Chapter 26 – Evil Thoughts
While thinking about the three techniques, Wang Lin became excited. In an attempt to produce the Fireball technique, he formed seals with his hands. However, forget fire, not even a spark appeared. After a long time, he frowned and tried again.
Time and again, he ultimately failed, only managing to produce a spark once.
Wang Lin laughed bitterly. “Talent… it’s always talent!” He then practiced the Earth Splitting technique on a nearby rock. Although the results were better than the Fireball technique, the crack was only the size of his pinky finger. This kind of technique was good for deceiving people, but in real combat, it was useless.
Finally, he practiced the Attraction Technique. He was still not satisfied with the results.
However, given the Attraction Technique’s high success rate, Wang Lin devoted all his efforts to practicing Attraction. Simply put, Attraction is simply controlling objects remotely.
If one could control the Attraction Force well and had reached the second layer of Qi Condensation, they could practice the Repelling Technique. Once one had broken through the third layer and entered the fourth layer, they could go to the Sword Spirit Mansion to choose a flying sword.
After practicing for a while, Wang Lin started to return home before it got dark. Now that he had reached the first layer of Qi Condensation, his sight and hearing had greatly improved. After entering the east gate, he heard several familiar voices as he passed the chore house.
“Brother Liu, when you first arranged for me to collect firewood, you said 100 pounds would be enough to complete the task. Why is it now 1,000 pounds? I, Zhang Hu, am not a newcomer, and over the past few years I have done many things to please you. Do you really want to force me out of the sect?”
“Zhang Hu, don’t say I’m making things difficult for you. It’s almost the end of the year, and even your brother here isn’t having a good time. But instead of working, you come here to tell me a sad story. When I brought the firewood you collected to the pill house, I was scolded. I took it back and checked it. You little bastard, you’re really smart. In 100 pounds of wood, there’s at least 30 pounds of water.”
Zhang Hu was furious. He said loudly, “Impossible. You’re falsely accusing me. Wasn’t it because a few days ago, I saw Zhao FuGui give you an immortal talisman so you could choose an easier task for him? What’s the big deal? Among the honorary disciples, who doesn’t know how you act? As for trying to force me out of the Heng Yue Sect, you’re completely screwed, you bastard. I won’t do this again. I’ll tell the elders.”
“Zhang Hu, you forced me to do this. If you want to blame someone, you can only blame yourself for being unlucky enough to see something you shouldn’t have. Zhang Hu, stay here. If the elders find out about this, your entire family could die with you.”
Disciple Liu’s cold voice rang out from inside the room, and Zhang Hu screamed. Upon hearing this, Wang Lin was shocked and kicked the door open.
Wang Lin first saw the hideous face of a young man named Liu. He was stabbing a dagger at Zhang Hu, who looked terrified and was leaning against the wall.
Wang Lin saw that he didn’t have enough time to help Zhang Hu. He immediately began using the Attraction Technique. Fortunately, this time it worked. An invisible hand held back the attacker. However, the dagger had already cut Zhang Hu’s chest. Blood poured out from the wound.
The young man named Liu was terrified. His entire body felt powerless as an invisible force held him in place, preventing the dagger from being pushed down any further.
Zhang Hu’s face was pale. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He looked at Wang Lin and immediately crawled to the side.
The young man named Liu was shocked and immediately began to struggle. Wang Lin’s forehead began to sweat profusely, as if he was starting to lose control.
This was Wang Lin’s first time using this technique on someone. Clearly, he couldn’t control it well. Furthermore, the person was struggling, so he had difficulty maintaining control. Wang Lin’s body trembled. Seeing that Zhang Hu was no longer in danger, he relaxed slightly, and the Attraction Technique also loosened.
Seeing Liu about to break free, Zhang Hu showed a strange expression. He looked at Wang Lin, then at Brother Liu. His expression turned cruel. He picked up a wood-cutting axe and walked toward Brother Liu.
Brother Liu’s face was filled with fear, and he struggled even harder. Zhang Hu gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, “I’m not a poison-free person. Brother Liu, you forced me to do this. Do you want to kill my entire family?”
“Zhang Hu, what are you going to do?” Wang Lin was shocked, and the Attraction Technique lost its effect.
As the young man named Liu regained control of his body, Zhang Hu slammed the axe into Brother Liu’s head. Brother Liu was too late to dodge. A sound like a watermelon bursting filled the room for a moment. Brother Liu’s body twitched on the ground before going still.
The axe in Zhang Hu’s hand fell to the ground. He stared at the bloody corpse with a complicated expression.
Wang Lin was stunned. It was the first time he had seen such a bloody scene. After a long time, he began to ask bitterly, “Zhang Hu, you…”
Zhang Hu looked up at Wang Lin. His face changed, revealing a grim expression. He said word by word, “Wang Lin, you saw it too. I didn’t want to kill him. If it weren’t for you, I would have been killed by him. He forced me to do all that, he forced me!”
Wang Lin remained silent. He hadn’t expected this to happen.
Zhang Hu took a deep breath. His face showed a determined expression. He walked beside the corpse and examined it briefly. He took out a bag containing hundreds of talismans that honorary disciples used to visit their families. There was also a thread-bound booklet. Zhang Hu glanced at it and tucked it away in his clothes.
After that, he searched the room. Finally, he found a secret compartment under the bed. Inside was a piece of yellow paper.
After pondering for a moment, he turned to Wang Lin and said, “Wang Lin, today you saved me. I, Zhang Hu, will always remember this. Regarding the Heng Yue Sect, I won’t be able to stay any longer. When the sect finds disciple Liu’s body, they will investigate and eventually find me. I will take these things. As for the immortal talisman that caused this disaster, it must be a treasure, or this young man named Liu wouldn’t have tried to kill me.” After that, he handed the yellow paper to Wang Lin.
Wang Lin didn’t accept it. He sighed and smiled bitterly. “You… why did you have to do this? If you hadn’t killed him…”
Zhang Hu frowned. He said, “Wang Lin, let’s not talk about this anymore. I’ve suffered enough these past few years. If you still consider me a friend, take this immortal talisman.”
Wang Lin bitterly accepted the amulet. He said nothing more.
“Wang Lin, I’m leaving. This has nothing to do with you. If the sect investigates, they’ll only find me. By then, I’ll definitely have left the Heng Yue Sect. Hmph, the State of Zhao is so big. I don’t believe I’ll be an honorary disciple for the rest of my life.” Zhang Hu’s expression was complicated. After a long time, he slowly turned around and left the room.