Professional Assassin C34

Chapter 34: Supernatural World (3)

Lin Yuetian rushed all the way back to Linjia Village.

As it turned out, the Jade Ghost could indeed move around with him. However, for the Jade Ghost to possess a body, it needed to kill. And to kill, it first had to weaken a person’s yang energy by frightening them—extinguishing the three spiritual flames atop their head and shoulders. As a result, the highly mobile Jade Ghost executed a series of maneuvers that put Lin Yuetian through multiple classic horror movie scenarios: “A bleeding figure in the back seat of his taxi,” “Blood flowing from the hotel faucet,” and “Waking up at midnight to find a pair of eyes staring at him from the ceiling.”

Yet, Lin Yuetian remained unfazed—calmly opening the car door, turning off the faucet, and switching rooms before continuing his sleep.

The system, which had initially been screaming in terror, eventually transitioned to a state of composed acceptance. By this point, it fully believed that Lin Yuetian was not afraid of ghosts.

As Lin Yuetian drew closer to Linjia Village, the Jade Ghost appeared less frequently.

“He’s scared,” Lin Yuetian concluded.

“Big bro, I think you’re the one getting cocky,” the system retorted. “Could you not discriminate against supernatural beings?”

Linjia Village was a desolate, run-down settlement with an air of stagnation and decay. The entire place carried the scent of decline, like the last embers of a dying fire. Every household had ancestral tablets or deity statues enshrined, yet upon scanning the village, one would find not a single child or young adult—only the elderly.

Upon returning, Lin Yuetian went straight to Village Chief Lin Jiazheng, the man who had originally given him the jade pendant.

The village chief was already quite old. When he saw Lin Yuetian, he was sunbathing in the small courtyard of his home. The sight of the younger man startled him, deep wrinkles creasing his face as he blurted out, “Young man, did you bury that jade pendant?—No, wait, why is your yang energy so weak?”

From that reaction, Lin Yuetian immediately knew that the village chief did know something. Without hesitation, he laid out the unfortunate circumstances of his predecessor’s fate—from smashing the jade pendant to his journey here.

As he spoke, the village chief’s expression became more and more twisted, his face filled with horror. “You smashed the jade pendant?! The Jade Ghost will only grow stronger now! Sooner or later, he’ll be able to kill you outright! And once that happens, he’ll take over your body—no one will be able to stop him! When he finally possesses a body and you enter the cycle of reincarnation, he’ll ascend to become a Ghost King! By then, the consequences will be unimaginable!”

“What exactly is that jade pendant?” Lin Yuetian had little interest in the consequences—he only cared about how to deal with the problem.

The village chief let out a long sigh, as if he had suddenly aged even more. “Fate… maybe this is just fate… I thought I could put an end to this within my lifetime. But it seems I was wrong… Forget it, forget it. Young man, I’ll tell you everything.”

And so, the village chief recounted a very, very long story.

This world had ghosts, and where there were ghosts, there were exorcists—Taoist masters who specialized in slaying demons and subduing spirits. Lin Yuetian’s predecessor, along with the ancestors of Linjia Village, had descended from such a master. That master, known as Lin Tianshi, had a younger brother named Lin Jiayang, who studied Taoism alongside him.

The two brothers worked together for many years, slaying monsters and suppressing evil spirits. However, Lin Jiayang eventually strayed from the righteous path. In his pursuit of greater power, he began practicing forbidden ghost-refining techniques—turning living people into spirits to serve him.

It was during this time that Lin Jiayang encountered the Jade Ghost in his human life. Back then, the Jade Ghost had been an assassin, hired by the Lin brothers’ enemies to take them out. Lin Jiazheng, the elder brother, captured him alive and handed him over to Lin Jiayang for imprisonment. But this arrangement gave Lin Jiayang the perfect opportunity.

“The Jade Ghost was in your profession?!” the system suddenly exclaimed in excitement.

“I have colleagues all over the world, past and present, east and west—too many to count,” Lin Yuetian replied calmly. “One more or one less makes no difference.”

Seizing the chance, Lin Jiayang transformed the assassin into a ghost and sealed him within the jade pendant, using it as a spiritual artifact. But a bond between brothers is difficult to hide—Lin Jiazheng quickly discovered his sibling’s transgression. He was horrified that his own brother would go to such lengths for power and tried to dissuade him. But Lin Jiayang, already consumed by obsession, refused to listen.

The brothers finally had a massive falling out, resulting in a battle that shook the heavens and earth. Lin Jiazheng barely emerged victorious, seizing the jade pendant. Yet, in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to destroy his younger brother. Instead, they parted ways, but he was left heartbroken and disillusioned. Afterward, he settled in this small village, choosing seclusion.

“Classic tale of brotherly betrayal,” the system commented with great interest. “From growing apart to turning against each other.”

“I understand now,” Lin Yuetian said thoughtfully. Though he found the system’s phrase growing apart an odd way to describe it, he forgave the system’s uniquely romantic way of thinking. Nodding, he asked the village chief, “But the past is the past. Let’s focus on practical matters—do you have a way to deal with the Jade Ghost?”

The village chief shook his head helplessly. “The Taoist techniques of the exorcists have been lost over the generations. As a secluded lineage, they never spread their teachings widely—only each village chief knew about the Jade Ghost. But now I’m old, and there are no young people willing to stay in the village. There won’t be any new village chiefs after me.

“I had originally planned to take the jade pendant with me to my grave, but I couldn’t rest easy. By chance, at the beginning of this year, descendants of Lin Jiayang’s lineage reached out to reconnect our bloodline. I spoke with their current head, a young man named Lin Tongzhao, and learned that their family still works in feng shui. So I thought of entrusting the jade pendant to him for proper burial.

“I’m too old to travel, and among the younger generation, you were the most obedient and well-behaved—plus, your birth chart is extremely yin-heavy, making you the perfect candidate. That’s why I sent you… But who would’ve thought that the Jade Ghost had already gained the ability to speak? He had been pretending all along, lulling me into a false sense of security. And I never imagined you’d actually fall for his tricks and smash the jade pendant!”

“In other words,” Lin Yuetian ignored the village chief’s complicated feelings toward his predecessor and honed in on the key point, “you originally planned for me to deliver the jade pendant to Lin Jiayang’s descendants? They still retain their Taoist techniques, and you suspect that their ghost-refining practices might not have been completely abandoned?”

The village chief gave a slight nod.

Lin Yuetian also nodded, smiling. “I understand now.”

“…What exactly do you understand?” The system was exhausted—too tired to love, too tired to fight.

“Next, we’re going to find Lin Tongzhao, the descendant of Lin Jiayang,” Lin Yuetian said with a gentle smile. “I have a plan.”

Without wasting a moment, Lin Yuetian immediately set off for Lin Tongzhao’s residence. Along the way, the Jade Ghost didn’t appear at all. The only exception was when Lin Yuetian finished showering and noticed a line of bloody words on the mirror:

【His descendants cannot destroy me either.】

“He’s really scared now,” Lin Yuetian concluded. “See? He’s throwing a powerless tantrum.”

“Have you considered that he might be telling the truth?” The system was uneasy. “You’re so confident, it’s making me nervous. I keep feeling like you’re about to do something bizarre again, and I’m afraid you’re going to mess up this time. Can you talk about something else? Just to calm my nerves?”

Lin Yuetian obediently thought for a moment before solemnly saying, “He was peeping at me in the shower…?”

“…” The system refused to acknowledge him. “You have absolutely no talent for jokes. Even Tom and Jerry couldn’t save you. I’m freezing to death here—thank you, Mr. Refrigerator.”