Chapter 405 404: Atonement

"Bodies? What bodies?" Master Minghui looked completely bewildered. He had no idea what was going on.

Mu Lin said, "Master Minghui, you don't know yet, do you? There are several corpses buried on the back mountain. They're quite fresh—looks like they were buried just a few months ago."

Master Minghui exclaimed in shock, "How could that be?!"

Mu Lin tilted his head. "Why couldn't it be? How can you be so sure? Didn't you say you didn't know your martial brothers well? How can you be certain this isn't their doing?"

A sorrowful look crossed Master Minghui's face. "But... how could this be..."

Meng Fang walked over and said, "I know this may be difficult for you to accept, but I must make it clear: we will not let a single criminal escape, nor will we wrongfully accuse an innocent person."

"Yes, that would be for the best!" Master Minghui felt slightly reassured. He followed the group, saying, "Captain Meng, I still think bodies on the back mountain is too outrageous. Could there have been a mistake? It's not that I don't believe Mr. Mu, but no matter how far Celestial Dragon Temple has fallen, we would never stoop to taking lives!"

In truth, Meng Fang had long heard strange rumors and had already suspected there might be bodies.

But seeing Master Minghui's utter disbelief, he didn't have the heart to shatter the last shred of positive feeling the master had for his martial brothers.

He said, "Don't be anxious. Let's go over first. How about you see for yourself?"

Master Minghui said seriously, "Alright. A matter this important, I must witness it with my own eyes!"

Mu Lin thought to himself, 'This is hardly a good thing. After all, there really is something evil in the ground.'

However, Master Minghui's mind was made up, so Mu Lin didn't say anything more.

Meng Fang ordered his team to get busy, and they began digging in the area Mu Lin indicated, using the specified tools.

They had barely broken the soil when the officer in charge of digging said, "Captain, the smell is overwhelming! There's definitely something down here!"

Meng Fang waved his hand. "Then hurry! We must get to the bottom of this and give the master an explanation!"

A few more shovelfuls, and several extremely decomposed corpses were unearthed.

Master Minghui's legs gave out on the spot. "Heavens, it's true... Doesn't that mean my Celestial Dragon Temple is nothing but a den of thieves? My god, my martial brothers..."

The more he thought, the more wrong it felt, and for a moment, he was scared to death.

"I've lived my entire life with compassion in my heart, only to end up in a den of thieves without even knowing it. It's utterly laughable! I might as well die to draw a clear line between myself and my martial brothers. At least then, my reputation after death can be clean!"

With that, Minghui charged toward a tree ten meters away.

To the Martial Artists, his speed wasn't fast, but Master Minghui was truly giving it his all, aiming the fragile crown of his head directly at the tree trunk.

If he made solid contact, the next issue would be how to collect his corpse.

Mu Lin rushed forward and intercepted Master Minghui. "Master, there's no need! It doesn't have to come to this!"

Master Minghui wailed, "How can you say that? They died at the hands of my Celestial Dragon Temple! How can I not atone for their deaths? What's the difference between me and a mass murderer?"

Mu Lin smiled. "No one will call you a mass murderer, please rest assured. You're a victim, too. You could have been peacefully studying the scriptures, but they dragged you down with them, turning you into an accomplice... As long as you step forward and testify to the actions of the abbot and his group, you can ensure your reputation remains untarnished."

Master Minghui could only give up. It had been a momentary impulse; after calming down and thinking it over, he understood.

Meng Fang had his men take Master Minghui into custody. Master Minghui walked forward with his head bowed.

Mu Lin exchanged a few words with Meng Fang and Zheng Ying, then concerned himself no further with the matter.

In an unexpected bit of good fortune, Meng Fang had contact with Xiao Hongling's family, so Mu Lin simply entrusted him with taking her home.

This freed Mu Lin up to handle other matters.

He took Patriarch Xu to the Chen Martial Arts Hall, borrowing a room for the time being so Patriarch Xu could clean himself up.

Then, Mu Lin arranged for some food for Patriarch Xu. After eating, Patriarch Xu's spirits recovered considerably, and he immediately began to worry.

"Mr. Mu, you absolutely must save my father! His fate is still unknown!"

Mu Lin placed a hand on the agitated Patriarch Xu and said seriously, "Look, I came to Lanyang specifically to find you and Elder Xu. Finding you doesn't mean the mission is complete. It's not over until we find Elder Xu. So I won't give up. I will keep searching."

After Celestial Dragon Temple was cordoned off by Patrol Officers, news slowly began to spread through Lanyang, sparking wild speculation among the populace.

「In Elder Deng's courtyard.」

Elder Deng listened to his subordinate's report, furious. "You worthless trash, you can't do anything right! I told you what to do, and this is how you repay me?"

"Do you have any idea how many of our secrets are hidden in Celestial Dragon Temple? Now it's surrounded. Do you know what might happen because of this?"

"What in the world happened? I asked you before, and you clearly told me it was foolproof! Is this your idea of foolproof?"

The middle-aged subordinate was terrified. "Elder Deng, it's not that we were incapable, it's that Mu Lin is just too cunning!"

"Mu Lin?!" Elder Deng shot back angrily. "Why him again? Why is it him? You tell me what's going on!"

"Last time, I told you to investigate his background. What did you find?" Elder Deng pressed.

The middle-aged subordinate was flustered. "I-I did find some things. Mu Lin has a very good relationship with the Li Group of Anhua. A while ago, Vajra Zhenren went to kill Mu Lin, but ended up being killed by him instead. This gave Mu Lin quite a reputation in the Martial Arts Realm."

"The Lin Family and Xu Family of Di Yang are on excellent terms with him..."

Elder Deng immediately smashed his cup. "Bullshit! Did I tell you to say all this? I asked about his roots, his origins! What fucking use is telling me about his social circle? Am I supposed to go and kidnap all his acquaintances?"

The middle-aged subordinate bowed his head even lower and quickly replied, "I'm sorry, I couldn't find out! He has said multiple times that he comes from a small mountain village, but I couldn't find out where or what kind of place it is. There was nothing I could do."

"Useless! Get out!" Elder Deng was about to explode with rage. The more he needed them, the more this trash seemed to mess things up for him. It was truly infuriating.

The middle-aged subordinate fled in a hurry. If Elder Deng was unhappy, he would definitely make him suffer.

He absolutely couldn't bear it.

The butler behind Elder Deng looked grave. "Master, Mu Lin must die. Otherwise, all our plans and arrangements in Lanyang may be ruined."

Elder Deng let out a long sigh. "You don't have to tell me. Have Gong Jintang come over. I have something to entrust to him personally."

The butler immediately left to carry out the order.

「Inside the Chen Martial Arts Hall.」

Mu Lin stood alone in the training hall.

In his hand was the ultimate technique he had taken from Master Mingjue—Primordial Gang Force.

The moment he closed the training hall door, he sat down and began to read with great speed.

The manual was incredibly profound. He devoured it, reading from cover to cover.

He stood up and threw a punch toward a sandbag more than ten meters away.

The sandbag swayed slightly, then was perfectly still.

The door opened. Chen Dingshan saw Mu Lin standing so far away, punching at a sandbag, and couldn't help but laugh.

"Grandmaster Mu, what are you doing? This sandbag is filled with iron sand. It's heavy as death. Trying to move it with external force is almost impossible!"

Mu Lin just smiled.

"Who says?"

In an instant, he channeled the Primordial Gang Force and threw a sudden punch with that same power.

The formidable Gang Force immediately shot toward the distant sandbag.

The sandbag suddenly exploded, iron sand bursting out in all directions.

Chen Dingshan was completely stunned.

He had never seen anything like it.

Mu Lin nodded, very satisfied. He had only just barely learned it, yet the effect was already so great. A little more practice, and he feared the results would be even better.

Compared to other experts, even a top-tier master specializing in the way of the fist would find it difficult to release such powerful Inner Strength from such a great distance.

Chen Dingshan stammered for a long time, unable to get a single word out.

"Grandmaster Mu, your force is just absurdly strong... Is that as powerful as a bullet? But even a bullet can't break my sandbag..."

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "This is why your perspective is too narrow."