As the last sentence fell, Lin Cang spoke no more.
He slowly leaned back into his chair, his massive fingers rhythmically stroking the small celadon teacup on the table.
In this chilling atmosphere, such an abrupt action actually exuded a heart-palpitating oppressive presence.
Lin Mu knew very clearly in his heart.
If he could not provide an answer today that satisfied the two highest-ranking figures of the clan before him, then he feared he truly wouldn't be able to walk out of this secret room.
He impassively scanned his surroundings.
Lin Cang, Lin Zhen, Lin Feng.
These three people undoubtedly stood on the same front, representing the absolute core interests of Black Blood Stockade.
But since Lin Mu dared to return openly and honorably carrying a head, he naturally had prepared long in advance.
He took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and gave a deep bow to the three of them.
"I thank the Clan Leader, Supreme Elder, and Young Master Feng for your trust."
"For not immediately apprehending this subordinate as a spy, but instead being willing to sit down and give this subordinate a chance to explain."
Lin Mu raised his head, his gaze candidly meeting Lin Cang's scrutiny, his tone unhurried.
"Regarding the concealment of my cultivation, this subordinate indeed has unspeakable difficulties."
"But this subordinate can swear to heaven, the origin of this cultivation absolutely does not involve any methods detrimental to Black Blood Stockade's interests!"
"Taking ten thousand steps back..."
A faint smile surfaced at the corner of Lin Mu's mouth.
"If this subordinate truly harbored malicious intentions, or was a spy planted by the Demonic Path, after killing the masked man last night, I could have completely taken advantage of the chaos to flee directly into the deep mountains."
"Why would I force myself through heavy injuries to desperately bring Young Master Feng and Wan'er back?"
"Wouldn't that be a superfluous action, throwing myself into the net?"
As soon as these words came out.
The taut atmosphere inside the secret room seemed to relax slightly.
Lin Cang and Lin Zhen both frowned, falling into deep thought.
Indeed.
Lin Mu's words were the facts laid bare before their eyes.
If he truly was a spy, or if the origin of his cultivation involved some shady Demonic Path methods, his greatest worry should be his identity being exposed.
In that desperate situation last night, he could have completely stood by and watched, allowing Lin Feng and Lin Wan'er to be killed by the gauntlet woman, and then leisurely cleaned up and forged the scene himself.
But he didn't do that.
He not only saved Lin Feng but also, after returning to camp, extremely cooperatively handed over all Gu worms on his person — except for the Four-Flavors Liquor Worm and the Primeval Stones inside the Gourd Gu — to the Punishment Hall for inspection.
No matter which angle one looked from, Lin Mu didn't seem like a vicious spy, much less a twisted, bloodthirsty Demonic Path Gu Master.
This was also the fundamental reason Lin Cang did not immediately make a huge fuss, but instead chose a secret inquiry.
At this time.
Lin Feng, who had been sitting to the side all along, also spoke up opportunely.
"Father, Eldest Uncle."
Lin Feng coughed lightly twice, casting a complex glance at Lin Mu.
Although his voice was weak, it was exceptionally firm.
"If he truly had ulterior motives, he only needed to stand by and watch last night."
"Sitting here today, would not be me, Lin Feng."
Seeing Lin Feng injured so severely yet still willing to speak up for Lin Mu, the guardedness in Lin Cang and Lin Zhen's hearts dissipated a few degrees further once again.
Seeing the timing was right, Lin Mu cleared his throat and continued:
"Both elders know that this subordinate hails from a peripheral branch and is of lowly status. The clan resources I could obtain were extremely limited."
"This subordinate dared not hold extravagant hopes, nor was I willing to resign to my fate."
"Therefore, to stand out, this subordinate frequently went out to explore the peripheral areas of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains."
Lin Mu's gaze gradually became profound, as if plunging into reminiscence.
"Before his passing, my father was a caravan guard who also traveled far and wide. He left behind quite a few fragmented travelogues and vague maps at home."
"This subordinate then followed those records, following the map to find the clues, exploring quite a few desolate areas."
"During this period, this subordinate fell into peril several times, nearly ending up in the bellies of beasts."
"But I also had occasional gains."
"This subordinate's luck was decent. I once obtained some incomplete inheritances, as well as scattered low-tier Gu worms and Primeval Stones, from the bodies of a few dead roaming lone cultivators."
"However..."
Lin Mu shook his head extremely candidly.
"These harvests were still insufficient to let this subordinate reach my current state in such a short time."
"The true opportunity..."
Lin Mu deliberately paused for a moment, then lowered his voice, spitting out two words word by word.
"Was — Grey Street!"
Grey Street!
When these words came out of Lin Mu's mouth, Lin Cang and Lin Zhen's eyes lit up simultaneously.
It matched up!
During Lin Feng's previous report, he had indeed mentioned that Lin Mu frequently visited the Grey Street Market and even possessed quite deep connections and channels there.
"Continue."
Lin Cang's tone remained stern, but the killing intent deep in his eyes had largely dissipated.
"This subordinate frequently entered the Grey Street Market to sell those Gu worms and materials scavenged from the wild."
"Over time, I gradually established a relatively stable source of income."
As Lin Mu's words continuously unfolded, the experiences he constructed became increasingly clear.
"With Primeval Stones, this subordinate was able to continuously purchase resources to elevate my cultivation."
"And during an accidental underground transaction..."
Lin Mu took a deep breath, throwing out a heavyweight figure.
"While escorting a dangerous cargo, this subordinate inadvertently came into contact with the true controller of the Grey Street Market, that mysterious figure who had always been hiding behind the scenes — Old Ma!"
"Oh?"
Hearing this name, Supreme Elder Lin Zhen's eyes instantly revealed a trace of shock and doubt.
This was a secretive figure that even Black Blood Stockade's high-level intelligence network could rarely touch!
"This person Old Ma is elusive. He possesses immense influence within a radius of hundreds of miles, and his actions are even more ruthless and erratic."
Lin Mu's brow furrowed slightly, a trace of lingering fear surfacing on his face just right.
"Working for him is truly like accompanying a tiger."
"He was the knife and chopping block, and I was the fish meat."
"This subordinate was ultimately forced into his intelligence network, doing quite a few shady, dirty, and tiring jobs for him."
"However, Old Ma was indeed generous."
"As a reward for working for him, not only did he provide this subordinate with massive resources, but he even allowed this subordinate, by an accidental chance, to come into contact with some fragments of true high-rank inheritances!"
Lin Mu's voice gradually lowered.
"It was exactly those unorthodox cultivation methods recorded in those fragments that allowed this subordinate to advance by leaps and bounds in a short time."
"Ultimately, forcibly grinding through that layer of barrier and stepping into Rank 2 peak stage!"
Silence.
The secret room fell into a bizarre silence once again.
If scrutinized carefully, there were still quite a few far-fetched points within this explanation.
A Rank 4 expert and a veteran Rank 3 peak stage Gu Master naturally wouldn't be completely persuaded by such a pieced-together tale of serendipity.
But the true core did not lie in whether this explanation was perfectly flawless at all.
Rather, it lay in—
Lin Cang could not bear to kill Lin Mu.
The current Black Blood Stockade was in the midst of a cruel and dangerous war.
Their mid-level combat power, having suffered the White Bone Alliance's devastating assassinations, had already exhibited a clear gap.
And those young geniuses with excellent aptitude at the bottom had not yet truly grown up.
What's more, just days ago, Lin Mu had appeared outside the camp gates carrying the head of an enemy top-tier assassin, faintly becoming a heroic figure in the eyes of the bottom-tier Gu Masters.
If at this time, the Black Blood Stockade higher-ups declared Lin Mu a traitor or secretly executed him merely based on some unverified secrets and suspicions...
That would not only be destroying their own Great Wall.
It would even more thoroughly chill the hearts of those bottom-tier Gu Masters at the front lines — who were already panicking due to the serial assassinations — causing Black Blood Stockade's morale to plummet further.
The loss outweighed the gain.
Besides this.
Last night, in the jungle before returning to camp, Lin Feng and Lin Mu had already reached a tacit understanding and aligned their stories.
Even some of the intelligence Lin Cang and Lin Zhen grasped today was proactively revealed to them by Lin Feng after some embellishment.
It was precisely because of this intertwining and weighing of interests that Lin Mu dared to sit here openly and honorably, accepting this near-formality "interrogation."
He had already seen through Lin Cang's mindset of "everything for the family's overriding interests."
As long as Lin Mu didn't display any actions detrimental to Black Blood Stockade's core interests.
Then, he could not possibly die here.
Not only was he going to use this inquiry to legitimately bring his strength into the light and thoroughly wash away suspicion.
He was also going to use this opportunity to scheme for even greater benefits.
"Clan Leader, Supreme Elder."
After a brief silence, Lin Mu's voice suddenly rang out in the secret room.
"While, this subordinate also once, purely by chance, acquired a piece of top-secret intelligence."
"This matter concerns the White Bone Stockade Clan Leader — Li Mang!"
"What secret?!"
As soon as these words came out.
Almost simultaneously, Lin Cang and Lin Zhen let out a low shout in unison!