Chapter 147: Shrew!

"Unaware, what kind of creature are you?"

At first glance, Qin Mu's words sounded like the baffling query of some wandering charlatan. Yet his tone was pitched with such absolute precision that anyone who heard it immediately understood the underlying meaning.

He was hurling an insult!

"How dare you curse Young Master Xu? You're courting death!"

Immediately, several of his subordinates pulled daggers from their pockets. Cold flashes of steel cut through the air, causing Zhang Wanqing's expression to twist with panic as she frantically urged Qin Mu to run.

However, Qin Mu stood firm before her, not budging an inch.

"Damn it! How dare you ruin our fun? Go to hell!!"

A hoodlum brandishing a knife lunged forward, slashing straight at Qin Mu's throat.

It was a lethal strike right from the start!

Yet before the blade could even touch Qin Mu, a massive hand shot out, ruthlessly seizing the weapon and snapping it in half. With a smooth, fluid twist of momentum, the hand redirected the broken edge, slicing across the hoodlum's arm and leaving a deep, crimson gash!

"Agh! My hand!!"

As a shrill cry echoed through the air, the onlookers finally raised their eyes to see Wu Mu standing before them like an immovable mountain. His joints popped with loud, sharp cracks as a cold smile played across his lips.

"Who wants to fight?"

"It's about time. I've been driving for so long, my bones were getting stiff anyway!"

Upon seeing that towering physique, beads of cold sweat instantly broke out across the hoodlums' foreheads. Visibly unnerved, they looked back and stammered, "Young Master Xu, what do we do now?"

"Fight! What is there to be afraid of? There's only one of him! All of you, rush him together and stab him to death!" Young Master Xu roared furiously.

"Young Master Xu is right! Take out your weapons and go get him! Stab him to death!" one of the ruffians shouted at the top of his lungs to bolster his comrades' courage.

Yet that wave of arrogance was instantly crushed beneath Wu Mu's overwhelming might.

The first punk to charge forward was sent flying backward by a single punch from Wu Mu. Several ribs shattered instantly, the sickening sound of snapping bones ringing in the ears of everyone present.

That single punch completely paralyzed the remaining hoodlums, who hadn't yet made their move, sending a sharp chill straight down their spines.

"This..."

No matter how brazen they usually were, none of them dared to step forward and court disaster now.

Young Master Xu's face turned ashen as well. He had never expected that while trying to abduct Zhang Wanqing, he would run into such a formidable and unyielding obstacle.

"Consider yourself lucky, you bastard! Let's go!"

"As long as we're in these hills, we'll cross paths again. Don't let me catch you!"

With that, Young Master Xu dragged his men away, fleeing in disarray alongside the two thugs who had been crippled in the scuffle.

After the vehicles sped off into the distance, Zhang Wanqing remained slightly shaken. It took her a moment to collect herself before she turned to Qin Mu and offered repeated words of gratitude.

"Thank you! If it weren't for your help, I honestly wouldn't have known what to do."

Qin Mu merely waved a hand dismissively, indicating that it was nothing worth mentioning.

"Still, why did you let them go?" Zhang Wanqing asked with a worried expression.

"If they were dead, who would drive their cars away?" Qin Mu replied with a shrug.

The shock Wu Mu had delivered today was more than enough. If those people truly lacked the memory to learn their lesson and dared to come looking for trouble again, he would simply wipe them out with a single gesture.

Qin Mu cast a glance at her and asked, "You're Zhang Zhengyuan's granddaughter, Zhang Wanqing, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Zhang Wanqing was startled. Judging by Qin Mu's accent, he didn't sound like a local at all.

"I'm here to see your grandfather. If you don't mind, we're headed the same way."

Qin Mu gestured toward the vehicle behind him.

Zhang Wanqing turned to look. Though she couldn't recognize the luxury emblem, she could easily tell that the car was exorbitantly expensive—worth far more than all of Young Master Xu's vehicles put together, and then some!

Coupled with the effortless way Qin Mu had dealt with Young Master Xu earlier, her impression of him had skyrocketed, leaving her with no fear that he might harbor malicious intentions.

Once inside the car, however, Zhang Wanqing realized her worries had been entirely redundant.

Because sitting inside was Luo Shui, a woman countless times more breathtaking than she was!

"Hello, elder sister." Zhang Wanqing looked at Luo Shui, finding her vaguely familiar, though she couldn't quite place her.

"Hello. Come on in and take a seat. He's my boyfriend." Luo Shui patted the empty space beside her with a smile, inadvertently revealing her status.

...

After a drive of several dozen minutes, guided by Zhang Wanqing's directions, the car soon came to a halt in front of a sprawling detached house.

Built deep in the mountainous terrain, the residence wasn't particularly luxurious, but it boasted the advantages of spaciousness and a vast, open view.

"Grandfather, why are you still keeping these unlucky pieces of junk in the house? Throw them out right now!"

A harsh, shrewish scolding echoed from inside the house, clearly audible even from beyond the door.

A woman barked imperiously, "Especially that slut's memorial tablet! How many years has it been, and you still treat it like some kind of treasure? It's an absolute eyesore! Just chop it up and burn it!"

Immediately following her words came the timid voice of an elderly man, tense with anxiety yet carrying a stubborn undertone of resolute defiance.

"Granddaughter, anything else can be discarded, but this memorial tablet must never be touched."

"This belongs to our family's benefactor! A person must never forget their roots!"

Upon hearing this, the granddaughter, Zhang Hongman, flew into a towering rage, spewing foul abuse. "What kind of damn benefactor?! If it weren't for that bitch, our family would have joined the Jiang Alliance and risen to wealth and power long ago! Do we really need to hide out in this wretched mountain valley?!"

After hurling a few more angry curses, Zhang Hongman saw that the old man had no intention of moving. Her eyes darted craftily, and before he could react, she lunged forward in two or three strides, shoving the old man aside and snatching the memorial tablet from the offering table.

"Granddaughter, what are you doing?! Put that down immediately!" Grandpa Zhang cried out in sheer panic, his heart missing a beat.