At dawn, the faint morning light spilled through the window.
In his bedroom, Lin Fei tore off a sheet of white paper and bit his index finger, drawing beads of bright red blood from its tip.
Using his finger as a brush and his blood as ink, he swept across the white paper, his strokes dancing like dragons and snakes.
A Barrier Talisman.
This talisman could protect its owner from harm. It could also be affixed somewhere to form an invisible barrier when an outsider intruded, blocking entry and providing protection.
Without demonic beast blood, talisman paper made from spirit wood, or even a talisman brush, he had completed a legendary divine talisman. Had a cultivator from Dragon Tiger Mountain seen this, they would probably have dropped to their knees and begged to become his disciple.
For this was something deemed impossible by a law of the cultivation world, much like the scientific world's so-called "Newton's first law."
Unfortunately, Lin Fei had broken this law of the cultivation world.
There was no other reason: the cultivation world's entire talisman civilization had been created by Lin Fei...
"I wonder whether Zhang Daoling passed down the talisman spells I taught him back then."
"That little Daoist must have ascended to the immortal realm long ago, just like everyone else, right?" Looking at the talisman paper on the desk, Lin Fei grew somewhat wistful.
Then he smiled and shook his head, thinking no more of it.
Lin Fei drew five Barrier Talismans in succession and folded them into triangles.
Wu Moling's strength did nothing to reassure Lin Fei. He worried that something would happen to Ji Yaoguang if he took no protective measures himself.
It was not just Ji Yaoguang; perhaps the entire Ji Family was in danger.
Everyone reacted differently to the five talismans Lin Fei offered.
Wu Moling was naturally overjoyed. She carefully put hers away as a precious treasure, even making it into a necklace to wear around her neck.
Ji Yaoguang's parents and grandfather were all somewhat skeptical. But having witnessed Lin Fei's mysterious abilities, they still wore theirs securely.
Only Ji Yaoguang frowned, finding Lin Fei's actions far too steeped in feudal superstition. "What is this? Some ghostly scribble?"
Lin Fei smiled faintly without offering much explanation. "Just think of it as a lucky charm."
Ji Yaoguang did not dwell on it either. She politely thanked him and casually slipped it into her pocket.
With the Barrier Talisman protecting her, Lin Fei was no longer so worried about her safety. Instead of accompanying her to the company again, he headed to the nearest car dealership.
Shortly after leaving, Lin Fei noticed several vans and seven-seater business vehicles following him. Most of their occupants were middle-aged men tattooed with dragons and phoenixes, looking like gangsters.
Trash like this clearly did not belong to the Dark Night Organization, and Han Enci was the only other person he had recently clashed with.
While Lin Fei was deciding whether to approach them himself or lead them somewhere secluded and finish them all off, a van blocked the road ahead of him.
A group of burly men puffing clouds of smoke jumped out and quickly surrounded Lin Fei.
Their leader was a bald, middle-aged man wearing a thick gold chain, his muscular arms bare. His skin was dark all over, and he looked thoroughly menacing.
Tilting his head, he looked Lin Fei up and down and sneered. "You're Lin Fei?"
"You'll have to come with us. Otherwise... heh."
Lin Fei sighed softly, uninterested. He had thought Han Enci might have some real ability, but this was all he amounted to.
"Lead the way if you want to die." Lin Fei did not even blink, leaving the burly men around him momentarily stunned.
The bald man let out a strange bark of laughter. "You've got guts!"
Paying no attention to what they thought, Lin Fei leisurely followed them into a van, as though they had simply come to pick him up.
The strange convoy soon headed somewhere secluded. The men on either side pressed daggers against Lin Fei, warning him to behave and not try any tricks.
"Who would have thought that useless Han Enci had quite so much nerve?" Lin Fei laughed.
After all, judging by these men's actions, they meant to find somewhere secluded and kill him outright, not merely teach him a lesson.
The burly man on his left scoffed disdainfully. "Buddy, you're about to lose your life, and you're still talking big?"
Lin Fei smiled noncommittally and admired the scenery outside like a traveler.
These men clearly knew the area well, and they soon arrived at a secluded, abandoned factory.
Once there, a vicious gleam flashed in the eyes of the men on either side of him. Exchanging a glance, they both stabbed at Lin Fei without hesitation.
To their shock, however, Lin Fei effortlessly caught both short blades between his fingers.
Startled, the two men strained with every ounce of strength to drive their blades forward, but the edges did not budge, as though locked tight in iron pincers.
Lin Fei applied a little pressure with his fingers. With a crisp crack, both short blades snapped at once.
Holy fucking shit, was this guy even human?
Scared out of their wits, the two immediately howled, "Everyone, get him!"
The next moment, their accomplices getting out of the vehicles behind them witnessed a sight that filled them with horror.
With a deafening crash, the van's door flew off. The metal door was badly deformed, with a large bulge protruding outward and a distinct footprint on it.
The gangsters were scared senseless, standing as motionless as statues of clay and wood.
Then Lin Fei stepped leisurely out through the doorway, as though strolling through a courtyard.
At the same time, wailing police sirens rapidly drew closer.
The whole group was dumbfounded. They had not seen Lin Fei make a call, so how had the authorities been alerted?
Only Lin Fei wore an amused smile, already understanding the trap Han Enci had laid for him.
Having these men deal with him was a feint; having the police arrest him was the real goal.
Yet Lin Fei remained remarkably calm. He took out his phone and made a call. "Little Jiang."
The female assistant who answered on the other end was startled.
The voice on the phone sounded young. How could he be so presumptuous as to call Jiang Tianling "Little Jiang"?
He was the top man in Rongcheng's police force!
The female assistant's heart tightened. Not daring to slight him, she cautiously asked, "Who is this, please?"
Lin Fei smiled. "Little Jiang isn't there?"
"Pass on a message for me. Tell him someone under his command has been bought off and is looking to cause trouble for Lin Fei."
He paused, then said earnestly, "Tell him to hurry. Otherwise, I'll handle it my own way."
The female assistant was so startled that she could not collect herself.
Meanwhile, the disconnected tone was already beeping on the other end.
As Lin Fei hung up, several vehicles had already surrounded everyone. A group of law enforcement officers rushed out, aiming the dark muzzles of their guns at them.
"Don't move!"
"Everyone, squat down with your hands on your head!"
They dared not disobey and hurriedly squatted down with their hands on their heads.
The burly men Lin Fei had knocked down inside the van were wailing for their fathers and mothers, immediately drawing the attention of the middle-aged captain leading the team.
Lin Fei knew their injuries very well. They all had comminuted fractures, and two also had broken short blades embedded in their legs.
Upon seeing the middle-aged captain, the bald leader hurriedly said, "This is the man who got into my van!"
"He forced us to drive here and threatened to kill us if we didn't. Luckily, my buddies were all nearby. They saw something was wrong and followed us here."
The captain frowned, then said with some displeasure, "I understand the situation. Don't worry. We'll handle it properly."
In Liu Shenghao's view, neither side was any good. Still, Lin Fei was ferocious beyond belief, and it was an indisputable fact that he had injured these men.
He then turned to Lin Fei and said sternly, "You're suspected of intentional assault resulting in disability. Come with us."
The man at the center of it all, however, was remarkably composed, getting into the vehicle as though heading out on an ordinary trip.
The sirens wailed, gradually fading into the distance.
Inside the vehicle, Lin Fei was squeezed together with several burly men.
They exchanged meaningful glances, secretly calculating how to pin the blame on Lin Fei.
Lin Fei, however, remained utterly unruffled and even yawned out of boredom.
Meanwhile, Han Enci hummed a little tune in satisfaction and even opened a bottle of champagne to add to the fun, waiting for news that Lin Fei had been dealt with.
What he did not know was what was happening higher up.
Jiang Tianling had been in a meeting, and his female assistant knocking three times in succession had greatly displeased him.
He had already said that anything could wait until after the meeting. Had the usually sensible Xiao Zhang gone deaf today?
"Come in," Jiang Tianling said impatiently. Then he asked Xiao Zhang as she entered, "What's got you so flustered? Didn't I say everything could wait until after the meeting?"
Looking embarrassed, Xiao Zhang nevertheless hurried to his side and whispered a few words into his ear.
In an instant, Jiang Tianling's expression changed.
With a loud bang, he slammed his palm onto the conference table. The room was instantly filled with the tension of drawn swords and bent bows, startling everyone present.
His face livid, Jiang Tianling shot to his feet:
"Which bastard has a death wish?!"