[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dark-and-dawn-light-years":3,"chapter-dark-and-dawn-light-years-dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-167":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dark and Dawn Light-Years",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2264767,4420,"Chapter 167: Earth Store Monk","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-167",167,"\u003Cp>Fomen?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin was puzzled: “How does the amount of yin energy relate to us Spirit Hunters? What does it have to do with Fomen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You haven’t paid much attention to Jianghu  affairs, have you, County Magistrate?” Xiao Chunzhu asked cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chunzhu bowed slightly and said: “Decades ago, Fomen… already split into two factions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did they split?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One faction still follows the traditional path of pure yang and hardness; the other merged with apparitions, embraced the Earth Store path, and created many extremely sinister Buddhist martial arts—truly terrifying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded slightly: “So even monks understand keeping up with the times. But how can you tell this is connected to Fomen?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“County Magistrate, look here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chunzhu lightly brushed his hand across the wall; mud and sand tumbled down, revealing a palm print.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A derivative of the Buddha’s Palm: the Nether Yama Demon Palm!” Xiao Chunzhu sighed softly: “If the Buddha’s Palm is grand and majestic, the Nether Yama Demon Palm is sinister and concealed. Victims often don’t realize they’ve been struck until much later—by then, they’re already on the brink of death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So powerful?” Li Lin exclaimed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chunzhu’s face held a touch of admiration: “After all, it’s Fomen. Even split into two factions, they’ve produced no shortage of geniuses. Their heretical techniques are all top-tier martial arts.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded slightly, then said: “Everyone return to the county office.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the Squire stood up and asked: “County Magistrate, any leads on the killer?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have some now. Squire, please wait patiently.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, County Magistrate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin bowed in farewell, then led the government office runners away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back at the county office, Li Lin summoned all the constables and commandants into the ‘Soldier’ room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than twenty men stood silently in the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin’s gaze swept over them; all lowered their heads, avoiding his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They felt this County Magistrate Li was growing ever more imposing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin said: “This murder case is beginning to take shape, but the enemy is ruthless—we need everyone’s cooperation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone watched him in silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin continued: “This government office runner beside me, Xiao Chunzhu, is a master of Lingxiao Sect. He understands this case thoroughly. From now on, special measures apply: all of you follow his orders. I give you three days to force the killer out. If there’s resistance, kill on sight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone bowed in response.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Xiao Chunzhu—his expression was the most excited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew whether he could establish himself in Yulin County, whether he could truly become Li Lin’s confidant, depended on this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin waved his hand; the group dispersed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin now understood well how to be an official: delegate tasks to subordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only needed to grasp the big picture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin reviewed some case files in the Soldier room; at noon, he returned home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After lunch, Li Lin resumed refining Spirit Stones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Huang Qing, Hong Luan, and Li Yanjing were laying bricks and building a house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yes, three women were building a house.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t underestimate women of this era—even noblewomen knew many things, with strong hands-on and learning abilities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, Huang Qing’s embroidery was unmatched; Hong Luan could handle countless household chores—even carry a heavy wooden beam weighing dozens of jin without breathing hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, after this period of dual cultivation, their physiques had improved further, allowing them to do even more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hard labor… if your strength is sufficient, it’s no longer hard labor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yanjing had possessed several courtesans, one of whom was the daughter of a stonemason and knew how to make bricks and lay them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now she was leading the two women in digging foundations and laying bricks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though their hands and coarse cloth robes were caked in mud, all three were delighted, laughing and occasionally smearing mud on each other’s faces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they played and wrestled again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin brought out another batch of blue Yu Jie Powder from the alchemy room, only to see the three women in coarse cloth, covered in mud, chasing each other around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each face was streaked with mud—here a smear, there a dash—but even so, they looked beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A lively kind of beauty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Lin emerge, Huang Qing felt shy—she was a noblewoman, the mistress of the household, and now her manners were gone; she naturally worried.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hong Luan stuck out her tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yanjing looked at Li Lin’s basket of Yu Jie Powder with resignation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As an apparition… she disliked this stuff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin glanced aside and smiled: “You’re building this house quickly—probably ready in five or six more days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re still too slow—we shouldn’t have been playing,” Huang Qing walked over and took the Yu Jie Powder from Li Lin’s hands: “But only you, my lord, wouldn’t mind us acting so foolishly. If it were any other man, our legs would’ve been broken long ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s exaggerated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yanjing said: “It’s not exaggerated—I’m a woman, and even I think you spoil them too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Qing and Hong Luan’s eyes softened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Li Yanjing leaned against him, her soft body pressing close, smiling seductively: “Spoil me a little too, won’t you? I don’t need a title—even as a concubine is fine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“First get past the Tree Immortal Lady’s test,” Huang Qing pulled Li Yanjing aside before Li Lin could answer: “Keep talking like that, and you’ll be swept away by the Tree Immortal Lady’s tail.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yanjing realized she’d gotten carried away; she glanced nervously at the peach tree’s spiritual form in the sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin suddenly remembered something and asked: “Yanjing, have you ever seen a monk of the Earth Store sect?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have,” Li Yanjing thought a moment and said: “Those people are… strange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s strange about them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They’re insane!” Li Yanjing said with a peculiar expression: “Even crazier than we apparitions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think you’re perfectly normal,” Hong Luan whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I possessed several courtesans and gradually became more human after absorbing their consciousness,” Li Yanjing explained: “But those monks—they seem to want to turn themselves into apparitions!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For example?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I once met an Earth Store monk named Lian Xing—over twenty years ago. He came to Hongxiuzhao to visit courtesans, but never chose the beauties—he only sought the old, faded madam.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why?” Hong Luan asked, astonished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He said he couldn’t comprehend beauty, so he came to test himself, to subdue this inner demon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Hong Luan was even more confused: “Beauty—you should seek courtesans!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He said if he chose courtesans, he’d be surrendering to the demon. He had to find ugly, repulsive women—to strike down his demon with poison!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin’s face twisted as if he’d been burned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Li Lin’s expression, Li Yanjing laughed: “You don’t know how powerful he was. When he earned money, he’d return to the madam—until she was nearly sixty-five, too frail to endure him anymore, then he let her go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did he subdue his demon?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know,” Li Yanjing said with a strange look: “After the madam passed, he left too. They say he went elsewhere to find more old, ugly women.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1185,"2026-06-19T19:39:18.782Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","946f38d8fb01b72b40cba71788901bc51501732b916b997c8a216a1b1cfb3fb0","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-168","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-166",221,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdark-and-dawn-light-years-cover.jpg"]