Chapter 302: Fulfilling the Promise!
Qiao Tianhao understood.
He finally understood why Lin Mu was so determined to kill his son.
It turned out that his own son had crippled Lin Mu and then had him killed, all for a woman.
For the sake of a woman, Qiao Zishan had offended a Grandmaster.
This realization filled Qiao Tianhao with both rage and bitter regret.
"Zishan, why were you so foolish?" Qiao Tianhao cradled his son’s body. "What kind of woman couldn’t you have? Why did you have to provoke a Grandmaster?"
At this moment, Qiao Tianhao’s heart was submerged in regret. He regretted not raising Qiao Zishan properly, allowing his son to become the most despised young rake in all of River City. He could let other things slide; no matter how big the problem, Qiao Tianhao had the power to resolve it. But offending a Grandmaster...
Qiao Zishan did not answer his father. He, too, was drowning in regret. But beyond the regret, there was also sheer disbelief.
He had clearly sent men to kill Lin Mu. Lin Mu was already supposed to be dead. But now, not only was Lin Mu alive, he had transformed into the renowned Lin Wudi of the Martial Arts World. It turned out that phone call from back then was real. The voice of the man on the other end... thinking back on it now, it sounded more and more familiar. He was Lin Wudi!
"Impossible... impossible..."
Qiao Zishan kept muttering the word as his consciousness grew muddled. Finally, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his head slumped to the side, and he breathed his last.
He had literally been frightened to death.
"My son!" Seeing Qiao Zishan dead, Qiao Tianhao let out a heart-wrenching scream, tears streaming down his old face.
Throughout his life, Qiao Tianhao had dominated the business world, facing countless trials, big and small, without a shred of fear. In the end, he became the richest man in River City. He could command the wind and summon the rain. One could say that Qiao Tianhao was the kind of man who walked around with his own theme music; anyone who met him had to address him as Rich Master Qiao.
And yet, this tycoon couldn’t even protect his own son’s life.
"AHHH!"
Qiao Tianhao roared at the heavens, his heart consumed by endless resentment and remorse. His eyes bloodshot, he pointed a trembling finger at Lin Mu and spat out, word by word, "Kill him! Kill him for me!"
But everything remained deathly still as Lin Mu stood in place, watching him with a calm expression.
"I told you to shoot!" Qiao Tianhao bellowed into the darkness.
The darkness, however, remained utterly silent. Not even a whisper could be heard.
"Don’t waste your breath," Lin Mu said indifferently. "The snipers you positioned have all been dealt with."
"Come out."
From behind a rockery, Li Xiaotian emerged, blade in hand. Blood dripped from its edge as he walked, leaving a crimson trail on the ground.
Li Xiaotian stopped behind Lin Mu and said respectfully, "Master, they have all been taken care of."
"Good." Lin Mu grunted in acknowledgment and turned his gaze to Qiao Tianhao. "Your son crossed me, so he was the only one I killed. If you want revenge, feel free to come after me."
"But if you dare touch my family, I promise you a life worse than death."
With that said, Lin Mu turned and left the Qiao Mansion without a backward glance.
Li Xiaotian hurried to follow.
The entire Qiao Mansion was littered with corpses. Only Qiao Tianhao remained, clutching his son’s body. In the oppressive silence, this tycoon who had dominated the business world for decades wept, his once-black hair turning stark white in an instant.
"Revenge... revenge..."
「Under the twinkling stars.」
Lin Mu walked silently down the road.
Sensing a presence lurking behind him, Lin Mu suddenly turned around. "You can go back. No need to follow me."
"Yes, Master!" Li Xiaotian replied. He immediately stopped, turned, and departed swiftly.
Since his Master wished for some solitude, it was best not to disturb him.
After Li Xiaotian was gone, Lin Mu looked up at the sky.
"It’s finally over."
A faint smile touched his lips as he picked up his pace and headed toward the outskirts of the city.
Lin Mu wasn’t moving at a sprint, yet each step he took covered a distance of ten feet. A passing driver noticed the man walking by the roadside but didn’t think much of it at first. Then he realized that with every step, the man’s pace was as precise as if measured, and his speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, the figure vanished into the night.
The driver’s face went pale with fright, and he muttered that he must have seen a ghost.
「In a desolate mountain on the city outskirts, where boulders stood like a chaotic forest.」
Trees struggled to grow on the barren mountain. At the summit, a lone grave stood in solitude, accompanied only by the starlight.
Beneath the stars, a figure slowly ascended. At first, the figure was at the foot of the mountain. An instant later, it appeared ghostlike halfway up the slope. Finally, it materialized at the very top.
Shrinking Ground into Inches—the technique of an immortal.
Lin Mu stood before the grave, his expression serene, his thoughts unreadable.
It had been nearly half a year since his rebirth, and so much had happened. Putting the Qin Family in their place, revealing his miraculous skills at the hospital, combining the Medical and Martial Ways, becoming a Divine Medical Master embodied in a single person... The list of events was endless. Yet deep within his heart, Lin Mu still saw himself as an onlooker, a mere passerby. He knew he would have to leave, sooner or later. He trained diligently to restore his strength for the sole purpose of returning to the Immortal Realm to take back what was his. Because that was where he truly belonged.
But after tonight, something felt different.
Was Qiao Zishan despicable? Absolutely. As River City’s greatest silk-pants heir, he had brought disaster to countless people. How many families had he torn apart? How many people had died because of him? Did he deserve to die? He did. Just for breaking the original host’s arms and legs and leaving his body for dead in the wilderness, he deserved to die.
But what about Qiao Tianhao? He was just an ordinary man. Perhaps he would do anything for his son. He wasn’t innocent; it was because he was his son that Qiao Zishan dared to run amok in River City. But did he deserve death? His crimes didn’t warrant it.
That was why Lin Mu had killed only Qiao Zishan and spared Qiao Tianhao.
Seeing Qiao Tianhao use every trick up his sleeve for his son, to the point his hair turned white from grief, Lin Mu felt a sliver of admiration for the man. A titan of his generation. Daring enough to act, and bold enough to face the consequences.
Looking at the grave, Lin Mu knew there was no body inside. This was merely a burial for the past of the body’s original owner, as well as for the promise Lin Mu had made to him. Lin Mu had come here to pay his final respects, and to fulfill that promise.
"Qiao Zishan is dead." Lin Mu sat down, speaking to the air. "I’ve done what I promised you."
"Of course, if you’re still not satisfied and want the entire Qiao Family wiped out, I can do that for you, too."
No one responded. Only the wind howled in reply.
But Lin Mu smiled.
Because he saw it.
A blurry figure stood before him. The two of them looked as if they were cast from the same mold, differing only in their dispositions. This was an incarnation formed from the original host’s lingering resentment, summoned forth by Lin Mu.
The vague figure looked at Lin Mu, his lips moving, forming silent words.
Lin Mu listened intently, and by the end, he was deeply moved.
He stood up and gave a solemn bow, his fist clasped in his palm.
"I promise you."
The original host smiled and nodded, casting one last, reluctant glance in the direction of River City.
The wind blew past, and the figure dissolved into specks of spiritual light, vanishing completely.
This time, he was truly gone.
Lin Mu murmured to himself, "Thank you."