Chapter 7: Cannot Be Known Truly

Another morning arrived, and from the village came the piercing sound of suona horns, faintly accompanied by a woman's wailing.

Li Lin sat in his own home, slowly drinking clear tea to cut through the grease.

He did not need to attend Sister Xiu Niang's funeral; after all, as a Spirit Hunter with robust vital energy, following the coffin would only disturb the deceased.

At this moment, he was pondering who had harmed Sister Xiu Niang.

If Sister Xiu Niang had merely been devoured by an anomaly, then the matter would hold nothing particularly special.

In this world, there are always unlucky souls who venture out, fail to return to the village or city in time, spend the night in the wild, and become fodder for anomalies.

But the problem lies with the technique known as the 'Wraith Womb Concealment Rite'.

This is a demonic art; even though Li Lin is a novice Spirit Hunter, he has heard of this technique's fame.

It is extremely evil and inhumane.

The Tree Immortal Lady had drawn twelve breaths of his essence and vitality before uttering a single word: Placenta!

Although he had a lead, Li Lin felt it was worth nothing at all.

Just a single word, with no beginning or end; how could Li Lin investigate?

But then again, although the Tree Immortal Lady's voice was cold, it truly sounded very pleasant.

He took a few more sips of clear tea, waited another half hour for the crowd to thin, then picked up the white jade token and tied it to his belt, preparing to head to the county town to meet Wang Tianyou.

Almost everyone in the village was busy helping with Sister Xiu Niang's funeral arrangements, leaving the village empty.

When Li Lin arrived at the village entrance, he unexpectedly found Zhao Xiaohu sitting beneath a large tree, looking very dejected.

"Why didn't you go to see Sister Xiu Niang off on her final journey?" Li Lin asked curiously.

"Lin Ge..." Zhao Xiaohu responded first, then said gloomily, "They wouldn't let me go."

"Why?"

"Because Sister Xiu Niang was actually my betrothed wife; they said there were some taboos, though I don't quite understand them myself."

Ah!

Li Lin truly did not know about this.

He had been in the village for at most a little over half a year, and since he usually spent most of his time practicing martial arts, rarely chatting with the villagers, he knew very little about the village's affairs.

Zhao Xiaohu stood up and said dejectedly, "Originally, once I turned fifteen, I was to marry Sister Xiu Niang. She is three years older than me; my father said that a woman three years older brings a brick of gold; Sister Xiu Niang was usually very good to me, never did I expect..."

"Rest in peace."

Li Lin patted the other's shoulder; he knew very well how difficult it was in such rural areas to find a wife who suited one's heart.

Moreover, the two could be considered childhood sweethearts?

It was just that Zhao Xiaohu looked too mature; however, paired with a girl three years his senior, such a mature appearance seemed not bad.

It was just... it was all in the past now.

When someone is gone, what more can be said?

"Lin Ge." Zhao Xiaohu suddenly stared straight at Li Lin: "Was Sister Xiu Niang killed by someone?"

"No... why would you think that!"

"Because Sister Xiu Niang is not that kind of person; she is very sensible, very obedient, and would not run around recklessly."

"Don't overthink it." Li Lin patted Zhao Xiaohu's shoulder again: "People always have moments of confusion."

He would not tell the villagers that someone had plotted to harm Sister Xiu Niang.

Because ordinary villagers simply could not bear the consequences of knowing the truth.

Zhao Xiaohu lowered his head.

Leaving the village and taking more than half an hour to reach the county town, Li Lin headed straight for the county government office.

Upon arriving, he found Wang Tianyou already waiting there, along with two middle-aged men.

Li Lin knew both of these men.

He walked over, clasped his fist, and smiled: "Senior Zhou, Senior Su, we meet again."

Zhou Yutong clasped his fist and smiled back, his tone neither cold nor warm: "Brother Li, greetings."

However, Su Huafang approached with a warm expression, patting Li Lin's shoulder: "Not bad, your constitution is much better than before; it seems the Blood Rice is indeed very nourishing."

This Su Huafang was Li Lin's patron.

He was the one who discovered Li Lin's potential to become a Spirit Hunter, then personally taught him the basics, and even gave Li Lin the 'Spring Mind Method'.

Li Lin said gratefully: "Senior Su, how have you been recently?"

"Not bad, just helping people exorcise demons everywhere; after so long, my body can barely keep up; after all, I am getting older, and in a few more years, I can retire."

At this moment, Wang Tianyou stepped forward and smiled: "Senior Su looks merely like a man in his prime; it is too early to think of retiring."

Su Huafang stroked his beard and laughed heartily; he primarily cultivated the Spring Revitalization Art, and though he was in his fifties, he looked only in his early thirties.

This was the aspect of himself he was most proud of.

At this moment, two more people arrived together, a man and a woman.

Li Lin had never seen these two before.

Wang Tianyou immediately helped introduce them to each other, and before long, everyone knew one another.

"So this is the 'Yang Object' you found?"

This woman was a young married lady; her face was average, but her figure was decent, looking quite good.

She looked at Li Lin with considerable surprise, making clicking sounds with her tongue.

Li Lin felt somewhat displeased and said: "Is it not a bit harsh to describe someone as a 'Yang Object', Inspector Ding?"

Ding Yingchun chuckled: "Indeed, your yang energy is very robust; I was merely stating the facts. If you are unhappy, feel free to curse me twice... or perhaps, once this matter concludes, I will give you a red envelope, how about that!"

Upon hearing these words, the onlookers laughed, while looking at Li Lin with some envy.

Li Lin was stunned, not understanding what these words meant.

Instead, Su Huafang stroked his beard and said, "Inspector Ding, let's just drop the matter. Brother Li is still relying entirely on that yang energy to push his own blood energy up."

"Then we'll talk about it another time," Ding Yingchun said with obvious regret.

Wang Tianyou cut in at this point: "It's already getting late. Let's go eat and drink something first, fill our bellies, then we'll have the strength to work tonight."

Naturally, no one objected to this suggestion.

Wang Tianyou then invited them to the best restaurant in the county town.

They ate and chatted idly.

These people were all old hands in the spirit-hunter trade, and their gossip was extremely entertaining.

It genuinely let Li Lin, a newcomer, learn quite a lot.

…………

Three hours later, the group rode out of the county town and arrived near a small town more than ten kilometers away.

There was an abandoned Earth Deity Temple here.

Wang Tianyou pointed at the temple entrance from horseback and said, "That apparition is inside the temple. It comes out at midnight."

Ding Yingchun dismounted and said, "I'll go establish a protective barrier first, so other apparitions won't come over and cause trouble."

"Sorry to trouble you, Inspector Ding," Wang Tianyou said, cupping his fist.

Ding Yingchun smiled, then took a white porcelain bottle from her sash, popped out the wooden stopper, and walked forward while scattering powder.

Where the powder fell, it turned a pale cyan, and in the dim surroundings it looked extremely… eerie, like ghostly fire landing on the ground, drawing a prison.

Li Lin was quite curious.

Su Huafang walked over and said quietly, "Inspector Ding is a member of the Ding family of Guicheng. Her alchemy skills are deeply inherited from the family—very impressive. She can regulate the body and craft ritual implements. This is the protective barrier powder of alchemy, and only people from three families know how to make it. But don't get too close to her. The Ding family has a dual-cultivation cultivation method… supposedly learned from an apparition, one that can suck a person dry to the marrow."

That powerful!

Li Lin instinctively thought of the Tree Immortal Lady back in the village.

"Um, what's the meaning of the red envelope?"

Su Huafang looked at him with a strange expression: "You really don't know?"

(End of chapter)