Chapter 260 259: Palace Coup

When Chen Xiaoyou saw how polite Wu Henghai was, his heart hammered in his chest.

'What in the world is going on?'

Bi Qifeng also sidled up, bowing and scraping before Wu Henghai, the picture of sycophancy.

"Hello, Captain Wu. I'm Bi Qifeng!"

Getting to know Wu Henghai was definitely an opportunity for him. A captain-level position in the Military Suppression Bureau was incredibly powerful.

It was a position equivalent to at least the leader of a city, making it incredibly powerful.

As long as it wasn't a completely insurmountable issue, everyone had to make way for the Military Suppression Bureau.

Therefore, Bi Qifeng thought that if he could win Wu Henghai's favor, it would be a huge gain.

"Hello," Wu Henghai said, briefly shaking Bi Qifeng's hand before pulling away, his manner very cold.

He had been standing at the door for a while and had long since noticed that Bi Qifeng and Chen Xiaoyou were at odds. Right now, Bi Qifeng was even preparing to snatch the chairman's position.

Mu Lin's impression of Bi Qifeng was naturally also very poor. It was best to have as little contact with him as possible.

Wu Henghai addressed the crowd, "An arson case involving a Grandmaster is something the Military Suppression Bureau must handle. My colleagues at the Bureau will not be lax or negligent. We will definitely apprehend the culprit."

"And I will personally do my utmost to supervise every detail and urge my team members not to slack off!"

"Please, rest assured. As soon as there's any news, we will inform everyone immediately!" Wu Henghai said to the crowd with a smile.

Bi Qifeng thought, 'With Wu Henghai making such a promise, it'll be difficult for me to keep pushing the issue of the chairmanship.'

After all, the case was now showing progress, and a captain from the Military Suppression Bureau was personally overseeing it. What more could you ask for?

If they still couldn't solve it, it would have nothing to do with Chen Xiaoyou. After all, Chen Xiaoyou was just an ordinary person.

Something he couldn't do, a different chairman probably couldn't do either.

"Captain Wu, there's no need for you to go to such trouble, is there? It's just a fire, isn't it?"

But Wu Henghai replied gravely, "Arson in the mountains is an extremely serious crime. Since ancient times, it has been a capital offense. The involvement of a Grandmaster-level Martial Artist makes the situation even more severe."

"The Military Suppression Bureau must do everything in its power to pursue this case to ensure the peace and stability of the region," Wu Henghai said sternly.

Just as Wu Henghai finished speaking, the expression on Bi Qifeng's face froze.

'What's with all this damn grandstanding? Why not just say you're siding with Chen Xiaoyou? Making it sound all high and mighty, does he think we can't see through it?'

The shareholders' expressions all turned extremely sour.

With the Military Suppression Bureau involved, if they still tried to oust Chen Xiaoyou, it would be utterly tactless.

Bi Qifeng said reluctantly, "Since Captain Wu is now looking into this matter, that's for the best. I have other business to attend to, so I'll be leaving now!"

The other shareholders did the same, hurriedly scrambling to leave, afraid of drawing Wu Henghai's attention.

Wu Henghai naturally knew exactly what they were thinking.

But he didn't expose them. There would be no point in that.

He just watched them with a cold gaze, waiting for them to leave one by one.

After everyone had left, Wu Henghai turned to Mu Lin with a slight smile.

"Mu Xiaoyou, leave this matter entirely to me. Our people will monitor it closely, without letting up in the slightest. They are all professional team members; they won't disappoint you."

Mu Lin nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you! I trust you."

"Of course!"

Wu Henghai said to Chen Xiaoyou, "President Chen, arrange a few people to act as guides. I'm sending men to collect evidence."

"Yes, yes!" Chen Xiaoyou nodded and immediately went to find people from the forest farm's management department to guide them.

Wu Henghai left after giving his instructions. He held a high position and was so busy he barely had a moment's rest.

"Mu Lin, you even know Captain Wu? How do you always manage to surprise me so much!"

Mu Lin waved his hand dismissively. "It was just a coincidence. I happened to save one of his men, so we met once."

"I see!" Chen Xiaoyou nodded slowly. "You really are amazing."

"Not at all," Mu Lin said with a smile. "You're exaggerating, Uncle Chen."

"No exaggeration, not at all. The captains of the Military Suppression Bureau all act like they're Immortals. They aren't the least bit polite to people without cultivation, and even a city's top official has to be respectful in their presence."

"Is that so? The ones I've met have all been quite nice," Mu Lin said, finding it rather strange.

Chen Xiaoyou thought, 'Of course they are. How could you and I be the same?'

'Of course they're polite to you.'

'Those few from the Bai Family incident were definitely fierce, though,' Mu Lin recalled. 'The phrase "looking down one's nose" must have been invented for them.'

I suppose there are bad apples everywhere.

Chen Xiaoyou invited Mu Lin to sit on the sofa. Mu Lin sat down, and after a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Uncle Chen, do you think the Ning Family ordered this fire to be set?"

Chen Xiaoyou was stunned. He hadn't expected Mu Lin to be so blunt.

He thought about it carefully for a moment, then said, "It's possible... Not just possible, but highly probable."

"But I don't have any evidence. And even if I did, what could I do? Am I supposed to go up against them?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Yes. What else?"

Hearing Mu Lin speak like this, Yu Mingyang couldn't help but click his tongue in disapproval.

He was on good terms with Chen Xiaoyou, and by extension, he hoped that this young man, Mu Lin, would learn to be a bit more down-to-earth.

"Young friend, it's fine to say such things amongst ourselves, but don't say them outside. Misfortune comes from a loose tongue! The Ning Family's power can't be described with the simple word 'power.' The entire Nanjiang Province is filled with their people, from top to bottom. You wouldn't normally notice them, but if you offend the Ning Family, you'll probably be taken care of by those people before the Ning Family even finds out."

"Fortunately, after an internal investigation, we've confirmed everyone in the company is one of our own," said Yu Mingyang.

Mu Lin chuckled. "Oh? Are you so sure?"

Yu Mingyang was taken aback. He opened his mouth, but... he was right. It's not like members of the Ning Family had the name written on their foreheads; you couldn't really confirm their allegiances.

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

However, Mu Lin's attitude also made him a little uncomfortable.

'He's too arrogant. How did this brat even survive to adulthood? Didn't his parents ever think of just shoving him in a tub of water and drowning him?'

Chen Xiaoyou pointed at Yu Mingyang and said earnestly, "Mu Xiaoyou, you should listen to your Uncle Yu. Be more careful in the future, and guard against a loose tongue."

Mu Lin knew Chen Xiaoyou meant well, so he smiled and agreed.

"Don't worry, Uncle Chen. I will."

Seeing Mu Lin's sincere expression, Chen Xiaoyou felt a little more at ease. He let out a long sigh and said:

"Actually, everyone knows it's related to the Ning Family, but what can anyone do about them?"

A sense of exhaustion washed over Chen Xiaoyou. "So, be careful. Don't provoke the Ning Family, no matter what. If you provoke an ordinary person, you might end up in a bad spot. But if you provoke the Ning Family, you will definitely die."

Mu Lin hadn't expected Chen Xiaoyou to be so terrified of the Ning Family...

He could only change the subject and make small talk about other things.

「Some time later」

Wu Henghai called Mu Lin. "Hello, Mu Xiaoyou, we have a result!"

Mu Lin turned and stepped outside, finding a secluded spot to answer, "What is it?"

"We ran a comparison against our Cultivator database and found that the arsonist is Li Tianhuo of the Heaven-Falling Palm."

"He's a fugitive the Military Suppression Bureau has been hunting for a long time, but we've never managed to catch him. I never expected he'd be bold enough to come to the mountains to set a fire."

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. 'Does that mean the Ning Family has been harboring Li Tianhuo all this time?'

However, after the warnings from Chen Xiaoyou and the others, Mu Lin knew some things were better left unsaid.

So he kept the thought to himself and said, "I see. Thank you, Captain Wu."

"By the way, I have a question for you. When the Bai Family was attacked, I saw another team from the Military Suppression Bureau, but you weren't the one leading it. Does that mean there are two Bureau teams in Songyang?" Mu Lin asked, changing the subject.

Wu Henghai said, "Our squads don't communicate with each other unless our cases are seriously intertwined. Otherwise, we each do our own thing."

"But I do know about the attack on the Bai Family," Wu Henghai continued. "That was handled by Squad Five. Their captain is named Gu Wu, and he's quite a bit stronger than me. He's been the one in charge of hunting Li Tianhuo. But since the case has fallen into my lap, I might as well take it over."

Mu Lin nodded. "Got it! But Captain Wu, have you found any traces of Li Tianhuo?"

"Not yet..." Wu Henghai sighed. "As the old saying goes, every trade has its master. I'm not at all familiar with tracking."

Mu Lin said, "But I am."