Chapter 42: Four People Dividing the Spoils

Because the Tree Immortal Lady had blocked his vision, Li Lin could not see the outside situation; by the time he could see again, the colossal Four-Miraculous Taowu Zhenjun above the county town had vanished.

At the same time, Li Lin knew that the Hundred-Faced Taowu Zhenjun of Bobai Town had certainly vanished as well.

The Tree Immortal Lady floated beside him, very silent.

"County-level Taowu Zhenjun are already this strong; what about city-level ones?" Li Lin asked.

The Tree Immortal Lady thought for a moment, then said, "Stronger."

Li Lin immediately laughed; this Tree Immortal Lady was truly humorous.

"Can you become as strong as them?"

"Yes." The Tree Immortal Lady nodded: "Time!"

That is to say, given enough time, she could also become so formidable?

It seemed that Gowned Apparition's growth ceiling was quite high.

There was just one thing Li Lin did not understand: since these Great Apparitions were so strong, able to take heads from tens of kilometers away, why... did they willingly accept human bondage?

That altar or temple was the artifact that bound them.

Time passed in a flash; four days went by. Li Lin practiced his fist technique at home as usual, and then... three guests arrived, unexpected yet entirely logical.

Su Huafang, Bai Liwei, and Zhao Hao.

The three sat inside the house, while Zhao Xiaohu bustled about, brewing tea to entertain the guests.

"This boy's vital energy looks quite thick; is he a seedling you discovered? When will you register him?" Su Huafang asked with a smile.

Now, only eight Spirit Hunters remained in the entire Yulin County, urgently needing fresh blood.

Otherwise, many places could not be managed.

"In another half month," Li Lin replied.

Zhao Xiaohu had barely entered the realm of the Spring-Returning Life-Nourishing Art; his speed in refining Blood Rice had increased. In another half month, he would be able to protect himself with Yang energy; at that time, they would go to the county government office to register him as a Spirit Hunter and draw public rations.

For the villagers, anyone drawing public rations was someone with ability.

Xiaohu would also be someone with ability in the future.

While they spoke, Zhao Xiaohu finished brewing the tea and served it to each of them.

"Alright, Xiaohu, go home first; I have matters to discuss with these seniors."

"Okay."

Zhao Xiaohu obediently left.

After confirming no one was outside, Li Lin closed the door, then sat down and said, "Do the three seniors wish to retrieve all the money from there?"

The three nodded simultaneously.

"But it is not easy to retrieve," Li Lin said with a smile. "There is too much stuff, and we are too few."

Gold and silver ingots piled like a small hill; no one knew how those people in the military town had obtained them.

It felt as though the county government office's treasury did not hold this much money.

"Ants moving house," Zhao Hao said.

Bai Liwei shook his head: "Impossible. A round trip takes at least four days. This time, the County Magistrate directly transferred troops from the border army to defend Bobai Town; the deployment will last a month at most, half a month at minimum... We cannot have all four of us disappear for too long, otherwise others will suspect something."

Everyone heard this and agreed it was indeed reasonable.

"Then we can only each carry some back first," Zhao Hao laughed. "Leave the rest hidden there; later, when there is an opportunity, the four of us can go again to retrieve another portion."

Su Huafang sighed: "We can only do this for now."

"When do we depart?"

"Right now," Li Lin stood up. "Go quickly and return quickly."

Li Lin took his long spear and mask, grabbed some Life-Breathing Pills, and set out with the three of them.

This time, Su Huafang made complete preparations; no one knew where he had obtained protective barrier powder!

For two nights, they used this item to create a safe space; taking turns standing watch, the four still enjoyed good quality rest.

On the morning of the third day, they arrived before the fortress.

From a distance, half of the fortress had already collapsed.

Li Lin looked and saw that the collapsed section of the city wall was precisely facing the direction of the county town.

He could not help but admire: "The Four-Miraculous Taowu Zhenjun's techniques are truly formidable; even from such a distance, he could collapse the city wall. If a real battle broke out, who could stop him?"

Upon hearing this, the three beside him looked at him with strange expressions.

"Don't you know that Taowu Zhenjun cannot act arbitrarily? Every time they act, the vital energy they consume is enormous," Bai Liwei asked in surprise.

Su Huafang smiled bitterly: "This is my fault; I did not explain these matters to Li Xunshou."

This was also normal; capable Spirit Hunters were very busy, running here and there, leaving little idle time.

Everywhere needed their help to capture apparitions and drive away evil.

The main reason Li Lin could be so relaxed was that he was still a newcomer, with no prominent reputation.

In a few more years, Li Lin would also become very busy.

"Enter now?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.

"Not yet!" Li Lin took out his mask and put it on his face: "Let me first check for anything amiss!"

A cold breath entered his eyes; Li Lin scanned the surroundings, then looked up at the city wall, and finally nodded: "For now, I have detected no problems."

The other three breathed a sigh of relief.

Bai Liwei said, "Li Xunshou, just keep wearing the mask to watch the surroundings for us; we will handle the hard labor of carrying."

"Agreed."

Li Lin clearly understood the importance of a 'scout' and did not refuse.

The four entered the fortress through the gap in the collapsed city wall, then saw traces of scorching by fire everywhere.

Then, more white bones appeared on the ground; from the tattered or burnt clothes, the identities of these people could be recognized.

"Zhang Minsheng is here."

Bai Liwei stood before a skeleton... this skeleton was indeed wearing the clothes Zhang Minsheng had on that night.

The group searched the fortress a while longer and soon discovered another shattered altar.

With the two shattered altars placed side by side, it seemed there was a feng shui problem with the place of Bobai Town.

Li Lin, meanwhile, had been observing the surroundings.

After a while, Bai Liwei walked over and asked, "How is the situation?"

"Nothing strange has been found."

"Then the three of us will go down first; Li Xunshou, you keep watch up here." Su Huafang said with a smile, "We will bring up your share as well."

Li Lin nodded in agreement.

He stood at the entrance of the secret passage, looking around with great vigilance.

The surroundings were very quiet, with the occasional sound of birds chirping.

Not long after, the three emerged from the tunnel, carrying four bundles.

"There are thirty gold pieces in each bundle!" Bai Liwei sighed, "Any more would be too heavy and unfavorable for travel."

Li Lin nodded; everyone wanted to bring back more money, but... too much money was too obvious and easy to be discovered.

"Hide this place again!"

The three immediately went to the side, picked up the placed hoes and shovels, buried the secret passage, and replanted the green vegetables on top.

"Everyone must keep this matter in their hearts and not tell others..." Bai Liwei said in a low voice, "Let us make a gentleman's agreement: in the future, when there is a chance to retrieve the gold, all four must come together. If someone passes away first, they must inform their direct descendants of this matter. What do the three of you think?"

The other three nodded lightly.

Li Lin felt that all three were worth deep friendship; after all... with so much gold and silver below, the other three could still keep their promises, showing no hostility or killing intent until now, clearly making them trustworthy people.

The other three actually thought the same.

With their bundles strapped on their backs, just as they were about to leave, they suddenly heard voices coming from outside the city wall, along with the sound of chains rattling.

They exchanged glances and immediately found nearby obstacles to hide behind.

Li Lin gently set down the bundle on his back and put the mask back on his face.

Soon, several swaying figures appeared at the collapsed section of the city wall.

Then, six people slowly walked over.

Li Lin, through a narrow crack in the obstacle, saw a young man walking in front, followed by a woman shackled with chains.

Judging by their attire, these were all Southern Barbarian women.

The man looked around, then said to these Southern Barbarian women, "Alright, it is safe here; I will help you untie the shackles."

(End of this chapter)