New and dark light years

Chapter 455 The art of paper-making has become a highly sought-after skill.

From the sound of hurried footsteps to the lifting of the tarpaulin at the entrance of the command tent, only a few breaths passed.

However, in the perception of the four supervisors, this short period of time felt like a very long time.

When the tarpaulin was fully lifted, several of Li Lin's personal guards escorted a captain in.

Upon seeing the captain's face, Guo Yuan, Mu Yi, and Ji Bo all breathed a sigh of relief.

Then all three of them looked at Zhang Qi.

At this moment, Zhang Qi knelt down with a thud, bowed to Li Lin, and shouted, "Governor, I'm innocent! Although this man is my subordinate, I really didn't know he had done such an ungrateful thing."

He shouted as he knelt down and approached Li Lin.

Just as he was less than ten feet away from Li Lin, his body tensed, his legs exerted force, and he suddenly jumped up, about to pounce on Li Lin.

But just as his legs were less than a foot off the ground, a hand was placed on his shoulder and he was shoved back down to the ground.

Boom!
A muffled thud was heard, and the ground seemed to tremble slightly.

Then came Zhang Qi's screams.

Ahhhhh!
His knees slammed heavily back onto the ground, and then everyone could faintly hear the sound of bones cracking.

Xiao Chunzhu was standing behind Zhang Qi; it was he who pressed Zhang Qi back to the ground.

The moment the captain was brought in bound, he began to observe the four supervisors.

At first glance, all four of them seemed suspicious, but Xiao Chunzhu became wary of Zhang Qi as soon as he knelt down.

Xiao Chunzhu smiled happily. He felt that he had once again made a name for himself in front of the adults, and he was very pleased.

Even though he knew that Zhang Qi didn't need his protection at all, he was no match for Li Lin.

"Commander Xiao, you may step down," Li Lin said.

Xiao Chunzhu cupped her hands in greeting and stepped back to stand at the back.

Li Lin looked at Zhang Qi and asked, "Commander Zhang, I don't think I've ever treated you unfairly. Whether it's your salary or your usual rewards, you've never skimped on them. I've been in charge of the army for about two years, and the rewards and money you've received are what you might have received in ten years before. Even so, why do you still betray me?"

Zhang Qi knelt on the ground, his face contorted in pain, cold sweat pouring down his face like raindrops.

He braced himself with his hands on the ground, rolled his body to the side, and fell to the ground, avoiding direct impact to his injured knee.

After this, the injured area no longer bore the weight of the whole body, and the knees no longer felt so uncomfortable.

He lay on his side, looking up at Li Lin.

Li Lin was very handsome. His face didn't look very intimidating normally because he was too good-looking.

But now, Zhang Qi could feel the chill and murderous intent on that face.

After catching his breath, Zhang Qi said through gritted teeth, "I have received great favor from the Emperor and serve the Great Qi. How can I associate with a traitor like you who wants to carve out a territory and collude with a rebel!"

Li Lin raised his eyebrows slightly: "You do have quite a backbone."

"Kill me then," Zhang Qi said through gritted teeth, panting heavily from the pain. "It's a pity I didn't deliver the secret letter to the officials of the Secretariat and the Chancellery."

Li Lin sighed and said to Xiao Chunzhu, "Tonight, Commander Zhang was craving some game and took a few of his personal guards up the mountain to hunt for some. As a result, they were snatched away by a white tiger-like creature that was over two zhang long and has been missing ever since. Do you understand?"

Xiao Chunzhu bowed and smiled, "This humble official understands."

At this moment, Guo Yuan, Ji Bo, and Mu Yi immediately knelt down on one knee and said almost in unison, "Your humble servant understands!"

Li Lin stood up, took a sword from the shelf next to him, and threw it in front of the three men.

“If each of you stabs him once, then I’ll believe you understand.”

Fatty Guo Yuan immediately picked up the longsword from the ground, walked up to Zhang Qi, and said, "Brother Zhang, take care. I will take care of your wife and children."

Without waiting for Zhang Qi's reaction, he thrust his sword into Zhang Qi's side abdomen and then pulled it out.

Zhang Qi groaned, his face turning pale. He looked at the fat Guo Yuan, his eyes filled with regret: "I treated you like... a brother!"

Guo Yuan angrily said, "Shut up. If you really considered me a brother, you wouldn't be thinking of ruining my future."

Zhang Qi looked at him incredulously.

Guo Yuan handed the longsword to Mu Yi beside him: "Your turn."

Mu Yi stood up, took the longsword, and stabbed Zhang Qi in the abdomen with it.

Then Ji Bo took the longsword and plunged it into Zhang Qi's abdomen.

After three sword strikes, Zhang Qi was left with only his last breath.

His gaze was already beginning to glaze over, but he kept looking at Guo Yuan, refusing to look away.

Guo Yuan looked somewhat uncomfortable.

Li Lin smiled and said, "You three have done a good job. Commander Xiao, from now on you will temporarily take over the position of Military Supervisor Zhang Qi and take command of his troops."

Xiao Chunzhu was overjoyed. He knelt down and shouted, "Thank you, sir!"

"Take General Zhang away and give him some dignity in the end."

"Yes!"

Xiao Chunzhu grabbed Zhang Qi by one leg and dragged him away.

Li Lin looked at the three men and said, "The three commanders don't need to worry. After I reorganize the prefectural army into a regional army, your positions will be promoted. You will be able to command more troops, and two of you may even have the opportunity to guard a prefecture and form your own state army."

Upon hearing this, the three men's eyes gleamed.

Why don't men take Wu hook and charge Guanshan Fifth State.

This is the dream of most men, and these three are no exception.

"I am willing to die for you, sir."

The three of them said in unison.

Li Lin nodded: "Go ahead, and tell your subordinates to be more sensible. No one is allowed to spread rumors about what happened tonight, or don't blame me for being ruthless."

"Yes!"

The three left the command tent.

Li Lin stayed at the military camp for two more days, wanting to see how his subordinates would react after Zhang Qi disappeared.

The result... was absolutely no reaction.

No soldier came to ask Zhang Qi why he had disappeared, and no soldier felt anything was strange.

They trained and ate as usual, and were happy every day.

Inside the command tent, Li Lin asked, "Commander Xiao, how is the situation now that you've taken command of the western army? Have you encountered any difficulties?"

"No, the soldiers are very sensible. They didn't ask anything or say anything!"

Li Lin was somewhat puzzled: "Does Zhang Qi not have any trusted confidants or personal guards in the Western Route Army?"

“Yes, there is, but Zhang Qi isn’t exactly kind to these people,” Xiao Chunzhu explained. “Zhang Qi is very greedy. Before you took over the army, he practically devoured all the provisions for the entire Western Route Army. Even his personal guards were often hungry. But after you arrived, he couldn’t be so greedy anymore, and his soldiers were able to eat their fill. They’re not stupid; they know very well who is truly worthy of their loyalty.”

Li Lin nodded, then laughed and said, "I really thought Zhang Qizhong was a patriot, but I didn't expect that it was just because I blocked his way to make money."

Since Li Lin took over the government army, everyone has indeed received good rewards.

But for corrupt officials, the fact that they can no longer be corrupt actually leads to a decrease in their income. "Sir, it's not that I'm flattering you, but you are the most humane official I've ever met."

Li Lin laughed and scolded, "How many officials have you actually met..."

“I haven’t met many officials, but I’ve heard of them all.” Xiao Chunzhu sighed. “Not to mention anything else, just look at the Lingxiao Sect where I used to be. Those elders had very little power, and only a few dozen disciples under them. They were all so arrogant that they didn’t know what kind of character they were. They even embezzled a large portion of the hard-earned money of the disciples. From this, we can see what kind of character most officials in this world are.”

Li Lin stood up and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I'll go back to Yulin County to handle other matters. Keep an eye on the local military forces for me secretly. If anything happens, don't alert anyone. Just send someone to notify me discreetly."

"Yes, ma'am!" Xiao Chunzhu bowed.

After leaving the government troops, Li Lin led his personal guards back to the vicinity of Yulin County, and then went to the Lanlin Zhenjun Temple.

Before they even got close, they saw a group of people surrounding the temple, watching the scene from a distance, as if something had happened.

As Li Lin approached with his personal guards, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves attracted the attention of many people.

Immediately someone shouted, "It's Lord Li!"

"Lord Li is back."

"Quickly let Lord Li in."

A large gap was immediately created in the crowd. Li Lin was a little puzzled, but he still cupped his hands to the people around him to thank them for making way.

Then he led his men and rushed in.

Upon entering the crowd, they saw a dozen men in black, bound with several children, confronting Lu Ying outside the Zhenjun Temple.

Three paper figures stood guard around Lu Ying, protecting her in the center.

As soon as Li Lin entered, he immediately attracted the attention of the men in black.

These people's faces were covered with black cloths, so their appearances could not be seen. However, the moment they saw Li Lin, their expressions inevitably turned panicked.

"Why did Young Master Paper return so quickly? Shouldn't he still be at the government army camp?"

"who knows."

"Damn it, how can such a high-ranking official come and go like the wind?"

Li Lin reined in his horse and stopped on the left side of both sides. He gestured to his personal guards, who immediately dispersed and formed an encirclement around him.

When Lu Ying saw Li Lin, her eyes lit up with joy.

Li Lin looked up and saw Liu Shen standing on the True Lord Temple, hands on her hips, looking furious.

Upon seeing Li Lin, she immediately flew down and said, "Li Lin, Li Lin, can I kill them? These people are so annoying."

“No, you are a True Lord,” Li Lin said with a smile. “You cannot kill the people of Daqi.”

"Ugh, so annoying!" Liu Shen stomped her foot in frustration.

Then Li Lin looked at Lu Ying and asked, "Junior Sister Lu, what happened? What are these people trying to threaten you with by tying up a child?"

"They demanded that I reveal my paper-making skills."

Ok?
Li Lin looked at the men in black with some confusion.

One of the men in black stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Lord Li, Governor, we have no intention of being your enemy, nor do we wish to be."

Li Lin's gaze swept over the men in black, then fell on the four children they were holding, tears streaming down their faces but afraid to cry out. He asked, "You're taking children hostage and committing crimes on my territory. You say you don't want to offend me? Do you think I believe that?"

Li Lin had by this time established his official authority.

Although he spoke in a gentle tone, given his exaggerated status, even this simple rhetorical question would intimidate ordinary people, especially those in the martial arts world.

The man in black had a wet patch on his back. He bent over even more and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "We really dare not be your enemy. As long as that Temple Master Lu hands over the paper-making technique, we will leave immediately. We will also let these four children go once we are safe, and we will even ask someone to send them back."

Li Lin asked, puzzled, "If you want a mere paper-making technique, just come find me, and I'll give you a copy."

"We dare not appear before you, sir." The man in black paused and said, "Sir, you are not involved in the martial world, so you probably do not know the current situation in the martial world."

What is the connection between paper-crafting skills and the current situation in the martial arts world?

The man in black took a deep breath and said, "The art of paper cutting has become a unique skill in the martial arts world, the most advanced kind."

Li Lin looked even more puzzled.

He said, "The art of paper-making is just a shady skill, that's common knowledge. When did it become a martial arts secret?"

"What you did in the capital has already spread throughout the entire martial arts world." The man in black's eyes were full of envy: "Now, in the martial arts world, those who know paper-making or those from humble families have either been wiped out or secretly hidden away. There's nothing we can do about it. This Temple Master Lu is the last person we can find besides you who possesses paper-making skills and has appeared before the world."

Li Lin was silent for a moment, then asked, "Because of me, the art of paper-making has now become a martial arts secret that everyone is vying for?"

“Yes!” The man in black looked at him: “Without you, no one would know that the paper-crafting technique could be this powerful.”

In fact, the entire martial arts world is even more chaotic than the man in black described.

Various schools and sects have been fighting tooth and nail over the art of paper-making in every province and county.

Various traitors and pawns were exposed in advance, all in order to spread the news of the paper-making technique.

Then someone tries to steal it, then someone else steals it, and finally it's stolen by the major sects.

A book on paper-making techniques and a book detailing the Taoist priest's teachings both became invaluable treasures.

Jin County is Li Lin's territory, and no martial arts practitioners dare to cause trouble here, let alone dare to rob Li Lin's house.

Are you kidding me? A military governor with tens of thousands of troops—is that something these江湖人 (jianghu people) can easily mess with?

However, many people couldn't compete with the major sects and couldn't find out where the paper-crafting technique was hidden.

Left with no other choice, these men in black, having heard that the temple keeper of True Lord Blue Scale also knew paper-making, secretly came over.

They had no intention of killing anyone, nor of clashing with Li Lin. In fact, they waited until Li Lin arrived at the military camp before daring to plan the kidnapping of the hostages in exchange for the paper-making technique.

After observing him for several days, they discovered that this temple keeper, Lu, was a good person.

Good people are easily threatened and bullied.

Li Lin now understands.

He never imagined that, because of his connection, the art of paper-making would become a martial arts manual, the kind that could cause bloody conflicts in the martial arts world.

Li Lin turned his head and asked, "Junior Sister Lu, do you still have the annotations on the paper-making technique that I gave you?"

"Yes," Lu Ying replied.

"Then give them to them and bring the four children back."

“But…” Lu Ying was a little reluctant.

That book of paper-making techniques was written by Li Lin himself. Lu Ying usually couldn't bear to look at it, afraid of damaging or getting it dirty; she treasured it very much.

"Don't be reluctant to part with it. If you don't understand anything in the future, come and ask me. I will teach you step by step."

"Okay." Lu Ying was delighted and agreed.

Teaching me step by step...that's great.

"Wait here. I'll go in and get it."

After saying this, Lu Ying walked into the Zhenjun Temple.

The men in black revealed a look of wild joy in their eyes.

(End of this chapter)