Chapter 271 270: A Woman's Affection

Mu Lin continued, "To be honest, I should have killed you."

Shi Qian Dong froze. 'Have I still not done enough?' he wondered.

'Does Mu Lin really need me to kill Shi Qianxi, my own dear brother, to be happy?'

But then he heard Mu Lin say slowly, "I'm leaving your life for Chen Bing. Whether you live or die, whether you're crippled or not, is up to him."

Shi Qian Dong glanced at Chen Bing. He never imagined Mu Lin would place so much importance on a good-for-nothing.

He had already shattered Chen Bing's meridians once. Could he ever cultivate again?

Shi Qian Dong said, "Captain Gu, Captain Wu, I'd like to take my leave. May I?"

Wu Henghai glanced at Mu Lin. Only after Mu Lin nodded did Wu Henghai say:

"Get lost. And stop playing your little tricks in the future. If Mr. Mu can take care of Su Longfei and Li Tianhuo, he can kill you. If you want to live a comfortable life, you'd better keep your tail between your legs!"

"Your strength isn't even a match for one of Mu Lin's fingers. Stop making a scene for yourself. If things blow up, you won't be able to handle it."

Shi Qian Dong was terrified. 'Even Li Tianhuo died at his hands?'

"Oh, I forgot to mention," Wu Henghai added, "Li Tianhuo broke through to the Innate Divine Realm during the fight, but Mr. Mu still killed him. You'd best consider your position."

With things spelled out so clearly, Shi Qian Dong would have to be an idiot not to understand. He immediately grabbed the crippled Shi Qianxi and hastily turned to leave.

The group of sycophants that Shi Qianxi had gathered were now so scared their courage had shattered. They dropped to their knees and desperately begged for mercy.

"Young Master Chen, we were wrong! You're a bigger man than to hold a grudge against nobodies like us. Please don't trouble yourself with this."

"Young Master Chen, I always knew you were incredible! I was sure you'd bounce back from this low point!"

"I've actually been cheering you on this whole time!"

How could Chen Bing possibly believe their nonsense? "Manager Xu, please have security come and escort these people out. I can't stand the sight of them."

"Yes! Yes!"

The security guards came in and herded everyone away like sheep.

"Younger Brother Mu, I never expected you to be this powerful. You even took down Su Longfei."

Mu Lin laughed. "It's not like I wanted to, but what could I do? He provoked me. Besides, I just have the advantage in cultivation for now. Who knows when I might mess up?"

Chen Wanma, however, was very serious. "Brother Mu, you can't put it that way. Su Longfei was capable of fighting above his level, even taking on Grandmasters. The fact that you could kill him means you are much, much stronger."

Chen Bing, on the other hand, grew uneasy and sighed. "Younger Brother Mu, Shi Qian Dong is so much stronger than me. Why didn't you kill him?"

"We have a feud. He's bound to come after me sooner or later. It's too dangerous..."

Mu Lin smiled. "Don't worry. The fact that I said what I did means I'm confident I can help you improve."

"I guarantee you'll be able to kill him with your own hands."

Chen Bing was a little dazed. He didn't quite understand why Mu Lin had so much faith in him.

But since Mu Lin was confident, a flicker of anticipation inexplicably rose in Chen Bing's heart.

'Maybe... maybe I really can do something?'

Everyone relaxed, and the mood at the table gradually became cheerful again, filled with laughter and conversation.

Chen Bing pointed at Mu Lin and scolded him with a laugh. "Brother Mu, you're not a very honest friend! You're clearly the chairman of Celestial Phoenix, but you just wouldn't tell me. When I was praising Celestial Phoenix to you, you even acted all meek and just nodded along."

"Tell me, isn't that going too far?"

Chen Wanma roared with laughter. "A penalty drink! You get what you deserve for showing off!"

The men all swarmed him, toasting him one after another.

Mu Lin's head was spinning, but he had no choice but to down one glass after another.

Tang Shuang watched in amusement. 'So what if Mu Lin is so ridiculously powerful? Isn't he still getting forced to drink by a few guys with weaker cultivation?'

'It's pretty funny.'

It was getting late, but Tang Shuang didn't think it was a big deal. The entire hotel belonged to Mu Lin, so wasn't anywhere here just like home?

After they had all had their fun, everyone went their separate ways.

Mu Lin couldn't be bothered to go back home, so he had Xu Bing get him a suite, planning to just crash here for the night.

As he was walking, he felt that something was off. He turned around and was surprised to find Tang Shuang following right behind him.

'What's this all about?'

"Miss Tang, how did you get in here? If you want to rest, I can get you another room."

"Can't I just take a look? What's with the formality between us? Why get another room?"

"This isn't appropriate..."

"What's not appropriate about it? Just you say 'inappropriate' one more time! I'm the General Manager!" Tang Shuang's imposing aura flared up, startling even Mu Lin.

A thought crossed Mu Lin's mind. 'Wait a minute, I'm the chairman. Who's afraid of whom?'

But Tang Shuang seized the opportunity and slipped right into the room.

"Hurry and close the door!"

Mu Lin could only obediently close the door.

With her hands behind her back, Tang Shuang slowly walked in a circle around the suite. "The decor and design of our hotel are really fantastic. Everything about it just screams high-class."

Mu Lin remembered that Tang Shuang had studied design. Although it was fashion design, it was still design!

This gave her a professional reason to examine things more closely.

Tang Shuang examined everything slowly and meticulously, stopping at every detail to appraise it.

Mu Lin had a good idea of what she was planning, but he didn't call her out on it. He just quietly accompanied her as she surveyed the entire suite.

Finally, Tang Shuang plopped down heavily on the sofa and sighed. "This really is high-class. A few thousand a night... that's terrifying!"

Mu Lin said, "You're the General Manager. As long as there's a vacant room, you can stay whenever you want."

Tang Shuang tilted her head and smiled. "It'd be a bit lonely, don't you think? It's a waste for one person to stay in such a big place."

Mu Lin laughed heartily. "You have a point."

Tang Shuang then asked, "Do you mind if I take a shower?"

Mu Lin smiled. "Be my guest!"

SPLASHING sounds filled the air. Mu Lin, however, sat with his five centers facing the heavens and focused on his cultivation.

Before long, Tang Shuang pushed the door open and emerged, her slightly damp hair draped over her fragrant shoulders.

She was utterly captivating. Even a fairy emerging from her bath would be a sight no more beautiful than this.

Tang Shuang pursed her lips and said to Mu Lin, "Mu Lin, you should go take a shower too. You must be tired after running around all day. A shower will help you relax."

Mu Lin replied, "Alright."

He immediately stood up and briskly headed for the bathroom.

Tang Shuang, however, sat primly on the sofa, anxiously watching for any movement from the bathroom.

She was still an innocent young woman; to go this far in front of Mu Lin was already pushing her limits.

When Mu Lin finished his shower and walked out, Tang Shuang stood up from the sofa and walked toward him.

Mu Lin smiled and walked to meet her.

Just as Tang Shuang had fully prepared herself, intending to create a beautiful memory with Mu Lin...

A needle appeared in Mu Lin's palm, and he pricked the back of Tang Shuang's neck.

Tang Shuang's body went limp, and she fell toward Mu Lin.

Mu Lin reached out and caught her, but unfortunately, her towel happened to fall off.

And just like that, he saw everything—both what he should and shouldn't have seen.

"See no evil, see no evil..." Mu Lin chanted a few times, re-wrapped Tang Shuang, and carried her to the bed. He covered her with the blanket and lowered the air conditioner's temperature to keep her from getting too hot and kicking the blanket off.

Mu Lin returned to his own room, sighing with relief. 'It's a good thing I got a suite. Otherwise, this would have been really awkward to handle.'

'Trying to explain my way out of this would have been impossible.'

'Why would the esteemed chairman book two separate rooms back-to-back?'

'Even though I'm the chairman and don't need to explain myself, it would still look awkward.'

Mu Lin sat on his bed and replayed the day's battles in his mind.

His sword momentum was stronger, and his control had improved by leaps and bounds.

The more he trained, the more he felt how profound and vast this Sword Skill was.

Elder Bai was truly a badass for being able to fight Dong Wu multiple times without being at a disadvantage.

He wondered what Dong Wu cultivated that allowed him to withstand such an incredible Sword Skill.

Mu Lin let out a long breath. The world was truly full of hidden masters.

'Sigh, I'm still a long way off. The great thing about the path of Qi Refining is that the older you get, the more sought-after you become; the more you cultivate, the more powerful you get.'

'Dong Wu will want revenge for his younger brother. I don't know when he'll show up, but his cultivation must have already far surpassed his previous level. It's hard to say what realm he's reached now.'

'I have to keep training diligently. I can't afford to slack off for a moment.'

With these thoughts in mind, Mu Lin vaulted out the window, found a nearby deserted patch of land, and began practicing under the cover of night.

Suddenly, Mu Lin's senses screamed a warning. He whipped his head around. "Who's hiding over there? Show yourself! Do people of the Jianghu resort to peeping like this?"

As Mu Lin turned his head, power erupted from his body, and he streaked through the air like a white blur.

Reaching the spot, he threw a palm strike.

THUMP.

It felt just like hitting a sandbag.