Chapter 3: A Distinguished Guest Arrives

Hearing this, Li Lin’s expression flickered with surprise, then he understood the old village chief’s meaning and asked, “Are you asking me to hire someone to eliminate the wraith wandering outside the village?”

The old village chief’s surname was Zhang; his beard was streaked with white, his back bent, and he looked extremely aged.

But in truth, he was only forty-two!

Old Village Chief Zhang nodded in confirmation, sighing, “That wraith has been wandering outside the village since I was old enough to remember. At first, she appeared only once every few years to call out souls, but as the years passed, she came more and more often—last time she called out souls was just two months ago. If this continues, I fear one day she’ll call out souls every night.”

“But there’s the Tree Immortal Lady, isn’t there?” Li Lin said with a smile.

“The Tree Immortal Lady doesn’t bother with mundane affairs,” Old Village Chief Zhang said with a grimace. “Sometimes she helps, sometimes she ignores us. Over thirty years ago, our village had at least a hundred households, over five hundred people—now we’re down to thirty-odd households, barely a hundred. All because of that wandering spirit.”

No one wanted to stay in a village marked by a wandering wraith.

As soon as there was a chance, they left.

Over thirty years, a village of over a hundred households became a village of thirty-odd households—some dead, some gone.

Li Lin thought for a moment and said, “I haven’t been a wraith hunter long, and I haven’t spent much time with my peers in the county seat, but if I must name the most reliable ones, I know two or three.”

“Could Patrol Hunter Li please relay a message? We, the people of Shangtikou Village, are willing to pool some silver to hire two or three patrol hunters to jointly destroy that wandering wraith—or at the very least, drive it beyond our village’s perimeter.”

Li Lin nodded. “Your idea is sound, but I’d like to know how much silver your village can raise.”

“Twenty taels of silver!” Old Village Chief Zhang asked cautiously. “Is that enough?”

Li Lin shook his head. “That much silver won’t even hire half a wraith hunter.”

Old Village Chief Zhang was deeply discouraged: “How could it… how could it be so expensive?”

Then Old Village Chief Zhang looked at Li Lin: “Patrol Hunter Li, could you perhaps…”

Li Lin immediately cut him off: “Old Village Chief Zhang, it’s not that I refuse to help—I’ve only been a wraith hunter for a little over half a year, I’m still green, and my strength is insufficient. Protecting this village is already the limit of my ability; I cannot go further—at least not for three to five years.”

“I was greedy, Patrol Hunter Li, forgive me.”

“It’s fine,” Li Lin waved his hand.

Then Old Village Chief Zhang left, though it was clear his back had bent even further.

Li Lin glanced at the Gowned Apparition, who was basking in the incense offerings on the altar, studying her from head to toe, and muttered under his breath, “You’ve got a decent figure, woman, but you always wear that mask—I wonder if you’re even pretty.”

The Apparition glanced at him, said nothing, and seemed to carry a hint of disdain.

Li Lin, embarrassed, went home to prepare breakfast.

After breakfast, Li Lin returned to the country road outside the village and resumed crouching in the grass.

Watching the row of 【Stealth +1】 bonuses appear, Li Lin’s expression was delighted.

Though his legs grew numb from crouching too long, the rise in his strength was its own reward—and it gave him great motivation.

At first, he’d planned to practice fist techniques to strengthen his body, but he discovered… he had no talent for it.

Not that he lacked talent entirely—he simply lacked a matching fist manual; swinging blindly yielded very little “experience.”

But manuals like these were especially expensive—even a common “Arhat Fist” manual cost dozens of taels of silver.

Not to mention sword or knife techniques, or special inner cultivation methods.

As for how Li Lin discovered that crouching could boost his Stealth skill, the story was simple.

The village had no public latrine, so he relieved himself in the wilds outside.

While crouching, someone passed nearby—and the 【Stealth +1】 effect appeared.

He kept practicing ever since, and over half a year, the results were excellent.

Crouched in the grass, whether day or night, no passerby could detect him.

But for some reason, Zhao Xiaohu always seemed to find him.

He found this odd.

Crouching by the roadside to grind experience, two days passed in a blink.

That noon, as he routinely crouched beside the country road, he saw five people approaching from the path.

The leader was a young man in athletic attire; Li Lin recognized him at once—it was Wang Tianyou, who had beaten someone at the county fair three days ago.

He led four retainers to the middle of the road directly in front of Li Lin.

They didn’t spot Li Lin hidden in the grass, but Wang Tianyou glanced suspiciously around.

One of the retainers asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”

“I feel a chill at the back of my neck—like someone’s watching us.”

Hearing this, Li Lin immediately lowered his gaze to his own toes.

The retainer added, “They say this village is marked by a wandering wraith—maybe that wraith’s watching us from the nearby woods.”

Wang Tianyou felt this made sense and nodded. “Possible. Let’s enter the village first.”

With that, the five left.

After they passed, Li Lin rose from the grass and slowly walked toward the village.

But before he reached the village gate, he saw Zhao Xiaohu leading five others out from inside.

After two days of rest, Zhao Xiaohu was energetic again.

Seeing Li Lin from afar, he ran over, waving and calling out, “Brother Lin, these lords are looking for you!”

Li Lin knew Xiaohu would come looking for him—he was glad he’d returned already, or else Xiaohu leading strangers to find him would’ve revealed him crouching in the grass, and they’d think he was defecating.

That would’ve been embarrassing for him—and for them too.

“I see,” Li Lin smiled.

He quickened his steps, faced Wang Tianyou, and bowed. “We meet again, Brother Wang.”

“You’re Li Lin, the newly appointed wraith hunter of Yulin County?”

“That’s me,” Li Lin continued smiling. “It seems Brother Wang came specially for me—what can I do for you?”

“I saw you at the market,” Wang Tianyou said with a smile, though his eyes held no warmth. “I’ve also heard from fellow hunters in the county seat that you’re quite capable.”

“I’m not capable at all—just have strong vital energy.”

“That’s capability,” Wang Tianyou’s smile finally warmed slightly. “Without any body-strengthening technique or spirit-controlling method, merely through the radiance of your vital energy, you’ve protected a village—that’s real talent. You have great potential. That’s why I’m here.”

Li Lin’s expression shifted slightly. “Oh? Then please come to my humble home for further discussion.”

“Good, lead the way!”

Wang Tianyou bowed slightly and smiled.

Soon, the two arrived at Li Lin’s home; the four retainers waited outside the courtyard, and Xiaohu returned home.

He had no standing to join such a meeting.

“Your place is… truly humble,” Wang Tianyou observed the house, impressed. “You’re the most impoverished wraith hunter I’ve ever met.”

“Forgive the modesty,” Li Lin offered a cup of plain tea. “Please drink.”

The tea was picked by local villagers from the hills and stir-fried by hand.

The taste was mediocre, but at least it was presentable for guests.

Wang Tianyou sipped the tea, his eyebrows twitched slightly, but he said nothing—only set the cup down before speaking: “Brother Li, I want to kill a wraith—can you lend me your aid?”

(End of Chapter)