Chapter 52: Revenge Waits Not Till the Morrow

After observing for a while, Li Lin memorized the general layout of Qin Fu, finished the food on the table, paid, and left.

He found an inn and stayed the night, because it was already dark.

Fei Rong County had fewer people than Yu Lin County, and naturally was not as bustling.

By nightfall, it was much quieter here.

Li Lin could sense the Zhenjun aura within the county seat; he had heard it was called "Jin Guang Zhenjun."

He took two Vitality Pills, then lay down on the bed still dressed.

After two hours passed, he suddenly sat up and put on a Concealment Robe—one of the items he had taken from the two grave-robbers.

The garment also doubled as a night-traveling outfit; pitch-black, it was excellent for hiding one's form at night.

Li Lin did not bring the Red-Tasseled Spear, but took a short sword and hid it on his body.

Since he was going to conceal his movements, he could not let any information about himself show.

It was deep into the night; there were hardly any pedestrians on the street, and occasionally a night watchman would shout twice as he slowly walked past.

Li Lin pushed off the wall with his foot to borrow momentum, floated up onto the rooftop, then hunched his body and moved swiftly forward.

The "Willow Catkin Thirteen Floats" lightness technique Zhao Hao had sent really came in handy.

He ran across the rooftops for a while, barely making a sound, and was not spotted by anyone.

Then he arrived at the rooftop of the tavern opposite Qin Fu and crouched there.

He was waiting!

After waiting until every lamp and candle in Qin Fu was extinguished, Li Lin flipped over and floated down, landing in the courtyard of Qin Fu.

The moment he entered the courtyard, he felt a chill pressing in on him.

Alarm bells rang in his heart; he immediately crouched down and hid behind a tree.

Then he rolled over once more, using a blind spot in the line of sight, and tumbled behind a patch of greenery.

At this point, he had finally hidden his figure completely; under the effect of his stealth technique, logically speaking, almost no one should be able to see him.

The chill grew heavier and heavier; through a gap in the greenery, Li Lin saw a woman in white "float" over.

It was the same kind of "floating" as the Tree Immress Lady.

As the woman drew closer, Li Lin got a look at her face.

A plain-looking woman, but with a deathly pale complexion that was frightening; as far as appearance went, Li Lin had never seen this woman before.

But from the "scent" of her grudge energy, Li Lin could recognize her—this was the possession-capable apparition that had gone to Shangtikou Village to cause trouble some time ago, and had ultimately been driven off by the Tree Immress Lady.

The female apparition searched around for a while, her expression quite puzzled.

At that moment, a fat man waving a paper fan walked over from the side.

"Granny, what's wrong with you?"

The female apparition looked at the fat man and said, puzzled, "Just now I sensed a living person who doesn't belong to our Qin family had entered, but when I came over, I couldn't see anyone."

"Maybe you were mistaken," the fat man said with a smile.

"That's possible too. After all, that bitch Liu Zhe is no easy mark either; the two blows she landed on me have left my spirit-body rather unstable."

The fat man thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you need me to find a few more young girls for you to feed on?"

"That would be good," the female apparition said with a smile. "How thoughtful of you. In a few days, I'll teach you the complete Embryonic Profound Treasury Method."

The fat man's expression was quite delighted; he cupped his fist and said, "I'll go see to it right away. Please wait a moment, Granny."

The female apparition gave a slight nod, then floated away.

The fat man then called out toward the side rooms: "Li Si, Zhang Wu, come out, we've got work to do."

Two servants trotted out of the room, yawning as they came.

"Did you turn up anything on the matter I had you investigate a few days ago?"

"Yes, yes, we did."

One of the servants said, "In Water-Soaked Alley on the east side of the county, there's a household. The husband fell into the water while fishing two years ago and died."

Hearing this, the fat man laughed: "A fisherman who can't swim? That's honestly a bit ridiculous."

"I heard he was grabbed by the leg by an apparition and couldn't get back up, that's how he died."

"Oh, that's much more reasonable then."

The servant went on, "That household's wife has also fallen ill recently. She has two sons and three daughters below her… I heard she's already out of money for medicine and is planning to sell her two youngest daughters to get some cash for treatment."

"How much?"

"One tael of silver."

"Too expensive. Two cheap slaves and you want one tael of silver? You think my money blew in on the wind?" The fat man gave a cold laugh. "I don't want to spend that kind of unjust money. Grab your eating tools, you two go there and bring the people back for me."

"Young Master, that wouldn't be quite right, would it?" the servant said, somewhat hesitant.

"What's not right about it? If you don't want to do it, get out of our Qin family right now."

Slap!

The servant fiercely slapped himself across the face, blood even trickling from the corner of his mouth: "Young Master, I spoke out of turn just now, please don't take it to heart."

"That's more like it." The fat man laughed, a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Then we'll go take care of it first," the servant said, about to head out the door.

"Wait a moment!" The fat man suddenly asked, "Is that woman whose husband died good-looking?"

"Passable."

"Then fine, I'll come with you." The fat man suddenly grew interested.

The two servants naturally did not dare object, and the three of them went out together.

The fat man waved his paper fan, swaying side to side as he walked, looking thoroughly excited.

It was now deep into the night, and there were hardly any people on the street.

Li Lin had already returned to the rooftop, crouching low as he followed.

【Stealth +1】

The proficiency of his Stealth technique appeared once again.

Li Lin discovered that as long as he moved with his waist half-bent, he could continue to refine his Stealth technique, but the stealth effect from crouching low was far weaker than that from squatting down.

Still, it was enough.

The main thing was, crouching low let him move much faster than shuffling in a full squat.

Li Lin tailed Fatty all the way to a clearly low-built area, where the buildings were densely packed and all old, shabby, and small.

Two servants led Fatty to a tile-roofed house and said, "Young Master, they're inside."

"You two watch the door. I'll go in and have some fun, then come out." So saying, Fatty walked in, his greasy face full of lecherous smiles.

The two servants stood like door-gods on either side of the wooden door.

Soon, screams came from inside the house.

The two servants' expressions were calm — such things, they had encountered many times.

Li Lin had by now come around to the rooftop from behind. He gently lifted a roof tile and quickly saw the situation inside.

Inside, five children, all bearing wounds, were huddled in a corner, too frightened to move.

Fatty had already stripped off his clothes and trousers, and was clawing at a woman's garments, pressing her to the ground.

At this moment, Fatty's back happened to be facing Li Lin.

A huge red frame shone with a unique luster, radiant in Li Lin's eyes.

Li Lin dropped down.

A roar of pain burst from Fatty's throat, veins bulging on his face.

He spun his body sharply, his hands whirling in a circle at lightning speed with a crisp snap — clearly trained in some fist art — intending to strike whoever was behind him.

But by then Li Lin had long since retreated; the short sword in his hand was dripping blood.

Fatty shot him a look of utter hatred. Forgetting about even putting his clothes back on, he immediately turned and, with a flying leap, crashed out through the window.

Not caring in the slightest that running about stark naked was indecent.

Seeing their young master burst out in such a state, the two "door-gods" were stunned, about to speak.

Yet both of them almost simultaneously felt a stab of pain in their kidneys, and then lost consciousness entirely.

Li Lin vaulted back up onto the rooftop and continued his stealthy pursuit.

"Help! Someone's killing people!"

Fatty knew a Lightness technique and ran very fast.

At the same time, he let out shrill cries as he ran.

His voice echoed through the nearby streets.

But the more it was like this, the less anyone dared to come out.

Instead, more people shut their own windows tight.

Fatty ran for a while, his body going weak. He had run a long way, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

It had to be said, this Fatty's physical constitution was truly formidable — after running so far and losing so much blood, he still hadn't passed out.

Fatty ran for another stretch; his face and lips had already gone white, and he felt his whole body growing cold.

In the distance, two lanterns used for illumination could already be seen, bearing the character "Qin."

Clutching his lower back, Fatty sped up into a jog toward them.

As long as he found his grandmother, there would be hope!

Before long, enduring the pain, he arrived before the great gate. By now his vision had already begun to go "blurry" — specks of dark and light spots rapidly appearing and vanishing.

This was the prelude to losing consciousness.

He looked back; there was no one behind him — that assassin had not followed.

Fatty instinctively let out a breath of relief, and his left fist thudded against the wooden door with a dull thunk.

But in that very instant, his movement stopped, and his gaze began to scatter.

The sound of a blade entering flesh came from behind him.

A few breaths later, the towering vermilion gates of the Qin household swung open, and Fatty's body, as the gates opened, pitched forward and fell!

"Ah! Young Master, what's happened to you!"

The gatekeeper let out a terrified cry.

(End of this chapter)