Killing Intent, Fourth-Order Monster Core

In the car.

Ma Tianhu's expression was grim. The driver, a middle-aged man with a ferocious scar on his face, noticed Ma Tianhu's bad mood and asked, "Young Master, do you need me to take care of that brat named Lu?"

Ma Tianhu looked up slightly, giving the driver a heavy glance. "Scarface, do you know why I'm letting that brat Lu get into this state at this time?"

Scarface glanced at the road ahead, unsure why Ma Tianhu was asking. "Young Master, this subordinate does not know."

"It's good that you don't know, and you don't need to know," Ma Tianhu chuckled. "After you take me back, find an opportunity to deal with that brat. Be careful not to give the Wu'an Bureau any leverage."

"Yes, Young Master..."

Scarface agreed, then hesitated. Ma Tianhu gestured for him to speak, and he cautiously asked, "May this subordinate bring those four brats along?"

Ma Tianhu looked at him, a wry smile spreading across his lips, revealing pale teeth. "Heh heh, Scarface, you really care about these disciples of yours. Go ahead. After you've handled this, go to the herb cultivation base outside Jiangzuo City and stay there for half a year. This Young Master won't forget your efforts today."

"Thank you, Young Master."

The black car disappeared down the street. Liu Weiran shivered, while Lu Lin instinctively held her tighter.

Liu Weiran was annoyed. "Lu Lin, how long are you going to keep holding me?"

Lu Lin snapped back to reality and reluctantly released her. "My apologies, Young Lady. I almost forgot about this."

Seeing Lu Lin's apologetic face, Liu Weiran thought he had genuinely forgotten in the heat of the moment and forgave him. However, she said stiffly, "It's fine. You can go back. I'll send you a red envelope for the taxi fare later."

"No way, Young Lady."

Lu Lin's jaw dropped. He pointed at the table laden with barbecue. "Young Lady, you called earlier and said you were treating me to barbecue. I came all the way here hungry in the middle of the night. You're not going to back out of this meal, are you?"

"Eat, eat, eat. All you ever think about is eating."

Liu Weiran grumbled and sat down, pouting. Although Ma Tianhu had left, she still felt a knot of anger in her chest. Now that Lu Lin was being so clueless, how could she possibly be in a good mood?

Lu Lin, on the other hand, was not being polite at all. He sat down, grabbed a skewer of barbecue, and stuffed it into his mouth. After a while, he even asked for a bottle of beer and downed it in one go, his mouth greasy. He was genuinely starving. He had spent the entire day cultivating the Golden Bell Shield and Mad Ox Strength Fist to the fourth level. Although his strength had increased significantly, it had also depleted a lot of his vital energy, so he naturally needed to replenish it now.

Liu Weiran watched Lu Lin eat nonstop, without even looking at her, which made her feel even more suffocated.

She knew what Ma Tianhu meant. He wanted to use her to force Liu Qinglong to reluctantly agree to a partnership with the Ma family.

However, Ma Tianhu had a terrible reputation. He had taken over part of his family's business after graduating from high school. In recent years, not only in Jiangzuo City, but even in Dongshan City, unfavorable rumors about him had circulated. They said he was corrupt and domineering, that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing, and all sorts of other things.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Given Ma Tianhu's reputation, even if he were incredibly handsome, Liu Weiran would never agree to be with someone like him.

She had just been discharged from the hospital tonight. She hadn't let her father, Liu Qinglong, pick her up and had decided to walk to this barbecue stall. Feeling hungry, she was about to get something to eat when, not even ten minutes after she sat down, Ma Tianhu had somehow gotten wind of her location and shown up uninvited, pretending it was a chance encounter. It was truly disgusting.

As a last resort, Liu Weiran had found an opportunity to call Lu Lin and ask him to help her out of the situation.

But it was easier to invite a god than to send one away. Lu Lin had clearly decided to stick around.

"Young Lady, there's no need to be so formal. Don't just stand there watching. You eat too."

After eating until he was about eighty percent full, Lu Lin seemed to notice Liu Weiran sitting there motionless. He handed her two skewers of meat. But Liu Weiran had no appetite to eat anything right now.

"I'm not eating. I'm not hungry."

"Forget it, Lu Lin. You eat by yourself. Ma Tianhu already paid the bill earlier."

Liu Weiran stood up, ready to leave.

"Wait."

Lu Lin pulled out a tissue, wiped his mouth, and called out to Liu Weiran.

"What? Do you need something else? Surely all this food isn't enough for you?"

"It's not that," Lu Lin waved his hand, gesturing for Liu Weiran to sit down. "Young Lady, it's time we talked about our business now."

"Our business?" Liu Weiran's face flushed, unsure if it was from shyness or anger. After glaring at Lu Lin, she sat down as he asked.

"Yes, you invited me here tonight to be a shield. This shows you trust me, Lu Lin. I am deeply grateful." Lu Lin cupped his hands together with insincere politeness.

"However, this Young Master Ma's status is no ordinary one. This time, in order to help you act, I have thoroughly offended him. You don't think a meal of barbecue can dismiss me, do you?"

"It's possible that right now, Young Master Ma is already secretly plotting to have me assassinated."

"Impossible!" Liu Weiran shot up from her chair. Realizing her voice was a bit too loud, she sat back down and said in a small voice, "Lu Lin, Ma Tianhu might not be a good person, but his family are legitimate businessmen. They wouldn't resort to assassination just because of a disagreement, would they?"

"Besides, the Wu'an Bureau is the agency responsible for managing all martial artist offenses in the country. They wouldn't allow martial artists within the country to kill each other."

"Heh heh, Young Lady, you're thinking a bit too naively." Although Lu Lin also felt that Ma Tianhu wouldn't actually assassinate him, he was negotiating with Liu Weiran now, so it was best to exaggerate the danger.

"As the second young master of the Ma family in Jiangzuo City, no one has ever dared to defy Ma Tianhu. Now that I've angered him to help you, with Young Master Ma's influence, even a mere subordinate could put me to death. Oh, right, I almost forgot to tell you, at the Martial Arts Hall today, four thugs at the Martial Artist level beat me up for an hour in front of everyone. If my Golden Bell Shield hadn't been cultivated well, I would probably be lying in a hospital bed right now."

Seeing Lu Lin's pitiable state, Liu Weiran also recalled what happened today. As soon as she arrived at the hospital, Ma Tianhu knew she was injured. Given his temperament, it wasn't impossible for him to go and teach Lu Lin a lesson out of anger.

Thinking of this, Liu Weiran felt a pang of guilt. "Alright, Lu Lin, what do you want?"

That's more like it. It seems Liu Weiran is quite sensible.

"Young Lady, I need Monster Cores. The higher the level, the better. The more, the better. If you have any ninth or tenth-tier ones, I won't refuse."

"I don't have any. I only have one fourth-tier Monster Core on me."

Liu Weiran said this and took out a Monster Core emitting a faint green light from her small handbag. It was indeed a fourth-tier wood-elemental Monster Core.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.