Chapter 42 Beast Tide Attacks Zhangjia Village! Lin Chen Faces a Sudden Death Alone

Lin Chen sat in a worn wooden chair in the records room, looking at the panting bailiff by the door.

The bailiff leaned against the doorframe, gulping down cold air as sweat poured down his face from his forehead.

"Untie your tongue before you speak."

Lin Chen pushed the roster on the desk aside and picked up a chipped coarse porcelain teacup.

The bailiff swallowed hard and pointed toward the south of the city.

"Big trouble at Zhang Family Village!"

He gasped for air.

"A large pack of Blood-Marked Wolves is heading for the village."

"The village head, Old Master Zhang, is leading the village men to hold the wooden barricades at the entrance. They fought with their lives to let a fast-footed youth escape into the city to seek help."

Lin Chen's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air, the scalding tea close to his lips.

He turned his head, set the teacup back on the desk with a crisp clink.

"Blood-Marked Wolves are pack-dwelling low-level Yao Beasts. Unless they are starving, they never easily leave the Qingxi Mountain Range to go deep into human settlements."

His fingers tapped the edge of the desk.

"The autumn harvest just finished, so those beasts have plenty of food in the mountains. Why would they risk casualties to gnaw on such a hard bone?"

The bailiff shook his head, his legs still weak.

"The youth who came for help was covered in blood. He's collapsed outside the yamen right now, saying there are at least a hundred wolves."

He wiped the sweat from his face.

"Chief Constable Lin, Zhang Family Village only has about a hundred people in total. If we're late, it'll all be over."

Lin Chen pressed his right hand onto the scabbard at his waist, his fingertip tapping twice against the bronze surface.

A flurry of urgent footsteps came from the end of the corridor, and the hem of a crimson official robe swayed outside the door.

Magistrate Pei Qingxue stepped over the threshold of the records room, bringing in a cool draft of wind.

She waved her hand to signal the bailiff to withdraw, then turned to carefully close the door.

"You cannot go."

Pei Qingxue stood before the desk with her arms crossed, her voice kept very low.

"The matter at Zhang Family Village is almost certainly the Zhao family's doing."

Lin Chen sat in his chair, looking at the female magistrate.

"Does Magistrate Pei mean to say those Blood-Marked Wolves coming down the mountain are a trick concocted by the Zhao family?"

Pei Qingxue turned and sat in the chair opposite Lin Chen. Her movements were elegant, yet they could not hide the urgency between her brows.

"The Great Qian border army once seized a type of beast-luring incense that can trigger the bloodthirsty instincts of Yao Beasts. This prohibited drug is worth a fortune on the black market."

She tightened her fingers on the armrest, her fingertips digging into the wood carvings.

"The Zhao family is wealthy and powerful, and they secretly keep a group of shadowy death warriors. It wouldn't be hard for them to get this drug to lure wolves down the mountain."

She leaned forward slightly, her words heavy with pressure.

"This morning you just established your authority by taking Zhang the Scar's head. Liu Kun is still in the dungeon and could talk at any moment."

"That old fox Zhao Tingyuan knows better than anyone that once those ledgers leave Qingxi County, his entire family will be lining up at the execution grounds."

Lin Chen leaned back against the chair, his hands folded on his lap.

"So he caused such a big commotion just to lure me out of the city?"

Pei Qingxue looked at Lin Chen, the frequency of her fingers tapping on the desk increasing.

"You are the Chief Constable of the county yamen, and the people of Zhang Family Village revere you as a righteous official. If you stay behind closed doors, within half a day, you will be labeled cold-blooded and cowardly."

"The prestige you built this morning using the Great Qian Laws will be ruined in an instant."

She straightened her back.

"But if you dare step half a foot out of the South Gate, what awaits you will be a fatal trap far exceeding a few Blood-Marked Wolves."

Pei Qingxue stood up and paced twice in the cramped records room.

"The Zhao family's death warriors, perhaps even Zhao Tingyuan himself, will set an ambush on the way to take your head."

Lin Chen listened quietly to her analysis until she had laid out all the dangers.

He unclasped his hands from his lap and slowly stood up, bracing himself against the edge of the desk.

He was more than half a head taller than Pei Qingxue, and he looked down into her eyes.

"Every reason Magistrate Pei just stated is correct."

Lin Chen walked to a nearby weapon rack and picked up a roll of coarse cloth used for wiping blades.

"The Left Commandant of the City Defense Battalion was following us this morning to snatch some credit, yet this afternoon he closed the South Gate and disappeared on the pretext of guarding against bandits."

"The Zhao family's poisonous scheme is already on the table. They are certain that I must step into this pit."

He used the coarse cloth to wipe the surface of his scabbard back and forth, removing a few specks of dust.

"There is a blind old grandmother in Zhang Family Village. Back when I first became a Patrol Officer and couldn't even afford food because my salary was withheld, she secretly tucked two pieces of dry rations into my arms."

Lin Chen turned around and tossed the cloth back onto the rack.

"Zhao Tingyuan wants to use a hundred lives to test the edge of my blade. I'll consider this a parting gift for his entire family."

Seeing him about to leave, Pei Qingxue took two quick steps to block him, her wide sleeves knocking over a stack of documents on the desk.

Papers scattered all over the floor with a rustling sound.

"You're mad! You're knowingly walking into a tiger's den!"

"With only your Late Stage Blood Refining Realm cultivation, no matter how good your blade techniques are, you'll only find death if you're caught between a wolf pack and experts in the wild!"

Pei Qingxue bit her lower lip, trying to find a trace of cowardice on his face.

"While there is life, there is hope. We have the ledgers in our hands now. As long as we hold this yamen for three days, the Prefecture's troops will arrive, and the Zhao family will have no choice but to surrender."

Lin Chen looked down at her arm blocking his path but did not force his way out.

"That is the way of officialdom. Magistrate, you know very well how I got this ninth-rank official seal."

He flicked the Qingxi Constable Seal at his waist with his index finger, producing a crisp ring.

"This seal can suppress those unruly soldiers only because of the blade in my hand that dares to kill. That useless code book issued by the yamen is completely worthless."

"If the emergency report from Zhang Family Village comes in today and I cower in this courtyard waiting for reinforcements from the Prefecture..."

He raised his gaze to look straight ahead.

"...those Bailiffs will know that once they encounter a life-threatening crisis, their Chief Constable is also a coward who relies on schemes to survive."

Lin Chen's gaze went past Pei Qingxue's shoulder toward the gloomy sky outside the corridor.

Dark clouds were already hanging low, and the wind carried the fishy scent of approaching rain.

"Things in this world are never accomplished by calculating a way out from inside a room."

He pulled away Pei Qingxue's blocking arm and walked steadily to the door.

Pei Qingxue turned to look at his tall, broad back, her voice rising a few notches.

"Then how many men do you plan to take out of the city?"

"Do you really think those fifty men on the martial arts field will risk their lives for you against Yao Beasts and Zhao family death warriors?"

Lin Chen's foot on the threshold stopped, and he turned to glance at the documents scattered across the floor.

"Take them outside the city? If a couple of wolves howl on the way, they'd trample half of their own people to death first."

He gripped his hilt, the calluses on his palm feeling the slight roughness.

"I will face the situation outside the city alone."

Pei Qingxue froze in place, her hands twisting the belt buckle of her official robe.

"Facing a wolf pack and Zhao family death warriors alone—have you truly had enough of living?"

Lin Chen ignored her question and merely tilted his chin toward the main hall.

"Zhao Tingyuan's risky move of luring me out of the city is likely only half of his plan."

"Once I leave the city, the yamen will be leaderless, and this place will be their true target."

"Liu Kun, locked in the dungeon, is a mad dog who could bite at any time, and the ledger under the table is their death warrant."

He slowed his tone, but his words carried immense weight.

"I am leaving all fifty men in the yamen to you. Combined with the rules I established today, it will be enough for you to hold this place tight as an iron bucket."

"Magistrate Pei, just take the men and retreat to the dungeon and the back hall. Block all entrances with sandbags and prepare oil and crossbows."

He tightened his grip on the hilt.

"No matter how much noise is made outside, as long as no Tongmai Realm expert forces the door, no one can get in."

As Pei Qingxue listened to him lay out every part of the defense, a wave of heat rose in the corners of her eyes.

She forced down the trembling in her voice.

"I understand. You're not just going to save people, but also to protect this vital evidence."

"If you get torn apart by Yao Beasts, where am I going to find another Chief Constable who doesn't value his life?"

Lin Chen chuckled, sounding very cold in the gloomy light.

"If they want my life, those shadowy scum of the Zhao family aren't qualified."

With that, he stayed no longer and strode out along the corridor.

In the records room, Pei Qingxue watched the figure disappear around the corner, her teeth biting a white mark into her lower lip.

She turned and picked up the documents from under the desk.

Every sheet of paper here bore the weight of a hundred lives.

By the time Lin Chen reached the open space of the front courtyard, a sparse, cold rain had begun to fall.

Raindrops splashed onto the blue bricks, creating wet spots the size of copper coins.

The Bailiffs, who had just finished running laps on the martial arts field, were slumped under the eaves panting. When they saw him appear, they immediately straightened their backs and stood up.

The thin clerk holding the roster jogged forward and tremblingly handed over a booklet.

Lin Chen didn't even look at the booklet, merely observing the group of trembling men.

"In the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, withdraw all patrol sentries from the four city walls back to the yamen."

His first command made everyone present look at each other in bewilderment.

"Take several hundred gunny sacks filled with sand and completely block the yamen gates, leaving only slits for archery."

"The rest of you follow the Magistrate and retreat to the inner courtyard of the back hall. Guard in shifts for twenty-four hours, arrows on strings and blades drawn."

He looked around at everyone.

"If anyone dares to neglect their duty and privately open the gates to let anyone in, don't blame me for not respecting the Great Qian Laws!"

Lin Chen's voice pierced through the curtain of rain, rolling across the courtyard.

The two young Bailiffs who had just replaced the squad leaders quickly cupped their fists in response.

"Rest assured, Chief Constable Lin, we will surely hold the post you've assigned with our lives!"

Lin Chen nodded and swung himself onto the Date-Red Horse in the yamen stable, the only one capable of long distances.

He gripped the reins with both hands and clamped his legs tightly against the horse's belly.

The horse, feeling the pressure, reared its front hooves with a long neigh and charged out of the yamen gates.

Hooves thundered over the water-slicked bluestone streets, splashing up large plumes of muddy water.

On the wide main street, vendors who had heard news of trouble had already packed up their stalls and hidden indoors.

Every household had their doors and windows tightly shut, and the vast county town appeared quite eerie in this unexpected cold rain.

Lin Chen leaned low over the horse's back, the wind whistling past his ears mixed with the sound of raindrops drumming against his cowhide outer armor.

In his mind, he constantly reviewed the Qi Circulation route of the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade.

The heavy True Qi of the Xuanhuang Immovable Body at his Dantian had already begun to flow steadily along the Meridians of his limbs.

The strength of the Late Stage Blood Refining Realm supported him in maintaining a stable posture on horseback, ready to strike with his blade at any moment.

The towering gatehouse of the South Gate was visible in the distance, its heavy portcullis half-open.

The guards at the gate had been replaced by fully armed soldiers from the City Defense Battalion.

A dozen soldiers holding long spears saw a fast horse charging toward them and quickly crossed their weapons in the middle of the road.

"Halt! By order of the City Defense Battalion, bandits are rampant and no one is allowed to leave the city!"

The lead officer, wearing iron scale armor, drew the saber at his waist and pointed it at Lin Chen on horseback.

Lin Chen did not rein in his horse; he didn't even slow down in the slightest.

When he was ten paces from the checkpoint, he used the momentum of the galloping horse to leap into the air.

The Ten-Refined Steel Longblade at his waist unsheathed, its light drawing a white waterfall in the curtain of rain.

Accompanied by a fierce wind and the sound of a tiger's roar, he passed directly through the crossed spears.

The violent air current from the opening move of the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade knocked the row of soldiers into the muddy puddles.

The back of the steel blade struck the lead officer's breastplate with a dull metallic thud.

Without even a chance to cry out, the officer foamed at the mouth and flew thirty feet away, falling unconscious.

Lin Chen landed steadily outside the half-open city gate.

He didn't even glance at the fallen soldiers, turning instead to step into the cloud-covered wilderness outside the city.

Atop the city wall, the Left Commandant held a black paper umbrella, standing behind the wall and looking down at the receding black figure.

His lieutenant approached, looking at the scattered subordinates below with eyes full of shock.

"Commandant, we just let him out like that? How will we answer if the Zhao family blames us?"

The Left Commandant lowered his umbrella slightly to block the raindrops drifting onto his face.

"Our order is to guard the city gate and not let bandits in. He is a man going to his death; why should I waste the lives of my brothers to fill the edge of his blade?"

He looked at the dirt road leading to the Qingxi Mountain Range and snorted.

"I've repaid my debt to Black Pine Stronghold. As for how many death warrants he can survive in that meat grinder of the Qingxi Mountain Range, it depends on whether his bones are tough enough."

Near the mountain village, Lin Chen abandoned his horse.

Using the Divine Movement Step, he sped along the potholed and rugged muddy road at full speed.

The sound of the wind in his ears gradually turned into a low wail—the chorus of restless Yao Beasts in the mountain forests.

The sky grew even darker, and the withered trees on both sides clawed at the air in the rain.

Less than three li from Zhang Family Village.

The smell of blood in the air pierced directly into his nostrils through the curtain of rain.

He slowed his pace, switching the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade to a reverse grip in his right hand, the tip of the blade grazing the mud-slicked grass.

At the bottom of the slope ahead, seven or eight mangled corpses of villagers lay scattered by a ditch.

Three massive Blood-Marked Wolves were hunched over the bodies, chewing frantically.

Terrifying tearing sounds came from their mouths.

Lin Chen did not hide his presence; his boot snapped a withered branch, producing a crisp crack.

The three Blood-Marked Wolves stopped feeding simultaneously, lifting their muzzles dripping with gore.

Pairs of green eyes glowing with bloodlust locked onto the prey in dark green official robes through the shadows.

The longblade emitted a low hum, and Lin Chen's fingers tightened around the coarse cloth wrapped around the hilt.

The hunt had officially begun.