In the car.
Ma Tianhu's face was as dark as water. The middle-aged man driving him had a savage scar across his face. Seeing that Ma Tianhu was in a foul mood, he asked, "Young Master, should I take care of that kid surnamed Lu for you?"
Ma Tianhu raised his head slightly and gave the driver a hard look. "Scarface, do you know why I let that kid surnamed Lu do this to me at a time like this?"
Scarface glanced at the road ahead, unsure why Ma Tianhu was asking. "Young Master, your subordinate does not know."
"Good. You don't need to know, either." Ma Tianhu chuckled. "After you take me home, find a chance to deal with that kid. Be careful—don't give the Wu'an Bureau anything to use against us."
"Yes, Young Master..."
Scarface answered, hesitating. Only after Ma Tianhu told him to speak did he ask cautiously, "May I bring those four boys with me?"
Ma Tianhu looked at him, then suddenly grinned, baring his pale teeth. "Heh. Scarface, you really do care about those disciples of yours. Go ahead. Once you've taken care of this, spend half a year at the medicinal herb plantation outside Jiangzuo City. I won't forget what you've done for us today."
"Thank you, Young Master."
The black car disappeared down the street. Liu Weiran shivered, and Lu Lin instinctively tightened his hold on her.
Liu Weiran was annoyed. "Lu Lin, how long are you going to keep holding me?"
Only then did Lu Lin come to his senses. He reluctantly took his hand away. "Sorry, Young Lady. I almost forgot."
Seeing the apologetic look on Lu Lin's face, Liu Weiran assumed he'd genuinely gotten so caught up in the act that he'd forgotten. She forgave him, though she kept her voice stiff. "It's fine. Go home. I'll send you a red envelope for the cab fare later."
"Come on, Young Lady."
Lu Lin gaped and pointed at the table, which was piled high with barbecue. "Young Lady, you called just now and said you'd treat me to barbecue. I was starving in the middle of the night, so I came right over. Don't tell me you're too cheap to treat me to one meal."
"Eat, eat, eat. All you ever think about is eating."
Liu Weiran grumbled and sat down, cheeks puffed in a sulk. Though Ma Tianhu had left, she still felt a lump of anger lodged in her chest. And now Lu Lin was being so tactless. How could she possibly be in a good mood?
Lu Lin, on the other hand, sat right down without a hint of hesitation and stuffed the meat into his mouth. After a while, he asked for a bottle of beer and drained it in one go, grease shining on his lips. He was truly famished. He'd spent the whole day cultivating the Golden Bell Shield and Mad Ox Strength Fist to the Fourth Layer. His strength had improved considerably, but he'd also used up a lot of vital energy, so he naturally needed to replenish it now.
Watching Lu Lin eat without stopping or even looking her in the eye made Liu Weiran feel even more irritated.
She knew what Ma Tianhu was after. He wanted to use her to force Liu Qinglong to grit his teeth and accept the partnership with the Ma Family.
But Ma Tianhu's bad reputation preceded him. After graduating from martial arts high school, he'd taken over part of his family's business. Over the past few years, rumors about him had spread not only through Jiangzuo City but also Dongshan City. People said he bullied merchants and was a two-faced wolf. There were all kinds of things said about him.
They said there was no smoke without fire. With a reputation like his, no matter how handsome and decent he looked, Liu Weiran would never agree to be with a man like him.
That night, she'd just come out of the hospital. She hadn't asked her father, Liu Qinglong, to pick her up, and had walked alone to the barbecue stall. When she felt hungry, she'd decided to grab something to eat. But less than ten minutes after she sat down, Ma Tianhu had somehow gotten wind of where she was and showed up uninvited. To make matters worse, he'd pretended they'd just happened to run into each other. It was absolutely revolting.
With no other choice, Liu Weiran had seized an opportunity to call Lu Lin and ask him to come bail her out.
But it was easy to invite a god in and hard to send one away. Lu Lin was clearly planning to cling to her now.
"Don't be shy, Young Lady. Don't just sit there watching me. Have some."
Only after eating his fill did Lu Lin seem to notice that Liu Weiran hadn't touched a thing. He offered her two skewers, but she was in no mood to eat.
"I don't want any. I'm not hungry."
"Forget it. Lu Lin, you can eat by yourself. Ma Tianhu already paid the bill."
Liu Weiran stood up to leave.
"Wait."
Lu Lin pulled out a tissue, wiped his mouth, and called after her.
"What is it? Do you need something else? Surely all this food wasn't enough for you."
"That's not it." Lu Lin waved for Liu Weiran to sit down. "Young Lady, shouldn't we talk about our business now?"
"Our business?" Liu Weiran's face reddened, though it was hard to tell whether from embarrassment or anger. After shooting Lu Lin a glare, she sat back down as he'd asked.
"Right. You asked me to come over tonight and run interference. That means you trust me, Lu Lin, and I'm deeply grateful." Lu Lin cupped his hands in a gesture that lacked the slightest sincerity.
"But that Young Master Ma seems to have quite a bit of status. I seriously offended him by playing along with you this time. Surely you don't think one meal of barbecue is enough to send me on my way?"
"Who knows? Maybe Young Master Ma is already plotting to hire someone to assassinate me."
"Impossible!" Liu Weiran sprang to her feet. As if realizing she'd raised her voice, she sat down again and lowered it. "Lu Lin, Ma Tianhu may not be a good person, but his family is a legitimate business family. They wouldn't have you assassinated over a few words, would they?"
"Besides, the Wu'an Bureau is responsible for overseeing all martial artists who break the law. They wouldn't allow martial artists in this country to kill one another."
"Heh. Young Lady, you're a little naive." Lu Lin didn't actually think Ma Tianhu would send someone to assassinate him, but he was bargaining with Liu Weiran, so the more serious he made it sound, the better.
"As the second young master of the Ma Family in Jiangzuo City, Ma Tianhu is used to nobody daring to defy him. Now I've angered him by helping you. With Young Master Ma's influence, he could send some nobody to kill me just like that. Oh, right—I almost forgot to tell you. At the martial arts school today, four thugs who'd reached Martial Artist grade beat me for a whole hour, right in front of everyone. If I hadn't cultivated my Golden Bell Shield well, I'd probably be lying in a hospital bed right now."
Hearing Lu Lin's pitiful account reminded Liu Weiran of what had happened that day. As soon as she'd arrived at the hospital, Ma Tianhu had learned she was injured. Given his temperament, it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd taken his anger out on Lu Lin.
Thinking of this, Liu Weiran felt a little guilty. "All right, Lu Lin. What do you want me to do?"
That was more like it. It seemed Liu Weiran knew how to play along.
"Young Lady, I need Monster Cores. The higher the grade, the better, and the more the merrier. If you have any Ninth- or Tenth-Order ones, I'll take those too."
"I don't have any. I only have one Fourth-Order Monster Core on me."
As she spoke, Liu Weiran took a Monster Core from her small purse. It glowed a pale green. Sure enough, it was a Fourth-Order Monster Core with a Wood Element affinity.
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