Chapter 377 376: Admitting Fault

Qiao Canhua was about to explode.

He had nearly lost a fortune, and what's more, he'd been made an absolute fool. The whole thing was just insane.

A single piece of talisman paper had already cost so many lives, and now this Feng Shui Master's silver tongue had nearly cost him tens of millions.

Now, even after being exposed, Huo Changsheng could still act completely unfazed and keep up his act.

It was just so absurd.

Mu Lin said coldly, "I've already smashed open the wall and the talisman paper has fallen out. You're still talking like that? Do you take us all for blind fools?"

"Let me put it this way. I may not know much about Feng Shui, but I know how to draw talismans and manipulate Spiritual Power. If you don't start being sensible, I have plenty of ways to make you talk."

"It's one thing if you confess on your own. It'll be another thing entirely if I have to *make* you confess. You'd better just come clean now. Otherwise, I'll dig up every last one of your secrets sooner or later."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

Huo Changsheng, of course, knew what Mu Lin was threatening. The moment Mu Lin mentioned it, his pupils contracted in terror.

But he still kept his mouth shut, not saying a single word, abandoning any attempt to defend himself.

Mu Lin narrowed his eyes. He knew the man was hiding something. He immediately used a technique to control Huo Changsheng's mind.

With a glazed expression, Huo Changsheng told the truth.

He was instructed by someone to come and trick Qiao Canhua into tearing down the building and rebuilding it.

As for who the mastermind was, he didn't know...

Mu Lin pressed him about the Feng Shui of the location. Without hesitation, Huo Changsheng stated that the layout was top-notch.

Mu Lin glanced at Qiao Canhua, whose anger gradually subsided. After all, there was an element of external interference in this matter.

Huo Changsheng wasn't the mastermind, so taking out all his anger on him would be pointless.

However, the man had still aided a villain and stubbornly refused to admit his wrongs. From a moral standpoint, he was completely rotten.

From now on, he would never hire Huo Changsheng or his apprentices for Feng Shui readings again.

Mu Lin released his control and said to Huo Changsheng, "Do you admit you were wrong?"

"Wrong? What have I done wrong?"

Mu Lin raised his phone and played the audio he had just recorded.

As the audio played, Huo Changsheng's expression changed drastically. By the time it finished, he was trembling so much he could barely stand.

"You ask what you did wrong?" Mu Lin regarded Huo Changsheng impassively. "I think you know perfectly well."

Captain Meng said, "Mr. Mu, I think we can arrest him for fraud!"

It wasn't a perfect fit for the crime, but it was close enough.

With a THUD, Huo Changsheng dropped to his knees. "I was wrong, I was wrong! I'm not human, I'm scum! Please, spare my life!"

Mu Lin's expression remained unchanged, utterly cold. "I gave you plenty of chances. But how did you repay me?"

"At this point, even death by a thousand cuts would be what you deserve."

Qiao Canhua thought this was going too far. If Mu Lin were to kill Huo Changsheng here, his followers would inevitably resent Mu Lin, and heaven knows when they might come seeking revenge.

You can't spend your whole life looking over your shoulder.

Qiao Canhua grabbed Mu Lin's arm. "Mu Lin, let it go. All he did was run his mouth. The real mastermind is still out there. Huo Changsheng doesn't deserve to die for this."

Mu Lin considered this. Since Qiao Canhua, the victim, was saying this, he decided to respect his wishes.

"Alright then, Uncle Qiao, you deal with him. You are the victim. However you handle him, I doubt he'll dare to resist."

Qiao Canhua looked at Huo Changsheng with contempt. "Master Huo, no serious harm was done this time, so I'll let it slide for now. But if our paths ever cross again, I won't be so courteous!"

Huo Changsheng nodded frantically, then bolted out of there like a spooked chicken.

Seeing that the matter was finally settled, Qiao Canhua let out a long sigh of relief.

Madam Qiao smiled gently. "Honey, Mu Lin helped us again. Thank goodness he was here. Heaven knows how much trouble we would have had solving this on our own."

Qiao Canhua said, "If I had followed Master Huo's advice and torn down the building to rebuild, I, as chairman, would have definitely had to step down."

He was overcome with emotion, deeply understanding how significant Mu Lin was to his family.

'It's a shame I don't have a daughter, or I'd insist on making him my son-in-law.'

Meng Fang saw that the conflict was more or less resolved and that Qiao Canhua and Huo Changsheng had reached an understanding. He knew the only thing left for him to do was report back to his superiors.

Another case would go unresolved.

With that thought, Meng Fang prepared to take his leave.

"Mr. Mu, Chairman Qiao, Madam Qiao, I have to get back to the station. Farewell."

Qiao Canhua thanked Meng Fang, "Today was all thanks to you being here, Captain Meng. Mu Lin and I are going to the next accident site. I'll have Mu Lin find you later."

Meng Fang quickly nodded in agreement.

Qiao Canhua led Mu Lin from one construction site to another. At each location, they found a piece of talisman paper that had been secretly buried.

After visiting several sites, Qiao Canhua felt he'd seen more talisman paper than ever before in his life, and it was all aimed at him.

'What kind of hatred is this?'

"Mu Lin, which wall are we smashing this time?"

Mu Lin said, "No more smashing walls. The opponent has changed their tactics. Someone has set up an Array here."

"You even know about Arrays?" Qiao Canhua exclaimed in shock.

Mu Lin laughed. "Ha, I know a little. I'm certainly no match for a professional, but it's enough to break this one."

As he spoke, Mu Lin arrived at the accident scene.

Many workers had died here as well. Some had fallen to their deaths, just like before, while others had been killed by falling objects.

Mu Lin sighed and continued forward.

He then discovered that someone had used the mountain's topography to set up an Array, one that was incredibly thick with yin energy.

His expression changed the moment he saw this Array.

Qiao Canhua sensed that Mu Lin's expression was off and knew this was probably a critical spot. He quickly pulled his wife closer to Mu Lin.

Through this arrangement, the yin energy from the earth's ley lines was all being channeled to the project site, concentrating with greatest intensity right at the scene of the accidents.

It was so absurd that even Mu Lin could only shake his head in vexation.

Mu Lin said, "Uncle Qiao, please step back a bit. I'm going to find a way to break the Array."

Qiao Canhua agreed and quickly led his wife to a safe distance.

Seeing that they were safe, Mu Lin calmed himself and focused on the Array.

He found the Array's core, poured his Profound Thunder True Qi into it, and before long, the core shattered.

Before Mu Lin could catch his breath, a wisp of yin energy shot out from the shattered core. This yin energy had actually wrapped itself around a strand of Profound Thunder True Qi as it sped off into the distance.

Mu Lin immediately gave chase. To his surprise, he could perfectly match the yin energy's speed, keeping pace with it as it fled.

'This must be a way to report the Array-breaker's identity to its master. Does that mean if I follow it, I'm guaranteed to find the person behind all this?'

'Of course, it might just be some Cultivator that the mastermind hired.'

Regardless of who it was, Mu Lin swore he would catch them and make them answer for the workers who had died.

The chase led him deep into a mountainous region. The path was rugged and treacherous, making the pursuit incredibly difficult for Mu Lin.

In a small cabin in the mountains, an old man in black suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"The Array... it's been broken..." The old man looked gaunt and his eyes were tired, yet they radiated a venomous hatred, like a viper's.

"Where did Qiao Canhua find such an expert? To be able to break my Array? How could my carefully laid Array be broken so easily?!"

"Breaking an Array requires countless steps and conditions. To break my Array, one's cultivation must at least surpass the Celestial Being level. Is that a resource Qiao Canhua can mobilize? If he had that kind of power, he wouldn't be in real estate; countless opportunities to get rich would be waiting for him."

"Of course, if that Cultivator's constitution happens to be one of pure yang, then destroying the Array wouldn't be so hard... But it's too late for that now. There's no point dwelling on it."

"Fortunately, I had a contingency. I can capture a wisp of the Array-breaker's True Qi and have it sent back to me. With this aura, I can do a great many things. Whether they live or die a painful death will be entirely up to me."

The black-clad old man was still gloating when a wisp of True Qi flew in through his window. He smiled in satisfaction and immediately snatched it from the air.

He sensed it for a moment, and his eyebrows shot up. "It's actually the rare Profound Thunder True Qi. Its grade is not low. No wonder my wards were broken so easily. It's not so surprising, now that I think about it."