The next day, the noon sun drove away the chill of the mountain ravine, but it could not dispel the gloom and fury that had built up in Mu Li's heart.
Leading a group of subordinates and dragging their exhausted bodies along, he finally returned to the outskirts of Qingshan Town in a sorry state.
Whenever he thought of how they had not only failed to capture Xiao Yi Xian and that brat last night, but had instead let them escape through some bizarre method—and had even injured several brothers on that damned ice path—Mu Li became so furious he nearly coughed up blood.
"Damn it! Once I'm back at the group, I'll mobilize everyone and drag that pair of dogs out! Mo Lin, you little bastard, I'll tear you into a thousand pieces!" Mu Li growled through gritted teeth, his face twisted with savagery.
He imagined how, once he returned to headquarters, he would deploy his men and exact ruthless revenge.
However, when he and his subordinates approached the familiar street where the Wolf Head Mercenary Group headquarters stood, an eerie atmosphere made his heart skip a beat.
It was too quiet! At this hour, the area around headquarters should have been bustling with people, filled with the mercenaries' noise and training shouts.
But now, it was terrifyingly silent.
A sense of foreboding coiled around Mu Li's heart like a venomous snake.
He quickened his pace, practically running toward the gates of the headquarters compound.
Then he and every mercenary behind him froze as though struck by a immobilization spell, staring dumbfoundedly at the sight before them.
The heavy refined-iron gates that symbolized the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's authority, along with a large stretch of the surrounding wall, had vanished without a trace!
In their place was a massive, jagged, grotesque breach, as though some primordial beast had taken a huge bite out of it!
Through the gap, they could see the compound was in ruins. The ground was covered in a thick layer of frost that had not yet fully melted. Dark red bloodstains and... some indistinguishable, human-shaped fragments of ice were frozen within it.
The once boisterous and powerful Wolf Head Mercenary Group headquarters now resembled ruins that had just suffered a natural catastrophe, silent and pervaded by the aura of death and cold.
"H-How is this possible?!" Mu Li's mind went blank. He could not understand what he was seeing.
Where was my huge home? Where was my father? Where were all those brothers?
He staggered into the compound, stepping on ice shards mixed with blood and grime, which crackled beneath his feet.
He looked around, but there was nothing except destruction and dead silence.
"Young... Young Group Leader... look over there..." one mercenary said, his voice trembling as he pointed toward the entrance of the hall.
Mu Li followed the direction of his finger and saw a headless corpse frozen beneath a thick layer of ice at the hall entrance. Those familiar clothes, that familiar build...
"Father—!" Mu Li let out a heart-rending scream and scrambled toward it, throwing himself onto the cold body and wailing uncontrollably.
He could not accept that overnight, the support he had relied upon to survive—the foundation of his arrogance and tyranny—had simply vanished!
"Who was it?! Who did this?!" Mu Li roared, his eyes bloodshot and his expression crazed.
A figure flashed through his mind—the white-robed youth, Mo Lin!
Only him! Only he possessed such bizarre ice-elemental power, and only they had such deep enmity between them!
"It was Mo Lin! It must have been that little bastard!" Mu Li abruptly rose to his feet, his face filled with bone-deep hatred. "I'll kill him! I'll definitely kill him! Even if I have to chase him to the ends of the earth, I will..."
Before he could finish his threat, a calm, icy voice abruptly sounded behind them, as though it had come from the depths of the underworld.
"No need to chase me to the ends of the earth. I'm right here."
Mu Li and the surviving mercenaries under him shuddered violently and turned around in horror!
At some point, a figure had appeared in the ruined breach of the headquarters.
Dressed in spotless white robes, it was none other than Mo Lin!
He leaned casually against the broken wall with his arms crossed, calmly watching them as though he were looking at a group of dead men.
"Y-You..." Mu Li pointed at Mo Lin, trembling all over in rage. Fear and fury tangled within him, leaving him almost unable to form a complete sentence.
"Looks like you received the 'gift' I left behind." A cold curve formed at the corner of Mo Lin's lips. "The most important thing for a family is to be together, nice and neat. Shall I send you down to reunite with your father?"
"Get him! Kill him! Avenge the Group Leader!" Mu Li had completely lost his mind as he shrieked hysterically.
Though the remaining mercenaries were terrified, driven by their young group leader's command and the desperation of their situation, they still charged forward with red eyes and weapons raised.
Mo Lin shook his head, his eyes utterly calm. "Stubborn fools."
He did not even use Ice Emperor's Claws or the Emperor Sword. He merely raised his right hand, spread his fingers, and lightly clenched them toward the charging mercenaries!
"Mimic Absolute Zero: Condense!"
In an instant, an extreme chill far more terrifying and pure than the previous night erupted outward from him!
Even the air seemed to freeze, producing cracking sounds! The charging mercenaries, Mu Li included, stiffened instantly. Terror froze on their faces as a thick, indestructible layer of black ice visibly spread across their bodies!
In the space of a single breath, more than a dozen ice sculptures in various poses had appeared in the ruined compound!
Sunlight shone upon the ice sculptures, reflecting a dazzling yet frigid radiance.
Mo Lin lowered his hand without even looking at the sculptures, as though he had merely brushed aside a few flies.
He walked over to Mu Li's ice sculpture, looked at the madness and terror frozen on his face, and lightly flicked a finger.
"Crack..."
The ice sculpture shattered in response, turning into a pile of ice crystals. Along with it, Mu Li vanished completely from this world.
Cut the grass, remove the roots. Clean and decisive.
Meanwhile, at Myriad Medicine Hall.
Xiao Yi Xian had barely slept all night and returned to her room as soon as dawn began to break.
Her thoughts were in turmoil. She was worried about Mo Lin's safety, flushed and flustered by their intimate contact last night, and afraid of the revenge Mu Li and the Wolf Head Mercenary Group might seek.
She sat by the window, watching the street outside gradually become lively, her delicate brows slightly furrowed.
It was not until late morning that a huge commotion suddenly erupted outside, along with faint sounds of frightened discussion.
"Something huge happened! The Wolf Head Mercenary Group... is gone!"
"The entire headquarters has been frozen over! Group Leader Mu She is dead! It's terrifying!"
"I heard a young man in white did it! With one move, he..."
"Good heavens, Qingshan Town is about to change!"
Hearing these discussions, Xiao Yi Xian froze at first. Then her beautiful eyes widened instantly, filled with shocked disbelief!
The Wolf Head Mercenary Group... was gone? Mu She was dead? Was it... was it him?
An indescribable surge of ecstasy and relief welled up in her heart!
That immense threat that had weighed on her mind and kept her uneasy day and night had simply... disappeared?
Had that seemingly carefree yet terrifyingly powerful youth erased it all by himself?
After the shock came intense joy and a trace of pride.
She recalled Mo Lin's confident smile and his overwhelming power. So when he had said he was going to "deal with the trouble," this was the thunderous way he meant to do it!
Compared to his absolute strength, her earlier worries seemed utterly laughable.
But then she remembered last night by the cliff and in the cave, how he had hugged and held her, teasing and provoking her with all kinds of words... At the time, she had been terrified and mortified. Thinking back now, that guy had clearly been completely at ease. He had deliberately taken advantage of her! He had wanted to see her make a fool of herself!
"You bad man... you awful bad man!" Xiao Yi Xian could not help puffing out her rosy lips as she muttered coquettishly to the empty air.
Her tone held seven parts shyness, two parts annoyance, and one part sweetness that she herself had not noticed. "You were obviously so strong, yet you insisted on putting on an act to scare me... Was teasing me really that fun? Honestly... I hate you!"
The more she thought about it, the more indignant she became. She lightly punched the windowsill with her small fist.
Just then, a familiar voice carrying a teasing smile sounded beside her ear without warning.
"Oh? So you were secretly calling me a bad man behind my back?"
Xiao Yi Xian cried out in fright and spun around, only to discover that the room's window had somehow been opened.
That "awful bad man" who had left her heart in turmoil was sitting casually on the windowsill, supporting himself with one hand on the frame.
His white robes swayed gently in the breeze, and that infuriatingly helpless bad smile rested on his face as he gazed at her intensely.
"Y-You... how did you get in?!" Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato. Her heart pounded wildly, as though it might leap from her chest.
Had he heard all her muttering just now? Oh heavens!
Mo Lin lightly jumped into the room, then strolled slowly over to her. He bent down and leaned close to her flushed, burning face.
Deliberately using a low, magnetic voice, he asked, "I think I just heard someone calling me... a bad man? And saying she hated me?"
His breath brushed across her cheeks. Xiao Yi Xian felt her entire body go weak, even the tips of her ears turning crimson. She was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl into a crack in the ground as she stammered, "I... I didn't! You heard wrong!"
"Is that so?" Mo Lin raised a brow and gently pinched her soft, burning cheek. The touch was exquisite, and he smiled. "But someone's face is so red, it could practically fry an egg. Could it be... you were thinking about something naughty?"
"Y-You're talking nonsense! Get out! This is my room!" Xiao Yi Xian was both embarrassed and anxious. She reached out to push him away, only for Mo Lin to easily catch her wrist.
"Get out?" Mo Lin gently pulled her closer, looking at the delicate body trembling faintly in his arms from shame and indignation. Breathing in her faint medicinal fragrance, he was in an excellent mood. "I just helped you solve a tremendous problem, and without even giving me a drink of water, you want to drive me away? Isn't that too heartless, my Xiao Yi Xian?"
"W-Who is yours?!" Xiao Yi Xian struggled, but his embrace felt like a warm harbor that she found herself reluctant to leave. Her strength gradually faded, and in the end, she could only bury her burning face against his chest and protest in a voice as faint as a mosquito's, "Let go of me... you awful bad man..."
Seeing her shy appearance, resisting while welcoming him, Mo Lin's heart filled with a sense of accomplishment.
It seemed this trip to Qingshan Town had yielded far more than he had expected.
He lowered his head, gently blew into her ear, and chuckled softly.
"Bad man it is, then. In any case, for the rest of your life, you won't escape the palm of this 'awful bad man.'"
Before you continue