Yongfu walked directly to a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy and struck him with a bolt of spiritual light.
The boy snapped awake. Seeing Yongfu, he first froze in shock, then shifted into a state of extreme terror. He twisted his body violently against his restraints, screaming, "Please, kill me! Just kill me!"
Faced with the boy's frantic pleas, Yongfu remained expressionless. She cast another technique.
Lin Haoming watched clearly as the boy's face contorted into a mask of agony. He let out a blood-curdling howl, sounding like a soul being dragged into the depths of hell.
"What are you doing to him?" Lin asked.
Yongfu didn't answer immediately. After ten breaths of time, she cast another light. The boy fell unconscious instantly. Moments later, a small red insect, about the size of a pinky fingernail, crawled out of the boy's mouth and dropped into Yongfu's palm.
"What is that?" Lin frowned.
"A Marrow-Eating Bug," Yongfu replied. "A venomous insect that specifically devours the spiritual marrow inside a cultivator's bones."
Lin began to piece it together. He nodded slowly. "So, Qian Yuanshu used these bugs to extract the spiritual marrow from these children for his own cultivation. If I'm not mistaken, this is the Spiritual Marrow Bone-Tempering mentioned in that Divine Bone Art manual?"
"Exactly. Though I didn't know the name of the manual he practiced," Yongfu admitted.
Lin recalled the contents of the jade slip. "According to the Divine Bone Art, only Foundation Establishment cultivators can naturally extract spiritual marrow from their own bones. For those below that level, unless they are specialized body-refining cultivators, crushing the bones is useless. So, Qian used these bugs as a middleman."
---
The Secret Technique
Lin realized Qian Yuanshu had taken this post specifically to practice this dark art in secret, using Yongfu to facilitate the kidnapping of children. He couldn't recall a famous technique called the Divine Bone Art in the sect. According to the manual, if practiced to the later stages, one's skeleton becomes a complete set of magic treasures.
Even though this was a remnant copy only going up to the 9th layer, it was enough to reach the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage. A manual this powerful should have been claimed by a Sect Ancestor; the fact that it wasn't suggested Qian had found it as a private fortuitous encounter outside the sect.
Lin, knowing his own poor aptitude, saw a different path here. If traditional cultivation was a dead end, body-refining might be his way out. He was a man of action; once he set his mind on a path, he wouldn't hesitate.
Securing the jade slip, he asked, "Is there anything else?"
Yongfu gave a bitter smile. "I was just a tool for Qian to find these children. I've told you everything I know."
Lin nodded, looking at the beautiful woman before him with a sigh. "If there weren't such deep enmity between us, I might have let you live. But now, you must die. Rest assured, I am a man of my word."
Yongfu gave a helpless smile. "I knew this day would come the moment I bowed to him as a master. I just thought it would be Qian killing me to silence me. To die by your hand... I suppose it is heaven's will."
"Do you have a final wish?" Lin asked, surprising even himself.
Yongfu paused, her eyes reflecting an unspeakable bitterness. After a long silence, she shook her head. "Yongfu is just a title. My real name is Li Wanru. If I have a wish, it's that someone remembers my name."
"Very well," Lin promised. "As long as I live, I will remember that there was once a tragic woman named Li Wanru."
Li Wanru's expression shifted. She looked at Lin with genuine gratitude. "Thank you. And thank you for letting me understand the causes and consequences before the end."
---
An Unexpected Merit
Lin didn't expect her gratitude to be so sincere. His Merit Bead pulsed—this single act of mercy and acknowledgment had generated a Small Merit.
Before he could respond, Li Wanru slammed her palm into her own crown. She collapsed to the floor, dead by her own hand.
Looking at her corpse, Lin felt a twinge of regret. It wasn't because of her beauty, but because she reminded him of Xie Ruolan. He couldn't help but wonder if someone as strong as Xie Ruolan might one day fall as easily as this princess did—fragile and helpless when faced with an overwhelming power, be it a Foundation Establishment or Golden Core master.
Have I actually developed feelings for that woman? Lin asked himself. He didn't have an answer. He realized that while he didn't want her to come to harm, he took a certain pleasure in seeing her annoyed—and he secretly hoped that one day, he would be the one bullying her until she looked as pitiful as Wanru.
Amused by his own dark thoughts, Lin Haoming let out a self-deprecating laugh.