Facing this chilling, aggressive barrage of questions dripping with murderous intent.
Lin Mu did not panic.
He knew perfectly well that before someone as suspicious and supremely intelligent as Lin Feng, any clumsy excuse like "happened to pick it up" or "got lucky and wasn't discovered" would be an insult to the other's intelligence, and even more so, gambling with his own life.
Only the truest lies could break through the strongest defenses.
Lin Mu took a deep breath. The feigned timidity and trembling on his face miraculously vanished without a trace in that instant.
He slowly straightened his posture. Those pitch-black eyes became extremely clear and open, unflinchingly meeting Lin Feng's murderous gaze.
"Young Master, this Jade Tendon Gu was indeed not something I picked up."
Lin Mu's voice was no longer hoarse, but carried a seasoned calmness.
"In that blind zone where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, the instant the Blood Jade Python breathed its last, I personally dug it out of its brain with my own hands."
"You dug it out yourself?" Lin Feng's gaze turned cold, his grip on the sword tightening further.
"Has Young Master forgotten how we killed that Rank 2 demonic Gu Master Green Snake back in the Blood Forest?"
Lin Mu unhesitatingly brought up their greatest shared secret. "In that sky full of flying blood and dust, everyone was blinded. But my Dust Escape Gu combined with my blood-sensing ability was not blinded."
"Under the cover of that absolute chaos on the battlefield, I precisely locked onto the Blood Jade Python's vital point—even a step earlier than your sword strike."
Lin Mu watched the slight flicker in Lin Feng's eyes and continued presenting irrefutable evidence:
"Young Master, the scene was too chaotic! Those brainless rogue cultivators and Medicine Hall disciples on the perimeter were throwing Iron Leaf Gu and hidden weapons into the pool like madmen, fighting over points."
"If I hadn't absorbed it into my aperture a step ahead, by the time you retrieved it while enduring the toxic spray, this fragile Jade Tendon Gu would have long been smashed into a pile of stinking mud by those fools!"
Hearing this, Lin Feng's breath suddenly caught.
His mind instantly conjured the image of the reeking, Iron Leaf-scented flesh fragments he'd pulled from the snake's head moments ago.
Lin Mu's words perfectly matched every detail of his own experience, even solving the greatest mystery in his heart—why there was only rotten flesh inside the snake's head and no Gu!
So it had been extracted by Lin Mu before it was smashed to pieces!
The killing intent in Lin Feng's eyes receded by a fraction, but suspicion remained.
"If you went through so much trouble to dig it out, why didn't you say so then? Why wait until now to bring it out?"
"Correct, I indeed had no intention of saying anything at the time. Because I truly considered keeping it for myself."
Lin Mu made no attempt to hide it. He gave a bitter laugh, displaying human greed and selfishness in full, his tone carrying helplessness and self-mockery.
"Young Master, that's a Rank 2 Gu! Who wouldn't be tempted? Who wouldn't want to claim it?"
"I hid it in the deepest part of my aperture, hoping to slip it past everyone and slowly refine it after things blew over."
This confession was like a key, precisely inserted into the lock called "suspicion" in Lin Feng's mind.
Lin Feng nodded inwardly. This was a normal person's reaction.
If Lin Mu had claimed he was selflessly retrieving the treasure for his master from the start, Lin Feng would absolutely have cut him down on the spot.
Only when people revealed the flaw of greed did they seem genuine, did they become controllable.
"But walking back, with the mountain's cold wind blowing, the more I thought about it, the more terrified I became."
Lin Mu's expression grew extremely complex—three parts fear intertwined with seven parts ambition. He looked at Lin Feng as if conducting a soul-baring confession:
"What am I? A mid-stage Rank 1 collateral branch member. Even if I miraculously smuggled it out, could I protect it? An innocent man's only crime is possessing a treasure. In my hands, this isn't opportunity—it's a death warrant!"
"Furthermore..."
Lin Mu's voice grew heavier, carrying a resolve of burning one's boats. "If I truly swallowed this Gu today, it would mean completely betraying Young Master. Everything I am today is thanks to Young Master's patronage."
"If I lived on carrying this guilt and fear, I would inevitably develop inner demons, my cultivation would never advance another inch, and I'd spend my whole life as a thief skulking in the gutters!"
He stepped forward, raising the dormant Jade Tendon Gu high with both hands before Lin Feng, his gaze blazing like a fervent believer's.
"Compared to this hot potato of a Rank 2 Gu, I want a legitimate future far more!"
"Young Master, you slew a Rank 2 Beast King. Your prestige is at its zenith. You're about to become the Family Elder's undisputed true disciple, and in the future, you may even become Black Blood Stockade's Patriarch!"
"I, Lin Mu, have no other talents in this life—I'm betting on you to win! This Jade Tendon Gu isn't something I picked up, nor something I stole. It is my formal offering to the future Patriarch—my pledge of allegiance!"
Dead silence.
In the shadowed corner behind the rocks, only the howling mountain wind could be heard.
Lin Mu's words struck like hammer blows, each sentence landing squarely on Lin Feng's heart, completely dismantling his final psychological defenses.
Lin Feng stared hard at Lin Mu, his mind frantically reviewing everything, yet finding no flaws.
Lin Mu had greed, but even more self-awareness. He craved advancement, so he chose to cling to the thickest thigh currently available.
This logic of "cutting losses in time and betting on the future" was virtually impeccable.
More importantly, those words—"betting on you to win," "future Patriarch"—greatly satisfied Lin Feng's ego, which had been bruised by his crushing defeat on the arena stage and desperately craved power.
"This fellow..." Lin Feng looked at the hands before him, steady as bedrock while holding the treasure, and a genuine hint of admiration arose in his heart.
"Not only does he have methods, able to snatch chestnuts from the fire amid chaos; he's also smart enough to assess the situation, and understands how to restrain his greed. A rare clear-headed person."
"If I truly rise in the future and take over the family's power, this kind of capable person who understands the rules would indeed make an excellent aide."
The old fox had completed the most perfect self-persuasion.
The last trace of killing intent in Lin Feng's eyes completely dissipated, replaced by the wild joy of recovering something lost, along with the composed arrogance of a superior accepting a vassal.
He reached out as if entitled, taking that hot potato containing "Lin Cang's Rank 4 will" from Lin Mu's palm.
The moment he touched the Jade Tendon Gu, Lin Feng could even feel the supreme Gu's cold, hard carapace.
Without hesitation, he stored it deep within his own aperture, securing it safely.
And in Lin Mu's heart, that boulder weighing ten thousand tons, suspended over a bottomless cliff, finally crashed down at this moment. The lethal bomb had been perfectly transferred.
"You're very clever."
Lin Feng maintained his lofty composure on the surface, but his mood had clearly improved to the extreme. For once, he patted Lin Mu's shoulder and offered a weighty promise:
"Your loyalty, and this 'pledge of allegiance'—I, Lin Feng, accept them. Rest assured, follow me, and I will never treat you poorly."
He gripped the sword hilt at his waist with his other hand, his eyes gleaming with confidence.
"When I use the true disciple status to advance to Rank 2, this Rank 1 supreme Metal Rend Gu in my possession will be bestowed upon you as reward for today's offering."
Though this was an empty promise, in any normal Rank 1 Gu Master's eyes, it would be an irresistible grace.
"Thank you for Young Master's generous reward! Lin Mu will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
Lin Mu didn't act too servile, but instead put on an expression of wild joy mixed with invigoration—perfectly displaying the proper demeanor of "a clever man who has finally latched onto a powerful patron."
"Let's go. It's time to meet the Patriarch." Half a quarter-hour later, the rested squad set off again.
Having obtained the Rank 2 supreme Gu, Lin Feng had completely swept away his earlier gloom.
His stride became light and firm, his bearing once again restored to that lofty, even somewhat floating immortal grace.
Lin Wuxie, still unconscious from his severe injuries, was carried on the broad back of the sturdy Lin Zhong.
Lin Mu followed half a step behind Lin Feng's side, step for step—the positioning of an absolute confidant.
Ahead at the forest exit, the light grew ever more blinding. The earth-shaking cheers from outside were now clearly audible.
Lin Mu watched Lin Feng's smug, supremely confident back ahead of him.
In those eyes hidden in the shadows, there was not a shred of gratitude for offering the treasure, nor the rejoicing of surviving a disaster. There was only an extremely suppressed, bottomless coldness and hostility.
"This humiliation of being forced into a dead end by others..."
From the bottom of his heart, to his very soul, Lin Mu swore the most vicious oath:
"I, Lin Mu, swear, I will absolutely never let this happen again!"