Chapter 18: Set a Small Goal

The villagers at the top of the stairs stood at the village entrance, their faces far from pleasant.

Some were muttering curses, foul and harsh to hear.

Elder Zhang, the village head, approached, his face full of shame as he said, "Li Xunshou, we truly did not know the Han family would suddenly move back."

"It's fine," Li Lin waved his hand. "It was to be expected; I'll just move to another place to live."

Seeing he was not angry, the villagers instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.

For they were truly afraid Li Lin would "quit the job."

This small place, Shangtikou Village, had waited how many years for a Spirit Hunter to arrive, and whether in temperament or skill, he was excellent; if such a person were to run because of this and not stay here, where would they go to cry?

Li Lin smiled at the villagers, then hoisted his cloth sack and returned to his "home."

He cooked rice, prepared dishes, and brewed tea, all in one smooth motion.

After eating his fill, he leisurely sipped warm tea, looking very relaxed.

Then he took out the silver dangling hairpin again, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He had a feeling those people were coming for him... He had been a Spirit Hunter for over half a year; how could ordinary people not fear a Spirit Hunter, yet even carry an undercurrent of provocation and hostility?

And as for what he had done recently, it was killing the Wandering Ghost... and Sister Xiu Niang.

This silver dangling hairpin was not Sister Xiu Niang's; whose could it be?

Did someone want to take it back?

Or was there some secret?

He turned the silver dangling hairpin over and over, examining it for a long while, until night fell, yet still could find nothing amiss.

But since he could find no clue, perhaps asking someone might work.

So he left his home.

The village was unusually quiet; there was not even the sound of insects or birds chirping nearby, only the sound of his footsteps.

Arriving at the altar, he saw the Gowned Apparition was "basking in moonlight," her face tilted upward, gazing fixedly at the moon.

"Lady Tree Immortal truly has the leisure and fancy," Li Lin said with a smile, clasping his fist as he approached, "How about you chat with me?"

The Gowned Apparition looked down at Li Lin, her eyes holding a hint of longing.

But today was not... the agreed feeding day.

She tilted her head slightly, somewhat curious as to why Li Lin had come out; under normal circumstances, this man preferred to stay at home cultivating.

"Could you help me see if there is anything special about this dangling hairpin?"

The Gowned Apparition stared at him for a moment, then her long snake tail whipped out from behind, the tip curling around the silver dangling hairpin and snatching it from Li Lin's hand.

Li Lin had thought she would examine the origins of the silver dangling hairpin, but instead, the snake tail directly stuck the silver dangling hairpin into her hair.

Then her head swayed slightly, appearing somewhat pleased.

Uh... Li Lin could only say, "Lady Tree Immortal wearing this dangling hairpin looks even more beautiful and enchanting, with an aura of immortality floating about."

After all, she was a woman, and still liked being flattered.

Lady Tree Immortal's lips curved slightly, appearing somewhat happy.

Previously, when Li Lin had struck her with a palm, she had ignored him for over a month.

Now, with this dangling hairpin serving as an apology, her mood had clearly eased.

Li Lin was not someone with particularly low emotional intelligence; seeing that Lady Tree Immortal clearly regarded the item as a gift, he stopped asking further.

Besides, striking her with a palm that day was indeed his fault.

After chatting casually with her for a while, he returned to his room to rest.

The next day, after getting up, he began practicing spear techniques.

【Spear Technique +1】 【Yu Family Spear Technique +1】

The long spear he had used before was one he had simply whittled from a stick; it was not very useful, lacking both toughness and elasticity, so moves like the Sweeping Spear and the Lifting Spear simply could not be executed.

Now, these two red-tasseled spears were made of high-quality elm wood with iron spearheads attached.

The characteristic of elm wood is its exceptional elasticity; thus, when the Sweeping Spear and Lifting Spear were performed in succession, the spear tip, trailing the red tassel, formed a mass of red clouds, like a burning flame spinning in circles.

Whoosh, whoosh, it roared.

"So amazing!" Zhao Xiaohu watched from the side, his eyes filled with admiration: "Lin Ge, can you teach me this spear technique? It is far more powerful than that messy fist technique of yours."

"Not teaching now!" Li Lin refused directly. "Your body is still very weak; it is not suitable for martial arts. Wait until your body improves before we speak of it."

Li Lin spoke the truth; he was not the type to hoard his skills selfishly.

The Yu Family Spear Technique could actually be considered a relatively common martial art; it was just that for ordinary people, obtaining it was slightly difficult.

Zhao Xiaohu's body was truly very weak now; having been called back to life twice in a row, though his appearance looked imposing, his interior was already very hollow.

Without replenishing for half a year, it would be hard to recover to the state of two months ago.

Practicing martial arts under such conditions was like an anemic patient donating blood again.

Zhao Xiaohu left, somewhat disappointed.

Watching him, Li Lin thought, "If only there were a doctor in the village..." Wait, Li Lin suddenly remembered; he had bought back many pills.

Immediately, he set the long spear aside, returned to his room, and took out all the porcelain bottles from the cloth sack.

These were all bought from the pharmacy, very common medicinal pills.

Bao Gui Pills, Liu Wei Pills, and so on.

He opened the bottles, then sniffed them one by one.

Then a smile appeared on his face.

Indeed, they were useful.

【Alchemy +1】 【Alchemy +1】 【Alchemy +1】

After sniffing through all the medicine bottles, a great deal of knowledge appeared in his mind.

Afterwards, he rose, took up the long spear from the courtyard, and headed up the mountain.

Whether day or night, the mountain is very dangerous.

At night, there are wild apparitions; by day, there are wild beasts.

But for Li Lin now, these problems are not great.

During the day, the mountain is quite lively; everywhere there are chirping insects and singing birds, and occasionally the howl of a wolf drifts in from afar.

He gathered quite a bit of 'weeds' on the mountain, then returned home before dusk.

Even though his Stealth technique has improved greatly now, he does not wish to challenge the night of this world.

Back at home, he did not cook a meal; instead, he began grinding herbs, sorting them, and processing them.

Then he shaped the herb dregs into small dumpling-like balls and placed them into the pot.

Rekindle the firewood!

There was no choice; he currently lacked suitable tools, so he had to make do with the rice pot.

He carefully controlled the firewood, while a 'text' line occasionally floated up in the lower right corner of his vision.

【Alchemy +1】

【Alchemy +1】

The medicinal fragrance slowly spread through the room; after waiting nearly three double-hours, he felt the pills should already be refined.

He opened the lid... and a thick medicinal fragrance surged out from within.

Those small dumplings had all turned into tiny pills, presenting a emerald green color.

There were also a small number of black-green pills; these were waste dregs. Li Lin took them out and threw them aside.

Finally, a plate of crystal-green pills sat on the table.

He took a deep breath, picked up two of them, and chewed them in his mouth.

Not long after, he felt a cool energy flow from his throat down into the lower abdomen dantian.

It truly succeeded!

Li Lin's eyes held an excitement he could not suppress.

In the future, even if he lacks a superior method of cultivating intent and has no background or connections, it will not matter.

With Alchemy, he himself is the greatest connection and the strongest background.

Taking pills can increase one's martial power.

As long as one's martial power is high enough, let alone the Yu Family Spear Technique, even the Beggar's Staff Technique wielded in his hands would become an unparalleled martial art.

"Good!" Li Lin smiled with satisfaction: "From today on, I will set a small goal: first, to become number one in Jincheng!"

(End of this chapter)