Chapter 178: Just Pretend We're Strangers

Liu Yiming walked behind, seeing Mu Lin out.

"Elder Liu, you don't need to see me out. If outsiders see us being too close, it will have a considerable impact on the Liu Family."

Liu Yiming gritted his teeth. "Mu Lin, I am a Grandmaster, after all, and I know quite a few people in the Martial Dao world. If I step forward, I imagine the Li Family won't dare make a rash move against me. Why don't you come with me to Di Yang, apologize to their clan, pay some compensation, and this will all be over? Why let it escalate to the point of war?"

Li Tianxiang was the grandson of Patriarch Li's third brother. As long as they could persuade the patriarch, the third branch would have no choice but to swallow their pride and back down.

Mu Lin shook his head. "Elder Liu, things aren't as simple as you think. In the Martial Dao world, the prevailing law is the law of the jungle. In fact, the Di Yang Li Family has always been plotting to annex the Anhua Li Family. Li Tianxiang came to Anhua for this very reason."

"They wanted us dead even when things were peaceful. Now that I've killed one of their grandsons, they'll suddenly be willing to make peace with me? Isn't that a joke?"

Liu Yiming's expression turned incredibly grave; he truly hadn't considered that angle.

"Elder Liu, I'll take my leave."

With that, Mu Lin turned and strode away.

Liu Qizhou stepped out from the doorway, his expression deeply conflicted as he watched Mu Lin's departing figure.

"Should we really do this? If we gathered the full might of the Liu Family, we might just be able to fight the Di Yang Li Family to the death. If we won, the Liu Family and the Anhua Li Family would carve up the Di Yang Li Family's territory. How incredible would that be!" Liu Qizhou said.

Liu Yiming glanced at his son. "If you were to do that, I shouldn't have passed my position on to you in the first place!"

Liu Qizhou felt extremely wronged. "Dad, I was just saying. Did you hear Mu Lin's tone? It was so nonchalant. Something about President Li being a nuisance, so he wanted to 'store' him somewhere. It's like he doesn't even see the Di Yang Li Family as a threat!"

"He's already pulled off so many miracles. What if…?"

Liu Yiming gave Liu Qizhou a deep look. "But have you considered the cost if we fail?"

Liu Qizhou's expression turned grim, and he suddenly fell silent.

If they failed, the Liu Family would be wiped from the face of Anhua. The consequences would be dire.

"Sigh… The Di Yang Li Clan has countless masters in its service. Back when I roamed the Jianghu, a team of several Grandmasters, arrogant in their profound cultivation, spoke disrespectfully to the Li Patriarch. And do you know what happened? A single, unassuming expert stepped out from the Li Clan's ranks and annihilated all of them. Every single one was a renowned Grandmaster!"

Recalling this, a look of terror crossed Liu Yiming's face, as if he were transported back to those tumultuous times.

Liu Qizhou's face twisted. "Then you're saying, Mu Lin will also…"

Liu Yiming closed his eyes. "This kid is used to rampaging through Anhua; it's only normal that he can't pull back in time. You could call it cosmic justice, a swift retribution. We were lucky to befriend him while he was on the rise and get some benefits out of it. That's more than enough."

Liu Qizhou's scalp tingled as he listened. His father's words were like hammering the last nail in Mu Lin's coffin. It was as if the Mu Lin who had just walked out was already a dead man.

Hearing that Mu Lin had arrived, Liu Yifang came out of her room. When she saw the grief-stricken expressions on her grandfather's and father's faces, she asked in confusion,

"What's wrong? I heard Mu Lin was here. Where is he?"

Liu Qizhou said, "He left! And he probably won't be having any dealings with our family anymore!"

Liu Yifang was very confused. Didn't Mu Lin and the Liu Family have a very good relationship?

'She knew her grandfather was even considering marrying her off to Mu Lin, and she wasn't entirely against the idea—unfortunately, Mu Lin clearly had no such interest.'

'But that shouldn't be enough to cause a falling out like this, right?'

"What happened? Why did you have a falling out?!"

Liu Qizhou said, "Mu Lin provoked someone he shouldn't have! The Liu Family really can't help him! That's all there is to it!"

Liu Yifang was dumbfounded. "You really can't help him?"

Liu Yiming said, "We really can't. Your dad already made a huge fuss with me about it!"

"Dad, who made a fuss?!"

"Fine, you didn't make a fuss. It's a good thing our interactions with Mu Lin were all private. Not many people know, so the Li Family definitely won't come looking for trouble with us."

"From now on, have less contact with him. We need to draw a clear line!"

Mu Lin hadn't walked far and heard everything clearly. He didn't blame Elder Liu.

'They don't know my true strength, so it's only natural for them to play it safe.'

Mu Lin went to the company, sat for a bit, clocked in, and Xue Yang walked over.

"Mu Lin, you've got some nerve, not showing up for work for so long. If President Li finds out, he'll have your hide!"

Mu Lin smiled. "President Li hasn't been to work in a long time either, has he? What right does he have to punish me?"

Xue Yang's eyes widened. "How'd you know?!"

Mu Lin smiled. "Not telling!"

Turning, he entered the special team's office, and Chen Xi immediately rushed over.

"Brother Lin, great news!"

Mu Lin was baffled. 'What great news?'

He'd been so busy these last few days he hadn't had a moment's rest and had paid no attention to what the special team was up to.

"What is it? Tell me!"

"The project our team is in charge of has broken ground!"

"Where did this project come from? Which team gave it to us?" Mu Lin asked.

Chen Xi puffed out his chest and said smugly, "What are you talking about! I'm the one who won it with a blind bid. It proves my hard work has paid off!"

Zhou Yu grabbed a project proposal and handed it to Mu Lin.

Mu Lin was dumbfounded as he read it. It was a project plan for municipal low-income housing, drafted by Chen Xi with the other two as his assistants.

This kind of project didn't seem to have a big profit margin, but in reality, there were many ways to squeeze profits from it.

It had always been the exclusive domain of Yuelong Group. Looking at the materials, Mu Lin could see that the Li Group had actually never managed to land this kind of project before.

'What's going on here?'

On one hand, it was possible that Yuelong Group had already ceased operations and couldn't even participate in the bidding.

On the other hand, it could be that Wu Long had pulled some strings behind the scenes, specifically giving this bid to Mu Lin's special team.

It was a gesture of goodwill.

Whichever it was, it was a good thing.

Mu Lin patted Chen Xi's shoulder. "See? I told you studying hard is useful. Keep up this momentum, and sooner or later you'll catch up to the first three teams!"

Chen Xi puffed out his chest. "Yes, sir!"

After work, Mu Lin left the company. The first thing he did was go check on the Holy Medicine Hall.

'Should I have the Zhaos, grandfather and granddaughter, move as well?'

'Zhao Yang definitely won't want to leave right away. How can I explain the gravity of the situation to him?'

As he mulled it over, Mu Lin walked into the Holy Medicine Hall.

Zhao Ling'er was sweeping the courtyard. When she saw Mu Lin, her eyes immediately lit up.

"Brother Mu! You're here!"

Mu Lin laughed. "Haha, of course. Where's your grandfather?"

"Grandpa is inside with Elder Wei and the others!"

'Elder Wei is here too?' A strange look flashed in Mu Lin's eyes, but Zhao Ling'er, immersed in her joy, didn't notice.

"Then I'll go say hello!"

Mu Lin strode into the main hall of the Holy Medicine Hall, only to see Divine Doctor Zhao fumbling to pour tea.

The tea ceremony was clearly not his specialty, yet he insisted on pretending to be cultured, and the result was incredibly comical.

But Elder Wei didn't care at all and was even clapping from the side!

Wei Nianru was very knowledgeable about the tea ceremony. Watching Divine Doctor Zhao's performance made her cringe, so she turned her head to look outside.

Out of sight, out of mind. But then she saw Mu Lin and Zhao Ling'er walk in, holding hands.

She jumped to her feet. "Holding hands in public! Have you no sense of propriety?!"

Zhao Ling'er just held on tighter. "None of your business!"

Wei Jianjun quickly stopped his granddaughter. "Stop arguing! You're annoying everyone."

Mu Lin greeted Wei Jianjun, who responded in kind and motioned for him to sit.

Mu Lin obediently sat down, and they started to make small talk.

Halfway through the conversation, Mu Lin suddenly said,

"Elder Wei, you're not in a hurry to return home, are you?"

Elder Wei laughed cheerfully. "Anhua has food, drink, and fun. I'm so happy I've forgotten to go home. Why should I be in a hurry to go back?"

Mu Lin nodded, satisfied. "In that case, I have a favor to ask, though it may be presumptuous. I hope you can grant it!"

Wei Nianru instantly perked up. 'What sort of 'favor' could he be asking her grandfather to grant?'

'Her heart instantly started to pound.'

Elder Wei said, "Go on."

"Have you heard of the Di Yang Li Clan?"

Elder Wei chuckled. "Their name is as loud as thunder. Why do you ask? Could it be that you want to use me to get acquainted with the Di Yang Li Clan? That would be easy. I do have some influence with them!"

Mu Lin pursed his lips and said slowly, "Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite…"