Chapter 186: Face Slap

"Well now, Patriarch Zhou is here too? You're a tough one to kill," Li Hetu said with ill intent.

Zhou Qianfan glanced at Li Hetu, not bothering to stoop to his level, and turned to keep walking.

He walked up to Li Tian and said, "Patriarch Li, I trust you've been well."

This drove Li Hetu mad with rage.

"Zhou Qianfan, you piece of shit! You're just a dog relying on its master's power. You dare ignore me just because you have some expert watching your back?"

Zhou Qianfan and Li Hetu had been at each other's throats for years and were well-versed in this dance. He was about to fire back.

But unexpectedly, Mu Lin raised a hand and pointed at Li Hetu. "Does this man have any manners at all? Cursing someone the moment you see them. Is this the kind of person the Li Family raises?"

Li Hetu cursed back, "Whether I have manners or not is none of your damn business!"

"If you have no manners, then you deserve to be taught a lesson!" Mu Lin said, raising his hand to strike.

"Wait!" Li Tian hurriedly stopped him.

"Li Hetu, slap yourself!"

Mu Lin's power was immense. He didn't dare find out what the consequences of that slap would be.

Comparing the two, it was far better to have Li Hetu slap his own face.

Li Hetu's eyes were filled with resentment and fury, but with a Grandmaster like Mu Lin standing before him, there was very little he could do.

He gritted his teeth, swung his arm in a wide arc, and slapped himself hard across the face.

'This isn't me hitting myself. This is Zhou Qianfan hitting me.'

"Apologize! Do I need to tell you what to do?" Li Tian urged.

A venomous hatred glittered in Li Hetu's eyes, mixed with a host of other emotions.

He bowed deeply to Zhou Qianfan and said:

"Mr. Zhou, please forgive me. My manners are lacking. I was in the wrong."

The corners of Zhou Qianfan's mouth twitched upward, but he quickly suppressed the smile.

"It's nothing. We're old acquaintances. It's normal to have a small squabble now and then. No need to make a big deal out of it."

'Inwardly, he was ecstatic. Was this a joke? This was the Di Yang Li Family!'

'His Zhou Family might be a big deal in Anhua, and they had some influence in Di Yang City, but that was only if they didn't run into one of the six great families.'

'Otherwise, they had to bow and scrape, to live with their tails between their legs. It was an awful feeling.'

'Because of this, he and Li Hetu had clashed many times, and their resentment ran deep.'

'Without Mu Lin, how could an arrogant bastard like Li Hetu, who looks down on everyone, possibly apologize to me?'

But he understood that the Li Family was only doing this because they were pressured by Mu Lin.

If Mu Lin weren't here, their attitude would surely be completely different.

"Mu Lin, they may be acting polite on the surface, but I don't think they'll let me off the hook."

Mu Lin lowered his voice and swept his gaze around the room. "Yeah, I think so too."

Zhou Qianfan found this ridiculous. "Then why not just deal with them all for good?"

"How would we do that? Kill them all? The Anhua Li Family and the Di Yang Li Clan are related. We can't act rashly for fear of collateral damage. What if Elder Li wakes up and thinks we went too far? It's a headache for me, too!"

Zhou Qianfan sighed. He had a point.

"Besides, I can sense the aura of a Divine Realm expert here. If I go too far, it's highly likely that expert will emerge from seclusion... and I'm not confident I can handle that."

"With Elder Li in a coma right now, I think it's best not to do anything too extreme. We'll see what happens after we've finished our business here."

Zhou Qianfan nodded in agreement. Mu Lin's plan was a prudent one.

He also felt helpless about Elder Li's condition.

He hadn't found a single trace of the medicinal ingredients Mu Lin had asked him to find.

He felt quite guilty about letting Mu Lin down.

"So you mean, you're playing the long game? Lure out all of the Li Family's trump cards before making a move?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Exactly. First, we need to figure out what the Di Yang Li Clan is really made of. If they know what's good for them, we'll just take back what belongs to Elder Li. If they don't, we'll take everything."

Hearing Mu Lin's words, Zhou Qianfan's expression shifted repeatedly.

"So that's your plan..." Zhou Qianfan took out a small handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

"By the way, Mu Xiaoyou, about the medicine to save Elder Li... I couldn't find any, but do you think the Li Family might have some in stock? They're one of the six great families, after all. It's very likely they have some stored away."

Mu Lin thought for a moment. That made sense.

With that, he turned and went back into the main hall.

The members of the Li Family were about to disperse and head to work, but seeing Mu Lin return made them fume.

"Is there no end to this?!"

Mu Lin said, "Li Hao is currently in a coma and needs medicinal treatment. Since you all share the surname Li, I'm sure you'd be willing to contribute some ingredients."

'Go to hell,' Li Tian thought. But Mu Lin was too powerful to provoke, so he could only ask, "What do you want? Spit it out."

Mu Lin listed the names of the herbs.

"Li Hao has been unconscious for so long. You must have been searching for these ingredients with all your might. It makes no difference whether you tell us, or we find them ourselves."

Li Tian stood with his hands behind his back and said wistfully, "Birth, old age, sickness, and death... these are things beyond our control. I'm telling you, you need to learn to let things go."

Mu Lin chuckled. "Did you think I was negotiating with you? My meaning is, you will find these items for me immediately. Otherwise, I'll randomly pick three people from your family's collateral branches and kill them."

This move from Mu Lin also took the hidden Divine Realm master into account.

If he touched anyone from the main branch, or Li Tian himself, the Divine Realm master would certainly intervene.

But killing members of the collateral branches was a less tense situation.

For example, when Mu Lin had used force against Li Tianxiang, Li Tian had backed down without hesitation.

'It proved these people were expendable.'

'But they couldn't be sacrificed casually, either. Such weakness would shake the foundations of Li Tian's power. He would have to make an effort if he wanted to continue ruling the Di Yang Li Family securely.'

Hearing this, Li Tian's face grew tense. "Don't! I can... I can try to find them!"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Well then, I'm about to start!"

"Patriarch!" a few members of the collateral branches cried out in panic.

Li Tian wiped his sweat, gritted his teeth, and said, "They're all in the storeroom! I'll have them brought to you shortly!"

"You see?" Mu Lin said. "I knew you had it in you. I have high hopes for you, Patriarch Li!"

"One more thing," Mu Lin said slowly. "You've been suppressing the Anhua Li Family for so long. Shouldn't you offer some monetary compensation?"

Li Tian pressed his lips into a thin line, glaring at Mu Lin. "How much do you want?"

Although Mu Lin didn't voice a direct threat, his eyes were full of menace.

The threat to randomly pick three members of the collateral branches and kill them likely still stood.

It was practically forcing Li Tian to make a choice, otherwise his position as Patriarch of the Li Family would be in jeopardy.

"You decide. Asking me how much makes it sound like I actually have a say in the Li Family's affairs."

'His status in the Li Family was laughably low, after all.'

"One hundred million?"

Mu Lin rubbed his hands together. "Are you trying to give spare change to a beggar? The Li Family's monthly profits are more than that!"

"One billion?"

"Zhu Qiyu makes investments of one billion at a time. Let me tell you, the Anhua Li Family isn't what it used to be. One billion won't even begin to fill their stomachs."

"Two billion?"

Mu Lin chuckled. "I see. So this is how little the members of your collateral branches are worth in your eyes."

Li Tian gritted his teeth and said viciously, "Five billion, is that enough? That's all the liquid capital we have on the books right now! If you ask for any more, you might as well just take my life!"

Mu Lin figured it was about time to stop. "Look at you, look at you. Why make it so difficult? What would I do with your life? You're my grandfather's elder brother. Do you take me for some kinslayer?"

The surrounding crowd was so angry they ground their teeth. Mu Lin was truly despicable.

Mu Lin then added, "Five billion it is. I hope you can be quick about it. I'm on a tight schedule, and when I get anxious... I tend to start killing people."

This made the Li Family members extremely anxious, and they rushed to prepare.

Spurred on by the fear of death, they were incredibly efficient. In just a moment, they presented a jade box and several bank cards.

"Not bad, not bad. That'll be all," Mu Lin nodded in satisfaction. "Uncle Zhou, let's go."

The moment Mu Lin and his companion left, the sound of shattering glass echoed from the main hall.

Someone had picked up a cup and smashed a window.

"Damn it!"

"Grandfather, why did we give in to him? When has our Li Family ever been so cowardly?" This was clearly a junior from the main branch, who had no fear of being randomly chosen by Mu Lin.

"First Uncle, if you act like this, all the other great families will be able to come to our Li Family and take advantage of us! Will we ever have a day of peace again?"

"Big Brother, the juniors aren't wrong. We can't let this continue!"

Li Tian said with a grim face, "What's the rush? Do you really think I'd let my own family get the short end of the stick?"