“Hearing that the Great Marshal has fallen ill, Marshal Wu is deeply concerned and has specially sent this humble Daoist here…”
Wu Ming had naturally disguised himself slightly, and in any case, Qi Lin had not connected him with that legendary pretty boy who supposedly relied on his looks. His expression was solemn: “I never expected that there would be Earth Immortals under Marshal Wu’s command! Was it the Immortal Sage who altered her fate against Heaven’s will?”
“A good bird chooses its tree, and a wise man chooses his lord! Marshal Wu rises in accordance with Heaven’s decree, and this humble Daoist follows Heaven’s will—what of it? In Dingzhou, the Suihan Sect has already pledged allegiance to her. Is it possible the Great Marshal was unaware?”
Wu Ming spoke with practiced ease, releasing and then withdrawing his Domain power. His expression turned slightly grave: “It’s indeed the poison of the Nianxi Beast! The only way to remove it is to find the very beast that poisoned you… Does the Great Marshal have any clues?”
“None…”
Qi Lin’s face turned pale: “I enjoy hunting, and I encountered that Nianxi Beast by accident. Thinking back, it seems too obviously orchestrated… Unfortunately, I can’t move now, and I’m unable to investigate… How do you plan to help me?”
“It’s simple! Once I cure you of this poison, everything will resolve itself!”
Wu Ming replied with a smile.
Given Qi Lin’s long-standing authority in Pingshan Commandery, deposing a governor or launching a major purge would be no more than a single command.
“If you can heal me, I will immediately dispatch troops to aid General Wu Zhi… But tell me—what’s your plan?”
“How about waiting for the rabbit to come to us?”
Wu Ming said casually: “The one who poisoned the Great Marshal will surely send spies to monitor the governor’s mansion day and night. Seeing me enter today, they will certainly come to investigate!”
In truth, the moment his Domain expanded, he had already detected a faint trace of the Nianxi Beast’s aura.
The abilities of an Earth Immortal are ever-changing and infinitely profound. With just this trace, he was confident he could locate the Nian Beast and, from there, uncover the mastermind behind it all.
But combing through an entire commandery thoroughly would be too tedious. He might as well wait for the enemy to walk into his trap!
“You…”
Qi Lin’s face flushed red. Wu Ming’s words were clearly an insult to his intelligence network and capabilities!
But recalling the previous ambush and the poisoned wound, he still nodded weakly, conceding the point.
…
Soon, news from within the Governor’s Mansion was transmitted through secret channels to the ears of the Commandery Governor.
The Governor of Pingshan Commandery was named Gan Youxin, widely regarded as a kind-hearted and gentle elder. Due to Qi Lin’s firm grip on military power, this imperial appointee had been effectively sidelined, wielding perhaps less authority than even a county magistrate.
Yet who could imagine that beneath Gan Youxin’s gentle exterior lay the most crucial pawn the imperial court and the regional governor had placed in Pingshan?
“An unknown figure entered the Governor’s Mansion? Battled the Qilin Guards… And then? Is Qi Lin alive or dead?”
Gan Youxin frowned, his long eyebrows furrowing: “I want concrete intelligence, not fabrications!”
“Forgive me, my Lord!”
The intelligence chief immediately knelt: “The Governor’s authority is well established in this region, and the Qilin Guards have the mansion locked down tighter than a fortress. Our people find it extremely difficult to pass information… Just recently, one of our spies managed to rise to the rank of a concubine servant, but she was executed for speaking a single suspicious sentence…”
“I understand your difficulties…”
Gan Youxin rubbed his temples: “You may withdraw for now…”
After the spy exited, Gan Youxin turned the oil lamp on his desk.
Click!
Click!
The sound of gears engaging echoed, and a row of bookshelves automatically slid backward, revealing a descending passage.
Holding the lamp, Gan Youxin followed the dim light down into a hidden chamber below.
“Beast-Tamer Sage! You heard everything, didn’t you?”
Inside the secret chamber were some cushions, furniture, water, and dried rations—simple and crude. Gan Youxin’s expression was grim: “What assurances did you give me before? You said Qi Lin would die, yet he still lives!”
“Hehehe!”
The Beast-Tamer cackled: “That’s because your intelligence was faulty! Qi Lin isn’t merely a Grandmaster of Martial Arts—he’s a Martial Saint! And… he has half-demon blood! Otherwise… no matter how great a Martial Saint, anyone hit by my Nianxi Beast poison should be dead by now!”
His eyes gleamed with a green light, filled with insatiable hunger: “A half-demon… compared to the rewards you offer, I want Qi Lin himself! Do you know how rare half-demon blood is? If I could administer the ‘Beast Transformation Pill’ and fully awaken that bloodline, I might gain a servant as powerful as an ancient great demon!”
“No! No matter what, Qi Lin must die!”
Gan Youxin immediately shook his head.
“Hehehe… You’re the client, so you decide. But the price I demand this time must double!”
The Beast-Tamer sighed regretfully.
“Double?” Gan Youxin almost gasped. Even as a commandery governor, the cost of hiring this man had already been painful: “Why the increase?”
“Why?”
The Beast-Tamer hissed: “If your previous intelligence hadn’t been incomplete and misleading, how could I have suffered such injuries? If you can’t agree, bring someone who can negotiate!”
“Damn it! These rogues from the nine schools and three teachings, relying on a few arcane techniques, dare to bargain with the imperial court! They should’ve been wiped out long ago!”
Gan Youxin’s eyes turned blood-red as he gritted his teeth: “Fine! You’ll go to the Governor’s Mansion tonight, and you must ensure everything stays under control!”
“Hehehe… Congratulations, Governor. You’ve made the right choice!”
The Beast-Tamer cackled again, his terrifying laughter echoing through the chamber. The mirror on the wall reflected his emerald-green pupils, a sight both grotesque and terrifying.
…
“Hehehe… That fool, how could he possibly understand the value of half-demon blood?”
Under the moonlight, the Beast-Tamer’s dark green robe fluttered violently in the wind, and a thick black mist swirled around him, filled with the sounds of countless beasts roaring.
“And besides… that’s no ordinary bloodline—it might even be that of the ancient Ink-and-Water Qilin!”
The Beast-Tamer’s eyes gleamed with a feverish light: “Once I capture him, what are those promises the regional governor made compared to that?”
“The last time, I was caught off guard, and we both suffered. But this time…”
A resolute expression settled on his face.
Thanks to the Governor’s cooperation, the streets around the Governor’s Mansion were unusually quiet tonight, with even the usual guards withdrawn.
Even if something happened here, it would take time for the nearest troops to arrive, perhaps even if the place caught fire.
“Last time, Qi Lin survived my Nianxi Beast poison, but even so, he must now be barely clinging to life. The only real obstacle now is that Qilin Guard unit, but even they’re nothing to worry about…”
Squeaking! Squeaking!
A cacophony of sounds erupted, accompanied by the flapping of wings. Within the black mist surrounding the Beast-Tamer, pairs of blood-red eyes, large as mung beans, appeared.
The flapping grew louder, merging into a single black wave—a swarm of countless black bats!
“Go!”
The black bats blotted out the sky, then scattered like a thousand needles, slipping into the Governor’s Mansion. The few remaining guards and night watchmen fell to the ground without even a whimper, each with a black bat clinging to their neck, greedily sucking their blood.
“Intruders!”
“Help!”
…
Inside the Governor’s Mansion, chaos stirred, and torches flared to life.
“Hahaha! Scream all you want! Not even a scream tonight will bring anyone to save you!”
The Beast-Tamer laughed maniacally, sending a massive black bat soaring into the air. A golden marking adorned its forehead.
“Go… find the Governor!”
This was the king of all blood-sucking bats. Last time, it had brushed against Qi Lin’s bloodline. Now, tracking him again, it was like a homing pigeon—effortless and precise.
The golden-marked Vampire Bat King shrieked and dove unhesitatingly into the depths of the Governor’s Mansion.
“So the Governor really is inside… It seems this isn’t a trap!”
The Beast-Tamer was overjoyed, then let out another beastly roar.
“AO WU!”
“WAWA!”
…
A shocking sight unfolded!
The black mist around him expanded, and a chorus of beastly roars erupted. One by one, hideous green wolves, apes, and other ferocious beasts leapt forth!
It was as if the Beast-Tamer carried a hidden paradise within himself! Thousands of wild beasts, not only under his command but seemingly stored within him, ready to be summoned at will.
Bang!
With the charge of two rhino-like creatures clad in iron armor, the Governor’s Mansion gates shattered instantly. A flood of beasts poured in, their eyes glowing red as they began their slaughter!
“There are wolves!”
“Monsters! They’re monsters!”
Chaos erupted within the mansion as Qilin Guards appeared, wielding black longswords: “By the Governor’s order—kill on sight!”
“Hmph!”
Amid the chaos, the Beast-Tamer moved like a shadow, effortlessly advancing.
“Great Golden Monkey King! Attack!”
He pointed forward, and from the depths of the mansion, a golden-furred, grotesque monkey king leapt forth, wielding a massive iron staff that came crashing down like a storm.
Boom!
The door exploded into countless splinters. Three Grandmaster-level Qilin Guards roared in unison, rushing forward to engage the Great Golden Monkey King in battle.
Though their martial skills were formidable, the Monkey King’s golden fur was impervious to blades, and his physical strength rivaled that of a Martial Saint. With sweeping strikes of his iron staff, he gradually pushed them back.
“Squeak! Squeak!”
At this point, the Vampire Bat King’s cries grew more urgent. It dove headlong into a small side chamber.
“Hahaha… In a situation like this, if Qi Lin still doesn’t show himself, he must indeed be gravely wounded. Heaven is bestowing great fortune upon me!”
Filled with excitement, the Beast-Tamer stormed into the chamber, only for his eyes to widen.
The room was bare, save for a sickbed where Qi Lin lay, and beside him, a Daoist priest. The Vampire Bat King lay on the floor, cut in two, its black blood pooling.
“Is it him?”
Wu Ming asked.
“Yes! Everything is in your hands now!”
Qi Lin nodded slightly. With a mechanical click, the entire bed slid into the wall and vanished behind a sealed panel.
“You dare kill my beloved beast, the Beast-Tamer’s treasure?”
The Beast-Tamer narrowed his eyes, his pupils gleaming green.
“You’re the Beast-Tamer?”
Wu Ming smiled: “I must say, I admire your audacity—carrying around a treasure like a hidden paradise, yet still daring to roam freely. You’ve got guts!”
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