Chapter 87: In the End, One Must Rely on Oneself

Although Huang Yan said he would no longer pay attention to Guo Shi, he still sent someone to investigate this case.

Two days later, in an empty house north of the county, the three children of the Guo family were found, all dead.

Perhaps it was a mother's intuition; shortly after the government office Runners found the bodies of her three children, Guo Shi died by smashing her head against the wall in the prison.

Upon hearing this, Huang Yan sighed: "Give their whole family a grand burial."

He had thought the matter would come to a temporary end here, with new changes only occurring when the demonic Daoist appeared again.

But the matter suddenly took an unexpected turn.

Just as the government office Runners were burying this family of four, He Yumao of the Changfeng Escort Agency returned with several escorts.

He returned to the escort agency, heard the escorts' account of events, rushed directly to the graves of his wife and children, knelt on the ground for a long time, and cried until he fainted.

When he woke up again, he was already in the courtroom.

A crowd stood around him.

Huang Yan sat in the main seat of the courtroom, looking at him coldly.

"He Yumao, where have you been during this time?"

He Yumao sat on the ground, his eyes full of bloodshot veins; he tried to stand up, but two nearby government office Runners immediately pinned him to the ground with their water-and-fire staffs.

He Yumao dared not resist; he looked left and right and said hoarsely: "These past few days, I have been hiding in Jincheng."

"Didn't you die?" Huang Yan snorted: "Someone said they saw the white bones of everyone from the Changfeng Escort Agency in the wild, and one set of white bones was wearing your clothes."

He Yumao's face turned bitter: "I still had two sets of clothes for changing; a brother's clothes got dirty, so I gave him the remaining set of mine to wear. The one who died was him, not me."

"Then how did you survive?" Huang Yan asked again.

"Those wild horrors came very strangely." He Yumao recalled the scene that night and couldn't help but shiver: "They were everywhere; by all rights we shouldn't have been able to see them, yet we all saw them. The men, women, and children we brought all went mad and ran around everywhere."

"Some stripped and copulated on the spot, regardless of gender or age; others went mad and bit anyone they saw. At that time, I and a few brothers retained some clarity and kept running in one direction; after running for a long time, we only dared to stop when it became day."

He then began to cry: "My lord, I truly did not want to save people, but I couldn't save them."

"Regardless, eighty-two people died because your Changfeng Escort Agency failed in its protection; this crime must be borne by you. You are to be imprisoned first, and the trial will be held on another day." After snorting, Huang Yan said: "Seal the Changfeng Escort Agency, inventory and sell its assets, and use the silver obtained to compensate the relatives of those eighty-two dead."

He Yumao was imprisoned; his ending was likely not good.

On the other side, all the Soul Hunters gathered in the backyard of the county government office.

Huang Yan looked at everyone and said: "The matter of the Changfeng Escort Agency was caused by that demonic Daoist; in fact, they were also victims."

Everyone nodded.

Huang Yan continued: "The most urgent matter is for you to find that demonic Daoist."

"His Flying Head Technique is very troublesome."

At this moment, Huang Yan took out a token and placed it on the table.

This token was long, like a stick, with bronze-colored patterns on it.

"Taowu Zhenjun's Token," Huang Yan said. "Find that demonic Daoist and strike this object against him; as long as it touches him slightly, Taowu Zhenjun will see him, and the rest can be left to Taowu Zhenjun."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

This made the plan highly feasible.

Huang Yan looked at Li Lin: "Since that demonic Daoist is coming for you, then for these few days, act boldly, wander around everywhere, and have the others watch him secretly; do you understand?"

Everyone clasped their hands in salute.

Huang Yan left, while the Soul Hunters stayed behind to discuss the issue of 'rotating shifts'.

It was impossible for everyone to protect Li Lin continuously; of course, there had to be a rotation.

Soon, the eight people formed four groups; Zhao Xiaohu also wanted to help, but was driven back to the village.

He was still too young, and his strength was insufficient.

Li Lin's life in the following days was very casual.

He wandered outside during the day and rested at home at night.

After more than ten days like this, that demonic Daoist did not appear.

The Soul Hunters secretly protecting Li Lin became somewhat lax.

Until one evening, after Li Lin had wandered around the market, he was just preparing to go home.

But he suddenly felt the surroundings filled with cold air.

He looked again, and the pedestrians were already gone; only he remained on the entire street.

The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet, with not a single sound.

And in the distance, the scenery was blurred, as if a layer of mist was obstructing his vision.

Li Lin tried to move forward, but as soon as his foot touched the ground, a 'Ba' sound rang out around him.

It seemed some sound was synchronizing with his walking.

Li Lin took another step forward, and again a 'Ba' sound rang out.

Moreover, this sound was louder and more distinct; at the same time, he felt his heart seemed to be gently 'stepped on' by someone.

His heart raced; he felt as if he might die suddenly.

He frowned and looked around.

Then he threw down the small paper men.

Previously, he had also used small paper men to find that demonic Daoist; the first time, when the demonic Daoist had not yet become a Flying Head, it still worked.

But after the demonic Daoist became a Flying Head, this trick no longer worked.

More than ten small paper men hopped around Li Lin; they tried to walk outward, but once they moved beyond a certain distance from Li Lin, blue fire ignited on their bodies, turning them into paper ash.

Li Lin paused, then put the dough mask on his face.

Immediately after, he saw several clusters of invisible 'flames' burning around him.

Those small paper men had caught fire because they came into contact with this kind of flame.

But Li Lin found it strange—these flames were clearly invisible, and so dangerous, so why didn't they just hurl themselves straight onto him? Instead, they clustered here and there, scattered about.

He took another step forward.

*Snap. *

The strange sound rang out again, and Li Lin's heart felt as though it had been stomped on once more—only this time with even greater force.

Li Lin knit his brows, thinking it over.

After a while, he pulled a folded sheet of paper from his clothes; once unfolded, it became a large paper effigy.

He channeled Yin Qi into it.

The paper effigy "came alive."

"Lady, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again."

As Li Lin's words fell, the paper effigy's eyes turned a vivid crimson.

She gave Li Lin a slightly reproachful glance, then suddenly "knit her brow."

The paper effigy's brows were drawn on—they couldn't move—but right now, that was exactly the impression it gave.

"Lady" looked left and right, then pursed her lips and blew a breath at the surroundings; every one of those invisible flames vanished.

Then the paper effigy pointed toward the distance, and after that it slowly crumpled to the ground.

No more Yin Qi—already? That fast?

Could it be that the expenditure just now was too great?

Li Lin picked up the paper effigy and channeled Yin Qi into it again, but this time the effigy gave no response.

What was going on?

Li Lin was somewhat puzzled.

But then, the paper effigy in his hands dissolved into scraps of paper that fluttered down to the ground.

Only now did Li Lin note it down: every paper effigy had a limit on how many times it could receive Yin Qi.

And this effigy had been descended upon by the Tree Immortal Lady twice—holding out until now was already quite something.

In other words, from here on out, he'd have to rely on himself.

Li Lin looked toward the spot the Tree Immortal Lady had pointed at, then walked over.

(End of chapter)