Lu Qi had never expected that in just one day, Lu Lin would join a Martial Artist squad and be heading out of the city three days later.
Once they were outside the city, they would be facing nothing but savage Monster Beasts.
Even the lowest-ranked, first-tier Monster Beasts had blue faces and fangs, powerful bodies, and vicious tempers.
Monster Beasts, which had once existed only in books and pictures, were about to become reality.
Lu Qi suddenly felt a little panicked.
"What?"
"Lu Qi, are you even a man? Aren't you usually acting like you're second only to heaven? Your big brother's just leaving the city, and you're already scared stiff. When your big brother becomes a Martial King, or even a Martial God, you'll be on your knees kowtowing to me!"
Lu Lin tried to ease the tense atmosphere, but it didn't help at all.
He could even see his father's lips trembling slightly, while his mother looked as if she were fighting with all her might to hold back her tears.
"Ahem."
"Mom, Dad, Lu Qi, I'm only going out of the city to carry out a mission. It's not that difficult."
"I didn't tell you that I joined the Dragon Saber Squad. The captain is a Mid-level Martial Master, and there are also two Low-level Martial Masters, as well as three Peak Martial Artists who could advance to Martial Master at any time."
"Besides, we're only going out to do the simplest kind of investigation mission. There shouldn't be any danger..."
Lu Lin had done everything he could to explain things to his parents, but it seemed he hadn't made much of a difference.
The family fell silent for a long while. At last, Lu Ping's trembling hand picked up the cigarette he'd dropped on the floor, and he said, "Mm. It's fine. You're an adult now. When you're out there... take good care of yourself."
"Don't worry. But Mom, Dad, I need to focus on training these next few days, so don't wait for me to eat or go to bed."
"Lu Qi, come downstairs with me."
"Okay."
Lu Qi didn't resist at all. In fact, he regretted not training harder at school that day.
It wasn't that he was afraid Lu Lin would scold him. He was worried he wouldn't be able to shoulder the responsibility.
Before, with Lu Lin at home, he'd been free to do as he pleased. Even when he didn't train very hard, his parents never said anything.
But now that Lu Lin was suddenly leaving, Lu Qi truly felt that he, too, bore some of the responsibility for the family.
Just as the Lu family finished their family meeting,
at the Liu's Martial Arts School headquarters, Liu Weiran finally caught up with Liu Qinglong after work.
Liu Qinglong picked up several dishes, then sat down with Liu Weiran in the cafeteria to eat.
However, he noticed that something seemed off about Liu Weiran today.
Normally, his daughter was as lively as a little songbird, but today she seemed dispirited.
"Sweetheart, what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"
"Is that Ma Tianhu pestering you again?"
"Damn it, I'll kill that bastard!"
Liu Qinglong put down his chopsticks and was about to get up and go after Ma Tianhu when Liu Weiran hurriedly called out.
"Dad, it's not Ma Tianhu. It's Lu Lin."
"What? It was Lu Lin!"
"That little brat! I've treated him so well, and he dares to bully my daughter..."
Liu Weiran was speechless at her father's short temper.
"Dad, can you let me finish before you react? You're always rushing off to get revenge on someone. You don't act like a Headmaster at all."
Only then did Liu Qinglong sit back down. Her teasing didn't bother him in the least. Instead, he asked with the pride of a doting father, "Mm, sweetheart, my precious girl, go on and tell me. Are you trying to give your dad a heart attack?"
"Lu Lin registered as a Freelance Martial Artist this afternoon, and signed a contract to join the Dragon Saber Squad..."
"Oh, that's great! The Dragon Saber Squad is one of the old-established Martial Master squads in Dongshan City. But how did that guy surnamed Zhou take a liking to Lu Lin? The kid hasn't accomplished anything impressive yet."
"Dad, be quiet!"
Liu Weiran finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted, making Liu Qinglong shut his mouth.
Her dad was great in every way, except that he just couldn't keep his mouth shut.
It took Liu Weiran a good while to calm herself before she finally managed to speak. "Lu Lin's leaving in three days. They say the mission isn't difficult, just a simple investigation mission..."
"An investigation mission?"
At those four words, Liu Qinglong's expression shifted.
His wife had once been a Freelance Martial Artist, too. She'd gone on an investigation mission and never come back.
Back then, Liu Weiran had only been in the senior class of kindergarten.
Before her wife left, she had taken Liu Weiran to the amusement park for the whole day. Then she'd hugged Liu Weiran and said, "Mommy's going to do a little mission. I'll be back in half a month at most. Ranran, remember to miss Mommy, okay?"
"Mommy, what kind of mission is it?"
"Just an investigation mission. Don't worry. Mommy will catch the bad guys and come back soon to buy Ranran some candy, all right?"
But after that day, Liu Weiran's mother never came back.
Little Liu Weiran waited and waited, cried and cried. Slowly, she came to understand that her mother would never return.
And the culprit who had taken her mother away was that simple "investigation mission."
Liu Qinglong set down his chopsticks and sat beside Liu Weiran, pulling his daughter into his arms.
"It's okay. It'll be okay."
"There, there, sweetheart. There, there."
The burly man, who stood nine feet tall, couldn't help shedding a crystal-clear tear.
He had to stay strong in front of his daughter.
But he was human, too. He missed his wife.
"Young master, that Inspector Bai from the Wu'an Bureau is here again."
The secretary in black stockings walked over and whispered in Ma Tianhu's ear.
"Inspector Bai?"
Ma Tianhu, who had been thinking over a cooperation proposal with Jishan Martial Arts School, furrowed his brow. It was only after the secretary prompted him that he remembered which Inspector Bai she meant.
Scarface and his four disciples had died in an alley, so the Wu'an Bureau naturally had to conduct a thorough investigation and track down the culprit.
The next day, the Wu'an Bureau confirmed Scarface's identity: he was Ma Tianhu, the second young master of Ma Corporation's driver.
That same day, Inspector Bai had brought two other inspectors to question Ma Tianhu.
At the Wu'an Bureau, Martial Trainees were patrol officers, Martial Artists were inspectors, and Martial Masters were Commanders.
Inspector Bai was naturally a High-level Martial Artist—and a very beautiful one, too.
At the time, though, Ma Tianhu hadn't been in the mood to deal with the matter. Scarface was dead, so be it. The business he needed to get off the ground was what mattered. He'd brushed her off, saying that he didn't know the details and that Scarface had asked for leave to return to Jiangzuo City.
As for why he'd died there, Ma Tianhu had even urged Inspector Bai to find the culprit as soon as possible and give the deceased justice, and so on.
But just as he was about to sign a cooperation agreement with Jishan Martial Arts School, Inspector Bai had shown up again.
"Tell them to wait a bit. I'm about to discuss the contract. I can't split myself in two."
The secretary was only there to relay the message. Once she had it, she left.
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