Chapter 54: Striking the Enemy Unprepared

As evening approached, the gates of Feirong County were closed.

An entire shichen earlier than originally scheduled.

As a result, quite a few travelers and laborers were shut out of the city.

Fortunately, the area protected by the Goldlight True Lord was large enough that no wild ghosts would appear within a hundred metres of the city walls.

Those unable to enter the city could remain beneath the walls, huddle together for warmth, light campfires, and spend the night there.

Meanwhile, Li Lin was hiding inside a pavilion.

Specifically, at the very top of a brothel.

This was a storage room.

He had checked it already.

A thick layer of dust covered everything, and it was likely that no one had cleaned the place for more than half a year.

Finding a corner, he blew away the dust on the floor and sat down.

First he swallowed two Shengxi Pills.

Then he slowly chewed through the dry rations he had prepared earlier.

Outside on the streets, teams of constables and batches of Qin Family guards were searching everywhere.

Inns, restaurants, and private homes all had their doors knocked open and searched.

Naturally, the brothels were not spared either.

Li Lin was not worried about them searching.

Even if they came up to the pavilion, he only needed to enter a stealth state.

But in the end, three separate search teams came through, and none of them climbed up to the pavilion.

Because the madam downstairs firmly insisted that no unfamiliar customers had come to spend money there.

Everyone upstairs was a regular patron.

Several constables came up to take a look and found that this indeed seemed to be the case, so they left.

In truth, these people did not dare search too carefully.

What if they really forced the murderer out?

That was someone who had killed two young masters of the Qin Family in succession.

None of them could defeat such a person.

A servant’s life was still a life.

Putting on a show was good enough.

This large-scale search turned all of Feirong County upside down.

Li Lin had assumed the situation would continue for two or three days.

But to his great surprise, things changed shortly after nightfall.

Li Lin was resting with his eyes closed when he suddenly heard a piercing sound outside rising from low to high before ending in a sharp Pop! that echoed across the entire county city.

Li Lin poked his head out through the pavilion’s small window.

He discovered it was a signal arrow.

The final sound had come from a firework.

This was the first time he had ever seen a signal arrow, but he had heard of them before and immediately recognized it.

Soon afterward, he saw teams of constables and several groups of Qin Family guards rushing toward the direction from which the signal arrow had been fired.

Isn’t the murderer right here?

What had they discovered?

Li Lin was quite curious.

He once again donned the full Gui-Hiding Cloak and, carrying his short sword, bent low and began moving in stealth.

At a steady pace, neither fast nor slow, he traveled across the rooftops.

Before long, sounds of fighting and angry shouting came from ahead.

“Wang Tianyou, you actually dared kill members of my Qin Family. Are you tired of living?”

“I didn’t kill them.”

Wang Tianyou burst into laughter.

“But I can only say they deserved it. They were killed well, killed wonderfully. I came here to kill your people myself. Now some expert has done it for me, and I’m happier than ever.”

Li Lin hid behind the edge of a roof and peeked out.

He saw Wang Tianyou standing atop a rooftop.

Three middle-aged men surrounded him.

Nearby stood four of Wang Tianyou’s attendants.

The two sides appeared evenly matched.

Seeing the situation, Li Lin felt somewhat helpless.

He had killed the Qin Family members because they had repeatedly caused trouble around him recently.

He had not expected Wang Tianyou to get dragged into it.

Still, it was perfectly understandable.

The Qin Family had previously schemed against Wang Tianyou and nearly gotten him killed.

It was only natural for him to seek revenge.

Should he go help?

But then Li Lin’s eyes brightened.

Since the Qin Family’s main forces had likely come here to surround Wang Tianyou, didn’t that mean...

The Qin Family estate was currently very weakly defended?

Li Lin immediately stopped paying attention to the battle ahead.

Turning around, he crouched low and headed toward the Qin Residence.

Not long afterward, he arrived atop the restaurant opposite the Qin Residence.

Although it was night, the interior of the Qin Residence was brightly illuminated.

However, it was obvious that many fewer people remained inside.

Li Lin found a corner, flipped over the wall, and immediately crouched down.

Then he felt that cold, sinister aura again.

He instantly hid behind a decorative potted landscape.

Soon, he saw the white-robed female ghost drift over from the distance and inspect the area before floating away again.

The ghost was indeed still here.

This time, Li Lin did not retreat.

Instead, he followed behind the female ghost.

Before long, she floated into the main hall within the fourth courtyard.

Li Lin followed to a nearby window and listened from outside.

“Great Ancestor, how are things?” asked a woman’s voice.

“A fleeting trace of a living person’s aura.”

The female ghost snorted.

“It was probably some blind fool of a thief trying to take advantage of the chaos. Once he sensed my arrival, he fled.”

Then a young boy’s voice sounded.

“Great Ancestor, I want to go help!”

“Absolutely not. If you dare run around, I’ll break your legs. You’re the only remaining seedling of the Qin Family’s main branch. If something happens to you as well, our line will end.”

This was a woman’s voice.

The boy apparently no longer dared speak.

Then the female ghost’s cold voice rang out.

“Have you still not found the girls I asked for?”

“There aren’t many young girls in the county city born in an yin year and yin month anymore.”

“Troublesome. A girl born only in a yin year will do as well, though if I possess her, my strength will be severely restricted.”

The female ghost’s voice carried urgency.

“I imagine the Ding Family learned that Liu Zhe injured me, that wretch, and that’s why they’re causing trouble for our Qin Family. Those children were fools. How could they let themselves be lured outside? If they had remained within the Qin Residence, this old woman could have helped them.”

Hearing this, Li Lin’s eyes lit up.

It seemed the other party could not leave the Qin Residence in her current condition.

At that moment, he heard the female ghost inside say:

“Granddaughter-in-law, go burn two incense sticks of time at my altar. I can feel my spirit body becoming unstable again. The Ding Family certainly knows how to choose their timing.”

“Yes, Great Ancestor.”

Before long, a woman and four servants headed toward the rear courtyard carrying incense and spirit money.

Li Lin followed them in stealth.

Then he saw an artificial rock formation.

From the outside, it looked completely normal.

But the woman ordered the servants to turn a nearby wooden axle.

Soon afterward, the rock formation rotated, revealing a bluestone altar.

Although Li Lin’s eyesight was excellent, it was the middle of the night.

He could only see that symbols and several characters were inscribed upon it.

He could not make out what they said.

However, he could clearly sense waves of yin energy emanating from the altar.

So this is where it is!

Li Lin crouched low and departed the Qin Residence.

Naturally, when he flipped over the wall, there was an instant during which he left stealth.

The female ghost came over to investigate again.

As expected, she found nothing.

Li Lin then returned once more to the rooftop of the restaurant opposite the Qin Residence.

From here, he could overlook the entire estate.

Naturally, he could also see the artificial rock formation.

Wisps of smoke curled upward from it.

Li Lin estimated the distance.

The rock formation was within the attack range of his Falling Lightning Incantation.

He could not help laughing inwardly.

Having a long-range attack method was wonderful.

Without wasting any time, he began forming hand seals with both hands, sending all the yin power within his body outward.

The massive amount of yin energy caused an intense fluctuation in spiritual force.

The female ghost wandering near the main hall immediately turned toward Li Lin’s location.

Li Lin looked back at her.

The female ghost’s face twisted viciously.

She recognized Li Lin.

Meanwhile, Li Lin revealed a gentle smile.

Falling Lightning Incantation!

A gigantic chain of blue-green and crimson lightning tore through the night sky.