Chapter 349 348: Drained Out

Mu Lin stated simply, "Expelling the toxic energy is an extremely painful process. I used an acupuncture technique to render you unconscious so you wouldn't have to feel it."

"I see. So, has the poison been expelled?"

"See for yourself," Mu Lin said, holding up a porcelain vial. "To deal with you, those bastards really spared no expense. This is all rare stuff. Can I keep some of it?"

Jiang Long said seriously, "As long as you leave a sufficient sample for the Military Suppression Bureau's records, you can take the rest."

"Deal," Mu Lin said simply, handing the vial to a woman who had walked up.

Mu Lin studied her for a moment. 'It isn't that proud and arrogant Miss Ling.'

'Good enough.'

The woman was also looking at Mu Lin, which he found strange. "Why are you looking at me?"

The woman said, "You're very famous, you know that?"

Mu Lin froze for a second. 'What does she mean by that?'

"Why do you say I'm famous?"

The woman said cheerfully, "How could you not be? You're the great celebrity who earned our Divine Doctor Ling's approval."

'That woman?'

'Mu Lin hadn't realized she had that much Magic Power.'

"Shoo, shoo, what nonsense are you spouting!" Another, older-looking woman came over and shooed the girl away.

"Team Leader Jiang, my apologies. She's young and doesn't know any better!"

Jiang Long felt completely relaxed and naturally wasn't going to get angry over such a small matter.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. It's good for young people to be so lively!"

He stood up and stretched, feeling incredibly comfortable.

Mayor Hu was hiding not far away outside.

As the mayor, he was quite afraid of being recognized by the public.

Showing up and just standing around inside a clinic would make people suspect he had some kind of illness.

If it blew up into a scandal, he feared it might undermine his authority in Anhua.

His secretary came over and said to Mayor Hu, "Mayor Hu, Team Leader Jiang and the others are coming out."

Mayor Hu quickly turned and ran over excitedly, stopping beside Wu Henghai.

After all, this was an internal matter for the Military Suppression Bureau. He was only here to make a gesture of goodwill; there was no need to make a big show of it.

If he handled it poorly, his attempt to be clever could backfire and might even worsen his relationship with the Military Suppression Bureau.

Wu Henghai asked, "Team Leader Jiang, how are you feeling now?"

Team Leader Jiang smiled. "I feel fantastic! So much lighter!"

But Mu Lin said, "I've only dealt with part of the threat. It's not completely over."

At his words, everyone's expressions stiffened.

"Wh-what do you mean? Is there an illness that even you, Divine Doctor Mu, can't completely cure?"

Mu Lin said, "Didn't I just say? Without the Infinite Thunder Fruit, he can no longer use his Thunder Force. This means there's still a huge latent threat in Team Leader Jiang's body. This threat will erupt in three to four years."

"Is there really no other way?" Wu Henghai asked earnestly. "I've never even heard of something like an Infinite Thunder Fruit. Where in the world would we find one!"

The secretary next to Jiang Long said, "I've already looked into it. There's no stock of the Infinite Thunder Fruit anywhere in Nanjiang. The Military Suppression Bureau headquarters has some, but the quantity is extremely small. It can only be obtained through exceptionally high military merit; high status alone is useless."

Jiang Long let out a heavy sigh. Although he was a team leader, his military achievements were average at best, not nearly enough to obtain such a precious medicinal ingredient.

'Being only half-cured for now was, frankly, still acceptable.'

Jiang Long pulled a card from his pocket and handed it to Mu Lin. "Here, take this! It's the exclusive credential for an Honored Guest Elder of the Military Suppression Bureau."

When Mu Lin first looked at it, the card was completely blank. But when he looked a second time, characters appeared on it.

Jiang Long had formed them on the card with his True Qi, with perfect precision.

It was even a flamboyant, handwritten script that looked exceptionally real.

"The aura on it is unique to me. If anyone tries to impersonate you, they'll have to answer to my fists first!"

Jiang Long declared majestically.

Mu Lin, however, said calmly, "I never said I wanted to join any organization, much less become an Honored Guest Elder of the Military Suppression Bureau."

Seeing the icy coldness in Mu Lin's eyes, Jiang Long knew that his impression of the Military Suppression Bureau was genuinely terrible.

'This is my own fault for poor management; I can't blame Mu Lin for it.'

'I have to accept this. When I get back, I'm going to whip these subordinates of mine into shape.'

"Mr. Mu, you've misunderstood. This doesn't mean you'll be under the Military Suppression Bureau's command from now on. You don't have to obey the Bureau's orders, but you will have my personal authorization. You will be able to command all thirteen squads in Nanjiang Province."

"With this, no one from my Military Suppression Bureau will be able to harass you again. It is indeed my fault for being negligent in my management of the Bureau. It will take some time to reorganize things, but this Guest Minister Certificate will guarantee that you remain above the fray during this period."

Mu Lin still didn't take it.

Mayor Hu chimed in, "Mr. Mu, you should take it! That Guest Minister Certificate carries a lot of weight. From now on, even I will have to be exceptionally respectful to you..."

Mu Lin paused but still didn't take it.

Divine Doctor Zhao thought, 'This kid Mu Lin is really dug in his heels,' and quickly said, "Mu Lin, with this, if you see anyone from the Military Suppression Bureau committing evil, you can intervene directly. Even if you kill them, there will be no consequences. Isn't that a good thing?"

Mu Lin slowly nodded. "You're right. I'll take it then."

Jiang Long slowly breathed a sigh of relief, but Divine Doctor Zhao's reasoning still left him feeling utterly exasperated.

At any rate, he had accepted it.

Mu Lin took the certificate and glanced at it, his hand trembling in shock. Jiang Long hadn't explained the full extent of the authority it granted at all.

The authority was immense. To put it simply, if Mu Lin wanted to, he could kill every Martial Artist in Nanjiang Province, and before Jiang Long could step in to stop him, everyone in the Military Suppression Bureau could only stand by and watch.

Mu Lin could even wipe out the members of the Military Suppression Bureau themselves.

Of course, no one would be stupid enough to have such a privilege in hand only to use it to kill everyone.

Jiang Long saw that Mu Lin had read the text on the back of the card and guessed what he was thinking. After a moment, he handed another card to Mu Lin.

"Mr. Mu, please take this! This is for my medical fees. It's one billion in total. It's not much, but it's a token of my appreciation."

Mu Lin accepted it calmly. 'Money is a good thing; no one would refuse it.'

'He noticed that Jiang Long had given him the Guest Minister Certificate first, and then the money.'

'This meant Jiang Long was worried Mu Lin wouldn't accept the status of an Honored Guest Elder, so he pressed the certificate on him first before giving him the money.'

'If it had been the other way around, Mu Lin could have just said the bill was paid and their business was concluded, making it impossible for him to accept the Guest Minister Certificate.'

'Clever. As expected of the man in charge of an entire city; his grasp of such matters was incredibly precise.'

Seeing that the matter was concluded, Mayor Hu left early to avoid being spotted by any busybodies.

Jiang Long, however, remained in the Holy Medicine Hall. He said, "Divine Doctor Mu, are you very familiar with the Xu Family? I noticed you were inquiring about them."

Mu Lin replied, "At first, I ran into an unworthy scion of the Xu Family, and things got a bit tense. But later we had a good talk, and the misunderstanding was cleared up."

Jiang Long said, "Actually, it's not just you. We've also been concerned about the Xu Family's situation internally. The Xu Family is a major clan, after all. If any turmoil were to occur, it would be a blow to everyone."

Mu Lin asked, "Then have Xu Jishan and the others returned?"

"No." Jiang Long heaved a long sigh. "All traces of them have vanished. They were last seen at the border of Anhua."

"Vanished?" Countless unpleasant scenes flashed through Mu Lin's mind.

"Mr. Mu, please don't panic. We haven't reached the worst-case scenario yet..." Jiang Long said hastily, seeing that Mu Lin looked like he was about to erupt.

"Our speculation is that a Grandmaster-level expert abducted them."

"Only someone of that caliber could so effortlessly evade all the surveillance cameras on the street and take them away."

"And the purpose of this is surely not to kill them. If you're going to kill people who are this crucial to a family, you'd want it to be discovered as soon as possible for maximum impact. Causing a disappearance like this is a much more straightforward affair, suggesting other motives."

Mu Lin said, "I only asked Lin Jin about this. How did you guys find out?"

Jiang Long replied, "For Lin Jin to investigate, he ultimately had to ask our people for help. He just pulled some personal strings. When my subordinates heard that *you* were the one asking, they took it very seriously and reported it up the chain."

Jiang Long had truly racked his brains trying to get on good terms with Mu Lin.

It was really something else.

"There's no harm in telling you some things. To be honest, the Xu Family and the Military Suppression Bureau have quite a deep connection."