Chapter 150: The Story Behind the Li Family

Mu Lin pressed, "Uncle Zhou, please tell me the details. What's the exact connection?"

Zhou Qianfan said, "Over sixty years ago, the old patriarch of the Di Yang Li Clan passed away, sparking a fierce battle for succession. The struggle centered on the fourth son, Li Hao, and the eldest son, Li Tian."

Mu Lin fell silent for a moment. 'No wonder Elder Li said his family wasn't from here.'

'But Elder Li had claimed they came here as refugees. That wasn't the real story at all.'

Zhou Qianfan continued, "Li Hao... who I believe is your Elder Li, fled all the way to Anhua City and put down roots. Since then, he has confined his activities to Anhua, and the two branches have left each other alone... I have no idea why they've suddenly started feuding again."

Mu Lin sighed. 'Most likely, the Di Yang Li Clan felt they were losing out by not finishing Elder Li off. That, combined with some other frustrations, was enough to start a war.'

'What can you even say about something like that?'

"Okay, Uncle Zhou, I think I basically get it. I have a theory. Could you help me confirm something?"

"Go ahead."

"Was the Yuelong Group backed by the Di Yang Li Clan?"

Zhou Qianfan almost laughed. "Are you kidding? How could..."

He flipped through the documents his subordinate had handed him and exclaimed, "My God, is that even possible?"

"The Yuelong Group's first investors and its initial dozens of projects were all brokered by the Li Family... No wonder they developed so well. It was like they were in a different league entirely!"

"Mu Lin, my young friend, for your Elder Li to build the Li Group into what it is today under that kind of pressure... he's truly incredible!"

Zhou Qianfan's praise was heartfelt.

Mu Lin just smiled and said, "I understand now. I'll let you get back to it, Uncle Zhou. I'll call you if anything else comes up!"

'To succeed under what was basically hell mode... Elder Li really is something else. He deserves Zhou Qianfan's praise.'

'But now the Di Yang Li Clan has come charging in, and Elder Li is lying in a hospital bed. What can we do?'

Mu Lin looked up and saw Li Xue and Li Yinhe walk past him. Their faces were grim, completely devoid of smiles.

They didn't even see Mu Lin as they walked straight ahead.

Toward a private room.

Mu Lin memorized the room number and turned back to his table. "Manager Wang, who's in private room 150?"

Manager Wang asked, "What is it?"

"President Li and Chairman Li just went into that room!" Mu Lin's expression was awful; he had a terrible feeling about this.

Manager Wang quickly checked on his phone, his expression shifting rapidly. "It's the Li Family's Third Young Master, Li Tianxiang!"

Mu Lin's face darkened.

Liu Yiming was aghast. "What are we going to do? They just walked into the lion's den! I'm afraid they won't be getting out of there anytime soon!"

Mu Lin nodded. He understood the gravity of the situation—in fact, he saw a layer of danger that Liu Yiming had missed.

"I have to go check on them," Manager Wang said. "No matter what, this is my hotel. It's my responsibility."

Liu Yiming pushed his chair back and started to stand, but Mu Lin stopped him. "Elder Liu, the entire Liu Family is depending on you. You don't need to take this risk. I appreciate the sentiment, though."

Liu Yiming sighed. 'What a good kid.'

'If this can be resolved peacefully, that's great. But if things turn ugly, this might be the last time I ever see him.'

Liu Yiming said with a grave expression, "In that case, Mu Lin, my friend, please be extremely careful."

Mu Lin said to Manager Wang, "Manager Wang, you lead the way."

'As the hotel manager, he has a reason to be anywhere. It won't be a problem for him to go first.'

"Mr. Mu, please, exercise restraint. No matter what happens between you all, I still have to run this hotel..." Manager Wang whispered.

Mu Lin said, "I understand your predicament. I'll try not to break anything."

'That's not what I meant,' Manager Wang thought. 'If word of this gets out, Huangshang Huang's reputation will take a hit.'

'The best-case scenario is to de-escalate this, but from the looks of it, there's no chance of that happening.'

'All I can do is play it by ear and hope for an opening.'

Li Tianxiang picked at a fruit platter with a toothpick in his mouth, his patience wearing thin.

"Where are they? I told them they had one hour. Do they really want to be wiped out?"

A subordinate suddenly walked in. "Third Young Master, they're here!"

Li Tianxiang nodded and waved his subordinate on, letting him show the visitors in.

Li Yinhe walked in first and pushed open the door, with Li Xue following behind him.

Li Tianxiang cursed Li Yinhe's very existence for blocking his view of Li Xue's exquisite figure.

Still, the mere glimpse of her face and the curve of her waist was enough to make him fantasize about what it would feel like to have her pinned beneath him.

"Uncle! It's been too long! I didn't expect to see you looking so hale and hearty!"

In truth, they had barely ever met. Their last formal meeting was over thirty years ago, when Li Tianxiang was just a baby.

The few chance encounters they'd had since were for business, and the atmosphere had always been terrible.

Even with such limited contact, the lecherous fiend Li Tianxiang had targeted Li Xue, harassing her from time to time.

It had given Li Xue a deep-seated revulsion toward men.

Communication between the two branches of the family was, in reality, almost nonexistent.

As the old saying goes, a distant relative is less helpful than a close neighbor. For the two Li families, the situation was far worse.

Their dynamic was one of mutual destruction.

Li Tianxiang pointed to the seat beside him. "Li Xue, my dear cousin, come, sit! It makes your big brother so happy to see you've grown even more beautiful!"

Li Xue didn't move. She wouldn't sit there unless Li Tianxiang physically forced her.

Seeing her stand motionless, Li Tianxiang's expression soured, but he didn't force the issue.

'She's my cousin, after all. There's only so much I can do. It's a pain being able to look but not touch.'

'So, might as well just let her stand.'

"Uncle, where's my Fourth Grand-uncle? Didn't I say I wanted everyone here? There are consequences for not taking my words seriously."

Li Yinhe replied, "Elder Li is injured and in a coma. He's in the ICU and can't come. If you're looking for an excuse to make trouble, then do as you please. We're not afraid of you."

Oh? Li Tianxiang glanced at his subordinate. 'My men didn't know about this? How incompetent.'

The subordinate was terrified. If Li Tianxiang decided to throw a tantrum over this, he'd be the one getting skinned alive.

'That drunken waste Wu Long has been locked up for days, so it's normal he wouldn't know.'

'I guess the heavens are on my side. It's great that the guy who defied the true Li line is getting taken out. Saves me the trouble.'

'Still, it feels a bit empty not doing it myself. It's a shame.'

Li Tianxiang shook his head. "No matter. I was just missing him, is all. As for what's next, with a Chairman and a President here, you two have the authority to decide."

Li Yinhe narrowed his eyes. He had no idea what Li Tianxiang was about to bring up.

Li Tianxiang gestured, and a few of his men dragged Wu Long out.

The moment Li Xue and Li Yinhe saw Wu Long, their faces changed.

Wu Long was barely recognizable as a human. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight, leaving him little more than skin and bones, his flesh hanging loosely from his frame.

In this state, he looked more like a monster than a man.

'How... how did this happen?'

Li Xue remembered Mu Lin saying that Wu Long was being held in a hospital.

'Could Mu Lin have done this?'

Li Yinhe's expression darkened further. "You're the ones behind the Yuelong Group?"

Li Tianxiang chuckled. "Who else could it be? A company that came from nothing, run by a brute who didn't even finish middle school, suddenly becomes a real estate magnate. Did you think you were watching some power-fantasy movie?"

"Every single cent invested in the Yuelong Group came from my Li Family. If you trace back all the shares, they all lead back to my Li Family's holdings."

"Isn't that perfectly normal?"

Li Yinhe said, "Then all the restrictions, the pressure, the dirty tricks the Yuelong Group used against our Li Group..."

Li Tianxiang said, "That's right. All my ideas. What can I say? I was assigned to handle this matter. Don't be too upset. As it turns out, I have a real talent for it."

Li Yinhe pursed his lips, then paused. "Why are you trying to hunt us to extinction? Is that really necessary?"

Li Tianxiang chuckled. "Hunt you to extinction? What are you talking about? Haven't we let you scrape by for over sixty years? But all good things must come to an end. What belongs to the Li Family must, sooner or later, be returned to the Li Family."

Li Yinhe shot back, "What 'Li Family' are you talking about! When Elder Li fled from Di Yang, he had nothing! He started out as a common laborer, carrying mud. He built this empire step by step, entirely through our own Li Family's hard work."

"It has nothing to do with your Di Yang Li Clan! We haven't been part of your family for over sixty years!"