Chapter 43: In the Qi Camp, Heart in the Southern Barbarians

The interior space of the fortress was quite large; after this young man unchained the Southern Barbarian women, he led them to the barracks, which happened to be directly opposite the place where Li Lin and the others were hiding.

After the figures of these people disappeared into the small house, Li Lin and the others gathered behind the obstacle.

They crouched low, whispering to one another.

"I didn't see wrong, that is An Zhijian," Zhao Hao said with a look of surprise on his face.

Bai Liwei nodded: "It indeed looks like him."

Su Huafang hissed from the side: "Wasn't he dead? At that time, his clothes and white bones were found..."

Then the three of them looked at Li Lin.

Li Lin was still wearing a mask at this moment; he took it off because he had worn it for quite a while this time, and he felt his face was cold and numb.

"Apart from these people, I saw no other strange things. That man is human, not a ghost."

Bai Liwei snorted: "It seems he faked his death to escape. Over a hundred soldiers died miserably before we arrived, and now he is deeply involved with the Southern Barbarian women; it seems this An Zhijian has already become a traitor to the enemy. Perhaps the border soldiers in the fortress were all killed by him."

Su Huafang shook his head: "We should not get involved in this matter; anyway, border soldiers will arrive soon. An Zhijian's affair will be resolved by them."

This proposal was very reasonable; after all, they had come to get money, and there was still a large amount of money in this place. Drawing others' attention would not be a good thing.

Zhao Hao said: "The three paths for us to exit are all behind the barracks; it will be somewhat difficult to avoid alerting An Zhijian."

"The shackles worn by those Southern Barbarian women are clearly of the border army's standard issue; that is to say, this An Zhijian is saving these Southern Barbarian thieves. Why?" Bai Liwei asked, full of confusion.

Zhao Hao snorted coldly: "It is not strange. An Zhijian's mother... was a Southern Barbarian slave girl. In earlier years, she was beaten to death by his father while he was drunk. He thought he was a Qi man, but now it seems he considers himself a Southern Barbarian."

Su Huafang was a kind-hearted man, but hearing this, he now said: "Since An Zhijian does not consider himself a Qi man and still helps the Southern Barbarians, he is wrong. Let us surround him and kill him. This will not only remove a traitor but also hide the secret that we were here; it is killing two birds with one stone."

Bai Liwei and Zhao Hao both nodded slightly.

Then everyone looked at Li Lin.

Li Lin smiled: "I will listen to you."

The three on the opposite side all laughed.

The four of them then stealthily moved past to a blind spot within the line of sight of the barracks' windows and doors.

Upon arriving not far from the barracks, they could hear the conversation inside.

The man's voice: "Tang Qi border soldiers will patrol the border regularly. If you want to return to your own homes, you must start from here, climb over mountains and hills, and take the mountain paths with the most trees and the most thickets to get back."

"What is the point of us going back... we will just be sacrificed to the Sky God anyway."

"Following you Qi people, although life is hard, at least we can survive."

The man seemed somewhat angry: "What do you know... the Qi people have never considered us as humans, never. There is a secret cellar in this fortress; inside are several women from your Yue tribe, locked up, responsible day after day for settling that matter, and they cannot get out at all."

"What's the big deal? I also know many Hu Ji can live on your Qi people's territory and live very well. The women here are just unlucky," a woman retorted: "If I were sold into your Qi people's villages and counties, I wouldn't be so hard up. If I disguise myself, there is almost no difference between me and your Qi women; I would even be willing to be a wife for a poor Qi man."

"You have no household registration!" The man's voice grew louder: "You cannot make a living on Qi people's territory. Who will give you household registration? Without household registration, in the eyes of the Qi people, we are no different from chickens and ducks; we can't even be dogs. Dogs can still guard the house; you are only fit to be eaten."

"You help us get household registration!"

"I cannot do it," the man roared: "I am just a Spirit Hunter, not an official. Moreover, you have blood on your hands from the border soldiers; the border soldiers will definitely slowly trace it back to you. That man Tang Qi is very clever."

Silence fell inside the barracks.

And at this moment, the four of them had already crept to a place very close to the barracks.

Bai Liwei made a few hand gestures, very simple and clear; the other three immediately understood.

Then Zhao Hao suddenly stood up, burst through the door directly, and shouted at the same time: "An Zhijian, your matter has been exposed. The County Magistrate sent us to arrest you."

Then Bai Liwei and Su Huafang rushed in behind him.

"How are you here!" An Zhijian's voice carried terror.

Then a sound of fighting, thumping and clashing, erupted inside.

Li Lin went to the window and stood guard.

A few breaths later, a woman jumped onto the window, just about to jump down.

Then a red-tasseled spear thrust towards her throat.

This woman actually possessed martial arts; she flipped and leaped, simultaneously drawing a short knife from her clothes to parry the spear tip.

By the time she landed on the ground, the spear tip thrust at her again, and this time even faster than before.

The woman held the short knife and parried several times, retreating at full speed, but she was using a short weapon after all; how could she fight a long spear in such an open area?

After barely parrying six attacks, the seventh thrust pierced her heart.

"Don't kill..." She looked at Li Lin, her eyes full of pleading: "I can be a slave..."

Li Lin's face showed no extra expression; with a slight increase in force from both hands, he drove the spear into her heart.

The woman's eyes quickly lost their luster, and her body fell backward.

Li Lin then stepped forward one pace, raised the spear with both hands, and suddenly spun around to thrust backward.

A Return-Horse Spear thrust!

Before the person had even turned around, the spear had already arrived!

The spear tip, carrying a red glow, directly impaled a Southern Barbarian woman in mid-air, driving her down.

This woman had leaped from the window to launch a surprise attack; it was just a pity... Li Lin's peripheral vision had seen her jump out from the window long ago.

Flinging this woman from the air down to the ground, Li Lin took two steps forward and stabbed another Southern Barbarian woman who had just climbed onto the window and was preparing to flee, driving her back into the room.

The sound of screaming went from piercing to faint in the span of only a few breaths.

Then a huge crash sounded as someone used brute force to break through the mud wall of the barracks.

A young man covered in dust ran in the front, with Su Huafang and the other three chasing behind him.

Dust scattered in all directions; Li Lin covered his mouth and nose, looked into the room, and saw two Southern Barbarian women still inside, holding short knives made by the barbarians, panting heavily.

Seeing Li Lin, their eyes radiated killing intent, and they immediately charged forward.

It is said that the customs in the Southern Barbarian region are fierce, and everyone is a soldier; looking at this now, the rumor seems to be true.

Li Lin chuckled lightly, lifted his long spear, and went to meet them.

In fewer than ten exchanges, the two Southern Barbarian women were pierced to death by the long spear.

One was struck in the throat, the other pierced through the heart.

He flicked the spear shaft, sending the bloodstained red tassel flying in scattered droplets.

Shortly after, Li Lin turned his head and saw An Zhijian "fly" out of the secret passage, wielding a long whip that cracked and snapped, forcing Bai Liwei and the other two to temporarily hold back from surrounding him.

At the same time, An Zhijian screamed madly, "Soul-Refining Altar, where is my Soul-Refining Altar? Did you steal it?"

Li Lin rushed over with his spear to help, but hearing those words, he couldn't help but glance at the burnt-out carriage in the distance.

He remembered that people from the Demon-Extermination Bureau had previously carried a red jar out of the secret passage and placed it on the carriage.

Could it be that very thing?

At this moment, An Zhijian's gaze swept left and right until he too spotted the burnt carriage.

Seemingly bound to that object by a special connection, he immediately confirmed the item was inside the carriage, then suddenly flung out a paper packet from which green powder burst forth.

"It's poison!" Zhao Hao shouted.

Bai Liwei and the other two, who were surrounding him, immediately covered their mouths and noses and retreated; Li Lin also stopped, not rushing forward.

Within just two breaths, An Zhijian charged to the carriage, pried at it forcefully twice, and revealed a jar that was mostly charred black.

"Hahaha, it really is here!"

An Zhijian violently pried open the jar's lid, pulled out a purple mass from within that looked like a plant root or perhaps a soft lump of flesh.

Then he swallowed it in a few gulps; in less than two breaths, his eyes rolled back!

(End of this chapter)