Chapter 195 194: Destroying the Pills

Mu Lin said, "Mind control goes against the laws of nature. A drug like this is unforgivable. Anyone who even thinks about using it will pay a heavy price."

Zhou Qianfan's expression was grim. "What kind of heavy price?"

Mu Lin just smiled and said nothing, but that was enough to frighten Zhou Qianfan.

There was almost no need to elaborate.

Any more detail and he'd scare himself.

Mu Lin emptied the pills from the porcelain vial into his palm. With a slight tremor of his hand, a ball of flame ignited, burning fiercely.

Pills—each one worth a villa, a whole vial enough to buy half a city—were being burned to ashes.

Xu Jishan felt a pang of agony watching this, but the circumstances were out of his control. He had to endure it.

Mu Lin said coolly, "Sit down. It's tiring to talk while standing."

Xu Jishan waved his hands frantically. "I wouldn't dare!"

"I told you to sit, so sit. Why are you acting all polite?" Mu Lin said, his face cold.

The members of the Xu Family had no choice but to sit. Only after Xu Jishan sat down did the men behind him dare to sit on the floor.

Seeing that they were all seated, Mu Lin said calmly:

"Miss Ye, how did you fall for this?"

Ye Chunshui thought for a moment. "I was walking down Anhua Street when I ran into Xu Tianyi. We were university classmates, so when we bumped into each other, he suggested we catch up. I didn't think anything of it and went to a tea house with him."

"The next thing I knew, I blacked out," Ye Chunshui said, sighing with lingering unease as she recalled the experience.

Mu Lin nodded slowly. "So that's how it happened..."

Hearing this, Xu Jishan was filled with dismay. 'I can't believe Tianyi is such a scoundrel...'

Zhou Qianfan glanced at Xu Jishan. "Patriarch Xu, I don't think you're much better. What were you planning to do, hoarding so many of these pills? Were you trying to wipe out all the smaller families in Nanjiang in one fell swoop? Families like ours, for example?"

At Zhou Qianfan's question, Mu Lin also looked up.

The Anhua Li Family was even weaker than the Zhou Family; they didn't even have a Grandmaster Powerhouse.

They would definitely be the first to be wiped out.

Xu Jishan had long since realized that Mu Lin and Zhou Qianfan were close, so he was even more cautious now.

Zhou Qianfan's probing was an extension of Mu Lin's own.

"No, no, no, you're overthinking this! How could I have such ambitions? All we in the Xu Family want is to survive! Just staying afloat is hard enough. How could you expect us to think about anything more?"

Zhou Qianfan sneered, "Your Xu Family is living the good life in Di Yang. When have you ever had it tough? I travel to Di Yang at least three or four times a month for work. Don't think for a second I don't know what's going on!"

The confrontational atmosphere was so thick, it seemed the only thing missing was for Zhou Qianfan to ask Mu Lin to just kill Xu Jishan with a single palm strike.

Mu Lin waved his hand placatingly. "Uncle Zhou, calm down. As you can see, it's not like he can cause any more trouble now."

Hmph!

Zhou Qianfan snorted coldly.

In less than twenty minutes, Xu Tianyi came running back, frantic and out of breath. He placed nine porcelain vials on the table. "I brought them all!"

Mu Lin didn't speak right away, just stared coldly at Xu Tianyi.

After a moment, a smile spread across his face. "Not bad. Very good. You've done well!"

He grabbed the vials and poured the pills onto the table.

He then placed his hand over the pills, sensing them for a moment. "They're all authentic. You didn't lie to me."

Xu Tianyi was so frightened he almost fell to his knees. "Divine Master, I wouldn't dare!"

A flame ignited in Mu Lin's palm, instantly setting the pills alight.

The pills burned fiercely, emitting a purple glow.

Mu Lin used his hottest flame to ensure the pills' medicinal properties were completely destroyed, preventing anyone from using the residue.

Xu Jishan's heart ached at the sight, but he didn't dare show it. He could only press a hand to his chest, desperately trying to suppress his anguish.

"Alright, that charlatan is dead, and the drugs are burned. So, what should I do with you lot now?"

Xu Jishan said, "If the Divine Master is still not satisfied, I am willing to bear all responsibility and atone with my life! I only beg that you spare my family!"

Mu Lin looked speechless. "Who said anything about killing anyone? Didn't you say it yourselves? The Xu Family's ancestors included imperial scholars and grand chancellors. It would be utterly unreasonable for me to attack you."

Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief. They had been scared to death, thinking Mu Lin wouldn't let them off and was about to unleash his fury.

"However, while you may be spared a death sentence, you can't escape punishment. You have a prior record, and I'm sure this isn't the first time you've done something like this. You might even do it again in the future..."

Xu Tianyi quickly raised his head, wanting to argue desperately.

But Xu Jishan shoved his head down. "Then, Divine Master, please tell us. What will it take for you to forgive us?"

Mu Lin said, "One billion. Donated to charity, with Uncle Zhou supervising. If you can do that, I'll pretend today never happened. If you can't... well, then things will get difficult."

Xu Jishan felt his heart bleed. "One billion? We're just a small family! One billion is no small sum for us!"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Do you think I'll believe that? When the Anhua Yang Clan forks over money, they do it easily. A billion is like pocket change to them. And you're telling me the Xu Family can't come up with that amount?"

Xu Jishan said, "We don't have a billion in liquid assets on the books!"

Mu Lin said, "It doesn't have to be cash. Companies, villas, buildings, projects... anything that can be turned into money will do!"

Xu Jishan's face was grim. Mu Lin was dead set on extorting him.

But for the sake of his life and the continuation of his family, he had no choice.

Mu Lin looked at Zhou Qianfan. "Uncle Zhou, how about I leave this matter to you?"

It wasn't the first time Zhou Qianfan had handled this sort of thing for Mu Lin, so he was quite familiar with the process. He smiled. "Of course. Since it's for a good cause, I'll see it through to the end."

Xu Jishan said, "You don't trust me, so why do you trust him? You should know, the Zhou Family's shady dealings are just as numerous as the Xu Family's, if not more so! Why aren't you making demands of him?"

Mu Lin said, "None of your business!"

Zhou Qianfan went inside, drafted a document, and handed it to Mu Lin. "Mu Lin, what if we proceed with these terms? Is this acceptable?"

Mu Lin glanced at it and smiled. "I don't really understand it, but I trust you!"

Xu Jishan was green with envy. 'Truly, different people have different fates.'

For the sake of his family, he had no choice but to sign all the clauses, ceding assets worth one and a half billion.

Zhou Qianfan explained that when selling assets, it's easy for people to haggle, and valuations can be inaccurate.

'That five-hundred-million difference is definitely going straight into Zhou Qianfan's pocket.'

"We're done here. Scram!" Mu Lin said, waving his hand dismissively as he looked at the document with satisfaction.

Xu Jishan ground his teeth in hatred, then led his family members away. As they were leaving, he lifted his leg and kicked Xu Tianyi.

'It's all his fault, this whole disgusting mess!'

Only after the Xu Family had left did Zhou Qianfan speak. "Mu Xiaoyou, isn't this going a little too far? Taking so much money from the Xu Family in one go."

Mu Lin replied, "If the pain isn't great enough, how will they ever learn their lesson?"

This left Zhou Qianfan speechless.

"Just donate the extra five hundred million as well."

"Alright, I will!"

After settling the matter, Zhou Qianfan said, "Now that I've calmed down, I have to say, you handled that well. The Xu Family isn't just the Xu Family. If you had simply destroyed them, all of Di Yang would have fallen into turmoil."

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Chunshui, who had been sitting to the side, quickly asked, "Patriarch Zhou, what do you mean? It's just one less family. Why would Di Yang fall into turmoil?"

Zhou Qianfan said, "It has to do with the power structure of the families in Di Yang. The six most powerful families are divided into three tiers: upper, middle, and lower."

"The upper-tier families are the Ning, Lin, and Feng."

Mu Lin's eyes narrowed. 'That Huang Fengnian was from the Ning Family. He bought the Vermilion Fruit to give it to Master Ning.'

Zhou Qianfan sighed again. "However, the Feng and Lin families have declined in recent years due to some incidents, handing the throne of the number one family over to the Ning Family."

"The two middle-tier families are the Li Family and the Fang Family."

"The Xu Family is at the bottom. Despite their long history, they've made many mistakes and been 'wiped clean' multiple times, but like an unkillable cockroach, they always manage to crawl back up."

"The other forces shouldn't be underestimated either. They might just be proxies for some other major power in Di Yang."

Mu Lin recalled that the Wu Family was the Li Family's proxy in Anhua. 'This sort of arrangement is standard practice for these major players.'

Mu Lin suddenly thought of Elder Lin Tianlin. He had felt that Elder Lin was quite strong during their interactions, but that feeling was just... a feeling.

But when he tried to recall it in detail, the impression was hazy and indistinct.