Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Water Spirit Crystal, a common water-type spirit stone in Qingqiu, is favored by demon cultivators with a water spiritual root, who like to pile them up in their living spaces.

Some even carve them into pretty decorations out of boredom for their homes, but in terms of value, these stones aren't worth much—they're easy to dig up in places abundant with water vapor.

What's a bit more valuable is the Five Elements Spirit Marrow, but even that is only slightly more valuable than the other spirit crystals; these things still contain impurities of spiritual energy and are beneath the notice of the Qingqiu royal family.

Although Bai Zhizhi didn't use these things, he still knew the common sense basics.

These Five Elements Spirit Crystals love blending in to match their surroundings: stones in the water, dead wood in the forests, rocks hidden in magma, mounds of earth in the ground, or jagged boulders in mine tunnels and caves.

Their camouflage is top-notch, with an outer shell that seals all traces of spiritual energy. This Water Spirit Crystal was probably nibbled on by a Xian Fish, breaking off a corner, which was how Bai Zhizhi immediately spotted it.

To Bai Zhizhi, these were worthless stones, but to these cultivators, a spirit stone so rich in spiritual energy was incredibly rare.

The moment the spiritual energy leaked out, Jiang Lin snatched the Water Spirit Crystal from Bai Zhizhi's hand, stuffed it into his storage item, and pulled Bai Zhizhi behind him.

Bai Zhizhi glanced at him, his eyes landing on the faint red string on Jiang Lin's wrist, which had something strung on it—this must be Jiang Lin's storage item.

So it seemed they did have storage items here. He thought they didn't have them.

Over the past couple of days, he had often seen Jiang Lin looking for parking spots. Why keep looking for a spot when he could just stash the car in his storage item? He didn't get it.

Xiao Yu and Ren Daoan also stepped forward quickly, positioning themselves between Jiang Lin, Bai Zhizhi, and Hull.

Almost at the same moment, Hull launched an attack, trying to snatch the Water Spirit Crystal.

Xiao Yu met Hull's palm strike with his own, and the three remaining adepts beside Hull charged in with frenzied eyes. Such a large stone infused with spiritual energy was clearly no ordinary thing; they had to seize it today no matter what.

Their thoughts were optimistic, but the odds weren't in their favor. With only four of them including Hull, and since this was Chinese territory, the moment Xiao Yu and Ren Daoan moved, the other cultivators surged forward, completely separating Jiang Lin and Bai Zhizhi from Hull and his group.

If it were just Ren Daoan alone, a Qi Refining eighth-level cultivator, Hull wasn't confident he could win. With Jiang Lin and Xiao Yu also present, Hull had missed the chance to catch them off guard. Now that he had lost the initiative, further fighting was pointless.

So he raised his hand to stop his people and stared directly at Jiang Lin: "As you Chinese say, shouldn't this be considered sharing with those present?"

Xiao Yu immediately spat back: "Have you no shame? Now you want to share, but back when you discovered the Spirit Soil, you claimed you discovered it first and took everything for yourselves. Where was your talk of sharing then?"

Hull turned to Bai Zhizhi: "Little fox, you hurt one of mine earlier. Give me that spirit stone as compensation, and I won't bother you again. How about that?"

Before anyone could react, a blur shot past them.

The next second, Bai Zhizhi, who had just been standing securely surrounded by their protective circle, had already tackled Hull to the ground, straddled him, and landed two solid punches on his face.

"I'll compensate you—my ass!"

He remembered that Jiang Lin had told him to avoid drawing blood, so this time he used his fists instead of claws. Otherwise, those two swipes would have torn Hull's face wide open.

"You dare demand compensation from me? I'll beat you to death today, and then we'll see how you come looking for trouble!"

As he spoke, he threw a few more punches at Hull's face.

Hull only felt the first punch; the rest were numb because his face was already deadened.

He was a high-level adept, yet he hadn't even reacted when Bai Zhizhi pounced on him. He couldn't gauge the other's cultivation level, but he had experienced Bai Zhizhi's speed twice now. That speed wasn't human—was this what Chinese demons could do?

After several punches, Hull finally reacted. By then, Jiang Lin had also rushed over, stomping on Hull's hand as it began to gather adept energy, and then hugged Bai Zhizhi, coaxing him: "Alright, alright, Zhizhi, stop hitting."

Xiao Yu followed closely, stomping on Hull's leg as he tried to roll over: "Stop, stop hitting."

Ren Daoan and Yue Yanting directly intercepted the other three adepts, blocking any chance for them to intervene as they urged: "Enough, Zhizhi, stop. He's already beaten into a pulp."

Hull, pinned to the ground and absorbing more punches: "...Fine, fine, so this is how you Chinese cultivators do things, huh?"

Seeing that it was enough, Jiang Lin finally used his strength to lift Bai Zhizhi away, still soothing him: "Alright, alright, that mouthy guy got what he deserved. Don't be angry. Later, I'll have Lin Xiaoyang take you to play games, and I'll buy you game coins."

Xiao Yu pursed his lips to suppress a smile before stepping forward to help Hull up. Not wanting to look at his black-and-blue face, he just dusted him off: "Are you okay? Kids are still young, impulsive, and don't know their own strength. I'll make sure Jiang Lin gives him a talking-to when we get back."

Hull opened his mouth and spat out a few white teeth.

Xiao Yu winced slightly—this kid really hit hard.

After soothing Bai Zhizhi, Jiang Lin turned back to Hull, his eyes icy: "This is the second time. I won't always be able to stop him in time. Bai Zhizhi isn't under my Bureau. If you keep running your mouth, and he ends up killing you, don't blame him."

Bai Zhizhi's eyes lit up: "Can I kill him?"

Jiang Lin: "We have a saying here: 'three strikes, you're out.' If he provokes you again, you can cripple him."

As for killing—better not. There was no need to stain his hands with blood and incur karma.

Bai Zhizhi looked back at Hull, his eyes hopeful, clearly waiting for him to try again.

He purposely extended one fingernail, letting it grow long and sharp: "I could slit his throat in one go."

Jiang Lin caught hold of his hand with the long nail: "We'll let it go this time. Give him another chance to live."

When Bai Zhizhi showed his demon features, Hull stepped back half a step. He still didn't know how Bai Zhizhi's cultivation compared to his own, but given that incredible speed, he'd be dead before he could even react.

Knowing he wouldn't get anything today, Hull's face darkened. But then he seemed to think of something and gave a cold smirk before leading his men away.

Yue Yanting stepped forward, watching Hull's retreating figure: "I get the feeling he was saying, 'Just you wait.' Am I right?"

Xiao Yu ignored Hull and walked over to Jiang Lin, glancing at Bai Zhizhi: "Hello, I'm Xiao Yu, captain of the Lin City Brigade."

Bai Zhizhi was polite to anyone who spoke nicely without hostility: "I'm Bai Zhizhi."

Xiao Yu: "Could I take a look at that pink stone you found?"

Bai Zhizhi pointed at Jiang Lin: "Ask him. I gave it to him."

Xiao Yu: "I heard you mention money earlier. Whatever he's paying you, I'll double it. Would you sell the stone to me instead?"

Double! Bai Zhizhi's eyes lit up.

Ren Daoan and Yue Yanting immediately walked over, each taking one of Bai Zhizhi's arms and leading him away: "Zhizhi, your speed earlier was amazing. How did you do it?"

"Zhizhi, you just saved my life. Whatever you want, I'll buy it for you."

"Zhizhi, are you hungry? I have lollipops here—want one?"

Watching them hustle Bai Zhizhi off before he could say a word, Xiao Yu couldn't help but chuckle: "When did your team members become like this? Where'd all their composure go?"

Jiang Lin: "The stone will be handed over to the Bureau for analysis. We need a report to determine exactly what it is."

Xiao Yu naturally knew the process, but he couldn't help teasing Bai Zhizhi after seeing the stark contrast in Bai Zhizhi's demeanor before and after—sitting on the tree branch with an ethereal air, then turning into a rowdy little tiger when throwing punches.

However, recalling how Hull addressed Bai Zhizhi, Xiao Yu asked, "Who is he, and where is he from? Yanting said he was following you."

Jiang Lin replied, "He came down from the mountain and doesn't quite understand the rules here. I'm keeping him by my side to teach him."

There was no need to spell it out. Xiao Yu understood. Although Bai Zhizhi didn't have obvious demon traits, the nails he had just revealed, along with Hull calling him 'little fox,' made his identity clear.

Xiao Yu simply said, "Then you'd better watch him closely. With that speed, even I couldn't stop him."

Not to mention Xiao Yu, even Jiang Lin himself couldn't stop him. Fortunately, Bai Zhizhi had no killing intent; otherwise, Hull would have been dead the moment he made a move.

Jiang Lin glanced at the little fox, who was now sucking on a lollipop, and let out a helpless sigh. At least he was fairly well-behaved, or he would have been a real headache.

Walking over to Bai Zhizhi, Jiang Lin said, "Don't learn swear words from Lin Xiaoyang from now on."

Bai Zhizhi looked innocent. "I didn't say any swear words."

Jiang Lin replied, "'Grandpa's leg' is a swear word."

Yesterday, during a game, Lin Xiaoyang said that once, and Bai Zhizhi remembered it. He really picks up everything, good and bad.

The fish had already been arranged for transport. The entire mountain and streams around Luoxia Village were cordoned off, and they needed to eliminate any remaining danger to check if there was a third Xian Fish.

The bureau's research institute had also issued a report. Xian Fish, a creature from ancient legends, causes forgetfulness when eaten, but excessive consumption leads to addiction and madness. The toxin from Xian Fish damages the entire nervous system. In small amounts, it stimulates neural activity, producing an effect of forgetting one's worries; in larger amounts, it causes irreversible neural damage.

In other words, those who ate only a small amount of Xian Fish meat could still be saved with some nerve-blocking drugs, but those like Zhou Yan who consumed too much were beyond saving.

A couple of days later, Lin Xiaoyang returned with a sigh. Yue Zhihuan gestured to ask him how things went. Lin Xiaoyang shook his head. "Zhou Yan is dead."

Even with a treatment plan in place, they ultimately couldn't save him.

Bai Zhizhi, who was practicing reading nearby, shook his head as well. He had said earlier that there was no hope.