Chapter 350 349: Xu Jishan Goes Missing

Wu Henghai stood to the side, shocked by what he was hearing. "Chief, are you saying the Xu Family is in cahoots with our Military Suppression Bureau? Did we prop them up? No wonder what we did to them was..."

Jiang Long shot Wu Henghai a glare. Only then did Wu Henghai realize Mu Lin was still present. This kind of conversation would only disgust Mu Lin, which could cause major problems later on.

He was filled with regret, but it was too late to take it back.

Mu Lin had long known that Wu Henghai wasn't exactly clean—he just found him less grating than most. He wasn't the least bit shocked.

Jiang Long said, "Mr. Mu, please don't misunderstand. The truth is vastly different from what Captain Wu said. This matter involves the previous chief of the Nanjiang branch."

"Mr. Mu, can I ask you to help me investigate the Xu father and son?"

'I was counting on you to investigate, and now you're asking me?' Mu Lin thought.

'Is this even a thing?'

"The Military Suppression Bureau is stronger than I am, with more eyes and ears. Your investigation would certainly be faster than mine. Why come to me?"

Jiang Long said, "The Military Suppression Bureau is riddled with factions, a tangled and complex mess. If I entrust the investigation to the Bureau, we might never get to the bottom of it."

Mu Lin understood. This meant there were likely enemy spies within the Bureau, so Jiang Long wanted Mu Lin to investigate on his behalf and uncover the truth.

Mu Lin paused, then said, "But what if Elder Xu is perfectly fine? Wouldn't an investigation like this be making a big fuss over nothing? It's not like I have nothing better to do."

Jiang Long replied, "I understand your predicament. Actually, this was the old chief's idea. The old chief and Xu Jishan's father were old comrades-in-arms."

"The two of them forged a brotherly bond during the fires of war. But unexpectedly, Elder Xu's father died on the battlefield. After the war, the old chief came to Nanjiang. On one hand, Nanjiang was indeed prosperous; on the other, he was also there to look after the Xu Family."

'So that's how it is.' It was quite a moving and tragic story.

'Given the circumstances, it would be wrong for me to refuse,' Mu Lin thought.

"Alright, I'll handle the investigation. I'll report back to you with my findings."

Jiang Long bowed deeply. "Thank you, Mr. Mu!"

In truth, it wasn't just for the sake of secrecy. The Military Suppression Bureau was short on high-level experts. Everyone was already busy with their own tasks, and officially assigning people to investigate Xu Jishan's safety would have been awkward.

Therefore, having Mu Lin investigate the Xu Family was a perfect solution. It couldn't be more fitting.

After settling these matters, Jiang Long left with Wu Henghai.

Zhao Ling'Er had been listening the entire time. As soon as they left, she grabbed Mu Lin. "Mu Lin! Mu Lin! Mu Lin! Did you hear that?! You're a big shot in the Military Suppression Bureau now! In the entire organization, you only have to listen to one person!"

In terms of rank alone, Mu Lin had already far surpassed Mayor Hu. He could now truly do as he pleased in Anhua, and no one would dare stand in his way.

'In reality, I don't even have to listen to Jiang Long,' Mu Lin thought.

'Jiang Long's life is still in my hands, after all.'

Of course, he didn't dwell on this. His mind was fully occupied with the question of Xu Jishan's whereabouts.

When Xu Jishan had said he wanted to hang around and have some fun in Anhua, Mu Lin had never imagined it would lead to him disappearing without a trace.

Although the Xu Family was the weakest of Anhua's six great families, the foundation they had built over many years was not something an ordinary person could contend with.

In both legitimate and underground circles, there were actually very few places where the Xu Family could truly exert influence.

After smiling and bidding farewell to Zhao Ling'Er, Mu Lin rushed back to the company.

He walked straight to Li Xue's office. Li Xue's young assistant didn't dare to stop him; after failing every single time, she had long since lost heart.

So she simply stopped trying.

Words couldn't describe how angry Li Xue was when she saw Mu Lin walk in.

She was working like a dog, while Mu Lin, on the other hand, was always cheerful and carefree, never seeming to do any real work.

'Regret. So much regret. How could I have been so naive as to believe he could improve? It's laughable.'

Mu Lin said to Li Xue, "President Li, I'm here to request some time off. I need to go on a trip for a while to rest."

Li Xue's brow furrowed deeply, but upon reflection, she realized she had no grounds to stop him.

'We did agree he was free to come and go as he pleased, after all.'

'I could just slap my past self.'

'Why did I have to be so proper? Why didn't I just make him my loyal dog?'

All she could do was slam her hand on the desk, her tone harsh. "Fine, go! But don't expect to get paid for any day you take off, you hear me?"

Mu Lin couldn't care less about that; he had plenty of money. Once he had Li Xue's approval and watched her submit his leave request to HR, he turned and left with peace of mind.

Mu Lin then called Long Qingshan to inform him he would be leaving for a period of time. He asked him to help keep an eye on various matters both inside and outside Anhua during his absence.

Although the Li Family was safe for now, they couldn't rule out the possibility of sudden, unexpected dangers.

From this point forward, things would only get more complicated.

Long Qingshan, of course, agreed immediately and gave Mu Lin his personal guarantee.

After a moment's thought, Mu Lin also called Liu Yiming.

Liu Yiming was overjoyed to hear that Mu Lin was entrusting him with the protection of the Li Family. To him, this meant Mu Lin considered him one of his own people.

Last but not least, Mu Lin found Zhou Qianfan and Chu Chaoxiong. He briefed them on key points to watch out for during this period, telling them to notify him immediately if anything seemed off.

With all his arrangements made, Mu Lin finally set off for the neighboring city with a clear conscience.

After getting out of the car, Mu Lin sensed someone following him. He couldn't shake the person all the way to the front of the train station.

He glanced around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He walked on for a while before he heard a sigh from down beside him. "Hey! I'm down here!"

Hearing the voice, Mu Lin looked down and saw a petite young woman glaring at him resentfully.

"Are you doing this on purpose? Did you really not see me?"

Mu Lin replied, "Unless I knew you were here, it honestly wouldn't occur to me to look down!"

"What was your name again?"

Mu Lin genuinely couldn't remember.

"Last time, in Songyang! You saved me, have you forgotten?"

Mu Lin racked his brain for a moment but still drew a blank. He had been so busy with his cultivation that some of the finer details had simply slipped his mind.

"What was your name again?!"

"Su Nuan! My name is Su Nuan!" the petite woman said, clearly annoyed.

'He completely and utterly forgot about me!'

"You're a local here?"

"Of course! To thank you for your help, I'd like to treat you to a meal. Would that be alright?"

Mu Lin figured he didn't have any close friends or family here anyway, so he might as well get a meal out of it.

"In that case, it would be rude to refuse."

Su Nuan led Mu Lin to a restaurant. Judging by the decor, it was clearly a high-end establishment.

The atmosphere was a bit stiff. Mu Lin had no intention of starting a conversation, he was just waiting for the food to arrive.

Su Nuan had no choice but to take on the heavy burden of starting the conversation.

"Are you a doctor?"

Mu Lin said simply, "You could say I know a little about traditional healing arts. I've managed to save a few people, but it's nothing to brag about."

Su Nuan's mouth fell open. "So you're a traditional Chinese medicine doctor! I always thought that stuff was just a scam. But after what happened last time, I've realized it's actually amazing."

Mu Lin asked, "What happened to you last time, anyway? How were you able to run when you were that badly injured?"

Thinking back on it, a wave of fear washed over Su Nuan.

"Ugh, don't even talk about it. It was an old enemy. That person was incredibly powerful. I barely escaped with my life. I only made it out thanks to you!"

Mu Lin felt she wasn't exaggerating. If he hadn't happened to treat her on a whim, Su Nuan would have been long dead.

As they ate, Su Nuan asked, "Mr. Mu, how much do you usually charge for your treatments?"

Thinking Su Nuan was just asking casually, Mu Lin replied, "I don't charge ordinary people. For the rich and powerful, I charge a bit more. And for minor ailments, I charge less; for serious ones, I charge more. That's about it."

Su Nuan froze when she heard this. After a moment of contemplation, she asked, "My senior martial brother is injured. Could you treat him?"

Mu Lin paused. That was a tricky question. Not all treatments were the same. They couldn't be compared.

But as Mu Lin looked closely, he saw Su Nuan staring at him with her entire being, as if she was placing her very last hope on him.

Seeing her like this, how could he possibly refuse to help?

"Alright. We'll go as soon as we finish eating. Let's not waste any time."

Su Nuan immediately got up to find the waiter and hurry the food along.