Chapter 171: Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell

Seeing the woman appear beside Li Lin, Xiao Chunzhu felt his scalp go numb.

He didn't even need to look to know this woman was a ghost.

Or rather, a household Taowu Zhenjun.

Meanwhile, the two Lotus brothers merely frowned slightly; their senses did not feel as fearful as Xiao Chunzhu's.

Li Lin said, "Sister Yan Jing, help Xiao Chunzhu deal with that Blackie; this golden lump in front of me is mine."

At the same time, Li Lin shouted to the surroundings, "Everyone scatter! No need to actively engage these two criminals; just surround the road entrance and prevent them from escaping."

The government office Runners and local militia followed suit immediately, retreating over ten paces.

However, the archers' arrows were still aimed at these two criminals.

Lotus looked at the 'minions' withdrawing around them, then smiled at Li Lin, saying, "County Commandant is truly a good official, daring to face us two brothers directly to preserve your subordinates' lives."

Li Lin spoke calmly, "I am confident I can handle you, so naturally I do not need more casualties."

"County Commandant, you have only just achieved minor mastery in spear intent," Lotus said with a smile. "This monk has achieved major mastery in the Vajra Body; you are no match for me."

"You'll know after we fight," Li Lin smiled.

Having finished speaking, he thrust his spear out.

Lotus's right palm turned golden and pushed directly forward, carrying faint golden strings within the palm.

The spear tip struck the opponent's palm.

Clang!

A crisp sound like iron striking a great bronze bell.

Li Lin retreated three steps, while Lotus withdrew his palm, looking at his own palm.

There, a small opening had broken; it was a tiny wound, yet black blood like petroleum was slowly seeping out.

His expression froze for a moment, then he looked at Li Lin and said with a serious expression, "County Commandant, you are quite extraordinary."

Li Lin wasted no words; he activated the Light Body Art, moving like fallen leaves swept up by a breeze, his form rising and falling around Lotus, and with every turn or change of direction, he thrust a spear.

Now, Li Lin's Light Body Art, through diligent training, had reached the major mastery realm.

Therefore, his form was particularly ethereal and agile.

Lotus was completely unable to accurately catch Li Lin's changes of direction and could only use both hands to constantly block the spear tips.

As a result, the wounds on his palms increased; before long, his entire palms were covered in splitting scars.

Now, every time he swung his palms, black blood would fling out.

On the other side, Xiao Chunzhu was also locked in combat with the thin man.

However, the opponent's hard qigong was formidable; every thrust failed to pierce the opponent's skin.

Li Yanjing watched for a while, then covered her mouth with her water sleeve and laughed, "Hold him still for ten breaths, and I can kill him."

"Truly?"

Even though Xiao Chunzhu was quite afraid of Li Yanjing, he still asked.

Li Yanjing smiled and said nothing.

Seeing her demeanor, Xiao Chunzhu gritted his teeth, withdrew the forked dual swords from his hands, and then put a pair of iron claws on each of his hands.

He lunged fiercely again.

The thin man punched out with both fists; Xiao Chunzhu's dual claws hooked the opponent's arms in a strange manner, then used the leverage to flip backward, landing behind the opponent. Next, the dual iron claws gripped the thin man's arms, while small iron hooks extended from the tips of his shoes to grip the opponent's legs.

The two of them rolled on the ground like this.

Although the thin man was restrained, he roared and struggled outward with both hands and legs.

Xiao Chunzhu's legs and claws were slowly being 'pried open'.

At this moment, Xiao Chunzhu's face was flushing red: "Hurry! I can only hold for about ten breaths."

As he spoke, his clothes were slowly bursting apart, and his muscles all bulged out.

Li Yanjing extended her left hand toward the thin man's body.

In her palm, there was a ball of red light.

Aaaaaah!

Xiao Chunzhu held his breath and shouted, the veins on his forehead bursting out.

His strength seemed inferior to the thin man's, and his right leg made a 'puchi' sound; a blood vessel just beneath the skin burst, and a mist of blood sprayed out.

It looked like he was about to be unable to hold on.

But just then, a pulsating black heart suddenly appeared in Li Yanjing's hand.

"Done!"

Xiao Chunzhu felt the person grappling with him suddenly go limp, losing all strength.

He quickly flipped up, retreated to the side, and panted heavily.

Then he saw the black heart in Li Yanjing's hand and instinctively felt a chill run through his body.

The ability to silently rip out someone's heart from such a great distance was truly terrifying.

The thin man's body shivered a few times, then stopped moving, his eyes staring at the sky, unblinking.

"Junior brother!"

Lotus, standing nearby, let out a roar.

He flipped both palms and pushed toward Li Lin.

A terrifying qi force gushed out.

For ordinary martial artists, such a qi force was frightening.

But the Light Body Art known as Willow Catkin Thirteen Drifts is a hard counter to this kind of large-scale qigong attack.

Just like the wind... the wind can blow leaves around, but it cannot hurt the leaves.

Li Lin was propelled backward by the force, drifting away.

Lian Hua rushed to the thin man's side, scooped him up, and his eyes filled with grief.

Seeing this, Li Yanjing dropped the heart in her hand, then, without a trace, a ball of red light appeared in her palm as she faced Lian Hua.

But this time it failed; Lian Hua merely shifted his body slightly, and the red light in Li Yanjing's hand vanished.

Li Yanjing helplessly shook her head; this hand technique was very useful, but its limitations were great.

Li Lin used the Lightness Art to drift back again.

He raised his long spear, pointed it at the opponent, and said, "Surrender."

Lian Hua slowly stood up: "My lord County Commandant, do you know that you have committed a grave error?"

"I do not think so."

"The Outer Realm Demonic Spirits have appeared in the world; though their whereabouts are still unknown, this is already a certainty." Lian Hua stood up, looked at Li Lin, performed a Buddhist greeting with one hand, held prayer beads in his right hand, and gently rolled them between his fingers: "There are few in this world capable of dealing with the Outer Realm Demonic Spirits; we of the Ksitigarbha Method are one such lineage. Now that you have killed my junior brother, our strength to combat the Outer Realm Demonic Spirits will be diminished by one."

"Sucking the blood qi of common people to cause death... such power is better left unused."

"Without us, far more people will be killed by the Outer Realm Demonic Spirits in the future." Lian Hua looked at the thin man on the ground, his eyes full of sorrow: "At that time, the number of dead will be counted in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions; why simply cannot you understand the choice between gains and losses!"

Li Lin snorted: "I do not care about these Outer Realm Demonic Spirits; I only know that they are the people under my governance, and I have the duty to protect them, to catch the murderers for them, and to seek justice for them. The fact is this simple; there is no need to overcomplicate it."

Lian Hua snorted: "A woman's mercy; such a person cannot achieve great things."

"I do not need to achieve great things." Li Lin walked forward slowly: "I only know that you are also an accomplice, and you too deserve to die."

"I have remembered this." Lian Hua looked at the wounds covering his hands, then at Sister Yan Jing approaching from the side: "County Commandant, this time you win, but mountains and waters will meet again; we shall see each other another day."

After saying this, Lian Hua sat cross-legged on the ground.

Shortly after, his head bowed, motionless.

Sister Yan Jing watched for a moment and said, "He has gone."

Xiao Chunzhu's expression was gloomy: "The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell Method; one of the signature techniques of the Ksitigarbha Method, and few can master it."

(End of this chapter)