Chapter 65: Tense Atmosphere

Qiao Canhua was almost frightened to death by Mu Lin's words.

"What do you mean by that? Can't you say something nice for a change?"

They were close, but Qiao Canhua was genuinely upset to hear Mu Lin speak like that.

Mu Lin said flatly, "If I had good news, I wouldn't have rushed here overnight."

"I heard this news by pure luck, but it's one hundred percent true. Wu Long is coming after you."

Of course, Qiao Canhua believed Mu Lin. The young man was trustworthy.

But he still found it bizarre. He had clearly offered to make peace with Wu Long, even offering him projects out of town.

So why was he still being targeted?

Qiao Canhua simply couldn't understand the logic.

"But why?"

Mu Lin shook his head. "The person who tipped me off isn't high up, so they don't know the deeper details. I just know that you need to be careful. Don't give anyone an opening."

"My advice is for you to rent a place in the city, hide out, and lay low for a bit," Mu Lin said. "We can figure out the next step after this whole thing blows over."

With a heavy expression, Qiao Canhua said, "That's not my style. Since I know someone is targeting me, I can't just sit back and wait to be slaughtered."

"But I'll move Madam Qiao to safety first," Qiao Canhua said.

Mu Lin said, "Boss Qiao, you're not getting any younger. Don't overexert yourself."

Qiao Canhua shot a glance at Mu Lin. "You don't need to worry about me!"

"The immediate problem is that Wu Long is dead set on teaching you a lesson. But the person he sent doesn't know where you live yet, and he needs a location to report back."

Qiao Canhua thought for a moment. "Then why not just say I've already left? Wouldn't that be enough?"

"That won't work. They'll want proof, dead or alive. He won't be able to get away with just saying that..."

"Then what do you suggest?"

After a long moment of thought, Mu Lin said, "Wait a moment. I'll go get Divine Doctor Zhao."

Zhao Yang was dragged into the small courtyard, utterly bewildered. He felt extremely awkward. "What did you need me for?"

Seeing Zhao Yang's shifty gaze, Mu Lin knew he must have just witnessed something.

'Maybe he saw something even more... intense than I did when I came into the courtyard?'

Mu Lin's mind wandered for a moment, then he quickly said, "Can you make Boss Qiao look like he's injured?"

"Why not just beat him up? Why make it so complicated?"

Mu Lin said, "Someone is out to get Boss Qiao, but the person tasked with the job happens to be a friend of mine. It's an awkward situation."

Zhao Yang shot Mu Lin a sidelong glance. "I can do it, but it's a hassle, and the results aren't guaranteed to be good."

Mu Lin smiled. "I have faith in Divine Doctor Zhao's skills."

Zhao Yang rolled his eyes at him, then went to the dispensary to find some herbs. He mixed them together, had Qiao Canhua drink one portion, and spread the other over Qiao Canhua's face.

Qiao Canhua's face immediately contorted in pain. "Ow, that hurts! What is this stuff? Is it going to leave a scar?"

Zhao Yang said, "Not at all. Once you wash it off with a solution I'll prepare, your skin will be good as new. It won't cause any damage; in fact, it's actually beneficial for your skin."

Hearing that made Qiao Canhua feel a little more at ease.

Divine Doctor Zhao said, "Now, we just have to wait for his face to swell up completely."

Mu Lin took out his phone and snapped a photo.

Divine Doctor Zhao exclaimed, "Mu Lin, what are you doing?"

Mu Lin said, "I'm sending it to that punk so he can report back to his boss. Once Wu Long cools down, this whole thing will be over."

Qiao Canhua also pulled out his phone and used it as a mirror to look at his reflection.

Far from being upset, he actually laughed.

"Honey, I look almost as bad as you now!"

His current sorry state was about on par with Madam Qiao's—six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both looked pretty awful.

Qiao Canhua even leaned in close to Madam Qiao and took a selfie with his phone.

When Madam Qiao saw that both she and her husband looked like this, she was also amused.

Madam Qiao was a little tired, so she asked Qiao Canhua to help her back to the room to sleep.

When Qiao Canhua came out, his expression was very serious.

"I really can't tolerate this. If this were on my own turf, someone like Wu Long would have been turned to dust long ago."

"This must be hard for you," Mu Lin said.

"It's all for my wife," Qiao Canhua said, pointing to Madam Qiao's room in the distance. "She is, after all, still recovering. I don't want even the slightest disturbance."

Mu Lin fiddled with his phone and sent the photo to Sister Fang, certain she wouldn't dare intercept it.

As it turned out, Guo Lei immediately took Sister Fang's phone. The moment he saw the picture, he understood.

Mu Lin had also added a few instructions in the message, telling Guo Lei to be careful not to overdo it.

Guo Lei had a high school education, after all. Among street thugs, that basically made him a scholar. Mu Lin was confident he could handle it.

"Boss! Boss!" Guo Lei cried out with feeling as he went to find Wu Long. He pushed open the chairman's office door, only to see Wu Ming sitting in the chairman's chair, getting hot and heavy with a punk-looking girl.

The sight of Guo Lei sent a chill down Wu Ming's spine. He grabbed the girl and made a break for the exit.

Guo Lei asked, "Where's your dad?"

Wu Ming said, "He went out with my 'godmother.' He won't be back until tomorrow!"

Guo Lei looked to the heavens, then turned to leave.

'The fish rots from the head,' he thought. 'At a critical time like this, Wu Long is still out fooling around with Xiaomimi.'

"Where did he go?" Guo Lei pressed. Wu Ming handed Guo Lei a promotional brochure. "Here."

Guo Lei glanced at it. It was a private club in the city, a quiet oasis in the middle of the bustle.

He turned and left in a hurry, leaving Wu Ming and the punk girl to get back to their business.

'The company will be his sooner or later anyway,' Guo Lei thought. 'No point in meddling.'

Guo Lei drove to the club and found Wu Long and Xiaomimi getting cozy in the VIP section.

'This father-son duo... they're truly cast from the same mold.'

Wu Long snatched the phone, glanced at it, and immediately burst out laughing.

"Well, well, Qiao Canhua. Look at you now!"

Qiao Canhua was a big shot, after all. Publicly humiliating him was the most Wu Long could hope for.

If anything serious happened to him in Anhua City, Wu Long's own power base in Anhua could be ripped out by the roots.

That would be like throwing away a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed—a disastrous miscalculation.

"Good! You did a good job! Post this picture in the company group chat. Let everyone see the sorry state this so-called tycoon is in now that he's in my hands!"

'So ruthless,' Guo Lei thought. 'Good thing we coordinated well, so there's no actual harm to Qiao Canhua himself.'

Once that was settled, Wu Long was very satisfied. He waved his hand to dismiss Guo Lei.

Guo Lei hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something. Wu Long asked, "Is there something else?"

Guo Lei said, "Young Master Wu is in your office with his girlfriend... I was wondering if you were aware."

Wu Long's expression changed in a flash. "What? That little bastard has some nerve! Go! String him up and give him a good whipping! Tell him I ordered it!"

'Neither father nor son is a good person,' Guo Lei thought. 'Since I have an officially sanctioned opportunity to teach Wu Ming a lesson, I should take it and do it thoroughly.'

After returning to the company, Wu Ming was no longer in the chairman's office. Guo Lei asked an employee where Wu Ming was now.

The employee subtly pointed towards the conference room, then hurried away.

Guo Lei understood instantly. He tiptoed over.

The door was left ajar, and a girl's faint, strange sounds came from inside.

Peeking through the crack, he saw Wu Ming and that punk girl were actually lying on the conference table.

'This is too much. If I kick the door in now, Wu Ming will probably hate me for the rest of his life.'

'This company will be Wu Ming's sooner or later. I can't push him too far.'

He stood outside the door and waited for a while until the sounds inside completely died down.

Then came the sound of a cigarette being lit and the soft rustle of clothes.

Two sets of footsteps approached the door. Wu Ming pushed it open and looked up to see Guo Lei.

He couldn't help but shudder.

Guo Lei rolled up his sleeves. "Your dad told me to string you up and give you a whipping. Don't blame me, these were his orders!"

As he spoke, he had already pulled out his belt, folded it twice, and whipped it through the air, making a sharp cracking sound.

Wu Ming said angrily, "Guo Lei, you definitely snitched on me to my dad! How else would he know?"

Guo Lei didn't shy away at all. "That's right, I snitched. And it was for the good of the company!"

While he was still speaking, the belt landed on Wu Ming. Guo Lei put his full strength into it, channeling all of his frustration with Wu Long into the blow against his son.

Just one lash was enough to split the skin and tear the flesh.

The punk girl hastily fled, leaving Wu Ming alone to endure the brutal punishment.

Hearing this from outside the door, his colleagues were secretly ecstatic.

You had to admit, having Wu Long's direct order was great. You could beat his son, and the kid couldn't even fight back.