Dong—
A muffled bell sound rang out, prompting Lin Zitong to glance back.
Alas, even though she was riding Xue, her line of sight higher than two meters, she couldn't see past the two- or three-story buildings to ascertain the situation with Yan Shouyi.
She could only grit her teeth, silently worrying about Yan Shouyi, and then urged Xue to pick up speed, charging towards the east city wall!
Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump! Thump, thump, thump!
Xue's fur was incredibly smooth, and as it ran, it shed luminescence, as if it were glowing sweat.
Beneath its perfect muscle definition lay broken paving stones, shattered by Xue's hooves.
Soon, Lin Zitong also arrived beneath the bronze bell.
She did not approach the bronze bell, but instead, her gaze immediately fell upon the enormous coffin.
To her, this coffin represented a colossal threat, and only after this threat was neutralized would she approach the bronze bell to retrieve the key.
Without hesitation, Lin Zitong rang her soul-calling bell, requesting Kurokawa Lu to assist her.
Though Kurokawa Lu and Lin Zitong couldn't communicate verbally, he could directly grasp Lin Zitong's intent.
He drew his samurai sword, assuming a ready stance.
Lin Zitong, meanwhile, took the ancient zither of Zou Xiazi from her back.
She sat on Xue's back, laid the zither across it, and without any prelude, began to play a fiercely sharp melody!
Waves of sound transformed into waves of sword energy, shooting directly towards the massive coffin before her!
Kurokawa Lu was not idle either; he stepped forward and began hacking ferociously at the coffin!
If Liang Yinqiu were present, seeing them desecrate the coffin like this would have likely sent him into a fit of rage.
Such a large coffin, crafted from naturally formed agarwood and preserved for two thousand years without decay, would have been another national treasure if it had been unearthed from Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum!
Lin Zitong had, of course, considered the preservation of cultural relics, but with life and death hanging in the balance, a two-thousand-year-old coffin was simply not as important as everyone's lives.
Under a flurry of wild slashes and chops, countless cracks appeared on the coffin, pushing it to the brink of disintegration!
Seeing this, Lin Zitong tensed her fingers and fiercely strummed the zither strings, unleashing a phantom army of a thousand soldiers that charged towards the coffin!
Whatever was inside the coffin would be pulverized by this move!
However, just as the phantoms were about to reach the coffin, it suddenly exploded and shattered!
The fragments of wood flew towards Lin Zitong. Kurokawa Lu quickly retreated to defend her, blocking all the wooden debris.
When the dust settled, only scattered coffin remnants remained, with no sign of anything else.
This was not right!
The coffin couldn't possibly be empty!
Lin Zitong's gaze turned cold: Unless... whatever was inside the coffin had taken advantage of the chaos and escaped!
She looked up and saw a figure clinging sideways to the top of the bronze bell, suspended in mid-air.
Though slender, the figure wore an ostentatious costume, with small flags stuck to its back and a mask on its face, holding various peculiar trinkets.
This was a Magician!
He wore similar attire when He Xiping met Yan Shouyi and the others at the Wuyi Mountain teahouse. His clothes concealed numerous props, some of which... could kill!
"Hee hee! Heh heh!"
The Magician let out a shrill, peculiar laugh, tumbled down, and landed before Lin Zitong.
His body was as agile as a monkey, and after landing, he even winked at Lin Zitong.
The next second, he clenched his fists, brought them to his mouth, and blew fiercely into his palms—whoosh!
A ball of fire erupted and shot towards Lin Zitong!
Kurokawa Lu's expression changed; the fire came so suddenly that he didn't have time to protect Lin Zitong!
However, as the flames dispersed, Lin Zitong slowly raised her Red God Umbrella and said with a cold, sharp gaze, "I'm lucky. I picked a Magician."
The Magician, hearing this, yelped and shouted, expressing his anger.
Lin Zitong was looking down on him!
"Among the inheritors of folk sects I've encountered, aside from Skin Painters, Magicians are the weakest," Lin Zitong added another blow.
The Magician trembled all over, then clutched his chest, stepped back a few paces, leaning against the bronze bell in a show of distress.
Lin Zitong's words had clearly struck a nerve with the Magician.
Lin Zitong continued, "Meeting you means the idiot encountered a Gu Master, so I need to deal with you quickly to go and support him."
The Magician gritted his teeth and rubbed his face.
Then, he chuckled and suddenly lifted his mask!
Beneath the mask was a severely decomposed face, indistinguishable from the zombies Lin Zitong had seen before!
This sudden reveal of his true face did surprise Lin Zitong. The Magician, as if pleased with his prank, hopped and shouted, clapping his hands incessantly.
Lin Zitong snapped back to reality, feeling a bit annoyed.
He Xiping was also a Magician, and he was the genuine article. This Magician before her, however, was nothing more than a clown!
"Kurokawa Lu!" Lin Zitong said coldly, "Kill him."
Without hesitation, Kurokawa Lu swung his sword towards the Magician.
To her surprise, the Magician made no move to dodge, allowing Kurokawa Lu to cleave him in half from his forehead!
This scene again surprised Lin Zitong. Logically, the people selected by Huo Ban should not have been this easy to deal with.
Very quickly, Lin Zitong realized something was amiss.
The Magician, split in two, did not fall but stood steadily, each half supported by one leg.
Kurokawa Lu looked incredulous, unsure whether to strike again.
At this moment, the bodies of the two halves of the Magician suddenly began to tremble. Before long, they miraculously shook off the other half of their bodies!
One Magician had become two identical Magicians!
Lin Zitong's expression changed.
This... was this magic?
He Xiping's magic involved no supernatural elements, relying purely on skill and trickery, or perhaps verbal deception.
But no matter how skillful the technique, it was impossible for a body to split into two and then regenerate!
It was at this moment that Lin Zitong realized just how formidable her enemy was.
The two Magicians, one on each side, each pulled three long spears from their waists.
Lin Zitong couldn't comprehend how they managed to pull out spears nearly two meters long from their clothes, let alone three of them!
"Hey ha!"
The Magicians tossed the spears into the air in succession, shouting "hee ha" as they did so. Then, instead of attacking directly, they used the small flags on their shoulders to manipulate the spears!
Under the provocation of the Magicians' small flags, the three spears continuously spun in mid-air, passing from one to another, never falling to the ground.
Kurokawa Lu tilted his head. Although he couldn't speak Chinese, his expression seemed to convey: What on earth is this opera singer doing?
Lin Zitong, however, dared not let her guard down. This Magician had far exceeded her expectations, and beneath the layers of performance lay hidden danger!
As expected, after tossing the spears a few times, the two Magicians suddenly bent over.
A total of six spears simultaneously shot towards Lin Zitong!