Chapter 138: Unable to Find the Medicine

"Dad, what does Mu Lin's situation have to do with me? Once Grandpa gets better, I'll make things clear with him, and we'll just go our separate ways!"

Li Yinhe paused. Of course, she wasn't wrong. He had thought the same thing just a few days ago.

But after spending time with Mu Lin recently, his opinion had gradually started to change.

'If only Mu Lin were really my son-in-law... how great would that be?'

「Half a day later.」

Mu Lin appeared in the suburbs, at the foot of Crane Cloud Mountain.

This was where Mu Lin had killed Chen Zhengyang.

Returning to this spot, Mu Lin had an idea. He turned and glanced down into the ravine where he had kicked Chen Zhengyang.

Chen Zhengyang's body was gone.

The area looked like any other mountain landscape, peaceful and calm.

Celestial Sunflowers were considered extremely precious medicinal herbs on the outside, but here, they bloomed like common weeds.

This suggested that the place was rich in Spiritual Qi, and the likelihood of finding the herbs he needed was higher.

But Mu Lin himself wasn't sure what kind of medicine could truly save Elder Li.

The elder's injuries were multi-layered. First, there were the physical wounds. An old man's Qi and Blood were imbalanced, so recovery was extremely slow. He could only rest and recuperate after his wounds were stitched and bandaged.

Second were the injuries to his meridians. The meridians support the body's functions, and with them damaged, it only made the elder's already fragile body worse, further slowing his recovery.

Finally, there was his divine soul. During the battle, Elder Li had unleashed all his potential, leaving his soul shattered and broken.

Curing him would be incredibly difficult.

But that was no reason to give up.

For this, he had that deadbeat old man who left and never returned to thank. If that old bastard hadn't beaten the knowledge into him, Mu Lin probably would have never learned about such obscure subjects.

However, the treatment regimen was still missing several precious medicinal herbs.

Mu Lin searched everywhere to no avail and had to give up for now.

"Uncle Zhou," Mu Lin had no choice but to call Zhou Qianfan.

"Mu Lin, what's up?"

Mu Lin's tone was heavy. "Uncle Zhou, how much do you know about the high-end medicinal herb market?"

Zhou Qianfan was taken aback for a moment, not understanding the question.

However, since Elder Zhou was crucial to the Zhou Family, they had always taken meticulous care of him, constantly purchasing herbs to prolong his life.

Because of this, they maintained excellent connections in that market.

"I know several high-end herb dealers, all top-tier. What do you need to ask? I can make some inquiries for you."

"Dragon Bone Grass, Nine-Flame Dragon Ginseng... These are all extremely valuable herbs. It might cost you a fair bit, but they are incredibly important to me. Please, I need you to take this seriously. I'll pay you back later!"

Zhou Qianfan hadn't expected Mu Lin's words to be so heavy. 'Incredibly important... take this seriously...' 'Was this the same bland, ordinary Mu Lin from the past?'

After a moment's thought, Zhou Qianfan immediately understood.

Mu Lin wasn't doing this for himself; he was doing it for Elder Li.

'In that case, I have to treat this with even more importance. A time like this was always the perfect opportunity to win someone's loyalty.'

"Alright, I'll contact those old friends of mine right away and see what I can find for you. If they have them, I'll get them for you immediately!"

"Thank you, Uncle Zhou!"

Zhou Qianfan didn't hang up right away. He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Mu Lin, my father has received another death threat. Captain Chen has already set up a perimeter around the Zhou Family villa, but I don't think it'll do much good..."

"I'll help," Mu Lin said directly, without a second thought.

Zhou Qianfan had expected Mu Lin to agree, but not so quickly.

"Mu Lin, you need to think this through. It's not that simple. If something goes wrong, it could be all over for you."

Mu Lin replied simply, "The Zhou Family has been good to me. I can't let you down. As the enemy's abilities grow stronger, the pressure on the Zhou Family must be increasing, right?"

Zhou Qianfan said, "You can say that again. Captain Chen has already written his will, just waiting for a fight to the death."

'Chen Jingyun is being way too dramatic,' Mu Lin thought. 'Writing a will over something like this? That guy is definitely just trying to angle for a bigger bonus.'

But it was understandable. He was taking the biggest risk and had the families of many of his men to look after.

It was perfectly normal.

"Since he feels like it's a fight to the death, just have him stand down. I can handle it alone."

Zhou Qianfan knew Mu Lin was strong, very strong, but seeing him take on everything himself like this, as if just to show off, still made him a little uneasy.

"Mu Lin, you should be a little more restrained. This isn't a good look, is it?"

Mu Lin just chuckled. "I know."

Zhou Qianfan quickly told Mu Lin where Elder Zhou was located.

"My dad is there. The rest of the Zhou Family has already been moved. He's going to be facing a large group of assassins alone again. Please, go and stay with him!"

Mu Lin nodded in agreement, turned, and left, heading straight into the distance.

「Anhua Intercity Expressway.」

An unremarkable business van was tearing down the road.

The van's seats were very comfortable, but the passengers' faces were grim.

One of them was a young man named Yang Qitian, the second son of Young Master Yang. He had been sent to a mountain to train in martial arts in his teens and was only granted permission to return home to visit his family after many years.

He had been full of anticipation at the thought of seeing his family, but upon asking, he discovered that his father and older brother had been brutally killed. His grandfather was paralyzed, lying in a private hospital and racking up enormous medical bills every day.

Thankfully, his youngest brother was fine, but he had been severely traumatized and now spent his days muttering nonsense, which was deeply unsettling.

"Junior Brother, look. Isn't that your Yang Family's building?"

Yang Qitian looked up, and his expression grew even uglier.

'It was too painful, this gut-wrenching agony.'

"Yes," he said, his face contorted. He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth audibly ground together.

"I heard Anhua City has been developing well in recent years, so the Yang Family's business must have been progressing by leaps and bounds. I will definitely help you get justice for your father and brother. Don't you worry!"

Yang Qitian's expression was sorrowful. "It's all my fault for being useless! My Yang Family was built on business; we have no power to protect ourselves. Father and Grandfather sent me away to train in martial arts so the family could have its own strength. But who knew it would come down to a matter of days? If I had just worked a little harder and passed the sect's assessment a few days earlier, this never would have happened to my dad and brother."

"Don't say that. The one who killed your father and brother is that man named Mu Lin, not you. You don't have to blame yourself. Since I, your Senior Brother, have come here with you, I will naturally tear him to pieces to avenge your deceased relatives."

Yang Qitian grabbed his Senior Brother's hand. "Thank you, Senior Brother!"

After this ferocious vow, Yang Qitian's mood improved slightly.

The dead couldn't be brought back to life, and his Senior Brother had already promised to kill Mu Lin for revenge. 'Getting angry won't change anything,' Yang Qitian thought, 'so I might as well let it go for now.'

He looked at the man in his early sixties sitting across from him.

"Junior Master Jin, why did you come with us? Anhua City is tiny. There shouldn't be much profit to be made here."

A grim smile flashed across Junior Master Jin's lips. "To settle a score."

Yang Qitian was curious. Junior Master Jin was incredibly powerful and surely had countless experts under his command.

He could just send one of his experts to handle things, so why come in person?

"Settle a score with whom?" Yang Qitian asked.

"I can't say," Junior Master Jin replied in his deepest voice.

Yang Qitian quickly shut his mouth and said no more.

'The sect was extremely strict about these things. Prying into matters you weren't supposed to know could get your tongue cut out.'

"Don't underestimate Anhua City. It has plenty of stories. Let's just say, quite a few heroic figures are connected to it."

"For example...?"

Junior Master Jin narrowed his eyes and began to think.

But after a long moment, he couldn't actually name a single one.

Yang Qitian was a little dumbfounded. He hadn't expected this. 'So many people, and he can't name one?'

After a good while, Junior Master Jin finally said, "Ah, got it. For example, Chen Zhengyang, Liu Yiming, a side branch of the Li Family..."

"Liu Yiming? Isn't that Grandmaster Liu?" Yang Qitian said with a laugh.

"You two are pretty familiar?" his Senior Brother teased.

Yang Qitian said cheerfully, "Of course. Although our families have their conflicts of interest, the old man is really good to us of the younger generation. He often used to take the kids from all three families out to have fun."

His Senior Brother said, "He sounds like an interesting old fellow."

But an icy glint flashed in Junior Master Jin's eyes. "He's a madman with countless lives on his hands! I almost died by his hand once myself!"

"After I'm done with my business and settled my score, I'll be sure to pay him another visit!"

As Junior Master Jin spoke, a murderous light gleamed in his eyes.

After that "visit," whether a man named Liu Yiming still existed in the world would not be his concern.

"Of course! Junior Master Jin, you're incredible! Unrivaled!"