2

It didn't take long before Lin Kai found himself in front of the meeting hall. Instead of a hall, it was better to describe this as a small building. The building was made of red bricks, with two front windows providing a blurry view of the inside. Occasionally Lin Kai could see people entering the hall.

"Young master." It wasn't long before one of the two guards who were standing outside the hall greeted him with a nod before signaling him to enter.

'Damn.' Taking a careful look at the guards Lin Kai clicked his tongue. The two middle-aged men were wearing gray robes which seemed to be made of smoke. Other than their heads and hands, their entire body seemed to be covered in smoke. And in the bright sunlight, the smoke on those robes seemed to be alive as it was constantly moving like a wave.

The first time he saw these types of robes in the dining hall, he was almost awestruck by them. From that moment on he wanted one for himself. But after asking around, he found out that only the guards were eligible to wear those robes.

After admiring the robes for a moment, Lin Kai then entered the building.

The inside of the building was a long spacious hallway with walls that were adorned with various types of paintings and silk curtains. Two rows of seats and tables were on the sides adjacent to the walls while an exquisite seat and table made from unknown materials were placed in the middle of the room. Other than the seat in the middle, all of the seats were occupied by the people who were sitting there with grave expressions.

The members of the Lin family who entered the hall moved to one side before standing behind the people seated.

Following other people, Lin Kai went to his left before merging himself into the group. Other than the occasional murmurs, the hall seemed quiet.

"All of you are here."

It was at this moment that a heavy sound echoed in the hall, silencing even the softest of whispers.

As Lin Kai's gaze landed on the exquisite seat in the front, he finally saw the owner of the voice.

"Patriarch."

"Greetings, patriarch."

Sitting on the seat was a middle-aged man wearing plain unadorned robes with broad shoulders. His hair was black and streaked with silver at the temples and his eyes had a piercing shade of blue that seemed to see right through any man.

Even if no one shouted 'patriarch', Lin Kai was already familiar with the person in front. After all, out of some fragmented memories he received, there was a memory of this man too; He was the current patriarch of the Lin family as well as the father of the previous owner of the body, Lin Xun.

"You all are here." Nodding his head Lin Xun took a glance throughout the hall.

"You must be wondering why I called you all here?" Saying the words, his eyes rested on the man sitting on the first seat on his right side. "First elder. Please..."

"Patriarch." Giving Lin Xun a bow, the first elder of the Lin family stood up as his expression turned stern.

"During these past six days, there have been more than thirty murders throughout the town."

Before he was even able to finish, the people suddenly burst out in commotion.

'Holy shit.'

'I heard that too.'

'It was particularly bloody too.'

The more they began to talk, the more noisy the hall became. Within moments, there were already people shouting at the top of their lungs about who the culprit might be.

"QUIET." Slamming his hand on the table, the first elder shouted. And with his shout, the hall plunged into a deathly silence.

Taking a long look at the people in the hall with a dissatisfied face, the first elder shook his head.

"We do not know who the perpetrator is, but we will find him and then deliver justice. This meeting today is arranged for such reason."

Speaking till here, he picked up a stack of paper from the table in front of him.

"We do not know this person's identity, we don't even know whether it's a man or a beast. The only thing we know is that this killer likes to target people from the three great families of our Qingyun town. Especially when they are alone and outside the area of our forces."

"Out of the thirty murders, twenty were of people who roamed outside of town while ten were of people wandering alone at night in the town."

"Ten of the victims were from our Lin family." Speaking till here, his voice trembled for a moment, as if suppressing great anger.

"As one of the three rulers of Qingyun, it is our duty to maintain the order and peace of the city. We can not let this bastard roam free, especially after what it has done to our members."

"Thus, after a meeting, the council has agreed to dispatch members from each family to increase the patrolling area. We are going to catch this murderer and bring it to justice. We will teach this person a lesson in the blood that the members of the Lin family are not so easy to mess around."

Waving the papers in his hand, he continued speaking "Here is the list of people from our family that will take part in the night patrolling."

As soon as he finished speaking, he handed the list to the person beside him before looking at Lin Xun.

"Now then." With a clap, Lin Xun attracted everyone's attention as he began to speak.

"The council exams are due the day after tomorrow. I hope you guys are ready for it."

With these words, his gaze rested on Lin Kai for a moment before looking at everyone else.

"Also, remember to not roam around aimlessly. In case anything happened, it would be too late to cry out loud."

"And remember to report to the family elders or guards in case you do find something. You will be rewarded handsomely."

"The meeting is dismissed." With the promise of riches, he stood up as his body disappeared from the seat.

Lin Kai who was silent the whole time couldn't help but admire the way he appeared and disappeared. Even though he knew this was an extraordinary world, this was the first instance of seeing it firsthand.

It took a while before the names on the list were read out loud. Out of all the people, youngsters like Lin Kai were the most excited. After all, catching a killer was more thrilling than practicing every day under the sun. Maybe they will be lucky enough to find this killer and bring it to justice. Thinking of the riches promised, many of them already began to form their group of three while seething with excitement.

On the other hand, people older in age had grave expressions on their faces. They knew very well what this killer represented. If this killer was able to stay safe after killing so many people, then it must be someone with extraordinary capabilities. One that is far beyond what they can handle. Many of them were even thinking about forming large groups instead of wandering in a group of two to three.

Lin Kai on the other hand was looking at everything going around him quietly. He wasn't overly concerned about the killer. As the first elder said, the killer only targets people outside. So, as long as he was inside the Lin family, it was relatively safe. As for his name being not on the list, he wasn't surprised. After all, he was a scholar, not a fighter. It would be weird to send someone like him who doesn't have any strength to tie up a chicken to catch a killer.

"Oh great! You are still alive."

And just when Lin Kai was lost in his train of thought, a sharp voice brought him back to his senses.

"What did you just say?" Lin Kai's heart almost jumped to his throat. The moment he heard the voice, he turned around to face the owner of the voice.

In front of him was a girl in her mid-sixteen with a heart-shaped face. Her eyes which were almost sparkling were almond-shaped that had an occasional twinkle to them. Along with a pert nose, she has long, flowing black hair that she had tied back in a loose braid.

Contrary to the simple robes that other members of the Lin family were wearing, she was wearing a sleeveless tunic and pants. On the tunic was the design of a golden dragon with a flaming pearl in its mouth.

"Really?" The girl looked at Lin Kai in displeasure before repeating herself. "I said, you are still alive!?"

Lin Kai didn't immediately answer but looked at the girl more carefully. Since the moment he came here, he didn't think too much about what actually happened to the previous body owner. After all, he was busy adapting to his new life and writing novels. The thought of the previous owner's death and its circumstances never crossed his mind.

"Heh..." With a forced smile on his face, Lin Kai shook his head gently. "Why would you say that?"

He just couldn't believe that someone would be so presumptuous. Even though this was a completely different world, there shouldn't be people so blatantly killing and then shouting out in a family meeting in front of so many people.

"WOW." The girl shook her head in disbelief. "What the hell is going on with you? I haven't seen you in the past week and now you are acting like you don't even know me!"

Narrowing her eyes, she took a step forward before standing in front of Lin Kai. Her eyes which were filled with doubt were looking at Lin Kai intently as she tilted her head before sniffing him out.

"What the..." Lin Kai took a step back at this weird gesture, but his mind was running faster than ever. All kinds of ideas were emerging in his head as he tried to recall who this girl in front of him was. But alas! No matter how hard he tried to recall, he just couldn't seem to remember her.

"What the hell were you doing in these past seven days? Are you all right?" With each passing second, the doubt on her face was growing stronger and stronger. The boy in front of her seemed familiar yet so unfamiliar. It was a contradicting feeling that she wasn't accustomed to.

"Sigh..." Exhaling deeply, Lin Kai shook his head as the tone of his voice became grim. "Don't you know exams are coming soon? I was preparing for them."

Thinking of an excuse, Lin Kai began to babble mindlessly.

Numerous ideas were running through his head as he continued, "I saw a mixture in one of the books that can increase your memory, so I prepared some herbs and made a mixture."

"YOU WHAT?" The girl's eyes almost popped out as she looked at Lin Kai in disbelief.

"Well, I drank the mixture and it seemed to have affected my memories. I think I forgot some things." Caressing his head, Lin Kai spoke softly as his eyes were constantly observing the changes in the girl's expression.

"Come with me." Before Lin Kai could react, the girl grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the hall. A few members saw this scene but shook their heads and said nothing. In their eyes, this was a common occurrence.

Lin Kai didn't know where she was dragging him and tried to wrestle his hand away from her. But no matter how much force he exerted, he couldn't shake her hand off. It was like his hand was stuck under a giant boulder. Feeling helpless, he could only follow her quietly.

It didn't take long before the two of them reached Lin Kai's hut.

"NOW, TELL ME EVERYTHING." Looking at him with fierce eyes, the girl snorted as she placed both of her hands on her waist, finally releasing Lin Kai's hand. This posture along with the golden dragon on her tunic made her appear particularly fierce.

"Like I said..." Even though Lin Kai was feeling nervous, he spoke in a calm tone. "The last thing I remember was mixing some herbs and drinking them. And now other than some names, I can't seem to recall anything else."

"Since when?" It was at this moment that her tone slowly softened.

"I think it's been seven days." Recalling how it's been seven days since he opened his eyes in this world, Lin Kai replied while nodding his head.

"Why didn't you come to me..." As soon as she spoke the words, she regretted it immediately. But without correcting herself, she put her hand on her chin before speaking slowly. "How about we ask the physician? Maybe he can help you."

"No." Lin Kai immediately denied the idea. What a joke. What was he going to tell the doctor if he asked him about the herbs or asked him to show where he mixed them? God knows what other extraordinary means the doctors of this world might have. Just going in blindly would easily expose his lies. After all, it was one thing to fool a girl in her sixteen who hasn't seen the world, on the other hand trying to fool a veteran was almost suicidal.

"Hey..." Looking at the doubt on the girl's face, he shook his head as he slowly began to explain "What I meant to say was that it is nothing extreme."

While saying these words, he began to move his arms around. "Look, it's just the memory. Other than that, I am completely fine."

"Also..." With a smirk, he took a step forward before coming close to the girl. "Wouldn't it be much better if we got to know each other once again?"

By now he was almost sure that this girl was perhaps the childhood friend or even sweetheart of the previous body owner. Maybe saying things with this ambiguity will help her relax her worries.

"..." The girl didn't reply but looked at Lin Kai silently without any expression.

"It looks like you really lost your memories."

Looking at her expressionless face and listening to her, Lin Kai's heart thumped for a moment.

"Forget it." Shaking her head, she took one last glance at Lin Kai before walking away.

'She was disappointed?' Narrowing his eyes, Lin Kai looked at her back. Just now it was clear from her expression that the moment she heard about him losing his memories, she was more disappointed than worried. It made him wonder what her relationship with the previous owner was.

"And she didn't even tell me her name." And just when Lin Kai was wondering, the figure of the girl paused.

"You can go to the scholar library if you are feeling lost. It's located left of the training grounds."

"Good luck." With a soft whisper, she walked away quietly, leaving behind the figure of confused Lin Kai who was still trying to recall his memories of her.

"Now... What am I supposed to do?" Even though he came up with an excuse, Lin Kai wasn't sure how to proceed with this lie. With this interaction, he was sure that things were going to be a lot more difficult for him in the future.

It was one thing for this girl to believe his words. But whether others were going to buy this story of his or not was still in question.

"Forget it." After thinking for a long time, he just shook his head. Maybe if he had more time to figure out things, the situation might have been different. But this sudden interaction with this girl caught him off guard. He didn't even have the time to come up with an excuse.

"No use wondering what might have been..." With a hollow laugh, Lin Kai looked in the direction the girl pointed before heading out.