Chapter 279 278: Like a Dream

It was a meteoric rise.

The group's assets had expanded many times over in an instant.

This was an achievement he couldn't have accomplished even if he'd struggled for several hundred years.

"Get lost," Mu Lin said, not even giving them another look as he lowered his head to eat.

Song Chuan trembled. "Mu Lin, am I worthy? Such a huge amount of assets... is he really willing to cough it all up?"

"Go on. If he doesn't give it, I'll help him give it."

Song Chuan was filled with a sense of melancholy. "It's like a dream. Mu Xiaoyou, you're just too good to me."

Zhong Wentao was green with envy, saying with clear ill-intent, "Old Song, if you don't want it, give it to me! He's giving you a gift, and you're acting like he's trying to kill you. How strange is that!"

"Get lost! Don't you dare try to take it from me. I'll fight anyone who tries!"

Zhong Wentao snorted and fell silent.

Ma Wenxiang was trembling. She now fully understood just how absurdly powerful Mu Lin was.

'He's terrifying...'

"Hong Rui is going to Di Yang for university. You must protect her from being bullied. Or else..."

Mu Lin didn't finish his sentence, but it was enough to scare Ma Wenxiang so badly she nearly wet herself. "I understand, I understand! I'll definitely protect her well!"

Lin Shishi had a sudden realization. The main reason for all of Mu Lin's actions was, surprisingly, still for Hong Rui's sake.

With Hong Rui's meek personality, she was likely to be targeted by bullies at university. It was a real problem.

Chairman Fan returned to his company, growing angrier and more resentful the more he thought about it. How could he possibly be willing to hand over such a massive enterprise?

Things started clattering and smashing in the office.

Just then, an old man walked in. He was the Fan Family's consecrated Grandmaster, and he already knew what had happened.

"Chairman Fan, if you want to get your revenge, there is another way! One you've overlooked."

Chairman Fan turned his head. "Please, enlighten me! What is it?"

The old man said, "You can go to the Bai Family! The old patriarch of the Bai Family, Bai Zhenshan, has returned. Ask him to strike and kill Mu Lin."

Chairman Fan's eyes flickered. "Bai Zhenshan is so famous. It must be quite difficult to get him to act, right?"

The old man replied, "Even if the cost is high, it will be worth it! Bai Zhenshan has been in seclusion for many years, clearly in closed-door cultivation. His strength must have advanced by leaps and bounds. Back then, as a Grandmaster, he was already an even match for Dong Wu. He's probably even more formidable now."

"It's not impossible for him to enter the Grandmaster realm. If that happens, you can imagine what will follow! We should get on good terms with him and build a friendly connection. The Bai Family just suffered a major disaster and their strength is greatly diminished. They will probably accept our terms!"

Hearing the old man's words, Chairman Fan narrowed his eyes and mulled it over.

"That makes sense!"

The old man's name was Ge Wannian, and he was Chairman Fan's exclusive consecrated master.

In his spare time, he would go around gathering stories from Nanjiang Province, so he was quite knowledgeable about many things.

He was the one who had heard about Bai Zhenshan's faked death and told Chairman Fan, which is why Chairman Fan wasn't surprised when he heard Bai Zhenshan's name.

Even Su Longfei couldn't defeat Mu Lin, so if they wanted to suppress Mu Lin, Bai Zhenshan was their only hope.

Chairman Fan had an epiphany. 'So there's this extra layer to the situation. Interesting!'

Chairman Fan immediately called the Bai Family, specifically asking for Bai Zhenshan to take the call.

「In the Celestial Phoenix Hotel」

Ma Tianxiang was still standing in the corner as punishment.

She no longer had a single complaint. Keeping her life was the best possible outcome.

But she couldn't help but steal glances at Mu Lin. 'To be so young and so powerful... it's simply unbelievable.'

Song Chuan's gratitude toward Mu Lin was truly unimaginable, and he was determined to manage the companies he was taking over with all his might.

He had a knack for running companies and felt it wouldn't take long to fully absorb them. Once that was done, the future would be full of possibilities.

Zhong Wentao was extremely envious. With Song Chuan as an example, he became even more eager to curry favor with Mu Lin.

'If Zhong Haoyu hadn't been courting death, maybe my relationship with Mu Lin could have reached a new level. Maybe I could have gotten a piece of the pie from Chairman Fan, too?'

'But alas, it was out of his hands. Fate, it seemed, was not something one could control.'

After the meal was finished, the group prepared to disperse.

Mu Lin planned to return to Anhua.

Suddenly, Mu Lin's phone rang. A glance at the screen revealed the caller was, surprisingly, Bai Zhenshan.

"Elder Bai, what's up?"

Bai Zhenshan let out a long breath. "Mu Xiaoyou, I've run into a particularly interesting situation. Are you interested in hearing about it?"

Mu Lin chuckled. "Go ahead."

"That Chairman Fan... he suddenly came crying to me, saying you'd done all sorts of terrible things, that you'd stolen his companies, and he wanted me to kill you."

Mu Lin laughed out loud. The fact that Bai Zhenshan would call to give him a heads-up already made his stance clear.

Even so, he asked cheerfully, "And what do you think we should do about it?"

Bai Zhenshan shook his head. "I don't care about my personal reputation. I'm an old man; I'm not that concerned with face. But Chairman Fan is a big shot. If we don't deal with him decisively, he'll just keep finding people to harass you, and that will be a pain."

Mu Lin nodded. He knew that sort of thing was a huge headache.

Like with Zhou Qishan of the Zhou Family, the constant back-and-forth was very troublesome.

The Zhou Family had been harassed for several years because of it, which had been a major headache.

"From the sound of it, you already have a plan? Why don't you tell me what it is?"

Bai Zhenshan said, "He wants me to make a move, so I'll make a move. Whether I succeed or not won't be up to him, right? I can also earn a little extra money to support the family."

A smile played on Mu Lin's lips. Bai Zhenshan was a cunning one, to have come up with such a scheme.

'Looks like Chairman Fan is going to be humiliated repeatedly, bullied right to his front door.'

'Honestly, even if he found out Bai Zhenshan was tricking him, what could he do? Bai Zhenshan's strength far surpasses everyone else's. What could the Fan Family possibly do?'

'They would just have to grit their teeth and accept it.'

'Of course, it would be best if everyone kept their mouths shut and didn't make things more complicated than they needed to be.'

"Then I'll follow your lead."

Bai Zhenshan asked, "When are you leaving?"

"This evening."

Mu Lin put his phone down. Zhong Wentao asked, "Mu Lin, who were you on the phone with?"

"Bai Zhenshan, the old patriarch of the Bai Family!"

"What?!"

Song Chuan sucked in a sharp breath. He'd had significant conflicts with Sixth Master Bai, and hearing Elder Bai's name gave him a visceral, unpleasant reaction.

Song Chuan asked anxiously, "Didn't he die a long time ago? How could he be alive again?"

The impression that Bai Zhenshan was dead was so deeply ingrained that it still held sway.

Of course, this was also related to Elder Zhao staking his reputation to protect the secret at all costs.

Mu Lin smiled. "He just used a little trick to fake his death. It's a relatively common tactic. No need for everyone to be so shocked."

Song Chuan's expression flickered between cloudy and clear. 'With Elder Bai around,' he thought, 'will he avenge Sixth Master Bai?'

'It's hard to say!'

'The Bai Family members all have explosive tempers. It would be bad if he decided to make a move against me.'

Mu Lin saw the look on Song Chuan's face and already knew what he was thinking. He smiled and said, "Uncle Song, you don't need to worry. Elder Bai already knows about you and Sixth Master Bai vying for a woman's affection. He's handled it. Sixth Master Bai won't be coming to trouble you."

Hearing this, Song Chuan almost cried. He had endured this for so long, and now, he was finally free.

"Grandmaster Bai told me to apologize to you," Mu Lin said.

Song Chuan nearly jumped out of his skin. How could he possibly accept such an apology!

"I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!"

Zhong Wentao was also deeply shocked. The relationship between Mu Lin and Elder Bai was truly intriguing.

After they finished eating, Mu Lin cheerfully bid everyone farewell.

"Even if you see a friend off for a thousand miles, the parting must come. Everyone, there's no need to escort me any further!"

Mu Lin smiled. "You all have more important things to attend to. Don't worry about me."

Zhong Wentao agreed, as did Song Chuan.

"Mu Xiaoyou, I have a niece who is about the same age as Miss Hong and is also attending university in Di Yang. Why don't I have her keep Miss Hong company? That way, Miss Hong won't be too lonely."

Zhong Wentao said.

Mu Lin looked at Hong Rui. "Hong Rui, what do you think?"

"Okay!" Hong Rui nodded hurriedly. To be honest, she was truly scared of living alone in such a large villa.

"In that case, Uncle Zhong, I'll entrust Hong Rui to you. Don't let her be wronged, or I'll be very unhappy!"

Zhong Wentao laughed heartily. "Niece Hong Rui is such a lovely girl, who would want to bully her? You're really overthinking things."

Mu Lin also knew that Zhong Wentao wouldn't dare cause any trouble, so he entrusted her to him without any worry.