Chapter Forty: Why Do You Not Kneel Before Me?

“What on earth is happening?!”
“Why has our money been deducted for no reason?”
Liu Zhen, Li Bao and the others stared in shock at the messages on their phones.
At first, they thought it must be a scam and all began making calls to demand an explanation.
But the replies they received were all the same.
Their assets had truly been directly deducted!
Those among them who didn’t have enough liquid assets had their real estate forcibly sold off.
After racking their brains, everyone’s gaze finally converged on the young man they had dismissed as a fool.
But Qin Mu paid them no mind; instead, he asked Mrs. Lin for a packet of tea.
Leisurely, he invited Lin Zhengxing back to the main seat, sat at his side, and began to pour several cups of fragrant tea.
“This tea is excellent—it must be quite aged,” Qin Mu remarked, savoring a sip.
“This is Pu’er, a treasured vintage from the Lin family. The flavor grows richer with every cup,” Lin Zhengxing replied with pride.
Though he spoke of tea, he kept a keen eye on the reactions of the guests beside him.
After the debts were declared, the money had been deducted straight from their assets, without even a verification process.
Given the meticulousness of the World Bank, dozens of family assets were involved here, and with principal and interest as Qin Mu had mentioned, the sum must be in the hundreds of millions. Normally, they would dispatch specialists to verify, then proceed through multiple contractual steps.
The young man before him must possess an extraordinary reputation with the bank.
“Young man, are you the one meddling in this?”
Liu Zhen and the others weren’t fools; they immediately sensed something was amiss.
“How dare you touch my money! Have you got nerves of steel?”
Since borrowing the money from Lin Zhengxing, none of them had ever intended to repay it.
Now that it had been taken away so suddenly, it was as if someone had reached into their pockets and snatched it.

“I told you, this is the money you owe the Lin family. I’m merely collecting the principal and interest,” Qin Mu replied, delicately tasting his tea without even sparing them a glance.
“Damn it! Give me my money back!”
Without these funds, many of their families would collapse outright.
They tried to surge forward, but were blocked by Wu Mu, who stood before them like a towering mountain.
Even the bodyguards they had brought along dared not advance when they saw Wu Mu.
“What do we do now?”
Panicked, they paced about until someone finally suggested,
“Should we invite the Chu family?”
At the mention of the Chu name, everyone paused.
This house held immense sway in River City and was one of the three highest-ranking families in the River Alliance.
“The Chu family’s enterprise is vast. I doubt we have the standing to invite them,” Liu Zhen recalled their power and could only shake his head.
If the heir of the Chu family appeared, veteran figures who had fought for twenty years would be eclipsed.
“Just recently, the Chu family began auctioning some of the commercial spaces in the White Emperor Commercial City—a landmark with twenty years of prestige.”
“Many of us invested in those properties, and now they’ve been deducted for no reason. The Chu family surely won’t stand idly by.”
With this in mind, the group immediately dialed a number.
Liu Zhen and the others glared at Qin Mu, laughing coldly.
“Young man, keep being arrogant. When the Chu family arrives, you won’t even have a place to die!”
“We’ll tear the Lin household apart! The men will be sent to hard labor, and the women to the brothels. The Lin family will be slaves forever, unable to lift their heads!”
In their eyes, borrowing money was a courtesy to the Lin family, and now the Lin family dared seek help to reclaim it.

Yet Yang Long, who had witnessed Qin Mu’s power firsthand, began to doubt.
Could the top three families of the River Alliance, or their most illustrious young heirs, truly rival Qin Mu?

Meanwhile, Qin Mu remained unconcerned by the mention of the Chu family, while only Lin Zhengxing seemed anxious.
“With a man of such integrity as Mr. Lin as the pillar of the family, it’s no wonder the Lin clan, though bullied for twenty years, never bowed to anyone,” Qin Mu nodded in admiration.
Lin Peipei, though young, was fearless in the face of power, stepping forward to denounce Fang Peng and buying Lin Qingxue precious time.
Now, Lin Peipei sat quietly at the side, resting her chin in her hands, gazing at Qin Mu in a trance.
“What are you staring at, girl?” Lin Qingxue waved her hand before Lin Peipei’s face.
Her cousin had not once taken her eyes off Qin Mu since he entered; she was utterly entranced.
Could it be she had fallen for him?
Lin Qingxue glanced at Qin Mu herself. Indeed, the young man’s starry eyes and bright teeth, his sharp features, his masculine aura, and his dazzling status would surely pique anyone’s curiosity.
Especially his entrance, like a heavenly warrior, knocking Fang Peng aside—Lin Peipei would likely never forget it for a lifetime.
Only Lin Zhengxing watched the crowd with a heavy heart, worried about the Chu family they had invoked.
The Chu house was the greatest real estate power in River City; all property transactions passed through their hands.
The Chu heir had shown brilliance from a young age, reigning for ten years and outshining all his peers.
Compared to him, figures like Yang Tianci were no more than fallen leaves, not even worthy of competing for glory.
“Friend Qin, the Chu family is no ordinary opponent,” Lin Zhengxing ventured tactfully, unwilling to question Qin Mu’s identity directly.
Qin Mu shook his head indifferently.
“The Chu family?”
“To me, they are nothing but ants.”
“And besides, I have a score with them that must be settled.”
Liu Zhen, Li Bao, and the rest scoffed at Qin Mu’s words, convinced he was simply putting on a brave face.