Chapter 120: Communication!
The scene that just unfolded might have seemed to happen quickly, but that was only from Liu Zijian’s perspective.
For Lin Mu, it was like being in a mysterious world, witnessing a magnificent panorama unfold.
The moment his palm touched the scroll, he tentatively infused it with a stream of Spiritual Energy. Instantly, the mist in the painting writhed as if it had come alive.
Lin Mu’s consciousness was then transported into that mysterious world.
On the face of a surging river, the heads of countless bizarre monsters broke the surface. They roared themselves hoarse, exuding a terrifying and brutal aura.
However, just as the monsters were about to leap from the water, the sound of a bamboo flute echoed, halting them in their tracks.
Then, a swath of sword light bright enough to illuminate heaven and earth silently appeared and swept across the scene.
All the monsters were sliced in two. Their bodies were either washed away by the river or sank to the bottom.
In the end, not a single one survived.
With a single sword strike, clarity returned to the world.
As the mist dissipated, a man in white appeared, standing on the river’s surface. He slowly lowered his hand and looked toward "Lin Mu" and..."Liu Xiaolin" beside him.
The man looked at Lin Mu and smiled.
But a moment later, his expression shifted slightly, as if he had made a decision. He transformed into a streak of light and rushed toward Lin Mu, aiming to enter the space between his brows.
At that moment, Lin Mu simply gave a faint smile and stirred his Divine Sense. The heavens and earth froze, redirecting the streak of light into Liu Xiaolin’s body instead.
As for the bamboo flute in the man’s hand, it transformed into the Infinite Sword Intent, which floated before Lin Mu until he took it in his hand.
「...」
Lin Mu didn’t share these details with Liu Zijian. After all, for matters like this, the fewer people who knew, the better.
When Lin Mu had seen the man in that small world, he also realized that the man possessed an Innate Infinite Sword Body, just like Liu Xiaolin.
He could sense that the man bore no malice toward Liu Xiaolin; on the contrary, he felt a strong kinship with him. It was just that the man had chosen Lin Mu first.
Only after Lin Mu’s warning did he turn to Liu Xiaolin.
The man’s final wisp of Divine Sense contained all his memories of the Sword Dao. Passing this legacy on to Liu Xiaolin was a fitting end for him.
However, for Liu Xiaolin to fully assimilate this knowledge of the Sword Dao, he would need to slumber for a long time.
Even Lin Mu couldn’t be sure how long that would be.
Still, since the man had chosen Liu Xiaolin as his direct disciple, he surely wouldn’t harm him.
Besides, with Lin Mu around, a mere remnant soul couldn’t cause much trouble.
Thinking of this, Lin Mu said, "Zijian, there’s no need to worry about Xiao Lin’s situation. But now, you need to start making some plans for yourself."
Liu Zijian was taken aback.
"Elder Brother Mu, what plans could I have?" Liu Zijian said. "Before, with my mother sick and my son so young, I was content just to get by day by day. Now that you’ve cured my mother and Xiao Lin has received such great fortune, I honestly haven’t thought about what to do next."
Lin Mu pondered for a moment. "How about this? Wait for my call in a couple of days. If you’re willing, you can come help me."
"Help you?" Liu Zijian asked. "What are you planning to do, Elder Brother Mu?"
Lin Mu simply smiled. "You’ll find out when the time comes."
Liu Zijian didn’t press the issue. Just then, Mother Liu woke up, and upon seeing Lin Mu, she insisted he stay for dinner.
Lin Mu accepted. With his greatest worries resolved, Liu Zijian felt a weight lift from his shoulders and enjoyed a hearty drink with Lin Mu.
After the satisfying meal, Lin Mu stood to leave, and Liu Zijian naturally saw him out.
"Zijian, we’re brothers, so I’ll be frank," Lin Mu said as they ambled along. "Auntie is getting older, and you don’t want her to move back to the countryside. Plus, you’re a man; you need to have your own career, and Xiao Lin needs someone to take care of him more than ever."
Liu Zijian nodded silently. When Lin Mu had mentioned this before, the idea had already crossed his mind, but he hadn’t settled on anything.
Lin Mu continued, "Didn’t you win a sum of money a while back? You should go buy a house first. If you’re short on cash, just ask me. We’re brothers, so don’t let pride get in the way."
"Elder Brother Mu..."
Just as Liu Zijian started to speak, Lin Mu raised a hand to stop him. "Liu Zijian," he said seriously, "if you still consider me a brother, you’ll listen to me this time. Even if not for yourself, you have to think about Auntie and Xiao Lin."
"Alright, Elder Brother Mu, I’ll listen to you!" Liu Zijian agreed, gritting his teeth.
He had also bet on Lin Mu to win at the Xin Yuan Club and had earned quite a bit. It was enough to buy a second-hand house.
Lin Mu continued, "My mom is planning to open a restaurant. Auntie is a good cook, so they could work together. It doesn’t matter if it makes money or not; it’s good for them to have something to do."
"Your mom?" Liu Zijian asked, curious. Wasn’t Elder Brother Mu an orphan?
Lin Mu smiled. "I’ll explain later. For now, you just need to listen to me."
Liu Zijian scratched his head. "Elder Brother Mu, I’ve always been a bit slow, so whatever you say goes. I’ll listen to you."
"That’s more like it."
Lin Mu smiled as well. "Let’s have the two of them meet in a couple of days. If they get along, they can work together. If not, Auntie can stay home and take care of Xiao Lin."
"After all, now that Xiao Lin has fallen asleep, it could be for a very long time."
If his son had fallen into a coma in the past, Liu Zijian would have been worried sick. But now, he believed Elder Brother Mu’s assurance that everything would be fine.
"Elder Brother Mu, you’re so capable and you even understand medicine. I’ll listen to you," Liu Zijian chuckled.
Lin Mu stretched lazily. "Alright. You go look at houses for the next couple of days. I’ll call you once things are settled on my end."
"Deal!"
「...」
When he returned home, Lin Mu briefly updated his mother on Liu Zijian’s situation and then mentioned that Mother Liu could open a restaurant with Lady Su. Lady Su immediately agreed.
She said she would meet with Mother Liu when she had time, and if things felt right, they would make it official.
Moreover, their negotiation that day had gone smoothly; they had secured the restaurant at an incredibly low price.
The place already had all the necessary equipment. They just needed to clean up a bit before they could open for business.
In fact, Lady Su was so pleased that her son had made another friend that she didn’t bother asking about anything else.
My son has grown up, I should just let him be.
Even when Lin Mu transferred a sum of money to her, Lady Su showed no surprise at all.
My son, lacking in ability? Never.
These past few days, her daughter-in-law’s face would beam with pride at every mention of her son, and she felt her own old face bask in the glory.
Of course, Lady Su didn’t know that when they went to bed, Lin Mu said to Qin Luoli, "Thank you for all your hard work these past few days."
Qin Luoli, who was removing her makeup, replied, "What’s there to thank me for? It’s what I should do. Besides, I really enjoyed accompanying Mom around."
Lin Mu just smiled and said no more.
He chose not to reveal that to secure the restaurant, Qin Luoli had already communicated with the other competitors and convinced them to back off. Otherwise, the negotiations would have been far more difficult.
Lying in bed, Lin Mu watched her silhouette. Actually, this is quite nice, isn’t it?