Chapter 43: Pick It Out

The ancestral hall stood in the southwest corner of the village, with blue bricks, black tiles, and upturned eaves.

The stone steps before the door were covered in moss, and the vermilion‑painted main gate had faded and peeled, leaving only the marks of time.

A warning line spanned the hall's entrance; inside lay two corpses, their lower bodies covered with white cloth, their upper bodies pale, eyes tightly shut, showing no visible wounds.

Tang Hu and three others entered the hall, carefully searching every corner.

Yu Lin stood outside, scanning the surroundings.

"Yu kid," Dragon Elder's voice rang in his ear:

"The source of the yin energy is behind the hall; go check it out."

"Alright," Yu Lin nodded, slipping silently around to the back of the hall.

There was a water well sealed with cement.

According to movie tropes, there must be something fishy in that well.

Yu Lin fished a compact C4 timed bomb from his pocket.

He deftly placed the bomb at the well's mouth, set a one‑minute countdown, then retreated to a safe distance.

As a special combat operative of the Civil Affairs Bureau, carrying some demolition gear seems reasonable, right?

At that moment, Tang Hu and the three others emerged from the hall, found Yu Lin missing, and immediately began searching.

Soon, they circled to the back of the hall, saw Yu Lin staring at the well, and heard a "beep‑beep" countdown emanating from the well mouth.

Tang Hu stepped forward quickly, frowned, and asked, "What did you just do?"

Yu Lin pointed at the well: "Based on my years of movie experience, this well definitely has a problem, so I thought I'd blow it open to see."

"Where did you get that timed bomb?" Tang Hu's brows furrowed even tighter.

Yu Lin grinned, "When I came out, I just grabbed it from the training ground on the way."

"What a convenient thing to do."

Tang Hu: "... Alright."

The countdown still had thirty seconds left, then suddenly stopped.

Yu Lin raised an eyebrow, "I told you there was a problem, right?"

He moved aside, casually snapped off a three‑meter‑long branch, and jabbed the bomb's button with its tip.

The countdown restarted, but after just one second, it stopped again.

Yu Lin kept poking.

The countdown continued to pause.

This repeated until only five seconds remained on the countdown—

Boom!

The cement at the well mouth exploded outward, and a head draped in long hair, its face rotting, emerged from the well, roaring at Yu Lin:

"Are you done yet?!"

"I don't want to kill you! I have no grudge against you!"

Accompanying her howl, a gust of putrid wind rose, and the stench of rot slammed into the face.

Yu Lin's face showed no change; he thrust the branch forward, stabbing into the female ghost's gaping mouth:

"Finally willing to come out? Time for a nucleic acid test."

Then he lifted the stick in an upward thrust.

He directly lifted the female ghost out of the well!

This maneuver left the female ghost stunned, and also left the four members of Tang Hu stunned.

But the next moment.

The female ghost erupted in fury!

Her rotting visage twisted into a mass, her long hair writhed like poisonous snakes, her nails instantly swelled into black talons, yin energy surged around her, and the temperature of the entire hall's courtyard plummeted!

"I will have you die—!!!"

She shrieked, lunging at Yu Lin, moving so fast she almost became a streak of blood.

"Up!" The four of Tang Hu reacted instantly, drawing peachwood swords to block in front of Yu Lin.

The four peachwood swords blazed with Golden Light, interweaving into a barrier!

Bang!

The female ghost's talons clashed with the Golden Light, emitting a shrill screech. She attacked wildly, yin energy surging like a tide, forcing the four of Tang Hu to retreat repeatedly.

But soon, Tang Hu and his companions discerned the ghost's attack pattern.

"Change formation!" Tang Hu barked low.

The four altered their sword stances, shifting from defense to offense.

The Golden Light on the peachwood swords transformed into chains, binding the ghost's limbs.

"Ah—!"

The ghost let out a painful howl, seemingly about to be strangled by the Golden Light.

Suddenly, her figure flickered, turning into a pitiful young girl, covering her face and sobbing:

"I only wanted revenge... they killed my family, killed me... isn't it natural to repay a grudge or a kindness? Why are you bullying me..."

"Wuwuwu, dad, mom, I miss you so much!"

Tang Hu's brows knit tightly, his sword‑gripping hand paused slightly, just as he was about to ask a question aloud.

"Hold on."

Yu Lin stepped forward.

"How about this," he said calmly:

"I'll give you a chance. Next, I will launch an attack toward the heavens; if it falls and doesn't kill you, then you're innocent. If you die... then you die."

"Come, leave it to Heaven's Will."

Without waiting for the female ghost's response, Yu Lin raised his hand and swung—

A crimson Sword Aura surged skyward!

It seemed as if Yu Lin struck, but in fact Dragon Lord was exerting force behind the scenes.

This Sword Aura was not his Crimson Sky Sword Qi.

The Sword Aura traced a strange arc in the air, and then...

Boom!

It hit the female ghost with precision!

She didn't even have time to scream; in an instant she was devoured by Sword Light and vanished without a trace.

She wasn't killed; she was taken away by Dragon Lord.

The four Tang Hu were stunned.

Yu Lin spread his hands: "It seems this is how Heaven's Will works."

He wasn't lying; it truly was Heaven's Will's choice.

Logically, given the trajectory of this Sword Aura, it shouldn't have hit the female ghost, but his Miracle defies reason.

So... the female ghost must have lied.

The four Tang Hu didn't know; they only wore puzzled faces:

"Is this the technique you learned?"

Yu Lin nodded: "More or less."

"You can understand it that way."

"Hmm," Tang Hu said, not asking further.

If one doesn't want to speak about something, it's best to keep quiet, lest it upset others.

They searched the place thoroughly again, especially inside the well.

Indeed, they discovered corpses.

Not just one, but three.

However, these criminal cases no longer concern Tang Hu and his group; they must be handed over to Chen Jianguo and the other detectives and forensic doctors.

Of course.

Before leaving.

Tang Hu took out a spherical device that blocks memory and shielded Chen Jianguo and the others' memories of their entering the village.

Even if they try to recall, they can only remember that they entered the village; what happened afterward... none can recall clearly.

Yu Lin had previously asked Chen Haoxi why he wanted to erase memories.

Chen Haoxi replied: "The current 'vital energy' can only barely support their cultivation; if it were fully expanded... the number of top combat forces each country can produce annually would be greatly reduced."

"Unless Awakeners appear again, speaking law with words, selflessly dedicating themselves, causing the amount of 'Qi' to multiply several times!"

In fact, Yu Lin's intuition told him this was only one reason; there were deeper reasons that Chen Haoxi didn't mention.

It didn't matter.

As long as he can cultivate, that's fine; after all, he's not some great selfless guy.

The next day, when the sky turned a pale fish‑belly white.

Yu Lin finally returned to the inn.

After a quick Wash, he lay down and fell into a deep sleep.