One person: Lu family bodyguard, who shattered Longhu Mountain with a single palm strike.

"Whoever becomes his sworn brother, I will kill them."

"Whether it's the Eight Extraordinary Skills or a top genius."

"At that time, anyone who dares to undermine our shared stance should not be allowed to stay."

After Lin Mo's casual yet chilling addition, the SUV seemed to have been suddenly muted.

This sentence was like a boulder crashing into a calm lake, creating silent, enormous waves.

Feng Shayan's fingers tightened unconsciously around the steering wheel, and the car seemed to slow down a bit.

Glancing at him out of the rearview mirror, she had seen many ruthless people, but Lin Mo's "ruthlessness" wasn't driven by emotions, but rather by a more macro-level, rational approach.

Feng Yaya, who had been clinging to the back of the chair with excitement, slowly shrank back, her fingers nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, her little face showing some timidity.

"Mr. Lin... isn't this... going a bit too far? They just want to make friends..."

In her naive worldview, friends are friends, how could they be associated with killing?

As soon as she asked the question, Feng Yaya regretted it a little, because Lin Mo's look just now made her subconsciously feel that the question was very childish.

Before Lin Mo could speak, Lu Linglong, who was beside him, turned her head away.

The smile on her face had faded, and her beautiful eyes now held a seriousness beyond her years.

"No, Ya Ya."

Lu Linglong took a light breath, her tone not harsh, but very firm, "Lin Mo is right."

Upon hearing this, not only was Feng Yaya stunned, but even Feng Shayan, who was driving, cast a surprised glance through the rearview mirror.

Lu Linglong looked at her reflection in the car window, her fingertips gently clenching the hem of her skirt.

The image of Grandfather Lu Jin's expression—a mixture of pain, hatred, and regret—occasionally surfaced in my mind when he occasionally reminisced about the past.

"In our peaceful and stable era, let alone the clash between good and evil, it's not entirely impossible for people to sit down, have tea, and chat."

"People are different, so we can't generalize."

Her voice was soft, yet unusually firm.

"But in that turbulent era of the Jia Shen year, when the country was surrounded by foreign enemies, everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit."

"What is most needed is unity, a clear bottom line and stance."

"The various factions within still have to barely manage to unite people's hearts."

"At this time, if a righteous genius goes to swear brotherhood with the leader of Quanxing Sect, regardless of whether his original intention was just to make friends, objectively he is confusing the positions and undermining the morale of the army."

"It does nothing but cause trouble and give the enemy an opportunity to exploit."

"Right is right, and evil is evil. There is no room for ambiguity when it comes to matters of principle."

Lu Linglong stared straight ahead. "It's fine to admire someone in private; it's also fine to try to persuade them to change their mind."

"But you must never use your own status to blur the red lines that everyone has worked so hard to establish."

"Some things, once done, are simply wrong."

A brief silence fell over the carriage once again.

Lin Mo turned his head to look at her, a hint of barely perceptible approval flashing in his deep eyes.

Not bad.

This girl usually seems like a sweet and energetic girl who gets easily agitated, but deep down she has the bottom line and principles passed down from the Lu family. She knows what's important and is definitely not a spoiled, naive girl.

Feng Yaya completely lost her earlier gossipy excitement, like a kitten that had just been lectured: "I think... I understand a little bit."

Feng Shayan's feelings were even more complicated.

After hearing these words, a thought that she herself felt was offensive to her ancestors couldn't help but pop into her mind.

My great-grandfather, Feng Tianyang, who had mastered the art of binding spirits and commanding generals, chose to become sworn brothers with Wugensheng back then...

Perhaps, I really did take a wrong step.

Seeing that the atmosphere in the car was getting more and more tense, Feng Shayan tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, coughed lightly, and took the initiative to lighten the mood.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these old stories anymore; the more we talk about them, the heavier it gets."

She looked at Lin Mo with a hint of curiosity through the rearview mirror, "But speaking of which, Mr. Lin..."

"How do you know so much about what happened back then? You even know what's behind that alias Zhang Huaiyi. It's as if you witnessed it yourself. Many older people probably don't even know this, right?"

This immediately drew the attention of Lu Linglong and Feng Yaya, who both turned to look at Lin Mo.

Faced with three pairs of "inquiry-seeking" eyes, Lin Mo leaned back in his chair, lazily stretched out his hand, and began to count on his fingers.

"First, trade secrets."

"Second, high-end intelligence."

Third, non-contractual services.

"fourth……"

Lu Linglong's lips twitched slightly: "What's the fourth one?"

Lin Mo sat up straighter, a signature business smile on his face, his posture so professional it looked like he was about to pull out a POS machine.

Fourth, we need to pay more.

There was a moment of silence in the car.

"Pfft!" Feng Yaya couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, collapsing onto her seat.

Feng Shayan couldn't help but chuckle, and the heavy atmosphere in the car instantly dissipated.

"So I'm guessing this is yet another... paid unlock item?"

"Huh? Miss Feng actually understands the process. She's incredibly smart and grasps it immediately." Lin Mo's tone became enthusiastic as if he had met a knowledgeable client.

"Thank you for your patronage. Paid knowledge is a trend of the times."

"To learn about the secrets surrounding other key figures in the Jia Shen Rebellion, the origins and distribution of the Eight Extraordinary Skills, and the specific list of the Thirty-Six Thieves, unlocking one item costs only 10,000 yuan."

"Buy in bulk and enjoy a 5% discount!"

"A thousand yuan isn't enough!" Lu Linglong pouted, reached out and gently patted Lin Mo's arm, grumbling irritably.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mo turned his head to look at her with a leisurely air.

"Miss Lu, think about it honestly. Every single one of those things I just revealed—weren't they core secrets that kept the old master up all night?"

"You can't even buy it outside, but you heard it for only a thousand dollars. Do you think it's worth it?"

"..." Lu Linglong wanted to retort, but she swallowed the words back.

Because it is indeed worth it.

Those who know about the Jia Shen Rebellion are mostly older generations who survived that period.

It would be incredibly difficult to pry even a single word out of them, but I managed to understand the past stories behind Zhang Huaiyi and Wugensheng for a thousand yuan, which was a huge bargain!

I'm just angry that I can't call him a swindler.

She muttered to herself, "You really know how to do business."

"Thank you for the compliment." Lin Mo nodded frankly.

I wasn't praising you!

Lin Mo remained unfazed: "We have received the client's emotional feedback and suggest purchasing the 'emotional soothing service' next time."

"Lin Mo!" Lu Linglong was completely enraged.

Feng Yaya laughed so hard her shoulders shook, and Feng Shayan also shook her head with a smile.

She realized that the man in front of her, who seemed aloof and mysterious, was actually a money-grubbing idiot who spoke with the air of someone collecting payments.

But this contrast is not annoying at all; on the contrary, it makes him seem real and endearing because of his principle of "doing the job when he gets paid".

However, Feng Shayan was also well aware that the more she knew about those old grievances from decades ago, the more trouble she would have to carry them. The contents of 1,000 yuan were enough for her to digest.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Lin, but these matters are too far removed from our lives, so let's not delve into them further."

Feng Shayan glanced at the navigation and softly changed the subject, "The hotel has been arranged. It's a five-star hotel under our Tianxia Group, a top-floor suite."

"You guys get some rest tonight, and I'll come pick you up tomorrow so you can have a great time in Tianjin for a few days."

"Yay!" As soon as she heard about playing, Lu Linglong immediately forgot about her seriousness.

Feng Yaya immediately raised her hand and suggested, "We can go eat at a private restaurant, and we can also go to a hot spring resort that's not open to the public!"

"Hot spring?" Lu Linglong's eyes lit up.

Lin Mo leaned back lazily in his chair: "Hot springs are fine, but if it involves close protection, underwater rescue, or sudden conflicts with supernatural beings, the cost will be extra."

Lu Linglong turned to look at him, speechless. "Can't you turn off the price list in your head for a while?"

Lin Mo thought about it carefully: "Okay, the shutdown service is 500 per time."

"..."

Feng Shayan almost veered off course, Feng Yaya laughed until her stomach hurt, and Lu Linglong covered her face with her hands, deeply wondering if she had come on vacation or to be tortured by business rhetoric.

Half an hour later, the SUV drove into the hotel.

The hotel manager was already waiting at the entrance, and respectfully led everyone straight to the top floor.

Lin Mo stepped onto the soft carpet and looked at the bright metal walls, secretly sighing that the lives of the rich could indeed easily corrupt the will of working people, especially when they didn't have to spend their own money.

Upon reaching the door, Lu Linglong yawned and waved, "Goodnight, Lin Mo. See you tomorrow. Don't take on any random orders tonight."

"If there are any high-value, urgent orders..."

Lu Linglong immediately narrowed her eyes and warned, "The safety notification service hasn't expired yet!"

Lin Mo paused for a moment, then raised his hand and gave an OK sign: "Received, esteemed customer."

They each returned to their rooms.

Lin Mo took a hot shower, changed into a bathrobe, and lay down on the top-quality mattress with just the right firmness.

Although he missed the system's sign-in reward for leaving get off work on time today because he saved Xu Xiang, he habitually opened his mobile banking app and glanced at it, and that little bit of regret instantly vanished.

With a cash balance of over one million, Xu Xiang has a yearly contract worth four million eight hundred thousand, the Lu family has a base salary of one hundred thousand, the sparring partners continue to earn money, and the "Quanxing ATM" and "Zhang Chulan's core traffic" for the upcoming Luo Tian Grand Ceremony are still on the way.

Ah, life.

Lin Mo held up his phone, a smile playing on his lips. "As long as we have enough customers, the world will become a better place."

"I'm one step closer to my goal of buying a villa."

Just as he was satisfied and about to turn off the lights and go to sleep, his phone screen suddenly lit up.

It was a WeChat message sent by Lu Jin.

【Xiao Lin, young people are full of vigor, but you should still be careful when sleeping outside at night.】

Lin Mo's first reaction upon seeing this sentence was confusion.

be safe?

The five-star security arranged by the World Society is quite good.

But after his finger hovered over the screen for two seconds, he suddenly realized what was happening, and several black lines instantly appeared on his forehead.

Considering the context of him and Lu Linglong being alone together on a business trip and staying in a hotel...

Was this old man reminding him and Lu Linglong?!

"What kind of person does this old man think I am?"

Lin Mo stared at the screen speechlessly.

His relationship with Lu Linglong was purely professional, a client-vendor relationship with at most a mutual trust between a long-term client and a quality service provider. Why was he suddenly acting like he was guarding against a wolf in disguise?

"I won't reply, lest I make things worse by explaining."

Lin Mo tossed his phone onto the bedside table expressionlessly, pulled the covers over his head, and went to sleep.

……

The next day.

At 8:58 a.m., Lin Mo finished washing up and changing his clothes, and stood at the door of Lu Linglong's room on time.

At 9:00 sharp, the system successfully completed the check-in. Lin Mo was in a good mood.

Lu Linglong opened the door with a yawn, her hair still untied. Seeing him standing there more punctually than the butler, she couldn't help but roll her eyes: "How come you're more eager to go to work than I am to go to school?"

Lin Mo smiled: "Being late goes against my professional principles. Let's go, Miss Feng is downstairs."

When they arrived downstairs, Feng Shayan and Feng Xingtong had already prepared the car.

Upon seeing Lin Mo, Feng Xingtong immediately approached him with a grin: "Good morning, Brother Lin! My sister told me you talked a lot about the old stories of the Jia Shen year yesterday. Could you tell us more?"

Lin Mo glanced at him indifferently and raised one finger: "Ten thousand."

Feng Xingtong's smile instantly froze on her face.

Feng Shayan, arms crossed, mercilessly exposed the situation: "Don't ask, it's all about paid knowledge."

"Never mind then, I need to save my allowance to buy a game console."

Feng Xingtong scratched his head in defeat, which made Lu Linglong laugh until her eyes crinkled.

The next few days marked the beginning of my in-depth tour of Tianjin.

Feng Shayan arranged an extremely rich and high-end itinerary.

They went to a private collection that is not open to ordinary tourists. Lin Mo looked at the old items while silently estimating in his mind whether the compensation for any damage would be higher than the amount he would have to pay for the job.

They experienced skydiving, a activity that is extremely difficult for ordinary people to book.

At noon, we went to a private farmhouse in the countryside that even navigation apps couldn't find.

Fish raised in mountain spring water, freshly picked wild vegetables, no signboard but perfectly cooked.

"Mmm...delicious! This mushroom soup is so flavorful!"

Lu Linglong, her little mouth stuffed full, gave a thumbs up.

Lin Mo put down his chopsticks and commented sincerely, "The food of the rich is truly delicious. It's healthy, light, and most importantly, you don't have to pay for it yourself."

"This is top-notch value for money; life is just that boring."

In just a few days, Lin Mo was so happy that he almost forgot about home.

We played like that for three days in a row.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, the group was sitting in a private teahouse drinking tea.

Feng Shayan suddenly received a phone call, and after listening for a while, her expression became somewhat subtle.

After hanging up, she waved her phone, a playful smile playing on her lips: "There's some interesting news. It seems that Zhang Chulan, the one guarding the villa over there, has secretly run away."

"Oh? Really?" Lu Linglong's eyes lit up immediately.

Feng Xingtong also became interested: "Wasn't he taken by Feng Baobao for special training? He couldn't stand it after only a few days and ran away?"

"They must be unable to stand it. I think Feng Baobao's training of people is quite scary." Feng Yaya snorted.

Lu Linglong subconsciously turned her head to look at Lin Mo.

Lin Mo was sipping tea when he felt her gaze and raised an eyebrow helplessly: "Why are you looking at me? If you want to go see the show, go ahead. I'm not going to run away."

"Hehe." Lu Linglong smiled ingratiatingly, then turned to Feng Shayan, "Sister Shayan, then we might have to shamelessly stay a few more days!"

Feng Shayan put one hand on her hip and raised her chin with an air of magnanimity: "Stay as long as you want! The World Society may not have much else, but it certainly has a place to entertain friends."

"Let's go and join in the fun, and see for ourselves what kind of situation the Qi Source Stream practitioners have been forced into."

Lin Mo kindly added from the side, "If you're going to watch Zhang Chulan, we suggest you check the safety zone of the audience area beforehand. This reminder is free."

"Let's go!"

The three of them got up with great interest, got into Feng Shayan's SUV, and sped off in the direction from which the news had come.

At this time.

At the other end of the streets of Tianjin.

A young man, his clothes disheveled, covered in mud, and with hair like a bird's nest, was walking down the street with his head down, hands in his pockets, and a depressed and sullen expression.

Passersby quickly made way for him, as if they were looking at a refugee who had just endured inhuman torture...

……