Father and Daughter's Secret Plot

Lin Tianlu swept his cold gaze across the surroundings and vaguely spotted some dried bloodstains in a corner of the cellar.

"Strange laughter has rung out repeatedly within Cheng Manor. It seems you, Steward Cheng, and your daughter, Cheng Xinyin, are behind it all."

"Mister Lin, you've wronged us."

But Cheng Yanghua shook his head and cupped his hands. "The strange laughter and chopping sounds that night weren't our doing. If they truly were, why would we have recommended that you come to the manor? Wouldn't that have been asking for trouble?"

"Then why were you hiding here?" Lin Tianlu smiled faintly. "This hardly looks like a place where anyone could rest in peace."

The surroundings were so sinister and eerie that they might as well have had the four words "perpetrators of every evil" pasted across their foreheads.

What normal person would hide in such a ghostly place?

"...Ah! Who knows how Yishi went about her task? She actually failed to hold you back."

Cheng Yanghua fell silent for a moment, seemingly aware that matters had been exposed. He could not help sighing. "I had intended to rely on you to ferret out those petty villains hiding everywhere and resolve this sudden disturbance plaguing the Cheng Household. I never expected that you would ultimately track us down instead. All our efforts have come to nothing."

Lin Tianlu's brows furrowed slightly.

Could it really not have been this father and daughter?

But that laughter—

"Enough!"

Cheng Yanghua let out a heavy sigh and slowly rolled up his sleeves. "Since Mister Lin has come here, I cannot simply let you leave."

The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly clapped his hands twice.

A sinister wind abruptly whipped up, and flickering phantoms flashed and crossed one another, causing the scenery around the cellar to change drastically.

Lin Tianlu glanced to the side and saw that Hua Shuya had silently vanished. Not only that, but even Cheng Xinyin, who had been standing beside Cheng Yanghua, had disappeared without a trace.

"Mister Lin truly has astonishing composure. You haven't shown the slightest panic." Cheng Yanghua grinned and spread his hands with great interest. "Have you really no thoughts about the changes before your eyes?"

"It's rather remarkable."

Lin Tianlu withdrew his gaze and chuckled. "Are you planning to divide and conquer?"

"That's right."

Cheng Yanghua nodded frankly. "Everyone in the county says that Master Lin possesses extraordinary talent and bears the aspect of a top scholar. After more than a decade of studying the Four Books and Five Classics, you developed this vast righteous qi, allowing you to defeat demons and evil things. But...

"You are ultimately nothing more than a scholar. Even if you occasionally exercise, your limbs remain as thin as kindling. There's no need for my daughter to act. I alone can hack off your hands, feet, and head."

A mocking smile appeared on Cheng Yanghua's face as a bone-scraping dagger slid from his sleeve. He gripped it tightly.

"What a pity. I'm neither a demon nor a ghost, so all that righteous qi of yours is completely useless against me."

"As for that Miss Hua, she seems to be a female swordswoman of extraordinary skill. But a mortal martial artist with nothing but brute strength is best left for my daughter to handle."

"Looks like you came prepared."

Lin Tianlu's tone remained calm. "What exactly have you and your daughter done in Changling County?"

Cheng Yanghua continued to sneer. "I have no interest in having a heart-to-heart with you. But—

"Speaking of which, fate truly works in mysterious ways."

He wiped the dagger in his hand and walked over step by step. "The 'evil spirit' entrenched in Changling County was destroyed by Mister Lin. Though that solved the cloth shop's crisis, there are now no other strange ghosts left to obstruct us.

"Prey of such fine quality as you two—a spirit-sensitive scholar and a handsome swordswoman. Tsk, tsk! We've never had the chance to get our hands on such prey before. But now... we'll gratefully accept you!"

With that, he abruptly lowered his body and charged forward. His seemingly aged body suddenly burst forth with extraordinary speed!

But—

In Lin Tianlu's eyes, the man's movements appeared somewhat... leisurely.

It was like an old man barely managing to summon his strength for a slow jog.

As the dagger stabbed toward him, Lin Tianlu remained calm. He casually sidestepped the thrust and, with lightning-fast eyes and hands, seized Cheng Yanghua's wrist.

Under Cheng Yanghua's astonished, bewildered gaze, Lin Tianlu twisted and raised his arm, stripping away the weapon in one fluid motion before smashing him to the ground with an elbow strike.

"Puh! Cough, cough, cough!"

Cheng Yanghua covered his bloodied nose and coughed twice. Just as he was about to roll over and rise, the sharp dagger was already pressed against his brow. His pupils contracted, and terror filled his heart.

"—How is this possible?!"

Was this man not a scholar?

How could an ordinary scholar possess such excellent martial ability?!

Lin Tianlu's expression remained emotionless as he said coldly, "Steward Cheng, you're already a man of fifty or sixty with a body of old bones. You run slower than a crawling tortoise and can't even beat a scholar. Where did you get the nerve to throw your weight around in Changling County and even take human lives?"

"You, you—"

"If you don't want to die, tell me about your daughter." Lin Tianlu narrowed his eyes and drew the dagger across Cheng Yanghua's forehead, carving a bloody gash. Blood flowed down over his brows and eyes.

Cheng Yanghua's face paled slightly, but he still forced a trace of a smile onto his lips.

"Mister Lin, do you truly dare to strike?

"Don't forget, my daughter is fighting Miss Hua right now. If I die, Miss Hua behind the illusionary veil won't be able to hold out for long."

"You call this... an illusion?"

Lin Tianlu's expression turned strange.

The next moment, he casually waved his hand twice beside him, as though grasping something, then pulled hard.

Riiip—!

A sound like cloth tearing rang out. The invisible barrier covering the center of the cellar was ripped apart on the spot, revealing the human and ghost locked in fierce combat.

Clang, clang, clang—!

Palm and sword blade collided at high speed, sending sparks scattering in waves as the battle reached a heated stalemate.

But Hua Shuya's offensive was completely unhindered. Her sword force surged forward with fierce, razor-sharp momentum, driving Cheng Xinyin back again and again. Victory was clearly within her grasp!

"Ah... ah?!"

Cheng Yanghua stared in utter shock, frozen as though struck by lightning.

"Apparently, not only is this so-called illusion a shoddy imitation, but the daughter you placed your hopes in is also only half-competent."

Lin Tianlu's voice deepened. "What else do you have to say?"

"..."

Cheng Yanghua remained dazed and silent for a long while.

Then his expression suddenly changed, and he said urgently:

"My, my daughter... she needs other people's blood to stay alive."

Lin Tianlu said speechlessly, "There isn't a trace of living human aura in your daughter's body. She's likely been dead for a long time. What life is there left to preserve?"

"No! She isn't dead! She's merely too weak right now and needs human blood to cling to life!"

Cheng Yanghua hurriedly wiped the blood and cold sweat from his face. "Please forgive me, Mister Lin! I only lost my way for a moment because I was desperate to save my daughter. Please spare my life and don't kill me!"

With that, he immediately fell to his knees and repeatedly knocked his head against the ground.

"Please spare my daughter as well, Mister Lin! She's ignorant and innocent—it was I who corrupted her! I shouldn't have let her drink human blood... No, Cheng Xinyin and I did collect human blood, but we have never taken a life. Those who were bled were only weak for a few days. After taking our money, they soon left safely!"

"Is that so?"

Lin Tianlu's gaze grew colder and colder.

"I would never dare deceive you, Mister Lin!" Cheng Yanghua's face was streaked with tears as he hurriedly raised his hand in an oath-taking gesture. "I swear in the name of the Cheng Family's ancestors that none of what I've said is fabricated. Though Cheng Xinyin and I have committed sins, they don't warrant death. Please show mercy and—Puh!"

He was suddenly kicked to the ground.

Jingle—

The dagger was thrown beside his hand as well.

Cheng Yanghua climbed up from the ground in utter bewilderment and was just about to reveal a delighted expression when Lin Tianlu's indifferent voice rang beside his ear.

"Take your own life."

"What... did you say?"

"If I truly believed your nonsensical lies, I'd probably feel sick for the rest of my life." Lin Tianlu stood with his hands behind his back, his cold gaze looking down with utter indifference. "Have you still not realized?

"The blood of dozens of lives flows from your hands. Your hands are drenched in blood like a butcher's. And those who died miserably have been surrounding you all along, staring straight at you."

Steward Cheng suddenly froze from head to toe. Cold sweat poured out as his terrified gaze instinctively flicked to the side.

"No, impossible... Where would there be blood? Where would there be any dead?"

But after a moment of silence, he abruptly snatched up the dagger by his feet and charged forward with a savage expression.

"I'll fight you to the—"

Squelch!

A section of sword blade emerged from his chest.

Cheng Yanghua muttered blankly before finally collapsing lifelessly into a pool of blood.

Lin Tianlu looked at the graceful figure who had arrived without a sound, surprise showing on his face. "Miss Hua?"

"For such a vile person burdened with countless crimes, there was no need for Senior to act."

Hua Shuya's pretty face was icy as she swung her sword, scattering the bloodstains across the ground. "This junior still has an arrest warrant issued by the authorities. Slaying petty villains requires no further approval. Leave the execution to me."

"Thank you."

Lin Tianlu nodded slightly and glanced into the distance.

The female ghost who had previously been surrounded by sinister winds was now lying on the ground in utter disarray. Her ragged clothes made her look truly miserable.

"Miss Hua, your swordsmanship—"

"Thanks to Senior's repeated guidance, I now possess the means to contend with demons and evil spirits."

Hua Shuya smiled sweetly, gratitude seemingly reflected in her beautiful eyes.

Then she looked back at the female ghost. Her gaze suddenly sharpened like a sword, and the surging battle intent in her chest made her straighten and shout:

"I no longer fear, and I no longer tremble. Now, I am invincible!"