Chapter 107: It Is Him

"I have no concrete evidence,"Bai Yunfei said with a bitter smile. "That is why I wanted to come and ask you: what kind of person is Eunuch Qi?"

Li Lin said, "I suggest you report this matter to the County Magistrate immediately... Eunuch Qi is someone the imperial court sent to supervise the temple. Although his rank is not high, he has direct access to the Son of Heaven, and this concerns the Taowu Zhenjun altar within the temple. This is a major matter."

Bai Yunfei nodded, turned around, and left.

Li Lin sighed; he felt that the entire Jincheng had been penetrated by people from Yuecheng like a sieve.

But thinking about it, it was normal. Yue Commandery was right next door. Qin Tuo occupied the city and ruled as a king. If he wanted to develop and succeed in his rebellion, Jinch Commandery was an obstacle he could not bypass.

To lead the army north, one must first capture Jincheng, then seize Guicheng, connecting the three major granaries of the Southern Frontier into a horizontal line.

Otherwise, there would be no way to contend with the Central Plains region.

When Li Lin returned home, he began preparing things for departure; he had a premonition that he would have to set out again.

This was unavoidable. Since he had chosen the profession of Spirit Hunter, he had to shoulder certain responsibilities.

Just as he had predicted, half an hour later, a government office Runner notified him to go to the county government office.

Upon arriving at the courtroom, they waited a while longer; Huang Yan and almost everyone else had arrived.

Except for Zhao Xiaohu... he had returned to the village and could not rush over immediately.

Huang Yan was wearing ordinary clothes today; he must have been in a great hurry, which was why he did not care about his appearance.

"Just now, I sent someone to check the temple, and Eunuch Qi has already disappeared,"Huang Yan said with an unpleasant expression. "According to the clues provided by Spirit Hunter Bai Yunfei, he saw Eunuch Qi meeting secretly with some men in black behind the temple last night."

Everyone looked at Bai Yunfei, curious about why he had gone to the temple in the middle of the night.

Bai Yunfei looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "Last night, I was pondering sword techniques to defeat the enemy. Unable to sleep, I got up and walked around. I unintentionally arrived near the Four Wonders Taowu Zhenjun Temple and happened to witness that scene."

"This official does not know why Eunuch Qi fled, nor who he was meeting,"Huang Yan snorted. "But fleeing after the incident must have a reason. Captain Shi, take thirty village soldiers. You are permitted to use warhorses and to deploy protective barrier powder. Pursue along the official road. If you encounter Eunuch Qi, arrest him immediately. If he resists, you may kill him on the spot."

Captain Shi clasped his fists and said, "I obey the order."

"All Spirit Hunters, follow the command of Su Huafang, and pursue via the small and secret paths."

Su Huafang stepped forward and said, "County Magistrate, my body has been somewhat unwell these past two days. May I have Spirit Hunter Bai Zhiwei take command instead?"

Huang Yan nodded: "Agreed!"

Everyone immediately set out.

Because they had to take small paths and main roads, such routes were generally quite rugged, so they all walked; no one rode horses.

The seven of them used the Lightness Technique, and after leaving the county town, they immediately began chasing in the direction of Yuecheng.

No one spoke along the way; even Bai Bufan, who usually loved to chat, kept his mouth shut.

They traveled for eight hours a day and slept for only about three hours.

Even so, it took eight days before they finally found clues ahead.

"Fresh footprints, three people,"Yan Han said, lying on the ground and gently examining the surface. "They should not be far, but I do not know if it is Eunuch Qi and the others."

Bai Yunfei added, "A few days ago, I indeed saw Eunuch Qi meeting with two men in black."

"Continue the pursuit."

Soon night fell. The seven of them moved together; the red light emitted by the Bai Yu plaques on their bodies formed a huge glowing sphere, extremely dazzling. Although it could prevent wild ghosts and monsters from approaching easily, it could be seen from several li away.

After chasing for a while, the group saw a flame ahead, which then quickly extinguished.

"They have spotted us and are putting out the fire,"Ding Yingqiu shouted excitedly.

"It's useless,"Bai Zhiwei smiled. "What does it matter if they put out the fire? They must be within the circle of protective barrier powder... Eunuch Qi does not have a Bai Yu plaque; he cannot run around randomly and will only stay in place."

The group quickly chased over.

Just as they were about to reach the target, the fire pile reignited.

The group now saw clearly.

Inside a circle of blue protective barrier powder, Eunuch Qi and two men in black were indeed standing.

The group entered the circle of protective barrier powder, formed a ring, and surrounded them.

Eunuch Qi looked left and right, sighed, and said in a shrill voice, "I did not expect you to catch up so quickly."

Su Huafang stepped forward two paces and asked, "Eunuch Qi, why... where are you going?"

"You have all chased here; how could you not know where I am going! Of course, to Yue Commandery."

"You have stayed in Yulin County for over twenty years, and it was almost time for you to... be granted retirement. Why do you still choose to walk with rebels?"

Eunuch Qi laughed loudly, his shrill voice making people uncomfortable. "Granted retirement? I stayed in the temple for over twenty years. It was originally agreed that the monthly salary would be one tael of silver, but do you know how much I actually received?"

Everyone frowned.

"Three hundred cash!"

Bai Zhiwei angrily said, "Impossible. County Magistrate Huang never owes subordinates their monthly salary."

"The position of Temple Attendant reports directly to the Inner Palace,"Eunuch Qi sneered. "County Magistrate Huang is indeed an upright official, but my money was not issued by him."

Ding Yingqiu was a woman and more emotional: "For over twenty years, only three hundred cash a month. How could one survive?"

"Hehehe!"Eunuch Qi laughed. "This old body never intended to make enemies with you. I am just leaving with these two. Why not let me go? If I truly had any harmful intentions, I would have acted long ago over these twenty years."

A few people felt this made sense.

Su Huafang said, "Do not be deceived by him. Now he is defecting to the Qin family of Yuecheng; sooner or later, he will become our enemy. Moreover, it is not that he does not want to act, but that the matter was discovered by Spirit Hunter Bai Yunfei, leaving him no opportunity."

Eunuch Qi turned his gaze over and angrily said, "Su brat, you are too talkative."

A man in black beside him laughed, "I already said, just kill them and be done with it. These seven Spirit Hunters are no match for us brothers."

As soon as this man finished speaking, he rushed directly at Li Lin, because the two were closest.

The opponent held an iron trident and moved with extremely fast steps.

Li Lin stepped back one pace and thrust his long spear; the speed was clearly fast, yet there was absolutely no sound.

With just this one spear thrust, the opponent's advance was immediately halted.

The man retreated, exclaiming in shock, "Spear Intent... You brat are truly a Spirit Hunter, not a martial artist?"

"He is a Spirit Hunter. When he formed a bond with Lady Shuxian, I was standing right there watching."

"Is he the one who formed a bond with Lady Shuxian?" the man in black asked.

"Yes."

"Then capture him and bring him back." The man in black sneered, "Qin Wang will surely reward me handsomely."

Li Lin instinctively felt something was wrong.

At this moment, Eunuch Qi said, "I will separate them. Whether you can catch that boy depends on your own skills."

"Thank you, Eunuch."

The Soul Hunters, all seasoned veterans, heard the two's conversation and immediately began to close in.

But at that very moment, Eunuch Qi clasped his hands before his chest, then suddenly thrust both palms forward.

"Boundless Great Sea!"

A massive sphere of Yuan Qi appeared before Eunuch Qi and surged outward, truly like a tsunami, pressing down upon the crowd.

Shock filled everyone's eyes.

They then scattered and fled in all directions.

Eunuch Qi had indeed scattered them.

(End of this chapter)