Chapter 261 260: Tracing Technique

Wu Henghai's eyes lit up. "For real?!"

"Of course. But it requires Li Tianhuo's fire-attribute True Qi as a catalyst."

"Easy. Hang on, I'll go get it right now! Just wait for me at Xingchen Building Materials Company."

Mu Lin nodded.

After hanging up, Mu Lin gave it a moment's thought and then called Bai Zhenshan.

"Elder Bai? There's something I'd like to ask."

Bai Zhenshan was delighted to hear Mu Lin's voice. He chuckled, "What's on your mind? Is it about cultivation, or something else?"

"The captain from the Military Suppression Bureau who visited the Bai Family last time—his name was Gu Wu, right?"

"That's right. Why do you ask?" Elder Bai found Mu Lin's question strange. Just hearing Gu Wu's name made him uncomfortable, and his tone soured noticeably.

Mu Lin paused before changing his line of questioning. "Elder Bai, what's the history between you and the Military Suppression Bureau? Why does the mere mention of them make you so furious?"

"Of course I'm furious! The people from the Military Suppression Bureau act all high and mighty, but they're nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. Every single one of them is rotten to the core!"

Mu Lin was momentarily speechless. "Take your time. What exactly happened?"

Bai Zhenshan's voice turned cold. "Years ago, back when I wasn't very powerful, someone targeted me and killed my wife. He was a Martial Arts Grandmaster, and I was no match for him. So I went to the Military Suppression Bureau to demand justice. They appeared to accept my case, but in reality, they just shelved it. I only found out later that the Grandmaster had a powerful backer. They were scared, so they refused to handle the case at all."

"From that day on, I saw the true colors of the Military Suppression Bureau. The Bai Family has had a clan rule ever since, forbidding any close association with them."

Mu Lin thought of Tang Zhi. 'His rank is still very low. When he gets promoted, will he also become as cold and indifferent as Elder Bai described?'

Mu Lin sighed. 'It's impossible to say for sure. What if Tang Zhi is just a genuinely good and chivalrous person?'

'You can't just write people off like that.'

"I remember you said Gu Wu came to the Bai Family to ask for your help. What sort of thing do you think he wanted?"

Elder Bai said, "Oh, in my youth, I found a Compass. You just need to infuse it with True Qi, and it can find the location of any target. It's extremely effective for finding both people and objects."

"That's an incredible artifact!" Mu Lin exclaimed. "If you had used that properly, you would've been set for life!"

Elder Bai chuckled. "Who knows where it ended up? Maybe the treasure grew legs and ran off on its own! In any case, I've never seen that thing around the Bai Family estate since."

"Growing legs and running off" wasn't literal; it was a euphemism for being stolen by an insider and sold off.

Bai Jingjing wasn't strict in managing the family, so all sorts of things were bound to happen.

But Elder Bai was far too proud to admit such a thing, so he simply said it grew legs and ran off.

Every family has its black sheep; it was best to just accept it.

"Mu Xiaoyou, are you asking about this because you're looking for something? Just say the word! The Bai Family will help you find it!"

"Even a starving camel is bigger than a horse—the Bai Family still carries weight in Songyang. With a single word from me, I can have people turn Songyang upside down to find it."

Mu Lin said, "It's not like that. Rest assured, the situation isn't nearly as dire as you imagine. However, things here aren't resolved yet, so I'll have to trouble you to look after Lin Shishi and Hong Rui for a while longer."

"Of course. How would I dare neglect the young lady of the Di Yang Lin Family? You, on the other hand, should hurry up and finish your business. Don't keep a beautiful woman waiting!"

A wave of exasperation washed over Mu Lin. 'There he goes again, making fun of me.'

Mu Lin hung up the phone. As he turned, he saw Chen Xiaoyou standing a short distance behind him, looking like he had been there for quite some time.

"Mu Xiaoyou, who were you on the phone with just now?"

Chen Xiaoyou hadn't heard everything clearly, but the words "Bai Family" had come up repeatedly. He couldn't have misheard that.

They were a colossal entity, the kind that could make the earth tremble with the poke of a single finger.

And Mu Lin was casually chatting and laughing with someone like that over the phone. 'Unbelievable.'

Mu Lin smiled. "I was on the phone with Elder Bai!"

Yu Mingyang, who was standing beside Chen Xiaoyou, stared wide-eyed, his mouth agape. He was utterly flabbergasted, perhaps even more so than Chen Xiaoyou.

"But didn't Elder Bai die years ago? Died under Zhao Yang's treatment? After that, Zhao Yang's business spread throughout all of Nanjiang, but he could never break into our market here in Songyang."

Mu Lin chuckled. "It was just a fake death, orchestrated with Divine Doctor Zhao's help. It seems Elder Bai has tired of playing dead and is preparing to come out of seclusion."

Chen Xiaoyou's eyes bulged as if he had been struck by lightning.

It wasn't that he was afraid of the Bai Family; with his control over the region's lumber resources, he didn't have to be afraid of anyone.

But he was well aware of the incredible influence the Bai Family wielded.

A subtle, pervasive control over every aspect of the region.

That kind of power was immense.

And with Mu Lin being on such good terms with Elder Bai, he could call upon that power whenever he needed.

With the Bai Family's reputation backing him, wouldn't he be able to cruise through this entire region uncontested?

"Elder Bai is a true badass. By faking his death, no one would bother him for that saber manual anymore."

"But no matter how he hid, he couldn't avoid his family's crisis. He ultimately chose to come out of seclusion."

"Isn't he afraid the whole world will start hounding him for the saber manual's location again?"

Mu Lin tilted his head. "I don't know. Asking me is pointless."

"Since Elder Bai has decided to return to the Jianghu, he must have his own plans."

Just then, Wu Henghai arrived at Xingchen Building Materials.

Seeing the great captain visit twice in one day made Chen Xiaoyou's heart pound with anxiety.

Fortunately, Wu Henghai's attitude toward Mu Lin was amicable, which allowed Chen Xiaoyou to relax slightly.

Wu Henghai placed a porcelain vial in front of Mu Lin. Its mouth was plugged with a stopper and covered with a seal.

"There's a lot in this vial, but I still don't know if it will be enough."

Mu Lin took it and pressed the vial to his forehead for a moment to sense its contents. "It's enough."

A young woman beside Wu Henghai spoke up. "Captain, don't listen to him. Let's just go to the Bai Family and borrow the Compass. If we make them a good enough offer, I'm sure they'll hand it over."

Mu Lin gave a dry chuckle. "Young lady, I suggest you abandon that idea, lest you be disappointed."

"What did you just say? Who are you calling 'young lady'?" The girl's attitude toward Mu Lin was so hostile that it made Wu Henghai break into a cold sweat on her behalf.

"The Bai Family's... Search Compass, or whatever it is, is long gone. Even if you went to borrow it, you'd only come back disappointed. Don't waste your effort."

The girl still found Mu Lin insufferable. "And how would you know that? That's something only Bai Family insiders would be privy to."

Mu Lin said, "Elder Bai told me himself."

"What, did you talk to his ghost? The old man's been dead for years. You don't even know that and you're still spouting nonsense!"

Seeing the conversation spiraling out of control, Wu Henghai quickly held up a hand to quiet the young woman.

"Mu Xiaoyou, you said not to use the Search Compass. What's your alternative method?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Captain Wu, there are plenty of methods, aren't there? For example, the Daoist Tracking Technique would work just fine."

Wu Henghai grew even more troubled. "That's even more far-fetched. Daoist practitioners who know that technique are rarer than a three-legged toad."

Suddenly, his eyes shot wide. "Mu Xiaoyou... are you saying you know how to do it?"

Mu Lin nodded with a slight smile. "Correct."

The young woman's round eyes grew even wider. "So that's why you're so arrogant! You're a Daoist. Now it all makes sense!"

Wu Henghai thought, 'This girl just can't keep her mouth shut,' and frowned. "Silence!"

The young woman pouted playfully but said no more.

Mu Lin said, "I'm just a wandering practitioner from the mountains. What sect would I belong to? You must be joking."

"But I do know how to do it!"

He took out a sheet of talisman paper and, with a few quick strokes, scrawled a series of indecipherable characters on it. He then placed the talisman paper over the porcelain vial before smashing the vial hard against the ground.

The vial shattered. Li Tianhuo's aura merged with the talisman paper, which burst into fierce flames, transforming into a wisp of faint smoke.

The smoke, as if possessing a will of its own, drifted unsteadily away into the distance.

The crowd was simply stunned; this was an incredible feat.

Wu Henghai was dumbfounded. "It's... it's real..."

The young woman's jaw dropped. She had been full of mockery before, but seeing the technique with her own eyes left her completely amazed.

It was simply incredible.

"There's no time to waste! After it!" Wu Henghai shouted excitedly, and everyone scrambled into action.