Chapter 436 435: Calculations

When Feng Disheng spoke, the onlookers, who had their hands in their pockets just watching the show, were instantly struck dumb.

If they had such skills, why would they still be living under their family's protection?

It was a truly helpless feeling.

"Sorry..." Most of them backed down.

Feng Disheng didn't deign to argue with them. He turned and went to where Su Xianren was recuperating in meditative cultivation.

"Su Xianren!"

Feng Disheng called out.

The deeply cultivated Land Immortal slowly raised his head. "What do you want? Was I not clear enough before? Was there something you didn't understand?"

Feng Disheng gritted his teeth. "I don't understand. Why didn't you kill him? Don't you have a way to kill him instantly?"

Su Xianren had explained that he'd had Feng Disheng back down to prevent the ensuing commotion from affecting the entire Feng Family.

But he refused to believe it. Did Su Xianren truly have no way to instantly kill Mu Lin?

'If he was worried about collateral damage, couldn't he have just fought carefully?'

"I don't."

Su Xianren said, "Do not forget, one of the reasons I remain with your Feng Family is that I need a place to recuperate and cultivate. I am gravely injured."

Feng Disheng fell silent for a moment. He truly had forgotten.

Su Xianren had been with the Feng Family for so long that Feng Disheng had forgotten about his condition.

It wasn't that Su Xianren didn't want to help the Feng Family; he truly was unable to.

Su Xianren continued, "Besides, that boy is not so simple. The moment he saw me, he raised his hand to unleash the Primordial Gang Force. His proficiency, his sheer nerve... Do you think that is something you can easily fathom?"

Feng Disheng lowered his head in thought.

"I've already calculated it for you," Su Xianren said. "He is at the peak of the Grandmaster realm. When that's amplified by his Primordial Gang Force, the weakest he can fight at is the Demi-Immortal level—on par with me. Killing him would require numerous powerful techniques, all of which would endanger everyone in the Feng Family."

Feng Disheng asked, "Then if you healed your injuries and recovered your strength, could you kill him?"

Su Xianren replied, "But of course. Once I recover my strength, I could kill a brat like Mu Lin with a flick of my finger. It would be no trouble at all."

"Su Xianren, please tell me what you need! I will find it for you, no matter what!"

Su Xianren said flatly, "The Thunder Fruit. That isn't something your Feng Family can get its hands on... It will come down to fate."

"Also, a bigwig from the Military Suppression Bureau is coming to Nanjiang. I'll need to lay low for the next few days. You all should keep a low profile."

Hearing Su Xianren's words, Feng Disheng felt a sense of relief wash over him.

'It's just a matter of waiting a few days, right? That's nothing.'

Mu Lin rushed toward Anhua. On the way, he mused on how the world thought the great families of Di Yang were so incredible.

'In my eyes, they're all pretty much the same,' he thought.

'It's not like having influence makes you that much more impressive.'

'The Feng Family acts so high and mighty, but didn't they end up trembling in fear?'

The only thing is, the Feng Family has a Land Immortal backing them. That's a huge problem.

'He might have sounded amicable, but I know that guy would kill me the first chance he gets.'

The Immortal was still a long way off, but Mu Lin was already plotting. 'I have to find an opportunity to kill him.'

'Otherwise, once I go home, the Feng Family will just go after Zhou Qianfan again.'

The main issue was his own schedule; he needed to prepare for his trip to the Thunder Marsh to find the Thunder Fruit.

「At dawn」 Mu Lin arrived in Anhua and headed straight for the hospital.

Li Yinhe had already recovered but needed to stay one more night for observation before he could be discharged.

Li Xue, who was keeping him company, had also fallen asleep.

Mu Lin walked in. 'This won't do,' he thought, and was about to cover Li Xue with a blanket when she woke up.

"You're just getting back? Where were you last night?" Li Xue asked, her eyes wide.

"I went looking for the arsonists," Mu Lin said.

"Don't be reckless, that's too dangerous," Li Xue said. "Those people were vicious enough to set our warehouse on fire; they wouldn't think twice about killing you. Murder and arson have always been capital offenses. You can't reason with people like that."

Mu Lin knew Li Xue was just worried about him, or she wouldn't talk like that. In a gentle voice, he asked, "How much of the construction material was burned? Do you have a final tally?"

"We have it," said Li Xue. "Since the fire mostly burned the outer sections, the impact wasn't too severe. The total value of goods lost is just under five million. It's still a big number, but it's an acceptable loss out of a total of fifty million."

Mu Lin nodded. "Not bad."

Seeing Mu Lin so calm, Li Xue felt another wave of irritation.

"What do you mean, 'not bad'? That's five million! You don't care because it's not your money, is that it?"

Mu Lin just smiled. 'I got you guys so much in compensation,' he thought. 'Your losses were reduced by tens of millions. Isn't that a huge win?'

'But saying that out loud would be a bit much. It would just make me sound cocky. Better not.'

Li Xue stood up, stretching her graceful figure, and asked:

"How did you do that yesterday? How could two pieces of talisman paper be so incredible? They turned into a giant mouth and swallowed the entire fire. Where did you get the talisman paper?"

"I already told you, a fortune-teller gave them to me," Mu Lin said. "I was bored under an overpass and struck up a conversation with one. He told me I was headed for disaster and gave me some talisman paper, saying it could help me overcome one crisis."

Li Xue narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "You actually waste money on fortune-tellers!"

Mu Lin quickly waved his hands. "No, I didn't spend a single cent. You think I'd waste my pocket money on that?"

And... Li Xue slowly nodded. 'That actually does fit my impression of him,' she thought.

"When I saw how huge the fire was, I thought, 'Maybe this is the disaster he was talking about.' So I pulled out the talisman paper to give it a shot, and it actually worked! I guess I was pretty lucky."

Li Xue was stunned. She recalled the scene from last night and found his story utterly ridiculous.

'Mu Lin didn't look scared at all. He was impossibly calm, wasn't he?'

'Every single one of his movements radiated confidence. You could have told me he was the mastermind behind it all, and I would have believed you.'

'And in a situation like that, you're telling me you were just taking a wild gamble?' Li Xue found that truly hard to accept.

But that's what Mu Lin said, and without a hint of hesitation. He clearly had no intention of explaining further.

Although Li Xue was annoyed, she had no choice but to accept his story, which might as well have been the truth at this point.

Li Xue was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Mu Lin, thank you. It's a good thing you were here. My dad is doing so well, and the warehouse fire was put out so quickly, all because of you."

The losses Mu Lin had prevented were an astronomical sum.

Mu Lin smiled. "The company pays my salary, so of course I should help solve its problems. I was just lucky this time. I never expected the talisman to be so powerful."

Li Yinhe had been awake for some time. Listening to the conversation between Mu Lin and Li Xue, he was filled with complex emotions.

He had always thought of Mu Lin as a freeloader and held countless grievances against him, believing he was wasting Li Xue's best years.

But in the end, Mu Lin had saved the Li Family time and time again.

He said, "Mu Lin, thank you!"

Mu Lin smiled. "Uncle Li, there's no need to be so formal! Just focus on resting here and getting your energy back. You'll be back on your feet in no time."

Li Yinhe said, "Mu Lin, if you need anything at all, just tell Xue'Er. She'll help you."

Mu Lin glanced at Li Xue, seemingly intentionally. Li Xue grew a little flustered, suddenly remembering the words Mu Lin had spoken before bed last night.

Even though the fire had started afterward and they hadn't slept, his words had remained firmly in her heart.

Mu Lin then said, "I've found the Spirit Medicine that can cure Grandmaster Li. I just need to prepare it, and then he can take it."

Li Yinhe's eyes lit up. His father's injury had always been a weight on his mind.

It wasn't just the most recent grave injury, but also old, underlying ailments from his youth.

The combination of the two caused immense suffering, and even visiting countless famous doctors had yielded no proper diagnosis.

The situation had felt hopeless.

So in his eyes, Mu Lin's news was incredibly exciting.

Li Xue, however, grew even more unhappy. 'Is Mu Lin that desperate to leave me?'

'Do I really have no appeal at all?'

She felt a surge of irritation and waved him away. "If you have things to do, why don't you get going?"

After Mu Lin left, Li Yinhe said to Li Xue, "Why do you treat him with that kind of attitude?"

"Can't I?" Li Xue retorted. "He's so infuriating. Am I not allowed to say a thing or two to him?"

"Mu Lin has done so much for our family, but has he ever lorded it over us? If you can, please try to be a little more polite to him, all right?"

Her father's gaze was earnest. Li Xue could only nod. "Okay."