Body-Freezing Technique

Inside and outside the courtyard, apart from Lin Xiao, everyone looked at the motionless Eldest Liu with confusion in their hearts.

However, Lin Xiao turned to face everyone and smiled:

"Thank you all, fellow villagers, for lending a helping hand to Aunt Liu's family." He then pointed at Eldest Liu in the rain and spoke very unceremoniously:

"This Eldest Liu, as Yu Nan's uncle, has never once helped his destitute nephew's family. Not only that, but for over a decade, he has constantly bullied and oppressed this widow and her orphans. Now, he has even set his sights on his own niece, wanting to sell her into slavery!

Do you really think, fellow villagers, that such a person will easily turn over a new leaf?"

The young men in the village were all at an age of hot blood and vigor. Hearing Lin Xiao's words, they immediately echoed:

"Definitely not!"

"Exactly! Eldest Liu's whole family is like this! Just the other day, he secretly dug into my family's ditch to steal water!"

Hearing everyone's agreement, Lin Xiao smiled and continued:

"Since we are here today, he might not continue to throw his weight around right now. But we can't guard the outside of the Liu family's house day and night to prevent him from returning.

Besides... when I came in just now, I saw the vicious look he gave Patriarch Hu. To put it bluntly, this man is clearly someone who holds a grudge. With things as they are now, what if one day he takes advantage of a moment when no one is looking to make a move against Patriarch Hu—"

Hearing this, the young men of Madam Hu outside anxiously chimed in:

"The little brother is absolutely right! We cannot keep this Eldest Liu around!"

"We can't keep him! Who knows when he might do something harmful to our old patriarch!"

However, a small portion of the Liu family clansmen muttered in low voices:

"If we expel them from the village, the neighboring villagers who don't know the inside story will definitely say our village is unauthentic and cruel, driving out a whole family of young and old without leaving them a way to survive."

Lin Xiao then smiled and said:

"Everyone, I have a method that can both relieve the Liu family of their future worries and avoid having to drive Eldest Liu's family out of our village."

Patriarch Hu, who was standing under the eaves, urged:

"Lin boy, if you have a good method, quickly tell us. Don't keep us in suspense."

Lin Xiao didn't waste any more words and took out a delicate dagger from his chest pocket.

This was something he had just bought from the system shop using one spirit stone while outside the courtyard.

It was a Grade One, Tier One magical artifact.

Similarly, what had immobilized Eldest Liu in the courtyard, rendering him unable to move, was the spell Body Immobilization Art that Lin Xiao had temporarily synthesized outside the courtyard using one spirit stone.

Because he had run out of ink in his private storage, he was also forced to spend one spirit stone in the shop to buy 100 sticks of pine soot ink.

The crowd watched as he gripped a dagger gleaming with cold light and, braving the rain, walked step by step until he was in front of Eldest Liu.

Someone in the crowd immediately gasped and said:

"Hiss—this kid, could it be that he wants to—kill Eldest Liu?"

Watching Lin Xiao raise the dagger and approach him step by step, Eldest Liu also thought he was going to kill him. His eyes instantly revealed a terrified, pleading look! Unfortunately, he couldn't speak right now, so he couldn't even beg for mercy!

However, before anyone could respond to that villager's words, they saw Lin Xiao lightly swing the dagger at Eldest Liu's hands. His hand tendons were instantly severed clean!

And this wasn't the end. Lin Xiao swiftly swung the dagger at Eldest Liu's legs, completely severing his leg tendons as well!

The immense pain instantly filled Eldest Liu's face with agony, yet he could not even cry out.

Although the dagger Lin Xiao used was only the lowest-grade, inferior-quality Tier One magical artifact, it was still a magical artifact!

Unless a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator healed Eldest Liu, he could forget about ever having the tendons in his hands and feet reconnected in this lifetime!

The village elders watched Lin Xiao, who severed Eldest Liu's hand and foot tendons without even blinking, inwardly shocked by the mental fortitude of this boy who was merely twelve years old.

They were even more shocked that Eldest Liu didn't resist at all and allowed himself to be slaughtered!

It was only then that the crowd realized the abnormality of Eldest Liu's complete lack of movement was perhaps caused by this young boy.

Having cut off Eldest Liu's source of martial strength, Lin Xiao stopped consuming spiritual energy to maintain the Body Immobilization Art and immediately released the bindings on him.

Once freed, Eldest Liu completely lost the ability to stand and collapsed with a thud onto the rain-soaked ground.

"Ah—" Eldest Liu curled into a ball on the ground, trembling as he painfully screamed and moaned with his crippled hands.

Lin Xiao turned a blind eye to this. He cupped his hands toward the group of young men outside the courtyard and said:

"I wonder which brothers would be willing to help carry this Eldest Liu away and send him back to his house?"

The crowd, somewhat doubtful and frightened by everything that had just happened before their eyes, suddenly felt a bit fearful of Lin Xiao. After all, a method like immobilizing a person was far too bizarre for them.

However, a few bold and warm-hearted young men still stepped forward and said:

"We'll carry him! Let's take this evil thug back to his family and see if they ever dare to harm people again!"

Thus, Eldest Liu was roughly grabbed by the armpits and the backs of his knees by a few young villagers, lifted up, and carried toward his house.

Seeing that the matter had concluded, the village elders sheltering from the rain under the eaves also took their leave one by one, leading their clansmen and youths back home.

Before leaving, the Village Chief instructed Lin Xiao:

"Take good care of them. If Brother Nan is seriously injured, come find me at my house, and we can use my family's ox cart to take him to see a doctor in town."

After saying that, Village Chief Du followed behind the other village elders and left, supported by his son's hand.

None of the elderly men asked Lin Xiao at that moment how he had just made Eldest Liu unable to move and at his mercy.

Moreover, on the way home, the village elders all coincidentally instructed their clansmen not to go out and discuss this matter with people from outside villages.

Village Chief Du's son, Du Changsheng, supported him, while his daughter-in-law, Madam Hu, held a torch and followed beside them. The three of them trudged along the uneven road back home.

Du Changsheng spoke up to Village Chief Du:

"Dad, do you think that Lin boy might be... possessed by some monster from the mountains? Recently, I heard Sanlang say that he saw the Lin boy and a few others always running into the mountains early in the morning."

Village Chief Du shook his head and asked him in return:

"If he was truly possessed by a monster, would Eldest Liu still have his life? He probably would have gone down to meet the King of Hell long ago."

Du Changsheng asked doubtfully:

"But... how could an ordinary person have such methods to easily subdue a character like Eldest Liu? Look at the way Eldest Liu looked at the Lin boy; it was full of fear. Eldest Liu has been tyrannical in the village for so many years, when has he ever been like this?"

Village Chief Du then said slowly and softly:

"When I was young, I went to the prefectural city once with Old Hu and a few others. At that time, we happened to encounter a major event in the prefectural city..." As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at his son.

"Son, in this world, there truly are immortals."

"Ah?" Hearing his father say this, Du Changsheng was extremely surprised and for a moment didn't know what to say.

Madam Hu, who was holding the torch in silence on the side, also looked up at her father-in-law in astonishment upon hearing this.