Chapter 3: An Honored Guest Arrives

Upon hearing this, Li Lin looked slightly surprised.

Then he understood what the other man meant and asked, “Village Chief Zhang, are you thinking of hiring someone to get rid of the gui wandering outside the village?”

The old village chief’s surname was Zhang.

His beard was graying, and his back was bent.

He looked extremely old.

But in reality, he was only forty-two years old!

Village Chief Zhang nodded in admission.

With a sigh, he said, “That gui has been wandering outside the village ever since I can remember. At first, it only came out to call souls once every few years. But as time has passed, it has appeared more and more frequently. The last time it called souls was only two months ago. If this continues, I’m afraid that one day it will be calling souls every night.”

“Isn’t there still the Tree Immortal Lady?” Li Lin said with a smile.

“The Tree Immortal Lady doesn’t concern herself with matters very often.”

Village Chief Zhang wore a bitter expression.

“Sometimes she helps, and sometimes she doesn’t. More than thirty years ago, our village had at least a hundred households and over five hundred people. Now there are only a little over thirty households and barely more than a hundred people left. It’s all because of that wandering spirit outside.”

No one wanted to remain in a village targeted by a wandering gui.

As long as there was an opportunity, people would certainly leave.

Over the course of more than thirty years, a large village of over a hundred households had gradually shrunk to a village of only thirty-some households through death and migration.

After thinking for a moment, Li Lin said, “I haven’t been a Spirit Hunter for very long, and I haven’t spent much time with my peers in the county town. But if I had to name the more reliable Spirit Hunters, I do know two or three.”

“Could Patrol Hunter Li pass along a message for us? Our Shangtikou Village is willing to gather some silver and hire two or three Patrol Hunters to join forces and kill that wandering gui. If not that, driving it away from the village’s surroundings would also be acceptable.”

Li Lin nodded.

“Village Chief Zhang, your idea is a good one. But I’d like to know how much money the village can gather.”

“Twenty taels of silver.”

Village Chief Zhang asked cautiously, “Would that be enough?”

Li Lin shook his head.

“With that amount of silver, you couldn’t even hire half a Spirit Hunter.”

Village Chief Zhang was deeply shaken.

“How could it be... how could it be so expensive?”

Then Village Chief Zhang looked at Li Lin.

“Could Patrol Hunter Li perhaps...”

Li Lin immediately interrupted him.

“Village Chief Zhang, it’s not that I don’t want to help. I’ve only been a Spirit Hunter for a little over half a year myself. I’m still very inexperienced, and my strength is insufficient. Being able to protect the village is already the limit of my ability. Going any further is beyond me. At least for the next three to five years, it will be beyond me.”

“This old man was being too greedy. Please don’t take offense, Patrol Hunter Li.”

“It’s fine.”

Li Lin waved his hand.

Then Village Chief Zhang left.

But it was obvious that his back had become even more bent.

Li Lin looked at the palace-robed gui enjoying the incense offerings atop the altar.

After examining her from head to toe for a while, he could not help muttering, “You have a pretty good figure, but you’re always wearing that mask. I wonder whether you’re actually pretty or not.”

The gui glanced at him without speaking.

There even seemed to be a trace of disdain in her gaze.

Having failed to amuse himself, Li Lin went home to prepare breakfast.

After breakfast, Li Lin went once again to the roadside outside the village and began squatting in the grass.

Watching an entire stream of [Stealth +1] messages appear, Li Lin’s expression became extremely pleased.

Although his legs went numb from squatting for too long, seeing his own strength increase was the greatest reward of all.

It gave him tremendous motivation.

At first, he had planned to train his body through boxing exercises.

However, he discovered that he lacked talent in that area.

Well, it was not exactly a lack of talent.

Rather, he lacked a corresponding boxing manual.

Simply throwing punches around at random yielded very little “experience.”

But martial manuals were extremely expensive.

Even something as ordinary as Arhat Fist cost dozens of taels of silver.

Not to mention blade manuals, sword techniques, or special cultivation methods.

As for how Li Lin had discovered this method of gaining Stealth simply by squatting, the story was actually quite simple.

There were no public latrines in the village, so he had gone into the wilderness outside the village to relieve himself.

While squatting there, someone happened to pass nearby, and that was when the [Stealth +1] notification first appeared.

After that, he continued training this way.

More than half a year later, the results had been excellent.

When he squatted in the grass, whether by day or night, people passing by simply could not notice him.

However, for some reason, Zhao Xiaohu always seemed capable of finding him.

Li Lin found that rather strange.

Thus, he spent his days squatting by the roadside farming experience.

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

At noon on the third day, he was carrying out his usual routine of squatting in the grass beside the country road when he saw five people approaching along the road.

The leader was a young man dressed in fitted martial clothing.

Li Lin recognized him immediately.

It was Wang Tianyou, the man who had beaten someone in the county marketplace three days earlier.

Leading four attendants, he arrived at the middle of the country road in front of Li Lin.

They did not notice Li Lin hiding in the grass.

However, Wang Tianyou looked around suspiciously.

One of the attendants beside him asked, “Young Master, what’s wrong?”

“I feel a chill running down my back. It feels like someone is watching us.”

Upon hearing this, Li Lin immediately withdrew his gaze and stared at his own toes.

Then the attendant said, “I’ve heard this village has already been targeted by a wandering gui. Maybe that gui is watching us from the nearby mountains and forests.”

Wang Tianyou also felt that this was probably the reason.

He nodded and said, “That’s possible. Let’s head into the village first.”

With that, the five departed.

Once they were gone, Li Lin stood up from the grass and slowly made his way back toward the village as well.

However, before he had even reached the village entrance, he saw Zhao Xiaohu leading those five people back out of the village.

After resting for two days, Zhao Xiaohu had once again become full of vigor and vitality.

The moment he spotted Li Lin in the distance, he ran over while waving and shouting, “Brother Lin, these gentlemen are looking for you.”

Li Lin had known that Xiaohu would lead people out to find him.

Fortunately, he had already returned.

Otherwise, if Xiaohu had led them over and they had found him squatting in the grass, they would definitely have assumed he was relieving himself.

If that happened, it would be awkward for him and awkward for them.

“I know.”

Li Lin smiled.

Then he quickened his pace, looked at Wang Tianyou opposite him, and cupped his hands.

“We meet again, Brother Wang.”

“So you’re Li Lin, the newly promoted Spirit Hunter of Yulin County?”

“That would be me.”

Li Lin continued smiling.

“It seems Brother Wang came specifically to see me. May I ask what guidance you have for me?”

“I saw you in the marketplace.”

Wang Tianyou wore a smile, but there was little emotion in his eyes.

“I’ve also heard from fellow practitioners in the county town that you’re quite capable.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m especially capable. My vitality is merely somewhat abundant.”

“That itself is capability.”

This time, warmth finally appeared in Wang Tianyou’s smile.

“Without having learned any body-strengthening techniques or spirit-controlling cultivation methods, you’ve managed to protect an entire village through the radiance of your vitality alone. That is a remarkable achievement. You’re very talented. That’s precisely why I’ve come looking for you.”

Li Lin’s expression shifted slightly.

“Oh? In that case, please come to my humble home so we may discuss it in detail.”

“Very well. After you.”

Wang Tianyou cupped his hands and smiled.

Soon, the two arrived at Li Lin’s house.

The four attendants remained outside the courtyard, while Xiaohu returned home.

He was not qualified to involve himself in this sort of matter.

“Your place truly is... simple.”

Looking around the house, Wang Tianyou spoke with admiration.

“You are the poorest Spirit Hunter I have ever met.”

“You flatter me.”

Li Lin served him a cup of plain tea.

“Please.”

The tea had been picked from the mountains by local villagers and pan-fried by hand.

The flavor was quite ordinary.

Still, it was respectable enough to serve to guests.

After taking a sip, Wang Tianyou’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

However, he offered no comment.

Only after setting down the cup did he say, “Brother Li, I want to kill a gui. Would you be willing to lend me a hand?”