The sky gradually darkened. Lanterns were hung on the carriage, driving into a small village.
Zhang Baoyi walked at the forefront, frowning as he looked around. The village was quiet, with a dozen or so rundown earth houses scattered around, surrounded by a narrow alley.
Overgrown with weeds, the sound of the carriage rolling over the road was particularly clear.
“Is anyone there?” a member of the Whale Gang shouted loudly.
“Stop shouting.” Zhang Baoyi spoke up, “This is an abandoned village. Judging by its dilapidated state, no one has lived here for at least ten years.”
In this world where ghosts and demons ran rampant, and monsters abounded, village relocation after various accidents was quite normal.
“Boss… I mean, Brother Yi, you should have passed by this road on your way to Wangjiang City before, did you notice this village before?” someone curiously asked.
“I’ve only been there a couple of times. There are plenty of abandoned villages along the road. Why would I pay attention to so many things?” Zhang Baoyi casually replied before walking to the center of the carriage to briefly explain the situation in the village.
Lin Yuan lifted the curtain and glanced around. He said faintly, “We’ll sleep in the carriage tonight and take turns keeping watch. Be vigilant.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Baoyi hesitated, “Boss, if something unexpected happens, these horses are easily startled, and then…”
“Do as I say.”
“Yes!”
Zhang Baoyi’s heart chilled, and he didn’t say much more. Shortly after his arrangement, he divided the ten gang members into three groups to keep watch at night.
Lin Yuan and the others’ carriage was positioned in the middle, while the other four carriages surrounded it, forming a circle.
As night fell, a bonfire crackled and burned.
Zhang Baoyi also kept watch at night. His face, illuminated by the flickering fire, appeared a dark red.
Appearing calm on the surface, his eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, with a hint of seriousness hidden in his eyes.
He knew that although Lin Yuan was young, he was mature in his actions and not someone who was ignorant of everything. Even knowing that the horses were easily startled, he still had everyone sleep in the carriage.
Why? It could only mean one thing, this village was suspicious!
For Lin Yuan, the situation might not be considered significant, but Zhang Baoyi didn’t notice any abnormalities at all, so he naturally had to be more vigilant.
The night was dark and windy. The watchful gang members had changed shifts, but Zhang Baoyi remained sitting still.
For a Blood Exchange warrior like him, staying up all night was no big deal. Time passed minute by minute.
The surroundings remained quiet, with occasional distant wolf howls breaking the silence.
“Where are you going?”
Zhang Baoyi suddenly opened his eyes. “Brother Yi, I need to pee…”
A gang member who stood up smiled apologetically. His name was Wang Yin, a clever young man in general.
“Xiao Liu, accompany him. Be careful not to get separated.” Zhang Baoyi said lightly.
“Yes.” Another young man beside him nodded and smiled, “Let’s go, Brother Wang.”
The two of them walked together towards a house not far away, and soon the sound of rustling could be heard in the darkness.
Zhang Baoyi stared intently in that direction. Suddenly, there was a muffled noise. Zhang Baoyi stood up abruptly and exclaimed, “What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing, Brother Yi. I didn’t notice there was a pit underfoot, and I stumbled.” Xiao Liu’s voice sounded.
“Be careful!” Zhang Baoyi snorted coldly.
Soon, the two figures reappeared, walking back and sitting quietly by the bonfire. Zhang Baoyi glanced at them and confirmed that they were not possessed by any evil spirits before he continued to rest his eyes.
After a while, Zhang Baoyi opened his eyes and saw Wang Yin stand up again. He furrowed his brows, “What happened again?”
“Brother Yi.” Wang Yin pointed to the farthest carriage. “I thought I saw a white figure flash by there. I’m worried that something might be wrong, so I want to take a look.”
“A white figure?”
Zhang Baoyi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Let’s go check it out.” Wang Yin hurriedly nodded, drew his sword, and followed behind him.
They quickly walked to the back of the carriage where Zhang Baoyi looked around but didn’t see a shadow.
“Is it here?”
“Yes, I clearly saw a white figure passing by just now…
Could it be my eyes playing tricks on me?” Wang Yin looked towards Zhang Baoyi with confusion.
Just then, Zhang Baoyi grabbed his hand suddenly, revealing a thin needle between his fingers, glinting silver, as it stabbed towards his waist.
“I should have noticed that something was wrong with you earlier!” Zhang Baoyi sneered, his eyes fierce, “Who are you, and where is Wang Yin!?”
“Can you guess?” ‘Wang Yin’s’ face twisted instantly, turning into the appearance of a stranger. He smirked mysteriously, holding the sword in his other hand and viciously hacking towards Zhang Baoyi.
“You’re asking for it!!” Zhang Baoyi let go of his hand, took two steps back to dodge his attack, and then drew the large knife from his back.
To his surprise, the other party just feinted a strike, only to force him to let go. Then without hesitation, he turned and swiftly dashed into the darkness.
Zhang Baoyi was about to chase after him when a thought struck him. “Not good!”
Since Liu Li had gone to the toilet with Wang Yin just now, and Wang Yin had been replaced by someone without anyone realizing it, it was highly likely that Liu Li wouldn’t be able to escape either!
Realizing this, Zhang Baoyi quickly turned around. He saw Liu Li being lifted by Lin Yuan, who had quietly emerged from the carriage at an unknown time, holding his neck with one hand and lifting him into the air.
Snap! With a crisp sound, ‘Liu Li’s’ struggling ceased, and his body went limp.
“Boss!” Zhang Baoyi hurried over. “One person ran away.”
“Yeah, they’re both over there. Go bring them back.” Lin Yuan casually threw the body aside, his gaze calm and indifferent, as he instructed, “Drag this impostor away and check if there are any markings on his body.”
These people seemed to be acting unnoticed, with lightning-fast movements and even imitating each other’s breath quite similarly.
But before Lin Yuan, they were like amateurs showing off. Initially, the first thing he had to learn at the Demon Suppression Bureau was how to disguise himself, playing the roles of beggars, literati, vendors, fortune tellers, he had played them all.
Moreover… Lin Yuan’s sensitivity to aura fluctuations was incredibly keen now?
At the moment when the two gang members were knocked unconscious, their aura suddenly became weak, and then two hidden auras began emanating from them instantly.
The reason for only knocking them out instead of killing them was probably due to the fear of bloody and murderous auras attracting attention.
The unconscious gang members were carried back. Zhang Baoyi checked and breathed a sigh of relief. “They were just knocked out by a drug.”
“Boss, the impostor had a blood skull pattern on his body.” Soon, someone stepped forward to report.
“Blood Garment Tower!” Zhang Baoyi’s eyes narrowed, filled with suspicion, “Why would the Blood Garment Tower target us?”
Lin Yuan squinted his eyes. Another encounter with the Blood Garment Tower!
He had already killed one of them in Black Mountain City before, and it seemed that these guys were determined to target him.
Their intentions were clear now. They obviously wanted to quietly replace the people around Lin Yuan and then secretly investigate the secrets of his increased strength. A group of lowlifes who couldn’t rise to the surface, resorting to such shady tactics!
“Stay vigilant!” Lin Yuan coldly ordered, then turned and entered the carriage.
Ji Ling was also awakened, seeing Lin Yuan return, a hint of worry appeared in her brows. She said softly, “The Blood Garment Tower is notorious. Although not a cult, they are universally condemned. They won’t stop until they achieve their goal, even targeting some prominent families.”
“The key is that these guys’ lair is well-hidden, and the majority of the members don’t even know where it is. They only receive tasks at temporary hideouts…”
“Next, there may be a lot of trouble.”
Lin Yuan calmly replied with an “En”, then stretched out his hand. In the palm of his hand, there was a hazy gleam shimmering gently.
“What’s this?” Ji Ling looked puzzled.
“Nothing.” Lin Yuan suddenly stood up again and walked outside, saying, “You continue to rest. Those people shouldn’t show up in the short term.”
Stepping out of the carriage, he flickered and appeared behind a house not far away.
Whoosh! A cold wind blew by, and the hazy gleam suspended in Lin Yuan’s palm suddenly flashed, and a figure quickly took shape in front of Lin Yuan.
It turned out to be the person who had disguised as Liu Li earlier. At this moment, he looked almost indistinguishable from a living person, even his body was solid.
“You…” The man opened his eyes groggily, and upon seeing Lin Yuan in front of him, he felt a tremendous sense of fear enveloping his whole body, involuntarily prostrating himself on the ground.
“I, I am…”
He was in deep shock, suddenly realizing his identity, “Evil Ghost? How did I become an Evil Ghost? You are not Lin Yuan, you are Tiger Demon!?”
Lin Yuan looked at him, deep in thought. It seemed that the Controling Ghost technique from the “Tiger Demon Body Tempering True Technique” was indeed similar to the method used by the Tiger Demon to control Evil Ghosts.
The difference was that the Tiger Demon needed to devour living beings to transform them into Evil Ghosts, while Lin Yuan only needed to kill them.
“No wonder, no wonder…” The man murmured in a daze, “I thought someone who grew up in an ordinary family couldn’t suddenly become so strong. The real Lin Yuan must have died a long time ago, and what exists now is the transformation of the Tiger Demon…”
“Tell me, what is your name, and what is Blood Garment Tower’s plan?” Lin Yuan looked at him indifferently and asked calmly.
“My name is Yang Zhong.” He quickly realized the situation and answered dejectedly, “The plan of Blood Garment Tower is to gradually replace everyone around the master, then step by step to figure out the reason for your enhanced strength. If it is determined to be due to a treasure, the higher-ups will take action…”
Yang Zhong quickly entered the role, articulating the plan of Blood Garment Tower clearly.
He was well aware that once becoming an Evil Ghost, life and death were no longer in his control, and even the thought of resistance was impossible.
If he performed well, there might be a chance of release in the future. Otherwise, angering the Tiger Demon would only lead to complete annihilation of the soul, with no chance for reincarnation.
“If you know where they are, lead the way!” Yang Zhong’s eyes flashed with a trace of malice, resentment rising. Since he had turned into an Evil Ghost, why should they be exempt?
“Lead the way.” Lin Yuan glanced at him and nodded slowly.
Evil Ghosts, unlike regular ghosts, often became extremely vicious and despicable, especially targeting those close to them in their previous lives, leading them to be devoured by the Tiger Demon.
This was the origin of the phrase “Acting as a Tiger’s Righthand Man.” In the dense forest.
A figure quickly ran over. “Failed?”
Six or seven figures jumped down from the trees around, furrowing their brows as they looked at the approaching figure. “Failed!”
The newcomer’s face darkened, he was the one who had escaped earlier. “I didn’t expect Zhang Baoyi to be so vigilant. Old Yang is probably caught. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I would have been captured too. We can’t stay here. We need to evacuate immediately!”
“It’s okay, I know this Yang Zhong guy. He’s a tough nut, he won’t easily reveal the secrets.” A person beside them spoke in a low voice.
Another person nodded slightly, “Although Old Yang’s strength is a bit lacking, for a short period, he definitely won’t…”
“Master, they are here!”
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded. The people were shocked, turned their heads to see Yang Zhong appearing not far away, pointing excitedly at them.
However, standing behind him was a tall figure dressed in black.
“Yang Zhong!?” The Blood Garment Tower people widened their eyes in disbelief.
They had considered that Yang Zhong might have revealed the hiding place under torture, but they had never thought that he would betray them so quickly, showing up almost back-to-back with the previous person!
Who the hell said this guy was a tough nut? Just a little while, even the master called him, and he kneeled down so quickly! Shock, anger, confusion, fear, various emotions flashed through their minds.
Without any hesitation, without even cursing, everyone started madly fleeing in all directions to avoid attracting Lin Yuan’s attention.
To avoid drawing Lin Yuan’s attention as much as possible, they had sent refining and blood-exchanging warriors this time.
Soon after, numerous figures knelt in front of Lin Yuan with bitter expressions on their faces.
No one was able to be his opponent!
After a while, Lin Yuan said coldly, “Each of you, handle the bodies.”
Lin Yuan glanced at the bodies scattered on the ground and gave his instructions in a calm voice. “Yes!”
The nine Evil Ghosts all agreed, then began to dig holes to bury their own bodies underground, cleaning up any traces and covering them with thick leaves.
Their movements were extremely proficient, indicating that this was not their first time. Once they were done with their task…
Lin Yuan casually extended his hand, and the Evil Ghosts turned into hazy light orbs, entering his heart silently.
It had to be said that the Evil Ghosts were quite intriguing creatures. Despite being ghosts, they could disguise themselves as living humans and were difficult to detect, even appearing during the daytime as long as they had items to shield them from the sunlight, such as a pitch-black bamboo hat and clothes. As long as they weren’t exposed to direct sunlight, there would be no issues.
“According to the explanation of the Controling Ghost technique, the number of controlled Evil Ghosts should be limited. However, I seem to be far from feeling what the limit is right now.”
Lin Yuan pondered slightly, standing in the forest for a while before turning around and disappearing.
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