"Old Madam, what should we do now?"
After Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin and the others entered the house, Ding Shanhe finally stepped forward. Watching the Ding family matriarch's complicated expression, he asked cautiously.
"Send someone to clean this place up. Also, escort the crippled Elder Mark Mu back to Medicine King Valley and take good care of him. Finally, go look for spiritual herbs over a hundred years old."
The Ding family matriarch frowned, her tone calm and steady.
"Do we really have to do what he says? He trashed our Ding family's artifact!" At that moment, Second Young Master Ding walked over, looking pretty ticked off, though he didn't dare mouth off in front of Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin. Talk about swallowing your pride.
"What else can we do if we don't? Our Ding family is facing retribution—the evil ghost has already appeared. Now we can only hope he can help us solve this problem."
"As for the rest, that's between him and Medicine King Valley. Our Ding family has no choice left!"
The Ding family matriarch took a deep breath and waved her hand. "Everyone, disperse."
...
Inside Magnolia Manor, in the main hall.
Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin sat at the head seat, eyes half-closed, looking perfectly calm.
"Sir! You're honestly too amazing!" Shawn Shi stammered in excitement, while Dong Zi nodded eagerly beside him.
"Lin bro, you're about to blow up! I just tried calling Summer, but couldn't get through. If he finds out, he'll be over the moon! That was so awesome—watching you smack down that old guy felt so good! He totally had it coming for acting all high and mighty." Keaton Wang was all fired up, grinning at Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin.
Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin looked relaxed on the surface, but in reality, the internal drain on his body was pretty severe.
A few days of rest had already let Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin fully recover.
"When are you guys leaving Sunrise City?" Evan glanced at Keaton Wang and asked.
"Today, I guess. We just came for the tournament, so once it's over, we're heading out." Keaton Wang looked laid-back. Evan nodded and didn't say anything more.
That afternoon, Evan had the Ding family send Keaton Wang and Megan Liu back to River City.
That day, the name Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin spread throughout Sunrise City.
Some called him Sunrise City's number one, and some even went further, calling him Seacrest Prefecture's top expert.
Witnesses spread stories of what they saw and heard at the Ding family's Underground Boxing King Tournament—one person told ten, ten told a hundred, and the news kept spreading.
The next day, news of Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin battling multiple Vajra experts at the Ding family in Sunrise City spread all over Seacrest Prefecture.
He crushed pseudo-Vajra with one hand, fifth-grade Vajra were as weak as dogs, and even fourth-grade Vajra were nothing special. Most jaw-dropping of all, Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin personally crippled Elder Mark Mu of Medicine King Valley!
The name Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin was thunderous—he was absolutely unrivaled for a time.
All the big families jumped into action, scrambling to find out who Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin really was.
But the more they investigated, the more shocked and uneasy they became.
Because they discovered that River City's top fighter, Drake Huang, had been taken out by him!
He shook all of Seacrest!
On the third day—
Inside Magnolia Manor, in the main hall.
Evan Lin sat at the head seat, eyes half-closed, looking perfectly calm.
That day, he fought several opponents in a row.
Evan Lin looked relaxed on the surface, but in reality, the internal drain on his body was pretty severe.
If he hadn't wanted to test out a so-called fourth-grade Vajra and a Mystic Arts Adept, Evan could've just drawn his four-foot sword and finished it with a single slash.
A few days of rest had already let Evan fully recover.
In the hall, Shawn Shi and Dong Zi sat in the second row, looking pretty smug—they'd definitely backed the right horse.
"Master Lin, I've found the spiritual herbs you wanted. Please have a look."
Ding Shanhe walked in, followed by two men each holding a wooden box. At his signal, the two stepped forward and slowly opened the boxes in front of Evan Lin.
Evan Lin opened his eyes and looked at the items inside the boxes.
"Is this Polygonum multiflorum?"
Evan Lin reached out and gently picked up the two roots from the box.
"Yes, I sent people out searching for a long time before finally finding these two hundred-year-old Polygonum multiflorum roots. Hundred-year spiritual herbs really are hard to come by," Ding Shanhe said with a bitter smile.
Originally, the Ding family had some hundred-year-old spiritual herbs, but recently Elder Mu came and took them all to Medicine King Valley.
So these past few days, the Ding family spent a fortune buying up hundred-year herbs everywhere. It wasn't easy, but they finally managed to get these two.
"Mm." Evan Lin nodded, his expression unchanged.
"Now that I've reached Foundation Establishment, hundred-year herbs are pretty much useless to me, unless I refine them into pills."
"But if I bring them home, I can give them to Mom."
Evan considered this to himself.
Thinking of Joy Zheng, Evan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Back when he became the Nine Mysteries Immortal Lord and solidified his Dao heart, only his mother Joy Zheng and Zhao Liuli from Liuli Palace could truly stir Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin's emotions.
"Mom has worked herself to the bone her whole life. She's only in her early forties, but her hair's already turned white. These two Polygonum multiflorum roots should help her regain some of her youth."
Thinking of this, Evan's eyes softened.
Seeing that Evan Lin wasn't upset, Ding Shanhe finally let out a sigh of relief and stepped back, glancing at the Ding family matriarch sitting below.
The Ding family matriarch didn't look displeased at all about sitting in a lesser seat. When she saw Evan Lin wasn't angry, she stood up and spoke respectfully: "Master Lin, I have a request."
"Hmm?" Evan Lin's gaze was indifferent as it landed on her, waiting for her to continue.
"A few days ago, I gave you our Ding family's magic artifact—that pitch-black jade pendant. Our ancestor found it by chance in Thornridge Mountain and brought it home, using it to build our family's fortune."
"But before our ancestor died, he said that the black jade actually already had an owner, and that one day an evil ghost would come to our Ding family to seek revenge."
"Now the evil ghost has arrived, and no one in our Ding family can resist it. Master Lin, please help us through this crisis! From now on, our Ding family will follow your lead!"
The Ding family matriarch's voice trembled. When she mentioned the evil ghost, all the Ding family members present turned pale.
"Thornridge Mountain? An evil ghost seeking revenge?" Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin frowned slightly.
Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin had already planned to visit Thornridge Mountain—just the remnant divine sense inside that withered spiritual herb was enough reason to investigate.
Come to think of it, that blood jade and the previous ninth-grade spiritual herb also came from Thornridge Mountain.
Even the black jade Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin destroyed before contained a trace of baleful qi.
This only made Evan "Nine Mysteries" Lin even more interested in Thornridge Mountain.
"That's right, Third Young Master Ding, it's the evil ghost after us!"