Chapter 355 354: Jujitsu

Sun Tianwei stepped out of the hospital room and made a call to contact the Golden Dragon Association.

Meanwhile, at Hidden Sword Manor, Luo Wanqing treated Mu Lin and Su Nuan to a delicious late-night supper.

After they finished eating, Luo Wanqing said,

"Mr. Mu, please return to your room. I will be sure to host you properly tomorrow!"

Mu Lin smiled. "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, Manor Master Luo. I have quite a few things to attend to, and my time is tight. I can't afford any delays, so I must be on my way."

A flicker of gloom crossed Luo Wanqing's face, but she agreed, resigned.

"Very well, then."

Su Nuan breathed a sigh of relief. Staying in such a nice room wouldn't have been a problem in itself.

The problem was that she and Mu Lin were in different courtyards. She worried, what if Manor Master Luo used her authority to sneak in and start something?

If she managed to seduce Mu Lin, it would be too late for tears.

But then again, she thought, 'What does it have to do with me?'

'I'm just an ordinary person. Thinking about these things is getting ahead of myself, puffing myself up too much.'

After leaving the manor, Su Nuan said, "Today has been a real eye-opener. Not only did I find out that the Manor Master of Hidden Sword Manor is a stunning beauty, but I also saw just how incredible you are, Mr. Mu, to make her so obedient to you."

"I just happened to save her life once. It's nothing special," Mu Lin said.

Su Nuan gave Mu Lin a light smack. "Look at you, being all modest again. You know, extreme modesty is just another form of arrogance, right? No more being so humble from now on!"

Mu Lin pursed his lips. "Just be quiet for a second!"

Su Nuan was so startled her eyes began to redden. She hadn't expected Mu Lin to be so harsh with her.

Seeing this, Mu Lin looked helpless. "I'm sorry, Miss Su, that's not what I meant... I was telling you to lower your voice. There's danger."

Su Nuan couldn't help but tense up. If Mu Lin said there was danger, then there was definitely danger.

"Stay with me," Mu Lin said, slowly approaching the door to their residence.

Mu Lin pushed open the door and saw Zhu Tong lying dumped at the entrance, drenched in blood.

The sight was horrifying, making the yellowed walls look ghastly.

"Senior Brother!" Su Nuan cried, about to rush over, but Mu Lin stopped her. "Miss Su, don't be hasty. It's very dangerous to rush in right now. For both our sakes, we need to be cautious."

"Senior Brother Zhu is severely injured, but his life isn't in danger. I can heal him."

Su Nuan relaxed slightly, but her eyes remained glued to her senior brother on the ground.

Mu Lin, however, stared intently at a spot on the rafters inside the house and said,

"Come on out. Stop hiding. It's useless."

A middle-aged man leaped down from the rafters. After landing, he sized Mu Lin up and down, looking impressed.

"Kid, your senses are sharp. I clearly concealed my presence to the absolute limit. How did you find me?"

"As long as you're trying to hide," Mu Lin said, "I can naturally find you."

The middle-aged man laughed, choosing not to engage in a war of words with Mu Lin. Instead, he said,

"A Grandmaster this young is a rare sight. Where are you from? Beijing? Or Haishan?"

"Never heard of them," Mu Lin replied.

The middle-aged man's frown deepened. "Then what's your background? I'm actually a bit interested in you now. If you get on your knees and beg for mercy, then hand over the woman beside you, I'll spare your worthless life. How about it?"

Mu Lin burst out laughing. "What kind of bullshit is that? Where are you from? Who sent you? Tell me, and I might spare your life."

The middle-aged man grinned arrogantly and said with great satisfaction,

"You're not worthy of knowing who my client is! Now, hurry up and die! Remember my name: Qiu Baihu!"

With that, Qiu Baihu transformed into a black shadow, enveloping the area around Mu Lin.

Mu Lin wasn't worried. He didn't dodge at all, simply countering with a palm strike.

Qiu Baihu took the hit head-on and was sent flying.

Normally, a blow like that would have broken seven or eight of his ribs. Even if he survived, he'd have coughed up several liters of blood.

But when Qiu Baihu slammed into the wall, he didn't even cry out in pain. Instead, his body bizarrely deformed, completely dissipating the force of the impact.

"You actually practice soft-style martial arts!" Mu Lin exclaimed. The old man had rambled on to him about this strange Western technique before. It was exceptionally annoying, and you had to be on your absolute guard when facing someone who used it, without relaxing for even a moment.

'It's not a bad thing to get to witness it today.'

After a moment of thought, Mu Lin had already figured out how to deal with this kind of opponent.

Qiu Baihu licked his lips, his eyes sinister and terrifying.

"You're one of the few who could identify it. For that, I respect you as a man. I'll be sure to give you a quick death!"

Qiu Baihu rolled on the ground and quickly got back to his feet, completely unscathed.

He lunged triumphantly at Mu Lin, who remained completely unguarded, not even bothering to assume a defensive stance.

He looked for all the world like he was offering his neck for the slaughter.

"Haha, wouldn't it have been better to do this from the start? It would've saved me so much effort."

Mu Lin chuckled and lightly snapped his fingers.

Qiu Baihu's face suddenly twisted, and he collapsed to the ground, his entire body convulsing.

Stunned, he tried to process what he was feeling. It was simply unbelievable.

'I'm so strong, how could I be reacting like this?'

'You've trained for decades for this!'

SPURT! He vomited a large mouthful of blood onto the ground, his face a mask of astonishment.

"What is this..."

He was covered in blood.

Mu Lin said coldly, "Your soft-style arts can defend against physical force, but they can't defend against Profound Thunder True Qi. While you were doing everything you could to nullify the impact, my Profound Thunder True Qi had already spread throughout your entire body, just waiting for me to detonate it."

"You have one last chance," Mu Lin said. "Who sent you? What for?"

Qiu Baihu knew he was defeated. His mind was filled with the sole desire to survive. He said,

"The Golden Dragon Association sent me!"

Mu Lin nodded. "Oh... the Golden Dragon Association. Thanks. But I forgot to tell you, the Profound Thunder True Qi has already been triggered. I can't control it anymore..."

"You're a dead man."

Qiu Baihu's eyes bulged, filled with clear unwillingness and resentment, as if vowing to haunt Mu Lin until the end of time.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

A series of internal explosions left Qiu Baihu deader than dead. The skin all over his body bulged out, filled with blood. It was a terrifying sight.

Su Nuan stammered, "The Golden Dragon Association... But when did we ever offend the Golden Dragon Association? Why would they send someone to kill my Senior Brother?"

Mu Lin picked up Zhu Tong. "Get all the bedding and everything off the bed. Leave just the wooden frame!"

Su Nuan hurriedly did as he asked. Mu Lin placed Zhu Tong on the frame, and blood immediately began to drip down through the cracks in the boards.

The task was immense.

Using every unique skill in his arsenal and expending a Herculean effort, Mu Lin finally managed to drag Zhu Tong back from death's door.

Su Nuan could do nothing but squat to the side, wiping away her tears.

"Stop crying. I saved your Senior Brother," Mu Lin said.

Su Nuan said, "But isn't his body in even worse shape now? He was already hanging on by a thread, and now..."

"But I've essentially saved his life, and that's what's crucial," Mu Lin said. "As long as there are no major mishaps, I have a way to improve his condition. But all of this depends on you listening to me."

Su Nuan nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Yes, I understand!"

Mu Lin's expression softened slightly. "Alright. Tell me about this Golden Dragon Association. They're the local powerhouse organization, right?"

Su Nuan nodded. "That's right, they're the local tyrants, and they're completely out of control... But we have no past or present grievances with them. There's no reason for them to come after us."

"And you don't know of any other reason?" Mu Lin asked.

Su Nuan shook her head helplessly. "I don't know."

The Golden Dragon Association was a major underground force entrenched in Lanyang, and it had always been the city's absolute hegemon.

A few years ago, the Golden Dragon Association leaped to become the largest organization in Lanyang. It had dominated ever since, leaving no room for any other groups.

The president of the Golden Dragon Association was named He Zongshan. He was a martial artist, but few could say for certain what his cultivation level was.

Some said he was a Grandmaster, while others claimed he was a Grandmaster of the highest order.

Although his cultivation was unknown, He Zongshan ran the Golden Dragon Association with great success. In Lanyang's underworld, almost no new talent ever managed to emerge.

The situation was utterly hopeless.

It was said that a mysterious figure backed He Zongshan. If you provoked him, that mysterious figure would make a move.