Chapter 12: Mysterious merchant? I

A traveling merchant? Asking about a purple, strangely behaving figure?

Lin Lin Xuan's first reaction was—Ye Chen and Liaochen have come looking for me! But upon closer thought, he felt it wasn't right. One was a righteous Son of Destiny, the other a solemn high monk of the Buddhist Sect; would they disguise themselves as traveling merchants? The style didn't quite match.

"Tell me in detail, what does that merchant look like? How is he strange?" Lin Lin Xuan asked in a deep voice.

The lackey from the Information Department tried hard to recall the news he had gathered: "Replying to the Consultant, it is said that the man wears a wide gray robe, his specific appearance cannot be seen, and his voice is a bit hoarse. He doesn't set up a stall in the market but specifically looks for private rooms in teahouses and taverns, privately asking some local bullies and well-informed people, and he is quite generous with his money. The strange thing is, he asks very specifically. Besides the purple figure, he also asked if anyone had seen someone using... uh, relatively 'unique' methods, such as using bricks, lime, and the like."

Bricks and lime?!

Lin Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed. This was too specific! It could basically be confirmed that they were coming for him!

But who was the other party? Remnants of the Blood Wolf Gang? Doesn't look like it; if the Blood Wolf Gang had this brain and generous hand, they wouldn't have been driven away by them in that manner. Other enemies in Qingyun City? The level of people offended by the original owner, that playboy, shouldn't be that high.

Could it be... that his identity as a transmigrator had attracted the attention of some existences? Or was it the backlash from the "Luck Plundering" mentioned by the System before?

Unknown enemies are often more terrifying than known ones.

"Continue to keep a close eye on this merchant, find out his lodging and everyone he contacts. Note, absolutely do not alert the enemy!" Lin Lin Xuan gave the order.

"Yes!"

After the lackey retreated, Lin Lin Xuan fell into deep thought. The enemy is in the dark and I am in the light; I must find a way to drag this guy out, or... find some trouble for him.

"You like asking about me, right?" Lin Lin Xuan's mouth curled into a wicked smile, "Then I'll let you ask enough!"

He immediately summoned several core members from the Business Department and the Information Department and began to make arrangements.

Soon, in the bottom-level information circles of Qingyun City and surrounding towns, legends about the "Purple Demon" began to circulate, some true and some false.

Some said that in the mass grave west of the city, they saw a purple-clad figure cultivating by absorbing moonlight in the middle of the night, surrounded by ghost fire, terrifying beyond compare.

Some said that the purple-clad demon was actually a descendant of some hidden demonic sect, skilled in all kinds of strange evil arts, and the bricks and lime were just his disguise.

Even more absurdly, some claimed with certainty that the purple-clad person was actually transformed after a great cultivator went into qi deviation, specializing in absorbing the essence of cultivators, and the few missing loose cultivators from the past few days were victims of his poisonous hands!

These rumors were embellished and vividly spread by the people of the Information Department, and they were rich in detail, with times and locations, sounding quite plausible.

This was the effect Lin Lin Xuan wanted! To muddy the water, to shape the image of the "purple figure" to be more mysterious, terrifying, and omnipresent. To let that traveling merchant run around exhausted to verify these false messages, and at the same time, it could also serve as a certain deterrent—making the other party feel that he was not someone to be trifled with.

After doing all this, Lin Lin Xuan turned his attention back to his own cultivation and the development of the Shanzhai.

A few days later, Master Sun of the Four Seas Trading House personally delivered the refined Green Rain Pills. There were twenty-five pills, crystal clear, with pill halos flowing, the medicinal fragrance was nose-piercing, and the quality was excellent.

According to the agreement, Lin Lin Xuan received twelve pills.

He didn't hesitate, keeping eight for himself, and distributed the remaining four to Black Bear and two other leaders who performed outstandingly and whose cultivation had reached Foundation Establishment Stage 3.

"This... such precious elixirs, are you really giving them to us?" Black Bear held the elixirs, his hands trembling. He had been stuck at Foundation Establishment Stage 5 for many years; this Green Rain Pill might be the opportunity for his breakthrough!

"Follow me, Lin Lin Xuan, and merit will be rewarded!" Lin Lin Xuan said sternly, "As long as everyone works hard, in the future, let alone Green Rain Pills, there will be even better elixirs! Our goal is the sea of stars... uh, is to become the hegemon of this region!"

"Swear to follow Consultant Lin to the death!" Black Bear and the two leaders were so excited that their blood boiled, and they pledged their loyalty on the spot.

【Ding! Detected the die-hard loyalty and fanaticism of Black Bear and the others, emotion points +8888!】

With the support of elixirs, the cultivation enthusiasm of the core layer of Black Wind Shanzhai rose to an unprecedented height. Lin Lin Xuan also took a Green Rain Pill and began to go into seclusion, consolidating his Foundation Establishment Stage 7 cultivation and attempting to charge toward Foundation Establishment Stage 8.

The elixir melted upon entering his mouth, turning into a gentle and majestic medicinal power, flowing through his limbs and bones. Lin Lin Xuan could clearly feel that his spiritual power was being continuously purified and strengthened, and the cultivation barrier was also faintly loosening.

"Sure enough, the System's slacking off points are an external force; the solid feeling brought by this elixir is a different kind of experience." Lin Lin Xuan immersed himself in the pleasure of this steady improvement.

However, the peaceful days didn't last long.

A few days later, the lackey responsible for monitoring the traveling merchant brought back even more disturbing news.

"Consultant, that gray-robed merchant, yesterday... contacted people from the Zhao Clan of Qingyun City!"

The Zhao Clan of Qingyun City? The family of City Lord Zhao Wuji?

Lin Lin Xuan's heart sank. Things seemed to have become complicated. Although Zhao Wuji had suspected him before because of Ye Chen and Liaochen, he was generally neutral. If this mysterious gray-robed merchant persuaded the Zhao Clan...

"Can you find out the specific content of their contact?"

"Can't find out, they talked in the Zhao Clan's secret room. However, not long after that merchant left the Zhao Clan, the Zhao Clan sent out several teams of guards, heading in the direction of our Shanzhai, as if they were searching for something. And, they seemed to be holding... a compass-like magic treasure."

A compass magic treasure? For tracking?

Lin Lin Xuan immediately realized that the other party might have used some special means to lock onto his approximate location! He couldn't stay in the Shanzhai anymore!

He made a prompt decision and summoned Black Bear and the others.

"The situation has changed, I may have to leave the Shanzhai for a while."

"What? Consultant, you're leaving?" Black Bear and the others were suddenly panicked.

"Only temporarily." Lin Lin Xuan analyzed calmly, "The other party's goal is me. If I leave, the Shanzhai will be safer instead. You continue to develop according to the established policy, and the cooperation with the Four Seas Trading House cannot be broken. If the Zhao Clan people come to ask, you just insist that you have never seen any purple figure, and that I was just a down-and-out young master passing by to borrow a room, and that I had already left."

"But Consultant, you are too dangerous alone!" Black Bear said anxiously.

"Rest assured, I have my own sense of proportion." Lin Lin Xuan smiled, "If I can't beat them, can't I run?"

He temporarily entrusted the Shanzhai affairs to Black Bear and left behind a few Green Rain Pills and a portion of spirit stones as development funds. Then, he changed into a set of ordinary blue cloth clothes, used the "Turtle Breath Technique" to restrain all his aura, and like an ordinary herb gatherer, left Black Wind Shanzhai silently.

He didn't go far but found a hidden cave on the outskirts of Black Wind Shanzhai to hide. He wanted to see who exactly was coming, and... what role the Zhao Clan played in this matter.

Sure enough, at noon the next day, a team of well-equipped Zhao Clan guards, led by an old man holding a bronze compass, appeared outside Black Wind Shanzhai.

The needle on the compass pointed straight toward the Shanzhai, but when it reached the gate, it began to spin wildly.

"The aura disappeared here?" The old man holding the compass frowned tightly.

Black Bear acted according to Lin Lin Xuan's instructions, coming out to deal with them, his acting was realistic, insisting that Lin Lin Xuan had long since left. The Zhao Clan guards searched to no avail, and the compass no longer reacted, so they had to leave in frustration.

Lin Lin Xuan, observing from the dark, fixed his gaze on the old man holding the compass.

"Tracking magic treasure... it seems the other party came prepared. And being able to move the Zhao Clan, their energy is not small."

His vigilance reached the extreme. At the same time, a question also surfaced in his mind: this gray-robed merchant, trying every possible way to find him, what exactly was it for?

It was definitely not as simple as just revenge.

He felt as if he had fallen into an invisible giant net.

"Want to catch me?" Lin Lin Xuan looked at the direction the Zhao Clan guards left, his eyes cold, "Then let's see, who exactly, catches whom first!"

He decided to take the initiative and go meet that mysterious... gray-robed merchant!

(End of Chapter 12) ===== CHAPTER 13 =====