Chapter 187: Settling the Score

The others paused, not daring to say more.

'Isn't this perfectly normal?' they thought.

'So Li Tianxiang isn't human? You're the one who let that whole thing go.'

'Who knows if you'll sell out the branch families again?'

Li Tian's face was grim. "First, we let Li Hao's family enjoy their moment. Everything we gave them, we will take back!"

"Do you think I wanted to grit my teeth and play nice with them? In your dreams! I wish I could strangle every last one of them!"

"But Mu Lin's power is undeniable. If I had tried to use force, not a single one of you here would have survived!"

At Li Tian's words, the faces of the others fell.

'The Patriarch truly is the Patriarch. He thinks so deeply!'

'That really is the core of the issue.'

"If Pure Yang Zhenren were here today, I never would have let him act so arrogantly. To challenge me like that... I would have made sure he left a pound of his flesh behind!"

Pure Yang Zhenren was the strongest warrior sponsored by the Li Family, a true master of the Innate Divine Realm.

If he had been here, Mu Lin would have been nothing more than a fly, and Grandmaster Wang, heir to the Gold and Silver Palm, would not have died.

The Gold and Silver Palm was nearly a lost art. With one less Grandmaster, another flicker of hope for its continuation was extinguished.

"Now that scoundrel Mu Lin has left, I can begin to lay my plans for revenge." Li Tian sat back down in the armchair, calm and composed, showing no signs of anxiety.

The impatient Li Family members now understood, and their thoughts followed Li Tian's lead.

"As long as Pure Yang Zhenren returns, Mu Lin is a dead man! We can crush them in one fell swoop. The price for daring to provoke the Li Family is the annihilation of their entire clan!"

"That kid is greedy. He planned to take his time, bleeding us dry bit by bit until he'd swallowed all the Li Family's assets. But what he never expected is that the Li Family are no lambs to the slaughter!"

"We wait! We just have to wait!" Li Tian declared. "Once Pure Yang Zhenren returns, everything will be fine!"

"Yes!"

The Li Family members responded in unison.

Mu Lin and Zhou Qianfan were in high spirits, talking and laughing all the way back to the hotel.

Zhou Ying was sprawled on the bed watching television. The hotel had an excellent selection of channels, even picking up good ones from Hong Kong Island.

The handsome men on screen had Zhou Ying so captivated that she didn't even hear her father and Mu Lin return.

"Ah, Dad! Brother Mu! You're back!" Zhou Ying exclaimed in delight.

Mu Lin smiled. "We are! Where would you like to go for fun?"

She gazed into the distance, lost in thought. "I don't know! I'm not from Di Yang, so I have no idea what's fun to do around here."

"As long as Brother Mu is with me, I'll have fun anywhere!" Zhou Ying declared dreamily.

Mu Lin scratched his head. He never would have thought Zhou Ying could be so forward.

Zhou Qianfan wanted to laugh but held back out of respect for Mu Lin. "Daughter, you need to be considerate. Mu Lin is very busy and doesn't have much time for fun!"

Zhou Ying's face fell, but Zhou Qianfan quickly added:

"He can take you for a walk around, at most!"

"A walk is fine! But what happened with the Li Family? Are they still going to cause trouble for Brother Mu?"

Zhou Qianfan shook his head. "Probably not. But it's hard to say for sure..."

Zhou Qianfan briefly explained what had happened. Zhou Ying listened, her round eyes wide.

"Oh my god, Brother Mu is so strong!" She didn't have a particularly deep understanding of the Martial Dao.

She wasn't clear on things like power levels, either.

But she knew Mu Lin had defeated all the experts, and she thought that was incredible. Her eyes shone with adoration as she looked at him.

Mu Lin chuckled. "I'm not that great. My master always says I haven't even gotten my foot in the door."

Zhou Qianfan's scalp tingled. 'If this isn't great, what does great even look like?'

'If he gets any stronger, how could anyone even handle him?'

Zhou Ying leaned toward Mu Lin. "Brother Mu, do I have a chance to become as 'bad' at this as you are?"

Zhou Qianfan rubbed his face, feeling a headache coming on.

'What does she mean, 'as bad as you are'...? Is my daughter being serious, or is she mocking Mu Lin?'

"You can," Mu Lin said. "My master says that as long as one has the will, anyone can enter the Dao."

"Then will you teach me, please?" Zhou Ying asked with innocent charm.

"Sure."

Zhou Qianfan's heart began to POUND. "Ying'Er, don't be ridiculous! It hasn't been easy for Mu Lin to reach his current level of cultivation. How could he just casually pass on his Dharma Gate?"

Zhou Ying lowered her head. After a moment's thought, she nodded slowly. "You're right."

"No, Uncle Zhou, it's good that she asked. You city folk make cultivation out to be too big a deal. It's not like that. As long as you have the will, you can start cultivating anytime."

"You can, Zhou Ying can, even Elder Zhou. I can teach him a few simple Dharma Gates."

THUMP THUMP THUMP...

Zhou Qianfan's heart hammered in his chest. 'Does this mean the Zhou Family will be filled with experts?'

'But that's not right. Cultivating doesn't automatically make someone an expert.'

'The path of cultivation is fraught with peril. In the end, very few can achieve true mastery and become as formidable as Mu Lin.'

'The vast majority stumble and fall over minor hurdles.'

'But even if it's just for strengthening the body and prolonging one's life, the value is still immense.'

With this thought, Zhou Qianfan's wariness subsided, and he let Mu Lin and Zhou Ying continue their chat.

Mu Lin said to Zhou Ying, "Zhou Ying, if you really want to cultivate, I can give you a list of medicinal herbs. After you've gathered them, I'll teach you how to refine them into medicine with your own hands."

Zhou Ying's eyes lit up. "Okay! I'll just have my servants find them for me!"

Mu Lin tilted his head. "So you're always going to have servants wait on you?"

Zhou Ying looked bewildered. "Why can't I? I'm the young lady of the Zhou Family. Isn't it normal for me to order the servants to do things?"

Zhou Qianfan broke into a cold sweat. 'I've really spoiled her too much. She doesn't even know how the world works.'

'Mu Lin is definitely going to be angry... And just like that, the Zhou Family's chance to rise will be lost...'

'What a terrible shame!'

But Mu Lin wasn't actually angry. Zhou Ying was simply used to her lifestyle; she thought it was normal and had no intention of bullying anyone.

"On the path of cultivation, there are no young ladies or young masters. Everyone must take care of their own affairs," Mu Lin said slowly. "If you can't find the necessary herbs yourself, then I won't be able to teach you much step-by-step."

Zhou Ying grew thoughtful. A moment later, she understood.

"I get it! I'll use my own two hands to find the herbs! I won't rely on anyone else!"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Bring me a pen and paper."

Zhou Ying brought over a book to use as a hard surface and handed the pen and paper to Mu Lin.

Mu Lin quickly wrote down some herbs and handed the list to Zhou Ying. "These are all the herbs. The ones I've circled are more difficult to collect, but I still hope you'll be able to find them."

Zhou Ying considered this for a moment. "I understand! Then I'm done playing around. I'm going back to school! Is it okay if I ask a friend of mine who's studying medicine?"

Mu Lin said, "That's fine, but you still have to do the actual gathering yourself."

"No problem! Got it!"

With that, Zhou Ying ran into her room, grabbed her small rolling suitcase, and skipped out the door.

After Zhou Ying left, Zhou Qianfan sighed. "Mu Xiaoyou, why go to all this trouble? Zhou Ying's enthusiasm will surely be short-lived. There's really no need to waste your precious time on her."

Mu Lin smiled. "The process of teaching others is also a process of learning and improving. Besides, Zhou Ying has a good innate aptitude; she's quite suited for this path. As for how far she'll go, that will depend on her own destiny."

Zhou Qianfan became thoughtful. He mulled it over for a long time but couldn't grasp the finer details. In any case, it was best to let Mu Lin do as he pleased. It wasn't like he could change his mind anyway.

Zhou Qianfan sighed.

"Mu Lin, what do you think we should do now? Didn't you say they have a Divine Realm expert? What if the Li Family convinces him to take action?"

Mu Lin replied, "We'll deal with it as it comes. For now, we can wait at our leisure for an exhausted enemy. The Li Family definitely knows where we are, so they're sure to come after us. I'll just take that opportunity to eliminate him directly. It won't be much trouble."

'Mu Lin truly is as bold as he is skilled,' Zhou Qianfan mused. 'Anyone even a little weaker would never dare to be so audacious!'

Mu Lin stood up, picked up the jade box, and headed for his room.

"Uncle Zhou, I'm going to prepare the medicinal liquid Elder Li needs. You can deliver it for me in a bit."

Zhou Qianfan was dumbfounded. 'Is Mu Lin telling me to leave first?'

"Mu Xiaoyou, you mean..."

Mu Lin said, "That's exactly what I mean. If you don't leave, how can I fight without holding back?"