Although Lü Dahai felt his heart being cut by a knife, he was not a man without responsibility. After a moment of silence, he immediately ordered his men to search Lü Daoming, who had already been paralyzed by Mu Lin. Sure enough, they found a working miniature tape recorder on him.
Looking at the recorder, Lü Dahai slumped into a chair, and after a long pause, cried bitterly toward the air, “Senior, I, Lü Dahai, have failed you! I am ashamed before the thousands of brothers of the Lion Gang! My second son turned out to be a spy sent by our enemies!”
The room fell silent instantly, as everyone was clearly stunned by the news.
Seeing this, Mu Lin projected his voice so that everyone could hear, “Brother Lü, even a true man cannot guarantee that his wife and children are virtuous and dutiful, so how could you, the leader of a mere gang like the Lion Gang, be any different? Besides, in recent years, under your leadership, the Lion Gang has helped many struggling Chinese people on Chinatown. It is precisely because of this that I have come to help you today.
Moreover, children have their own destinies. The paths they have chosen are their own doing, so what blame is there for you, Brother Lü? I believe no one here will think less of you because of this. I hope you can continue to lead the Lion Gang out of this crisis. After all, you wouldn’t want foreign devils meddling in Chinatown, would you?”
Although the people in the room did not know where this voice was coming from, they were too shocked by the current events to investigate further. However, the words spoken truly reflected their collective thoughts. After recovering from their shock, they quickly voiced their agreement with Mu Lin and offered comfort to Lü Dahai.
Seeing Lü Dahai’s expression, Mu Lin could empathize with his feelings. This was clearly another case of family infighting and power struggles—his second son had simply succumbed to temptation. “Brother Lü,” Mu Lin continued, “regardless of who your son was working for, it must be one of the three gangs on Chinatown, and the Black Tiger Gang is the most likely suspect. I will personally visit them soon. If their actions are indeed against Heaven’s will, I won’t hesitate to carry out justice on behalf of Heaven. I hope you can pull yourself together, Brother Lü. Otherwise, your martial arts skills will deteriorate, and who then will be able to lead Chinatown through its trials?”
After a long silence, Lü Dahai finally pulled himself out of his despair. He bowed deeply toward the empty space, “Thank you, Senior, for your guidance. I, Lü Dahai, will not slacken and will surely live up to your expectations.”
“There’s no need for formalities, Brother Lü,” Mu Lin replied. “I prefer peace and quiet and dislike being disturbed by worldly matters. I wouldn’t have intervened this time if the Black Tiger Gang hadn’t gone too far. Please also convey to our overseas clans that a person must first humiliate themselves before others can humiliate them. I do not wish to see any more internal conflicts that invite outsiders to oppress our own people. If such incidents occur again, I will wipe out the entire family responsible. Take care of yourselves.”
Mu Lin’s words were cold and ominous, causing everyone in the room to shiver involuntarily.
After speaking, Mu Lin left his hiding place and headed toward the Black Tiger Gang’s territory. These words were not only meant to intimidate but were also his true feelings. The events of yesterday had left a deep impression on him. He hoped that the overseas Chinese gangs could protect their fellow countrymen and make a difference, which would justify his efforts.
Therefore, for the sake of his goal, he had to confront the Black Tiger Gang. Based on what Claire and the two butlers had told him, and considering the threat they posed to her safety, he decided to eliminate this gang that acted as an accomplice to a tiger, sending a clear warning to all similar gangs.
Tonight, the moon shone brightly and the stars were sparse. In the darkness, Mu Lin swiftly moved through the shadows of the rooftops. When he was about two kilometers away from the Black Tiger Gang’s hideout, Mu Lin sensed their hidden sentries through his mind perception ability. Not knowing their exact shift change times, he chose not to disturb them.
It seemed the Black Tiger Gang had already received some news from the Lion Gang, as their hidden guards were listless and their vigilance was lax. Mu Lin easily bypassed their layers of defense and stopped 300 meters away from the gang’s main compound.
The Black Tiger Gang occupied a compound covering about 30 hectares as their base. It contained more than ten buildings of various sizes, with three major buildings housing the gang’s key figures. Mu Lin gazed at the vast compound and realized that tonight’s task would be enormous. With such a large compound and so many people, he would have to expend a great deal of effort. But since he had boasted so loudly and made such bold promises, he had to fulfill them, or else his words would lose their weight in the future.
Putting aside his wandering thoughts, he focused on observing the situation. The main building was a twelve-story tower where the gang’s main forces lived and worked. The leader, Li Longtian, and his deputies, Ma Rulong and Li Longhu, lived in a ten-story building. Five elders of the gang resided in an eight-story building, which also included the quarters of his two butlers. The remaining buildings were occupied by members who had families.
Mu Lin adjusted his breathing and replenished his spiritual energy. He always believed in using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken, not wanting to leave any danger due to carelessness. His mind perception extended outward, covering nearly the entire compound.
Inside the main building, aside from the night guards, everyone else had already gone to sleep. He took out a concealment talisman, infused it with spiritual energy, and vanished into the night.
Mu Lin first aimed to control the entire compound. Setting up a large formation across the entire area would be difficult, so he decided to control each building individually. He approached the main building and took out talismans, channeling his spiritual energy into them to set up a “Dragon Binding Formation,” allowing people to enter but not to escape.
As the talismans in his ring began to decrease one by one, Mu Lin felt his heart ache as if bleeding. Each talisman consumed a certain amount of spiritual energy, and the writing and arrangement of the talismans followed strict rules. The paper used was specially made, and what he had were leftovers from his travels. Even a wealthy household would eventually run out of reserves.
If other cultivators saw Mu Lin using talismans like this, they would surely exclaim, “What a wastrel!” Not only were the talismans extremely rare, but the spiritual energy required to write so many of them was also enormous. Moreover, even a slight mistake in the writing could change the talisman’s effect—what was meant to gather heavenly energy might instead become a deadly bomb.
Mu Lin sighed inwardly, vowing never to engage in such a costly endeavor again. As he thought, he reached the surveillance room and quickly incapacitated the ten guards on duty, ensuring the building could not trigger any alarms.
He then set up formations in the other buildings one by one. Finally, he returned to the main building and began scanning it with his mind perception. In Mu Lin’s view, while the gang’s leadership was important, its backbone was the middle-level forces that ensured the gang’s survival. Therefore, he decided to neutralize the resistance in this building first.
His mind perception enveloped the entire main building. Except for the weapons and ammunition storage, the building housed an internal telephone exchange system, a remote surveillance system, and to his delight, the Black Tiger Gang’s treasury was also located here. Surprisingly, the basement even contained a prison. This building was essentially the core of the Black Tiger Gang.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage