The scar-faced man named Tang and his henchmen clearly hadn’t expected anyone to interfere while they were collecting rent.
They were merely ordinary thugs with some martial arts training—they were no match for Lin Mo’s junior sisters.
Despite having only joined Qingling Sect a year ago, these girls had been cultivating since childhood in their respective noble families.
Xia He, in particular, was already at the peak of the Qi Refining stage.
Within just a few moves, the thugs were rolling on the ground, crying for their mothers.
The scar-faced man, clutching his still-bleeding forehead, glared at Xia He.
“You little brats! Do you dare tell me your names?!”
“Xia He of Qingling Sect!”
She then pointed at Lin Mo, who was standing behind her.
“That’s my senior brother, Lin Mo.”
The man’s gaze darkened, lingering on Lin Mo for a long moment.
“Alright, alright… You’ve got guts!”
Before leaving, he shot Lin Mo a deep, meaningful look.
Wait, wait, wait… Why are you looking at me?!
I didn’t even do anything!
Lin Mo was speechless.
Why did Xia He have to drag me into this?
But something was strange.
This Tang guy was just an ordinary thug, yet when he heard Xia He mention Qingling Sect, he showed no fear at all.
Daliang City wasn’t far from Qingling Sect.
There was no way he didn’t know that Qingling was a prestigious second-rank cultivation sect.
Yet, his attitude didn’t change at all.
The more Lin Mo thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
Even though he lacked real-world experience, he had read a lot of novels.
“If something seems off, there’s definitely something wrong.”
This was a cultivation world, where one should never underestimate anyone.
Who knew what kind of backing this guy had?
Even if Tang was just a mortal, there was always a chance he could be a descendant of some ancient sect, or worse—he could have one of those mysterious ‘old grandpa’ soul mentors.
With that thought, Lin Mo silently vanished from sight, following Tang’s group from a distance.
Xia He smirked, watching Lin Mo disappear into the distance.
“A Foundation Establishment cultivator scared of a few mortals? What a coward.”
Qu Ruoyan, however, tilted her head in thought.
“Maybe Senior Brother Lin had something else to do?”
Xia He snorted in disbelief.
“What else could he possibly have to do? This is our first time in Daliang City.”
She waved it off and turned her attention to the old vegetable vendor.
“Grandfather, are you alright?”
The old man, still shaken from the earlier fight, suddenly burst into tears.
“W-What am I going to do now?!”
“I have a sick wife at home… How am I supposed to take care of her now? My life is so miserable!”
Xia He blinked in confusion.
Hadn’t she just helped him?
Why did he seem even more distressed?
The old man waved his hand, trying to shoo them away.
“Just leave. I’ll accept my misfortune.”
Xia He’s expression darkened.
“Grandfather, what kind of attitude is this? We helped you! Even if you don’t thank us, why are you driving us away like this?”
It wasn’t just Xia He—Qu Ruoyan, Xie Zhi’an, and Xie Zhiqu all had the same thought.
The old man sighed deeply.
“Do you even know who that Tang fellow is? He’s a well-known thug in this area, and he has cultivators backing him.”
“Besides, this was my fault to begin with. I spent too much money on my wife’s medicine and couldn’t pay the rent. Normally, that Tang man would just throw a tantrum and leave me alone. But now, after you suddenly appeared and beat them up, they’ll assume I was the one who hired you to do it.”
“Once you’re gone, they’ll come back and take their anger out on me.”
“Even if they don’t beat me half to death, they’ll make sure I can never set up my stall again. But my wife is still bedridden. If I lose my livelihood, we’ll both starve to death. Do you understand now?”
After hearing the old man’s words, the four junior sisters fell silent.
A heavy weight settled in their hearts.
They never considered that their good intentions could actually make things worse.
When Lin Mo Returned, Xia He gave him a disdainful look.
“Oh, the coward finally decided to show up?”
Lin Mo ignored her mockery and asked, “Where’s the old vendor?”
During his disappearance, he had gone to track down Tang and his gang.
After all, eliminating future threats was always the best strategy.
If Tang had openly declared his grudge, was Lin Mo supposed to sit around and wait for him to get revenge?
Of course not.
Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone smoothly.
To his surprise, that “ordinary mortal” Tang had a high-quality escape talisman on him.
By the time Lin Mo caught up, the man had already vanished without a trace.
“We’ve already taken care of it,” Xia He scoffed. “You didn’t want to help in the fight, so why are you pretending to care now?”
Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
“Alright. Then explain to me—how exactly did you ‘take care of it’?”
Xia He proudly recounted the story of how they gave the old man a large sum of money so he could live out his remaining years in peace.
“Do you know how grateful he was?” Xia He beamed.
“I never knew helping people could feel so good!”
The other junior sisters nodded in agreement.
Even Qu Ruoyan, who usually sided with Lin Mo, looked disappointed in him this time.
Lin Mo narrowed his eyes.
“Tell me… how exactly did you give him the money?”
Xia He looked at him like he was an idiot.
“Obviously, I handed it to him directly!”
Lin Mo’s expression darkened.
“So you gave him money… in front of everyone?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Xia He frowned.
Lin Mo let out a long sigh.
These girls…
They never listen.
Xia He was not the type to do good deeds anonymously.
She had deliberately announced her name while helping the old man.
Helping the elderly in front of a crowd not only boosted her reputation but also spread stories of her kindness.
To her, this was a win-win situation.
“Heh.”
Lin Mo let out a cold laugh, no longer bothering with this naïve “young miss” who had zero experience in dealing with the real world.
Activating his spiritual energy, he rushed off in the direction the old man had left.
His junior sisters, unsure what their senior brother was up to, hesitated for a moment before following after him.
An Alleyway Nearby, The old man, who had originally set out to buy medicine, was now cornered by two middle-aged men in a dark alley.
“Old man, you’re far too old to be carrying this much money around.”
“Hand it over before you suffer a fate that your age shouldn’t have to endure.”
The old man clutched the money tightly, his frail hands trembling.
“No… I can’t give it to you…”
“Fine, then don’t blame us for being ruthless.”
By the time Lin Mo arrived, the old man was lying in a pool of blood, barely clinging to life.
His junior sisters, who had followed behind, froze in shock—they hadn’t expected the old man to be attacked so quickly.
Without hesitation, Lin Mo channeled his spiritual energy, using Rejuvenation Technique on the old man.
Rejuvenation Technique was a healing art that the original Lin Mo had practiced.
While it couldn’t bring the dead back to life, it was more than enough to heal the injuries of an elderly man.
After half an hour, the old man’s breathing stabilized, and his consciousness gradually returned.
With a weak voice, he explained what had happened.
Xia He’s First Reaction
“I’ll kill those bastards!”
Fuming with rage, Xia He was ready to storm off and take revenge.
“Go where, exactly?”
Lin Mo’s cold voice cut her off instantly.
For the first time, he was genuinely angry.
“Do you still not realize what you did wrong?”
“If you hadn’t arrogantly assumed you knew best, none of this would’ve happened.”
“And even if you wanted to help by giving him money, did you really have to do it so openly?”
“Tell me, what do you think would’ve happened to this old man if we had arrived just a few minutes later?”
The junior sisters weren’t fools.
Hearing Lin Mo’s words, they immediately grasped the consequences of their actions.
A heavy silence fell over them.
They had only wanted to help.
But in the end, their ignorance nearly got the old man killed.
Xia He clenched her fists.
For the first time, she felt a pang of regret.
Lin Mo sighed.
“Next time, think before you act.”
