It's so painful! So hard! So difficult!

A middle-aged man in black clothes spoke solemnly to the crowd of people who came to buy "goods." Standing around were several people who looked like bodyguards, all of whom were more or less equipped with various weapons.

At this moment, the skinny man walked up to the black-robed man's ear, said a few words, and then pointed at Bai Lin. The man was slightly surprised for a moment, then nodded in response and said.

"In that case, please come with me."

Bai Lin immediately understood that the other party was talking about her. So, she nodded slightly and walked towards the stairs next to the main hall, surrounded by several bodyguards.

To be honest, the interior didn't look too big, especially with the staircase squeezed in. The staircase led to what seemed to be a small private room on a false second floor. Soon, the man in black clothes knocked on the door, announced a few words, and let Bai Lin in.

The decor of this private room matches the exterior, giving it the feel of a gangster. The slightly subdued aroma of incense makes it seem like this place is quite deep.

"Nice to meet you. I heard you have something to talk to me about. Please take a seat."

A middle-aged man in red sat behind a large table. His face looked resolute, yet his aura was reserved, as if he wasn't the type to overdo it. It felt as if the pressure was spreading throughout the room, not just on him.

Bai Lin quickly took a seat, politely took off his mask, and said to him,

"Thank you, Brother Wang, for your kindness. I've heard of your reputation a long time ago..."

"Well, there's no need for politeness. I'm a straightforward businessman, and what I care most about is what you can bring me."

Brother Wang was not as difficult to talk to as he looked. He raised his eyebrows humorously and interrupted Bai Lin, but he also threw out a topic for her, as if he wanted to hear what Bai Lin had to say. Bai Lin also quickly adapted to the environment and mentioned it with a little ease.

"Actually, we want to purchase some goods from Brother Wang and distribute them a little bit. What do you think, Brother Wang?"

Bai Lin used the word "we" very skillfully, making it difficult for the other party to figure out whether Bai Lin's visit was due to the non-existent family behind her or her own intention. It was precisely because of the need to keep the information as vague as possible that Bai Lin's lies would be exposed as late as possible.

Brother Wang did not intend to laugh at Bai Lin's young face. Instead, like a reliable uncle, he continued to ask constructively,

"Oh? You're actually interested in this stuff of mine. I always feel that you look familiar. Which family's daughter are you from that actually wants to touch these things?"

Obviously, the vague information did not seem to satisfy Brother Wang. Bai Lin felt a little tricky, but the more at this time, the more he should avoid lying as much as possible.

"I've never seen you before... but I have reasons why I can't reveal my identity. Please forgive me."

"Is it…"

Wang Ge clenched his hand thoughtfully, revealing his golden ring, and perhaps subconsciously rubbed it with his fingers. Suddenly, Bai Lin felt a chill sweep past her. The undisguised sound of a weapon being unsheathed gave Bai Lin a chill.

But Bai Lin's expression did not change, instead he seemed very experienced and asked calmly,

"What do you mean, Brother Wang?"

Brother Wang crossed his fingers and placed them on the table, staring at Bai Lin, and said with the same attitude as before,

"I originally thought you were just an ordinary daughter of a wealthy family, but I didn't expect you to be so strong. You can still be so tough in this situation. I might as well tell you, I'm just curious about the family behind you."

"If you don't tell me, I'm afraid I'll have to make you suffer, Miss?"

Wang Ge's elegant, intimidating smile was enough to shock anyone, considering the scene and the atmosphere. But Bai Lin wasn't frightened at all; instead, she was left bewildered.

Knowing Bai Lin's family? What's the purpose? If they were going to kidnap someone, the people behind them should have just done it instead of doing it this way. The other party's words clearly indicated that they intended to release Bai Lin after finding out his whereabouts.

So, what is the purpose of this Brother Wang?

"What's wrong, Miss? Is your stubbornness the reason you haven't replied? Once they start to act, I'm afraid your stubbornness won't last long."

Seeing Bai Lin's silence, Wang Ge, who sat before her, began to press her again, though his tone remained somewhat unhurried. In this situation, Bai Lin lowered her head, clutching her clothes tightly with both hands, and scoffed in vain. She suddenly raised her hands and slammed them under the table. The entire expensive-looking table instantly disintegrated into debris and dust.

Naturally, Bai Lin stood up and dropped his cloak, revealing his tight combat garb. He hadn't changed into armor because he was worried his outfit might have become a bit of a celebrity in the city. Even if he was going to take action, he had to make his intentions as vague as possible.

Bai Lin turned around and kicked a swordsman in the arm with a whip kick. The man's eyes immediately turned bloodshot from the pain, and the sword in his hand naturally fell to the ground.

Then, while the opponent had not yet fully reacted, Bai Lin jumped in front of the man with the long stick and attacked him in the liver with a ruthless punch, knocking the opponent back several steps and causing him to kneel weakly on the ground.

Bai Lin picked up the sword that fell on the ground with one foot and swung it casually in the air a few times in front of him. The sound of the sword breaking through the air fully demonstrated Bai Lin's strength. The few people who were about to move forward seemed a little hesitant and stopped.

"What are you doing? Take her down!"

Behind him, Brother Wang's angry shouts seemed particularly harsh. He was obviously angry at his brothers' stagnant pace.

Chapter 375: Doubts

One of the guards mustered up his courage, roaring as he charged towards Bai Lin, dagger in hand, as if to boost his own courage. But the next moment, he felt a blurring of consciousness, and with a "bang," he fell through the wooden wall behind him, flying directly from the second floor to the first, where he landed heavily on the ground, unconscious.

Bai Lin's simple kick had such an effect. It was beyond human physical ability, completely and utterly achieving an overwhelming victory.

As expected, beating someone with bare hands is the most satisfying. Bai Lin thought so.

The remaining guard had completely lost his will to fight. However, the people downstairs also reacted and immediately rushed upstairs. However, Bai Lin saw the scene downstairs clearly -

Those customers who were coming to buy goods seemed to have been subdued and fainted by the wall, which made Bai Lin even more confused. But even if he was confused, it would be difficult to deal with it if he waited for someone to come up and start a fight. Bai Lin turned around and grabbed Brother Wang in front of him and asked,

"What's going on? You should know that your little brother can't stop me. You'd better explain it to me now!"

Bai Lin was shouting loudly on the surface, but in fact it was just a means of intimidation. Although Wang Ge had realized that he was in danger, he also showed a disdainful smile.

"You're quite skilled, but it's a shame you have to get involved with this..."

Seeing that Brother Wang had no intention of speaking, the door to the second floor was also knocked open from the outside. Bai Lin directly strangled Brother Wang's neck with his elbow like the kidnappers in most robbery movies, and shouted to the group of people who had just come up in front of him,

"Stop! If you don't want your boss to die, don't take another step forward!"

To be honest, Bai Lin was genuinely puzzled by how weak these guys were. Perhaps they simply couldn't defeat Andel. Why would someone so seemingly wealthy and powerful only employ such a small group of bodyguards? So, she couldn't let her guard down against them. Instead of attacking them directly, she took a hostage.

“…She’s very powerful, go call for help!”

Even though his neck was locked tightly, Brother Wang had some difficulty speaking, but he still managed to utter these words with a red face, and Bai Lin followed suit by shouting,

"Don't move! If you move, I'll kill him too!"

For a moment, the younger brothers were all stunned, nervously holding their weapons and scattered around the second floor door, not knowing what to do. Fearing that Brother Wang would continue to give orders, Bai Lin slightly increased the strength of his hands and said with his head down,

"Are you so fearless that you're willing to sacrifice your own life to trap me here?"

Bai Lin's pressure and Wang Ge's rapid breathing, everything seemed to be colliding violently, spreading the smell of conflict in the surrounding space.

It must be said that although this guy's purpose is a mystery, his intention seems to be very firm. Brother Wang stared at Bai Lin with resentment and said to him with blood,

"People like you who touch Le Tianxiang will only bring disaster to Qianhong. Not a single one of them can be spared!"

Hearing this, Bai Lin's eyes flashed with shock for a moment, and she seemed to understand something, and loosened her hand. Brother Wang immediately lost his strength, knelt on the ground, and coughed violently. The younger brothers around him shook their bodies and prepared to rush over at this moment, but Bai Lin grabbed Brother Wang's neck again.

Bai Lin looked around with murderous intent, clearly trying to intimidate them, and said,

"Don't move. I have at least ten ways to kill him. And then, tell me, what's the deal with the idea that anyone who touches Le Tianxiang should die? Aren't you the ones selling these? So, shouldn't you be the first to die?"

Brother Wang squinted his eyes and glanced at Bai Lin. At the same time, his body shook and a box of matches fell out of his body. Bai Lin's eyes condensed and he increased the strength of his hands, pressing Brother Wang's face directly to the floor.

"You dare to signal to your minions? Don't you realize that if you sell it yourself, you're not harming others? Or do you want to kill every buyer you see? It's really a bit funny."

He tried to test her with words. After all, even at this juncture, Bai Lin felt quite relaxed. Brother Wang coughed twice, then smiled and said,

"Kill me, I'd rather die than leave any information to someone like you."

What's the point of this decent line? Bai Lin gritted her teeth and let out a breath that looked a little angry. From an outsider's perspective, it seemed like she was annoyed by Brother Wang, but in reality, she was just a little distressed about what this guy meant.

This was the second time he'd acted so recklessly. He'd witnessed firsthand how I'd beaten his men to the ground one by one. What had made him so reckless? Was it his superiors? No, probably not. How could someone with such fame and status risk their life purely for their superiors? Even someone with a strong sense of loyalty wouldn't be so relentless.

Bai Lin's little brain was spinning rapidly. Connecting the question about her family and the actions of this prince, she seemed to have come to a very reasonable, yet extraordinary conclusion. Considering that the people around her had not moved a step and probably posed no threat to her, she tentatively said,

"You... aren't actually against selling Le Tianxiang? You asked my family before, but you were just playing the long game, thinking I was just a weak daughter of a rich family?"

"Qi, if you want to kill me, kill me quickly..."

Bai Lin once again lifted Wang Ge's head and, with a force that was not too strong for her, smashed a small hole in the wooden floor with Wang Ge's head. She looked at Wang Ge with a very cold gaze and said in an unusually calm tone,

"If you really want to die that badly, I can certainly satisfy you. But before that, I want to say that I never intended to discuss cooperation with you. My main intention was to wipe out this huge den of yours."

Having said this, Bai Lin glanced at the match next to him and said with a bit of mockery,

"You want to set fire to trap me here? That's really beyond my expectation. You didn't hesitate at all. But do you really think it's possible? You want to keep me without thinking, and you don't even care about your own life. What's your reason?"

Absolute suppression, this is the aura that Bai Lin is currently displaying. And Brother Wang, whose scalp was cut, continued to breathe, turned his head again, and looked at Bai Lin.

Chapter 376 We Are All Ones

"You... aren't you the Holy Son who went to Sakura to negotiate a few days ago?"

Huh? How did he recognize this person? Bai Lin was really confused. The only people who saw his face were the group of people at Sakura's place. Could it be...

This guy was also at the dinner table. Could it be that I didn’t recognize him or didn’t remember him at all?

Although his identity was exposed, Bai Lin didn't have much intention of deliberately denying it at this moment when he could easily silence him. After all, he was just testing the other party's intentions, so even admitting it now would be a good strategy.

"It's me, so you should understand why I came to you."

"That's easy then... ahem, how about letting me go first? We're family, family."

Brother Wang was still being pinched by Bai Lin's neck, but his expression seemed much more relaxed, and his eyes were less resolute. But when he caught a glimpse of Bai Lin's eyes that were about to explode again, he immediately lowered his head and continued to explain,

"Both the Qianhong officials and us, the hidden forces, have reached a consensus on this. They're responsible for applying pressure, while we're responsible for using the guise of selling Le Tianxiang to lure those addicts who ignore the official announcement. So we've knocked down those people downstairs, and we're going to take action against you."

Wang Ge's explanation was very calm, and his tone was also very steady, with a certain persuasiveness. But Bai Lin did not let go immediately, but continued to strangle Wang Ge's neck, stared at him for a few seconds, and then directly pulled him up.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Aren't they all family? Hahaha."

To be honest, it was quite tiring to keep pretending to be tough. That wasn't Bai Lin's usual style. If anything, it could be understood as a work mode. Having just stood up, Brother Wang lost his focus and nearly fell to the ground again. Fortunately, his younger brothers quickly rushed over and helped him up.

It really was a case of fishermen meeting fishermen. Bai Lin was planning to cast a long line to catch a big fish, but he didn't expect to catch his own people.

However, after all, she was not from Qianhong and was not familiar with the arrangements here, which was understandable. Soon, she sat on the chair again, and Brother Wang also leaned on the comfortable sofa behind his desk. He looked at Bai Lin with a little embarrassment and said,

"Let me be clear, the situation in Qianhong is progressing quite smoothly and is basically under control. So, hero, you don't need to put too much effort here. Just go and deal with the problem elsewhere. If you do a little research, you should know how much worse the situation is in other areas compared to Qianhong."

Although Wang Ge's attitude had softened somewhat, Bai Lin had fought with him before, so he wasn't too friendly. He was a prominent figure, after all, and it was understandable that he would have negative feelings after being threatened by Bai Lin, an adventurer who had only just gained some fame.

"...I'm not entirely sure about the specific situation, so I'm still investigating various areas. I came to Qianhong first because I heard some rumors, and I also came here because of you."

Bai Lin also used a calm tone, neither close nor distant, to explain. She glanced at Brother Wang and continued,

"I've heard that Qianhong's secret forces are quite powerful. Aren't secret forces the easiest to link to? Since you're one of us, if you could provide me with some information about our competitors in other regions..."

Bai Lin rubbed her fingers together, a smile that was unique to negotiations playing on her lips. While her behavior might seem rather mean, her expression made it hard to be cruel. Wang Ge, on his part, naturally didn't directly insult Bai Lin, but instead covered his face, seemingly troubled by something.

"Alright, but we still need some time to discuss this. Giving out some information is like indirectly provoking other organizations. Even you, we can't trust you so quickly. You should understand, right?"

Brother Wang offered a compromise, a fairly objective proposal. It sounded as if this shadowy force wasn't just him. After all, he was the boss. If it was simply a matter of trust within their organization, he should have been able to make a quick decision.

After thinking for a moment, Bai Lin continued to talk.

"So how long will it take exactly? I think the sooner this matter is resolved, the better. With your firsthand information, my progress will be much faster. If all other places fall, the security here in Qianhong will surely not be that good either, right?"

She didn't directly deny Wang Ge's proposal, but instead continued to pressure him, citing time and potential costs. Bai Lin rested one hand on the table, leaning his head back, his gesture nonchalant yet gazing at him with a questioning gaze. The other man, in turn, hid his face behind his raised hands, revealing only a slightly ferocious glare as he confronted Bai Lin.

Finally, Brother Wang released his hands, smiled easily, and replied as if he had made a decision.

"You're quite capable at such a young age, Holy Son. You've managed to reach me on your own, despite having insufficient information. You're both courageous and strategic. Not only are you capable, but you're also quite articulate during negotiations."

Although Bai Lin found the sudden words of praise pleasing to the ears, she knew very well in her heart that this was not the time to brag.

The traditional virtue of Bai Lin’s hometown is "humility".

"No, I'm just an ordinary adventurer. If I really want to get things done, I need strength like yours."

Bai Lin smiled warmly, waved his hand, and said so. Both sides took a step back, and the atmosphere in the room immediately became relaxed.

"You don't have to be so modest. I'm telling the truth. We in Qianhong have a saying: 'No fight, no friendship.' I originally thought you were just one of those reckless adventurers who rose to fame because of good luck, but after seeing you in person, I've completely changed my mind."

Wang Ge's expression showed his sincerity. It was obvious that he really recognized Bai Lin, and it was not just a superficial praise. He continued,

"We do have something that's difficult to handle on our own. If you can handle it... I can help you resolve the trust issue."

Chapter 377 Internal Issues

How come this guy suddenly became so easy to talk to? He had just been beaten up by this guy, but his attitude changed quite quickly. It felt very strange... Bai Lin thought so and came to a conclusion.

"If you put it that way, it wouldn't be difficult to do, would it?"

There was a hint of a smile on Wang Ge's face, but it didn't seem too cunning. He just replied with a hint of wit,

"It probably won't be too difficult for a new hero. It's just that this is an internal problem, so it's a little tricky for us to handle on our own."

Brother Wang opened a drawer under the table, took out a sheepskin-bound notebook, and handed it to Bai Lin. Bai Lin flipped through a few pages and found that it was filled with notes.

"What is this...?" Bai Lin asked in confusion.

"This is a handwritten copy of our recent underground trade records. There are a few odd things on the pages, and I've circled them all. They're just minor errors, but I'm considered an expert at seeing through counterfeits."

Brother Wang looked at the broken wall behind Bai Lin, and stared at it for a few seconds with a bit of loneliness and sadness, then took a deep breath and continued,

"Even if we reached a consensus with Qianhong officials to jointly investigate the Le Tianxiang incident, their level of vigilance against us would naturally be even higher than their own internal official struggles. Therefore... they would frequently send people to investigate us, which would naturally cause dissatisfaction among some people."

Bai Lin looked at Brother Wang and asked tentatively,

"You mean, maybe some of you guys are continuing to sell it out of dissatisfaction?"

That's too childish, isn't it? They're all well-known figures, yet they're throwing a tantrum over such a big thing? Bai Lin thought so in his heart, but didn't say it out loud.