Chapter 59: A Bolt from the Blue

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Chapter 59: A Bolt from the Blue

While Lin You crouched on the parasol tree, pawing at his claws and trying to figure out what he might have overlooked, he had no idea that someone was sitting on another large mulberry tree in the courtyard, watching the parasol tree with a shocked yet ruthless expression.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Ling You would never have believed that such a cat existed. Rather than an animal, the creature perched on the parasol tree seemed more like a monster wearing an animal’s skin. What ordinary animal could speak human language? What ordinary animal could make phone calls? And what ordinary animal could throw strange yellow pieces of paper from a tree, causing eighty percent of the people in the courtyard to fall victim to their effects? They had either become delirious or lost all control over themselves, leaving only their most primal, frenzied desires.

Such an animal was terrifying. Or rather, its very existence was too extraordinary. Fortunately, he had secretly followed these people because he was afraid they couldn’t be trusted, allowing him to witness this crucial scene. If he hadn’t come, he didn’t even dare imagine what would happen if his boss had meticulously planned everything to lure Mu Yanxiao into a trap, only for the entire plan to fail because of a monster like this. His boss would be furious. In fact, if this monster were a little more ruthless, the deadly trap his boss had prepared for Mu Yanxiao might very well end up being turned back on him.

Thinking of this, the killing intent in Ling You’s eyes grew even stronger. Even if it cost him his life, he would kill this monster. Having something like this beside Mu Yanxiao was absolutely not good for his boss.

Perhaps Ling You’s killing intent was simply too strong. Lin You, who was pawing at the tree, suddenly felt the fur on his body stand on end and sharply looked toward the southernmost corner of the courtyard. There, he saw a large mulberry tree no smaller than his own parasol tree. Its lush leaves swayed in the breeze, yet there wasn’t anything unusual about it.

Lin You, “?” Was it just his imagination? Why had he just felt killing intent coming from that tree? Yet when he looked over, he couldn’t find anything strange.

Just as Lin You was debating whether he should go check out the mulberry tree, a commotion suddenly came from outside the courtyard. Lin You’s ears instantly perked up, and his short tail began wagging without him even realizing it. If nothing had gone wrong, the person coming had to be his blind master!

The courtyard door finally opened, and the person who walked through it was the very person Young Master Lin You most wanted to see.

After Mu Yanxiao entered the courtyard, the miniature earpiece in his ear immediately sounded with Mu One’s report. “Boss, the Second Young Master is six meters away from you at your three o’clock. There are sixteen bodyguards in the courtyard. Eleven of them are doing ‘that’ with their employers, while the five who are still normal have been tied up in the corner by Mu Five, Mu Nine, and Mu Ten.”

Mu Yanxiao’s icy, murderous expression didn’t change at all as he listened to Mu One’s report. Even when his younger brother saw him arrive and hurried over to greet him, he was completely ignored.

Those deep, dark eyes turned toward Mu Yanming, making him tremble all over. Mu Yanming knew perfectly well that his brother was angry, and absolutely furious.

“Where’s Linlin?” Mu Yanxiao finally spoke. He was asking about his pet who was always fond of acting spoiled and particularly arrogant. But in his heart, Linlin was no longer a pet. He was a family member, perhaps even someone closer than family.

He was someone who would accompany him for the rest of his life.

Hearing his brother’s icy voice, Mu Yanming shuddered. Just from his tone, he knew that if anything had happened to Linlin, his brother might beat him to death. This was absolutely no joke. Mu Yanming silently gave the heavens the middle finger. In his brother’s eyes, Linlin was far more important than he was.

“Brother, don’t worry! Don’t get worked up! Linlin’s perfectly fine. He’s in the tree. Mu Five, Mu Nine, and Mu Ten and I were trapped earlier, but thanks to Linlin, who knows what he did, we managed to turn the tables! Look, look! The people who wanted to set me up have ended up setting themselves up instead! Brother, Linlin is amazing!”

After hearing his younger brother’s words, the tension in Mu Yanxiao’s expression finally eased slightly. Then, with another prompt from Mu One in his ear, Young Master Mu walked a few steps to the parasol tree in the center of the courtyard. He raised his head, extended his right hand, and said gently, “Linlin, come here.”

Lin You had actually wanted to throw himself into his blind master’s arms long ago. But just as he was about to jump, he belatedly realized, Damn, why is this parasol tree so high?!

Although he was a powerful lynx, if he misjudged the distance at this height, wouldn’t he end up falling straight to the ground? That would be far too embarrassing for a lynx and for Young Master Lin You. So he simply sat there with an especially haughty expression.

Until his blind master took the initiative to walk over to him.

“Meow~” Lin You let out a loud cry, then launched himself toward Mu Yanxiao with the momentum of a tiger pouncing on a mountain.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly.

But just as Lin You’s sturdy little paws landed in Mu Yanxiao’s arms, Mu One, who had been standing beside Mu Yanxiao like a stone statue, suddenly raised his head. A fierce glint flashed through his eyes, and his body shot toward the large mulberry tree in the corner of the courtyard like a leopard that had spotted its prey.

“Boss, there’s someone in the mulberry tree.”

Mu One tossed out those words as he left.

Both Mu Yanxiao and Lin You froze.

Lin You froze because he was shaken by the realization that he hadn’t noticed the person hiding in the mulberry tree. At the same time, he couldn’t help thanking the heavens that the person hadn’t fired a bullet at either him or Mu Yanxiao.

Mu Yanxiao’s expression darkened even further. If Linlin hadn’t obediently hidden in the parasol tree, and if its dense branches and leaves hadn’t concealed him, Linlin might already have been killed by that person’s gun before Mu Yanxiao even arrived to help him.

“Go back.” Mu Yanxiao said the words decisively, then turned around with Linlin in his arms. He couldn’t expose the little thing in his arms to an unknown enemy again. Especially if that person was likely more skilled than him, he couldn’t afford to take the risk.

Mu Yanxiao left without a moment’s hesitation, moving so quickly that even Mu Yanming was left staring blankly. Fortunately, Mu Nine and Mu Ten, being as perceptive as ever, gave him a hand signal. Mu Yanming glanced at his phone, where the video had already been recorded clearly, and quickly followed his brother without lingering.

At the same time, Second Young Master Mu silently prayed that nothing else would happen on the way back. Otherwise, he really would be in deep trouble.

After chasing Ling You for several hundred meters, Mu One was somewhat frustrated to discover that he had lost his target. However, judging from the figure and movements he’d just seen, he was able to determine the man’s identity.

It really was that bastard Zheng Yuhu. He had even sent out his most capable subordinate. It seemed Zheng Yuhu was getting desperate. However, if he’d known it was Ling You, he should have sent Mu Four to deal with him. After all, both of them specialized in tracking, concealment, and escape, while Mu One was indeed a little slower than the two of them.

Having lost Ling You, Mu One didn’t hesitate to turn back. His top priority was still protecting his boss’s safety. Ling You might have learned some things already, but as long as Mu One was there, he could at least guarantee the safety of Young Master Mu and Linlin.

Nearly a minute after Mu One left, Ling You’s slightly pale face finally emerged from a nearby bush. Mu One’s awareness of his surroundings had been far too strong, causing him to miss a perfect opportunity to eliminate that monster.

But did he think the spirit would be safe just because he wasn’t there?

Dream on!

The monster could only blame itself for being too unlucky. There just happened to be someone at Intoxicating Nights who could completely restrain it!

“Kun Yu! Are you ready over there? That spirit is already heading for the entrance. If it escapes Intoxicating Nights, you’ll lose both the jade and the gold you wanted!”

Ling You gripped the communicator and spoke with a hint of threat. The person on the other end, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest.

“So that’s why I drew such a terrible lot today. There really is a spirit causing trouble here. Hmph, don’t worry. As long as that thing isn’t a normal human but some spirit, demon, ghost, or monster, I’ll definitely be able to wipe it out! But then again, if it isn’t a spirit or demon and is instead an ordinary animal or person, my spirit-slaying thunderbolt could end up hurting them. That would damage my merit. How are you going to compensate me?”

Ling You listened to Kun Yu with a dismissive expression and a cold sneer. All that fancy talk about spirit-slaying thunderbolts. If this person were really some legendary Daoist priest or righteous hero, he wouldn’t have helped them commit so many shady acts for the sake of gold and jade.

In the end, he was nothing more than a greedy man who wanted money and happened to know a little evil magic.

“Don’t worry. Forget about accidentally hurting them. If you can wipe them all out in one strike, our boss might even give you a whole jade mine. But you’ve already tried before. Your witchcraft and Gu arts, curses, and other evil methods are completely useless against Mu Yanxiao. They’re not effective against anyone in the Mu Family either. It’s better not to make claims you can’t back up.”

Kun Yu grew embarrassed and angry. “Didn’t I tell you before? The Mu Family has someone with profound Daoist cultivation protecting them! I secretly observed the layout of their residence from a distance. It’s a natural formation designed by an expert! In our Spirit World, only a handful of major families and sects can create a formation like that! Otherwise, how do you think Mu Yanxiao, who, judging from his features, absolutely shouldn’t have lived to see this year, is still alive and well? He’s only lost his eyesight!”

Ling You didn’t want to listen to him ramble and simply asked, “Forget about the Mu Family. I’m only asking you this: can you kill the cat Young Master Mu is holding? As long as that cat dies, I’ll have someone deliver the benefits we promised you immediately.”

Kun Yu didn’t want to waste time explaining things to a brute like Ling You, who knew nothing about the Spirit World. But considering that this man was Zheng Yuhu’s most trusted subordinate, Kun Yu still answered seriously.

“Don’t worry. As long as I make a move, that cat will die even if he doesn’t want to.”

Only then was Ling You satisfied enough to end the call. Meanwhile, Lin You was already being carried by Mu Yanxiao into the main hall of Intoxicating Nights. His mood had been poor the entire way. He simply couldn’t understand why his anxiety hadn’t disappeared even after the person hiding in the mulberry tree had been discovered. Instead, it had only grown worse.

Did this mean it wasn’t over yet?

Lin You straightened up slightly and looked around. He really couldn’t figure out who could possibly hurt him and Mu Yanxiao under the watchful eyes of Mu One, Mu Two, Mu Three, Mu Four, and Mu Five, the five most formidable members of the Mu Family’s numbered corps.

“Linlin?” Mu Yanxiao felt the little one in his arms move and stopped, lowering his head slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

Lin You thought it over and decided it was better not to be overconfident. He raised his little head and whispered into Mu Yanxiao’s ear, “I have a really bad feeling. I think I might die here today.”

Mu Yanxiao’s body went rigid, his ramrod-straight back as sharp as a blade.

“…Don’t talk nonsense. We’ll be going home soon.”

Although Mu Yanxiao said this, his entire demeanor had become sharp and intensely vigilant. He didn’t want to tell the little one in his arms that he hadn’t felt at ease for even a moment since that morning. No matter what he did, he couldn’t calm himself down. He had an intense sense of unease and irritation, as though something terrible was going to happen today.

That was precisely why Mu Yanxiao had taken the initiative to call Lin You. The moment he made that call, he’d even accidentally smashed the custom-made teacup shaped like Lin You’s head that he and Lin You had bought together at a night market stall a few days earlier.

Now that he’d heard Lin You was feeling the same sense of unease and foreboding, Mu Yanxiao kept telling himself that it was only a premonition. But somewhere in his heart, a voice was already saying:

Linlin won’t make it through this.

“Mu One, keep a close eye on your surroundings. Absolutely no accidents are allowed on the way back.”

Mu Yanxiao finally couldn’t hold back and gave the order.

“At all costs.”

For the next five minutes, the atmosphere remained tense, but nothing happened. Just as they were about to get into the heavily modified, incredibly sturdy car, Mu Yanxiao suddenly stopped and took a large step backward without warning. The movement even made Mu Yanming stumble, but he didn’t complain.

Because at that moment, he was staring in shock at a cloud of black mist rising from the spot where his brother had just been standing!

“What… what’s going on?! Did you see that?! That thing just appeared out of nowhere!”

Mu Yanming’s voice was filled with shock. Yet what impressed him even more was his brother. He had actually predicted even this?! But neither Mu Yanxiao, Lin You, nor Mu One relaxed in the slightest. Lin You even struggled to jump out of Mu Yanxiao’s arms.

Mu Yanxiao held him tightly. “Linlin, don’t move.”

Only now did Lin You realize what he had overlooked. Perhaps it was because he’d been away from the Spirit World while living as an animal. Perhaps Mu Yanxiao had spoiled him so much that he’d let his guard down. Either way, he’d forgotten that even in the ordinary human world, there were evil cultivators who, driven by selfish desires and greed, disregarded the rules of the Spirit World and committed crimes among ordinary people.

Crack!

A muffled clap of thunder suddenly rang out across the clear sky. Almost everyone standing outside Intoxicating Nights looked up and saw a thick bolt of purplish-black lightning.

What made them gasp was that the bolt, which had appeared out of nowhere, was heading straight for someone’s head!

“Yanxiao! Put me down! You can’t block this thing. It’ll hurt you too!”

Lin You struggled even harder. He didn’t want Mu Yanxiao to be hurt because of him again, even if it was only a burn from the impact and wouldn’t be fatal.

But the man holding him was even more determined. Mu Yanxiao no longer tried to dodge. He simply held Lin You tightly in both arms, shielding most of his body, and said calmly, “Even if you have to die, you’ll die in my arms. You can’t go anywhere, and no one can take you away.”

Lin You froze, a hint of helplessness on his face.

At the same time, Mu Yanxiao ordered Mu One, “Find out who around here is controlling this thing. If Linlin is the target, he’ll definitely come out to watch him die. So remember everyone here. I want to see news of him being burned to death within three days.”

After saying this, Mu Yanxiao stroked Lin You’s fur and said softly, “He hurt you. He can’t live.”

In the next instant, the dark-purple bolt of lightning came crashing down.

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