Chapter 335 334: Blood Crystal

"If something happens, I'll take full responsibility. Is that good enough?" The moment Mu Lin said this, Zhou Changkong felt a shiver of apprehension.

To speak with such gravity meant Mu Lin was completely confident.

But where did this confidence come from?

Who knew?

Xu Tianming retorted, "You'll take responsibility? And how will you do that? If something goes wrong, you'll just skip town, but my master will be the one facing the serious consequences."

He had voiced Zhou Changkong's exact worry. What grounds did Mu Lin have to take responsibility?

However, he still pulled Xu Tianming back a bit. "Do not be rude to Mr. Mu!"

Mu Lin sighed. "Oh, you guys…"

Zhou Changkong wasted no time getting to work. First, he reported the situation to the Military Suppression Bureau, then he went to mobilize the residents of the nearby villages.

"The Military Suppression Bureau will be here any minute!" Zhou Changkong ran back, drenched in sweat, and said urgently, "The surrounding villagers have been organized. They're on their way over with their tools!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of people in Military Suppression Bureau uniforms walked over.

Zhou Changkong hurried over. 'I'm the one who reported this,' he thought, 'so I need to step up and take charge.'

But the person leading the team completely ignored him and went straight for Mu Lin.

"Mr. Mu!"

Seeing who it was, Mu Lin offered a simple smile. "Hello, Captain Gu."

They had spoken before, back in Songyang.

Zhou Changkong was completely dumbfounded. 'These two know each other well?'

Moreover, this captain treated Mu Lin with the utmost courtesy. In the past, the people they'd seen from the Military Suppression Bureau, even the lowest-ranking agents, were all insufferably arrogant.

But this group was exceptionally humble.

'Why? It's definitely not because of me, Zhou Changkong. This must mean Mu Lin is a genuinely big shot.'

Xu Tianming wasn't an idiot, either. Seeing this, he stood frozen in astonishment, too scared to even move.

'He's such a heavy hitter, and I actually dared to speak to him like that. I wonder if I'll even survive this.'

But seeing that Mu Lin still seemed quite easygoing, his agitated heart calmed down a tiny bit.

Gu Wu said, "Mr. Mu, what on earth happened that you called us here in such a hurry?"

Mu Lin pulled him slightly aside and whispered a few words, causing Gu Wu's expression to become incredibly grave.

He quickly waved his hand and ordered Zhou Changkong, "Captain Zhou, have the villagers drain this ditch immediately! Get a move on, now!"

Zhou Changkong said, "Yes, sir!"

He then swiftly called his team members over to get to work, urging them to finish the job quickly.

As it turned out, the workers didn't follow Mu Lin's instructions. Instead, they blocked one end with earth and then opened up the downstream outlet, draining the water in an instant.

It was countless times faster than Mu Lin's method.

Mu Lin rubbed his nose. 'Guess I'm a bit old-fashioned.'

AH!

The assisting villagers suddenly cried out in alarm.

"What's… What's this!"

They were terrified when they saw a human-shaped object at the bottom of the ditch.

The village head quickly led the helping villagers away to prevent them from getting too frightened.

Zhou Changkong went forward to look, and despite being mentally prepared, he was still utterly shocked.

Lying at the bottom of the ditch was a woman—at least, that's what her clothing suggested.

There was a blood-red sphere on her abdomen. The scene was incredibly bizarre; no wonder the villagers had cried out in alarm.

Strangely, the corpse hadn't decomposed at all; it was merely covered in sludge.

What's more, there was no smell of decay, which surprised Zhou Changkong, who was used to seeing dead bodies.

Mu Lin stepped forward and examined the body closely. Pointing at the sphere on the woman's chest, he said, "This is a Blood Crystal, refined from blood essence. This woman… she was likely an expert at the Grandmaster level before she died."

Zhou Changkong was completely baffled by this talk of a "Grandmaster," but when the members of the Military Suppression Bureau heard it, they were filled with nothing but shock, shock, and more shock.

A Grandmaster, found dead in a place like this—how incredibly sinister!

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes, analyzing as he spoke:

"This person's constitution is extremely special. She was used to purify blood qi. The purified blood qi was then condensed into this Blood Crystal."

As Mu Lin spoke slowly, Gu Wu listened, his heart reeling from one shock after another.

'This is absolutely shocking. Who knew such a method even existed?'

The fact that Mu Lin knew about this further confirmed his suspicion: Mu Lin truly had a powerful faction backing him.

'How else could he possibly know?'

As they were talking, a large worm, the size of a loach, crawled out from between the corpse's mouth and nose.

It was a Blood-sucking Gu.

Mu Lin raised his hand and pierced the Blood-sucking Gu with a silver needle. The Gu died shortly after.

Mu Lin said, "Blood-sucking Gu always come in pairs. The male sucks the blood, and the female refines it."

Zhou Changkong asked tentatively, "So the one from yesterday was the male, and this one is its corresponding female?"

Mu Lin nodded slowly. That was his guess as well.

"That's a logical conclusion."

Gu Wu also said gravely, "I can't believe someone was cultivating a Blood Crystal in such an inconspicuous place, and using such a cruel method."

Mu Lin said, "After I discovered the anomaly, I immediately felt something was wrong, so I called the Military Suppression Bureau."

Gu Wu was incredibly grateful to Mu Lin. "Mr. Mu, thank you. With your support, we were able to find such an important clue in time."

Mu Lin smiled and waved it off. "Don't mention it. It's all for the sake of making the world a better place."

Gu Wu's team members looked at Mu Lin with solemn expressions.

'Mu Lin is just incredible. He's our idol.'

Zhou Changkong came forward, dragging Xu Tianming, whose expression was a miserable sight.

Xu Tianming was extremely reluctant, but Zhou Changkong pressed down hard on the back of his neck, forcing him down.

"Apologize properly!"

Xu Tianming shouted, "Mr. Mu, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have treated you like that! I really didn't know you were so powerful!"

Mu Lin just smiled. "You guys are being too formal."

After a pause, Mu Lin said, "Xu Tianming, are you from the Di Yang Xu Family?"

Xu Tianming was astonished. He quickly looked up and said, "How did you know?"

Mu Lin said, "It wasn't too difficult to guess. Back when I was in Di Yang, I had a run-in with someone who looked a lot like you. He tried to use some kind of control technique to take advantage of a girl, so I taught him a lesson."

Xu Tianming's mouth fell open. "That was my cousin… My family is just a side branch of the Xu Family. We don't have much of a say."

Mu Lin chuckled. "So you're trying to achieve something to one-up the main branch of the Xu Family, is that it?"

A… A chill ran down Xu Tianming's spine as he listened. Mu Lin was just too terrifying.

"You're incredible, sir! To think you could even figure that out!"

Mu Lin frowned. 'What did I figure out?' he thought. But a moment later he understood and said, "I didn't 'figure' anything out. Your impatience and hot-headedness are written all over your face. Anyone with eyes can see it. Whether they'd tell you so is another matter entirely."

Xu Tianming was speechless.

Seeing the two of them striking up a conversation, Zhou Changkong knew things wouldn't escalate, and he was finally able to relax.

"Mr. Mu, I still need to watch over things here. How about I have Tianming drive you back?"

Mu Lin smiled. "That would be fine."

Xu Tianming quickly went to get the car. He was completely won over by Mu Lin now; it was impossible to be more earnest than he was at that moment.

Mu Lin thought of Elder Xu Jishan. The last time, he had rushed over from Di Yang overnight just to warn Mu Lin about Sun Tiandang's attack.

He had then claimed he would hang around Anhua for a while, but then he disappeared without a trace.

'Heaven knows where he's gone.'

Mu Lin thought for a moment and asked, "Elder Xu said last time that he wanted to spend some time in Anhua. How has he been?"

Xu Tianming froze. 'Asking me about the main branch's affairs?' he thought. 'He might as well be asking a fish to climb a tree.' "I'm sorry," he said. "I really don't know. I have no right to ask about the affairs of the main branch. In fact, knowing anything would be an offense!"

Mu Lin sighed. "Alright, I understand. I'll find someone else to ask later."

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Mu Lin felt. He decided to make a call and ask Lin Jin.

"Uncle Lin! Do you know anything about Elder Xu Jishan's recent movements? After he came to Anhua to warn me about Sun Tiandang, he said he was going to stay and have some fun for a while, but I have no idea what's become of him… Anhua has been very unstable recently. I'm worried he might be in trouble."

Hearing this, Lin Jin was also at a loss. "Ah… you've stumped me there…"

"There's been no news from the Xu Family at all recently. It's like they've gone completely quiet. Heaven only knows what he's actually doing."

Mu Lin frowned. 'This isn't right,' he thought. "Uncle Lin, could you help me look into it? See if Elder Xu ever actually went home… He's in my territory, so I feel responsible for him."