The water in Lin Fan’s hand splashed onto the ground. On the ground by the construction site’s entrance, a series of faint fox paw prints appeared, each one giving off wisps of black qi.
“What is this?”
Du Zhengguo was startled and could not help exchanging a glance with Du Yu. Before this, the two of them had actually been more inclined to believe Liu Zhengdao.
For one thing, Liu Zhengdao was someone they had known for many years, and he was already at the peak of the second-rank layman level.
Naturally, the two of them were inclined to trust Liu Zhengdao’s words a little more.
They had not expected Lin Fan to casually splash some water and reveal several of these paw prints in front of the construction site.
Liu Zhengdao’s expression immediately turned much more serious. He crouched beside the paw prints and examined them carefully, his brows faintly furrowing. “They’re from a monster.”
Then Liu Zhengdao looked at Lin Fan, though his expression was not particularly pleasant. “It seems you have been hiding your true abilities, my friend. I wonder which prestigious sect you are a disciple of. Your standards are so high that you do not even deem me worthy of seeing your true pattern.”
Liu Zhengdao was quite famous in Qing City and several of the surrounding cities. After all, he was the future heir of the Liu family.
By rights, the fact that he had voluntarily revealed his true pattern was already a great gesture of goodwill. Even a disciple of a prestigious family would have returned the courtesy by revealing their own true pattern.
Yet Lin Fan had previously claimed that he had not entered the Dao and had not become a layman.
But what else could the abilities Lin Fan had displayed now be, if not those of a layman?
Lin Fan also looked rather awkward. He cupped his hands and said, “Senior Liu, please do not take it personally. There is a special reason I cannot reveal my true pattern. How could I possibly look down on you?”
Lin Fan was not an arrogant person, either. Generally speaking, as long as others treated him courteously, he would return the courtesy.
It was just that revealing his true pattern really was impossible.
If word got out that he cultivated the Shu Mountain Sword Control Technique, he would probably bring himself a great deal of trouble.
Liu Zhengdao’s eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold snort. Although Lin Fan’s explanation eased some of his displeasure, it did not completely calm him down. “Since there is a monster here, I will go in and see just how capable it is to have dared wreak havoc here for so many years.”
With that, Liu Zhengdao quickly entered the construction site.
Delight appeared on Du Zhengguo and Du Yu’s faces. This construction site had been abandoned for far too long. If it continued to drag on, they would lose a huge amount of money every day.
Lin Fan thought for a moment, then said, “The two of you be careful here.”
Lin Fan followed him into the construction site. Building materials were scattered everywhere, piled up in a disorderly fashion, while lush green weeds had grown across the ground. The entire site was desolate beyond measure.
By this point, Liu Zhengdao had somehow produced a peach wood sword in his hand, as if by magic.
He looked left and right, proceeding cautiously. Lin Fan followed behind him at an unhurried pace.
Lin Fan surveyed the dozen or so abandoned buildings, searching for the monster’s whereabouts.
Before long, Lin Fan’s eyes turned toward a room on the second floor above them. A black shadow darted across the room.
Liu Zhengdao spotted it as well. “Monster, where do you think you’re going!”
Liu Zhengdao ran into the pitch-black building and charged toward the second floor.
“Don’t be reckless!” Lin Fan hurriedly shouted.
But Liu Zhengdao completely ignored his warning.
“Is that guy trying to get himself killed?” Lin Fan frowned.
He did not recklessly charge into the pitch-black building. This place had probably already become the monster’s territory. Rushing into a monster’s territory without knowing the situation was no different from seeking death.
Suddenly, Lin Fan turned toward the entrance of the construction site, his pupils contracting slightly. “Damn it!”
Lin Fan rushed toward the entrance.
“Ah!”
“Monster!”
Before Lin Fan arrived, he heard miserable screams coming from the entrance.
They were Du Yu and Du Zhengguo’s voices.
Lin Fan quickly returned to the entrance.
Du Zhengguo and Du Yu had already fainted, lying on the grass. Beside them was a black fox over a meter long.
The black fox’s eyes glowed blood-red, and faint black yao qi radiated from its body. It bared its teeth, its face full of ferocity.
“Don’t be rash. If you kill them, you won’t be able to escape either.” Lin Fan hurriedly raised a hand.
What Lin Fan had not expected was that this monster was a second-rank illusion spirit.
Although Lin Fan could deal with it, if it wanted to kill Du Zhengguo and Du Yu, it could do so with ease.
The fox demon stared fixedly into Lin Fan’s eyes and spoke in a human voice. “Human, this is the place where I cultivate. Anyone who dares trespass on my territory will die!”
“Including you.” The fox demon’s blood-red eyes fixed on Lin Fan. In its eyes, Lin Fan was nothing more than an ordinary human whom it could kill with ease.
A smile appeared on Lin Fan’s face. “Kill me?”
Who knew what had given this monster such confidence? A talisman appeared in Lin Fan’s hand.
He had just been about to use Daoist magic to deal with the monster when Liu Zhengdao suddenly emerged from inside the entrance, a small fox in his grasp.
This little fox was black all over as well, and it appeared to have been born only recently.
“Yip! Yip!”
The little fox struggled and cried out, trying to break free from Liu Zhengdao’s grip, but no matter how hard it tried, it could not escape.
Liu Zhengdao narrowed his eyes and stared greedily at the second-rank illusion spirit fox demon before him. “A second-rank illusion spirit fox demon. That is a second-rank illusion spirit pill right there.”
“Human! Let it go.” The ferocity on the black fox’s face intensified.
Liu Zhengdao shoved Lin Fan aside and said to the black fox, “This little fox is your child, right? Surrender, and I will let it go. Otherwise, I will strangle it to death right now!”
Lin Fan frowned. Though the other side was a monster, Liu Zhengdao’s actions disgusted him.
Even when dealing with monsters, Lin Fan’s personality dictated that he kill them openly and honorably. He would never use such despicable methods.
Fierce light flashed repeatedly in the black fox’s eyes as it glared at Liu Zhengdao through clenched teeth.
“Hey, Senior Liu, isn’t this going a little too far?” Lin Fan suddenly spoke from the side.
Huh?
Liu Zhengdao looked at Lin Fan in surprise. “What did you say?”
With both hands in his pockets, Lin Fan said indifferently, “Using this kind of tactic against a monster, aren’t you afraid of bringing disgrace to the Liu family’s reputation?”
“When dealing with a monster, who cares what tactics you use? It has a hostage in its hands as well.” Liu Zhengdao spoke coldly.
Lin Fan could not be bothered to argue with him. He moved in an instant, snatching the little fox from Liu Zhengdao’s hands before Liu Zhengdao could react.
He then casually tossed the little fox into a patch of grass in the distance.
Liu Zhengdao had never expected Lin Fan to do such a thing. He roared angrily, “Lin Fan, that kind of thinking is nothing but the misguided compassion of a softhearted woman.”
Lin Fan wore his familiar faint smile. “Senior Liu, this isn’t softhearted compassion. I simply find your methods unpleasant.”