Chapter Seventy-Four: Tang Rental Company, Hidden Depths Behind the Scenes

These demons and monsters—some of them perhaps truly have tragic stories. But that does not mean they deserve pity or forgiveness. No excuse could ever alter their innately violent nature.

Of course, among hundreds there might be a rare exception, just as in humanity itself: there are many good people, but villains abound as well. Even among cultivators, the wicked are hardly rare; Lin Yi himself had encountered plenty.

The cultivator Wang Yansong, depicted in the vision, was a classic example of someone utterly devoid of humanity.

He who suffers at the hands of fate may yet persevere, but those who bring disaster upon themselves are beyond salvation!

Just look at him—swaggering about, only for the Painted-Skin Demon to parade around in his flesh, committing crimes daily.

Yet Lin Yi was surprised when he found no sign of Zheng Guoqiang’s death; the Painted-Skin Demon had managed to impersonate Zheng Guoqiang with nothing more than makeup. This demonic art of disguise was truly formidable.

Lin Yi found himself itching to try it, especially since he already possessed the Painted-Skin Demon’s knowledge of disguise. He only worried that his attempt might end up looking neither human nor ghost.

“These days, it really is difficult to distinguish between humans and monsters,” Lin Yi mused. “But aside from its skill at disguise, the Painted-Skin Demon’s ability to suppress its aura is incredible—the energy detector was utterly useless! Well, one must pay a price for every gift, and perhaps that’s why they're so hideous—such extraordinary talent must come at a cost.”

As Lin Yi muttered to himself, the crowd around him broke into wails.

“Thank you, Master Lin Yi! I... I’ve finally avenged my family! Justice has been served!”

“Master Lin Yi is the true master! That worthless Xingchen Sect and Jin Huishan are nothing compared to him!”

“That’s right... Master Lin Yi would rather die himself than let us perish... I’m really moved to tears!”

“Thank you, Master Lin Yi, for avenging us. I... I must kneel and bow before you!”

...

As Lin Yi landed and the Painted-Skin Demon dissolved, his performance had been nothing short of flawless. His righteous self-sacrifice—willingness to risk his own life to save the people—deeply moved everyone in the Talented Scholars’ Residence.

These days, people are selfish by nature, and yet Lin Yi had been willing to let himself be controlled by the demon in everyone’s place. Although he ultimately killed the Painted-Skin Demon, the risks were plain for anyone to see.

Most of these affluent or influential people were not of the best character—thick-skinned and cold-hearted, as such traits were often needed to amass wealth or power. But that didn’t mean there were no good souls among them.

Lin Yi, like a seed of positive energy, had ignited the buried goodness in their hearts with his display of courage. Moved to tears, people wept and wailed, leaving Lin Yi at a loss.

Moved as they were, did they all have to cry so much? It was as if he had died instead!

Forcing a sheepish smile, Lin Yi was just about to turn back and investigate why the seemingly shoddy paper van and other items hadn’t collapsed when he noticed the six paper figures from before drop to the ground with a ‘thump.’ They fluttered weakly on the pavement, clearly unable to move.

Yet they were still eerie—almost as if they were alive.

If he were to destroy these, would the Divine Execution Manual reward him?

With that thought, Lin Yi quickly approached the paper figures.

But he noticed that the ominous aura surrounding them was fading, and their feeble movements grew weaker. Once the sinister energy vanished, these paper figures would surely lose all vitality.

...

“These paper figures...” Lin Yi began to sift through his memories.

It didn’t take long for him to retrieve information about the paper figures from the twisted Painted-Skin Demon’s mind.

They came from a rental company—Tang’s Rental Company.

In his recollection, during the day, the Painted-Skin Demon had disguised itself as a trembling old man, as if crippled by a stroke, holding a business card it had acquired from a bamboo grove.

That grove wasn't close to Shengjing City, but rather in another city—Jingtian City—where the demon’s lair was also hidden deep in the mountains.

Both twisted fox demons had visited the bamboo grove, where they were handed a card by a Daoist priest clad in yellow monk’s robes, his face dark, hair gray, teeth stained yellow.

According to him, if anything was needed, Tang’s Rental Company could help.

This Tang’s Rental Company sounded oddly familiar to Lin Yi.

He committed these memories to heart and examined the paper figures and paper vehicles rented by the Painted-Skin Demon.

Soon, Lin Yi noticed the colors of these figures and cars. Upon closer inspection, he discerned subtle patterns etched on them—delicate white lines, almost invisible against the paper unless scrutinized.

Amidst the colorful paint, these white lines formed interwoven patterns, and within them, Lin Yi distinctly made out the character for “Tang.”

There was no doubt—these belonged to the Tang clan.

Both the paper cars and figures bore this hidden insignia, impossible to forge. Lin Yi also recalled that the demon had paid a gold bar to rent them.

Throughout the transaction, the Painted-Skin Demon never met anyone from Tang’s Rental Company face-to-face. Even when communicated with, it was through a paper figure.

Still, the company was indeed located in the city’s old village district—there was no mistaking that. Tang’s Rental Company was shrouded in mystery.

Lin Yi delved deeper into the Painted-Skin Demon’s memories; an old friend, the demonic monk from the bamboo grove, had once told it that the rental company was a business of the Tang clan—Tang’s Family of the Central Plains.

“Interesting,” Lin Yi mused. “Tang’s Rental Company is certainly deeper than it appears... And a gold bar just to rent these? The demon must’ve been wealthy. In its memory, its cave still houses much gold, silver, jewels, and even some herbs. I wonder if those little foxes have finished them off yet. I must go search that place when I have time...”

With that thought, Lin Yi turned to leave.

Just then, a series of six soft pops sounded—the trembling paper figures all disintegrated into ash.

Lin Yi quickly looked toward the two vehicles. The police car also burst apart with a bang, dissolving into flying ash.

As the paper dust settled, Lin Yi saw that one of the vehicles was emitting a tremendous sinister aura.

He quickly raised his energy detector.

...

Lin Yi saw that the sinister energy reading on the detector was off the charts—over ten thousand!

What did a reading of ten thousand mean? That was the aura of a grandmaster!

But there were no demons or monsters nearby, which meant this immense sinister energy existed only within the two ghostly vehicles before him.

After the first vehicle exploded, a blackened flame tinged with red light continued to burn, and the energy reading began to fluctuate and drop.

Without hesitation, Lin Yi dashed forward, circulating the energy of the Great Cavity Sutra throughout his body, and retrieved the object from the remains.

He found a stone, its surface covered in intricate patterns. Clearly, it was intimately connected to the vehicle; after all, the entire car had exploded, yet this stone remained.

Recalling the books he had once distributed along with his magical satchel—especially the “Demon Compendium” required by all paranormal investigators—Lin Yi realized this might be a Doomstone.

Just like spirit stones and elemental stones, sinister energy could condense into liquid and, with further compression, form a Doomstone.

The thought made Lin Yi’s eyes light up.

Not bothering to pin on his badge, he swiftly darted to the hearse, and with a single strike of the Great Cavity Sutra, sliced it cleanly in two.

The hearse’s sinister energy, which had been over ten thousand, rapidly began to decline.

As Lin Yi split the vehicle, all the coffins inside tumbled out. The hearse exploded with a thunderous boom, just like the police car, and burst into flames.

Within, he found another stone, about the size of a fingernail, jet black with tendrils of red mist swirling and burning on its surface.

Lin Yi picked it up.

Both stones seemed to burn, yet radiated a bone-chilling cold.

Fortunately, Lin Yi grasped them with the energy of the Great Cavity Sutra, isolating their effects; otherwise, they could have damaged his skin.

With a thought, Lin Yi sent both Doomstones into the mysterious space of the Divine Execution Manual. Instantly, the sinister energy was locked away, and the stones ceased burning.

Lin Yi glanced around the entrance to the villa district, waited a while, and finally nodded—no one from Tang’s Rental Company seemed to have followed him.

Clearly, the paper figures and vehicles could be controlled remotely.

Their sudden destruction startled the onlookers again, but now that everything had turned to dust and even the most sinister items had been collected by Lin Yi, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

They all approached to express their thanks.

Lin Yi helped a few kneeling people to their feet, and quickly dodged away from the attractive young widow who seemed intent on clinging to him.

He wasn’t about to tempt fate—after all, she was a widow, and this was a public place.

Still, as their benefactor, Lin Yi couldn’t entirely escape. Despite the crowd, the widow still managed to hug him a few times.