Chapter 183: Prepared in Advance

A messy hairstyle, tattered leather armor, and a body so thin it looked almost like a monkey's.

All sorts of weapons, each with a bizarre shape.

It was obvious that the army below the city wall was malnourished.

Both in the literal sense and in the figurative sense.

These people stood thirty to forty zhang away from the city wall, beyond the range of ranged attacks, holding torches.

Even from such a distance, one could feel the killing intent on them... and a certain faint madness.

Jiang Jili's face looked somewhat grim; he walked over to Li Lin's side and asked in a low voice, "Don't you feel... something is off about these people?"

Li Lin nodded: "They are permeated with Yin Qi."

"What does that mean?"

"It means they are very likely connected to the Gui."

"How is that possible!" Jiang Jili said with an expression of disbelief: "Are you saying they could all be Soul Hunters?"

Generally speaking, living people carrying Yin Qi are mostly Soul Hunters.

But Soul Hunters require talent... even the number of Soul Hunters in the Great Qi is not large; how could these barbarians possess so many Soul Hunters?

"I didn't say they are Soul Hunters; I only said they have Yin Qi on them." Li Lin looked into the distance and continued, "With so many people, they certainly cannot be Soul Hunters; they can only be Gui..."

"Southern Barbarian Evil Arts?"

"Highly likely."

Afterwards, both of their gazes turned forward.

The soldiers there were increasing in number, quickly filling that entire area.

More and more Southern Barbarian soldiers continued to appear behind them.

These people remained silent, acting only without anyone making a sound.

In the night, the clanging and banging of setting up a temporary camp rang out, echoing near the city wall.

This created great pressure on the local militia guarding the city wall.

Not to mention the soldiers, even Jiang Jili's forehead broke out in cold sweat.

But right now, Li Lin's gaze was not here; instead, he instinctively looked toward the direction of the Taowu Zhenjun Temple.

The villagers of Minle Village had stopped and stayed in the open ground behind the temple.

They paid no attention to the dust on the ground and sat down directly.

Having run all the way from Minle Village, they were already exhausted, and having almost failed to get in, their nervous state would consume even more of their strength.

After sitting down, they realized their whole bodies seemed to be trembling, and their hands and feet had very little strength.

After resting for a while, they finally recovered.

The village chief sighed; although it was already night, the area around the Taowu Zhenjun Temple was still brightly lit. He looked left and right and said, "Yulin County is indeed more lively than our Beiliu County."

Many people around him agreed; some women began to breastfeed, while others took out large flatbreads they had prepared earlier from their chests and fed them to their children first.

And at this very moment, four people stood up and walked outward.

Seeing this, the village chief hurriedly shouted, "You four lads, don't move recklessly; the officials here have said that if you wander around, you will be beheaded."

These four ignored him and instead increased their speed as they walked outward.

However, after walking a few steps, they stopped again.

Because in front of them, Bai Zhiwei, Ding Yingqiu, Yan Sai, and several others were all standing there.

"County Vice-Commander Li knew long ago that you spies would mix in." Bai Bufan said with a smile.

The group spread out and surrounded these four.

Seeing this, the village chief hurriedly shouted, "Officials, they are young people from our village; they don't know better. Please spare them."

Having said this, the old village chief rushed forward and knelt directly before the group, pleading pitifully, "Officials, spare them; they are still just children..."

"Old man, look behind you; are they really the people you know?"

The old village chief turned around and immediately discovered that the faces of these four had changed; they were no longer the appearances he recognized.

Instead, they were four barbarians with deep-set eyes and thick lips.

The old village chief was so frightened that he instantly collapsed onto the ground.

Seeing their path forward blocked, these four immediately retreated backward, seemingly intending to take the villagers hostage as leverage.

However, after retreating just two steps, they discovered that at some point, a very beautiful woman had appeared behind them.

The woman held her left water sleeve half-covering her face, and in her right hand, she now held a beating heart.

One of them fell to the ground, his body going limp.

"The Yin Spirit of the Qi people... drive it out."

Among the three, one who was relatively tall, with a steady gaze, let out a loud shout, took out a white soft whip from his chest with one hand, and charged outward directly.

Then Bai Zhiwei blocked this person, while the others went to besiege the remaining two.

Li Yanjing threw away the still-beating heart in her hand, her face showing an expression of disgust: "It stinks."

Afterwards, she looked toward the direction of the city gate, because she could feel that Li Lin was there.

The sounds of fighting arose; before long, two of the remaining three barbarians were dead, and the last one had his right arm severed by Bai Zhiwei. He was now clutching the wound on his severed arm, panting heavily.

"Surrender." Bai Zhiwei said coldly: "Perhaps you can still live."

This man let out a sinister chuckle: "Live... we all must die. We die sooner, you die later. The Outer Realm Demonic Spirit has arrived; the entire world is his hunting ground. The Yin Spirit is dead, the White Elephant is dead... we suffer first, and sooner or later it will be your turn, hahaha!"

Afterwards, this man hooked his left hand around his throat, applied slight force, and pulled his own windpipe out.

Amidst the splashing blood, he fell backward toward the sky, his face frozen in a grotesque smile.

Everyone fell silent.

On this side of the city wall, Li Lin watched the enemy's movements.

A makeshift camp was erected.

Shortly after, soldiers from the Southern Barbarians carried a massive altar over from the rear.

Unlike the bluestone altars of the Qi people, the Southern Barbarians' altar was fired from red clay, radiating a bloody hue; it appeared rough and crude, exuding a wild, untamed aura.

Once the red altar touched the ground, the Southern Barbarian soldiers pushed forward several captives who, judging by their attire, were likely Qi villagers—those who had failed to flee in time or had refused to run, and thus been captured.

These villagers struggled and begged for mercy incessantly, yet their heads were still chopped off.

Blood sprayed from their necks, splashing onto the altar.

Then, a Taowu Zhenjun with a snake's head—or rather, a lizard's head—floated above the altar.

A gloomy, sinister aura began spreading toward the city wall.

Before long, the soldiers atop the wall all felt a chilling cold, instinctively rubbing their arms.

Jiang Jili could not see the Taowu Zhenjun, but he guessed its presence.

Instinctively crossing his arms, his face turning iron-green, he said, "Commandant, I leave the matters ahead to you; I shall retreat to the rear to organize logistics."

Li Lin nodded slightly.

Engaging in frontline combat was indeed not the duty of a County Administrator.

At least, not before the County Commandant fell in battle did the County Administrator need to assume such responsibility.

Just then, a man stepped out from the enemy ranks, holding a bow in his left hand; from over thirty paces away, he nocked an arrow and drew the string.

Whoosh!

A strange sound rang out.

The arrow shot forth.

Li Lin thrust his spear violently, striking the iron tip at the arrow's foremost point; instantly, the arrow shattered into fragments, turning to dust.

The man's eyes widened abruptly as he stared at Li Lin in disbelief.

Li Lin also recognized his opponent.

It was precisely that elite Qin soldier who had nearly wounded him more than half a year ago.

The enemy man advanced another ten-plus paces and shouted, "Whoever stands before me blocking my arrows, report your name!"

(End of Chapter)