Chapter 223 222: Vicious Relatives 2

Lin Shishi chuckled. "Everyone has their own expertise. We can't let you hog all the spotlight, can we?"

"This kind of knowledge is best left to us ordinary folk."

Mu Lin slowly nodded. 'Lin Shishi has a point. If I paid attention to every little thing, how would I ever find time to cultivate?'

'The old man always said that focus is the path to mastery.'

"Once we've dealt with Hong Rui's situation, I'll figure out a way to get in touch."

Thanks to its lush vegetation, Songyang City was much cooler than Anhua.

"I want to go check on the Hong family's girl first," Lao Xiang said. "Why don't you two rest at the hotel?"

"I want to go too," Mu Lin said.

"I'm going too!" Lin Shishi declared. "There's nothing fun to do at the hotel anyway. I've already picked our rooms. We can just grab the key cards later and move in."

Even though Lin Shishi had followed Mu Lin to Songyang without asking any questions, she still had no idea what was going on.

She just couldn't contain her curiosity.

'If I want to get closer to Mu Lin, I should at least be doing the same things he is.'

She parked the car in the hotel parking lot. After the three of them got out, Mu Lin said to Lao Xiang, "Lead the way, Lao Xiang."

Lao Xiang nodded and led them down a street just outside the hotel.

Despite being just one street away from the Hilton, the moment they crossed over, the atmosphere changed completely. The air was thick with the feeling of poverty.

It wasn't that Mu Lin was looking down on the people here; the feeling was just that palpable.

It was like stepping from a cosmopolitan metropolis straight into a small, third-tier town. Small towns had their own way of life, of course, but the contrast was jarringly stark.

"This way," Lao Xiang said, seemingly unfazed. He continued walking for a short distance before pointing to a row of low, single-story houses.

"That's it right there!"

Mu Lin frowned. "Hong Rui… she lives here?"

"Lao Hong lived here with his daughter for more than a decade," Lao Xiang said. "Ever since he and his wife divorced, this has been their home."

Mu Lin glanced around. Clothes, including underwear, were hung unabashedly on simple clotheslines strung between the buildings.

"How did it come to this?"

Lao Xiang explained, "Most of the original owners bought apartments in the city ages ago. They just rent these old houses out now. Rent is a hundred a month."

"This place is a mess. Is it really a suitable place to live?" Mu Lin asked, his brow furrowed.

"Well, it was Lao Hong's own house, so it was free," Lao Xiang said with a faint smile.

'Lao Xiang's smile seemed a bit bitter to Mu Lin. Who would choose this path if they had any other way to live a decent life?'

The whole situation just felt hopeless.

As they drew closer, Mu Lin saw the mottled exterior walls. Large patches of plaster had peeled away, exposing the red brick beneath.

The door to the house was ajar, and the sound of arguing came from inside.

"Let me tell you, you have no choice in this matter!"

"Young Master Zhong taking a liking to you is your good fortune! Don't be so damn ungrateful!"

"If you don't come with me, I'll tear this place down!"

When Lao Xiang heard the shouting, he frantically pushed the door open and rushed inside.

Mu Lin followed swiftly behind him.

A young girl clutched a pair of scissors, her eyes lifeless as she stared at the people before her.

She wore a faded school uniform, torn in several places, which made Mu Lin suspect she had just been manhandled.

A middle-aged man and woman stood there, their eyes wide with fury.

'They must be the culprits.'

The sight made Mu Lin extremely uncomfortable. A girl so young shouldn't look so disheveled and miserable.

Lao Xiang had grabbed a wooden stick before he even entered, wielding it like a club.

The woman, terrified, ducked behind the man before pointing at Lao Xiang and yelling:

"This is our family business! What's it to you?"

Lao Xiang was so agitated he tried to force his way past them. Mu Lin grabbed his arm and pulled him back, urging him to calm down.

Lao Xiang realized he was getting too worked up, and this wasn't the way to solve anything.

Mu Lin asked, "Who are you to Hong Rui?"

"I'm her aunt!"

"I heard someone ran off with the compensation money," Mu Lin said. "Was that you?"

The woman's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "What do you mean 'ran off with it'?" she shrieked. "That money belonged to my brother, so of course we took it! Are you an idiot?"

"She's Hong Wanfu's daughter," Mu Lin stated. "The money is rightfully hers. I don't see a problem with that."

"Bullshit! She's just some brat from who knows where. I never wanted to raise her in the first place! If my brother hadn't lost his mind and insisted on keeping her, who knows where she'd be right now!"

"Why should she get the money?"

Lin Shishi had only heard half the exchange, but she already understood everything.

"You claim she's not your family, so what's this about forcing her to sleep with Young Master Zhong? If you're so eager to please him, why don't you go do it yourself?"

"You're clearly just after the money while trying to pull something else on the side. Did you think I couldn't see that?"

The middle-aged woman was practically fuming with rage at her words.

"What's it to you? Who the hell are you? This is none of your business, got it?"

Lin Shishi pressed her lips together. 'Back in Di Yang, if anyone dared to speak to me like that, they'd have been dragged away by the Lin Family's furious attendants long ago.'

'But here, I'm a stranger in a strange land. The Lin Family's power means nothing.'

Mu Lin shot Lin Shishi a look, telling her to tone it down.

Lin Shishi took half a step back and stuck out her tongue.

Lao Xiang went to Hong Rui's side and patted her head. "Don't be afraid, my girl. Uncle Xiang is here. No one's going to hurt you!"

"Hah! 'No one's going to hurt her'?" the woman sneered. "Let me tell you something. Young Master Zhong said that if Hong Rui doesn't 'accompany' him, he'll destroy her! Her life, her reputation, everything—it'll all be over!!"

'How can they be so arrogant?' Mu Lin thought.

'Have they no self-awareness at all?'

With a flick of his finger, Mu Lin sent a silver needle flying into the woman's forehead.

"AAAH!" The woman suddenly felt an excruciating pain course through her entire body. It was a heart-rending, gut-wrenching agony that felt like she was about to be torn to pieces.

But that wasn't all. Mu Lin flicked several more needles in quick succession, striking other parts of her body.

The woman felt the pain intensify, becoming layered. First came sharp, piercing stabs, followed by a widespread, throbbing ache.

Her mouth twisted, and saliva dripped onto the floor.

"What did you do to her!" the man beside her demanded furiously.

Mu Lin replied, stone-faced, "That's her problem. She brought this on herself."

With a THUD, the woman collapsed to the ground and began kowtowing frantically. Mu Lin sighed. 'This is pathetic,' he thought. With a subtle flick of his hand, he recalled several of the needles.

The woman's pain vanished instantly. She scrambled behind the man, glaring at Mu Lin with pure venom. "I'll remember this!"

The pain was gone, and with it, any sense of fear. Her hatred for Mu Lin only intensified.

"I haven't let you off completely," Mu Lin said. "That pain will return randomly every night. There will be no way for you to prevent it."

The woman's expression faltered. "What do I have to do for you to let me go?! Tell me!"

Mu Lin's voice was icy. "Bring me everyone who took a share of the compensation money. Every last one of them. Otherwise, you can wait for the pain to kill you."

The woman's expression shifted rapidly before she finally came to a decision. "Just you wait!"

She stomped out of the house, but paused at the doorway to turn back and shoot Mu Lin one last venomous glare.

"You'll pay for what you've done!"

Mu Lin shrugged. 'What a boring threat.'

"We should get out of here," Lao Xiang said urgently. "If they come back with more people, we won't be able to get away."

"We can run, but what about Hong Rui?" Mu Lin countered. "This is her home!"

Lao Xiang's face went pale. Mu Lin was right.

Hong Rui glanced at Mu Lin. 'This stranger is so odd,' she thought.

"Uncle Xiang, who are they, and why are they here?"

Lao Xiang quickly explained, "This is the big boss from the company where your father… had his accident."

Mu Lin wasn't comfortable with that title, but he understood the reasoning behind it.

'Li Xue is the CEO. As her husband, it's only natural that Lao Xiang would see me as the 'big boss.''

'It makes sense, but it's completely wrong.'

'Not that I'm going to explain the details to them.'

Hong Rui gave Mu Lin a long, searching look, then turned without a word and retreated deeper into the house.

Lin Shishi followed after her. "Hey, let me help you!"

She felt immense sympathy for Hong Rui's plight. Though she was a few years older, Shishi knew she could never have endured the kind of hardship Hong Rui was facing.

Lao Xiang lowered his voice and said to Mu Lin, "Ever since Lao Hong passed, she's been this quiet… hardly says a word…"