Chapter 19: Hasty Assumption, Yet Hits the Mark

The pill he is currently crafting is the 'Vitality Pill', one of the most basic medicines.

Its effect is to slightly increase the eater's Yuan Qi.

Speaking of Yuan Qi, one must mention martial artists.

Martial artists cultivate flourishing blood and Qi to achieve the goal of strengthening their bodies, but the effect of improving physical constitution through blood and Qi has its limits.

Once a certain degree is reached, blood and Qi must be compressed and refined into the more powerful 'Yuan Qi' to advance further.

This is also the most important standard for distinguishing martial artist realms.

Only martial artists capable of condensing Yuan Qi can be said to have stepped into the realm of martial artists.

Martial artists who have reached this stage also possess a certain ability to counter the eerie.

However, in terms of specialization, they still fall short of the Spirit Hunters.

Because the effect of Yin Qi is stronger... although it will harm one's own body.

Without Blood Rice to support them, the bodies of most Spirit Hunters will develop problems.

This is why Li Lin is so happy; with the Vitality Pill directly providing Yuan Qi, this higher-level energy, his demand for Blood Rice will drop significantly, or even become unnecessary.

This saves him a lot of time, after all, refining Blood Rice is quite troublesome and requires a long time.

The saved time can be used directly to cultivate the Yin-Nourishing Art.

After swallowing two more Vitality Pills, Li Lin felt the Qi sensation in his dantian become abundant, so he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to cultivate.

The night was silent; after hearing the rooster crow, Li Lin opened his eyes.

He felt refreshed; this night's cultivation was equivalent to three previous nights.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel happy.

For the next three days, he practiced spear techniques in the morning, fist techniques in the afternoon, and swallowed two Vitality Pills at night, cultivating the Yin-Nourishing Art in the most efficient way.

On the fourth day, he began to pack up the furniture and miscellaneous items in the house and move to another uninhabited house.

Then the whole village came to help.

Many hands make light work; the originally troublesome move was resolved in less than an hour.

Li Lin clasped his fists to thank everyone; originally he wanted to set up a few banquet tables to treat the villagers to food and drink, but was stopped by Elder Village Head Zhang.

"Helping each other as neighbors is a normal thing. If we hold a banquet for something like this, outsiders will laugh at us Shangtikou Village for having no human warmth, being nothing but cheap, greedy scoundrels!"

So he gave up.

It must be said, Li Lin quite likes this folk custom.

The new house is no better than the previous one, but... the terrain is higher, and opening the window allows one to see further.

By noon the next day, the Han family arrived.

Several horse-drawn carriages, loaded full of furniture and some daily miscellaneous items.

They drove the carriages into the village entrance in great style, even setting off firecrackers.

The villagers stood at a distance, watching coldly.

Only the Village Head stepped out, blocking the middle of the road.

An old man jumped down from the carriage: "Brother Zhang, four years have passed, your health has deteriorated greatly."

Elder Village Head Zhang looked at the other party, his eyes indifferent: "Han Tie, if your Han family returns, the whole village has no objection, but setting off firecrackers all the way here, are you trying to give our village a scare?"

The old Han man chuckled: "No such intention; setting off firecrackers is just to ward off evil spirits."

"Ward off evil spirits, not celebrate?"

"Of course, ward off evil spirits." The old Han man said with a loud laugh.

"The Tree Immortal Lady is right behind you; do you dare to say 'ward off evil spirits'?"

The old Han man paused, his expression showing a hint of apprehension; he shouted at the people behind him: "Don't burn firecrackers later."

Elder Village Head Zhang's expression remained calm, only his tone was angry: "Han Tie, I don't care what your purpose is in returning, whether you can't stay in Feirong County or have other intentions... remember one thing: do not provoke Li Xunshou; if you provoke him, you are opposing the entire village."

After speaking, Elder Village Head Zhang turned, leaned on his cane, and walked away slowly.

The old Han man made an unpleasant clicking sound, dismissed it, and then waved at the carriages behind.

Just now, their Han family intended to enter the village in great style, but now they are being very low-key.

The villagers dispersed with meaningful expressions.

Li Lin naturally noticed this Han family, but soon resumed practicing spear techniques; at this moment, Zhao Xiaohu ran over, sweating profusely: "Lin Ge, that Han family elder wants someone to invite you over."

"Invite me over?"

"Yes, the person should be arriving soon."

Indeed, a young man appeared ahead, a young man Li Lin had never seen.

The other party looked very arrogant; when walking, his chin was held high: "Li Xunshou, right? My grandfather invites you over; he has something to discuss with you."

Li Lin smiled: "Does your grandfather hold an official post?"

"Not at all!"

"Then does he have an academic title?"

"Nor that."

"Then on what basis should I go?" Li Lin looked at the other party coldly: "I am a Spirit Hunter; although not an official, I am still someone who eats public grain... He doesn't come to pay respects to me, yet dares to order me to go pay respects to him; has he swapped his guts for a dog's?"

The young man's expression became somewhat ugly, from fear.

But he still stuck his neck out and said: "My grandfather knows the Prefect of Feirong County; as long as he is willing to say a word..."

"The officials of Feirong County cannot govern Spirit Hunters in Yulin County." Li Lin smiled: "I originally didn't want to pay attention to you, but now your attitude is very much disliked by me. You want me to go over, right? Fine... I will go over right now, but I am going to investigate your Han family, to see if you are colluding with the Apparitions."

Zhao Xiaohu, hearing this nearby, laughed happily.

With such a heavy accusation dropped, the youth was at a loss, turned around, and ran.

Li Lin returned to the room, picked up the Bai Yu Token, and then grabbed the Red Tassel Spear in his hand.

Originally, he only suspected something was wrong with this family, but now he was certain.

There was a faint aura of resentment on the other party, clearly indicating recent contact with a Strange Object.

Ordinary people couldn't sense it, but could he, a Spirit Hunter, not sense it?

Right from the start, they brought up the Magistrate of Feirong County, trying to intimidate with power... and Sister Xiu Niang died on the road precisely because she was returning to Feirong County; not only was the 'Wangliang Fetal Hiding Secret Rite' cast upon her, but she was also devoured by a Desolate Strange Object until only her white bones remained.

Afterwards, there was the transformation into a Strange Object, and the silver dangling hairpin.

The silver dangling hairpin was also connected to the Jincheng Silverware Bureau.

This clearly indicated that someone with an official status had become involved in a certain incident.

And he, Li Lin, had accidentally been dragged into it as well.

Then the other party made their move.

Now, he, Li Lin, had to break their move.

Picking up the red-tasseled spear, Li Lin said to Zhao Xiaohu: "Tell all the villagers that I suspect the Han family is colluding with a Strange Object. If anything truly happens, they must either hide inside their homes or go to the altar to pray for the protection of the Tree Immortal Lady."

Zhao Xiaohu nodded, turned around immediately, and ran off.

Li Lin, carrying the red-tasseled spear, arrived at the Han family's gate; just as he reached the bamboo fence entrance, he instinctively lowered his head.

The white jade pendant at his waist was emitting a faint red glow, but since it was daytime, the glow was very indistinct.

"I really guessed correctly by chance," Li Lin sighed lightly: "A Strange Object that can appear in broad daylight!"

(End of this chapter)