Chapter 79: Young Master Mu Goes on the Offensive

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Chapter 79: Young Master Mu Goes on the Offensive

A father-in-law who could shatter a stone lion with one slap was not a good father-in-law.

Young Master Mu listened as Mu Five described the scene in a trembling voice while hearing the shattered stone crash and tumble across the ground with his own ears. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, and his right eyelid began jumping violently.

As the saying went, a twitching left eye brings fortune, while a twitching right eye foretells disaster . Young Master Mu very much wanted to tell himself not to believe such old superstitions, but the truth was that he already felt disaster looming. Still, no matter how terrifying his father-in-law was, a son-in-law couldn’t simply drop everything and run! As a junior, he ought to tolerate his elders whenever possible. And if things truly became intolerable… well, at the very least, he had to steal his wife away before losing his temper.

Young Master Mu rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t managed to steal his wife away yet. Therefore, he absolutely could not lose his temper.

“You’re nothing but an ordinary human, and you actually want to pursue my son?! Does your family know you’re this determined to court death?! Forget everything else—even one of the things that happens on our side would be beyond your ability to handle if my son got involved. And you want my son to live with you? Is that the kind of life you’re offering him?!”

Mu Yanxiao frowned.

He had sensed it from the moment he arrived. Although the Lin Family showed him no obvious malice, their contempt for him was unmistakable. It was a feeling Mu Yanxiao had almost never experienced before. Even during the most difficult years of his life, no one had ever looked down on him quite like this.

It felt exceptionally unpleasant.

Mu Yanxiao suddenly felt his eyes growing inexplicably hot, almost as though they had sensed his anger.

“I think there are two points I need to emphasize.” Mu Yanxiao’s voice was cold and almost devoid of emotion. “First, even though I’m an ordinary person and you’re cultivators, and in certain respects you could indeed kill me quite easily, this world is divided into the Light Realm and the Dark Realm. The fact that people from one side rarely appear openly in the other means that even if you possess the power to kill me easily, you cannot simply kill me whenever the mood strikes you. You believe in the Heavenly Dao. Naturally, that means you’re also bound by it.”

“So what exactly is the point of acting so arrogant in front of me? Neither side can simply do whatever it wants to the other. What makes you so certain that I’m the incompetent one rather than you?”

The moment those words left his mouth, Mu Yanxiao felt razor-sharp gazes shoot toward him from every direction as the pressure around him suddenly intensified.

So what?

He’d been surrounded and threatened by hundreds of people before. And even if the current situation truly did put him under enormous pressure, he still hadn’t won his wife yet, much less gotten his future mother-in-law and father-in-law on his side. Even if it killed him, he couldn’t retreat now!!

“Arrogant nonsense!! You seriously overestimate yourself!!” Eldest Cousin Lin Tianjiao stomped her foot. “I hate pretentious rich brats like you the most! You want to know how we know you’re the useless one? If somebody over here bullied Little Linzi, I could cut them down with my sword! You wouldn’t even be able to touch a hair on their head!! So tell me, who’s useless?”

The corner of Mu Yanxiao’s mouth twitched. “Maybe I couldn’t touch a hair on his head myself, but I could always hire someone to find out where he lives. I might not know any Daoist arts, but I can launch a small missile at his house.”

The stunned Eldest Cousin: “…”

Holy crap. Who told her ordinary humans were all timid cowards?! This one was practically fearless!

And judging purely by the end result… well, apparently different paths really could lead to the same destination.

“Ahem! Anyway, you’re still not strong enough! I’m not handing my little cousin over to you!”

Mu Yanxiao nodded calmly. So this was his future cousin-in-law.

Were all the women in the Lin Family this fierce?

Fortunately, his Linlin had such a good personality.

Hehe.

“Now for my second point. Although I don’t believe I’m inferior to any of you, you’re all Linlin’s family, so your intentions must ultimately come from wanting what’s best for him. You may have all kinds of concerns and reservations, but before any of that, shouldn’t you ask Linlin what kind of life he actually wants? Maybe he’d be perfectly happy living an ordinary life of luxury with me.

“I remember that when Linlin first came to me, he said he was the one who fit in least with his family. I don’t know exactly why he feels so out of place, but perhaps I can make a guess. Is it because he doesn’t want to cultivate Daoist arts and would rather live like an ordinary person? If that’s the case, then if all of you truly have Linlin’s best interests at heart, I don’t think you should be standing in my way.”

When Mu Yanxiao made his first point, the Lin Family had reacted with anger and disdain. But after he made his second, more than half the people present fell briefly into thought.

Hua Yu narrowed her eyes as she leaned casually against the other stone lion in front of the ancestral residence. Looking at the young man standing several meters below them without showing the slightest weakness, she suddenly found him more pleasing the longer she watched. Of course, she’d find him even more pleasing if he hadn’t once called her an old fox spirit. Otherwise, she might already have switched sides by now.

He was responsible and courageous, and most importantly, he genuinely cared about her son. Still, no matter how sincere he was, all those impulsive men seemed to have forgotten one rather important point, hadn’t they? Not that Hua Yu herself particularly cared about that point.

“That all sounds wonderful, but who knows whether you’ll really treat Little Linzi as well as you claim? Who knows whether you’ll actually make him happy?” Lin Tianliang suddenly spoke up. “The Linlin you’ve met and come to understand is a Linlin who was forced to inhabit animal bodies while undergoing his tribulation. Those animals all have instincts and habits of their own, so the personality Linlin displays while possessing them is quite different from his natural personality.

“Knowing that, are you still certain you like our Linlin? Maybe you only started depending on Linlin for comfort because disaster suddenly struck you. What happens when your eyes recover? When you regain your sight and Linlin returns to the person he used to be, can you still guarantee that you’ll feel exactly as you do now?”

“There are simply too many uncertainties between you. We’re Linlin’s family, and at least I don’t want him taking that risk.” Lin Tianliang calmly summed up his argument, then couldn’t resist stabbing his troublesome little cousin one more time. “Maybe you don’t know this, but before his accident, Linlin was the kind of person who could watch someone die right in front of him and still smile while covering the body with a white sheet.”

After saying this, Lin Tianliang suddenly scratched his head, tugged his twin brother closer, and whispered, “You know, I’m starting to think we don’t actually need to play the villains here. If we just wait until that little bastard returns to normal, he’ll probably crush this guy’s hopes all by himself.”

Lin Tiantong nodded enthusiastically. “Now that you mention it, you’re right. Wasn’t it about a year ago that spirits, demons, ghosts, monsters, and Daoist priests were showing up outside Little Linzi’s shop every day to flirt with him and ask for dual cultivation? And didn’t every single one of them get rewarded with a handful of poison powder? Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

“You little brats! What are you two muttering about?! Keep bad-mouthing my son and I’ll strike you both down, understand?!” Father Lin had overheard his nephews’ whispers, and his already terrible mood became even worse.

Because he’d suddenly realized something horrifying. If they excluded this perfectly ordinary human standing in front of him, then his adorable, handsome youngest son might… possibly… actually end up unwanted!!

Forget all those beautiful, adorable, or delicate female cultivators. His son had never understood how to coax someone or say sweet things, and even worse, he possessed an exceptional talent for stabbing people directly in their sore spots. Anyone without a taste for self-torture would never choose his son! And even if they lowered their standards all the way to male cultivators from the Dark Realm, perhaps one of those men might be willing to swallow his pride and coax Lin You—but his son didn’t like being coaxed!

Twenty-five might be extremely young for a cultivator, but if things continued the way they had before, Father Lin was suddenly terrified that his son might end up just like his younger brother!!

“…!”

Holy crap! Just thinking about it was enough to make his heart ache! Having such a troublesome son was pure suffering!

Just as Father Lin’s formerly unshakable position began wavering under the weight of his own imagination, Young Master Mu spoke up below at precisely the right moment, almost as though he’d secretly been listening in.

“I can’t make any guarantees about the future.”

Father Lin immediately bared his teeth and glared.

Fuck! That’s all the determination you’ve got, you brat?!

“Because I haven’t met the Linlin you’re describing yet. I can’t know for certain whether he’ll still be as close to me after he recovers. But what I can guarantee is myself.”

Mu Yanxiao raised his sightless eyes slightly toward Great-Grandpa Lin, Grandpa Lin, Father Lin, and the others. An unwavering determination showed in his dark pupils.

“I can promise that even after I regain my sight, I’ll treasure Linlin just as much as I do now. I’ll pamper him, protect him, and do everything I can to make him happy. And I can promise that even if Linlin stops being close to me after he recovers, I’ll do everything within my power to make him willing to stay with me.”

At this point, Mu Yanxiao’s expression dimmed. Almost like a sigh, he added quietly,

“If… if Linlin truly can’t accept me no matter what I do… then I’ll leave.”

“But I won’t let things reach that point. Please believe me.

“And Linlin… I hope you’ll believe me too.”

Mu Yanxiao stood beneath the ninety-nine steps leading to the Lin ancestral residence, his head slightly raised and his expression resolute. A gentle mountain breeze stirred his hair.

He stood there calmly and held out both arms, his voice carrying a trace of anticipation and an almost imperceptible hint of worry.

“Linlin? Are you there? Will you come over? Or say something and tell me which way to go so I can pick you up. I’ll come find you.”

Several seconds passed without an answer from his pet, and Mu Yanxiao’s brows immediately knitted together. Was Linlin not here? Had they locked him up somewhere?

Just as Mu Yanxiao was about to question the Lin Family, he heard the rapid patter of running paws. Before he could react, a familiar fluffy, chubby puppy body launched itself straight into his arms.

Mu Yanxiao tightly embraced the pet he’d finally managed to get back. His previously tense expression instantly melted into a brilliant smile.

“Now that we’ve come this far, can I finally know your real name, Linlin?”

Young Master Lin You felt slightly embarrassed, but then he remembered that he’d never deliberately lied from beginning to end. Everything had been the product of his blind master’s own imagination. His conscience immediately became perfectly clear.

“Ahem. Listen carefully~ My surname is Lin, and my given name is You. According to my family’s generational naming system, we’re of the Tian generation, so you can also call me Lin Tianyou. But I still prefer Lin You.”

Mu Yanxiao quietly repeated Lin You several times, savoring the name, then rubbed Young Master Lin’s doggy head.

“How about I keep calling you Linlin?”

Lin You, now in an excellent mood, nodded immediately. “Sure! It’s just a nickname. I call you blind master too.”

Blind Master Mu Yanxiao: “…”

The Lin Family members watching from the entrance to the main residence: “!!”

This absolutely cannot be that little bastard / menace / troublesome son / troublesome nephew named Lin You!!

My son / nephew / younger cousin could never possibly be this tsundere and adorable!!

“Ugh! A gentle, domineering, filthy-rich top paired with a tsundere, adorable, silly-cute bottom!! Aah—! I can’t take it anymore! I don’t think I can hold the line!” Lin Tianjiao suddenly clutched her chest, her eyes sparkling. “And I completely forgot to say it earlier—my future cousin-in-law is so handsome! ”

Lin Tianliang and Lin Tiantong looked at their eldest sister, their mouths twitching in perfect unison.

Big Sister, can’t you see Mom and Dad staring at you? By tonight, you’re going to discover that your entire treasured collection has mysteriously been destroyed without a trace.

Perhaps the sight of the man and dog together was simply too heartwarming. Or perhaps the Lin Family had collectively remembered a certain eccentric’s catastrophically difficult personality and suddenly worried that if this bold and reasonably capable rich man left today, no one else would ever want Lin You.

Whatever the reason, after silently watching their eye-blindingly sweet interaction for a while, the direct-line members of the Lin Family finally softened and stopped trying to drive Mu Yanxiao away.

But not chasing you away doesn’t mean we’re letting you through the door!

If you want to enter the Lin Family, brat, you’ve still got a long road ahead of you!!

Lin Tianliang and Lin Tiantong lifted their chins and announced to Young Master Mu, “You’re on your own for dinner tonight! If you don’t want to leave, then pitch a tent outside or something. We’re not taking care of you! And Lin Xiaoyou! Go ahead, keep pushing your luck! If you’re going to cling to his arms and refuse to come back inside, then you can forget about dinner! Hmph!!”

Young Master Lin You glared at the tightly shut doors and ground his teeth furiously.

These people just couldn’t stand seeing someone else happy!!

They were blatantly using public business to settle personal grudges!!

Mu Yanxiao was somewhat speechless himself, but overall, his mood remained excellent. He reached out and soothingly rubbed Lin You’s doggy head. Then Young Master Mu revealed a smile that made Lin Fengdi’s stomach sink.

“Mu One, arrange dinner and somewhere for us to sleep tonight. We won’t be able to make it back down the mountain today.”

Mu One nodded, then immediately grabbed Lin Fengdi. “You’re a member of the Lin Family too, aren’t you? If they didn’t know you, there’s no way they would’ve completely ignored you just now without saying a word. Relax, I don’t mean any harm. I only want to ask one thing: there are illusion formations blocking the way in on foot, but what if we airdrop supplies from above? Would the formations stop them?”

Lin Fengdi, who had initially thought he was about to get beaten up by a bunch of ordinary humans, breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly answered, “No. The illusion formations only block living humans and animals. They won’t stop inanimate objects.”

Mu One nodded in satisfaction. Perfect.

He turned toward Mu Two, who immediately gave him an OK sign. The normally calm man’s eyes seemed to be burning with fierce flames. And when Mu One looked at Mu Three, Mu Four, and Mu Five behind him, every last one of them looked as though someone had injected them with pure adrenaline.

“…What did you guys do?”

“I’ve already ordered a luxurious two-person palace-style tent and a Manchu-Han Imperial Feast for five hundred people!” Mu Two calmly pushed up his glasses.

Mu One’s mouth twitched.

Lin Fengdi’s jaw dropped.

“I also got comprehensive surveillance equipment and miniature bombs!” Mu Three raised his fist. “So what if we’re ordinary people?! We absolutely cannot let the family of Boss’s future wife look down on us!!”

Mu Four smiled brightly in agreement. “We can’t just overwhelm them with luxury in everyday life. We also have to demonstrate our strength in combat. And if that still isn’t enough, I’ll start learning Daoist arts tomorrow. There has to be some way to win them over.”

Mu Five pounded his chest hard enough to produce a solid thump . “Tomorrow, I’m challenging them to a straight-up wrestling match!”

Lin Fengdi’s right eyelid began twitching uncontrollably. Looking at these men who were clearly ordinary humans yet behaved like a pack of crazed demons, he suddenly felt that he ought to hurry back into the ancestral residence while he still could.

Fuck! He was actually getting chills of danger from ordinary humans?!

Young Master Mu delivered the final verdict.

“Everyone gets a one-percent annual raise.”

Lin You · Lin Family member, Mu Family pet · deeply conflicted young master: “…”

Hehe.

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