Chapter 441 440: Something's Not Right

"Alright, that's enough. You all should quiet down. It's not worth losing your temper over something so trivial!"

A rather mature-looking man said, "Just let him stay here. Someone will watch him. If he doesn't know his place, we'll kill him! This is a lawless place. If he dies, he dies for nothing!"

This man was named Jinren, and his power was considerable.

Pei Yuliang was filled with rage. Pointing at them, he demanded, "You never planned on letting me onto the island from the start!"

The girl, Zhu Qi, said playfully, "What are you talking about? I was sincerely hoping you'd find the Thunderstruck Wood to save your grandfather."

"Otherwise, why would we have brought you here? Do you have any idea how much more gasoline we have to burn because of your extra weight? That's all money!"

Pei Yuliang was so furious his face twisted. "You!"

Fury welled up inside him, and he was about to throw a punch when the mature-looking young man saw him. The man plucked a dry leaf and flicked it at Pei Yuliang.

It struck Pei Yuliang squarely on the wrist. His hand jerked, and when he hurriedly raised it to check, he saw a ghastly wound.

This terrified Pei Yuliang. If the attack had been even slightly stronger...

"You!"

"You dared to make a move, so how could I not discipline you? Let me be clear: if you had so much as scratched her, I would have made sure you died without a burial place!"

Pei Yuliang felt a chill run down his spine. He was furious, but he also knew he was no match for this man.

"Remember today's lesson. We aren't people you can get close to so easily."

The group walked away arrogantly, leaving Pei Yuliang sitting there, disheartened and lost.

A few more people disembarked at the docks, and seeing Pei Yuliang's miserable state, they all started to laugh and mock him.

Jinren walked at the very front, explaining smugly, "Actually, even if Pei Yuliang had managed to run onto the island by himself, it wouldn't have mattered. He would have just been seeking his own death!"

"There are powerful experts guarding the island. Unless you're someone approved by the major powers, you'll be ruthlessly killed!"

As Jinren's gaze swept over the area, he saw numerous bloodstains and signs of a struggle on the ground.

His expression flickered.

The island wasn't very big; you could take in most of it at a glance.

But something was wrong.

'There should be Grandmaster-level experts guarding the perimeter. Why is no one here?'

Zhu Qi's mouth hung open. She suddenly felt that something was very wrong.

But just then, Mu Lin appeared, walking toward them.

Jinren recognized Mu Lin at a glance. He remembered that Pei Yuliang had been waiting for Mu Lin.

'So why is he here?'

Zhu Qi's eyes went wide, and she grew even more panicked.

Girls are naturally more sensitive to such things. She began to tremble all over and couldn't stop herself from hiding behind Jinren.

Jinren pointed at Mu Lin and cursed, "You have some nerve! Do you have any idea what a grave crime it is to trespass here?"

Mu Lin let out a cold laugh. "A crime? Go on, tell me what it is."

Shooting Jinren a sidelong glance, he walked toward Pei Yuliang.

Pei Yuliang was utterly stunned. "Brother Mu!"

He was every bit as shocked as Zhu Qi. While she felt fear, he felt completely overwhelmed.

"Brother Mu, where did you come from? Why are you coming from the island?"

Mu Lin took hold of Pei Yuliang's wrist, quickly diagnosing his injury.

"Your tendons were almost completely severed."

Pei Yuliang said in surprise, "How can that be? The skin isn't even broken, and I can still move my hand."

Mu Lin said, "Just because you can move it doesn't mean you're safe."

As he spoke, Mu Lin bent down and picked up four or five small branches. He arranged them around Pei Yuliang's wrist like a splint and secured them with a bandage.

"Be careful. Don't move this hand for three days."

Seeing how serious Mu Lin was, Pei Yuliang smiled.

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Mu."

Mu Lin asked, "Who did this to you?"

He asked with such seriousness that Pei Yuliang couldn't help but gulp.

Jinren and the others came from a very powerful background. He was worried that saying his name might drag Mu Lin into trouble.

Seeing Pei Yuliang hesitate, Mu Lin looked directly at Jinren.

"Was it you?"

Jinren sneered. "If I didn't do it, who did? You? Do I need to report to you when I hit him?"

BOOM!

Jinren was sent flying backward, crashing hard into a dead log.

The log instantly shattered into pieces, sending up a cloud of dust and splinters.

Mu Lin tilted his head, his gaze cold as he looked at Jinren. "You wanted to report to me? I can make it so you can't even open your mouth. Understand?"

The group from the East Sea was thrown into a terrified panic.

The girls' faces turned pale with fright.

When they looked over, Jinren was already lying unconscious.

He might not be dead, but the terrifying display was bone-chilling.

In that one moment, countless feelings created endless variables.

It wasn't a matter of fate, but of a logic that must leave some advantage in its wake.

After this, they were somehow different.

"Heh, you all..." Mu Lin offered a faint smile. "Aren't you from the East Sea? Supposedly you've seen the world. Didn't your vast experience teach you to always be on guard?"

Zhu Qi stared daggers at Mu Lin. "You country bumpkin from Nanjiang! Aren't you afraid of paying a price you can't afford? Do you really think you can handle the consequences?"

The corner of Mu Lin's mouth lifted in a cold smile. "If you want revenge, be my guest. I've seen plenty of life and death."

He turned and helped Pei Yuliang up. "Let's go."

Pei Yuliang thought, 'I can walk just fine, why is he helping me up?' He tried to push Mu Lin away, but an inexplicable wave of weakness washed over him.

Mu Lin said, "Don't move. He did something else to you. I'll take care of it when we get back."

What?! Pei Yuliang was shocked. An indescribable terror filled him; he hadn't felt a thing.

"But... but I can't leave yet! I still need to find the Thunderstruck Wood!"

"I have it all. I didn't leave a single piece on the island," Mu Lin said.

Huh? Pei Yuliang never imagined such an outcome.

Mu Lin led Pei Yuliang towards the dock. The people from the East Sea didn't dare to stop them now.

Their strongest, Jinren, had been knocked unconscious by a single blow from Mu Lin.

Given that, if any of the rest of them stepped up, the outcome would likely be no better.

Zhu Qi's face was a mask of fury. She didn't want to give up on getting back at Mu Lin, but with the miserable scene before her, she knew better than to court death.

"'What's with him? How can he be so strong?'"

"'You have to understand, Brother Jinren is the most talented among us. He's already cultivated Inner Strength and was about to reach the Peak of Internal Strength... How could he not take a single hit?'"

In their panic, they looked at Mu Lin's departing back and felt deeply unnerved.

"'What's going on? Why haven't the experts on the island come out yet?'"

They were still clinging to the hope of reporting Mu Lin to the island-guarding Grandmaster Powerhouse, hoping the Grandmaster would emerge and kill him.

But seeing no sign of anyone now was incredibly strange.

"'Should we go back first and find someone to deal with that Mu Lin later?'"

"'Since Pei Yuliang knows where he's from, we'll just find him later and ask! He's from some backwater place, how could he dare to defy our orders?'"

The group quickly reached a consensus. They decided to wait in place for ten minutes until Mu Lin and the others had left, then go to the dock and board their boat.

Mu Lin and Pei Yuliang sat in the boat. Mu Lin performed acupuncture on Pei Yuliang to neutralize the trick that had been used on him, and only then did Pei Yuliang feel the drowsy sensation disappear.

Mu Lin took out a piece of Thunderstruck Wood and tossed it to Pei Yuliang. "Here, this one is good quality. It's for you."

Pei Yuliang held the Thunderstruck Wood with trembling hands. "Brother Mu, how can I accept this! How much is it? I'll pay you back right away."

Mu Lin waved his hand dismissively. "It's just a piece of wood. To control the price, who knows how much the major powers have hoarded in their warehouses. You've been fooled into thinking it's expensive."

These words left Pei Yuliang with a strange expression on his face.

He had never considered the details of the situation.

'Thinking about it now, what Mu Lin said really makes sense.'

Although his feeling of indebtedness was gone, his gratitude toward Mu Lin had only deepened.

There were so many people in this world, but those who would treat him like this were very few.

'Mu Lin is such a good person.'

Pei Yuliang was endlessly grateful.

Mu Lin squatted down, pinched the Fang Qing seed in his hand, and closed his eyes to cultivate.

A wisp of pure energy from the Fang Qing seed quickly manifested and spread through Mu Lin's meridians.

Before long, the Fang Qing seed turned to a pile of ash. All the energy it contained was completely absorbed by Mu Lin.

From now on, he would use his True Qi to "nurture" it, causing it to multiply.

Eventually, it would fill his entire body. In the future, he could save people simply by infusing them with this True Qi.