, doing business that involved a few Spirit Stones transactions.
Even so, they live their lives through hard work, without complaint.
In this world, some cultivators struggle to get by on a few Spirit Stones.
But there are also cultivators who squander hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousands for momentary pleasure.
Mistwater City holds a lantern festival, bustling with traffic, seemingly prosperous.
But is this prosperity truly prosperity?
Underneath this prosperity, who would spare a glance at these poor cultivators?
Mo Hua’s pupils shrank slightly, a complex feeling welling up within.
"The Human Dao diminishes from those who lack to serve those with excess."
The so-called "prosperity" itself might just be an expression of human "exploitation" reaching a certain level.
Things that reach an extreme must reverse, prosperity that reaches an extreme must decline.
The prosperity gained through exploitation is, in essence, just a process toward "decline."
Mo Hua inexplicably thought of the Ancestor of the Qian Family on Big Black Mountain, thought of the Uncle who raised a "Taoist Demon," and silently sighed.
...
After the meal, Mo Hua continued to roam around Mistwater City.
But there was still no progress with the Rouge Boat.
"Perhaps I should find Uncle Gu and mix with him?"
Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
Uncle Gu has many Taoist Court people. A covert investigation like this must absolutely not be done with them.
You cannot put all your eggs in one basket.
Moreover, Uncle Gu cannot know that I got rejected from the ship because I "didn’t look like someone who frequented brothels."
"So what to do?"
Mo Hua racked his brain, unable to think of a solution, and decided to cast a divination.
He found a teahouse, ordered a private room, ordered a pot of Cloud Mist Tea, and in the swirling mist, took out three copper coins.
"What to divine? The Rouge Boat?"
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then wanted to toss the copper coins, but suddenly, he felt a sharp pang in his heart.
It seemed as if there was a black-purple cause-and-effect entwining, a giant poppy flower opening its maw, wanting to swallow him whole...
Mo Hua’s pupils shook, and he clenched the copper coins abruptly, halting the divination.