Chapter 38: The Mask Does Its Job

The people of the Monster-Subduing Bureau searched the fortress for a full round but still found nothing worth mentioning—no clues either.

Before long, everyone gathered once more.

"The altar has been set up. Since there are no other leads, let us head back tomorrow," Zhang Minsheng said in a flat tone.

The Monster-Subduing Bureau members all breathed a sigh of relief, then laughed—after all, the place looked sinister, and no one wanted to linger.

The spirit-hunters of Yulin County, however, did not look quite so pleased.

Bai Liwei thought for a moment, then walked over and said, "Captain Zhang, since you've read the report we submitted, you should know that by nightfall a kind of black, resentful fog will appear here."

"Naturally I know that," Zhang Minsheng said with a smile. "Don't worry, we've long been prepared."

With that, he called out to the side, "Zhang Zuoqing, come here!"

A gloomy-looking man radiating yin energy promptly walked over.

He gave off a rather uncomfortable feeling.

"It's almost dark—time for you to show what you can do."

The man named Zhang Zuoqing smiled, walked to the four cardinal positions of the fortress, and stuck a yellow talisman paper on each wall.

The talismans immediately linked into a square formation, and the surrounding resentful energy was swept clean.

Su Huafang whispered to Li Lin, "The True Martial Four Saints Formation… the four talismans should bear the images of the four auspicious beasts."

"You know this too?" Li Lin asked curiously.

"When you've lived long enough and seen enough, nothing seems strange anymore."

As the two spoke, Zhang Minsheng walked over, stroking his beard and smiling. "Now, my four friends, you can rest easy, yes?"

Bai Liwei immediately cupped his fists and said, "At ease, at ease. Every one of you from the Monster-Subduing Bureau has remarkable skills—Bai is deeply impressed."

Zhang Minsheng laughed heartily. "Rest assured, everyone. With our Bureau here, this assignment will go off without a single hitch."

Bai Liwei and the others naturally offered one compliment after another, while Zhang Minsheng preened modestly with a look of self-satisfaction—both sides putting on a picture of perfect harmony.

Afterward, Zhang Minsheng returned to his own little group, and the spirit-hunters sat to one side, eating dry rations.

For a while, silence reigned.

After quite some time, Bai Liwei said, "Although the Bureau's countermeasures are excellent, and Zhenjun is here as well, I can't shake this uneasy feeling."

Su Huafang smiled. "Once bitten by a snake, you fear a rope for ten years. The ones who came this time are all top experts—no problem."

"Our sixteen before were no slouches either."

That left Su Huafang with no way to respond.

Zhao Hao thumped his chest hard and declared, "The three of you can rest easy. If anything happens, I, Zhao, will cover the rear."

Li Lin suddenly thought of something and pulled a mask from his clothes.

The mask was silvery-white and quite beautiful.

This thing would have to be shown to people sooner or later; taking it out now was fine—after all, it had a clear provenance.

Unlike the Breath-Life Pills, that item was far more valuable than this mask.

The other three stared at the mask in his hand, somewhat dumbfounded.

"A Ghost Artifact!" Zhao Hao said, somewhat startled.

The other two also stared fixedly at the mask in Li Lin's hand; they felt it looked rather familiar.

Then Su Huafang asked, "Is it the Tree Immortal Lady's mask?"

Li Lin nodded. "Yes, she gave it to me."

"Gave it to you?"

All three cried out at once, then exchanged glances.

Li Lin looked at them and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Su Huafang regarded Li Lin with a touch of admiration. "This is the first time I've heard of Zhenjun having such a humane side."

Bai Liwei nodded repeatedly beside him.

"Don't tell me none of you have befriended the Zhenjun you enshrine?"

The three wore expressions as if they were looking at some kind of freak.

"Never mind!" Su Huafang shook his head helplessly. "Each person has his own fate; it can't be forced. What's special about your mask?"

"It lets me see the uncanny…" Li Lin said, fitting the mask onto his face as he spoke. "As for whether it has other uses, I'm still testing it."

That cool, refreshing sensation flooded into his eyes once more, and Li Lin looked around… Because of the protective barrier and Zhenjun's presence, there were no uncanny things nearby—everything was clean.

But then Li Lin's eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" Su Huafang asked.

The other two also looked at him.

Li Lin took off the mask, tucked it back into his clothes, and pointed at a vegetable plot not far away. "Something's very wrong over there. It looks like something's hidden underneath."

In his eyes, a faint wisp of black qi rose from that spot—very different from its surroundings.

The three looked over. There was a vegetable plot planted with greens; though no one tended it, the growth was excellent.

"A vegetable plot…" Zhao Hao laughed. "I trust Li Xunshou. How about we dig it up together?"

Good!

The spirit-hunters of Yulin County were fairly close-knit, even if there were traitors like Xu Saifeng among them.

The four walked over; beside the plot lay iron shovels and spades.

The people of Great Qi were born with a love of farming. Stationed long-term in a place like this fortress, forbidden from going out, growing crops became an excellent pastime—and it solved part of the food problem. Truly killing several birds with one stone.

So the tools were always kept ready at hand.

Soon the four had their tools and began digging quickly at the spot Li Lin had indicated.

The commotion naturally drew the attention of the Monster-Subduing Bureau members, who watched the spirit-hunters at work while eating.

Before long, Zhao Hao's hoe struck the ground heavily, yet it produced the crisp clang of metal on metal.

The four exchanged a glance and quickened their pace of digging.

Not long after, an iron hidden door appeared before the four of them.

Zhang Minsheng had also brought his men over by this time.

"There's actually a secret passage here?" Zhang Minsheng looked at the four of them. "How did you suddenly find it?"

The other three all looked at Li Lin.

Li Lin, however, said very calmly: "I was born sensitive to resentful Qi. I'd been feeling something off here for a while, so I brought my colleagues over to dig and have a look. I didn't expect we'd actually dig something up."

Zhang Minsheng looked at the secret passage and laughed: "A real spirit-hunter is indeed more alert. Four of you, please step back. Someone, come open it and have a look."

His meaning was that the Exorcism Bureau intended to claim this merit all for themselves.

After all, finding a strange secret passage inside a fortress meant there was very likely some gain to be had.

Zhao Hao knit his brows and was about to step forward to argue, but was held back by Li Lin.

Zhao Hao immediately understood. He laughed heartily and said: "Captain Zhang, would you like us to lend a hand?"

"No need. Just stand aside and watch."

Li Lin and the others obeyed and stepped back.

Then they watched as the group from the Exorcism Bureau pulled open the iron door panel of the secret passage, after which the group immediately scattered.

Stink… far too stinky.

Even at that distance, Li Lin and the others still caught the stench.

"Something's not right in there," Li Lin said quietly to the three colleagues beside him. "Be careful, all of you. If anything happens, we'll be ready for it."

The other three nodded lightly.

After a while, a man from the Exorcism Bureau went down carrying a lamp, and shortly after scrambled back out in a hurry, saying: "Disgusting. It's way too disgusting in there."

(End of chapter)