Chapter 416 415: Stepping Up

Mu Lin was just about to get rough with Liang Chengfei when a very irritated voice came from the doorway:

"Could you be any more annoying? Your private room is the only one I can hear making a racket!"

A few young men stopped at the door. The one in the lead had an arrogant and extremely insolent look on his face.

When Liang Chengfei saw the person at the door, it was like he'd grabbed a life-saving straw. He scrambled desperately toward him.

"Young Master Li! He's been brawling in here! He has no respect for the law, Young Master Li!"

This Young Master Li was in his early twenties, dressed casually, and looked about the part.

Young Master Li walked up to Mu Lin and stared him down with an arrogant gaze. "You're going to apologize to my Uncle Liang!"

Mu Lin tilted his head. "And what are you? Another one of his dogs?"

Young Master Li's face turned ashen. He pointed at Mu Lin and said, "Watch your mouth! You injured someone, so you have to apologize and pay compensation. If it's serious, you'll do jail time! Uncle Liang is my classmate's father. I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

When He Chen saw Young Master Li, he called out, "Young Master Li!"

Young Master Li was startled by the familiar voice. He turned his head and saw He Chen's family.

"Uncle He, Aunt Liu, I didn't expect to see you here!"

He Chen said, "You don't know the whole story. Liang Chengfei almost led you astray! He was the one who brought people to trash our table first. We were just defending ourselves."

Young Master Li's eyes sharpened as he looked at Liang Chengfei. But Liang Chengfei said, "Young Master Li, you can't listen to their nonsense! If this kid hadn't hit me first, why would I have brought people to settle the score? Before you accuse me of spouting nonsense, you should see who started it!"

Young Master Li felt this was all very annoying. Everyone had their own side of the story, and it was impossible to figure out the truth right away.

"Uncle He, I've got this. You all should stay out of it. It's too much trouble."

He Chen was quite worried. Young Master Li was clearly closer to Liang Chengfei and was more likely to believe his version of events.

Mu Lin said, "You're Li Hong's son?"

Young Master Li was very displeased. "I am. But isn't it a bit much for you to use my father's full name like that?"

Mu Lin chuckled. 'So, we have a mutual acquaintance. That simplifies things. In the end, no real harm was done. No need to stoop to Young Master Li's level.'

"You want me to apologize? Fine. But before that, why don't you call your dad and ask him if he dares to make me apologize."

As he spoke, Mu Lin launched another flying kick, booting Liang Chengfei in the chest. Liang Chengfei slammed into the wall like a sack of rags and fell limply to the ground.

Young Master Li's eyes went red. "You know Uncle Liang is with me, and you still treat him like this! You've gone too far!"

Mu Lin smiled faintly. "Perhaps I have. Like I said, it's not too late to make that call. If you don't, I'm afraid your father is going to be in trouble."

Young Master Li was stunned by Mu Lin's strange calm. 'An ordinary person wouldn't have this kind of bearing. Could it be that Mu Lin is really someone special?'

But before he could speak, the guys around him burst out laughing.

The arrogant young man in the lead said, "You thug, you don't know anything and you're still trying to act tough? Do you know who Brother Yang's father is? On Lanyang turf, he's the last person who'd ever be in trouble!"

Mu Lin didn't say a word, just looked calmly at Li Xiaoyang.

Li Xiaoyang felt a chill run down his spine under Mu Lin's gaze. For a moment, he was genuinely terrified.

Mu Lin's eyes told Li Xiaoyang that this man had backing, that every word he said was based on something real. If Li Xiaoyang didn't listen, he could very well be taken down.

Li Xiaoyang shuddered, then grabbed his phone and called his father.

Before the call connected, Mu Lin added, "My name is Mu Lin. Tell your father that, and he'll know."

Li Xiaoyang wanted to say something else, but the call connected. He quickly said into the phone, "Dad, I'm out eating. Some guy was disrespecting you and told me to call you! He said his name is Mu Lin."

On the other end of the line, Li Hong was so angry his face could have contorted. 'What is wrong with this son of mine?'

He asked urgently:

"Did he say anything to you? You didn't insult him, did you? You didn't try to fight him, did you?"

Li Xiaoyang said, "No."

Li Hong let out a long sigh of relief. "Apologize to him right now, and make it snappy! Whatever he's doing is right. You stay out of it!"

Li Xiaoyang never expected his father to say something like that.

He was about to ask why, but Li Hong, guessing his son wouldn't be convinced, said directly, "Mu Lin saved your mother's life! If you make him unhappy, I'll break your legs, cut off your allowance, and stop you from running around with that degenerate crew of yours!"

Li Xiaoyang felt his neck shrink. His father rarely got this angry. He immediately understood the gravity of the situation.

'Mu Lin is someone I absolutely cannot afford to cross.'

"Alright, since nothing major has happened, you just be careful. Now put him on the phone. I need to speak with him!"

Li Xiaoyang immediately ran to Mu Lin's side and bowed deeply. "Mr. Mu Lin, I'm so sorry! I was rude to you. I was a blind fool who misjudged a great man. I'll accept any punishment, I just beg you not to be angry."

Wha-wha-what... Li Xiaoyang's friends were all dumbfounded. How could this be?

They all thought Li Xiaoyang was going to teach Mu Lin a lesson, but not only did that not happen, he caved in an instant.

Those who knew Li Xiaoyang's background panicked. This clearly meant that his father, Li Hong, had ordered him to apologize.

This meant that Mayor Li himself was afraid of Mu Lin. Suddenly, they felt that Mu Lin's identity was terrifyingly profound and unfathomable. Crossing him could lead to massive trouble in some circles.

Mu Lin said, "I'm not angry. Why are you so scared? You didn't do anything wrong."

Only then did Li Xiaoyang feel that Mu Lin was actually quite reasonable, that he had given him a way out.

"Yes! Yes! My father would like to talk to you!" After saying this, he handed the phone to Mu Lin.

Mu Lin took the phone and said, "Uncle Li."

Li Hong let out a long breath. It seemed Mu Lin wasn't furious; his foolish son had dodged a bullet.

"Mu Lin! Xiaoyang has been spoiled by me, please don't hold it against him..."

Mu Lin said, "It's a small matter. He only got involved to stand up for a friend. I know he had good intentions, so of course I won't blame him."

"Liang Chengfei? What kind of friend is he? He's a nobody! He deliberately tricked Xiaoyang into this mess. If it weren't for your good nature, Mu Lin, my son would have caused a major disaster by now. How did he get into a conflict with you? Xiaoyang said he only showed up halfway through and didn't see what happened before."

Mu Lin said, "He's Furniture's factory suddenly caught fire. Liang Chengfei took advantage of the crisis, trying to use this opportunity to crush He's Furniture. I can't say for sure if Liang Chengfei started the fire, but his role in this affair was anything but honorable."

Li Hong said, "It was probably the Baiju Group that set the fire. Liang Chengfei's brother-in-law works for the Baiju Group; they must be in contact."

Mu Lin's eyes narrowed. This was more or less what he had guessed.

"Uncle Li, I see Li Xiaoyang and Liang Chengfei seem very close. What's going on? Since you know Liang Chengfei is connected to the Baiju Group and Gong Jintang, why don't you just forbid them from seeing each other?"

Li Hong gave a bitter laugh. "Do you think I have a say in the matter? My situation in Lanyang is terrible. No one listens to my orders. If I don't want to be completely sidelined, I have to let them pull my strings and do some of the things they demand. Only then can I push through some of the policies I want to enact..."

"The Baiju Group has deep roots in Lanyang. When you get down to it, everyone is connected to the Baiju Group. Do you think I can avoid them just by wanting to?"

Mu Lin was astonished. Li Hong was the mayor, yet he had to tiptoe so carefully around the local kingpins. It was truly a tough position to be in.

"That's also why I can't mediate the grudge between you and the Baiju Group. Otherwise, they'll become suspicious."

'That makes sense,' Mu Lin thought. 'In the eyes of the Baiju Group's Gong Jintang, I'm public enemy number one. If Li Hong gets too close to me, they'd probably eliminate him as a traitor.'

"However, your arrival has already changed my situation dramatically. The director of the City Third Hospital is on my side now. The cleanup of the Patrol Team can gradually proceed. And you've eliminated the destabilizing element of the Celestial Dragon Temple."

"Mu Lin, you're truly my great savior."