Chapter 194

"Yeah. I plan to scout the area and see if there are any suitable ruins to hunt for materials," Lin Hui replied, offering a casual excuse.

"I see. We are Blood Protectors of the Tuyue Moon Tower. A Trueblood Noble was murdered in this area just moments ago, so we are searching the vicinity," the old man said rapidly.

"A Trueblood Noble?" Lin Hui nodded. "I did see a merchant caravan pass by earlier, but other than that, I haven't seen anything."

"We found the merchant caravan as well, and we spoke to the survivors who witnessed the deceased. According to them, no one got a clear look at the killer. The Mist was too thick, and the culprit was wreathed in a distorted, transparent force that completely obscured their form." The old man paused, then continued, "Sir, I wonder if you might have seen anyone wrapped in layers of such a force..."

As he spoke, he glanced at the invisible air currents twisting the light around Lin Hui.

Lin Hui also looked down at the Surrounding Wind effect encasing him. After fusing with the power of the Wind Disaster Affinity, the effect had grown increasingly volatile.

Wait. He suddenly realized that the invisible, transparent force lingering around him matched the characteristics the old man had just described.

For a moment, the three of them fell into silence.

The blue-haired woman suddenly gave a light chuckle.

"Uncle, you don't actually think this gentleman is the killer, do you? Didn't the survivor just say that the killer vaguely appeared to have pointed horns on their head?"

"Ah, right, so they did." The old man snapped back to reality and smiled. "This gentleman clearly doesn't have horns, so obviously it's not him."

"Exactly. Since that's the case, let's withdraw for now and check other areas," the blue-haired woman said quickly.

"True. Well then, sir, if you happen to see anyone with pointed horns and the other traits we mentioned, please report it immediately to the Inner City government office of Tuyue. If the killer is apprehended, the Excellencies of the Moon Tower will reward you handsomely," the old man said in a low, serious tone.

"Mn, alright," Lin Hui nodded.

The old man and the young woman turned and dashed away into the distance at top speed. They plunged into the Mist, vanishing from sight...

"Wait."

A voice suddenly echoed right beside their ears.

Lin Hui's figure abruptly appeared on the path in the direction they were fleeing.

"I have a question," he said, smiling as he looked at the two.

Before the words asking about the ruins could even leave his mouth, he saw both of their bodies trembling.

The shuddering was so pronounced that it could be clearly seen even through the Mist.

"Run!!" the young woman shrieked. She bolted to the left, turning into a blue blur.

The old man darted to the right, splitting up. He transformed into a white streak, fleeing at full speed.

Without testing the waters, without even needing to exchange blows, they had already deduced that Lin Hui's strength was far beyond what they could match.

Amidst his frantic sprint, the old man quickly fished an irregular, fist-sized stone from his robes.

This was a standard-issue force-measuring stone for Blood Protectors. Carried on their person year-round, it assimilated their own bodily strength aura. Whenever they encountered an opponent, the stone would darken accordingly.

The degree of blackness represented the disparity in strength.

Generally, the stone used a middle dividing line as a baseline. The darkening of the lower half indicated how close the opponent's strength was to their own. If it were exactly half black, the opponent was on equal footing; victory would be decided by execution, martial arts, secret arts, abilities, condition, or medicinal drugs.

If it turned more than half black, the opponent was at a higher power level, requiring extreme caution.

If the entire stone turned black, the enemy was at least one major realm stronger, and they should flee for their lives immediately.

Of course, there was another scenario: the stone having no reaction at all, remaining pure white.

This would typically mean the person was an ordinary human—devoid of Internal Force, not a Called One, and lacking even a shred of mind-spirit power.

And the force-measuring stone currently in the old man's hand was in exactly this state.

Pure white!

Yet, when they saw Lin Hui, the man was daring enough to stroll alone through this high-threat Mist Zone near the Jade Sea.

He couldn't be an ordinary person.

Let alone walking all the way here, the moment an ordinary person left the protection of Tranquil Incense, they would be eroded by the Mist. At best, they would fall severely ill; at worst, they would mutate directly into a Corrupted monster.

Yet for such a person, the force-measuring stone showed no reaction.

What did this mean?

Both the old man and the young woman realized it in an instant.

It meant the other party's level of strength vastly exceeded their own plane of existence.

This was the very definition of immeasurably deep.

Coupled with the fact that Lin Hui's appearance highly matched the killer's traits from their recent interrogation...

In truth, the killer's characteristics didn't include pointed horns at all. That was merely an excuse they had fabricated to escape. After all, their interrogation hadn't been verbal; they had used a Relic to forcefully read fragments of the survivor's memories. There was absolutely no possibility of deception.

Mid-sprint, the old man still saw no color change on the stone, and his panic deepened.

While running like mad, he spared a moment to glance back.

"Why are you running?"

A voice drifted out eerily from the Mist directly in front of him.

Horrified, the old man slammed on the brakes, his legs carving two deep trenches into the ground.

"We... we suddenly remembered that we have an urgent matter to attend to... so..." The old man stood frozen, his mind spinning furiously as he tried to rationalize his flight.

From the Mist ahead, Lin Hui slowly walked out, sword in hand.

"I hadn't even finished speaking, and you bolted. What is the meaning of this?"

"You misunderstand, sir. We really do have an urgent matter..." The old man's heart leaped into his throat.

"What urgent matter? Let's hear it." Lin Hui had only been slightly suspicious initially, but seeing their reaction, it seemed they truly viewed him as the killer of the Trueblood Noble.

That wasn't right. The people he had killed were so weak that they obviously couldn't be Trueblood Nobles. If he inexplicably took the fall for this—especially given the thorny nature of the problem—even with his strength and his eldest brother's backing, they might not be able to suppress the fallout.

After gaining insight during his recent trip to the Moon Tower, Lin Hui was acutely aware of the status Trueblood Nobles enjoyed in Tuyue. Therefore, the more serious this was, the more he needed to clarify things.

"You guys didn't mistake me for the killer you're looking for, did you? Enshrouding oneself with force isn't exactly something only I can do. Isn't it a bit too hasty to label me the murderer based solely on that?" Lin Hui said helplessly.

"This..." Seeing his earnest tone, the old man felt a flicker of doubt.

"As I said, if you have any other methods to identify the killer, you’d best try them as well. Don't just cast suspicion based on a single point. It would be very bad if you ended up framing an innocent person," Lin Hui advised sincerely.

"About that... I will try again. We also possess a Relic specifically designed to detect the Evil Energy residue of Trueblood Nobles. As long as there's even a tiny trace of Evil Energy left, it can be detected..." The old man rummaged through his waist pouch again, quickly pulling out a palm-sized black bagua mirror.

"This mirror doesn't just detect Evil Energy. It can also link to the master mirror to pull up all registered bounties..."

Looking at the mirror, his hand began to tremble once more.

He didn't detect any Evil Energy.

But...

The information displayed in the mirror...

An arrest warrant for the major wanted criminal, 'Four Faces'.

He looked up at the four masks worn on Lin Hui's head, then verified the contents displayed in the mirror.

"How is it? I'm in the clear, right?" Lin Hui's voice appeared right behind him, so close it felt like he was less than a meter away.

From this distance, Lin Hui's gaze effortlessly shifted from the old man down to the small mirror in his hands.

Instantly, the atmosphere froze.

He, too, saw the information displayed on the mirror.

Raising his head, he looked at the old man, who was staring back at him in a daze.

"..."

"...!"

Pfft!

Blood splattered, accompanied by the ring of a sword.

The old man's head flew high into the air. His Internal Force and Called One constitution—copper skin and iron bones—were sliced through like tofu, offering no resistance.

Lin Hui sighed, flicking the blood off his sword. He picked up the small black mirror, intending to stow it away, but after a moment's hesitation, he tossed it back and slashed it mid-air.

Bang!

The Relic shattered into countless black fragments.

The shards rained down, but Lin Hui's figure had long since vanished.

On the other side, the blue-haired girl ran madly toward Tuyue.

But in the very next second, her entire body went flying. Her head continued to soar forward while her body collapsed to the ground, spraying blood everywhere and painting a long, gruesome crimson line.

Finally, the severed head, eyes wide with incomprehension, crashed heavily into a dead, withered forest. It never drew another breath.

Lin Hui let out a sigh, flashing through the forest before vanishing in an instant.

A Trueblood Noble. He never expected that the death of a Trueblood Noble would be pinned on him so inexplicably. It had even forced his hand into taking out two Blood Protectors.

He had a premonition that the fallout this time could be massive. Refusing to linger, he continued racing along the edge of the Jade Sea toward the horizon.

Only after scouring his entire body with his Wind Disaster Affinity several times did he swiftly return to the Tuyue Outer City. He went back to the Clear Wind Temple to shower, then finally returned to the Lin Manor to rest.

Usually, he cultivated at the Clear Wind Temple and rested at the Lin Manor, spending time with his parents and sister. However, since he spent the vast majority of his time cultivating, he primarily stayed at the temple.

Having killed the Blood Protectors, he felt somewhat mentally drained and intended to take a temporary break at home.

He remained confident in the cleansing power of the Wind Disaster Force. The old man hadn't found any traces on him in the end, anyway. If his bounty information hadn't popped up, they probably wouldn't have had to die.

Parting ways quietly and peacefully would have been the best outcome for both sides.

What a pity...

…

"One, two, three, four, five, go up the mountain to hunt the tiger. The tiger's not home, so we hit the little squirrel..."

In the Lin Manor courtyard belonging to his Second Mother, Lin Shunhe was playing a clapping game with his daughter, Lin Xiaoliu. With her milky voice, Lin Xiaoliu tried to recite the jingle along with her father. Unfortunately, she could only keep up for a few words before stumbling.

Beside them, Liu Shenglan sat gently in a chair, her hands moving continuously as she knit a wool sweater for her daughter.

Soft daylight trickled down, bathing the family in a serene and peaceful glow.

"Master, Young Master Hui has returned," Elder Du, who had been hiding in the corner all along, suddenly stepped forward and spoke softly.

"Ah Hui is back? Perfect. Tell him to come over here and see his little sister," Lin Shunhe said with a smile.

"Brother Hui?" Lin Xiaoliu asked, her articulation a bit clumsy. The chubby face that had just been full of smiles suddenly turned timid.

"Mommy..."

She stood up and hurriedly ran toward Liu Shenglan, burying her head in her mother's embrace. She curled up and went still, facing the world with nothing but her little bottom.

"It's really weird. Normally, Xiaoliu is the most rambunctious and the loudest one here. But every time Ah Hui comes back, she gets as quiet and well-behaved as a quail," Lin Shunhe chuckled, teasing her.

Lin Xiaoliu didn't speak or pay him any mind. She continued to bury her head in her mother's chest, refusing to move.