Chapter 144: Other People's Feelings

After all, the lives of his family were what mattered most.

"Captain Chen, lock the doors," Elder Zhou reminded him.

The night was long. Who knew if another attack would come.

They had failed once; they couldn't afford to fail a second time.

Mu Lin said, "I'll stay with you."

Elder Zhou waved his hand. "There's no need. Their style is to go all-in. If the first wave fails, there won't be a second."

"Besides, we have the fortified tower for defense. We're quite safe now. Mu Lin, you have people waiting for you. You should head back."

Mu Lin considered this. "Alright. I'm sorry I couldn't leave you with any leads."

Chen Jingyun stepped forward. "Mr. Mu, I'll see you out!"

Halfway to the exit, Chen Jingyun asked, "Mr. Mu, that incident with the Li Family... were you the one who drove off their enemies?"

Mu Lin admitted it plainly. "Yes, that was me."

Chen Jingyun gasped.

Mu Lin waved his hand dismissively. "It was nothing."

Inside the Zhou Family's home.

Zhou Ying asked, "Grandpa, what did you mean when you said there were people waiting for Mu Lin?"

Elder Zhou explained, "Mu Lin lives in the Li Family Villa in District Three. His relationship with the family's young miss, Li Xue, is... special. What's more, Elder Li treats him like his own flesh and blood. It seems he's already accepted him as his grandson-in-law."

Zhou Qianfan added, "Dad, I checked with the Civil Affairs Bureau. There are no records for those two. Perhaps Mu Lin and Li Xue haven't taken that step yet."

But he knew this was just wishful thinking.

They were already living together. The next step couldn't be far off.

'If only Mu Lin could be with Zhou Ying.'

A look of wistful disappointment flickered in Zhou Ying's eyes.

'The man who once gave me the cold shoulder is now completely out of my league.'

It was nearly midnight when Mu Lin got home. Li Xue was sitting in the living room, arms crossed.

"Where have you been?" Li Xue asked, her eyes cold. "Why are you back so late?"

"Taking care of business. Someone wanted to die, so I sent them on their way," Mu Lin said simply, leaving Li Xue speechless.

She had been through her own life-and-death situations, and her grandfather was still lying in the ICU.

Mu Lin's casual mention of such things made her uncomfortable.

"Don't always try to be the hero. What if something happens to you?"

"It has nothing to do with you," Mu Lin said flatly. "Wouldn't you be happiest if I were gone?"

Li Xue was left speechless. Her usual cold and sarcastic remarks toward Mu Lin made moments like this particularly difficult.

'What could she possibly say?'

"The fact that you're back means it wasn't a huge deal, I guess. But what if you hadn't come back? Can't you ever consider other people's feelings?"

Mu Lin looked at her, puzzled. "Other people? Who else is there?"

Just…

Li Xue desperately wanted to point a giant arrow at herself and shout, 'Me!'

But her pride wouldn't let her.

"I left some bread for you. Eat it if you're hungry!"

With that, Li Xue turned and went upstairs.

Mu Lin couldn't help but sigh.

'How could he not understand what Li Xue was thinking?'

'But it's impossible. With his list of enemies growing, if their act ever became real, she would be the first person they'd target.'

Mu Lin was no fool.

'Whatever happens, happens!'

「The next morning」

The atmosphere at the breakfast table was tense.

Mrs. Li was at the hospital with Elder Li, so the housekeeper had made breakfast. It wasn't what they were used to.

Li Xue had little appetite and ate slowly.

Li Yinhe was even more irritated, looking like he wanted to slam his chopsticks down and go eat somewhere else.

Li Xue pressed her lips together. "Dad, you know Grandpa can't stand seeing food wasted. You should eat."

Li Yinhe pursed his lips. "I never said I wasn't going to eat it."

Mu Lin said, "Dad, if you don't like it, give it to me. I'll eat it."

Li Yinhe would have none of it. "No! Of course I can eat it! But you—you said you were looking for herbs for Dad. Have you found anything?"

"I've found many of the common herbs," Mu Lin said simply. "But there's no sign of the rarer ones yet. I've asked some friends to help look."

Li Yinhe felt he couldn't push him too hard. 'My attitude toward Mu Lin is pretty terrible,' he thought, 'and Mu Lin's affection for Dad is definitely much deeper than my own.'

'If something like this happened to me, he probably wouldn't even bother looking for herbs.'

"Well, hurry it up then..." was all he could say.

After breakfast, the family got in the car and headed to the company.

Downstairs from the Li Group building, Yang Qitian and his Senior Brother stepped out of a luxury car.

"Is the Mu Lin you mentioned in there?" his Senior Brother asked, gazing up at the massive building.

A cruel smile spread across Yang Qitian's lips. "That's right. The guy lives in the Li Villa, so he has to be with the Li Group. No doubt about it!"

"Senior Brother, I'm counting on you!"

"Of course! Getting justice for my Junior Brother goes without saying," his Senior Brother said, head held high.

Tang Shihuo's eyes narrowed. He licked his lips and sauntered toward the main entrance.

"Senior Brother, remember to leave him barely alive. I don't want him to die too quickly. It's more fun to torture him slowly."

"Hahaha, when it comes to that, your Senior Brother is the master!"

He walked up to the front desk, where the receptionist asked politely, "Hello, sirs. How may I help you?"

Tang Shihuo greedily raked his eyes over the receptionist, saying nothing.

Yang Qitian, however, understood instantly. He said to the receptionist, "You're very beautiful, miss. My Senior Brother here is quite taken with you. How about you spend the night with him? I'll give you fifty thousand."

The receptionist's expression soured. "Sir, please show some respect. Not everything in this world can be bought with money!"

"You should reconsider. If I can offer fifty thousand for one night with him, I can just as easily offer fifty million as a bride price for him to marry you."

"Just make him happy, and you'll have anything you could ever want."

The receptionist's face grew even darker. "Get lost, you psycho."

Yang Qitian's expression turned hideous. "Miss, do you have any idea how much you're testing my patience?"

"Yes, I am! So what?" the receptionist retorted, planting her hands on her hips. "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the police!"

Yang Qitian sneered. "So what? I'll show you 'so what'!"

He raised his hand and slammed it on the desk. The desk instantly shattered into countless pieces. Even the monitor couldn't withstand the immense force and exploded into fragments.

Sparks flew, and the terrified receptionist stumbled backward.

Flying debris struck her, leaving numerous cuts.

"AHH!" she screamed, drawing everyone's attention.

The security guards at the entrance heard the commotion and rushed over, calling for backup as they ran.

All of the Li Group's security personnel started converging on the entrance.

"Senior Brother, these guys are just lining up to die. Should we kill them all?"

"No. Slaughtering innocents is bad for our sect's reputation. Leave two of them alive."

'Leave two alive? That means I can kill the rest, right?'

Yang Qitian's face twisted into an even more savage grin as he charged at the guards.

He swatted them away one by one.

The guards were like punching bags, completely unable to withstand the assault.

The commotion was so huge that it immediately reached Li Xue's young assistant.

"President Li, this is bad! There are two psychos downstairs causing trouble! They're beating everyone up!"

The assistant added as she hurried along, "They're incredibly strong! They're sending the guards flying!"

Li Xue said, "Send the head of security. And get Kong Zheng and his team."

Kong Zheng glanced at Tang Shihuo. He realized that even with his own skills, he couldn't gauge the depths of Tang Shihuo's power.

"Protect President Li first!"

He made his decision. Mu Lin's power was far beyond theirs; protecting him was pointless. Li Xue, on the other hand, was the one who needed protection.

He led his team into the office, and Li Xue said urgently, "What are you all doing in here? Go protect Mu Lin!"

Kong Zheng replied, "President Li, our mission is to protect you!"

Li Xue was momentarily speechless, but her face hardened. "But I am ordering you to protect Mu Lin. Is that not an order you can follow?"

"Now go!"

"Where is Mu Lin?" a furious voice boomed from the office doorway.

Yang Qitian and Tang Shihuo strode into the room.

The two powerful martial artists stood there, their presence overwhelming and terrifying.

Yang Qitian looked Li Xue up and down, licking his lips. 'They really aren't kidding when they say Jiangnan is famous for its beauties.'

'He'd thought the receptionist was pretty, but Li Xue was on a whole other level.'

"You're Li Xue? The President of the Li Group?"

Yang Qitian said in a cold voice.

Li Xue was tense. She wrapped her arms around her waist and said with a stony expression:

"Yes, I am. What do you want?"

Tang Shihuo said, "I want to fuck you. If you don't want to die, start taking off your clothes."

Li Xue's face turned frosty. 'What the hell is this thing?'

'She'd encountered her share of lechers in her life, but she'd never met one so ridiculously blatant.'

"Captain Kong, get them out of here!"