Chapter 13: Am I Truly Strong?

Although he had already formed the intention to destroy the Apparition in his heart, Li Lin did not act immediately.

These past two days, he had begun practicing the 'Bai Hu Fan Shen Jia' fist technique in the small courtyard.

【Fist Technique +1】【Bai Hu Fan Shen Jia +1】

【Fist Technique +1】【Bai Hu Fan Shen Jia +1】

He practiced with great focus.

In just two days, the movements shifted from merely powerful to fierce and wind-generating, each strike and posture subtly carrying a whistling sound.

After completing the set of movements, Li Lin circulated his Qi to conclude the practice, then smiled at the two people outside the courtyard: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Standing outside the small courtyard were Uncle Zhao and Zhao Xiaohu.

Uncle Zhao smiled: "It is we who disturbed you. Li Xiaolang, this set of fist techniques looks extremely domineering; I am truly impressed."

Li Lin had not yet had the chance to be modest when Zhao Xiaohu, standing nearby, spoke.

"Is that so? I feel like Lin Ge is just flailing around randomly." Zhao Xiaohu said very honestly.

Upon hearing this, Uncle Zhao's expression turned much gloomier, and he looked at his son with a reproachful gaze.

Li Lin was also helpless.

There was no way around it; although the Bai Hu Fan Shen Jia was indeed stronger than the Arhat Fist, the movements were imitating the northern big cat, focusing on immense strength and momentum, paired with some tiger-leaping footwork, so it did indeed look rough; that was unavoidable.

But practitioners all knew that while this fist technique was a bit ugly, it was truly formidable; setting aside those heaven-defying weird things like Apparitions, if a person took a solid hit from it, it would not be pleasant.

Li Lin looked at Zhao Xiaohu's bearded face and smiled: "Is your body feeling better?"

Zhao Xiaohu nodded, then said: "Thank you, Lin Ge, for saving me. Please do not disdain these small tokens from our family."

Having said this, he gestured to Li Lin to show the things he was holding in his left and right hands.

In his left hand was a piece of cured meat, and in the bamboo basket in his right hand was a cooked chicken, the kind already prepared.

"Troubling you."

Li Lin did not refuse; to save Zhao Xiaohu, he had truly expended his Blood Qi.

Without two or three days of refining Blood Rice, it would be hard to replenish it; accepting a piece of cured meat and a chicken was already very cheap.

"Come in and sit."

Li Lin invited the two inside his home and treated them to a meal.

After this father and son stayed as guests for two hours, they departed.

Li Lin then closed the doors, cooked himself another meal of Blood Rice, and began refining the Blood Qi.

He had a feeling that the Wandering Apparition would appear again tonight, after all, she seemed to have a special obsession with Xiaohu.

As for whether Sister Xiu Niang would appear, that was uncertain; Li Lin hoped she would appear.

【Blood Qi +1】

【Blood Qi +1】

Soon, time arrived at dusk, and the village fell quiet once more.

Li Lin began cooking, slowly eating the Blood Rice.

Then, a melancholy female voice came from outside.

"Xiaohu, Xiaohu, where are you? I miss you so much."

Indeed, the interval for the soul-calling had become shorter.

Li Lin was not in a hurry; it was still a long time until dawn.

He slowly finished chewing the Blood Rice in his mouth, then brewed a cup of clear tea to clear the food residue from his mouth.

Only then did he open the paper window and look outside.

Sure enough, two white shadows were wandering outside the village entrance.

Li Lin took the necessary items, then left his home.

Tonight's moonlight was not very bright; the entire village was eerily quiet, with only an occasional cough sound emerging from the villagers' homes, but the sound would be suppressed quickly.

Li Lin walked to the withered tree, where the Gowned Apparition had already manifested; she loved to appear late at night.

At night, a gloomy thing floating there would scare anyone who saw it.

Li Lin used to be quite afraid too, but now his courage had grown considerably, after all, he was someone who had killed an Apparition.

He asked: "I want to kill the two Apparitions outside; can you lend me a hand?"

The Gowned Apparition glanced at him and said nothing.

Not allowed?

Li Lin turned and left; having known this Apparition for half a year, he was clear on her temperament.

If something was acceptable, she would respond.

Ignoring you means she is not agreeing.

Li Lin arrived near the village entrance, quite close to the two Apparitions.

But the two Apparitions did not see him.

Because of the altar, because the Tree Immortal Lady was present, the villagers of this village were all 'covered' by the Tree Immortal Lady; the Apparitions could not see them.

Furthermore, the Blood Qi gathered by the living people formed a barrier; the Apparitions could not enter.

So the Apparitions could only linger outside.

It was just that this soul-calling ability was indeed somewhat troublesome.

If it continued to 'call' like this, Shangtikou Village would truly have no people left.

After waiting for the opponent to walk further away, Li Lin donned the Apparition-Hiding Robe, then crouched down and exited the village entrance.

Then he hid on the Wandering Apparition's inevitable path.

Just now he had observed; these two Apparitions would only walk a fixed 'patrol' route.

He crouched in the grass, waiting silently.

Not long after, two ghosts turned back from the distance.

They drew closer and closer.

By all rights, Li Lin should have been nervous, but for some reason, he felt an abnormal calmness within his heart.

Not a shred of fear.

The two ghosts drew ever nearer; their features were quite blurred, unlike the female ghost in the Tudimiao, whose face was clear and beautiful, nearly human.

Though their faces were blurred, one could still make them out; one of the female ghosts was none other than Sister Xiu Niang.

Li Lin waited silently, like a leopard hiding before the hunt, his eyes gleaming with the sharp light of the kill.

As the two female ghosts approached, the muscles in his body grew tighter and tighter.

Finally... the two female ghosts arrived before his eyes, standing sideways to him.

The one closest to him was that unknown female ghost.

Then, he moved.

Tiger Rush, Claw Strike.

Spine-Breaking, Sinew-Stripping Claw!

A fierce opening move, accompanied by a tiger's roar, landed solidly on the female ghost's body.

Li Lin had expected, like with the Tudimiao female ghost, to strike her directly from an intangible state into a tangible one.

Instead, with a single swipe of his claw, half of that female ghost's body was scattered, as if a chunk of cloud had been struck and dispersed.

Then the woman let out a wretched cry, and her body began to melt.

Faintly, he heard her say: "Xiaohu, my child... come back to your mother here!"

Then the female ghost vanished.

Li Lin was stunned; so easily defeated!

At this moment, 'Sister Xiu Niang' also reacted; she turned her head to look at Li Lin, her mouth opening to reveal a pitch-black void, nothing inside, just pure blackness that made one uncomfortable to look at.

Li Lin reacted even faster; he leaped up like a tiger, letting out a rumbling tiger roar, then brought both claws down with brutal force—Crack!

White Tiger Carries the Corpse!

His twin palms slammed heavily onto Sister Xiu Niang's left and right shoulders, feeling as though ten fingers had scraped across tofu, then sliced straight down from top to bottom, splitting her into ten 'strips'.

'Sister Xiu Niang' stood frozen for a moment, then also dissolved into mist and vanished.

And it seemed something had fallen, making a clatter sound.

So truly weak!

Whether that 'Soul-Calling Ghost' or Sister Xiu Niang, all were so weak.

Li Lin looked at his own hands in disbelief; a thought formed in his mind... Actually, I am quite strong?

At this moment, Li Lin's White Jade Token had already begun to emit red light.

After the two ghosts died, a vast number of 'Desolate Ghosts' arrived.

Li Lin bent down and picked up the object on the ground: a silver dangling hairpin!

Was this Sister Xiu Niang's thing?

Though it was merely a silver dangling hairpin, the craftsmanship was quite exquisite; this was not something a poor family could afford.

Putting the item away, Li Lin ran back to the village.

Yet, just as he entered the village gate, a shadow suddenly appeared before him.

If something suddenly appeared before one's eyes, anyone would be startled.

Li Lin instinctively swiped a claw outward.

Then it seemed to strike something soft and yielding, offering no resistance; the force was immediately deflected to the side.

He instinctively stepped back and saw that the Tree Immortal Lady was standing before him.

Her figure seemed to be 'shaking', like a water-filled balloon wobbling when slapped.

Then her eyes narrowed, as if she were angry.

(End of this chapter)