Chapter 39: The Situation Changes

Although it smelled foul inside, after prolonged ventilation, the odor had faded significantly.

The Demon-Extermination Bureau personnel had gone down and back up, carrying a strange object, black and red, resembling a jar.

Then they placed that jar onto the carriage, seemingly with no intention of letting the four Spirit-Hunters of Yulin County see it.

Li Lin and the others were not particularly curious.

In this desolate wilderness, curiosity is one of the greatest factors leading to human death.

After the Demon-Extermination Bureau had busied themselves for a while, Zhang Minsheng walked over, clasped his fist, and said, "This unexpected gain relies entirely on Li Xunshou's clues. Once we return to Yulin County City, this official will certainly petition for a merit award for you."

"Commandant Zhang need not be polite; this is our duty as Spirit-Hunters."

"Hahaha, Li Xunshou is indeed a witty person." After laughing a few times, Zhang Minsheng turned and left.

It seemed the so-called "petitioning for merit" was indeed just empty words.

Su Huafang smiled at Zhang Minsheng's retreating figure, then asked, "Should we go over and take a look? Though there probably isn't anything left inside."

"We can still deduce something from the faintest clues." Bai Liwei stood up: "I am also curious what exactly is inside."

The four arrived at the secret passage entrance; the stench of rot was even stronger.

But the four did not go down together; instead, they went in pairs.

The other pair would stand guard above.

Li Lin and Su Huafang went down first.

Both had cloth strips tied over their mouths and noses, yet the stench still struck straight to their foreheads.

Su Huafang held a torch; under the firelight, everything in the cellar was laid bare.

Several skeletons lay collapsed on the ground, and behind the skeletons was a wall embedded with iron shackles.

It was obvious this was a place used for private torture.

Furthermore, judging by the tattered clothes beside the skeletons and the shape of the pelvises, it could be seen that those who had turned to bones were all women in life.

Li Lin's brows knitted together.

He could guess what this place was for... the pitiful people captured by the soldiers in this military town to vent their lust.

Su Huafang saw Li Lin's expression and said softly, "Judging by the clothes, they are not women of our Han family; they are Southern Barbarians, so do not be too sad. What I am curious about is the connection between the Southern Barbarian women and that object carried up!"

Li Lin suddenly understood; at this time, foreign tribes had no human rights.

The Eastern Yi, Western Rong, Southern Barbarians, and Northern Di were, in the eyes of Han people at this time, those not registered in our household registers were not considered human at all.

Li Lin rubbed the center of his forehead, then looked around.

Aside from the skeletons and some bloodstains... there was nothing else here.

So, he put on the mask.

Indeed, a discovery was made; from the innermost wall, a wisp of black qi was seeping out.

Li Lin put the mask away, pointed at the inner wall, and Su Huafang understood; he began searching nearby.

It must be said, the experience of an old hand is substantial; soon he found the secret door's switch at one of the shackles, twisted it gently... and a crack appeared in the wall.

The two pushed it open to look, then immediately closed it again.

The reason was nothing else... inside was a lot of money; gold and silver were piled all over the floor.

It was heart-refreshing.

The two looked at each other, nodded, then restored the traces to their original state and walked out.

The other two were about to go down, but Su Huafang stopped them, saying, "There is nothing worth seeing inside; no need to go down."

After speaking, he also blinked his eyes slightly.

Those two then sensibly did not go down again; instead, the four ran to a corner and gathered together.

The four continued to eat dried rations around the small fire.

The people from the Demon-Extermination Bureau were quite noisy; since the two sides were far apart, they probably could not hear the whispers over here.

Zhao Hao could not help but ask, "What did you discover down there?"

"Good things; hide them for now, and we will divide them together when the time comes," Su Huafang whispered.

Zhao Hao and Bai Liwei both nodded slightly.

Then they said no more.

Time quickly reached late night; the people of the Demon-Extermination Bureau had made enough noise, so they began to rest, while arranging personnel for rotating guard duty.

On the Spirit-Hunter side, arrangements were naturally made as well; the four of them did not want to entrust their lives to the Demon-Extermination Bureau.

Li Lin was the first to stand guard.

The moon was bright and the stars sparse; the other three were resting with their eyes closed.

Li Lin, having nothing to do, took out the mask and put it on his face again; he merely wanted to study it, to see what other functions the mask had, but a casual glance revealed two 'Taowu Zhenjun' at the altar.

One was a red-haired human-faced baboon, and the other was... a man with a bare upper body, but with more than a dozen women's faces growing on his body.

Moreover, this man's body was exceptionally tall.

These two 'Taowu Zhenjun' were conversing and had not noticed Li Lin watching them.

Li Lin immediately took off the mask and put it away; he felt somewhat nervous in his heart, then gently shook the three beside him awake.

"What is it?"

The three opened their eyes almost simultaneously, looking around vigilantly, but found nothing amiss.

Li Lin whispered, "There are two Taowu Zhenjun."

"I only see one," Zhao Hao whispered.

Li Lin continued, "The other... can only be seen by wearing the mask."

The three's eyes immediately became sharp.

"What does that Taowu Zhenjun look like?"

"Very strange," Li Lin whispered. "It has the appearance of a human, yet bears over a dozen women's faces on its body. Just now, two Taowu Zhenjuns were conversing; I do not know what they said."

Zhao Hao's face suddenly turned terrified, and he immediately said, "Let's go! We cannot stay any longer."

With that, he rose at once and ran.

Li Lin and the other two were stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

The four's actions drew the attention of the Demon-Extermination Bureau's night watchmen, who shouted, "Why are you running? What has happened!"

It was very loud, waking everyone up at once.

Zhang Minsheng jumped up from his half-reclined position; seeing the four who had already reached the city wall, his expression turned gloomy.

Then, looking at the four Soul Hunters, he jumped down from the city wall without hesitation.

"They run fast!" he snorted, then said, "Act."

Screams rang out; several members of the Demon-Extermination Bureau were immediately backstabbed.

The dead looked in disbelief at their familiar colleagues, then slowly fell to the ground.

Zhang Zuoqing walked over: "Captain, shall I have them captured and brought back?"

"Of course!" Zhang Minsheng said with a smile. "Without them, how could we shift the blame onto that old rascal Huang Yan?"

Zhang Zuoqing chuckled lightly, stepped around the bloodstains on the ground, leaped onto the city wall in a few strides, and then flipped down as well.

As for Li Lin's side, when the four jumped from the city wall, the other three's postures were graceful, while Li Lin was like a weight, crashing straight to the ground.

His legs went numb; before landing, he used yin energy to protect himself, barely managing to dissipate the impact force.

The other three looked at him with strange expressions.

"Li Xunshou, once we return to the county town this time, I will give you a handwritten manual on lightness technique." Zhao Hao laughed loudly. "I truly did not expect that you do not know lightness skill."

Li Lin asked excitedly, "Really?"

Zhao Hao was about to speak when he heard a voice from behind: "You will not return!"

A figure drifted down from the air; at the same time, he flicked his fingers, and several talisman papers fell before the four, forming a long wall of fire.

The fire wall looked ordinary, yet was truly somewhat strange; approaching it could stir the yin energy within the body.

The person who landed was none other than Zhang Zuoqing of the Demon-Extermination Bureau.

"Trouble," Su Huafang said as if facing a great enemy. "This fellow's talisman art can target yin energy; we Soul Hunters are countered by him."

Zhang Zuoqing walked over slowly, a smug expression on his face: "What Soul Hunters? You are merely a group of shamans greedy for the yin energy of demons and spirits. To move the body with yuan energy is the righteous Great Dao."

Su Huafang and the other two had grim expressions, feeling their defenses exposed.

But Li Lin's eyes were excited, because he saw a line of text.

【Talismans and Incantations +1】

A new ability appeared.

(End of this chapter)