Chapter 1435 - 721: Scouting the Location (2)
Why would the Black Cat be interested in bones?
Lin Beichen followed the Black Cat to the mountain cave and unexpectedly found the elderly woman’s body.
Those people saw Lin Beichen leaving the Daoist Temple and assumed he was trying to evade responsibility, so they followed him here.
"Good job, Lin Beichen, hiding my mom’s body here!"
The elderly woman’s son glared at Lin Beichen and questioned, "Aren’t you afraid that wild beasts in the mountain might gnaw on her body?"
The elderly woman’s nephew chimed in, speaking vehemently.
Lin Beichen felt wronged; he hadn’t placed the body here, and he had no idea who did. He had just followed the Black Cat to the cave and accidentally discovered the body.
At this moment, he truly felt unable to defend himself.
Just as everyone was arguing heatedly, no one noticed the elderly woman suddenly rose from the dead.
She suddenly lunged at Lin Beichen, launching an attack.
This unexpected change left Lin Beichen completely unprepared, and he was struck by the elderly woman, sustaining injuries.
Lin Beichen quickly counterattacked, but the elderly woman turned her aggression toward her nephew.
Initially, the nephew was overjoyed, not realizing the imminent danger. He thought she was coming to embrace him, as she had been lovingly devoted to him in life.
Thus, he opened his arms to welcome her.
Yet unexpectedly, she reached out and choked him by the neck. A crisp sound was heard, and he died on the spot.
Even at the moment of death, he couldn’t understand why she would kill him.
The others witnessed this and were stunned, finding it hard to believe. The elderly woman was so kind, she wouldn’t even harm an ant—how could she commit such a horrifying act?
They were afraid they might be the next to die, so they fled in all directions.
Seeing this, the elderly woman chased after them.
Lin Beichen couldn’t just stand still; he quickly approached her and tied her up.
Despite only having skeletal arms left, her strength was still considerable.
The elderly woman’s sudden revival astonished Lin Beichen. He used Daoist Skill to investigate and discovered she was being controlled by a Mountain Spirit.
As it turns out, the Mountain Spirit had been attacked by Lin Beichen and harbored a grudge against him. Knowing that people were causing trouble at Lin Beichen’s Daoist Temple, it stole the woman’s body, using the Black Cat to lure Lin Beichen here step by step.
This is why she first attacked Lin Beichen upon waking.
The Mountain Spirit controlled everything.
When the Mountain Spirit realized that even unprepared, Lin Beichen was hard to seriously injure, it turned to attack others to vent its anger.
"Stop this now, and I might spare your life," Lin Beichen said to the Mountain Spirit.
"No way! You stole a bit of my things in your Daoist Temple and used a little girl’s Spirit Vein to lure me out, even injuring me. I won’t rest until I exact my revenge!" the Mountain Spirit stubbornly responded.
Why would he retreat from a mere statement by Lin Beichen? Unless he defeats Lin Beichen soundly today, he won’t let it go.
If that’s the case, Lin Beichen had no choice but to face off against the Mountain Spirit. The two promptly engaged in battle.
The Mountain Spirit’s strength was formidable, nothing to scoff at, equal to Lin Beichen’s, making it difficult for him to handle.
But despite this, Lin Beichen was determined to destroy the Mountain Spirit today. Missing the chance to eliminate it last time left him deeply regretful. Now, encountering it again, a narrow escape for enemies under the same roof, he was bent on eliminating this menace.
Still, the Mountain Spirit could manipulate the woman’s corpse, controlling her to attack Lin Beichen. This made Lin Beichen hesitant.
The Mountain Spirit took advantage of Lin Beichen’s weakness, launching a fierce attack.
The system warned Lin Beichen that he was in danger.
If he continued to hesitate, it would either result in the Mountain Spirit defeating him or vice versa.
With no choice, Lin Beichen gritted his teeth and imagined the elderly woman before him as the Mountain Spirit, then struck painfully.
Using half his power, Lin Beichen finally eliminated the Mountain Spirit. The Mountain Spirit dispersed into ashes, and Lin Beichen no longer had to worry about it suddenly appearing to harm anyone.
Although the matter was temporarily settled, Lin Beichen still had to find out the cause of the elderly woman’s death, giving the people an explanation.
After all, he had promised earlier, and he couldn’t break his word.
Lin Beichen began a thorough investigation and finally figured out the whole incident.
Indeed, as people said, the elderly woman left after praying at the temple. She suddenly fainted on the way home; already beset with illness, plus the Mountain Spirit’s grudge inadvertently impacted her after Lin Beichen defeated it, leading to her unfortunate demise.
However, her family kept bothering him, trying to blame the nephew’s death on Lin Beichen.
Lin Beichen was not a pushover who would be bullied; he directly presented evidence before them and warned harshly: if they continued to bother him, he’d see them in court and fight to the end.
With no choice, the elderly woman’s family could only give up, partially settling the matter.
At this time, the system indicated that acceptance of Daoism had increased to 30%, a significant improvement from before.
Then, a time-limited challenge task was assigned to Lin Beichen: within three months, establish a new Daoist Temple in large cities and enroll disciples.
Whether to accept this task depended entirely on Lin Beichen’s wish. After all, the system had never assigned him a timed challenge task before; this was the first time.
For Lin Beichen, it was undoubtedly a new challenge. He accepted the task without hesitation. Previously, his Daoist Temple was set in the village; opening one in large cities now would be immensely challenging.
Since Lin Beichen currently has only one personal apprentice managing the Daoist Temple, he must find three reliable people within the stipulated time to help him complete the task.
After all, it’s impossible to set up new Daoist Temples in three large cities in three months relying solely on himself. One city in three months might be feasible, but three cities would be impossible without Clone Technique.
Therefore, Lin Beichen must quickly find three reliable people to assist him.
Where to find these three people, well, he leaves it to fate; such matters cannot be hurried.
Lin Beichen returned to the Daoist Temple, and upon reaching the entrance, he noticed a few foreigners approaching.
Their arrival seemed anything but accidental; Lin Beichen guessed they might be scoping out the place.
Seeing the foreigners, the apprentice, simple-minded, assumed it meant Lin Beichen’s Daoism had spread to the point of foreigners revering it, believing they were here to visit or learn.
Thus, he greeted them warmly.
The apprentice’s enthusiasm made Lin Beichen shake his head helplessly. He pulled the apprentice aside and said quietly,
"Observe closely; these are foreigners. Although our Daoist Temple has attracted a lot of interest, it’s not to the extent that foreigners come to visit specifically. They could be scoping the place; you need to be cautiously vigilant."
Upon hearing this, the apprentice’s expression changed immediately and said, "Alright, I’ll drive them out right now."
Seeing the apprentice so rash, Lin Beichen couldn’t help but scold him, "Don’t change your attitude faster than flipping a book; just now, you were all warm-hearted, and now you’re chasing them away. They’ll easily guess what I told you."
The apprentice self-consciously smiled, promising to remedy this behavior in the future.
Subsequently, the apprentice went back to host the foreigners.
Just then, Huo Rongrong arrived. Her previous collaboration with the Xu family had failed, and she now considers setting aside past grievances to work with Lin Beichen on accomplishing something significant. Though she currently has her own company, her ambitions far exceed this; she wants to expand and strengthen.
No sooner had the apprentice left Lin Beichen’s side, Huo Rongrong approached him.
"Why, have you forgotten the last time we fought?" Lin Beichen straightforwardly remarked upon seeing her.
"You know, sometimes conflict brings people closer. I’ve let go of past grudges; can it be you haven’t?" Huo Rongrong retorted.
"Not really. Speak up, you surely have business here, what’s the matter?" Lin Beichen asked.
"Well, the Huo Group’s operation is back to normal now. If you need anything in the future, we can lend a helping hand." Huo Rongrong replied.
Her subtext was clear: if the Huo Group encounters difficulties in the future, Lin Beichen must also lend a hand as she is offering now.