Chapter 192

Gazing down at the rapidly approaching sea of mist, Lin Hui cycled through the intelligence he had obtained from Hong Ling and the others.

Blood Ancestors and Mistborn—it turned out that both achieved growth by devouring the strong.

If that is the case, Lin Hui thought, recalling the Benevolent Heart Sect’s warning that he was under Inner City surveillance, could a Blood Ancestor-level figure be grooming me? Are they waiting for me to mature, just to harvest my power later?

The speculation flashed through his mind, and the more he considered it, the more plausible it seemed.

The sense of crisis weighing on him deepened.

No. Once I get back, I must immediately find a Mist-Free Zone further away to serve as a contingency base.

The Moth Carriage flew significantly faster on the return trip than during their entry. Half an hour later, Lin Hui docked the carriage at the flight point, exchanged a few words with the attendant, and paid a month’s maintenance fee in advance before returning to the Clear Wind Temple.

Aside from broadening his horizons, the true gain from this trip was the "Wind Disaster Affinity" special effect.

Aware that a paramount figure in the Inner City might be watching him, the urgency in Lin Hui’s heart could no longer be suppressed. He donned the "Four Faces" mask and headed straight for the Mist Zone.

He intended to test the limits of his Wind Disaster Affinity and his own strength, then venture beyond the Mist Zone surrounding Tuyue to locate a suitable ruin in a remote Mist-Free Zone.

…

Lin Manor.

Lin Shunhe looked at the organization's reply in his hand, his expression grim.

"Master, what does the letter say?" Elder Du asked, his voice low and deep.

"The higher-ups want me to endure," Lin Shunhe answered quietly. "It is a critical period; the Black Mist has severed the passages between cities. During this interval, the erosive power of the wild is drastically enhanced, and the monsters are greatly strengthened. We are to wait until this period passes before they decide whether to dispatch envoys."

"Lord Black Face is telling you to feign ignorance," Elder Du sighed.

"..."

Lin Shunhe silently released the power of the Evil Weapon. A black shadow flashed across his hand, swallowing the letter.

"Master," Elder Du reminded him hurriedly.

"...I know. I understand... haven't we survived like this before?" Lin Shunhe whispered. "There is still a relocation fee for Old Zhao's family that hasn't been paid. I’ll go take a look. Old Zhao is gone, leaving only the orphans and the widow... their days ahead..."

In this short month, there had been ten disappearances in the town. They had initially thought it would end after one or two incidents, but this time was different. The unrelenting disappearances felt as if someone were ruthlessly shearing a single sheep bare.

Even stranger was the silence; despite the number of missing people, hardly anyone in town discussed it. The government had packaged every disappearance as an isolated accident, completely burying the pattern connecting the cases.

Lin Shunhe instructed Elder Du to watch the house while he took a few men out. Crossing several blocks, they arrived at a patch of farmland on the edge of the suburbs.

A small, square, gray-white courtyard stood in the fields, housing three rooms. This was Old Zhao’s home.

Old Zhao had been one of Lin Shunhe’s caravan heads—a kind and loyal man, well-liked by many. He and Lin Shunhe had been close, often playing cards together.

But now...

Amidst the dark green and yellowing fields, Lin Shunhe led his men along the small path toward the courtyard.

Hu.

Suddenly, a wisp of clear breeze blew past.

Lin Shunhe and his three followers froze in unison, their postures instantly locked as if a pause button had been pressed.

It wasn't just them. In the surrounding fields, everything within a hundred meters went still, like a suspended film.

Swish, swish.

Two beautiful figures, a man and a woman dressed in gold-rimmed white robes, leaped through the air over Lin Shunhe’s group, heading straight for the small courtyard.

They landed lightly on the mud outside the gate.

"This is the place," the man said with a smile. "Last time, I was chatting with the master of the house on the street. He mentioned his family has a history of longevity, with elders living past a hundred. He claimed they possess strong, healthy hearts."

"And the truth?" asked the woman. She had waist-length soft blonde hair and skin that glowed with a porcelain whiteness, yet her eyes were pitch-black, like two abysses.

"The truth is, he didn't lie. I excised his heart and checked it, then absorbed his lifespan. It was indeed close to a hundred years. So, the moment I found such a high-quality resource, I brought you here to enjoy it," the man laughed.

"You ate the best one. What is the use of me coming?" the woman said impatiently.

"How could it be useless? This family still has a child, only four or five years old, at the stage with the most potent lifespan. Absorbing her will definitely make your skin smoother," the man smiled.

"Fine. Let's try it. Ever since someone found a high-longevity resource of one hundred and fifty years in this town, more and more nobles have been coming. It must be hard for you to still find decent resources."

The woman nodded reluctantly, accepting the explanation.

The two pushed the door and entered. The locked wooden gate was as fragile as paper to them, breaking with a light poke.

A few minutes later, the two figures flew out of the courtyard, each clutching a person—one large, one small.

The large one was a woman, Old Zhao’s wife. The small one was a child, a little girl with two braided pigtails, wearing a light green padded jacket.

Because all living things in the vicinity had temporarily lost consciousness, the scene went unseen.

Except by Lin Shunhe.

He witnessed it all from beginning to end.

Having joined the Benevolent Heart Sect and interacted with many experts who moved in and out of the Inner City, he recognized the power that froze them.

It was a dispersed, area-of-effect application of Void Force, mixed with a large-scale mind secret art. That man and woman were experts, at least at the Divine Officer level.

And they could absorb the lifespan of others. Lin Shunhe had heard of this—that the nobles of the Moon Tower in the Inner City devoured human lifespans—but he hadn't expected to witness it with his own eyes.

Lin Shunhe stood motionless.

His fists clenched tighter and tighter.

Old Zhao’s disappearance... he had guessed other reasons, but now the truth was laid bare. It was the nobles of the Moon Tower. Upon learning the family possessed a constitution for longevity, they had come to seize people, excise hearts, and devour their time.

They didn't hesitate in the slightest. After discovering Old Zhao’s potency, these Trueblood Nobles immediately returned to snatch his wife and daughter.

Lin Shunhe wanted to act, but he was forcibly suppressed by the Void Force and by the fear of ruining the organization's plans.

By the time he truly resolved to move, the people had already been taken.

"Eh? Master, why did you stop?"

The follower behind him voiced his confusion.

"Nothing..." Lin Shunhe whispered. He had seen situations like this before; he knew they would retain no memory of what had just happened.

The atrocities of the Trueblood Nobles... aside from him, those with lesser strength wouldn't even remember, making the discovery of their existence nearly impossible.

Looking at the empty courtyard, Lin Shunhe remained rooted to the spot, an inexplicable anger surging in his heart.

"Let's go. We're heading back," he said softly.

"Master, aren't we going to Old Zhao's house?" one of the followers asked.

"No need. It seems no one is home."

Lin Shunhe was a father. He had a daughter, Lin Xiaoliu, whose clumsy, cute figure would circle him every day, sweetly calling him Daddy. He loved her dearly. Seeing that chubby little girl from Old Zhao’s family taken by the Trueblood Nobles, the anger in his heart burned to the extreme.

But his power—his individual power—was too limited. The organization told him to endure. But this wasn't the first time.

He had endured more than once. Exactly how long did he have to endure?

He had asked Lord Black Face some days ago.

He received no reply.

Perhaps expecting others to help was my mistake from the very beginning... Lin Shunhe closed his eyes, feeling the flames roaring in his chest.

I have to do something.

He told himself this.

If he didn't act, if he continued like this, sooner or later, he would go mad.

Since the Outer City had always been chaotic, if one or two Truebloods who came to snatch people were to die here...

An extremely dangerous thought rose in Lin Shunhe's mind.

He naturally couldn't hunt Trueblood Nobles himself, but he knew who could. As a Hall Master of the Benevolent Heart Sect branch, although he didn't manage military force, finding a pretext to mobilize armed forces was something he could easily do.

He knew he was playing with fire. But recalling those missing people, those brothers who had been with him for so long...

Lin Shunhe knew that, no matter what, he would try.

If something happened to him, with Liu Wujun’s connections, his family likely wouldn't be implicated too deeply.

At worst, he would pay with his life.

In that moment, Lin Shunhe felt as though he had returned to his youth, squatting outside the South Ninth Gate, watching the Myriad Blessings Meat being transported out for the very first time.

That fierce urge to act, to accomplish something, to seize a final, unshakable peace of mind—it was all so familiar.

…

Mist Zone, Jade Sea.

The jade-green ocean surged with turbulent waves beneath the mist.

"My Lord, I beg you, show mercy and let us go!!"

On a black cargo ship docked by the seaside, the sails were lowered. More than half the crew lay on the deck, their breathing long ceased.

The captain was a bearded man of the Green-Eyed Python Clan. He knelt in despair, weeping bitterly and kowtowing incessantly to a figure standing on the deck.

"We have no wealth! This is purely a refugee ship from Xingdao. Everyone ate their food long ago. My Lord, please be kind and let us go... Once we get back, we will offer incense to you for a lifetime!!"

The captain's pleas did not stir the slightest reaction in the man's ears.

Dressed in a gold-rimmed white robe, the man gazed at the distant scenery of the Jade Sea, appearing as if he could see through the mist.

"You're making noise; I'm a bit annoyed."

The man remained unmoved, merely lowering his head to glance at the captain.

"My Lord..." The captain trembled, crying out hurriedly.

But the words had only just begun.

Pu!

His entire body exploded, like a balloon pricked by a needle.

Flesh, blood, clothing, and bone fragments scattered into the mist and fell into the Jade Sea, swallowed by the waves.

"Husband!!"

The cabin door flew open, and a young woman with a pretty face rushed out, tears streaming down her cheeks, throwing herself toward where the captain had been.

"Eh? This one has good looks and figure. I came out for a trip and gathered nothing; she will make a fine gift for my younger brother."

Seeing the woman's appearance, the man immediately made up his mind. He raised his hand and pointed.

Invisible Void Force descended, freezing the woman in place.

"Let's go. This trip can barely count as a harvest."

The man soared into the air. Using a spot of white light condensed from Internal Force as leverage, he leaped lightly toward the shore to return to Tuyue.

However, just as he landed on the coast, a figure walked abruptly out of the mist.

It was a man in white, holding a sword, wearing four masks upon his head.

Even though this was the Mist Zone, his movements were as calm and leisurely as if he were taking a stroll.

It was Lin Hui.