Chapter 70: The Cunning Often Meet Disaster

After leaving the prefectural office, everyone wiped cold sweat from their foreheads.

Especially Su Huafang.

He could clearly sense how formidable the martial artists around Prince Lu were.

At the very least, they were Third Rank.

Just one of them stepping forward would have been enough to effortlessly wipe out their entire group.

“Patrol Hunter Li, you’re truly bold.”

Su Huafang exclaimed.

“In that situation, you actually dared interrupt the conversation between Prince Lu and the Prefect.”

Li Lin shook his head.

“If we hadn’t gotten out of there at that moment, we would have ended up in a very troublesome situation later. I was just taking a gamble.”

Bai Liwei sucked in a breath.

“What do we do now?”

“Of course we return to Yulin County.”

Li Lin glanced at the sky.

“The sooner we leave, the better.”

Su Huafang nodded.

“I think so too. Patrol Hunters Bai, and Young Master Zhao, what do you think?”

Bai Liwei said, “Let’s return together. It’s good to have people looking out for each other.”

Bai Bufan felt somewhat regretful.

There were still two brothels he had not visited.

Who knew when he would next have the opportunity to come here?

Zhao Hao was somewhat hesitant.

“I think...”

Li Lin looked at him.

“Young Master Zhao, if I were you, I wouldn’t stay here any longer for the time being. Your uncle is the Chief Clerk. No matter what, he has some connection to Prefect Fang. If Prince Lu decides to pursue the matter, your uncle will inevitably be implicated. If you remain in Jin City, you’ll most likely end up suffering along with him. You might as well return to Yulin County with us. At least there, you can observe how events develop from the outside. Whether you want to save people or stay uninvolved, you’ll still have room to maneuver.”

Zhao Hao considered it for a while.

“I’ll listen to you.”

Su Huafang said, “Then let’s all go pack our things. If there’s anything that needs handling, take care of it quickly. We’ll meet at the North City Gate in one shichen.”

“All right!”

Everyone immediately separated.

Li Lin returned to the inn and picked up his bundle.

After checking its contents and confirming that nothing was missing, he stuffed the alchemy furnace inside as well.

He settled his lodging bill with the innkeeper and then carried the bundle to the marketplace.

He remembered that he needed to buy lip rouge for the Tree Immortal Lady.

Rouge shops were easy to find, and there were quite a few of them.

However, only one shop carried Snow Marrow Vermilion.

Moreover, it was a government-operated establishment.

“So expensive, forty taels of silver?”

Li Lin sucked in a breath.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged woman who still retained considerable charm.

Waving her handkerchief, she said,

“Oh, sir. That’s the price. Snow Marrow Vermilion used to be something only palace consorts and noble ladies of the capital could use. Now that it’s been released for sale in the prefectures and commanderies, it’s already much cheaper.”

“Can’t it be a little cheaper?”

“No. The price is set by the imperial court. We can’t change it. If I lower it by even one tael, I’ll have to make up that one tael myself when the monthly accounts are audited.”

Li Lin did not think the woman was lying.

He could only grit his teeth and pay the forty taels of silver.

Not only had this trip failed to earn him any money, he had actually lost ten taels.

Holding a round wooden box painted white with pale gold patterns, he opened it.

Inside, at the center of the white wooden interior, was a circular depression containing a pool of semi-transparent red “jade.”

A faint fragrance drifted from it.

No wonder it was called Snow Marrow Vermilion.

And no wonder it was so expensive.

Even Li Lin thought it was exceptionally beautiful.

He placed the box into his bundle and left the rouge shop.

After walking for a while, his expression became serious.

Because he sensed someone following him.

Since Spirit Hunters nurtured yin energy within their bodies, and since that substance was essentially the source of power for gui, their senses were relatively sharp.

He did not look back.

Instead, he pretended to wander around casually and inadvertently arrived at a relatively secluded area.

The alleys here were narrow.

Low tiled houses surrounded the area.

Li Lin slipped behind an earthen brick house.

After blocking everyone’s line of sight, he entered stealth mode.

He then hid behind an old tree not far away.

Soon afterward, footsteps approached.

Three people arrived at the corner where he had disappeared and began looking around.

After a while, one of them said,

“Damn it, where did that brat run off to?”

Li Lin narrowed his eyes.

He recognized the stalker’s face.

It was Lin Qiyu, the same man who had previously tried to trick him but failed.

The middle-aged man’s face was filled with anger.

“If he hadn’t refused to help, we could have kept Tianyi Sect outside until the chief returned. We wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses, and I wouldn’t have been stripped of my position as escort captain by the chief. Hmph. He definitely hasn’t gone far. Split up and search. If you see him, shout immediately. Once we catch him, I’ll make him compensate me for my losses and then skin him alive.”

Hearing those words, Li Lin gently set his red-tasseled spear aside and pulled out the short sword tucked inside his clothing.

The other two escorts moved farther away.

Lin Qiyu searched nearby.

Li Lin quietly crept over.

Very soon, he arrived behind Lin Qiyu.

Stab!

The short sword plunged into Lin Qiyu’s lower back.

The pain made Lin Qiyu’s body straighten instantly.

Yet he seemed to use some kind of martial art and suddenly dashed several steps forward, instantly escaping Li Lin’s attack range.

Then he shouted,

“He’s her...”

Li Lin now knew the Lightness Skill.

In the blink of an eye, he caught up and drove the short sword into the man’s other kidney.

This time, Lin Qiyu could no longer speak.

His face turned a sickly green.

He dropped to his knees and trembled for a while before collapsing face-first onto the ground.

His eyes bulged wide open, bloodshot and filled with veins.

He actually died from the pain.

However, his voice had still carried outward.

The two escorts had not gone far.

Hearing the sound, they immediately rushed over together.

But the moment they arrived not far in front of Li Lin, their heads flew into the air.

Blood sprayed from their severed necks like water from a sprinkler, scattering in countless droplets.

By the time their heads and bodies hit the ground together, a masked man had abruptly appeared behind them.

Li Lin took a cautious step backward.

He could tell that this masked man’s strength was formidable.

“Friend, don’t be nervous. It’s me!”

The voice sounded familiar.

The man then lowered the cloth covering his face, revealing the face of a young man.

Li Lin recognized him.

It was the leading young man from Tianyi Sect.

“Tianyi Sect’s Senior Brother, An Xin!”

The young man’s eyes curved when he smiled, making him appear highly approachable.

“Friend, we meet again.”

Li Lin cupped his fists.

“Spirit Hunter Li Lin. Many thanks for the assistance. How did you happen to be here?”

“Those two young escorts were no match for you. I acted unnecessarily.”

An Xin smiled.

“Our Tianyi Sect had already let Shunfu Escort Agency go. While wandering the streets, however, I saw Lin Qiyu actually daring to follow Patrol Hunter Li, so I followed as well to see whether I could resolve the misunderstanding between the two of you.”

Resolve the misunderstanding?

If he had come to resolve a misunderstanding, why wear a mask?

Would someone resolving a misunderstanding open with a killing move?

This An Xin had come here intending to kill.

“Many thanks, Young Hero An. I still have urgent matters and need to reunite with my companions. Until we meet again.”

Li Lin did not want to talk with this man any longer.

He felt that the other man was extremely scheming.

Of course...

He was much the same.

People of the same kind generally repelled one another.

“Then I won’t keep you.”

An Xin cupped his fists.

“Until we meet again.”

Li Lin turned and left.

An Xin remained standing motionless where he was, staring at the place where Li Lin had disappeared.

After quite some time, more than a dozen masked men dressed in black approached from nearby.

An Xin said coldly,

“Sink the corpses of these three into the river as food for the gui. Don’t let anyone find them. Clean up all the bloodstains as well.”

The black-clad men immediately got to work.

One of them stepped forward and reported,

“Senior Brother, we’ve learned that the chief escort of Shunfu Escort Agency intends to relocate his wife and children to Yulin County.”

“He has a backer in Yulin County?”

“Unknown.”

“Then continue investigating.”