Stopping the mission

The late-arriving young Taoist spoke crisply and decisively, forcing the barbed remarks Peng Tianli had been about to make back down his throat.

They stuck there, neither up nor down.

Peng Tianli could only cough twice and rub his belly with one hand, looking rather awkward.

Third Lady also gave the newly arrived young Taoist a curious look.

Liao Chi sensed something familiar about Lin Feng.

The aura of Wild Fox Zen.

A complicated blend of Zen insight and uncanny strangeness.

Liao Chi was no slouch at cultivating Wild Fox Zen himself, and he was sensitive to that aura.

What puzzled him was how closely this man's Wild Fox Zen resembled his own.

Every lay practitioner and wandering monk cultivated a different kind of Wild Fox Zen.

Most followed the path of the Zen school.

That meant the path of "a shout and a blow" and "sudden enlightenment," using what were called exchanges of Zen wit.

They spoke in obscure riddles that nobody could understand.

Their foundations were shaky, yet they pretended to be profound.

Liao Chi knew that although his path was not unique, it was extraordinarily difficult. If he had not already set foot on it,

he would never have been willing to continue down it.

Sensing that same mingled quality in the Taoist, Liao Chi looked surprised.

He glanced at Lin Feng, unable to understand why a Taoist sent by the imperial court carried such a familiar aura.

Did Taoists cultivate Wild Fox Zen too?

And in this Taoist, Liao Chi also sensed Dragon-Tiger Qi, which made him wary.

Dragon-Tiger Qi intimidated demons and monsters, while his Wild Fox Zen attracted sinister spirits and evil things. Both sensations existed in the same person.

It was complicated.

It was as though this young Taoist was deliberately luring evil spirits into crashing against the blazing sun.

Even Liao Chi could not immediately see through the young Taoist's identity or background.

A faint ripple disturbed his normally impassive face.

This time, Lin Feng was in no hurry to clear the game.

He had come to improve his awareness. Ignoring everyone else, he looked at Hundred-Household Officer Zhu and motioned for him to come outside. He had something to say to him.

His arrogant attitude infuriated Peng Tianli.

I waited half the night for you, and this is how you treat me when you finally show up?

You won't even spare me a glance.

Just as he rose to block the way, Lin Feng pointed without even lifting his eyelids. "The Thirty-Six Stockades Map is on the mountain where you fetch water. Help yourselves."

The sarcastic remark Peng Tianli was about to make was stopped cold.

Once again, Lin Feng had anticipated what he was about to say.

It left him stifled.

"I..."

He had probably been about to say, "How do I know whether you're telling the truth?"

He wanted to challenge this young Taoist from the imperial court. After all, whichever way one looked at him, the young Taoist seemed rather flighty.

As the saying went,

a beardless chin meant unreliable work.

Peng Tianli eyed Lin Feng suspiciously, not quite believing what this young court Taoist said.

Liao Chi gave Lin Feng another look and whispered something into Peng Tianli's ear.

Only then did Peng Tianli relent. With a cold snort, he said, "If you're making fools of us, I'll cleave you in two with one stroke! I'll bury your left half on the western mountain and your right half on the eastern mountain. Then even that emperor of yours won't have anything to say!"

He threatened Lin Feng with his long-handled saber still in his hand.

Lin Feng perfunctorily cupped his hands, indicating that he could do as he pleased.

Then he turned and walked out with Hundred-Household Officer Zhu. The guide looked somewhat at a loss, but eventually followed behind Lin Feng.

Drawing his sword, Lin Feng explored the surrounding stilt houses while continuing his unfinished conversation with Hundred-Household Officer Zhu.

The guide knew how to behave and followed behind Lin Feng.

Hadn't Hundred-Household Officer Zhu said last time that they had long been in contact with this stockade's grand elder?

Then contact had been lost.

And the Thousand-Household Commander had brought skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard up to the stockade to investigate?

The Thousand-Household Commander who had come to investigate in person had been made into a puppet by Banyan Tree's aerial roots.

If Lin Feng's guess was right, the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had come with that Thousand-Household Commander were probably hanging from Banyan Tree just like him.

He did not believe that a dignified Thousand-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard could have been cultivated into [Five-Organs Incense] while still alive.

If anyone had the nerve and authority to turn a Thousand-Household Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard into sacrificial incense,

it could only be the reigning emperor, Emperor Hongwu.

Old Zhu lacked both the ability and the need.

He was not someone who ruled the realm through evil arts.

He did not believe in that stuff!

Old Zhu's family had been peasants through and through, and not even landowning peasants. They had been so destitute that when his parents died, he could not find anywhere to bury them.

They had no inherited tradition whatsoever.

Later, although Old Zhu had become a monk, he had nearly starved to death, wandering from place to place begging for alms and suffering humiliation.

He had joined the Red Turban Army, fought from south to north, driven Wang Baobao and the young emperor of the Great Yuan north into the desert, and finally proclaimed himself emperor.

And after taking power, Old Zhu had understood how terrifying religious sects could be. He had vigorously suppressed sects everywhere, whether Buddhist or Taoist. As for the White Lotus Sect and the Ming Cult, he had crushed them with force, wiping them out wherever they appeared.

How could someone like that turn his own subordinate into Five-Organs Incense?

It was impossible.

So the Thousand-Household Commander must have met with disaster in the stockade.

In that case, which room had he been turned into Five-Organs Incense in?

Lin Feng had initially thought this might be an investigation mission, but on closer inspection, it was actually an adventure mission. Both the Embroidered Uniform Guard—the Central Plains imperial court—and Peng Tianli—the Tusi—were acting mysteriously, searching for something here.

As for what they were searching for, wasn't that exactly what Lin Feng was asking now?

Hearing Lin Feng's blunt question, the taciturn man with the sallow face finally frowned.

"Lord Lin, didn't the Celestial Master’s Mansion tell you?"

"Mm-hmm. If they had, do you think I'd be blundering around like a headless chicken?"

Lin Feng and he reached the nearest stilt house, probably the elders' residence. Two water buffalo lay dead on the ground floor, their cause of death unknown.

After a quick glance, Lin Feng and Hundred-Household Officer Zhu went upstairs and caught a fragrant scent.

Beneath that fragrance, another smell hung in the air.

The heavy, rusty stench of blood.

"The crime scene?"

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu followed behind Lin Feng. At last, he said, "It's not that we're looking for something. We're here to keep these savages from finding something."

"Keep the savages from finding something?"

There really was something hidden in the Thirty-Six Stockades.

Lin Feng turned his head.

Just then, Lin Feng suddenly heard a scream from deep in the forest.

Peng Tianli had died again.

Holding his longsword, Lin Feng could see the depths of the forest through this stilt house's window. He swiftly barricaded the door and windows, leaving only one window open. "Lord Zhu, search this house carefully for clues. I'll hold them off here."

"Do you know what's in this stockade, Lord Lin?"

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu asked quietly.

Lin Feng stroked his sword. "No hurry. In a little while, you'll know what's here too, Lord Zhu."

A short while later, about five minutes, Worm Thralls charged out of the dense forest.

Seven minutes later, Lin Feng opened his eyes.

[Revive on the spot and continue the game]

When he opened his eyes again, he still saw blackish-brown dead insects and Worm Thralls charging toward him.

The heap of corpses was almost level with his waist.

Lin Feng's expression remained unchanged. He had come back to life, and without bothering to see what expression Hundred-Household Officer Zhu wore, he resumed fighting.

Ten minutes later.

[Revive on the spot and continue the game]

Lin Feng revived once more.

Death had not frightened him. He only felt that his sword had finally grown fierce and sharp.

Just like him.

He was the sword, and the sword was him. At that moment, he no longer thought about the game or clearing it. The Worm Thralls before him were like whetstones for his blade. With every swing, he drew closer to his [Swordsmanship Mastery].