Chapter 15: A Hu Maiden, Greatness Lies in Generosity
As Wang Tianyou walked through the village, looking at the red remnants of exploded firecrackers scattered across the ground, he felt somewhat emotional.
“Li Lin actually risked himself to help those lowly commoners. It seems his character should be quite good. He is someone worth befriending deeply.”
A martial artist beside him, whose body carried a heavy aura of yin energy, said, “Young Master, could that female gui from the Earth God temple have been killed by this kid?”
“Probably not.”
Wang Tianyou shook his head and said, “You sensed it too. Although his yang energy is abundant, his blood vitality is quite ordinary. He has only been a Spirit Hunter for half a year. It’s perfectly normal for him to kill a few minor gui, but there is absolutely no way he could have killed that female gui from the Earth God temple.”
“Besides, there was also that man in black.”
“Even I suffered at his hands.”
“How could Li Lin possibly have had an opportunity?”
“The fact that he escaped alive already proves that his fortune is exceptionally deep.”
The martial artist nodded, feeling that Wang Tianyou’s reasoning made sense.
The group arrived at the center of the village.
The surrounding villagers instinctively avoided them and dared not approach.
Looking at the bluestone forbidden altar before him, Wang Tianyou cupped his hands and said, “Tree Immortal Lady, would you be willing to appear and chat for a while?”
He waited for some time.
Seeing no reaction from the altar, he helplessly shook his head and left.
Meanwhile, Li Lin was sitting at home, flipping through the spear manual he had just received.
[Yu Clan Spearmanship +1]
[Yu Clan Spearmanship +1]
[Yu Clan Spearmanship +1]
This Yu Clan Spearmanship had been created by a famous great general of the previous dynasty who became renowned for resisting foreign invaders.
Whether on the battlefield or in single combat, it was highly practical.
Because it was a combat-oriented spear art, the names of its techniques were extremely straightforward.
“Spear Lifting Stance,” “Spear Thrusting Stance,” “Spear Sweeping Stance,” and so on.
Judging by the names alone, they seemed completely unremarkable.
But after Li Lin slowly finished reading the manual, he realized that this was the kind of spear art that was easy to learn but difficult to master, with an extremely high ceiling.
After finishing the spear manual, Li Lin began reading the spirit-controlling cultivation method.
[Nourishing Yin Heart Sutra +1]
[Nourishing Yin Heart Sutra +1]
Unlike martial artists, Spirit Hunters needed to “nurture yin qi.”
Blood Rice increased blood vitality and was used for protection.
Without the nourishment of Blood Rice, the yin qi gathered within a Spirit Hunter’s body would eventually backlash against them.
After all, living humans could not possess too much yin qi.
After finishing the manual, Li Lin sighed.
“Wang Tianyou truly is a man who keeps his promises.”
“The cultivation method he delivered is quite good. He didn’t try to fool me.”
Although neither was a top-tier cultivation method, neither was a common, mass-produced technique.
If purchased with silver, they would not be obtainable for less than several dozen gold ingots.
The days that followed were quite regular.
During the day, he practiced spearmanship and boxing.
At night, during the first half of the night, he refined Blood Rice using the Spring Recovery Cultivation Method.
During the second half of the night, he cultivated the Nourishing Yin Heart Sutra.
He felt his progress was astonishingly fast.
But whether it truly was fast, he was not actually certain.
Still, every day he could feel himself growing stronger.
At the same time, he constantly felt there was not enough time.
Fulfilling days passed quickly.
Then it was time once again to collect the public grain.
This time Zhao Xiaohu did not come along.
Li Lin arrived at the county yamen alone.
The yamen runner responsible for distributing Blood Rice immediately cupped his hands when he saw him.
“Master Li, the County Magistrate said that if you came, you should meet him in the rear courtyard.”
Li Lin froze briefly before entering the yamen and heading to the rear courtyard.
The rear courtyard was not large.
Trees had been planted along the high walls to block outsiders’ view.
On the eastern side stood a pavilion.
There sat a middle-aged man with a black beard, dressed in official robes.
Several familiar faces stood nearby as well.
As Li Lin approached, Su Huafang smiled and nodded in greeting.
The others also looked over.
Most nodded in acknowledgment.
They were all colleagues.
Although they rarely met, there were no conflicts of interest between them.
“Greetings, County Magistrate.”
Li Lin walked to the front of the pavilion and bowed with cupped hands.
The middle-aged official was Huang Yan, the magistrate of this county.
Smiling, he nodded.
“Patrol Hunter Li, there is no need for excessive courtesy.”
Then he looked at the crowd.
“Everyone is here now.”
“Yet after only half a year without gathering, three people are gone.”
“I am deeply saddened.”
The expressions of the group became somewhat strange.
Zhou Yutong and Zhan Shijun had died because of human schemes.
The other one, Wu Yihuan, had died because of a gui.
A wandering gui had entered the town he protected.
As a patrol hunter, he naturally had to step forward.
That wandering gui possessed an extremely bizarre ability.
In the end, both sides perished together.
Wu Yihuan died miserably.
Not even his bones remained.
Only a symbolic grave containing his clothing was left behind.
“The reason I summoned everyone today is that the prefectural city plans to hold a Spirit Hunter Assembly in half a month.”
“Each county must send two representatives.”
“I don’t know the specific circumstances either.”
“After all, the Demon Extermination Bureau possesses autonomous authority and does not coordinate with civil or military officials.”
Huang Yan smiled.
“However, I’ve heard it is a good opportunity.”
“I simply couldn’t decide whom to send.”
“So I invited all of you here and will let you decide among yourselves.”
“Count me in.”
One burly man stepped forward.
“My uncle is the Chief Clerk of Jin City. Please give me some face.”
He swept his gaze around confidently.
Since he had spoken this way, naturally no one objected.
“Then who will be the second person?”
Huang Yan asked with a smile.
No one spoke.
After waiting for a while, Huang Yan smiled.
“Since no one volunteers, I shall appoint someone.”
“Patrol Hunter Su.”
“You are the oldest among them, steady and reliable.”
“You have protected the people of Yulin County for more than thirty years and have always been diligent.”
“No matter what, this good opportunity should fall to you.”
“Does anyone object?”
After waiting for a while, no one spoke.
Su Huafang stepped forward and bowed.
“Thank you for your favor, County Magistrate.”
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations.”
The crowd immediately offered their congratulations.
Su Huafang cupped his hands toward his colleagues.
“Thank you all for yielding this rare opportunity to me.”
“If any of you ever need Old Su’s help in the future, please do not hesitate to ask.”
The congratulations instantly became much more sincere.
“Since this matter is settled, I shall not delay everyone’s time any further.”
Huang Yan assumed the posture of seeing off guests.
But then he turned toward Li Lin and said,
“Patrol Hunter Li, remain behind.”
“Come back to my residence with me.”
“My son asked me to invite you over. He says he has an important matter to discuss.”
The other Spirit Hunters had already dispersed.
Su Huafang had originally wanted to chat with Li Lin for a few moments.
But seeing the latter being taken away by the county magistrate, he gave up.
The Huang residence was not far from the county yamen.
After exiting and walking a little over a hundred paces, they arrived.
Huang Yan led Li Lin into his home.
The main gate closed behind them.
Then a crisp voice sounded from ahead.
“Father, you’re back! I want you to take me...”
“Ah!”
A golden-haired, blue-eyed young girl rushed out from behind a moon gate.
When she saw an outsider, and a young man at that, she jumped in fright.
Immediately covering her face, she ran back into the rear courtyard.
A Western beauty!
Li Lin blinked.
A Western beauty wearing Han-style clothing!
No.
In this era, she should be called a Hu maiden.
“My apologies.”
Huang Yan smiled and said, “This is my eldest daughter. Because I have not disciplined her properly, she is rather noisy.”
Although he spoke words criticizing his daughter, a faintly doting smile rested on his face.
“Your daughter is truly lively and adorable, as beautiful as a golden lotus.”
Li Lin offered the compliment quite sincerely.
Upon hearing this, Huang Yan’s expression became somewhat strange.
He could tell that Li Lin genuinely thought his daughter was beautiful.
To him, that was actually something rather unusual.
This was the first time he had encountered such a reaction.
Past guests had only praised his eldest daughter’s beauty out of respect for him.
As a result, his smile became somewhat more genuine.
“My son should currently be drinking tea in the rear courtyard.”
“You may go find him directly.”