"You're Lin Tanyu!" the woman's slender fingers, painted with bright red nail polish, tightly gripped the wine glass, "How did you know I was here?"
"Huang Mao, seems like someone beat us to the punch," said the punk with dyed yellow hair as he looked over.
The man known as Tu Ya frowned slightly and snorted disdainfully, "Damn, someone dares to hit on the chick I've got my eye on, in my territory? They're asking for trouble."
Saying this, Tu Ya stood up, ready to make a spectacle of this handsome guy in front of the woman—jealousy towards attractive men was clear in the intentions of these hooligans.
The handsome man was none other than Lin Mo, whose gorgeous face was not concealed by any spells.
"Beauty, fancy a drink with me?" Tu Ya posed affectedly with a cocktail in hand, walked up to the woman, and struck a cool pose.
The punks with him stood behind, their faces carrying a mixture of mockery and disdain as they stared at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo and the woman looked at each other, seemingly oblivious to the added company.
Feeling ignored, a hint of annoyance crossed Tu Ya's face, "Listen, kid, you better..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the woman suddenly kicked out. The table shattered and bottles, alcohol lamps, and tissues were sent flying. She then spun around, waved her hand, and darted towards the exit.
With the wave of her hand, a few sharp black objects flew toward Lin Mo.
Lin Mo casually blocked, and the objects, repelled by his True Qi, clinked as they lodged into a column opposite him.
Lin Mo glanced over, slightly furrowing his brows. The objects were about four to five inches long, pitch black with a reflective finish, shaped like diamonds.
"So eager to leave already?" Lin Mo launched a punch. The intense power of his fist, like a wild dragon, swept through the space, flipping tables as it hit the woman's back, sending her flying.
"Eh." Lin Mo noticed something amiss. Indeed, the woman that hit the ground turned into a puff of pink smoke and dissipated into the air.
"Shifting Flower and Wood?" Lin Mo immediately chased out of the bar.
Tu Ya and his gang clacked their teeth, their eyes wide with terror as if they had seen a ghost, and collapsed to the ground, legs going weak.
"How did that guy find me?" Inside a pitch-black alley, the woman ran like a swift leopard.
In just a short while, she arrived at the entrance of a five-star hotel, knocked on a door, and inside, a middle-aged Martial Artist was sitting cross-legged, engaging in deep-breathing exercises.
"Eh, Xiao Zhu. Why are you back so early today, didn't find any prey?" The middle-aged Martial Artist opened his eyes teasingly.
Xiao Zhu frowned, "He found me."
"Who?" asked the middle-aged Martial Artist, frowning.
"Me."
Just then, a light, airy voice sounded at the hotel entrance, followed by a figure slowly walking in.
Xiao Zhu furrowed her brows, staring at Lin Mo with a look of shock, "How did you find me? I didn't notice anyone following me along the way."
Lin Mo smiled without a word. His Divine Sense had already locked onto Xiao Zhu. He just didn't chase after her directly because he wanted to find the middle-aged Martial Artist. Instead, Lin Mo waited for her to return and then came straight here.
"Lin Tanyu, is it you?" the middle-aged man from Han Country's eyes widened.
"What exactly do you want?" Xiao Zhu spoke, already gripping a black dart in her palm.
Lin Mo, behaving as if he were in his own home, walked over to a liquor cabinet, poured a bottle of red wine into a tall glass, then leisurely sat on the sofa and said indifferently, "If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't have survived that encounter on the cruise."
"Xiao Zhu, put away your weapons," the middle-aged man from Han Country said gravely.
Xiao Zhu then retracted the shuriken in her hand.
"Jin Taihe has seen Lin Tanyu, sir." The middle-aged man from Han Country bowed deeply and then said, "With Lin Tanyu's strength, neither Xiao Zhu nor I are your match. I'm just unsure as to why Lin Tanyu has sought us out now?"
"What reason could I possibly have, that you can't figure out?" Lin Mo took a sip of red wine, his eyes suddenly flashed with a chill.
The Li Mingjun family is a large clan in Han Country. Why would they choose to engage in an arranged marriage with the Du Family with no obvious reason? Even if the Du Family wanted to climb the social ladder with Li Mingjun's family, given Ma Yan and Du Li's personalities, they would have first betrothed their daughter Du Juan to Li Mingjun. Yet Du Li went all the way to Jiangnan to bring back Lin Shanshan and then arranged a marriage with the Du Family.
Lin Mo was no fool. He had not asked at the time, taking into account Lin Shanshan's presence, as he did not want to worry her.
But now that Lin Shanshan had left Xiazhou, Lin Mo had no reservations. He had to investigate this matter thoroughly; otherwise, even if Lin Shanshan was safe now, she wouldn't be safe in the future.
Jin Taihe lowered his head in silence, and Xiao Zhu also showed a look of solemnity.
"I'm giving you one chance: either tell me, or I kill you both and investigate myself," Lin Mo said unhurriedly.
Jin Taihe spoke, "In fact, Li Mingjun is just a puppet for Li Mingjun's family. Marrying Miss Du is just one of our goals."
"Continue." "Although Li Mingjun's family is a branch of the Sanhe Group, they have always been on the fringe within the group. Therefore, Li Mingjun's family pledged allegiance to a Big Shot. That Big Shot came to Huaxia last year to divine the stars and said there was a Heavenly Star Girl in the Eastern lands, instructing us to find a way to bring her back for his Cultivation. I only know part of the situation; the full details are unclear to me."
"Heavenly Star Girl?" Lin Mo furrowed his brows slightly, "Could Shanshan be the legendary Heavenly Star Girl?"
Lin Mo had heard a little about the divination and Star Sky Technique and after a moment's reflection, he suddenly remembered something.
Lin Shanshan was not the Heavenly Star Girl at all, but rather, she possessed the Linglong Heart. Because Lin Shanshan was kind-hearted and had cultivated the Cultivation Technique he'd given her, both her body and soul had become increasingly clear, pure, and clean, which is why the Big Shot from Han Country had divined her as the Heavenly Star Girl.
"It seems I almost brought harm to Shanshan," Lin Mo clenched his fists, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
By Cultivating his Cultivation Method, Lin Shanshan was eliminating impurities from her body, becoming like a piece of flawless and translucent jade. If the other party got hold of Lin Shanshan, they would surely have her Cultivate some evil Cultivation Method, then extract the Cultivation Technique within her, over and over, endlessly.
That situation resembled keeping a black bear in a cage, continuously extracting its bile, experiencing unimaginable pain.
"It looks like I have to make a trip to Han Country," Lin Mo hummed coldly.