Chapter 180: Crushing

The old man's icy gaze fell upon Zhou Qishan's face.

But there was nothing Zhou Qishan could do.

They were too weak!

Before the old man had forced his way in, he had received a call from Mr. Fang.

Mr. Fang had relayed the news, telling him that the Di Yang Li Family was dead set on annihilating the Anhua Li Family, and his attempts to mediate had been completely useless.

Not only that, Li Tian might even make an example of the Zhou Family to warn Mr. Fang.

Zhou Qishan naturally understood the gravity of the situation. He had immediately gathered everyone and moved them to the watchtower, even summoning Zhou Ying back from school. Right now, Zhou Ying was still on her way.

Leaving Zhou Ying out in the open was too dangerous. The Di Yang Li Clan could use some simple trick to get her under their control.

At that point, the Zhou Family's situation would only become more precarious.

To avoid being put in such a passive position, Elder Zhou had no choice but to have Zhou Ying return. No matter what, it was better to have her by his side.

Unexpectedly, just as they had finished moving into the watchtower and closed the gate, the old man arrived.

The old man was incredibly fierce. With a single, casual slash, a powerful Qi Force sliced off the top half of the watchtower.

Then with a light kick, he sent the watchtower's gate flying.

Only now did Zhou Qianfan understand what Mu Lin had meant when he said the watchtower was fragile.

In the eyes of a master of this caliber, the watchtower was no different from being made of paper.

He was filled with regret. 'If this was how it was going to be, we would have been better off staying in the villa district. The Li Family would have been warier of offending the other families there.'

Zhou Qianfan asked, "How does the Di Yang Li Clan intend to deal with me? Kill me, torture me—I'll accept it all. Just spare my family."

The old man's eyes were cold, as if he were looking at a colony of ants. "Is it your place to bargain? Who do you think you are?"

Zhou Qianfan felt helpless. The Zhou Family was, after all, a family of bureaucrats. Although they held some power in the Government, they were still unable to recruit enough top-tier masters.

For top-tier masters, martial strength was power in itself; they had no need to attach themselves to the Zhou Family.

They preferred to align with families that could offer them opportunities for advancement.

In cultivation, making even a little progress was more important than any amount of gold, silver, or even official positions.

No wonder the Zhou Family were nothing but ants in the old man's eyes.

The old man paused, then said, "The Li Family has no intention of taking your life. After all, killing you won't solve the problem."

"But a small punishment is unavoidable!"

'This is the consequence of having no strength,' Zhou Qianfan thought, utterly powerless. 'You are whatever your enemy says you are.'

'The enemy can mold you into any shape they please, and if you want to live, you have no choice but to comply.'

The moment his voice fell, the old man suddenly moved.

He dissolved into a blur of afterimages, lunging straight for Zhou Qianfan.

Their figures had barely touched when the old man rapidly retreated.

It was as light and graceful as a dragonfly skipping across water.

But Zhou Qianfan's mouth twisted, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner.

Immediately after, blood began to stream from his eyes, nose, and ears.

A rampaging Qi Force coursed through his body, throwing his internal energy into complete chaos.

A wave of weakness washed over him, and he collapsed limply to the ground.

"Qianfan!" his wife shrieked.

"My son!" Elder Zhou's cry was just as miserable. How tragic it would be for a white-haired man to bury his black-haired son.

The Zhou Family had been prominent for countless years; he never imagined they would end up in such a state.

After dealing with Zhou Qianfan, the old man turned his gaze to Elder Zhou and his daughter-in-law on the sofa.

With a mere grasping motion in the air, the sofa instantly disintegrated into countless strips of fabric and wisps of cotton, which drifted and fluttered in the air.

The old man then pushed his hand through the empty air, and a powerful force shot toward Zhou Qishan and his daughter-in-law.

The two of them tumbled across the floor and slammed into the wall.

Blood seeped from their mouths as they both fell unconscious.

"A decree from Tian!"

"Zhou Qishan is sentenced to be bedridden for half a month, with only half a year left to live!"

"Zhou Qianfan is to be muddle-headed, living out his days in dementia!"

"Mrs. Zhou of the Zhang Family is to be drained of Qi and Blood, becoming a withered husk!"

The old man's figure moved back and forth among the three of them.

In just a few moments, he had carried out the punishment with his own methods.

Then, he transformed into a gust of green wind and vanished in an instant.

Cries of grief filled the Zhou Family residence. A somber, deathly aura hung over the ruined watchtower.

Mu Lin rushed along, spotting the Zhou Clan Watchtower from a distance.

'I have to hand it to them,' he thought wryly. 'I told them over and over that the Zhou Clan Watchtower looked strong but was actually incredibly fragile. Why didn't they believe me?'

The watchtower was now in ruins. The three-story structure had been cut in half, leaving it only one and a half stories tall.

Fortunately, the remaining one and a half stories were unoccupied, so no one was harmed in the collapse.

But such a grand display of power still surprised Mu Lin. 'Just who could be capable of this?'

As soon as he got closer, he sensed something was wrong.

The smell of blood put him on high alert.

He surveyed the scene: injured people were strewn across the floor, and many of the guards had suffered injuries to their very foundation.

As the leader, Chen Jingyun had been singled out for special attention. He had been struck an unknown number of times all over his body, his bones shattered. It would take an immense amount of effort to recover.

Fortunately, Mu Lin knew medicine and could snatch their lives back from the Ghost Gate.

Mu Lin checked the guards one by one, first using the quickest methods to stabilize them and save their lives.

He would treat them more thoroughly later, when he had time.

After taking less than a minute to deal with the guards, Mu Lin went to check on the Zhou Family members.

'This is inhuman...' Mu Lin was truly enraged. 'A quick death is one thing, but what kind of grudge could justify such vicious methods?'

The most heavily injured was Zhou Qianfan. His skin was severely damaged all over, and it looked like there wasn't a single patch of unscathed flesh on him.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. The most serious problem was a rampaging Qi Force coursing through his body, repeatedly damaging his fundamental vital energy.

This was causing Zhou Qianfan's life force to decline rapidly. If Mu Lin hadn't arrived, Zhou Qianfan would have certainly died.

No matter how miraculous Mu Lin's skills were, the patient's organs and meridians had to be at least intact.

And this insidious, rampaging energy was wreaking havoc in those very places.

Once it reached a certain point, he would be incurable.

Mu Lin felt that this Qi Force was somewhat familiar, like the sinister energy inside Wei Jianjun...

But for now, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Several silver needles appeared at Mu Lin's fingertips and landed on Zhou Qianfan's body. He then made a light grasping motion with his five fingers, and a moment later, a stream of sinister, toxic energy slowly seeped out.

Its aura and color were identical to the one from inside Wei Jianjun.

'It's the same person,' at least, that's what Mu Lin thought.

He had to focus on saving them now, so he pushed those thoughts aside and continued his work.

He treated them one by one. But his Acupuncture Technique wasn't omnipotent, after all. Although the symptoms were alleviated, the permanent damage they had suffered would have to be mended through future dietary therapy.

Everyone's injuries were stabilized, but they remained unconscious.

After a short while, Zhou Qianfan awoke from his coma.

Seeing Mu Lin, he struggled to support himself and tried to get up.

"Mu Lin..."

Mu Lin quickly supported him. "Uncle Zhou, don't rush, don't move..."

Zhou Qianfan lay back down weakly, and Mu Lin cupped his hand under Zhou Qianfan's head.

"Uncle Zhou, who was that man?"

Zhou Qianfan grabbed Mu Lin's hand. "Never mind me! Hurry back, he's going after Miss Li Xue!"

Mu Lin's eyes suddenly reddened, and a murderous aura erupted around him.

"Was it the Di Yang Li Clan? They came this early?"

Zhou Qianfan sighed. "Yes, that's right."

Mu Lin gathered a few clumps of cotton, wrapped them in some torn fabric, and placed them under the heads of the Zhou Family members.

After doing this, he said, "Uncle Zhou, rest easy. I'll be back as soon as I've dealt with that bastard!"

Zhou Qianfan, thinking Mu Lin didn't know the man's strength, quickly said:

"Mu Lin, that man's power is no small matter!"

But just as he was about to elaborate, Mu Lin had already transformed into a gust of wind, flying away with a WHOOSH.

His speed was so incredible it left one speechless, utterly dumbfounded.

「Over at the Li Family Villa.」

Wei Jianjun found a security guard in Sector Three and asked him for the location of the Li Family's home.

The guard saw that Wei Jianjun was an old man and assumed he was trying to enter the community to collect scrap. He immediately put on a sour face and refused to let him in.

"Go on, get out of here!"

In response, Wei Jianjun slammed his hand on the guard post's desk, and the desk instantly turned to dust.

Wei Jianjun then said in a low voice, "I am asking you a question, which is more than you deserve. The Li Family is in danger, and I have been entrusted with their protection. If anything happens because of this delay, I'll deal with you personally!"

Terrified, the guard scrambled to let him pass.