Chapter 120: Diverting the Calamity Eastward

Chief Yan!

Li Lin had little impression of this man.

He and the Assistant County Magistrate were much the same type—each had his own small circle, rarely interacted with outsiders, equally low-key.

If there was work to do, he did it; if not, he stayed home—also this type.

Li Lin raised his eyebrows and smiled.

He had been waiting for this.

Crumple this paper into a ball, then immediately enter stealth mode.

He leapt onto the wall, scanned left and right, saw no one notable, yet he did not go looking for the so-called Chief Yan.

Instead, he headed straight for the Assistant County Magistrate’s residence.

He scaled the wall and entered the Assistant County Magistrate’s home, then saw two yellow dogs lying not far ahead.

As if hearing a sound, both dogs turned toward Li Lin’s direction.

Li Lin silently cursed his luck—dogs had extremely sensitive noses; even if they couldn’t see a person, they could still smell them.

Just like before, that eunuch Qi could detect the blood on him, let alone a dog’s nose.

But unexpectedly, the two yellow dogs merely glanced this way, then showed no further reaction—just lay there, tongues lolling, staring toward the gate.

Li Lin paused, then realized what the new ability of the stealth technique was.

Eliminate one’s own scent.

That was a useful ability.

He then slowly bent over and moved toward the back courtyard; the two dogs occasionally glanced his way, but since they saw no one and smelled nothing, they remained unresponsive.

When Li Lin reached the third gate of the third courtyard, he climbed onto the roof, arrived above the room where the lamp was still lit, gently lifted a tile, and looked down.

He saw the Assistant County Magistrate chatting with a man.

Since only their heads were visible, he couldn’t tell who the man was.

“How did it go?” asked the Assistant County Magistrate.

“I’ve already thrown the stone into Li Lin’s house. It bore Chief Yan’s name—he’ll investigate.”

“Even if it doesn’t fully steer Li Lin toward investigating Chief Yan, it buys us some time,” the Assistant County Magistrate said, then snorted: “Tomorrow, quietly move all those women away.”

“Understood.”

“And that fellow He Shangjin… did you kill him yet?”

“I had the Whore Ghost drain his essence—he should’ve died by tonight, and no ordinary investigator could detect it,” the man said, voice tinged with anger: “But for some reason, that bastard Li Lin went to see him, bought him ginseng root, and forcibly revived him.”

At that moment, Li Lin thought the man’s voice sounded familiar.

Then he remembered.

Yu Tong!

The errand boy who bought the ginseng root—if he hadn’t mentioned the ginseng, Li Lin wouldn’t have recalled him.

“Forget about He Shangjin for now. Li Lin will probably assign someone to guard him.”

Yu Tong nodded.

The Assistant County Magistrate said: “As long as we leave no evidence in Huang Yan’s hands, we can escape. Originally, I planned to wait until I retired, then when he became Prefect of Jincheng, I’d strike him from behind—but Li Lin discovered it too soon.”

“Assistant County Magistrate, do you think Li Lin will tell Huang Yan about this?”

“He definitely will,” the Assistant County Magistrate sighed: “He’s practically Huang’s son-in-law—how could he not consult his father-in-law? It’s infuriating my family has no granddaughter, or else Huang Yan wouldn’t have snatched away that gifted youth.”

Yu Tong bowed and said: “I’ll get to work then.”

“Good. Be careful. Don’t let anyone spot your tracks.”

“Understood.”

Yu Tong left the Assistant County Magistrate’s room.

Li Lin waited a moment, replaced the tiles, then followed behind Yu Tong.

Soon, Yu Tong twisted and turned until he reached Xingzhuang.

At that moment, Li Lin felt a chilling aura swirling around him.

He crouched on the roof, motionless.

Yu Tong suddenly said: “Come out. I know you’re following me.”

Li Lin didn’t move.

The man glanced left and right, eyes puzzled.

Then Yu Tong softly whistled, and a female apparition appeared beside him.

[Necromancy +1]

Li Lin couldn’t help muttering inwardly—this world was full of hidden dragons and tigers; an unremarkable government office runner knew necromancy.

Then Li Lin realized: the female apparition was the same one he’d seen last night—ugly-faced, able to move freely, and without grievance.

Yu Tong stood still; the female apparition floated up, scanning left and right. It passed near Li Lin several times, yet saw nothing.

Finally, it descended and slipped into Yu Tong’s body.

Yu Tong shuddered, murmured softly: “Illusion?”

Then he continued forward, entering a low hut.

Li Lin used his Light Body Technique to land on the roof, then lifted the tiles.

Yu Tong was not inside.

Only a man walked to the bed and lay down to sleep.

There was a secret passage.

Li Lin did not pursue further—he returned home.

The next day, he went to the government office and saw Yu Tong waiting outside with others; he asked: “Has anyone seen Chief Yan arrive for work?”

“He’s in the interrogation room,” someone replied.

Li Lin thought for a moment and asked: “Who among you is familiar with Chief Yan? Could you introduce me?”

Li Lin and Chief Yan were only nodding acquaintances; they’d barely spoken.

Yu Tong stepped forward, smiling obsequiously: “I can speak with Chief Yan.”

“Then I’d be grateful for your help.”

“No trouble at all, no trouble.”

Li Lin followed Yu Tong to the interrogation room.

Chief Yan was interrogating a man through iron bars.

Seeing Li Lin approach, he looked surprised, bowed, and said: “County Constable, what are your orders?”

Li Lin waved his hand: “I just heard Chief Yan has wide connections—is that true?”

“Not at all. I’ve never left the county,” Chief Yan asked curiously: “Who told you that?”

“I can’t recall. I just seem to have heard it said.” Li Lin asked again: “Do you like money?”

Chief Yan’s expression grew even stranger: “Who doesn’t? What do you mean, County Constable?”

His expression grew uneasy.

Li Lin offered an unnatural smile: “No matter, just asking.”

Then he left.

This left Chief Yan baffled—and even more uneasy.

Because he’d also heard that Li Lin was recently investigating something.

Internally, Li Lin felt a pang of guilt—he had to make Chief Yan suffer a little to keep Yu Tong and the Assistant County Magistrate off guard.

Back at the barracks, Li Lin redistributed patrol duties.

He then took ten government office runners and returned to He Shangjin’s house.

Zhao Hao climbed down from the roof and said: “I kept watch all night—found nothing so far.”

“Thank you. Go rest now,” Li Lin bowed: “Tonight, I’ll treat you to wine.”

“Haha, then I’ll look forward to it.”

With that, Zhao Hao yawned and left.

Li Lin entered the house.

He Shangjin hurriedly got out of bed and bowed: “County Constable.”

“Hmm. You look much better. Rest a couple more days, then return to work.”

“Thank you, County Constable.”

Yu Tong stood nearby, smiling naturally.

Li Lin led the ten government office runners on two patrols through the marketplace, then dismissed them.

Night arrived quickly, and Li Lin scattered countless paper dolls.

They had a secret passage… so did Li Lin.

The demon may rise a foot, but the Dao rises a zhang.

Soon, the paper dolls stirred.

(End of Chapter)