I, the leader of the esoteric sect, am doing great things in the infinite world!

"Hua Chu, Hua Chu, don't be afraid, Father will definitely bring you back safe and sound!" Duke De'an gritted his teeth, tearing off all his pretense. "Looks like you're going to have to suffer the consequences!"

......

Meanwhile, Xingqiu, soaking wet, was in a daze at the General Affairs Department.

"What? Keqing from Yuheng Star isn't here? Then which of the Liyue Seven Stars is here?"

“The stars Yuheng, Tianquan, and Tianshu are all in the council hall of Yuehai Pavilion in Yujing Terrace, and the assistant Gan Yu is also in Yuehai Pavilion…” replied Tu Mi, the resident clerk of the General Affairs Department.

“It’s over…” Xingqiu raised his hand to cover his eyes, sweating profusely. He realized he had made a mistake.

That is to first inform Lord De'an of this news. If it were the Liyue Seven Stars, they would definitely be able to make a more reasonable response.

"Go quickly and find any of the Seven Stars of Liyue, any one of them, and tell them that an enraged immortal has arrived just outside Liyue Harbor!"

"Ah, an immortal?!" Tu Mi hurriedly stood up from her chair. "I'll go and report to Qi Xing right now."

"Go quickly!" Xingqiu gritted his teeth in pain and regret. He unfastened the longsword from his waist, gripped it in his hand, and ran towards the outside of Liyue Harbor as fast as he could.

......

Outside Liyue Harbor, Li Lin remained oblivious, staring intently at Lord De'an's distorted face.

“There are two children on Feiyunpo, named Yizhu and Yixian, and they have a mother named Huanian.”

"What does this have to do with Hua Chu?!" Duke De'an roared. "I've never heard of these names before."

"Hua Nian died because of Hua Chu's idea, and it was this Jian Qiu who carried it out." Li Lin's voice was incredibly loud, drowning out the howling wind and rain, and the festive music and singing.

A flicker of panic crossed Duke De'an's eyes, followed by anger: "Do you have any evidence? Do you have a lawyer... uh—"

Li Lin raised his foot and kicked the old man in the chest, sending him flying into the crowd of people who were showering him with compliments.

"You didn't think I was waiting here to waste my breath on you, did you?" Li Lin sneered, looking at the two children who had braved the rain and were carrying memorial tablets. "The person I'm waiting for isn't you, old man. Don't flatter yourself."

In that instant, covered in mud and looking utterly disheveled, Duke De'an shouted desperately, "Do it! Do it! I'll sign that contract, as long as you save my daughter!"

"Very good, I hope you won't go back on your word."

A dark shadow emerged from behind him, brandishing a sharp blade. It was a debt collector hired by the Northern Bank, an assassin who had abandoned his name and identity and left his homeland in Winterfell to come to Liyue. No one wanted to be targeted by these guys one day.

De'an Gong's money shop was already teetering on the brink of collapse and its power was waning under the pressure from the Northern Bank, and now his rationality had finally snapped.

The debt collector walked in the rain, pondering how to cut his knife into the muscles and tendons of the enemy before him.

However, he could not make any progress in wielding his blade. A golden-jade shield appeared out of thin air, and even more terrifyingly, a thick stone pillar suddenly rose from the ground and pierced through his body.

"As solid as a rock".

Li Lin stepped forward and said in a low voice.

Zhongli looked as if he had seen a ghost.

It's secondary that Li Lin stole my skills; the key question is, how did Li Lin come up with the idea of ​​using a stone pillar to stab the other side in the butt?

It was only at this moment that the Seven Stars, who were having a meeting at the Moon Sea Pavilion, hurriedly arrived. Apart from the other four Seven Stars who were away on official business, Tianquan Star, Tianshu Star, and Yuheng Star had all arrived.

This was also the first time Li Lin had seen Aunt Ningguang. She was wearing a long golden dress and a matching cloak, with someone holding an umbrella for her from behind. She had a noble air about her, like a deity.

Their expressions changed when they saw the debt collector impaled on a stone pillar, unable to die.

"What did he do—" Uncle Tian's hand gripping his cane bulged with veins, "Those were people from the Northern Bank...even if they were immortals—"

The executor of the Fools of Winterland is located in the Northern Bank of Liyue. Even if they were to kill, they shouldn't have used such a brutal and inhumane method of killing.

From the side, Gan Yu's voice came: "I'm afraid this has little to do with the immortals, but rather the Fools behind the Northern Bank are orchestrating all of this."

"what do you mean?"

"What I mean is, no matter what happens next, we just need to steer public opinion toward the fools," Gan Yu replied gently.

The incident was characterized in a few words and a brief description.

“Yes, it’s easy to cover for this.” The speaker was Ningguang, the nominal ruler of Liyue Harbor, who rubbed her temples with some distress. “But how are we going to face this immortal who committed this heinous act on his very first day in Liyue Harbor?”

“I always thought that there was nothing that Mora couldn’t solve, but now it seems that’s not the case.”

"Is everyone here? Let's get started."

“Come, let’s see the truth of all this.” Li Lin murmured in a voice only he could hear, then released his hand, “Soul leaving the body.”

He gazed at the people constantly emerging from Liyue Harbor, his voice seemingly resounding in everyone's ears.

"I am Li Lin. As you can see, I am here to ask a few questions."

"Right now, right here."

Chapter 192 Retribution (Bonus Chapter)

Li Lin waved to Yan Fei, who also had a pair of antlers, in the crowd, signaling her to come over.

"Stand here and judge whether the answer is true or false."

The crowd quickly parted, forcing Yan Fei, who had originally intended to just watch the drama unfold, to become the judge.

Yan Fei sighed helplessly and took out the scale given to her by Morax and held it in her hand.

As a mythical beast called "Xiezhi," she is able to judge all wrongful convictions in court, but Yanfei doesn't usually want to use this talent.

She prefers to explain events using laws and regulations rather than relying solely on the bloodline of mythical beasts.

Li Lin loosened his grip on her hands, but Hua Chu and Jian Qiu stood still, motionless.

In a daze, the doomed couple seemed to be swallowed up by the dark rain falling from the sky, trembling incessantly and muttering incoherent words.

They were already utterly disoriented and powerless under the Soul-Stealing Curse.

"Your names."

Li Lin said calmly, "Let me tell you all."

"I am Hua Chu."

"I am Jianqiu."

Standing before the long bridge in Liyue Harbor, Jianqiu, a thin schoolteacher, spoke somewhat blankly: "I am a schoolteacher living in Tiger Rock, and I wish to marry Miss Huachu, daughter of Lord De'an, and become a person of high status..."

Boos rang out from the crowd.

Everyone dreams of becoming a son-in-law and rising to the top, but to say it so openly is despicable.

Li Lin interrupted him, asking sternly, "What did you do to elope?"

Hua Chu answered him.

The eldest daughter of the Duke of De'an slowly began to speak: "I want to be with Jianqiu, but my father won't allow it, so I threatened to kill myself. I read in a storybook that threatening to kill yourself will definitely succeed... But I'm afraid, I'm afraid, so I want to find a substitute to die in my place—"

A look of horror and fear flashed in everyone's eyes. They listened in silence, unable to speak because of their inexplicable fear.

Li Lin took two steps and asked, "Who came up with the plan? And who carried it out?"

“It was me,” Hua Chu replied blankly. “I came up with this idea, and after Jian Qiu found out, she spent a few days finding a woman of similar age.”

"It's all fake! It's all fake! This is just his trick—"

Duke De'an got up from the ground and shouted furiously.

But behind him, a hand landed on his shoulder. The old man turned around in surprise and saw Ke Qing suppressing her anger.

"De'an, let Li Lin continue asking questions."

A bluish-purple lightning flashed in Yuhengxing's eyes, and her voice held a hint of boundless rage, "Don't ruin your reputation in your later years."

In that instant, as if all his strength had been drained, Duke De'an's body collapsed to the ground.

Just before the long bridge, Li Lin's voice rang out again, like a raging fire waiting to be ignited, or like cold iron.

"So, how exactly did you murder that body double?"

Jianqiu's lips moved slightly: "I know her name is Hua Nian, a young widow. I've hinted at it to her before, but she didn't want to sleep with me, so I want to use this opportunity to get revenge on her, because I already have a better Hua Chu..."

“I chose the day she left the Adventurers’ Guild, then strangled her with a rope, had Hua Chu dress her in her own clothes and jewelry, and then threw her into the well, because that way I could disfigure her face by going down the waterway.”

In the dead silence, with only the patter of rain, a sharp, distorted cry suddenly rang out: "Mama!"

That was a pillar of grief and resentment that could no longer be suppressed.

For this reason, his mother was killed like a child's play, and her body was not even completely destroyed!

Why?

Why!

Just because you're the eldest daughter of Duke De'an?!

Everyone watched in silence, barely able to breathe, except for the mournful cries of Yixian and Yizhu.

"Why did you do this?" In the endless rain, Li Lin took a step forward and shouted at them, "Answer me, why?"

The roar was like a drumbeat, like thunder, striking their skin and reverberating in their hearts, tearing apart all resistance deep within them.

"because!"

Hua Chuzi cried out in a distorted voice, "Because I'm rich, I'm the eldest daughter of Duke De'an... I can't die, how can I die? Yes, my father is still young, if I really die, how can I come back to inherit the family business—she's just a lowly woman, a widow who's lost her husband and is dragging along two bastard children!"

In the drizzle, Hua Chu's sharp voice was like thunder, striking deep into everyone's heart and soul.