Chapter 40: Unaware of a Second

Li Lin looked at the wall of fire behind him, and the smile on his face grew ever more distinct.

The talismans within the flames emitted a golden glow; as he stared, 【Talismans and Incantations +1】 kept appearing.

"This fellow is troublesome; we can only deal with him using martial techniques, not arts and spells. Let's spread out first..." Su Huafang spoke while watching his teammates' positions: "Li Xunshou, you stand further back."

By normal reasoning, Li Lin's combat power should be the worst of the three; having him support from the rear was indeed a very reasonable judgment.

Li Lin listened to the advice and immediately stepped back a few paces.

At this moment, the three of Su Huafang had already attacked.

All three wielded short weapons; Su Huafang used a pair of judge's brushes, while Bai Liwei held two short knives.

As for Zhao Hao, he used his twin fists.

These three simultaneously besieged Zhang Zuoqing, yet they could not bring him down after a long assault.

The opponent was not only skilled in footwork, with formidable mobility, but also possessed a yellow qi outside his body that deflected the three's attacks.

Many times, when the three's combined attack seemed about to strike Zhang Zuoqing, that qi would either deflect the attack or bounce their own bodies away.

Whenever this happened, gaps would appear in the three's assault, and Zhang Zuoqing would seize the opportunity to flick out a yellow talisman.

The yellow talisman would transform into a sheet of blue fire, or sometimes into a gust of array wind, forcing them back a short distance and creating a flaw in the three's combined formation.

【Talismans and Incantations +1】

【Talismans and Incantations +1】

Li Lin watched very intently, and at the same time, his hands began to slowly form seals.

After the four had grappled for a while, they were all panting heavily.

There was a way to handle this; Zhang Zuoqing had underestimated the Spirit Hunters.

Although talisman arts indeed counteract yin qi, the problem is that Spirit Hunters, besides yin qi, also cultivate martial techniques.

These three were veterans; they forced Zhang Zuoqing into a steady retreat, denying him any opportunity to use offensive talisman arts.

However, the three Spirit Hunters also could not take down the opponent for the time being, and both sides seemed inclined to pause.

And just at this moment, Li Lin finally made his move.

He had been slowly forming seals beforehand, deliberately suppressing signs of yin qi eruption; now the final moment had arrived.

With the completion of the last hand gesture, the yin qi within his body burst forth, forming a qi resonance above his head that guided the thunderclouds to generate lightning.

This action was too concealed; Zhang Zuoqing's attention was fixed on the three in front of him and he paid no heed to Li Lin at all.

First, chains of greenish-red lightning fell from the sky, and only then came the screams.

Zhang Zuoqing's clothes exploded in an instant, leaving only a few strips of cloth hanging on his body, while his face and body turned pitch black, as if roasted.

"Fallen Thunder Incantation... a Fallen Thunder Incantation generated by yin qi, how is this possible!"

He shouted while retreating backward, his appearance seeming somewhat mad, but because his body was still paralyzed from the lightning strike, his retreat was somewhat slow.

Seeing this, Su Huafang and the others first turned back in surprise to glance at Li Lin, then simultaneously surged forward.

Strike while the iron is hot; take his life.

The three advanced; brushes stabbed and knives slashed, until finally Zhao Hao punched him in the solar plexus, sending him flying backward to crash into the city wall before bouncing back.

He lay prone on the ground, looking at Li Lin in the distance, his eyes still filled with an expression of disbelief.

Then he exhaled a breath and died.

Afterwards, Su Huafang shouted: "Let's go first..."

But before he could finish speaking, a volley of arrows landed behind the four of them, blocking their retreat.

They looked up and saw more than twenty people standing on the city wall, each holding a hand crossbow.

Zhang Minsheng stood on the city wall, holding a torch high.

Looking down at the dead Zhang Zuoqing, he snorted: "Useless trash. You claimed to counter all Spirit Hunters, yet you died so quickly."

Then Zhang Minsheng looked at Li Lin: "Young man, you are quite good. The Fallen Thunder Incantation was stolen from me by Huang Xiu; it has been only about ten days since I gave it to you, yet you can already wield it so proficiently. No wonder... the Huang family has such high hopes for you."

Li Lin stared silently at the opponent; with several hand crossbows pointed at him, he felt his scalp go numb.

He did not want to speak.

"The night is cold outside, and the Desolate Phantoms are nearby. Four friends, please come in," Zhang Minsheng said with a smile.

Upon hearing "Desolate Phantoms," all four Spirit Hunters instinctively glanced at their waists.

The White Jade Talisman did not light up... not a single sign of movement.

This was strange, because they were clearly already outside the protective barrier.

Zhang Minsheng also frowned.

Just at this moment, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind Li Lin and the others: "Four friends, I am very sorry; I, Huang, arrived a step late, but I suppose I still made it in time."

Having spoken, a figure in white robes strode forward through the moonlight.

Behind him, numerous torches quickly ignited, soon forming an arched dragon of fire that surrounded the entire fortress.

Zhang Minsheng's expression turned very ugly: "Huang Xiu, did you not return to Jingcheng?"

"You believed something I said offhandedly!" Huang Xiu, carrying a curved blade, strode over arrogantly: "If I had not claimed to return, how would you have revealed your hand?"

Huang Xiu walked to Li Lin's side, patted the latter's shoulder, and said: "You've worked hard."

Li Lin raised his eyebrows, somewhat puzzled.

Huang Xiu said helplessly: "I originally did not want you involved in this matter, but your father-in-law... your county magistrate said that official matters must be handled officially; if his son Huang Qi were a Spirit Hunter, he would still be assigned to participate in this affair, so please do not blame him, alright?"

Li Lin immediately understood that the four of them were... bait.

Afterwards, more than a dozen shield-bearers rushed in, surrounding and protecting the four.

Zhang Minsheng looked at the situation below and snorted: "Huang Xiu, Taowu Zhenjun is still in our hands; do you not fear we will destroy the altar!"

"It matters not. Do you truly think we do not know that Red Bat Taowu Zhenjun has already been controlled by the Qin family! Do whatever you wish!"

Zhang Minsheng looked at Huang Xiu with hatred, his eyes bulging as if about to burst.

Huang Xiu smiled and said, "If the four of you would please step back—what comes next, leave it to us."

The four of them naturally complied and withdrew to the rear of the formation.

Then, here, he spotted a familiar face.

"Brother Zi Jing, what are you doing here?"

Huang Qi walked over, smiling. "Actually, I'm still the local County Magistrate's Aide!"

The County Magistrate's Aide is the official in charge of the local Constables and regional troops, taking orders from the County Magistrate.

Li Lin sighed. "Your Huang family really doesn't shy away from promoting kin."

"That seat will be yours soon enough!"

Li Lin instinctively pointed at himself. "There's no way it'd be my turn—there are plenty of Spirit Hunters more capable than me."

"This post isn't a path of advancement for Spirit Hunters; it's more the County Magistrate's right hand."

"Then where are you headed? Off to the capital to take the exams?"

"I'm preparing to go to Jincheng. The noble gentleman I told you about will be arriving in Jincheng in a while—I have to meet up with him and go work under him."

As Huang Qi finished speaking, a volley of fire-arrows launched up ahead, streaks of fire streaking across the sky and plunging into the fortress.

Everyone's gaze turned that way, and they couldn't help feeling the scene had a certain beauty to it.

But for the people of the Monster-Subjugation Bureau inside the fortress, that beauty was pure killing intent.

Li Lin sighed and asked, "So what's the whole cause and effect of this matter? Is it convenient to say?"

Huang Qi nodded and said, "No harm in telling you. After you reported the matter at Bobai Military Town to Father last time, he sensed something fishy. On one hand he reported the matter to the imperial court; then he secretly sent people to contact the Wang and Ding families, and had my cousin transferred back. Pooling the strength and leads of the other two families, he finally pieced together some of the Qin family's arrangements. So we turned their scheme back on them—lured Zhang Minsheng over, and trapped him here to die."

"What was their objective?"

"That I don't know clearly, but they're collecting apparitions!" Huang Qi said in a low voice. "Zhang Minsheng planned to 'steal' this Taowu Zhenjun as well, then kill you lot and pin the blame on you, using it to implicate my father!"

"One Zhenjun?" Li Lin frowned. "Wasn't it two Zhenjun?"

(End of chapter)