Zuo Bingning's words startled Chen Lin.
Then he felt as though something had interfered with his mind, compelling him to answer her question truthfully.
But he was a Nascent Soul Cultivator, after all, and his mental fortitude had long been tempered through a thousand trials. Though this interference was strange, he detected it immediately and forcibly suppressed it.
"Quite a trick you have there, miss!"
Chen Lin voiced his admiration while flicking his finger twice, sending two Soul-Destroying Fingers shooting out.
Since this woman could manipulate the mind, he could no longer afford to hold back. Otherwise, there was no telling when he might fall victim to her ability.
At such close range, neither woman had any room to dodge. The Soul-Destroying Fingers struck them immediately, and they collapsed to the ground.
Still, Chen Lin had not dealt a killing blow. He wanted to learn who they were first and see whether he could make use of them.
He walked over and examined them. Both had fallen unconscious from soul depletion, but to be safe, Chen Lin took out two talismans and affixed them to their bodies before turning toward the boatman.
The boat was not particularly large. Lu Laosan had personally witnessed Chen Lin leave the two female passengers in an unknown state between life and death. Seeing Chen Lin approach, his legs went weak, and he dropped to his knees.
"Spare me, good sir! I didn't see anything, nothing at all!"
Chen Lin said nothing. He placed his hand directly on the man's head, knocked him unconscious, then cast a spell to erase his memories of what had happened.
Then he propelled the boat to shore, picked up the two women, and disappeared into the mountain woods.
In a grove halfway up a mountain, Chen Lin released Grass