Xiao Zhu furrowed her brows and a hint of panic flickered across her face when she saw the two men.
"You must know I'm now with the Li Family," Xiao Zhu said with a fierce look belying her fragile tone, "If you don't want to offend the Li Family, then get lost quickly."
"Ha ha, Xiao Zhu, do you really take us for fools? The Li Family has been exterminated; you have no support now," one of the men said, reaching out to grab Xiao Zhu's shoulder.
Xiao Zhu sidestepped to avoid the man's hand, then flicked her sleeve and sent several steel needles flying out. The faces of the two men changed slightly as they both dodged backward, the three steel needles embedding themselves in the round log behind them with a series of clangs.
The two men glanced at each other, then quickly flicked their wrists. One held a black dart in hand while the other suddenly brandished a handheld sword. Their figures blurred, pulling several afterimages behind them as they rapidly charged at Xiao Zhu.
"Eh," Lin Mo stood still, his face showing a hint of surprise. Although the cultivation of these two men hadn't reached Martial Emperor, their strength was scarcely different from that of a Martial Emperor.
Xiao Zhu's strength was on par with one of them, but after all, there were two of them, and after a few moves, she was already in a perilous situation.
At that moment, Lin Mo slowly walked toward the three of them.
Seeing Lin Mo approaching, the two men were visibly startled, one of them frowning, "If you don't want to die, then back off right now."
"It's you..." Xiao Zhu caught sight of Lin Mo and her face transformed with shock.
Lin Mo didn't even glance at the two men. With a gesture of his hand, he conjured a spell and two golden flames flew towards the men, burning them to ash. After all, this was a street. It was deserted now, but it would be troublesome if someone came by and saw.
Xiao Zhu's pupils dilated, witnessing the two men reduced to nothingness, her fear of Lin Mo deepening.
She then relaxed slightly, thinking that even a Martial God was but a chicken to be slaughtered by Lin Mo's hand, let alone these two men who were not even Martial Gods.
"I've seen you, sir," Xiao Zhu said, bowing her head in extreme reverence, her heart filled with trepidation.
Who would have thought that this ordinary-looking young man, unremarkable on the street, was the one who killed ten masters in the Li Family and cut down Li Yanzhen with his sword?
Xiao Zhu had witnessed that battle with her own eyes, which only intensified her fear of Lin Mo.
"I've been looking for you for a long time," Lin Mo said, looking at her indifferently.
Xiao Zhu's body stiffened slightly, she bit her thin lips and looking up at Lin Mo, she said, "Sir, I was just a subordinate of the Li Family. I didn't have any special relationship with them. I hope you can spare my life. As long as you don't kill me, I will do whatever you ask."
Xiao Zhu was devilishly attractive, with a figure unlike that of the average woman from Han Country, perhaps due to her martial arts training, which made her especially alluring. With eyes like those of a seductive fox, she looked at Lin Mo. Any man who saw such a woman would likely be moved.
Especially the implications in her words should have been enough to make any man's heart flutter like a little cat's paw was scratching at it.
"Bitch," Yingzi said with a blush, spitting the word in dissatisfaction.
"The thing I want you to do is simple: lead me to the other Shikigami," Lin Mo said, his expression unchanged, speaking calmly.
Xiao Zhu was taken aback for a moment, her eyes widening, "Do you actually intend to destroy the other major powers in Han Country too?"
"That's none of your concern. Just tell me where the other Shikigami are," he said.
The three of them found a restaurant to dine and chat. There, Lin Mo learned the identities of the two men from before. They were from the Qian Family, and Xiao Zhu, who had been orphaned as a child, was brought back to the Qian Family in Han Country to learn Martial Arts and became a Martial Artist.
However, later on, a high-ranking member of the Qian Family attempted to violate Xiao Zhu. She fought back in a surprise attack, breaking his arm, and it was only then that Xiao Zhu escaped the Qian Family and sought refuge under the protection of Li Shashu.
Meanwhile, the Li Family was one of the core families within the Sanhe Group, which the Qian Family dared not offend easily, and this is how Xiao Zhu managed to save her life.
It's just that after Lin Mo annihilated the Li Family, Xiao Zhu had no choice but to flee. Holding onto the belief that the most dangerous place could be the safest, she ran here, only to encounter the Qian Family's martial artists who had ventured outside.
The Qian Family Village's stronghold was located in a hidden valley below.
Xiao Zhu hadn't expected that she had just escaped the pursuit of the Qian Family only to fall into Lin Mo's clutches.
"My lord..." Xiao Zhu suddenly hesitated, then said with doubt, "I have heard that the upper echelons of the Sanhe Group are enraged and have sent strong cultivators from the Nan Family and the Qian Family to prepare for your assassination."
"Are you asking me to seek revenge for you?" Lin Mo saw through her thoughts at a glance.
Now that she was with Lin Mo, things were fine, but if Lin Mo left, and if the people from the Qian Family found her and took her back, she would undoubtedly suffer inhumane torture.
"I... I dare not," Xiao Zhu lowered her head.
Lin Mo said with a faint smile, "Since they want to kill me, then I might as well pay them a visit first, make the entire Han Country tremble, and then they naturally won't bother coming after me."
Xiao Zhu, hearing Lin Mo's words, couldn't help but have her pupils constrict. Had anyone else said this, she would have thought they were bragging, but coming from Lin Mo, it sent a chill down her spine and goosebumps rose on her skin.
"Then the next stop is the Qian Family Village," Lin Mo said, his eyes slightly squinted, radiating a Cold Light.
The Qian Family Village was hidden in a snow valley within a mountain peak, its geographical location extremely secretive, so much so that even satellites could not accurately locate their position.
Outside the snow valley lay a tranquil lake that, instead of freezing over, emitted a mysterious aura like a mirror laid out across the mountains. Below five hundred meters were subtropical jungles, and if one went higher, the temperature would gradually drop, eventually forming a snow mountain only six hundred meters below the peak. From a distance, it resembled an inverted fan.
Lin Mo, after killing two martial artists, directly extracted the memories from their minds, and easily found the entrance to the Qian Family's stronghold.
Xiao Zhu, standing to the side, was also surprised. She had not told Lin Mo the exact location. How did he find it?
"Is this the Qian Family Village?" Lin Mo pinched out a spell, and a golden light shot from his hand, piercing the Void.
The air in the Void rippled like waves, and immediately the illusion before their eyes vanished, revealing rows of ancient buildings—this was the Qian Family's gathering place.
On the sign at the entrance to the village were written two characters—"Qian Family."
In the headquarters of the Qian Family Village, within the quiet room of the Qian Family leader, several men dressed as martial artists stood silently outside, their expressions serene.
After the door to the quiet room opened, an elderly man with snowy white hair, dressed in casual clothing, walked out slowly. His white hair was like frost, his aura as deep as the sea, hands clasped behind his back.
"We pay respects to Lord Qian Xiong," the martial artists kneeling at the entrance said in unison, each taking a knee.
At that moment, a delicately attractive woman emerged from the quiet room, donning modern office wear, her makeup impeccable—it was Zi Ji, the secretary from Mr. Cui Xuanjian's side.
"Lord Qian Xiong, we leave this matter in your capable hands. Mr. Cui speaks very highly of you," Zi Ji said, standing behind the old man.
Qian Xiong of the Qian Family frowned slightly, then said, "Even without Mr. Cui's request, should anyone dare to cause trouble in our Han Country, our Qian Family will ensure their execution, restoring peace to Han Country."
Yet what Qian Xiong of the Qian Family did not say was that the Nan Family had grown powerful, and with other forces rising, the Qian Family had been cocooning themselves in the Snow Valley for decades, biding their time. Perhaps this was a golden opportunity—if the Qian Family could kill Lin Tanyu, then, they could rise once again in Han Country.