Chapter 164: Can We Withdraw Our Divine Powers First?

As the saying goes, a person resembles their handwriting, or rather, their handwriting resembles the person; at least within literary circles, this holds true.

Li Lin's calligraphy could be considered heavily artisanal.

But Song typeface has one advantage: clarity. Every horizontal and vertical stroke has its origin and path, every pie and na has its destination; nearly every character is the same size, elegant and enduring, extremely pleasing to the eye, making reading clear and bright.

Just like Li Lin's appearance, which was exceptionally handsome.

Fang Fengyi's calligraphy, however, was very... unrestrained and unconventional; politely put, it had its own style, casual and romantic.

Bluntly put, it was wild cursive script written like a damn mess.

The three characters 'Fang Fengyi,' written in wild cursive, would be unreadable to anyone without several years of reading experience.

Why did Fang Fengyi lose his composure?

Because he was not the only one who said his writing was messy.

Including his teachers and elders.

The problem was, he could not change it.

He could endure criticism from his teachers, but Li Lin, merely a County Commandant, was either a martial man or a Spirit Hunter; what the hell did he know about calligraphy?

With such an evaluation, his anger was quite normal.

"Hmph, a mere martial man, what does he know about calligraphy?"

"I may not have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs walk," Li Lin said with a smile. "Whether the calligraphy is good or bad, I still understand that."

"You..."

Fang Fengyi snorted, wanting very much to charge Li Lin with disrespect toward a superior officer, but upon closer examination, although the Military Household Adjutant was a position within the prefectural government office and seemed higher in rank than a County Commandant, it was actually a sinecure.

The three officials with real power in the prefectural government office were the Prefect, the Assistant Prefect, and the Patrol Commissioner (Military Supervision Commissioner).

There was no Military Household Adjutant among them.

Fang Fengyi was now very displeased with Li Lin.

He had always called himself a graceful gentleman, the number one handsome man in Tianjin; now came a martial man who not only looked better than him but also held a position of real power.

This made him very uncomfortable.

Especially since Huang Ling'er, although she did not like Li Lin, often mentioned the latter in front of him.

This made him even more unhappy.

"Take the documents and leave," Fang Fengyi snorted.

Li Lin smiled and said, "Adjutant Fang must accompany me; after all, such is the procedure, and you are required to verify the scene personally."

"Hmph."

Fang Fengyi snorted and walked out.

What followed was simple: Fang Fengyi led more than ten government office Runners to the Laundry Bureau.

They counted the women from the Southern Barbarians, then led these people out of the city.

After Li Lin had the local militia count the number of women, he stamped the documents with a seal before returning them.

"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Adjutant Fang," Li Lin said with a smile.

Fang Fengyi said nothing, turned around, and left.

Li Lin directed the Southern Barbarian women into the camp.

The local militia immediately began cheering.

"Don't act rashly," Li Lin shouted at those excited young militiamen. "Anyone who forces themselves will find me merciless."

Everyone laughed loudly, and someone shouted, "What if it is mutual consent?"

Li Lin smiled without speaking, then turned and walked away.

The militiamen cheered loudly, creating an extremely noisy scene.

He did not rush to have the militia take the people away immediately, but planned to depart the next day instead.

After all, it was already past noon, not an ideal time to set out.

Moreover, he was waiting for someone.

He returned to the inn to rest, and not long after, An Xin appeared.

"Here is the catalog; take a look."

Li Lin took the small booklet; although it was only a few pages long, he was still somewhat stunned after reading it.

Because there were too many.

As expected of a sect with deep foundations, the martial techniques and skills within numbered at least over a hundred.

Li Lin read page by page, then flipped to the middle pages and said, "This one, Artifact Forging Technique."

He already possessed the Alchemy Technique; now he only lacked an Artifact Forging Technique.

An Xin was somewhat surprised: "No one in our Heaven One Sect knows this Artifact Forging Technique; we merely possess this secret manual. You may take the handwritten copy, but if you encounter anything you do not understand, our Heaven One Sect cannot provide answers."

"It's fine," Li Lin said with a smile.

He trusted his special ability, or rather, his special divine power.

If he could decipher something as difficult as the Obscure Character Mantra, then surely a mere Artifact Forging Technique would be no problem.

"Very well." An Xin stood up. "Wait here a moment; I will go fetch it for you immediately."

Li Lin also smiled and said, "I will now write the annotations for the Guiding Paper Figure for you."

"Thank you for your trouble." An Xin cupped his fists, then quickly departed.

Li Lin asked the shop attendant to buy paper, brush, ink, and inkstone for him, then began writing down the secrets of the 'Guiding Paper Figure.'

Since it was merely an introductory trick within the Paper Crafting Art, the content needed to be written was not extensive.

But Li Lin still thoughtfully wrote down all his own insights.

One could say... regarding the skill of Paper Crafting Art, Li Lin had only just entered the door.

But for the technique of guiding with paper men, he was at the Grand Master level.

No one understood the little paper men better than he did.

After Li Lin finished writing and was waiting for An Xin, he heard faint footsteps coming from the corridor.

At first, he thought the person was An Xin, but then his expression stiffened; he stepped back a few paces and his right hand grabbed the red-tasseled spear resting beside him.

Because An Xin had no need to make his footsteps so light.

Moreover, those footsteps vanished right outside the door.

Li Lin understood that if he went over, a sharp weapon might stab through the door.

He pondered for a few breaths, took several paper men from his robe, and threw them onto the floor.

These little paper men turned from white to pink, then hopped and skipped over to the wooden door, before squeezing out through the gap beneath it.

It was only because they were paper figures that such an outrageous maneuver was possible.

Immediately after, someone outside the door hurried away.

Relying on the 'perception' transmitted back by the little paper men, Li Lin 'saw' the person outside.

A man with an utterly ordinary appearance.

Nothing outstanding about him; just a simple, honest commoner one could find anywhere on the street.

But the man ran very fast, seemingly startled by the little paper men.

The man strode away in a run, trying to escape quickly.

Li Lin, holding the red-tasseled spear, charged out of the room.

He saw a figure frantically running down the stairs.

And behind that figure, several little paper men sprinted after, waving their hands high and swaying as they chased, running quite fast.

This was thanks to Li Lin's current increase in strength, with spiritual energy replacing yin energy.

The 'performance' of the little paper men had also achieved a qualitative leap.

They were not only more 'intelligent', but also ran faster.

One pink little paper man had already climbed onto the man's back, clinging tightly.

The man ran quite fast; although Li Lin was faster than him, it would still take some time to catch up.

At this moment, the man was very close to the inn's main gate; if he burst outside and blended into the dense crowd on the street, it would be very difficult for anyone behind to pursue him. He showed a look of joy.

However, Li Lin was not in a hurry; a little paper man was already stuck to the man's back, so even if the man blended into the crowd, Li Lin had a way to find him again.

Just as the man was about to run out, he suddenly flew backward, crashing to the ground and screaming in agony.

An Xin, holding a scroll in his right hand, slowly walked in from outside.

Seeing this, Li Lin smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother An, for your assistance."

"No need for courtesy; even without me, you could have caught him." An Xin looked at the little paper men running back and forth on the ground and said slowly.

However, his expression was somewhat unpleasant, and he stood at the doorway, unwilling to enter.

He seemed somewhat afraid of these little paper men, his expression barely holding together.

After watching for a while, he said, "Brother Li, could you please withdraw this divine technique first!"

(End of this chapter)