Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter 82 The True Black Robe (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Upon hearing Lin Yourong's words, Yue Xiaotian opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but the sharp pain in his chest prevented him from uttering a single word; he could only gasp for breath.

Lin Yourong stopped looking at him, turned around and quickly walked to Gu Guanqi, asking anxiously, "Guanqi, how are you? Are you hurt?"

As she spoke, her hands moved back and forth across Gu Guanqi's chest, arms, and ribs.

Gu Guanqi felt a little embarrassed by her touching him and quickly said, "It's okay, I'm not hurt."

"That's Yue Xiaotian—"

Lin Yourong was still worried, so she looked him over carefully again to make sure he had no wounds before she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Why are you here?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Lin Yourong hurriedly said, "My seventh uncle is in trouble. He was ambushed by the black-robed man and is seriously injured and unconscious. He has lost all his internal energy, and the black-robed man's strange true energy is constantly eroding his dantian. I came here specifically to ask you to save my seventh uncle."

Gu Guanqi exclaimed in surprise, "Even your seventh uncle fell victim to the black-robed man's attack!"

"Yes." Lin Yourong nodded. "His condition is much more serious than yours and Youhui's. That strange true energy is extremely powerful. My grandfather has temporarily stabilized his injuries, but if it's not resolved quickly, I'm afraid his chances of survival are slim!"

Gu Guanqi nodded and said, "Let's go now."

1

Lin Yourong responded, then remembered Yue Xiaotian on the ground, glanced at him, and asked:

What's going on with Xiaotian? You just said he was in black robes?

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly and said, "He admitted it himself. In order to deal with the Lin family, he created a martial art specifically to counter the Great Calamity Finger and cultivated the Calamity-Breaking True Qi. I just happened to be able to neutralize his true qi, which became a variable in his plan, so he wanted to kill me."

After listening, Lin Yourong frowned, pondered for a moment, shook her head, and said, "That's unreasonable."

"What's unreasonable about it?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Looking at Yue Xiaotian, who was lying motionless on the ground, Lin Yourong analyzed, "When I was attacked in Youyang County, only a few people within the Lin family knew my whereabouts. The same applies to Lin Youhui and the others when they were attacked. Although Yue Xiaotian is highly skilled in martial arts, he is an outsider and it's impossible for him to know our itinerary so clearly."

She paused, her gaze turning serious: "Even if Yue Xiaotian is truly the Black Robe, there must be an inside agent within the Lin family, and this agent must be of a high rank, otherwise it would be impossible for them to possess so much core information."

Gu Guanqi nodded, agreeing with Lin Yourong's analysis, and said, "We'll find out by asking!"

Immediately, Gu Guanqi walked to Yue Xiaotian's side, slowly squatted down, took out a silver needle, and said, "Hero Yue, you should have heard of the Six Doors' 'Thousand Needles and Hundred Holes' technique. You say it yourself, and we'll all be dignified!"

Yue Xiaotian lay on the ground, chuckled, and said, "I am the Black Robe. I've already said that. What else do you want me to say?"

"Who provided you with the information about the Lin family?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Yue Xiaotian chuckled, "Lin Yuanhu, Liu Su, Lin Changqing, Lin Youfeng—whoever you want to be!"

Without further ado, Gu Guanqi immediately prepared to administer acupuncture.

However, at that moment, Yue Xiaotian's body twitched slightly, and a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. The blood was as thick as ink and had an eerie sheen.

"not good!"

Gu Guanqi walked over quickly, squatted down, and pried open Yue Xiaotian's mouth. He found that Yue Xiaotian's tongue was black and his mouth smelled fishy.

"Did he take poison?" Lin Yourong asked in surprise.

Gu Guanqi sighed and said, "It's the Thousand Machine Killer. There's no pain or special reaction during the process from taking the poison to death. Only at the very last moment will the traces appear. He must have lost his fighting ability after being struck by your palm and knew that he was doomed. He must have taken the poison at that time. He was just waiting for the poison to take effect."

Lin Yourong said, "Forget about him for now, let's go save my seventh uncle first!"

After saying that, Lin Yourong waved to the two apprentices at the entrance of the clinic, signaling them to dispose of the body.

Gu Guanqi walked to the horse, mounted it, and then reached out his hand to Lin Yourong.

Lin Yourong reached out and placed her hand in Gu Guanqi's palm. With a gentle pull from Gu Guanqi, she leaped up and landed in front of him.

Immediately, Gu Guanqi squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs, and the chestnut horse neighed loudly and galloped forward.

Lin Yourong swayed, her back pressed against Gu Guanqi's chest, and she was almost nestled in Gu Guanqi's arms.

The evening breeze whistled past her ears, ruffling Lin Yourong's long hair, which brushed against Gu Guanqi's cheek, carrying a faint fragrance.

The sound of horses' hooves echoed down the empty street.

Gu Guanqi felt the soft, warm body in his arms, and his heart beat faster involuntarily. He lowered his head slightly, and the sunlight fell on Lin Yourong's profile. The setting sun outlined Lin Yourong's features softly and hazily, and her long eyelashes cast a light shadow under her eyes.

Lin Yourong seemed to notice his gaze, and turned her head slightly so that their eyes met.

Her eyes were bright, like two stars, and there was a faint smile on her lips.

"Don't look around, just ride your horse!" she said softly, her voice carried slightly by the wind.

Gu Guanqi chuckled softly.

The sound of hooves faded into the distance in the sunlight, and the two figures blended into one in the sunlight as they galloped towards the direction of Jinxiu Manor.

Jinxiu Villa, backyard.

People were bustling around Lin Changqing's courtyard.

In the main hall, all the senior members of the Lin family were gathered together. The patriarch, Lin Huaiyuan, the family head, Lin Yuanshan, and his wife, Fang Yulan, were present.

Second Master Lin Yuanhu, along with Liu Su, a group of clan elders who had not left Jinxiu Manor, and even Lin Yuanhu's father-in-law Liu Xuan, who was a guest at Jinxiu Manor, were also present.

Lin Changqing's room was already too crowded for so many people, and many were standing in the courtyard outside.

Everyone looked worried.

Just then, a servant shouted, "He's here! Hero Gu is here!"

Lin Huaiyuan and the others hurriedly went out to greet them.

As soon as they arrived at the door, they saw Lin Yourong and Gu Guanqi walk in quickly, one after the other.

Lin Yourong walked ahead, her steps hurried. Upon entering the hall, she didn't bother to exchange pleasantries with everyone and went straight to Lin Huaiyuan, saying, "Grandpa, Guanqi is here."

All eyes were on Gu Guanqi.

Gu Guanqi bowed to Lin Huaiyuan, nodded to Lin Yuanshan, Lin Yuanhu and others, and then said directly, "Grandpa, take me to see Uncle Lin Qi first."

Lin Huaiyuan nodded, turned around and led Gu Guanqi into the inner room, and everyone made way for him.

Inside the room, Lin Changqing lay on the bed, his face alternating between pale and flushed, his lips bluish, and his breathing rapid and weak. His chest heaved, each breath seeming to be using all his strength.

Gu Guanqi walked to the bedside, reached out and placed his hand on Lin Changqing's pulse, then closed his eyes and concentrated.

The true energy of the purple clouds flowed slowly through his fingertips, probing into his dantian along his meridians. After a moment, his brows furrowed slightly, and he slowly released his fingers.

Then, he took out silver needles and inserted them into several acupoints on Lin Changqing.

After a while, he withdrew all the silver needles.

Lin Huaiyuan quickly asked, "How is it? Can it be resolved?"

Gu Guanqi pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded and said, "It can be resolved!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but they were also shocked by Gu Guanqi's medical skills.

However, before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, Gu Guanqi spoke again: "It can be resolved, but the strange true energy in Uncle Lin's body is extremely thick and is constantly eroding his dantian. Uncle Lin's dantian is currently devoid of any true energy and has no power to resist."

"It will take me at least several hours to completely neutralize the foreign internal energy. By the time I finish, Uncle Lin's dantian will likely be riddled with holes. At that point, his dantian will be completely destroyed, rendering him a cripple who will never be able to fight again."

After these words were spoken, the room fell silent.

Everyone's faces turned grim.

Lin Changqing is very important to the Lin family, even more so than the grandmaster Lin Huaiyuan in some respects.

Because Lin Huaiyuan is over eighty years old now, he may collapse at any time, and his deterrent effect on foreign enemies is not great. Lin Changqing is different; he is only in his forties and is in his prime.

After Lin Huaiyuan's downfall, whether the Lin family can maintain its current fortune mainly depends on Lin Changqing, whose martial arts realm is one level lower.

If even Lin Changqing becomes a cripple, then the Lin family's wealth, the richest family in Qingzhou, will no longer be the Lin family's capital, but their death warrant.

Therefore, everyone was somewhat alarmed when they heard Gu Guanqi's words!

The calmest among them was Lin Huaiyuan. He waved slightly, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then asked Gu Guanqi, "Is there any way to avoid this?"

Gu Guanqi nodded and said, "Yes, stabilize your dantian and then dissolve the foreign true energy."

"How do we do it?" Lin Huaiyuan pressed.

Gu Guanqi said, "During this period of time, I have come into contact with the Lin family's Great Calamity Finger True Qi many times and discovered that the Lin family's Great Calamity Finger True Qi has a characteristic that those who share the same origin and lineage can merge and nourish each other."

"As long as we find someone with skill equal to or even better than Uncle Lin, and they sacrifice half of their internal energy to transfer it into Uncle Lin's body, using the characteristics of the Great Calamity Finger True Qi to nourish his dantian, then his dantian can be stabilized."

Lin Huaiyuan quickly pressed, "Can it repair the dantian?"

Gu Guanqi shook his head and said, "No, we can only stabilize the injury to the dantian. It cannot be repaired. The damage to the dantian is irreversible, but at least we can keep Uncle Lin's dantian at its current level, with only a loss of 20 or 30%. This will prevent him from becoming a cripple. Although he may not be able to recover to his peak in the future, he can still retain 60% or even 70% of his combat power."

Lin Huaiyuan frowned.

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuanhu's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "In the entire Lin family, only Father meets the requirements."

As he spoke, he looked at Lin Huaiyuan and said, "Father, what are you still hesitating about? Although the loss of half of your internal energy is huge, with your level, you can recover it in a few years of cultivation. But if Changqing is crippled, that's a lifelong matter, and the entire Lin family will be plunged into a great crisis!"

Everyone looked at Lin Huaiyuan.

The Lin family's martial arts are not thriving. In the entire Lin family, only Lin Huaiyuan's skill surpasses Lin Changqing's. As for those whose skill is similar to Lin Changqing's, there is not a single person in the Lin family.

However, to everyone's surprise, instead of acting without hesitation, Lin Huaiyuan looked conflicted.

Lin Yuanshan frowned slightly and asked, "Father, is there something you're worried about?"

Lin Yuanshan was puzzled. Although the thought of consuming half of his internal energy sounded intimidating, with the wealth of the Lin family, he could recover completely in less than a year by consuming some rare and precious herbs and elixirs.

This price is utterly insignificant compared to the significance of Lin Changqing to the Lin family.

But Lin Huaiyuan was so conflicted.

After a long while, Lin Huaiyuan looked at Lin Changqing lying on the bed and slowly said, "Seventh Brother, they don't know about the Great Calamity Finger, but you do. So, your father has decided not to protect your dantian. Will you blame your father?"

Everyone was shocked, but out of respect for Lin Huaiyuan's authority, no one dared to question him and all looked at Lin Changqing on the bed.

Lin Changqing turned his head with difficulty to look at Lin Huaiyuan and said slowly, "Father, I understand—I don't blame you!"

Lin Huaiyuan sighed deeply, his entire spirit waning in that instant, and slowly said, "Good! Good boy!"

Having said that, he turned to Gu Guanqi, cupped his hands, and said, "Hero Gu, we are so grateful for your help in dispelling the strange internal energy and saving Seventh Brother's life. The entire Lin family will remember your kindness!"

Gu Guanqi's pupils contracted slightly. He felt that Lin Huaiyuan's attitude towards him at this moment was too respectful, which made him seem somewhat distant. It was a subtle difference from his attitude when he was a guest at Jinxiu Villa a few days ago.

"You're too kind, sir!"

Gu Guanqi didn't think too much about it. He cupped his hands in greeting and said, "You may all leave now. No one is to disturb me without my permission!"

Lin Huaiyuan quickly asked, "Do you need any help?"

Gu Guanqi looked around and said, "Let Brother Youcai stay and help me."

"Alright, Youcai stays, the rest of you come with me!"

Immediately, Lin Huaiyuan led everyone out.

After everyone had left, Lin Youcai closed the door and hurriedly asked, "Brother-in-law, what do you need me to do?"

Gu Guanqi lit an oil lamp, sterilizing the silver needles as he spoke, "Help your seventh uncle up and sit on the bed. Then take off his shirt. I'm going to administer acupuncture. Keep him steady and don't let him fall."

"Okay, okay!"

Lin Youcai quickly went over and helped Lin Changqing up.

Everyone retreated to the courtyard.

Lin Yuanshan couldn't help but ask, "Father, what kind of riddle are you and Seventh Brother playing? Why can't you protect Seventh Brother?"

What exactly is wrong with the finger-grabbing incident?

"Yes, Father, what exactly happened?" Lin Yuanhu asked.

Everyone looked at Lin Huaiyuan.

An elder also spoke up, "Brother Huaiyuan, why don't you tell everyone what happened?"

Lin Huaiyuan pondered for a moment and said, "Our Lin family's Great Calamity Finger is actually a martial art that can be passed down through generations and can be used for enlightenment. However, for many generations, only I have cultivated it to the ninth level. Therefore, this technique has been lost and no one knows about it."

Everyone was astonished.

Lin Huaiyuan continued, "However, this enlightenment is not a direct infusion of internal energy. Instead, it allows one to use their entire skill to help the practitioner of the Great Calamity Finger pierce through the two bridges of heaven and earth, forcibly entering the ninth level of the Pure Realm!"

However, there is one absolute requirement: the recipient of the inheritance must have a cultivation level of at least the sixth level of the Great Tribulation Finger.

I originally planned to help Seventh Brother reach the state of tranquility and become the new Grandmaster of our Lin family before I died. But instead, he suffered this calamity. I don't know what he was doing, but he was ambushed here without even seeing the assailant!

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Lin Yuanshan asked, "So, Father, you're not helping Seventh Brother protect his dantian—is it to preserve your own power?"

Lin Huaiyuan nodded and said, "I am already over eighty years old this year. I know my body well. I don't have many years left to live. If I consume half of my power now, I won't be able to recover before I die, and then I won't be able to use the Enlightenment Technique."

"Seventh Brother—his dantian is destroyed. Even if it's preserved, he won't be able to enter the Pure Realm, and he won't even be able to recover his peak combat strength. For the sake of the Lin family, I can't waste the Lin family's only chance to produce a new grandmaster on him."

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

Then, Lin Huaiyuan looked at Lin Yourong and said, "Yourong, come with me. I have something to say to you."

Everyone looked at Lin Yourong, knowing that Lin Huaiyuan was going to tell Lin Yourong some things about the awakening ceremony.

Because besides Lin Changqing, only Lin Yourong in the Lin family meets the conditions for awakening.

"good!"

Lin Yourong nodded slightly and followed Lin Huaiyuan out the door.

However, at that moment—

Suddenly, a figure rushed towards Lin Yourong from the crowd. The speed was incredibly fast, and with a flick of his finger, he directly struck Lin Yourong's back.

That finger strike came without warning, its wind sharp and its sound piercing as it tore through the air.

By the time Lin Yourong realized it, it was too late to react. The finger had almost touched her collar.

In a flash, Lin Huaiyuan suddenly turned around.

His reaction was astonishingly fast. With his left hand, he pulled Lin Yourong behind him, and with his right index finger, he unleashed an extremely powerful finger strike that shot out from his fingertip, carrying an overwhelming momentum that arrived first despite being behind.

Two finger strikes collided in mid-air.

"boom"

The surge of internal energy created a powerful gust of wind that shook the surrounding tables and chairs, causing several people nearby to stagger backward and nearly fall. The lanterns in the courtyard swayed violently in the wind.

Everyone was shocked and looked in the direction of the figure.

When everyone saw who had made the move, they were all stunned.

It turned out to be Lin Yuanhu's wife, Liu Su.

She stood in the center of the courtyard, her crimson dress fluttering in the wind. Her eyes, fixed on Lin Huaiyuan, were filled with resentment and hatred, like a wild beast that had been trapped for too long and had finally broken free of its cage.

"It was you." Lin Huaiyuan shielded Lin Yourong behind him, his face grim, and coldly snorted, "I've suspected many people, but I've never suspected you. Truly, it's hard to guard against a traitor within the family!"

"thief?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Su roared hysterically, "Lin Huaiyuan, you're the thief! You're a dog of a thief, an old thief, the most deserving villain in the world!"

Her voice was sharp and high-pitched, completely unlike her usual gentle and dignified demeanor in public.

Looking at the seemingly deranged Liu Su, Lin Yourong exclaimed incredulously, "Second Aunt, you're the one in black robes!"

"good!"

Liu Su declared, "I am the Black Robe!"

In an instant, an uproar erupted.

At that very moment, Liu Su leaped up, pointed a finger, and attacked Lin Huaiyuan directly. The force of his finger broke through the air, and his true energy surged and turbulent.

"You old thief, die!"

Fortune