New and dark light years

Chapter 177 Guard against petty people, not gentlemen

The next day, Li Lin led more than 120 people from Yulin County.

The specific personnel configuration is as follows.

One hundred local militiamen, seventy swordsmen and shieldmen, and thirty archers were under the command of Deputy Commander Su Bei.

The twenty constables were under the command of the newly appointed head constable, Xiao Chunzhu.

Also accompanying them were two 'newcomers': Zhao Xiaohu, a Spirit Hunter, and Bai Bufan.

It's fair to say that almost everyone here is Li Lin's confidant and loyal follower.

As the local militia marched, by nightfall, the more than one hundred men had banded together, and the resulting aura of blood and gore deterred any wild monsters from approaching them easily.

However, for safety reasons, Li Lin still sprinkled a ring of Imperial Powder around the perimeter.

He can now make this himself, which has reduced costs and makes it inexpensive.

Then Li Lin summoned Zhao Xiaohu, Bai Bufan, Xiao Chunzhu, and Su Bei, and they all came to his tent.

"Take a bottle of Boiling Blood Pill for everyone."

Li Lin distributed the four bottles of Boiling Blood Pills.

Zhao Xiaohu opened the bottle cap, took a sip, and felt a warm current surge through his body. He then said, "Brother Lin, what kind of pill is this? I've never heard of it before."

Li Linming is famous for two kinds of pills in Yulin County.

Strengthening pills and anti-aging pills.

This is also the main source of income for the Li family.

Especially the Youth Preservation Pill; any woman with a little money wants to buy a few to take.

Thanks to this anti-aging elixir, Huang Qing became the most influential and powerful woman in Yulin County's "high-society circle," without exception.

The others were also looking at Li Lin.

Li Lin explained with a smile, "The Boiling Blood Pill is an ancestral medicine that I only recently managed to master. Its effect is to temporarily enhance one's blood and improve one's skills, but the effect only lasts for about fifteen minutes. You can take a few pills in a row, but it's best not to take five pills in a row."

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Temporarily boosting one's blood and qi is essentially a way to enhance one's strength. Although it has a time limit, it might be the key to victory or defeat at crucial moments, and could even be a lifesaver.

Bai Bufan opened the bottle and saw that there were at least twenty or thirty pills inside. He poured one out and put it in his mouth.

Then his face suddenly turned red, he jumped aside, pulled out two short knives, and started brandishing them.

Gusts of wind blew, accompanied by whistling sounds.

It's clear that Bai Bufan's strength is now much greater than usual.

Zhao Xiaohu and the others were overjoyed, and then immediately put away the porcelain bottle in their hands.

"Thank you very much, County Commandant." Xiao Chunzhu clasped her hands in gratitude.

Su Bei also expressed his gratitude.

A while later, Bai Bufan returned. The redness on his face had faded, but his forehead was covered in sweat.

"Phew...that feels so good. Apart from my hands and feet being a little weak, there are no other problems. The side effects are practically nonexistent." Bai Bufan clasped his hands in admiration and said, "As expected of County Magistrate Li, with such alchemy skills, he would definitely be summoned to the palace by the current emperor if he went to the capital."

The current emperor is practicing alchemy and seeking immortality, and is recruiting many people who know alchemy.

"Go in and become a eunuch?" Li Lin laughed. "I can't bear to leave my wives and concubines at home."

Everyone laughed.

Five days later, they finally arrived at the western suburbs of Tianjin.

When they arrived, they found that a small camp had already been set up there.

A flag with the character "高" (high) was hanging on it.

“That must be the local militia from Beiliu County. They’re closer to Tianjin, so it’s normal that they arrived earlier,” Su Bei explained, standing next to Li Lin.

Li Lin nodded, waved his hand, and said, "Set up camp here."

The local militia began setting up makeshift camps on the spot. At that moment, several people emerged from the nearby camps.

Li Lin also led Xiao Chunzhu to greet them.

The two sides met, clasped their hands in a fist salute, and smiled at each other.

Li Lin remembered seeing this man before. Once, when he returned from Fei Rong County, he saw the man riding a chestnut horse and leading local militia along the official road.

To avoid any conflict with the other party, Li Lin hid himself.

That happened more than six months ago.

The other party smiled and said, "My surname is Gao, my given name is Haiya, and I am the magistrate of Beiliu County. May I ask if you are the magistrate of Yulin County?"

"Yes, Li Lin, the county magistrate of Yulin."

"I've heard so much about you." Gao Haiya, dressed in the uniform of a county constable, walked over and laughed heartily. "I've heard about it all in Beiliu County. There's a handsome man in Yulin County who married the daughter of Prefect Huang and is also skilled in alchemy."

Li Lin laughed and said, "It's all because the neighbors are giving me face. County Magistrate Gao is full of vigor and should already be a seventh-rank martial artist."

"Hahaha, County Commandant Li has a good eye." Gao Haiya said happily, "I've been practicing martial arts since I was a student, and the only thing I can be proud of is my 'water-grinding' kung fu. Now that we're both here, let's discuss the next steps!"

"No problem," Li Lin said with a smile.

"The prefect instructed us to merge our forces, then split into east and west sides to sweep away the evil spirits of Luofeng Ridge." Gao Haiya looked at Li Lin and asked, "Which side does County Lieutenant Li wish to begin with?"

"Whatever you like, County Lieutenant Gao can choose first."

"Then I'll choose the east."

"Alright." Gao Haiya paused, then asked, "I heard County Commandant Li is a Spirit Hunter? What rank is he?"

"Eighth rank!" Li Lin said with a smile.

Do you have any extra Spirit Hunters with you?

“Bring other Spirit Hunters, but not too many.”

Gao Haiya said somewhat helplessly, "You should have heard that something happened in Beiliu County some time ago. All the Spirit Hunters were killed in action. We haven't had any new Spirit Hunters yet. Could you lend us one or two?"

Li Lin said with difficulty, "We don't have enough people here either, as most of those who came are young people."

"Then forget it." Gao Haiya smiled with narrowed eyes, then said, "I'll go back first. County Commandant Li should also get some rest. We'll split up tomorrow morning."

"it is good!"

Gao Haiya turned and left.

Back on his own side, the makeshift camp had been set up, and Li Lin sat cross-legged in the tent.

Xiao Chunzhu stood up and said, "That County Magistrate Gao seems a bit strange."

"What's wrong with this?"

“His blood energy is too vigorous, which is abnormal.” Xiao Chunzhu explained, “A seventh-rank martial artist should have started to condense his blood energy into vital energy, but he is still trying to break through his blood energy, and there is no sign of him condensing vital energy at all. It feels like he has practiced some kind of evil technique.”

What happens when a person's blood and energy reach their extreme?

“They usually end up going astray.” Xiao Chunzhu shrugged. “Isolated yang energy doesn’t last long… Even the most yang and powerful Buddhist martial arts need Buddhist teachings to suppress and neutralize the excessive yang energy in the body.”

Li Lin nodded, indicating that he understood. He then said, "I just don't know, there are no spirit hunters in Beiliu County, so how do they eliminate the ghosts... Did they bring out a True Lord?"

Xiao Chunzhu remained silent.

He was very clear about the affairs of the martial arts world and the matters of martial arts training.

But this kind of thing related to the supernatural is the domain of the spirit hunters.

Li Lin frowned. If they really brought an altar and invited the True Lord out, then it would indeed be a good idea.

However... if Gao Haiya has ill intentions, then the True Lord on the altar could be a very troublesome thing.

Don’t be afraid of ten thousand, just be afraid of what happens.

It's better to make some preparations beforehand, to guard against petty people, not honest ones.

(End of this chapter)