Inside the blacksmith’s shop, the light was slightly dim.
Lin Hong’s expression froze for an instant, but he immediately composed himself, his tone light and concerned.
“Hmm, time waits for no one, old man. You must always pay attention to your health. My matter isn’t urgent.”
A very faint trace of residual spiritual energy, its aura twisted and sinister, instantly gave Lin Hong the answer.
He could only say that he knew his intuition wouldn’t be wrong.
But he showed no sign of it.
Instead, he thought to simply use the Hui Tian Hua Sheng Jing to give the old blacksmith a massage.
That way, the old blacksmith could recover after a good sleep.
Since he had the ability, why not help?
Just as Lin Hong was organizing his words, pondering how to bring it up, footsteps suddenly came from outside.
The door curtain was pushed aside.
It was a young man in his early twenties, carrying the heat of the sun as he strode in.
He was very casual, clearly a regular customer.
As he walked in, he was already calling out about retrieving a tool he had sent for repairs a few days ago, saying he needed it urgently.
The old blacksmith’s wife quickly responded.
She gave Lin Hong an apologetic smile and turned to walk toward the corner where items were piled.
Lin Hong’s gaze naturally fell on the entering young man.
The smile on his face remained unchanged as he nodded in greeting, but a faint, deep glint flashed in his eyes.
In the eyes of an ordinary person, this was just a normal young man, slightly tired from just finishing work.
But Lin Hong’s perception was extraordinary.
Channeling spiritual energy to enhance his eyes, the scene he saw was completely different.
He could see the young man’s body was enveloped by a dark red soul aura, clearly possessed, with most of his body’s control already taken away.
[Host.]
At the same time, the mysterious panel also issued a warning.
“I know, I can see it.”
When the possessed young man saw Lin Hong, a flicker of surprise also flashed in his eyes, as if he hadn’t expected to encounter him here.
But it was only for a moment.
He immediately masked it, a simple, slightly ingratiating smile spreading across his face as he nodded in return to Lin Hong’s greeting.
One could say his acting was superb.
However, in the instant he lowered his head, Lin Hong keenly sensed a spiritual fluctuation probe out from the young man.
It was very subtle, silently landing on him, forming a faint mark.
Clearly, this person was cautious, afraid of being detected.
Therefore, the mark wasn’t aggressive but more like a locator beacon.
Lin Hong inwardly sneered, but showed nothing on his face, appearing completely unaware of any abnormality, even smiling foolishly, his attitude casual and natural.
Afterward, he bid farewell to the old blacksmith and his wife once more, urging him to rest well, then turned and left the blacksmith’s shop.
It was afternoon.
The town was relatively quiet, the townsfolk each busy with their own tasks.
Lin Hong did not head directly back to the church or his residence.
Instead, he deliberately moved away, strolling through the town, seemingly idle and carefree.
Soon, he sensed a tail appearing behind him, slowly closing in.
Lin Hong sneered.
He turned left and right, finally heading toward a clutter-filled area at the edge of town, a place seldom visited.
Soon, Lin Hong stopped, very leisurely, as if admiring the distant scenery.
At that moment, the stalker behind him could no longer restrain himself.
This was practically a heaven-sent opportunity.
He acted directly.
The possessed young man’s body shuddered violently.
A dark red light-shadow separated from it, detaching from the top of his head and pouncing toward the back of Lin Hong’s skull at incredible speed.
The young man’s body then went limp and collapsed to the ground.
“What is that?!”
Lin Hong, as if completely unaware, only had time to let out a short exclamation of surprise before the dark red light-shadow vanished into his body.
If there had been an outsider present, they would have seen the black-haired boy’s body stiffen for a moment before standing rigidly in place, unmoving, his eyes closed.
*
The Sea of Consciousness was like a vast, empty void, the dwelling place of consciousness and soul.
At this moment, Lin Hong had actively visualized his spiritual form as the boy Evan, unleashing his acting skills, his face filled with terror and confusion.
Before him, a dark red light mass coalesced, finally forming a humanoid outline with indistinct features, like an evil spirit.
“Who?! Who are you? Where is this?”
Lin Hong was terrified, looking around frantically, his voice trembling.
“Huh?”
The dark red evil spirit first made a sound of surprise, examining Lin Hong with interest before speaking, actually offering praise.
“You didn’t faint immediately. Not bad soul strength, young master. Far stronger than that lowly vessel from earlier.”
“What are you? What do you want with me?”
Lin Hong put on a very frightened appearance.
Seeing Lin Hong’s reaction, the evil spirit seemed quite satisfied, letting out a sinister, cackling laugh full of mockery and malice.
“Young master, you’re too pathetic. As the offspring of that duke, to be so afraid, you’re somewhat useless.”
“But that’s fine too. Perhaps this is retribution? It’s all because your parents were so unreasonable, repeatedly opposing the Holy Church. As their child, you can first repay part of the debt for your foolish parents!”
Lin Hong was very calm internally.
He quietly activated his spiritual energy, using it for guidance.
Then, his spiritual body trembled, emitting waves of angry emotion, pretending to be so furious he could barely speak coherently.
He wanted to fish for information, to draw out more words.
After hurling a few weak, almost petulant insults, he pretended to remember something and asked if the old blacksmith’s injury was his doing.
“Hmm, quite sharp, young master. Yes, it was me.”
The evil spirit was slightly surprised, then frankly admitted it.
Old Hawk’s injury was indeed his handiwork.
“It’s a pity. I originally planned to break his back and legs, leaving him crippled for life but not dead. But the distance was a bit far, something went wrong, and it wasn’t successful. What a shame.”
“You… how can you be so vicious? What did Old Hawk do wrong? How could you do such a thing? You’re a devil!”
Lin Hong put on an enraged face, shouting, his spiritual fluctuations violently undulating, very convincingly.
“A devil? Thank you for the compliment, young master.”
The evil spirit seemed pleased, smiling.
“That old man didn’t do anything wrong. But his son serves as an armorer in the Imperial Border Army. Over the years, countless weapons and armor have passed through his hands for modification. Do you know how many of our brothers and sisters have been killed by these sinful tools? The son’s debt is repaid by the father.”
Lin Hong was indifferent inside, feeling this person already had a death sentence coming.
But on the surface, he showed nothing, acting with full force, appearing utterly furious.
“You won’t succeed! There are Royal Knights stationed outside the town, incredibly powerful! They will wipe out all you filthy things!”
“Royal Knights?”
The evil spirit laughed heartily, full of arrogance. “What are they? If they were truly strong enough, how could I have infiltrated? A bunch of seemingly noble, but actually lowly and savage creatures.”
“When the other brothers and sisters from the Holy Church arrive, along with those lowly creatures, they will all be caught in one net. And this town will become a rich pasture. No one will escape; all will become nourishment.”
Hearing this, Lin Hong was instantly wide awake.
He had obtained heavyweight information.
It sounded like the Evil Clan followers indeed had a scheme, and reinforcements were coming.
He immediately thought of the previous Bazi.
That restriction might have some trick to it.
At the same time, he also pretended to be panicked. “Impossible! The knights outside have scoured the surroundings! They found no one! Where could you possibly hide?!”
The evil spirit sneered.
“One cannot deny those lowly creatures have some skill. But in the end, they are still base humans. How can they compare to the noble divine power of the Holy One? We are in…”
At this point, the evil spirit’s spiritual fluctuation suddenly halted. He sensed something was wrong and became alert.
Although this boy’s soul had been panicking, his Sea of Consciousness had remained very stable.
Not only was it unaffected by him, but it even gave off a faint sense of oppression toward him.
His spiritual power should far surpass this boy’s.
He should just act directly.
Why did he need to explain so much?
He had nearly exposed their hiding place just now!
This was unlike his character.
The evil spirit grew more alert because he had a feeling that from the moment he entered here until now, he seemed to have been guided by some force, involuntarily answering whatever the boy asked.
A chill suddenly swept over the evil spirit’s senses, making him instantly suspicious and uncertain.
He couldn’t believe a teenager could have soul power surpassing his own.
But instinctive unease and vigilance made him decide to waste no more words.
“Young master is very clever, trying to fish for information? How disobedient. Be good and let me in. Offer your body to me!”
The evil spirit shouted lowly, directly launching his most powerful soul assault, intending to suppress Lin Hong’s consciousness and complete the possession.
Dang…
A dull sound, felt on the soul level, reverberated through the Sea of Consciousness!