Evil Spirits

"Lord Lin, today the City Lord finished setting off the firecrackers and was about to start the feast when the City Lord's Wife came over draped in a cat face, biting everyone she saw, especially targeting the City Lord himself. I barely escaped and came to ask Lord Lin for help. The City Guard and Lord Xiao have also been notified and are rushing to the City Lord's Mansion. I implore Lord Lin to lend a hand."

The City Lord's Mansion steward quickly explained the gist of what had happened.

"An evil!"

Lin Fangzheng was startled. In his decades of life, he had rarely encountered evil incidents.

But every time he did, the consequences were unimaginable.

Evil beings like this couldn't be dealt with by mere fist and foot techniques; they required a cultivator's spells to counter.

The Inner Qi of a Xiantian master could have some effect, but not much.

"Liu Zi! Saddle the horses immediately!"

Uncle Liu acknowledged and promptly ordered someone to fetch the horses.

Even though the Cat-Faced Evil was hard to handle, Lin Fangzheng decided to head to the City Lord's Mansion and assess the situation.

The three major families of Yulin City were linked by marriage, their relationships tangled and complex. If one faced trouble, the other two had to provide support—there was no avoiding it.

Of course, Lin Fangzheng wasn't about to charge in recklessly. If things looked bad, he wouldn't act rashly.

"Thank you for your help, Lord Lin!"

The City Lord's Mansion steward breathed a sigh of relief, his trip not wasted.

"Father! I'll come help too!"

Lin Chan roughly understood the situation—it might be the Cat Ghost that Orange Cat immortal had mentioned before.

With such a sinister entity at play, Lin Chan wasn't comfortable letting Lin Fangzheng go alone.

"Nonsense! This isn't something a child like you should get involved in!"

Lin Fangzheng said sternly.

He had witnessed evil beings a few times before; they could easily snatch away mortal lives.

Even martial artists were nothing in the face of such things.

"Father! I've already entered Xiantian, I can help you!"

Lin Chan's gaze was resolute.

He had now reached Xiantian, and though he had only just generated Inner Qi not long ago, with various talent boosts, his strength was no less than that of an old Xiantian master with a decade of experience. He was enough to be a combat asset.

Besides, he had Little Li.

Little Li had only recently begun her Absorb Moon cultivation, but under Lin Chan's urging, she had already nurtured a small wisp of Moonlight Essence, which might prove useful.

Meeting Lin Chan's eyes for two breaths, Lin Fangzheng understood his son's intent—Lin Chan was worried about him. He finally nodded and said:

"Then stay close to me and don't act rashly."

The City Lord's Mansion steward had also trained in martial arts. Hearing that Lin Chan had already achieved Xiantian, he was quite surprised. He remembered Lin Chan was barely over ten years old, yet he was already a Xiantian master.

He had never seen such talent before; it truly reshaped his understanding.

But now wasn't the time for shock. The situation was urgent, so he immediately led the group toward the City Lord's Mansion.

Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group arrived hastily at the City Lord's Mansion with simple weapons.

By then, the streets and alleys near the mansion were all blocked off by the City Guard, who had also surrounded the mansion in an impenetrable ring.

Lin Fangzheng didn't rush inside. Instead, he asked the City Guard's leader, Captain Ma.

"What's the situation?"

"The City Lord is trapped inside the ancestral hall. That Cat Ghost has surrounded the Luo Family Ancestral Hall and won't leave his side. The City Lord can't get out."

Captain Ma shook his head. The situation wasn't good.

They had already brought in archers to harass from a distance.

But the arrows hadn't done any real damage to the Cat Ghost; the effect was minimal.

Thankfully, the Luo Family Ancestral Hall had some measures and ancestral blessings, so Luo Jingxing was still alive, barely clinging to life.

"Right now, we need to find a way to rescue Brother Luo."

Lin Fangzheng also zeroed in on the key point.

The priority wasn't to eliminate the Cat Ghost—they just needed to get Luo Jingxing out. They didn't necessarily have to destroy it.

"We're preparing to surround the Cat Ghost and rescue the City Lord!"

Captain Ma laid out his plan.

"Wait for Xiao Ming. We'll act together."

Lin Fangzheng said.

One more Xiantian master meant one more chance of success, one more layer of assurance.

"Understood! But Lord Lin, you can put on armor first. When the time comes, the City Lord will be counting on you."

Captain Ma replied.

Then he called over his subordinates and had them bring armor.

Donning armor would increase his safety.

An armored martial artist and an unarmored one were two completely different things.

"Get another set of armor for my son!"

Lin Fangzheng glanced at Lin Chan beside him.

Captain Ma, seeing this, showed a troubled expression.

Their mission this time was to rescue the City Lord—a matter of great importance, not a chance for the Lin family's young master to play around. They couldn't afford to look after Lin Chan's safety.

"Chan'er already has Innate cultivation; he won't hold us back."

Lin Fangzheng understood Captain Ma's concern and explained.

"I understand."

Captain Ma's frown eased. Another Innate-level helper would increase their odds of rescuing the City Lord.

At that moment, Lin Chan was leaning against a large tree, resting with his eyes closed.

He was using Little Li's body to scout the situation inside.

The fat tabby cat easily leaped between rooftops and quickly reached the Luo Family Ancestral Hall.

There, a monster with a cat's face and a human body, stuck with over a dozen arrows, was frantically circling the Luo Family Ancestral Hall at incredible speed.

This Cat-Faced Monster seemed desperate to get at Luo Jingxing inside but was clearly wary of the ancestral hall.

Suddenly, the Cat-Faced Monster stopped.

Lin Chan didn't linger and immediately turned back.

Inside the Luo residence, dozens of bodies had already fallen, a testament to the Cat Ghost's brutality. Even Little Li's agility wasn't necessarily safe.

Fortunately, the Cat Ghost's main target was Luo Jingxing in the ancestral hall, and it had little interest in a small tabby cat. Little Li returned safely to Lin Chan's side.

Just then, Yulin City's City Guard carried over the armor.

"Young Master Lin, this armor is for you. Please put it on."

The City Guard stood before Lin Chan and spoke respectfully.

"Good!"

Lin Chan nodded, then, with the help of the City Guard, put on the full set of armor.

Once dressed, Lin Chan only had his hands and feet exposed; his head and body were wrapped tightly.

This set of armor weighed nearly a hundred jin.

To Lin Chan, with his Innate strength, it was nothing—just a bit of extra effort.

Not long after Lin Chan donned the armor, Xiao Ming also arrived from the Xiao residence and put on his own armor.

"We just surround that demon, rescue Luo Jingxing, and we're done, right?"

Xiao Ming said after hearing Captain Ma's plan.

"I don't think that plan will work."

Lin Chan shook his head. He had just used Little Li to scout the area and get a general sense of the situation.

The Cat Ghost was clearly after Luo Jingxing. Even if they rescued him now, they might save him for the moment, but could they save him forever?

That Cat Ghost was faster than an Innate Martial Artist. As soon as they let their guard down, it would definitely catch up to Luo Jingxing immediately.

Without dealing with the Cat Ghost, Luo Jingxing would eventually meet his end.

"Who are you?"

Xiao Ming looked at the slightly shorter iron can.

He thought it was one of Captain Ma's men.

"Uncle Xiao! Can't you even recognize my voice?"

Lin Chan took off his helmet and looked at Xiao Ming.

"So it's Chan'er. Why are you wearing armor too? This isn't a place for playing around."

Xiao Ming said sternly.

"Brother Ming! Chan'er is here to help. He's already at the Innate level."

Lin Fangzheng explained from the side.

"Innate?"

Xiao Ming was taken aback. He remembered Lin Chan was only ten years old—just a year younger than his own daughter.

"I finished it a few days ago, but haven't informed Uncle Xiao yet."

Lin Chan said modestly.

"Old Lin! You've raised a fine son!"

Xiao Ming looked at Lin Fangzheng, a hint of envy in his voice.

Though he had a daughter with a Spiritual Root, he still felt envious—the more outstanding offspring, the better!

"Brother Ming, this isn't the time for that. Old Luo is still trapped in the ancestral hall and can't get out!"

Lin Fangzheng had no mood to discuss children.

"Old Luo's holed up in his turtle shell. No need to rush."

Xiao Ming said nonchalantly.

"Brother Ming, you know the House-Protecting Talisman has limited effect. Brother Luo won't last much longer."

Lin Fangzheng said helplessly.

He had some understanding of the measures Luo Jingxing had placed in the ancestral hall. Those talismans were weak in effect—against real evil spirits, they'd barely do anything.