Chapter 10: The Man Who Gave the Deepest Sense of Security (Seeking Continued Reading)

Upon entering the backyard, Ma Xiaoling saw Lin Bei gesturing animatedly to Kuang Tianyou, and her eyes lit up immediately.

She whispered to He Yingqiu, “Uncle Qiu, we’re going to make a fortune this time. This Lin fellow is famously generous—now someone will help me pay off my credit card!”

He Yingqiu cast a helpless glance at Ma Xiaoling. Both she and Mao You had once learned their craft from him and had been obedient children, but somehow they had turned into what they were now.

However, judging by her reaction, it seemed she hadn’t recognized Kuang Tianyou’s identity, which was a good thing. Otherwise, if the two of them had come to blows, He Yingqiu wouldn’t have known whom to support.

Ma Xiaoling, not yet having inherited Ma Danna’s lifetime of skills, would have a tough time winning against Kuang Tianyou.

“Wipe that drool off your mouth, don’t let people look down on you,” He Yingqiu said, then took the lead, walking toward Lin Bei and Kuang Tianyou.

Ma Xiaoling instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth, then realized she’d been tricked. Stomping her foot, she hurried to follow.

Seeing a limping old man accompanied by a beautiful young woman approaching, Lin Bei immediately recognized their identities.

He Yingqiu looked just like an ordinary old man—nothing special.

But Ma Xiaoling—her body below the neck was all legs.

Lin Bei was an experienced player in the world of women, but none he had encountered had legs as beautiful as Ma Xiaoling’s.

While Lin Bei’s gaze lingered on the woman, Kuang Tianyou’s eyes were fixed solely on He Yingqiu.

The two were old friends. Kuang Tianyou’s issues with expired blood and his identity had all been handled by He Yingqiu.

Over time, their relationship had become deeply solid; He Yingqiu was one of the few people Kuang Tianyou trusted—and vice versa.

“Mr. Lin, allow me to introduce you—this is Uncle Qiu,” said Kuang Tianyou.

Hearing this, Lin Bei snapped back to attention and smiled, extending his hand to Uncle Qiu. “Hello, Uncle Qiu. I’ve heard you are a top disciple of Taoist Mao—I’m honored to meet you at last.”

He Yingqiu thought Kuang Tianyou must have told Lin Bei about his identity and didn’t think much of it. He smiled and shook Lin Bei’s hand in return.

“Hello, Mr. Lin. How may I assist you today?”

Lin Bei raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t you first introduce the beautiful lady by your side?”

He Yingqiu sighed inwardly. He had read many gossip reports about Lin Bei in the newspapers, and honestly, he really didn’t want Ma Xiaoling to have any contact with him.

But since Lin Bei had specifically requested to meet the Ma family heir, he had no choice but to bring Ma Xiaoling along.

He turned to Ma Xiaoling. “Xiaoling, why don’t you greet Mr. Lin?”

Ma Xiaoling, just in her early twenties and freshly returned from studying abroad, hadn’t yet experienced the events at Jiajia Tower and appeared lively.

Hearing He Yingqiu’s prompt, she stepped forward and extended her hand. “Hello, Mr. Lin. My name is Ma Xiaoling. If you ever run into any trouble, you can always come to me. For Uncle Qiu’s sake, I’ll even give you a 10% discount!”

Lin Bei shook her hand with a smile. “What a coincidence—I invited you here because I’ve run into some trouble. If you can help me solve it, money will be no object.”

At this, Ma Xiaoling’s eyes gleamed even brighter.

Due to her background, she was destined never to have a normal romantic relationship. Moreover, because Mao You had secretly used forbidden arts to revive her boyfriend, the two had fallen out. Ma Xiaoling had poured all her interests into shopping.

Though the Ma family’s legacy spanned over two thousand years, it had left little wealth, forcing Ma Xiaoling to fend for herself.

Now, just the mention of money made her eyes shine.

“Mr. Lin, rest assured, the southern Mao and northern Ma families are famed exorcism experts. No matter what demons or monsters you face, meeting us is like meeting their nemesis.”

Ma Xiaoling boasted confidently, but He Yingqiu wished he could dig a hole and bury himself in it.

Twenty or thirty years ago, he had thought the same—that with his skills, there was no demon he couldn’t defeat.

Then... Kuang Tianyou broke his leg.

If Kuang Tianyou weren’t a rare kind of zombie who disliked killing and feeding on blood, his ashes would have been scattered long ago.

Fortunately, Kuang Tianyou was skilled at masking his expression and showed no reaction to Ma Xiaoling’s boasting.

Lin Bei, however, seemed to see through everything, his gaze twinkling with amusement.

Just as He Yingqiu was thinking how to shut Ma Xiaoling up, Gao Jin approached.

“Boss, there’s an officer surnamed Feng outside. He says he’s from Dongping Continent.”

Lin Bei’s eyes lit up. “Bring him in quickly!”

“Yes, sir!” Gao Jin replied and turned to fetch the man.

Soon, a middle-aged man with an unusual face entered.

Though his features seemed ordinary alone, together they conveyed a strong sense of righteousness—especially his unibrow, which somehow gave a feeling of security.

Lin Bei had been worried about the many strange monsters in the world, but upon seeing this man, he inexplicably felt calm.

Officer Feng scanned Lin Bei and the others, briefly furrowing his brow when his gaze landed on Kuang Tianyou but quickly looked away.

Without expression, he asked Lin Bei, “You called for me?”

Despite Feng’s bluntness, Lin Bei was not offended.

Feng treated everyone that way; his coldness and aloofness were a façade hiding his old-fashioned social anxiety.

Besides, Lin Bei would need Feng’s help to solve some problems soon, so he naturally wouldn’t give him attitude now.

He warmly extended his hand. “You’re Feng, right? I called you because I’ve encountered a tricky situation. It’s hard to explain briefly, so let’s move to the backyard.”

Feng nodded, maintaining his icy expression.

Lin Bei signaled for He Yingqiu and Ma Xiaoling to follow.

He Yingqiu felt nothing unusual, but Ma Xiaoling was unsettled by Lin Bei’s sudden change in attitude.

“Uncle Qiu, why did this Lin fellow’s attitude flip so fast? Is that unibrow really more important than us?”

He Yingqiu glanced at Officer Feng, and seeing no attention on their side, whispered, “Keep your voice down. By rank, even I have to call him Senior Uncle.”

Ma Xiaoling’s eyes widened. “Then I have to call him Great Senior Uncle? Why have I never heard of him before?”

He Yingqiu fell silent. This involved some secrets of the previous generation, and as a junior, he dared not speak further—otherwise, his master might haunt him in his dreams tonight.

Finding He Yingqiu unwilling to say more, Ma Xiaoling lost interest and trailed behind Lin Bei and the others to the place where the ancient corpses were stored.

Both Officer Feng and He Yingqiu were rare practitioners of the Way in this era.

The moment they stepped into the talisman array, both sensed the unique lingering resentment characteristic of zombies.

Ma Xiaoling, having never dealt with zombies before, only thought the two coffins looked strange and didn’t detect any specific issues.