Chapter 199: Seeking the Immortal Artifact in Yue Commandery

Generally, women from prominent families, having received adequate “cultivation,” do not speak recklessly.

Just like Huang Qing—though she and Li Lin had become husband and wife, and had practiced dual-cultivation countless times—she still blushed slightly whenever she uttered the word “dual-cultivation.”

But Fang Yongwei spoke it with perfect naturalness.

Thus Li Lin found it peculiar.

At this moment, An Xin chuckled: “Sister Fang has been with our Tianyi Sect for nearly a decade; she is less a lady of a noble family and more a woman of the martial world.”

Li Lin then understood.

“Dual-cultivation does exist, but there are other reasons,” Li Lin smiled. “Still, I think you, Sister Fang, simply underestimated her. Hong Luan’s strength is well known to me—she’s merely stronger in brute force.”

Fang Yongwei looked puzzled; she felt it wasn’t like that, yet couldn’t find a proper argument to refute Li Lin.

At that moment, Li Lin bowed and said: “Brother An, I must return to Yulin County first. Next time you come to Jincheng, let’s drink together.”

“Alright,” An Xin bowed back with a smile.

An Xin then escorted Li Lin to the gate, and just as he turned to go back, he saw Fang Yongwei still standing nearby, staring at Li Lin’s retreating figure.

“Stop staring—he’s already married. Unless your Fang family is willing to give you away as a concubine to another household.”

Fang Yongwei shot An Xin an irritated glance: “Big Brother, don’t speak nonsense… I’m just curious—how could he train an ordinary woman to match my strength in barely half a year? You must’ve noticed—he’s lying.”

An Xin sighed softly: “Sister, could it be… you’re just too weak?”

“Absolutely impossible.”

Fang Yongwei snorted and walked off, displeased.

An Xin stood where he was, watching Li Lin’s retreating figure, his expression unreadable; finally, he shook his head with a faint smile: “So what?… Our Tianyi Sect doesn’t need such methods.”

Then he walked inside, his expression brightening.

Li Lin arrived at the Huang residence; the carriage was already prepared, Huang Qing and Hong Luan waited at the gate, while Huang Yan and Lady Huang stood aside.

This was the time they had previously agreed upon.

Li Lin stepped forward and bowed: “Father-in-law, Lady Huang!”

“Why haven’t you stayed here these past few days?” Huang Yan asked curiously.

Li Lin replied: “I went to Tianyi Sect to gather intelligence.”

“Related to cultivation?”

Li Lin gave a slight nod.

Huang Yan then asked no further.

The Li family of Junchun… this clan, active sixty years ago, had once been famed throughout the land for this very matter.

Huang Qing, eyes red, bade farewell to Huang Yan and Lady Huang; then she glanced inside the gate, seeing her younger sister Huang Ling had not come out, and felt a pang of disappointment.

Still, she boarded the carriage with Hong Luan, and Li Lin led them to the city outskirts, where they met the village militia and several Spirit Hunters, preparing to depart for Yulin County.

Only after the carriage had traveled some distance did Huang Ling emerge from behind the gate.

Lady Huang looked at her and said: “Why didn’t you come out to see off your elder sister?”

“I don’t want to see my brother-in-law.”

Huang Yan frowned at her: “Why not?”

“He has too much lust in his heart.”

“Hm?” Huang Yan was puzzled—his son-in-law hadn’t even stayed at home, let alone met his younger daughter.

Huang Ling whispered: “Between man and woman, procreation is the foundation—reverence is paramount. Yet he treats it as mere play, violating the teachings of the sages and tainting your elder sister’s purity. It is truly detestable.”

She referred to Li Lin’s frequent dual-cultivation with Huang Qing and Hong Luan.

Huang Yan froze, then his expression cracked—he wanted to laugh but also felt anger; ultimately, he decided this was not his place to lecture, so he swept his sleeve and said: “Have you read so much you’ve gone mad? Wife, this is your responsibility—teach her properly!”

With that, he entered the house.

Lady Huang also looked helplessly at her daughter, then sighed: “Ah… child, what do you even understand? Come, follow Mother inside—I’ll teach you properly about these matters.”

Huang Ling was stunned; she was barely fifteen, and though she had some awareness, she was far from fully comprehending.

On Li Lin’s side, it took four days to return to Yulin County.

The carriage directly delivered Huang Qing and Hong Luan home; Li Lin went to the county office to hand over documents.

There he saw Assistant County Magistrate Jiang Jili, staring at him with an expression of profound grievance.

Jiang Jili’s dark circles were unmistakable.

“How is the relocation of the Beiliu County civilians proceeding?”

Jiang Jili replied weakly: “About half are done.”

“You’ve been the one doing all the work.”

“Why is it so exhausting?” Jiang Jili sighed helplessly. “According to family plans, I was meant to spend three or four years here in comfort, building a record of governance before returning to Jingcheng! Now look at me… it’s unbearable!”

Li Lin smiled: “Loss brings gain—you’ll have experience handling similar cases in the future.”

“More of this? I won’t do it—I’ll die.” Jiang Jili looked utterly defeated.

Li Lin gave a faint smile.

At that moment, Jiang Jili suddenly said: “You look like you have something to ask me.”

“Yes,” Li Lin nodded. “I plan to travel to Yuecheng.”

After a brief silence, Jiang Jili sat bolt upright, fixing Li Lin with a steady gaze: “What do you intend? By law, as County Constable, you cannot leave your own prefecture.”

Li Lin said: “I want to gather intelligence in Yuecheng.”

“Without superior approval, you cannot leave. If caught, you’ll lose your post.”

“So you must devise a plausible reason to submit to the Prefect.”

Jiang Jili looked confused: “He’s your father-in-law—why not ask him directly?”

“This requires formal documentation to the Central Secretariat,” Li Lin added. “My father-in-law cannot speak up—he holds high rank and power; every move of his is scrutinized.”

“So… those of us, eighth and ninth rank officials, mere local clerks, have no such troubles, is that right?”

Li Lin smiled: “Precisely.”

“I can help you—but what do I get in return?”

“A favor.”

Jiang Jili thought for a moment: “The terms are acceptable. Let me consider how to make this flawless—I’ll reply in two or three days.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Jiang Jili waved dismissively.

Li Lin handed Jiang Jili the documents from Qin Dong, then returned home.

In the backyard, Hong Luan was excitedly telling Li Yanjing how she defeated a female martial artist.

Li Lin entered, and Li Yanjing immediately pressed against his arm: “Master, I’ve missed you so much.”

“You’ve missed my blood qi.”

Li Yanjing half-covered her face with her sleeve, smiling with curled brows: “Same thing, same thing.”

“Not yet.”

“I know—the Tree Immortal Lady takes the blood qi first,” Li Yanjing cooed.

Then a serpent’s tail appeared in midair and whipped Li Yanjing away.

Fortunately, as a spirit, she could pass through walls—otherwise, she would have shattered the backyard wall.

Only the serpent’s tail appeared; the Tree Immortal Lady remained unseen.

Li Yanjing flew back from outside, muttering: “The Lady’s shy now? We’re practically old married—ah—”

Li Yanjing was flung away again.

Li Lin sat in the main hall, watching Li Yanjing and the Tree Immortal Lady playfully spar in midair, feeling a deep sense of peace.

Not long after, Hong Luan came over and said: “Master, the warm water is ready.”

Li Lin looked at Huang Qing, then took Hong Luan’s hand: “All three of us will bathe together.”

Both women blushed but did not refuse.

In a large, specially made ceramic tub, steam rose gently.

Li Lin held one woman in each arm and said slowly: “In a few days, I’ll travel to Yuecheng.”

Huang Qing was instantly alarmed: “Master, why go to such a dangerous place?”

“There’s something vital I must retrieve.”

The “Southern Barbarian Divine Bones” Qin Dong mentioned were tied to immortals—he was determined to obtain them.

But Qin Dong also said his concubine was fickle and extravagant; she would leave within three months at most, and after that, finding her would be nearly impossible.

It had already been a month since Qin Dong’s arrest.

Huang Qing fell silent for a moment, then said: “A wife should not interfere in her husband’s affairs, but I worry for your safety—take Yanjing with you. She can surely help.”

“No,” Li Lin sighed. “If I take her, I’ll worry about your safety. The Tree Immortal Lady spends most of her time refining incense offerings and can’t watch over you. With Yanjing here, I can rest easy.”

“But…”

Li Lin smiled: “Don’t worry—I have a powerful technique to ensure my safety.”

The Stealth Technique… Li Lin had always ranked it first among all martial arts he learned.

He practiced it daily without fail, carving out time no matter how busy.

As time passed, Li Lin felt his Stealth Technique was on the verge of a breakthrough.

It should happen within these few days, so he planned to dedicate even more time to training each day.

Once the Stealth Technique “advanced,” his safety in Yuecheng would improve significantly.

He was also curious—what new abilities would emerge after its “upgrade”?

(End of chapter)