New and dark light years

Chapter 362 The more ordinary it is, the more profound its essence.
White House.

Master Bai led a group of men and women in bowing to Li Lin.

"Many thanks to the county magistrate for saving my entire clan. I am eternally grateful."

Li Lin waved his hand: "It's alright, it's my duty. Du Fei is dead now, don't you want to go and see if he's the one who harmed you?"

Master Bai shook his head and said, "No need. This thief only slapped us a few times and ate some of our food. It's not too much."

Li Lin nodded: "Then you guys rest first. We'll leave after we've tidied up the scene."

"It's alright, the county magistrate can do whatever he wants in the Bai residence." Master Bai's right cheek was swollen so badly that his speech was somewhat slurred.

He was slapped by Du Fei, and one of his molars fell out.

In this situation, being able to survive is actually a good thing.

Li Lin nodded and went to the pond in the front yard.

He saw several coroners examining the scene, looking quite busy, so he stood aside and watched quietly.

He was very curious about how Du Fei had died!

He even died in the pond.

Not long after, an old coroner came over, cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to the county magistrate, we have roughly determined the cause of Du Fei's death. Do you need us to report?"

"Please say."

The old coroner's face was so wrinkled it could trap a mosquito. He slowly said, "This deceased person drowned."

Li Lin looked at Du Fei's body not far away. His belly seemed very swollen, indicating that he had indeed drowned.

He said, "Please continue. Why did this person drown, and why does he seem to have so many injuries?"

The old coroner cleared his throat and continued, "We also found some residual powder in the deceased's eyes. After examining it, we discovered it was a hemostatic agent. Then, we found the bottle containing the hemostatic agent on the ground nearby."

At this point, the old coroner's expression became strange: "We found fine thorns from a tree branch in the wound on the deceased's face. Upon examination, we found that they came from that tree."

Li Lin looked around in confusion and asked, "So, if all these things are connected, this thief was unlucky and died."

The old coroner whispered, "This deceased man was hit by a fallen old locust tree after he got here, and he was covered in injuries. Then he tried to apply hemostatic medicine to his wounds, but for some reason, maybe the wind blew it out, or maybe he accidentally put it in his eyes. He couldn't see the road, and as he wandered around, he fell into the pond. Since he couldn't swim, he drowned."

Li Lin sighed, "This guy is really unlucky."

That death was too outrageous.

But at this moment, the old coroner looked at Li Lin with an even stranger expression. He seemed to have been holding back for a long time before finally saying, "Before I came here, I heard... County Commandant, you burned the paper effigy of the deceased?"

Oh… Li Lin suddenly remembered that he had indeed cursed Du Fei.

But a curse only makes people feel uncomfortable; it won't kill them.

Li Lin's original intention was to make the person so unwell that they wouldn't notice the little paper figure coming to pull down the array flags.

Because paper figures are not human, they are not affected by sensory disturbances.

But he never imagined that he could actually curse someone to death.

Li Lin nodded and said, "I used spirit writing, so I shouldn't have such great abilities."

"That's hard to say." The old coroner cupped his hands and said, "County Commandant, if there's nothing else, please allow me to go back and rest."

Li Lin nodded.

This old coroner is indeed getting on in years and can't stay up all night.

After the old coroner left, Li Lin said to the constables and yamen runners around him, "Dispose of the deceased's body, take it back to the morgue first, and then take it to the mass grave tomorrow so that he can be laid to rest."

The constables accepted the order.

However, none of the yamen runners dared to look at him.

Li Lin went home first; it was already past midnight.

The two women had already gone to bed, but upon hearing his return, they immediately woke up, wrapped in a thin robe, to help him wash and change.

The two of them only went to sleep after Li Lin fell asleep.

The next day.

Li Lin drank the porridge and then went to work.

The county yamen runners still respected him, but this respect seemed to carry a hint of fear.

We're not as close as we used to be.

There's a bit more distance now.

Li Lin sat down in the interrogation room and continued to review the case files. Not long after, Jiang Jili arrived.

As soon as he entered, he stood there staring intently at Li Lin, looking him up and down, left and right.

Li Lin found it strange and asked, "County Magistrate, what's wrong?"

"I heard that you burned effigies of evil spirits last night and cursed someone to death."

Li Lin frowned slightly: "The news spread so fast?"

"Tell me, is this true or not?"

Li Lin could only nod slightly.

Upon hearing his admission, Jiang Jili's expression became extremely exaggerated: "Tsk, I never expected that someone with such thick eyebrows and big eyes like you would resort to such despicable methods."

"That's spirit writing, it's a legitimate art."

“I’ve heard of that before.” Jiang Jili nodded slightly. “I just didn’t expect you to learn such an evil technique.”

“Spells are merely means; they have no inherent good or evil,” Li Lin continued to argue.

“That makes sense, but it doesn’t sound good to others. Who would burn someone else’s effigies as a sign of their good intentions?” At this point, Jiang Jili suddenly whispered, “How many times have you used this kind of curse to kill?”

“Only twice,” Li Lin said. “Besides, this spell only weakens people. The person drowning in the pond was purely an accident.”

Jiang Jili laughed and said, "Do you think I would believe that?"

"There's nothing I can do if you don't believe me," Li Lin said helplessly. "You didn't just come here specifically to tease me, did you?"

Jiang Jili shook his head and smiled, "Not really. There's something else I need to tell you. More and more merchants are coming from Yue County to do business. I'm worried there might be spies among them. What do you think?"

"Have the constables keep an eye on them as much as possible."

"That's the only way; we can't just turn away all the traveling merchants."

Although Yulin County has high grain yields, it is actually short of other supplies. Merchants are needed to exchange goods, as it is impossible to completely prohibit this.

Li Lin asked, "Have you noticed what these itinerant merchants buy most from us?"

"I haven't noticed that yet."

Li Lin said, "It would be best to check what kind of things the traveling merchants bring back to Yue County. This would indicate that they need these things. Alternatively, we can judge the situation in Yue County by the quantity and type of goods they purchase."

Calculations and statistics were generally managed by the county magistrate.

Jiang Jili nodded: "I will follow up on this matter and let you know when there is a result."

After saying that, Jiang Jili left.

As soon as the man left, Constable Zhou and his men entered.

He clasped his hands and said, "County Commandant, during our investigation of Du Fei's case, we found some evidence. What do you think we should do with it?"

After saying that, he instructed the yamen runner to hand over a bundle.

"Where did you find it?"

“The things in the inn where he stayed before are indeed his.”

Have you seen it?

"I have already examined the property for the purpose of the investigation and confirmed that it belongs to Du Fei."

Li Lin opened the bundle and saw a change of clothes, some loose silver, and a small booklet.

The booklet has a very common blue background, with the title "An Introduction to Battle Formations" written in black.

Li Lin's eyes lit up.

He does know some formations, but that's his weakness. If he could learn formations, the safety of his home would be better guaranteed.

He thought for a moment and said, “Take this book to the paper mill and print two copies. Then seal the original as evidence. Give me one of the two copies, and put the other in the county government’s library. Everyone can read it, but no one can take it away.”

"Yes."

"In addition, according to the rules, everyone who accompanied you last night will receive a 'night watch' allowance. Although it's only a few coins, rules are rules. Go to the clerk to inquire, and after you get the money, have the clerk stamp the payment on my document."

"Thank you for the reward, County Lieutenant." Constable Zhou cupped his hands in thanks.

Ten coins may not seem like much, but for an ordinary family, it's enough for about half a month's worth of rice and grain.

Officer Zhou was very efficient; he had already sent someone to bring back "An Introduction to Battle Formations" when Li Lin was about to leave work.

A copy was presented to Li Lin.

Li Lin didn't rush to look at the files. Instead, after processing several case files, he took the booklet home.

He returned to the backyard and said to Huang Qing, "You guys eat first."

Then they went to the study.

He opened the book "An Introduction to Battle Formations," and the words on it all smelled strongly of ink.

Because the books were printed using movable type, not handwritten with ink, they had a somewhat unpleasant smell.

But it doesn't matter, the smell is bad, but it will go away after a day or two.

He read it down word by word.

He soon made his progress.

[Formation +1]

[Formation +1]

[Formation +1]

Such prompts kept popping up in Li Lin's field of vision, and then gradually disappearing.

He sat in his study for two full hours before finally closing the book on the general principles of formations.

He finished reading it.

The formation technique has finally reached a minor level of mastery.

He also learned several interesting formations.

The first one is the Anzhai Formation.

This formation is very interesting; it's not the kind of formation that can make people lose their way or misperceive their surroundings.

Rather, it is a formation that operates based on rules.

Its function is to keep evil at bay and good at near when this formation is set up around your house.

It means that bad things will stay away from your home, and good things will come closer.

It sounds impressive, and it is indeed a powerful formation.

However, it has a drawback: the effect is not very obvious.

It's useful, but the effect is minimal!

The author also stated that he did not create this formation, but rather it was a simplified version based on immortal formations.

As for other formations such as the 'Disturbing Mind Formation,' 'Soul-Disturbing Formation,' and 'Blinding Eye Formation,' they are essentially just applications of disrupting the flow of Qi, and Li Lin understands their principles.

The 'Home Safety Formation' is unique in that its essence is based on the application of the 'Tao'.

It's too complicated, too profound; Li Lin can't understand it.

He had a feeling that if he could fully understand the principles of this home-protecting formation, he would definitely be able to make further progress in his cultivation.

After thinking for a while, he decided to set up the Anzhai Formation first.

Regardless of whether you understand the principles or not, the right approach is to first follow the 'formula' and perform the calculations.

He got up and was about to leave the study when he saw the white jade sword on the shelf glowing.

Li Lin smiled, ignored it, and turned to leave.

Let's put aside this alien deity, Siluotuo, for now and deal with everything after he finishes his meal.

After reading for two hours, he was already very hungry.

(End of this chapter)