Trapped within the tree trunk, Lin Ji furrowed his brows slightly, but he was not in a hurry to break free from his current predicament.
This spirit indeed had some abilities. If viewed as a cultivator, it would be at least at the third realm of cultivation. However, it posed no threat to him at the moment.
What puzzled him was that this spirit was not weak. Even though its original form was a large tree, it could still retain the essence of plants and trees for cultivation. It could have simply left peacefully, finding a safer place in the mountains for cultivation, which would have been beneficial.
There are many rumors in the mortal world about encountering ginseng spirits and the like in deep mountains and old forests.
Even a small ginseng spirit could run away at the first sign of trouble, easily disappearing or even turning invisible, leaving people baffled.
Even if this third realm spirit was born with intelligence in the city, it should have left crowded places sooner. Yet, it chose to do the opposite. What was its intention?
"A spirit not cultivating in the mountains but causing trouble in the city?" Lin Ji instinctively felt that this matter was not simple.
Gradually, the pressure around him increased.
Lin Ji's thoughts were interrupted by this pressure, causing some dissatisfaction to rise within him.
"Seeking death."
With a single thought, the spiritual energy within Lin Ji's body began to circulate, faintly resonating with the heavens and earth.
In just a breath's time, a pure power enveloped him.
"Northern Pole Technique, Star Power of the Celestial Pivot."
The newly learned technique came in handy at this moment.
Lin Ji felt as if he had boundless strength, an inexhaustible force within him.
Just a slight movement caused the wood around him to audibly crack.
"A mischievous little spirit, not inclined to fight, yet daring to cause trouble." Lin Ji sneered, raising his hand to break free from his restraints.
However, before he could act, the world spun before his eyes, and he found that the spirit had already been released by it.
Not only that, Lin Ji keenly sensed that the spiritual energy in the Zheng Family Garden was rapidly converging towards the roots of the large tree and slowly moving.
Lin Ji raised an eyebrow, realizing that the spirit intended to flee.
"Can you escape?"
Drawing his sword, a sharp aura emanated from its edge, sweeping through the surroundings.
Previously, the sword aura was formed from Lin Ji's Haughty Qi Technique, but now it contained a bit more stellar power.
Wanting to test his strength against this spirit seemed appropriate.
With a flick of his wrist, the sword was held in a reverse grip, then swiftly thrown towards the area with the densest spiritual energy in his spiritual sense.
Soon after, a scream echoed.
"Ah!"
Lin Ji stepped forward, once again holding the sword in his hand.
However, just as he was about to strike again, a greenish little figure emerged from the ground.
"Please spare me, sir, spare this humble one."
Seeing this greenish figure, Lin Ji was momentarily stunned.
This was the first time he had seen the true form of a spirit; he had only read about them in tales of the supernatural.
Spirits rarely appeared outside of the mountains and forests, making them uncommon.
The figure before him was only about half a meter tall, wearing clothes made of leaves and tree bark, looking somewhat comical.
It had no nose or ears on its face, only two eyes and a mouth on its round face.
Its bald head was adorned with two leaves.
The spirit timidly leaned against the large tree, looking at Lin Ji, hunching its body, ready to flee at any moment.
Lin Ji pressed the sword against the spirit's neck.
The spirit trembled in fear, lips turning pale, appearing very weak.
Although the little creature seemed uninjured, Lin Ji's previous strike had already damaged its essence, prompting it to come out and plead for mercy.
"Is it you who has been causing trouble in this garden, leading to the deaths of the two elders of the Zheng family?" Lin Ji asked coldly.
The spirit quickly shook its head.
"Sir! It wasn't me."
Before it could finish speaking, footsteps were heard at the entrance of the garden.
A voice with a hint of familiarity reached Lin Ji's ears.
"Is this the new Chief Constable Lin who has arrived? I am Deputy Constable Tian Jiufeng, pleased to meet you, Chief Lin."
Lin Ji turned to look at the newcomer.
"Tian Jiufeng, the Deputy Constable of the Southern District?" Lin Ji assessed the man with a glance, casually inquiring.
"That's correct, sir."
"Stand aside." Lin Ji turned back, preparing to continue questioning the spirit.
However, Tian Jiufeng quickly approached, standing next to Lin Ji, and addressed the spirit, "You wicked creature! Where do you think you can escape to? How dare you come to the Zheng family to harm people!"
Lin Ji noticed that the spirit became even more fearful upon seeing Tian Jiufeng.
Before he could ask, Tian Jiufeng hurriedly explained, "Chief Lin, this spirit is raised by my Tian family. Originally, it was used to tend to the spiritual fields at home. But not long ago, this little thing unexpectedly escaped."
"A third realm spirit, can your Tian family manage to keep it?" Lin Ji raised an eyebrow.
"In response, this spirit was purchased from the capital and came with restrictions." Tian Jiufeng instinctively replied.
Lin Ji inquired further, "If there were restrictions, how did it manage to escape?"
"This, uh..." Tian Jiufeng was at a loss for words, unable to provide an explanation.
Lin Ji ignored him, reaching out to grab the two tree sprouts on the spirit's head, lifting it up.
"Whether it belongs to your family or not, this little thing has caused harm. This matter cannot be resolved with just a few words from you."
Tian Jiufeng's expression changed slightly.
"Chief Lin, this spirit is quite valuable, and our family has spent a lot of money on it."
"Have two people from the Tian family compensate the two elders of the Zheng family, and I will return this spirit to you. How about that?" Lin Ji sneered.
"How can this be?" Tian Jiufeng realized that Lin Ji was not easy to deal with.
He shifted his focus to Zheng Yunxuan.
"Master Zheng, the Tian family is willing to give you a satisfactory explanation. Please refrain from further investigation, how about it?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yunxuan fell silent, subconsciously looking at Lin Ji.
But he found Lin Ji also looking at him.
"If you dare to nod, I will immediately accuse you of colluding with evil spirits and have you executed. I will leave a hundred thousand taels of silver for your family. How about that?" Lin Ji threatened.
Zheng Yunxuan quickly averted his gaze, not daring to speak.
Lin Ji then turned to Tian Jiufeng.
"Deputy Constable Tian, using power to oppress others won't work with me! There are suspicions in this matter, and I will definitely investigate thoroughly."
"Chief Lin, why go to such lengths?" Tian Jiufeng's face darkened.
Lin Ji's lips curled into a perfunctory smile.
"I don't turn a blind eye to things I see. If no one else takes action, then it falls to me."
In the midst of their conversation, footsteps were heard outside.
Lin Ji turned to see Sun Hai arriving with two other Deputy Constables.
One was the familiar Li Wushuang, and the other was a young man under thirty.
Presumably, he was the last Deputy Constable sent out by the sect for training, Chu Qin.
After being in office for so many days, Lin Ji finally recognized all the Deputy Constables in the city.
(End of Chapter)