Chapter 523 521: Besieging Xu Hao

"You've been wronged, but I stand by what I said. We can't make a move against him without absolute certainty."

Fang Longzhi sat beside Fang Longhua and comforted him, "You've been away on family business these past few days, so you don't know what Mu Lin has been up to."

"Once you hear everything, you'll understand my difficult position."

"Did he provoke some other major power?" Fang Longhua asked in surprise.

"A couple of days ago, Mu Lin fought his way into the Ning Family residence, threw the entire family into chaos, and inflicted some serious injuries on Ning Zuoren. Even so, the Ning Family ultimately swallowed their pride and let it go."

Fang Longzhi's point was that if even the Ning Family didn't dare to act against Mu Lin, then if the Fang Family stuck their necks out, wouldn't they just be doing someone else's dirty work?

"I understand. I'll swallow this for now. When the time is right, we'll get our revenge on Mu Lin."

The Ning Family, which had a Land Immortal in its ranks, could only grit its teeth and endure Mu Lin's provocations. Even if Fang Longhua was filled with resentment, what could he possibly do?

"It's great that you can see it that way. As long as we brothers work together, sooner or later, we'll make Mu Lin pay for what he's done."

Fang Longzhi patted Fang Longhua's leg and changed the subject. "Let's put the matter of Mu Lin aside for now. I have something else important to tell you."

Fang Longhua focused his attention. "What is it, cousin? Go ahead."

"Zhou Qianfan has been promoted. And his new post isn't just anywhere—it's right here in our Di Yang."

In an instant, Fang Longhua shot up from the sofa, his eyes wide. "That brute... he has some damn good luck."

"After being suppressed by our family for so many years, not only did he not sink into obscurity, but he's actually come to our turf!"

The Fang Family had been ruthless in their suppression of Zhou Qianfan and his family.

They had used every dirty, underhanded trick in the book.

And now, Zhou Qianfan had been promoted to a high position in Di Yang.

For the Fang Family, this was absolutely terrible news.

"What do you think? Is there a way to make him disappear from right under our noses?" Fang Longzhi asked coldly.

Fang Longhua frowned. "If we want to make him disappear from under our noses, we first need to figure out one thing."

"What kind of backer did that old scoundrel find to get him promoted here?"

"You're right. This promotion of his is highly unusual. To take him down, we'll need a foolproof plan."

...

"Mu Lin... Mu Lin?"

Around seven in the morning, Li Xue came out of her room in her pajamas. She called Mu Lin's name twice but got no response.

Walking into the kitchen, Li Xue couldn't help but smile.

The several takeout containers she had left for Mu Lin had been eaten clean.

He had also stuck a small note with a smiley face drawn on it to the refrigerator.

Just then, Li Xue heard the front door open.

She peeked out and saw Mu Lin walking in from outside, carrying shopping bags.

"You went grocery shopping again?"

"What kind of question is that? If I don't buy groceries, what are we going to eat for breakfast?"

Mu Lin said, "Go get washed up. A fresh and delicious breakfast will be ready in about half an hour."

"You really don't have to go to all this trouble."

Li Xue walked out of the kitchen, pursing her lips. "We could have just gotten takeout for breakfast."

"It's fine once in a while, but we can't eat takeout every day. Besides, we have no idea if the ingredients and oil the restaurants use are even healthy."

Mu Lin said with a chuckle, "Alright, alright, go get washed up."

Half an hour later, a lavish breakfast was spread across the dining table.

"By the way, are you busy the day after tomorrow?"

During the meal, Li Xue casually asked Mu Lin about his plans for the day after tomorrow.

"The day after tomorrow? I don't think I have anything planned..." Mu Lin said, uncertain.

"If you're free the day after tomorrow, could you go to the countryside with me?"

Mu Lin was puzzled. "Out of the blue, why do you want to go to the countryside? Are you planning a scenic trip?"

"I'm telling you, there are a few villages in the Di Yang Suburb with beautiful scenery. If you really want to..."

"Stop, stop, stop. Let me finish what I was saying."

Worried that Mu Lin would derail the conversation, Li Xue quickly cut him off.

Her trip to the countryside the day after tomorrow wasn't for sightseeing.

Last night, Li Xue received a message from a good friend.

When she learned that her friend's grandfather was seriously ill, Li Xue immediately thought of Mu Lin.

She wanted to invite Mu Lin to go to the countryside with her to see if he could cure the old man's illness.

"Is that all? That's a piece of cake."

Mu Lin puffed out his chest and boasted, "I'm not just bragging, but as long as the old man still has a breath left in him, I can make him healthy again."

"Don't get too full of yourself, or you'll burst," Li Xue teased.

"President Li, you underestimate me too much. When have I ever been all talk? That really hurts."

Mu Lin put on a pitiful expression.

"Why are you acting like a child? I was just teasing you a little. Did you really take it to heart?"

Thinking Mu Lin was actually angry at her words, Li Xue did something rare and apologized to him.

"Hehehe, I was just messing with you. How could I get mad at you?" Mu Lin chuckled.

He loved seeing this shy and gentle side of Li Xue.

Realizing Mu Lin had tricked her, Li Xue was about to get angry when the phone he had left on the coffee table rang without warning.

After a glance at the caller ID, Mu Lin's playful expression vanished.

"President Li, I need to step out to take care of something. I'll be back in a bit."

Leaving her with those words, Mu Lin walked outside the villa, phone in hand.

The call was from Jiang Long of the Imperial Martial Bureau.

To capture the villainous Xu Hao, the Imperial Martial Bureau had dispatched a large number of masters and prepared a foolproof plan.

Everything was ready; they were just waiting for Mu Lin to arrive.

"I understand. Send me your rendezvous point. I'll be there in about an hour."

From the sound of Jiang Long's tone on the phone, it seemed the Imperial Martial Bureau was one hundred percent confident they could capture Xu Hao this time.

At the same time that Jiang Long's text message arrived, another unexpected call came in.

"Mu Lin, are you free right now? Can you come out and meet me?"

"Sure. Where are you?"

"I'm heading to the Other Shore Cafe in the city center. You should start heading over too."

Perhaps because the matter was urgent, Lin Shishi's tone was rushed, as if she wasn't giving Mu Lin any time to think.

Half an hour later, the two were seated by a floor-to-ceiling window in the Other Shore Cafe.

Lin Shishi got straight to the point. "Here's the situation. Before I called you, people from the Imperial Martial Bureau came to my house. I don't know what they said to my dad, but after a little while, he left with them."

"When he left, he had a very grim expression, like he was about to do something extremely risky. You have good connections with the Imperial Martial Bureau, right? Can you help me find out why they took my dad and what he's going to do?"

"First, calm down."

A guess formed in Mu Lin's mind, but he couldn't be entirely sure yet.

He asked Lin Shishi who had led the Imperial Martial Bureau team that came to her house.

"The man didn't give his name, but I can describe what he looks like."

"Okay."

Mu Lin had Lin Shishi describe the leader's appearance in detail.

A moment later, Mu Lin understood.

The leader was Gu Wu.

And as it happened, Gu Wu was one of the masters involved in the operation to capture Xu Hao.

With that, it wasn't hard to guess what was going on.

One of the key reasons for the Imperial Martial Bureau's confidence was that they were planning to use Lin Jin as bait.

Xu Hao not only possessed superior Qinggong, but he also had an eccentric temperament.

Having failed to kill Lin Jin last time, he likely wouldn't let the matter drop.

Using Lin Jin as bait did indeed have a high chance of luring out Xu Hao.

Having figured out the key to the situation, Mu Lin said calmly, "Don't worry. Nothing will happen to your father. The Imperial Martial Bureau just asked for his help to lure out the villain who attacked him."

"They want to use my dad as bait? No, absolutely not! I won't allow it!!!"

Lin Shishi grabbed Mu Lin's hand, pleading desperately. "Take me to see my father. I can't stand the thought of him being bait all by himself."

In Mu Lin's impression, Lin Shishi had always been the proud, standoffish type.

For her to be pleading with him so humbly meant that she must be truly panicking.

"Alright, fine. I'll take you there now."

Mu Lin called the waiter over to pay the bill and then called Jiang Long to inform him.

He told him he would be a little late.

Before he arrived, no one was to make a move under any circumstances.

Even if Xu Hao appeared, they had to hold back and remain hidden.

Mu Lin knew all too well how strong Xu Hao was.

Despite Jiang Long's confident assurances that they could definitely capture Xu Hao in one fell swoop, it was, after all, just an assurance.

There were too many variables, too many things that could go wrong.