Phoenix Chick

Lin Wen felt like his balls were in a vise.

He had studied [Immortal's Guide] for a long time, yet failed to find any solution costing less than four digits.

Though he appeared to have everything well in hand before others, he actually had no real confidence in his heart.

At the current rate of spending, even if he emptied everything he had, it would not last half a month.

And reconstruction work was about to begin. Money would be needed everywhere, so he had to find new sources of income as soon as possible.

By all logic, it would be best to maintain the 400,000 quota. That would give him much more breathing room.

But Xiuyu's words that morning had touched Lin Wen. People were not figures on paper; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness were not words written by hand.

The disaster victims had already suffered enough. Lin Wen did not want to take away this tiny scrap of happiness from them.

Since they had already climbed out of hell, they should not go back.

At worst, I just picked hell difficulty.

Lin Wen thought.

The key was, this would definitely bring him more good karma.

Hmph. Losing good karma just to run from hardship is something I will never accept.

After all, I am the man who will become the King of the Immortal Realm!

His blood suddenly boiled. Lin Wen sprang to his feet, just about to activate his astonishing intellect, far beyond Einstein's, when white mist suddenly unfolded before his eyes. A golden [Good Karma +1] flashed past.

Huh?

Where had this one point of good karma come from?

There were many possible sources of good karma for Lin Wen now, and most of them were not settled immediately, so this point could have come from anywhere.

The most likely source was the 110,000 he had just stuffed into Lei Tiantong's hands.

110,000 for one point of good karma?

Not bad.

Of course, that was not certain. It might have come from something else, or there might have been other reasons. Lin Wen did not dwell on it. He immediately looked to the top of the white mist, beneath his name.

Sure enough.

The golden text there had changed to:

[Good Karma: 1000]

Awesome!

Just looking at that number made his heart feel open and bright.

He was about to close the white mist when his gaze swept across it and suddenly caught another change.

Another row of seal icons had vanished from the entries in the center.

Lin Wen's heart began pounding wildly. He looked closely and saw that the row read:

[Divine Ability]

I can have a divine ability now?

Lin Wen could hardly believe it. His body suddenly grew hot, as if he had seen the back of the goddess he had pined after for a hundred years while she showered in the bathroom, having finally agreed to go on a date with him.

His blood hammered against his eardrums like mad, filling his ears with an illusory buzzing.

Trembling, he lightly tapped that narrow row with his gaze. Just as when the spells had been unsealed, it instantly expanded and filled Lin Wen's entire field of vision.

Only this time, its entire background was pitch-black.

At the upper left, only four golden words shone. They were so conspicuous, like the sole morning star gleaming in the night.

[Wingless Phoenix]

A divine ability of spiritual resonance.

It granted supernatural perception and the ability to sense matters beyond the physical world, with the effects of warning of cause and effect, unhindered fate, and grudges that did not cling.

Hahahahahaha!

I really have a divine ability!

Though he had not figured out what this divine ability was for, simply possessing it was enough to make Lin Wen incomparably happy.

After studying it carefully for a while, he found that it seemed to be a permanent passive ability and did not require any expenditure of his Primordial Spirit.

That meant the more divine abilities he had, the stronger he would become, without having to worry about his consumption failing to keep up.

Looking at that empty black background, Lin Wen could already picture it filled with golden text.

After immersing himself in that beautiful fantasy for a moment, Lin Wen was jolted awake by Fang Dashan's noise.

But he was not the least bit displeased. Beaming from ear to ear, he asked, "What is it?"

Though Fang Dashan found it strange that Governor Lin was so happy about something, he did not pay it much mind. "Governor Lin, the eastern side has been sealed off for four days now. We have continuously carried out your policy of allowing entry but forbidding exit."

"Yeah. What is it?"

Fang Dashan hesitated before asking, "How long are we supposed to keep the blockade in place?"

Lin Wen had been about to answer, Naturally, until Phoenix Chick is caught, but quickly came back to himself. "Did something happen?"

"Yesterday, after we stopped a group of criminals, they forced their way through the checkpoint and exchanged fire with the soldiers on duty. Eleven of our men were injured, six seriously. Nine of them died, fifteen were captured, and several others drove off. Some civilians were also accidentally injured, along with an official from the Governor's Office."

Something like that happened?

Lin Wen was slightly startled. He had not considered this at the time.

There wouldn't be any bad karma, would there?

Lin Wen hurriedly checked.

Fortunately.

His bad karma was still at 0.

That had happened yesterday. In other words, if there were any resulting bad karma, it should have arrived by now. Since none had appeared, that meant there truly was none.

Still, they had been lucky this time. They might not be so lucky next time.

Lin Wen thought.

This policy carried risks. It had to be stopped as soon as possible.

Of course, Phoenix Chick absolutely could not be allowed to escape either.

Fang Dashan continued, "Fortunately, none of them are in mortal danger. But today, the Governor's Office Transportation Administration sent us a letter of inquiry, asking why we sealed off the roads."

"Commandery Chief Lin, how should we... respond?"

Fang Dashan spoke with great care, afraid of making Commandery Chief Lin unhappy.

But Lin Wen did not care at all. As he headed outside, he said, "I'll notify you to lift the blockade later."

I'll have to catch her myself. Damn it, are the security officers and inspection guards all useless? It's been so many days, and they still haven't caught anyone?

A huge weight lifted from Fang Dashan's heart, and he hurried after him at a jog. "Commandery Chief Lin, they have a lot of guns, and they even dared to force their way through a checkpoint. They definitely aren't ordinary criminals. We captured quite a few of them. Do you want to interrogate them?"

"Handle it yourself."

The thought that he could be tainted by bad karma at any moment had already made Lin Wen anxious.

"Get me a vehicle immediately. An off-road one. I have urgent business."

Fang Dashan was perceptive enough not to say another word. He immediately went to carry out the order.

Before long, an off-road jeep came roaring over and stopped before Lin Wen. A soldier jumped out and saluted him.

"Sir, Soldier Xu Lin reporting!"

"Get in. I'll point the way, you drive."

Fang Dashan truly had been thoughtful in his work. This soldier was an expert at off-roading, tearing through all kinds of mountain wilderness with Lin Wen as though he were walking on level ground.

Lin Wen pointed out the direction. He had already used [Ask the Heavens] to learn Phoenix Chick Qin Luoshuang's location. She was still within Long Mountain Commandery and had not left.

She had not even gone far. She was in a barren mountain not far from the eastern commandery exit checkpoint.

It seemed she was still waiting for an opportunity to escape.

Lin Wen's mind was filled with the good karma that was about to flee and the bad karma that could descend at any time. For the moment, he had no room to think about anything else—such as why she was running away, or how a lone woman who was not Bear Grylls could survive in the wilderness for so many days.

[Ask the Heavens] gave him a one-time location, not continuous tracking. If he arrived too late, Phoenix Chick might leave.

Lin Wen only had 1% of his Primordial Spirit left. He truly did not want to spend any more good karma.

Fortunately, Soldier Xu Lin was reliable. His foot barely left the accelerator the entire way, and the military off-road jeep raced like a cheetah, flying over every kind of rugged terrain toward the destination Lin Wen had indicated.

In less than an hour, they had reached the foot of the barren mountain.

It was a vast, desert-like area. The ground held nothing but gravel and yellow sand, without a trace of green in sight. The small hills were bare and empty, with only a stream winding past along the rear side.

Lin Wen got out and confirmed that this was the place. The exact location was not far ahead.

He walked forward, with Soldier Xu Lin following behind him.

Very soon, Lin Wen found a sheltered hollow at the foot of the barren mountain. There was a campfire ringed with pebbles here, as well as a large rock suitable for lying on.

Lin Wen touched the ashes. They were cold.

He checked the time. Not much time had passed since they had set out, yet when he looked around, there was no one in sight.

An hour on foot should not have taken her far, unless she had some means of transportation.

But she could not possibly have noticed someone tracking her, so she was most likely still nearby.

Lin Wen glanced at the stream. The sun was bright today, and the temperature was quite pleasant.

But it couldn't be that clichéd, could it?

The stream curved around the barren mountain toward the rear. Lin Wen walked around the back of the mountain for a while, then heard the distinct sound of someone splashing in the water.

No way. This actually happened?

Could this kind of lucky encounter wait until after I've transmigrated? I only want to watch seven fairy maidens frolicking in the water like mandarin ducks.

But Lin Wen still couldn't quite believe it. Maybe he'd misheard?

He slowly poked his head out. The instant his line of sight passed the rock, every hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and an overwhelming sense of danger shot straight to his head.

Lin Wen immediately pulled his head back, and the sense of danger vanished in an instant.

What, what kind of problem was this?

Lin Wen tried the same movement again, and the same sense of danger appeared right on cue.

But as long as his gaze withdrew behind the rock, the lethal danger immediately disappeared.

Lin Wen wasn't stupid. He thought of it at once.

Was this the effect of [Wingless Phoenix]?

I can sense danger?

But even if that woman's divine arts were unmatched, it shouldn't be enough for me to die just from taking one look at her, right?

This wasn't some cultivation world. She wasn't some divine maiden, imperial daughter, great power, or the beloved granddaughter of the sect master of some super sect. Why would one glance get me killed?

Seeing Governor Lin suddenly stop moving and repeatedly stretch and retract his head like a turtle, Soldier Xu Lin found it rather amusing.

"Governor Lin, what are you doing? Your neck is stretched so long."