Chapter 167: Monk Ksitigarbha

The Buddhist Sect?

Li Lin was very puzzled: "The amount of Yin Qi has something to do with us Soul Hunters, but what does it have to do with the Buddhist Sect?"

"County Commandant, you haven't paid much attention to matters of the Jianghu, have you?" Xiao Chunzhu asked cautiously.

Li Lin nodded.

Xiao Chunzhu bent slightly at the waist and said: "Several decades ago, the Buddhist Sect... had already split into two factions."

"How did they split?"

"One faction still follows the traditional methods of supreme Yang and supreme Rigidity, while the other faction merged with Apparitions, following the Ksitigarbha Method, creating many very Yin and evil Buddhist martial arts that are extremely terrifying."

Li Lin nodded slightly: "It seems the Monks also know how to keep up with the times. But how can you tell this matter is related to the Buddhist Sect?"

"County Commandant, please look."

Xiao Chunzhu reached out and gently wiped the wall, causing mud and sand to roll down, after which a palm print appeared on the wall.

"A derivative method of the Tathagata Divine Palm, the Netherworld Luo Sha Hand!" Xiao Chunzhu sighed lightly: "If the Tathagata Divine Palm is grand and majestic, then the Netherworld Luo Sha Hand is sinister and hidden; those struck by it often do not realize they have been hit until a considerable amount of time has passed. By then, they are already in mortal danger."

"So powerful?" Li Lin asked in surprise.

Xiao Chunzhu's face showed some admiration: "After all, they are the Buddhist Sect. Although they have split into two factions, there are many geniuses and wise ones among them, and the evil cultivation methods they created are all top-tier martial arts."

Li Lin nodded slightly, then said: "Everyone return to the County government office first."

At this moment, the Squire standing nearby stood up and asked: "County Commandant, do you have any clues regarding the murderer?"

"Indeed we do, Squire, please wait patiently."

"Thank you, County Commandant."

Li Lin clasped his fists in a gesture, then led the government office Runners away.

Returning to the County government office, Li Lin summoned all the Captains and Commandants to the 'Soldiers' Room'.

More than twenty people stood in the courtyard, silent and soundless.

Li Lin's gaze swept over the crowd, and everyone lowered their heads, daring not to meet his eyes.

They felt that this County Commandant Li's official authority was growing increasingly domineering.

Li Lin said: "This murder case already has some leads, but the enemy is fierce, requiring all of you to cooperate fully."

Everyone looked at him silently.

Li Lin continued: "The government office Runner beside me, Xiao Chunzhu, is an expert of the Lingxiao Sect and has sufficient understanding of this murder case. From now on, special matters will be handled specially; all of you will obey his orders. I give you three days; you must force the murderer out. If they resist, kill them without mercy."

"Yes!"

Everyone clasped their fists and responded.

Especially Xiao Chunzhu, whose expression was the most excited.

He knew whether he could establish a firm foothold in Yulin County and whether he could truly become Li Lin's confidant depended entirely on this.

Li Lin waved his hand, and the group dispersed.

Now Li Lin already knew how to be an official well: just hand the work over to subordinates to do.

He only needed to grasp the general direction.

Li Lin reviewed some cases in the Soldiers' Room, and when noon arrived, he went home.

After having lunch, Li Lin continued refining the Spirit-Gathering Stones.

Meanwhile, Huang Qi, Hong Luan, and Li Yanjing were laying bricks and building a house.

That's right, these three women were building a house.

Do not underestimate the women of this era; even daughters of noble families know many things, possessing strong hands-on and learning abilities.

For example, Huang Qi's embroidery is unparalleled, Hong Luan knows how to do many household chores, and she can even carry a wooden beam weighing several dozen jin on her shoulder and walk back and forth without panting.

Moreover, through dual cultivation during this period, their physiques have improved, allowing them to do even more.

Hard labor... as long as one's ability is strong enough, it is not hard labor.

Li Yanjing had possessed several famous courtesans, one of whom was the child of a stonemason and knew how to make bricks and lay them.

Now she was leading the two women to dig the foundation and lay bricks.

Although their hands and coarse cloth clothes were covered in mud, the three were still very happy, laying bricks, and occasionally smearing some mud on each other's faces.

Then they played around again.

Li Lin brought out another furnace of blue protective barrier powder from the alchemy room, and then saw the three women wearing coarse clothes, running and chasing each other with mud.

Everyone's face had mud water on it, streaked here and there, but even so, they still looked very beautiful.

A kind of lively beauty.

Seeing Li Lin come out, Huang Qi felt somewhat shy; she was a noble lady and the mistress of the house, yet she had no etiquette now, so naturally she was somewhat worried.

Hong Luan also stuck out her tongue.

Li Yanjing looked at the basket of protective barrier powder in Li Lin's hand with some helplessness.

As an Apparition... she did not quite like this thing.

Li Lin looked around and smiled: "You are building this house quite fast; I estimate it will take shape in another five or six days."

"We are still slow; we shouldn't have played around." Huang Qi walked over and took the protective barrier powder from Li Lin's hands: "But only you, Husband, would not mind us acting so wildly; if it were anyone else, our legs would probably be broken by our husbands."

"It's not that exaggerated."

Li Yanjing said: "Even if it were that exaggerated, I, a woman, feel that you spoil those two a bit too much."

Huang Qi and Hong Luan both had tenderness in their eyes.

At this moment, Li Yanjing leaned in, pressing her soft body against him, and smiled seductively: "You spoil me a bit too, okay? I don't need a title; being a concubine is no problem."

"You pass Lady Tree Immortal's test first." Before Li Lin could answer, Huang Qi pulled Li Yanjing aside: "If you continue talking, you will probably be whipped away by Lady Tree Immortal's tail."

Li Yanjing also knew she had gotten a bit carried away; she looked at the Dharma Image of the Peach Blossom Tree in the sky with some guilt.

Li Lin suddenly remembered something and asked: "Sister Yan Jing Jing, have you ever seen a Monk from the Ksitigarbha lineage?"

"I've seen them," Li Yanjing thought for a moment and said, "That group has some issues."

"What issues?"

"They are quite mad!" Li Yanjing said with a strange expression: "Even madder than us ghosts."

"I think you seem quite normal," Hong Luan said softly.

"I also possessed several courtesans and only gradually became human after gaining their consciousness," Li Yanjing explained. "But those monks, I feel they want to turn themselves into ghosts!"

"For example?"

"I once saw a monk from the Ksitigarbha sect named Lianxing. That was over twenty years ago. He came to the Red Sleeve Pavilion to seek prostitutes, not courtesans, but only the old madam who was past her prime."

"Why?" Hong Luan asked in great surprise.

"He said he could not comprehend beauty, so he came to realize the Dao through his own body and dispel this heart demon."

"Ah!" Hong Luan was even more confused: "Beauty? Shouldn't he have sought a courtesan then?"

"He said if he sought a courtesan, wouldn't that mean he lost to the heart demon? He had to find ugly and disgusting women to strike down his heart demon! Poison to fight poison!"

Li Lin heard this and wore an expression as if his eyes had been stung by chili.

Seeing Li Lin's state, Li Yanjing laughed: "You don't know how formidable he was. Whenever that monk earned money, he would come to find the madam, until the madam, nearly sixty-five years old, simply could not endure it anymore, and only then did he let her go."

"So did he subdue his heart demon?"

"I don't know," Li Yanjing also said with a strange expression. "After the madam left, he left too. It is said he went to other places to find old and ugly women."

(End of this chapter)