Chapter 50: Sudden Upheaval

After leaving the Huang residence, Li Lin felt somewhat emotional.

He could live off a woman’s support now.

But should he?

He only thought about it for two seconds before Huang Qing’s appearance and figure surfaced in his mind.

As well as her shy and adorable demeanor.

Absolutely worth it.

This was support he could accept.

Still, he was in no hurry.

It could happen naturally when the time was right.

Carrying these somewhat peculiar emotions, he arrived at the county yamen and saw Zhao Xiaohu.

The boy held a red-tasseled spear in his left hand and a burlap sack in his right.

Inside was blood rice.

His expression was full of pride.

Then he saw Li Lin and ran over carrying his things.

“Brother Lin, are we heading home now?”

Li Lin looked at the sky.

“It’s too late. Let’s stay one night in the county town first.”

“Really?”

Zhao Xiaohu said excitedly, “I’ve heard the county town is lively at night. It’s different from our village.”

“It is quite lively.”

Li Lin smiled.

“But we’re not going out. We’re just spending the night here.”

“Oh.”

Zhao Xiaohu looked disappointed.

Li Lin could not really help it.

Once night fell, only one commercial street in the county town remained lively.

And why was it lively?

Because it was the pleasure district.

Several elegant brothels served as money-draining establishments and supported the flow of people and noise throughout the entire street.

Zhao Xiaohu was still young.

Taking him to such a decadent place was inappropriate.

So Li Lin brought him back to his new home in the county town.

The plaque on the three-courtyard mansion had already been replaced with the words Li Residence.

Li Lin stepped forward and knocked on the door.

It opened shortly afterward.

Zhang Afu exclaimed in delight, “Master, you’ve returned!”

Li Lin nodded and pointed at Zhao Xiaohu.

“This is my brother. Just call him Xiaohu.”

“Master Hu!”

Zhang Afu bowed.

There was no helping it.

Zhao Xiaohu’s appearance was far too deceptive.

Zhang Afu also thought Xiaohu was a fierce, fully grown man.

Faced with such treatment for the first time, Zhao Xiaohu awkwardly returned the greeting.

After entering the courtyard, Zhao Xiaohu looked left and right.

He was astonished and envious.

“Brother Lin, is this the house you just bought?”

“That’s right.”

“How much did it cost?”

“A lot.”

“Now that I’m a Spirit Hunter too, will I be able to live in such a large house someday?”

“Of course.”

Zhao Xiaohu’s eyes burned with passion as he began imagining his future life.

Li Lin was not deceiving him.

As most Spirit Hunters grew stronger, they earned money faster and faster.

Zhao Xiaohu’s talent was ordinary, but he seemed to possess some special ability.

His growth in blood vitality was quite rapid.

His future achievements should not be low.

Zhang Afu had already hired a cook.

The dishes were not exceptionally good, but they were much better than what the four girls had been making.

After eating their fill, Zhao Xiaohu was assigned a guest room.

Looking at the spacious room and touching the clean, soft bedding, his determination to become a powerful Spirit Hunter and repay his parents and Brother Lin grew even stronger.

While Zhao Xiaohu was sleeping soundly, someone shook him.

He woke up and rubbed his eyes before looking at the person standing beside the bed.

“Brother Lin, is something wrong?”

“Don’t you feel it? Such a huge amount of resentment.”

Upon hearing that, Zhao Xiaohu carefully sensed his surroundings before shaking his head.

“There is some resentment over there.”

He pointed in a direction.

“Come on. Grab your red-tasseled spear and come take a look with me.”

“Okay.”

Zhao Xiaohu immediately became excited.

The two of them took their spears and left.

Zhang Afu was already experienced with such situations.

He sat behind the door and dozed while waiting for the master of the house to return.

After greeting the local soldiers on patrol, Li Lin brought Zhao Xiaohu up onto the city wall.

There they discovered that many people were already present.

Su Huafang, Zhao Hao, and two local Spirit Hunters whom Li Lin did not know well.

It could be said that every Spirit Hunter currently in the county town had come.

All of them were staring solemnly at the distant lake.

Li Lin looked over as well.

Then he drew a sharp breath.

Zhao Xiaohu immediately covered his mouth and dared not make a sound.

Floating above the lake was a giant ghost.

How large was it?

Li Lin estimated that it was at least as tall as a three-storey building.

“A human face, a tiger’s body, wings on its back, and it’s this enormous.”

Li Lin frowned.

“What kind of ghost is that?”

“That’s the Taowu True Lord of Yue City.”

Su Huafang spoke softly.

“But why would it appear here?”

Every Spirit Hunter present had the same question.

It was currently nighttime.

If the True Lord of Yue City had come here, then who was guarding Yue City?

Bai Liwei folded his arms across his chest.

“With the Fourfold Wonder True Lord here, that True Lord cannot enter. I’m only worried that something terrible has happened in Yue City.”

While the two were speaking, the Taowu True Lord plunged into the lake.

Not long afterward, the lake began churning violently.

Wave after wave rose higher and higher.

Before long, the Taowu True Lord emerged from the lake carrying a gigantic fish ghost.

The resentment Li Lin had sensed in the lake some time ago had probably come from this fish ghost.

A huge black tumor grew from the fish’s back.

Its face resembled a human’s, yet not quite.

Behind its massive fins, additional arms and legs protruded.

It looked extremely bizarre.

The Taowu True Lord tore the fish ghost apart through sheer brute force.

The fish ghost’s screams echoed throughout the entire county town.

Opening its enormous mouth, the Taowu True Lord bit down.

A huge chunk of the fish ghost’s body disappeared.

It was not long before the Taowu True Lord completely devoured the fish ghost.

Then it glanced toward the county town and flapped its wings before departing.

The resentment drifted farther away and gradually vanished.

Bai Liwei said, “We must go see the County Magistrate immediately.”

Everyone nodded.

Upon arriving at the county yamen, Huang Yan was already seated in the main hall.

The fish ghost’s dying screams had terrified the entire county town.

Naturally, Huang Yan had been awakened as well.

He came to the hall and waited there because he knew it would not take long before the Spirit Hunters sought him out.

“What was the cause of that ghost’s cry just now?” Huang Yan asked.

Bai Liwei recounted everything that had happened.

After hearing it, Huang Yan’s expression grew grave.

He stood up and unconsciously began pacing back and forth.

Only after a long while did he speak.

“Yue City has most likely fallen. That Taowu True Lord appeared beside our county only because it has lost its restraints. This is very bad. Yue City is one of the important defensive barriers of the south. But why was no beacon signal sent?”

Everyone understood the severity of the matter.

If even the beacon fires had not been lit, then either the city had fallen too quickly for them to react, or...

There was a traitor collaborating with the enemy.

Huang Qi walked out from the rear hall.

Cupping his fists, he said, “County Magistrate, please allow me to lead men to inspect the frontier towns.”

“You’re not going to Jin City anymore?”

“At a time like this, other matters can only be set aside.”

“Good.”

Huang Yan nodded.

“As County Commandant, I authorize you to take one hundred archers and three hundred local soldiers, pass through Bobai Town, proceed to Dongxing Frontier Garrison, join forces with Tang Qi’s border army, and defend the southeastern barrier of Tian Commandery.”

Huang Qi nodded and turned to leave.

Then Huang Yan looked toward the Spirit Hunters.

“As for the rest of you, return to your assigned territories and monitor any unusual activity from the local True Lords. Without orders, you are not permitted to leave your posts.”

The Spirit Hunters’ expressions tightened.

A great deal of information was implied by Huang Yan’s order.

“Patrol Hunter Li will remain. I have important matters to discuss with him. Everyone else may leave.”