Legendary Son-in-Law: The Man with Poison Talismans

After finishing his meal, he drank half a pot of water and leaned against the wall for a short nap.

After waking up, Lin Mu moved his shoulders, and his joints cracked twice.

The surroundings were still empty; no monsters had spawned.

He stood up, dusted off his bottom, and with a thought, merged with his body.

Silvery-white light surged toward him, and bone armor enveloped his body layer by layer.

He took a deep breath and strode into the Purgatory Corridor.

The same old method.

He poisoned each of the monsters with his throwing axes: wedge moths, bats, hornflies, Zuma archers, Zuma guards, and Zuma statues, one axe at a time, and once they turned green, he left them alone.

The Zuma Guardian has 10,000 HP. If you don't kill it with one poison attack, you have to finish it off with another, but it's also very fast to fight.

Before long, the entire Purgatory Corridor was as if it had been splashed with green dye; as far as the eye could see, it was all green light.

Some monsters had already fallen halfway down, while others were still swaying and chasing after him. Lin Mu ignored them and just kept running forward, continuing to poison the monsters in front of him.

-

Let's turn back time a bit.

Bich City, Jiang Mansion, Main Hall.

The hall was brightly lit, the mahogany tables and chairs were polished to a shine, and portraits of past patriarchs hung on the walls, each with a somber gaze looking down upon the people below.

The elders of the Jiang family sat together, some stroking their beards, some serving tea, some closing their eyes to rest, and some with furrowed brows.

Jiang Yanzhou knelt in the hall, head bowed, shoulders trembling slightly, his injuries not yet fully healed.

He recounted everything that happened on the arena that day, from Lin Mu's skeleton teleportation to the fusion transformation, from the Golden Guard to the Royal Martial Arts Academy token, from the assassination sword technique to the White Bone Sword pressed against his crotch.

As he finished speaking, his voice grew lower and lower, more and more hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out of his throat.

"...Finally, he used the demon-slaying technique...pressed...pressed against me, saying that his sword was very fast..."

A moment of silence fell over the hall. Several elders exchanged glances; some shook their heads, some sighed, and some slammed their teacups down.

Jiang Hetang's face turned ashen. He remained silent for a moment before speaking, his voice hoarse and hard: "Teleportation to protect the master? He has such abilities? And what you called fusion is unbelievable."

He paused, gritted his teeth, and said, "Sigh, I was afraid you would level up too quickly, your foundation would become unstable, and you would become impetuous and easily angered, so I limited the number of Spirit Gathering Pearls you could use. If I had known, I shouldn't have limited you back then. If I had let you level up a few more times, perhaps we wouldn't have suffered that humiliation."

Jiang Yanzhou knelt in the hall, head bowed, shoulders trembling slightly, not daring to speak.

An elderly man sat in the main seat. His hair and beard were all white, his face was thin, and his eyes were not large, but his gaze was deep and penetrating, as if he could see right through people.

He didn't respond to Jiang Hetang's words, but instead turned his head to look at Jiang Hetang sitting to the side.

“He Tang,” the old man’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the hall heard him clearly, “the Bichonjiang family, with its two thousand years of history, has never suffered such humiliation?”

Chapter 177 Jiang Mansion's Scheme

Jiang Hetang stood up, head down, lips moved but no words came out.

The old man withdrew his gaze, tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, and said unhurriedly, "Although Yanzhou was negligent, His Majesty is clearly biased towards Lin Mu. He can enter the Royal Martial Arts Academy so easily. Do you believe there's no His Majesty behind this?"

Before Jiang Hetang could reply, the old man asked again, "Have you prepared all the compensation that Lin Mu is demanding?"

Jiang Hetang lowered his head, his voice slightly hoarse: "Gold coins and special repair water are easy to obtain. Random teleportation scrolls are rare, but I can easily collect 100. It's just that blessing oil..."

He paused for a moment, then said, "Some people are driving up prices and even hoarding goods. We are still short more than half of the supply."

He turned slightly to the side, leaned closer to the old man, and lowered his voice, "Father, should we..." He made a downward cut with his hand, "Then we won't have to pay compensation."

The old man picked up his teacup, took a sip, shook his head, and said in a calm tone, "Give it to him first. To show our sincerity, we should give it to him in advance, and give him as much as possible, with a grand ceremony. When the news spreads that he is alone with this precious treasure, someone will take it back for us. Don't dirty your hands."

After listening, Jiang Hetang lowered his eyes and said no more.

The old man put down his teacup, tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table, and said unhurriedly, "If you can't buy the blessing oil, then give him some. Just say that there is a shortage of supplies in Bichon and that you need to get supplies from other places, and tell him to wait."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over every face in the room, and his tone turned serious. "Perfect timing. A great calamity is imminent, and Bichon is no longer a place to linger. It's time to find another way out."

The hall fell silent again.

Some people paused while holding tea, some stopped stroking their beards, and some looked up at the old man in the main seat, their eyes filled with doubt, hesitation, and something else they couldn't quite put their finger on.

Jiang Yanzhou knelt in the hall, head bowed, unaware of the riddle his father and grandfather were playing.

He simply clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, gritted his teeth, and remained silent.

-

In the Purgatory Corridor, Lin Mu had already dispelled his fusion state.

Wedge moths, hornflies, bats, and lone Zuma archers fell one after another to the skeleton's axe.

Lin Mu followed behind, applying red poison to the white boars and occasionally bending down to pick up gold coins and potions, as relaxed as if he were on a picnic.

When I finally defeated the last white boar in the Infernal Corridor, I finally got a decent item.

It's a ring.

A crystal ring with a deep blue hue and a round, bright white gemstone set on the face; the overall design is simple.

[Whirlwind Ring, Attack 0-3, Attack Speed ​​+2, Requires Level 16]

It adds 2 points of attack and 1 point of attack speed.

Lin Mu's lips curled up slightly. He patted the dust off his hands and put the ring into his Qiankun bag.

This kind of ring can be quite useful in the hands of a warrior, but it's not useful for a Taoist. However, it's a good item to sell or give away.

He stood up and glanced at the small map in his mind. The area was completely clean, with not a single point of light left.

He took a deep breath, merged with his body, and stepped into the Demon Sealing Hall.

-

Beech Palace, back garden.

Snowflakes drifted down from the gray sky.

The plum blossoms in the garden were in full bloom, some white like snow, some red like fire. Snowflakes fell on the petals, and a subtle fragrance wafted in the air, mixed with the crisp scent of snow water, drifting in wisps on the breeze.

The Empress walked through the snow, her footsteps crunching. Snowflakes fell into her hair, but she didn't brush them away, letting the white specks adorn her black hair. She seemed to enjoy the feeling and sound of walking on the snow, as well as the tranquil atmosphere of winter.

She stopped in front of a white plum tree, reached out and broke off a small branch, held it to her nose and gently sniffed it, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Just then, a female official strode in from the garden gate, her boots making a soft, crunching sound on the thin snow, breaking the brief tranquility.

She stopped behind the Empress and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Jiang family has organized a group of people who have left the north gate of Bichon City and headed towards the Valley of Poisonous Snakes."

The Empress did not turn around. Her fingers gently twirled the white plum blossom, her gaze falling on the thin layer of snow on the petals. Her tone was indifferent: "Oh? In this heavy snow, the roads are difficult to travel. What are they doing here?"

"It is said that they mainly went to Mengzhong to purchase blessing oil. Recently, the price of oil in Bichon has been too high, and everyone has been hoarding it, so there is not much blessing oil left on the market."

The lady-in-waiting paused, then added, "Your Majesty, the Jiang family has recently been borrowing money from all sides and mortgaging many of their properties. They've claimed that the compensation paid to Young Master Lin was too high, and the family doesn't have enough working capital, so they've even laid off 30% of their servants."

The Empress raised an eyebrow slightly: "Oh? The compensation is considerable, but it's not enough to cripple the Jiang family."

"I have investigated and found that in addition to compensating Young Master Lin, the Jiang family also spent a considerable amount of gold coins to refine the Spirit Gathering Pearl." The female official lowered her head and spoke softly.

The Empress remained silent for a moment, her fingers gently twirling the plum branch.

Spirit Gathering Beads, Refining Experience?

Judging by the timeline, that old monster from the Jiang family is indeed nearing the end of his lifespan.

The Empress nodded, pulling herself out of her thoughts. She turned and handed the white plum blossom branch to a nearby palace maid, dusting off the pollen and snow water from her hands. "Send a message to the Commander of Mengzhong and my uncle, Prince An," she said. "Pay attention to the movements of the Jiang family after they arrive in Mengzhong. Are there any other unusual developments?"

The female official responded and added, "The Jiang family's daily supplies procurement is normal. However, the Jiang family has recently been looking for Young Master Lin, saying they want to make a partial compensation first."

The Empress raised an eyebrow slightly, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Oh? Why so eager?"

She paused, then asked, "What about Lin Muren?"

The female official bowed her head. "Young Master Lin has not yet shown up. Neither the city guards nor the veterans have any record of Lin Mu leaving. Your Majesty, shall I go and look for him?"

The Empress was silent for a moment, then waved her hand: "Never mind, he's not even in a hurry. Continue your investigation, and report back when you have any news."

The lady-in-waiting responded and turned to leave. The soft sound of boots crunching on the thin snow gradually faded away, and the garden fell silent again, save for the rustling of the breeze through the plum branches and the soft patter of snowflakes falling to the ground.

The empress stood beneath the flowering tree, snowflakes falling on her shoulders and hair. She remained motionless, her gaze fixed on the distant, hazy horizon, lost in thought.

-

Two days later, at the Bichon Inn. Inside a superior room.

A flash of white light, and Lin Mu returned from the Demon Sealing Hall.

Today is the tenth day since he started renting the apartment; he found out through the glowing skull icon.

Whenever he wanted to know how many days he had been inside, the light would flash a few times to give him feedback.

In other words, the skeleton can keep track of time itself.

He cleared out all the monsters he could in the Demon Sealing Hall, repeatedly clearing the Purgatory Corridor, the Demon Soul Hall, and the Demon Sealing Hall until not a single light spot remained before he stopped.

Chapter 178 A Letter from the Jiang Family

When he returned, Lin Mu felt sticky all over, his clothes clinging to his skin, damp and stuffy, as if he had just been pulled out of the water, and he felt indescribably uncomfortable.

He pushed open the door and called downstairs. The waiter came running up, a smile plastered on his face.

Lin Mu took out ten silver coins and tossed them over: "Open for another day. Boil some hot water, I want to take a bath."

The waiter responded and ran off.

Hot water was quickly brought up, bucket after bucket, and poured into the large wooden tub in the corner. Steam rose, and white mist filled the air, making the whole room warm and cozy, even covering the windows with a fine layer of water droplets.

Lin Mu took off his clothes and soaked in the water. The hot water reached his chest, making all the pores on his body open up, as if thousands of tiny hands were gently kneading his skin, and every inch of his muscles slowly relaxed in the hot water.

He leaned against the barrel wall, his head resting on the rim, and exhaled a long breath. The breath, squeezed out of his chest, carried the oppressive and stifling atmosphere accumulated in the Demon Sealing Hall, gradually dissipating into the mist.

He closed his eyes, not thinking about anything, and just let the hot water soak him until his bones felt soft.

He almost fell asleep when the masseur came in to give him a scrub.

The master had a strong hand, but the force was just right. He rubbed from the shoulders to the back, and from the back to the waist, rubbing every inch carefully.

The craftsman didn't say anything, just kept rubbing the tub silently, occasionally adding a ladle of hot water to keep the water temperature.