Chapter 48: Do You Think I Dare?

Perhaps due to the effect of the Stealth Technique, the qi resonance drawn by yin energy was largely concealed; only a slight fluctuation appeared just as the lightning was about to form.

The two men walking ahead suddenly sensed something was wrong, but by the time they reacted, the green-red lightning chain had already struck down from the sky.

The man standing farthest to the right had his clothes blown apart by the explosion, even losing an arm that was blasted away; the whole person collapsed with a thud, not making a single sound.

Li Lin exhaled lightly.

For ordinary martial artists, thunder techniques are too domineering; the man just now had decent blood qi, yet one Fallen Thunder Incantation took his life.

The other man turned quickly, his gaze soon locking onto Li Lin in the woods.

His face twisted in ferocity, he drew the broadsword from his waist and charged forward without a word.

This person's footwork was extremely fast; in just three steps, he had closed half the distance between himself and Li Lin.

At this moment, Li Lin was forming the hand seals for the second Fallen Thunder Incantation, but it was already too late.

Indeed, his own casting speed was still too slow.

Li Lin had to interrupt the hand seals, drew the red-tasseled spear stuck in the ground beside him, flicked the spear shaft, and delivered a thrust.

The thrust is the fastest attack among all weapons, and the red-tasseled spear is long enough—over half a zhang (2 meters)—causing the man opposite to instinctively stop and block!

But this is precisely the essence of spear techniques: as long as the opponent cannot close in, one can strike with length against shortness.

Li Lin thrust three times at the throat, mouth, and heart, all blocked by the opponent's blade; it was clear the opponent's Fang's sword technique was excellent.

Li Lin flicked the spear shaft again, executing a lift.

Many people think a lift is always upward, but in fact, an attack directed downward is also a lift.

The spear shaft made of white elm wood was very flexible; the opponent thought the spear was attacking his head, but the moment the spear tip lifted upward, it instantly changed to a downward attack.

The spear tip pressed the shaft into a half-arc, directly piercing the opponent's thigh.

Ah!

The man grunted in pain and immediately dropped to his knees.

Not everyone is a berserker who can continue fighting wildly despite severe injuries.

Moreover, the spear tip was still lodged in the flesh of the opponent's thigh.

The man propped himself up with his blade, looking at Li Lin with hateful eyes: "Friend, we are neither relatives nor acquaintances, with no grudge or hatred; why ambush..."

"I am a Spirit Hunter from Shangtiku Village," Li Lin said with a smile.

The man's words were cut off, and he fell silent.

Li Lin continued smiling as he asked: "Who sent you to Shangtiku Village to cause trouble?"

The man said nothing.

Li Lin shrugged indifferently: "It doesn't matter; I can investigate slowly. But what will happen once I trace it back to your nine generations of relatives, I cannot be certain."

"You dare!" the man roared, his eyes nearly bursting with rage.

Li Lin glanced at the charred corpse of the man ahead: "Do you think I dare?"

The man fell silent for a moment, then said: "Feirong County, the Qin family."

As expected, it was them.

Li Lin nodded to indicate he understood, then said: "Close your eyes."

The man understood what was coming; he took a deep breath, his face filled with reluctance, and slowly closed his eyes.

In the next instant, the long spear pierced the man's heart; his body shuddered once, then collapsed softly, suffering little pain.

Li Lin flicked the blood from the spear tip and began searching the corpses.

These two were somewhat poor; besides a few silver notes, they possessed nothing else of value.

Afterwards, Li Lin used the long spear to fling the two corpses aside, letting them fall into the grass beside the country road.

He did not worry about the corpses rotting and stinking, because by nightfall, wild apparitions would naturally come to devour the flesh and blood.

He hurried toward the village while pondering that he too must strike back.

It is not sustainable to always have people sent from Feirong County to trouble him.

No one can defend themselves every single day.

Half an hour later, he returned to the village entrance and saw the Tree Immortal Lady.

The silver dangling hairpin on her head swayed slightly, and with the three red flower ornaments on her forehead, she looked extremely beautiful.

Upon seeing Li Lin, she turned and left, running very fast, directly retreating into the altar.

The village was somewhat quiet, the atmosphere seeming slightly subtle; many people looked at him with a sense of relief and relaxation after tension.

What happened?

Li Lin did not ask; he decided to eat first, for everything could wait until after filling his stomach.

Just as he returned to the courtyard, not even having entered the door yet, he saw Zhao Xiaohu running over, panting heavily.

"Lin Ge, you finally returned; you really scared us."

"What's wrong?"

Li Lin was somewhat puzzled; he had stayed overnight in the county town from time to time before, yet he had never seen them so nervous.

"Last night, while we were asleep, we suddenly heard many strange sounds, very noisy," Zhao Xiaohu said, his face showing some lingering fear: "Father said those were the sounds of wild apparitions, but fortunately, those sounds suddenly disappeared later."

Li Lin suddenly remembered; last night around midnight, the Tree Immortal Lady had come to find him, and it was probably then, without Taowu Zhenjun stationed there, that the wild apparitions began approaching the village.

Fortunately, the Tree Immortal Lady returned early.

"Did anyone get hurt?"

Zhao Xiaohu shook his head: "Those sounds lasted a very short time; this morning we all checked, and everyone in the village is fine. Lin Ge, did something happen here, or is it that the Tree Immortal Lady..."

Li Lin gently tapped Zhao Xiaohu's head: "Don't think wild thoughts; everything is fine."

"That's good, and also..." Zhao Xiaohu rubbed his head and asked cautiously: "Is the Tree Immortal Lady a very large snake? These past few days, I've often seen a huge snake tail wandering around the village."

Oh, this boy can see the Tree Immortal Lady!

He thought for a moment, then said, "Go fetch your father and tell him I have something very important to discuss with him."

Zhao Xiaohu guessed what was up and ran off excitedly.

Li Lin prepared two cups of tea.

Not long after, Uncle Zhao arrived, carrying a bamboo basket.

Inside the basket were homemade wine and two dishes of side dishes for drinking.

"Uncle Zhao, it seems you have already guessed what I want to say to you."

Uncle Zhao nodded and said, "Yesterday, Xiaohu kept telling me he saw a giant snake; I knew then that he had finally entered the path."

"Indeed," Li Lin said calmly, "Although Xiaohu's talent appears ordinary, he seems to possess something special, possibly related to his mother being an Apparition. His rate of growth is far faster than I imagined."

Uncle Zhao's lips twitched twice; he took a sip of wine and said, "Next, he will go to the county government office to register?"

"Yes," Li Lin nodded, "Then he will be assigned to a nearby village or town to become a Li Xunshou."

After that, Zhao Xiaohu would have to stand on his own, yet he was only thirteen; he would not turn fourteen until after the New Year.

Uncle Zhao fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Could he avoid registering for now and simply continue learning under you?"

Li Lin shook his head, "A Hunter of Spirits requires Blood Rice; without Blood Rice, a Hunter of Spirits' growth will be severely restricted. The Blood Rice I personally receive from the county government office is insufficient to sustain two Hunters of Spirits in the long term."

Actually, it was still possible; he still had the Life-Reviving Pill, but this item was far too 'sensitive,' and he did not want anyone to know about it.

Even though Uncle Zhao was the one who had saved his life, he could not know.

Uncle Zhao said no more, drinking his wine in silence until nearly evening, when Zhao Xiaohu arrived and helped his father away.

Li Lin closed the door and asked the figure beside him, "Lady, I wish to learn talisman art; do you have any leads?"

In fact, the Tree Immortal Lady had already been there for some time; she simply had not spoken.

Besides, Uncle Zhao could not see her.

"Yes!"

Her voice remained cold.

(End of this chapter)