Chapter 63: A Chaotic Age

Li Lin traveled along the official road. The journey was quiet, with lush forests carpeting the mountains.

Before long, the time reached noon. Li Lin sat beneath a tree and began eating his dry rations.

Just as he was about to finish them, dense footsteps faintly drifted over from ahead.

Carrying his bundle and long spear, he moved behind the tree and hid.

In times like these, anyone encountered while traveling outside could potentially turn out to be a ghost.

Not long afterward, nearly two hundred local militia soldiers slowly marched past along the official road, kicking up a modest cloud of dust.

The leading man rode a chestnut horse. His gaze was sharp, and he was clearly a martial artist of considerable strength.

The moment Li Lin saw him, he immediately looked away.

Sure enough, the mounted man shifted his gaze in his direction, his eyes filled with suspicion.

The man scanned the area twice. After finding nothing unusual, he continued looking ahead.

Only after the local militia had departed did Li Lin emerge from behind the tree.

This force was probably also heading to reinforce Tang Qi’s frontier army.

Judging by the direction they had come from, they should be the local militia of Beiliu County.

Because apart from Yulin County, only people from Beiliu County would travel this official road.

He finished the last bite of his dry rations and continued toward Yulin County.

Halfway through the journey, his expression immediately became somewhat grave.

He caught the faint scent of blood.

Following the smell, he found bloodstains on the official road ahead and then discovered more than a dozen corpses in the grass beside the road.

All of them were men.

Looking at the damaged two-wheeled wooden carts nearby, it was obvious this had been a merchant caravan that had been robbed.

Li Lin shook his head helplessly.

Such was the state of the world.

He then turned around and looked in the direction from which he had come.

The blood had not completely coagulated yet. The incident should have occurred not long ago.

Ordinary people could not wipe out an entire merchant caravan.

That meant the Beiliu County militia that had just passed by was the most likely culprit.

But he had no intention of upholding justice.

Because it simply could not be done.

A local militia force of nearly two hundred men, complete with sword-and-shield soldiers, spearmen, and archers, constituted a fully organized military unit.

Furthermore, they were led by a county commandant who looked extremely powerful.

Li Lin was alone.

Going to cause trouble would be no different from throwing an egg against a stone.

He put the matter out of his mind and continued on his way.

Using his lightness skill, Li Lin finally returned to Shangtikou Village before nightfall.

As always, the village became extremely quiet as evening approached.

The overwhelming majority of people had already returned home, shut their doors, and settled down to rest.

He immediately went to the altar.

Then the Tree Immortal Lady appeared.

Li Lin extended his left hand, and the Tree Immortal Lady wrapped both arms around it.

The familiar feeling of comfort returned.

After eating her fill, the Tree Immortal Lady returned to the altar to rest.

Li Lin also returned home, cooked some blood rice to satisfy his hunger, took a bath, and then happily lay down on his bed and fell asleep.

This time he slept very deeply.

Unlike other places, the Tree Immortal Lady was here.

That made him feel especially secure.

The next day, Li Lin was awakened by Xiaohu.

“Brother Lin, Brother Lin, are you awake yet?”

Yawning, Li Lin got out of bed and walked into the courtyard.

He looked up at the sky and realized it was already approaching noon.

“What is it?”

“Brother Lin, I’ve decided to settle down in Shatong Village from now on,” Zhao Xiaohu said with a smile. “In another couple of days, we’ll be moving there.”

“You’ve decided? What did Uncle Zhao say?” Li Lin asked.

“My father said all three of us are going.”

Li Lin beckoned with his hand.

“Come in and let’s talk.”

Zhao Xiaohu entered the courtyard.

“Brother Lin, what do you think about this?”

“I think it’s pretty good. This way, there’ll be people in Shatong Village to look after you,” Li Lin said with a smile.

“Actually, I don’t really want to go.” Zhao Xiaohu lowered his head. “I want to keep following you, Brother Lin.”

“If you don’t stay in Shatong Village and fulfill your duties, you won’t receive any blood rice in the future.”

Li Lin patted his head and smiled.

“Without blood rice, you won’t be able to strengthen your blood and qi, and then you won’t be able to learn the Nourishing Yin Cultivation Method.”

Zhao Xiaohu sighed.

“I understand, but without someone leading me, I always feel a little uneasy.”

“It’s fine. If there’s anything you don’t understand in the future, come find me. Shatong Village isn’t far from here anyway. A round trip takes less than half a day’s travel. Once you have enough money to buy a horse or a donkey, it’ll be even faster.”

Zhao Xiaohu could only nod, though disappointment was clearly written on his face.

Over the next two days, Li Lin devoted himself to teaching Zhao Xiaohu.

He explained techniques related to spearsmanship, boxing, and the Rejuvenation Health Preservation Art.

As for how much Zhao Xiaohu could learn, that would depend on his own comprehension.

Three days later, Li Lin saw Uncle Zhao’s family of three off at the village entrance.

He also promised to watch over their old house so that if they ever returned one day, they would still have a place to live.

Not long after seeing the Zhao family off, a yamen runner rode into the village looking for him.

“Patrol Hunter Li, the County Magistrate has summoned you. Please proceed to the county yamen.”

Li Lin nodded.

He soon arrived at the county seat and entered the rear courtyard of the county yamen.

There he saw Su Huafang, Bai Liwei, Bai Bufan, Zhao Hao, and the others already gathered.

When Huang Yan saw Li Lin, he smiled and nodded.

“Aside from Zhao Xiaohu, everyone has arrived. I hereby announce an important matter... According to reliable intelligence we have received, Yue Prefecture has indeed fallen.”

The atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

“The head of the Qin family of Yue City, Qin Tuo, colluded with the southern barbarians, seized control of Yue City, murdered the local prefect, and proclaimed himself king.”

Huang Yan snorted coldly.

“As of now, our Jin Prefecture has become a frontier region.”

“How could he dare?” Zhao Hao asked in confusion.

Huang Yan snorted.

“Of course he dares. More than half of the imperial army is stationed on the northern frontier, resisting the invasion of the Di people. The political situation in the Central Plains region is rotten, and our southern frontier lacks troops. This is the perfect opportunity for ambitious warlords to rise.”

Many of the Spirit Hunters shook their heads and sighed.

They traveled frequently and naturally knew the true state of Great Qi.

“However, you don’t need to worry excessively. Tang Qi’s frontier army is not easy to provoke either,” Huang Yan continued. “In addition, the imperial court has introduced a new measure. The amount of blood rice received by each Spirit Hunter every month will increase from twenty-five kilograms (~55 lb) to thirty-five kilograms (~77 lb).”

The moment those words were spoken, not a single Spirit Hunter looked pleased.

Instead, they all frowned.

Normally, blood rice production was relatively stable and did not fluctuate dramatically.

An increase in the monthly allotment could only mean one thing.

A large number of Spirit Hunters had died.

That was why so much blood rice allocation had become available.

Huang Yan observed everyone’s expressions before continuing.

“It’s exactly as you’ve guessed... Recently, Spirit Hunters throughout the Central Plains region have been disappearing one after another. Yet when I submitted reports asking for the reason, I received no reply.”

The Spirit Hunters remained silent.

“Therefore, all of you should stay vigilant, preserve yourselves, and help one another through these troubled times.”

Afterward, everyone dispersed.

Huang Yan had Li Lin accompany him, and the two went to the Huang residence.

In the rear courtyard of the Huang residence.

Huang Qing, together with the little girl Li Lin had seen previously in the pavilion, served tea to her father and Li Lin.

“Patrol Hunter Li, this is a piece of correspondence we recently intercepted. Take a look.”

Huang Yan pushed an envelope toward Li Lin.

After reading it, Li Lin was somewhat surprised.

“A request for reinforcements from the Qin family of Feirong County!”

“That’s right. Our Huang family intercepted it and then sent it here.”

Huang Yan smiled.

“You handled the destruction of the Qin family of Feirong County very well!”