Lin Pujun stood up from his seat and patted Lin Danyang on the shoulder with his hand.

“You're a smart man. All you needed were a few hints and we’re on the same page. We need to think of a way to let Li Mu die in someone else’s hands.”

“Let Li Mu die in someone else’s hands?”

“Yes. By then, Dantong will definitely be heartbroken. You can appear and be by her side at the right time. A woman is the most vulnerable when she’s sad. And you could seize this opportunity and take advantage of the situation.”

Lin Danyang clapped his hands vigorously and said aloud with a happy face, “Good idea. I'll listen to you. Eighth Uncle, just tell me what to do!”

Lin Pujun sneered.

“We can’t rush this though. Let's talk about it after we find ourselves a scapegoat. I’ve already found one for you, who I think should be willing to take the blame.”

Lin Danyang froze for a moment before getting back to his senses, “Eighth Uncle, you’re talking about Cheng Feng, right?”

Lin Pujun did not answer him and looked at him thoughtfully. The two of them then laughed grimly together.

After saying goodbye to Lin Danyang, Lin Pujun returned to his home. When he walked through the door, he immediately relaxed. His astute gaze turned calm. And he looked much more benevolent.

“Honey, you’re back.” A young woman walked up to him and greeted him while taking his arm. They walked into the living room together.

“Where's Danmin?” Lin Pujun asked casually.

“He’s still busy practicing in the practice room. Our son has improved so quickly recently that he could even compete with Master Yu.” She responded with a smile.

Lin Pujun was so happy to hear this that he sat on the sofa and grinned non-stop.

The woman sat down next to him, hesitantly, as if she had had something to say.

“My wife, is there anything wrong?” Lin Pujun asked curiously.

“Honey, you guys are always discussing things in private these days. Are you trying to harm Dantong again?”

Lin Pujun's eyebrows furrowed.

“Say what you have to say. There’s no need to beat around the bush!”

The woman smiled stiffly.

“I do have a few words that I would like to say to you!”

“Alright. Go on!”

“Honey, we’ve been married for so long but my heart has never been at peace since I married you.”

“Why is that so? What’s making you uneasy?”

“Well, because of what’s going on with Miss Lin!” The young woman sighed.

“I was friends with Dantong when we were young and I know her temperament. Please forgive me for saying this. But Dantong's true nature is not what you see now. She is soft on the outside but strong on the inside and is not an ordinary woman.”

Lin Pujun pondered and gestured for her to continue.

His wife went on, “The reason she held herself back, again and again, is that she does not want to see the tragedy of the killings of a family happen. If you keep pushing and forcing her, I fear that it will be the end of us once she makes up her mind.”

Lin Pujun was silent and only let out a heavy sigh after a long time.

“What you said is true. And I’m aware of that too. But alas! Now we can only help Fourth Brother to take the position of the head of the family as soon as possible. There is no turning back. It is easy to join hands in doing evil. But it’s not easy to call it off!”

Worried, the couple sighed long and hard.

......

Lin Wan was going crazy. So many days had passed and there was still no news of her husband. She didn't know what had happened to him.

The longer it took, the more she worried about Li Mu’s condition. Fearing that he would be cold, that he would be hungry, that something bad would happen to him, and that he would be in fear and misery all day long.

She now regretted it so much that she had lost her temper and was ranting and raving at the drop of a hat. This caused the people around her to tremble in fear that they might accidentally become her punching bag.

Another person who was deep in regret was Mrs. Hong. Seeing Miss Lin suffering made her feel very bad. She thought that she should have known better than to interfere in their relationship and should have encouraged them to live a happy life together, which was better than everything.

Mrs. Hong had finally understood the old saying, which was persuading peace rather than separation among couples. There was still a reason why this old saying was relevant to this day.

There was no big conflict between them. And they still had feelings for each other. So, what was she trying to do by poking her nose in their relationship? Instead of helping Lin Wan, she threw her into the depths of despair. It was really unnecessary.

After several fruitless searches, they directed their attention once again to the Shen Family’s village. They knew that they were also looking for Li Mu. Hence they planned to get some information from them too.

It was still the Third Grandfather and the Fifth Grandfather who went out and brought back the news that the two young girls of the Shen Family had also disappeared.

As far as the Shen Family could tell, they most probably had gone to search for Li Mu and would’ve possibly located him already. This was because the two young girls were good at magic. While the others were struggling to find Li Mu, it certainly wouldn’t be a problem for them.

But what puzzled the Shen Family was that so many days had passed, why didn't the two sisters bring Li Mu back if they had already found him?

The two little girls had been practicing in the mountains since they were very young. Hence, they were unfamiliar with how the world worked and were so innocent and straightforward that the Shen Family was becoming increasingly suspicious that Li Mu might’ve got them to elope with him with no intentions of coming back.

Everyone except Lin Wan and He Xiaoyu didn’t take it seriously. They knew Li Mu too well and knew that he was capable of doing this. There was no doubt that those two sisters were never coming back and they were definitely staying by Li Mu’s side.

Lin Wan hurriedly enquired about the skills of the two sisters. Third Uncle told her that in the eyes of the Shen Clan, they were very capable and could do almost anything and were the pride of the Shen Clan.

Lin Wan sighed out of relief. If that was the case, there was no need to worry about her husband's safety. But she still needed to find him as soon as possible. Considering how the two sisters were by his side all day long, she didn’t want any new love rivals to appear again!

......

Li Mu was dismantled. This wasn’t an adjective but an action word instead.

His two arms and thighs were cut off just like that. And the weapon was a kitchen knife.

Li Mu prepared scalpels for the two sisters. But the two of them felt that it wasn’t useful enough. Hence they chose to use a kitchen knife instead as it saved time and effort so it was much more convenient for them to chop off his bones and flesh.

Li Mu finally saw how ruthless they were. At first, he thought they would be too timid to make a move. But to his surprise, they chopped him up without a doubt.

It wasn’t until then did he find out that the two sisters used to slaughter pigs, sheep, and cows when they were in the mountains.

In order to train their courage, their Master had even forced them to dissect a corpse. Hence, it wasn’t an issue for them to do something similar to Li Mu too.

To prevent the fatal energy from taking over his senses, Li Mu was not anesthetized hence he witnessed the whole process of his operation. He swore that he would never go to the hospital ever again and would rather die of illness than have surgery. It was so terrifying that he threw up.

The two sisters worked well together, with the elder sister dissecting, and the younger sister stopping the bleeding and the pain. They really weren’t lying when they mentioned he wouldn’t feel much physical pain.

Of course, not much pain didn’t mean there wouldn’t be any pain at all. Who couldn't be in pain when their arms or legs were being cut off? The pain was a must. It just didn’t hurt like hell.

Shen Zixing moved quickly, as she was also worried that Li Mu would die of pain alive. Hence she tried to speed herself up so that Li Mu would suffer less.

After the Bone of Death was attached, the two sisters began to chant and applied a fragrant ointment to Li Mu's new bone repeatedly.

With each layer they applied, the new bone would immediately absorb the ointment and a thin layer of tendon and flesh would grow on the surface of the new bone. So on and so forth, Li Mu's limbs gradually plumped up.

It might sound simple, but the process was actually very complex and time-consuming. The initial stages could be excruciatingly painful and would only slowly improve once the new bone had grown flesh and buds.

After a week had passed, Shen Zixing released those little black bugs again and let them feed on the ointment before evenly applying them on Li Mu's limbs. Only then did she exhale deeply.

“Brother Mu, that's all. All’s left is to let these bugs do the rest of the work. And you'll be able to get out of bed in a month's time.”

“Are they eating me or are they spitting ointment onto my wound?” Li Mu asked with some apprehension.

Shen Zixing smiled and explained, “Of course it’s the latter. Don't underestimate them. Although they don’t have very nice names, they are very useful with this function.”

“They're not going to spit out the rubbish they used to eat, are they?” Li Mu pursued.

“How would they? Don't worry. There's nothing to be scared of!” Shen Zixing reassured him confidently.

Only then did Li Mu feel relieved. Seeing how tired the two sisters were, he said with concern, “You two have been tossing and turning for days. Maybe you could alternate between shifts and rest so you don't have to both stay with me together.”

“That won't do. At this stage, you need to eat meat, lots of meat, so that you can replenish your qi and blood. It will also help to speed up the growth of your tendons and flesh. Let us continue to attend to you. I'll cook some meat for you right now!”

“Cook meat?” Li Mu wondered. He didn’t see them buying any meat earlier though. Where would she get the meat from?

“Wait a minute!” He called out to Shen Zixing, “What kind of meat are you going to cook for me? Do we have raw meat at home?”

“Of course we do!” Shen Ming’er covered her mouth and laughed delicately, “Brother Mu, your two arms and thighs are pretty meaty. That would be enough for you to eat for days!”

Li Mu was so frustrated that he almost fainted. “Is she sick in the head? Cooking and eating your own flesh. What is this? Self-sufficiency? Crazy. They were all crazy! And that includes me too. Not one of us is sane.” He thought.

Li Mu was so anxious that he shouted, “If you two dare to make me eat my own flesh, we can’t be friends anymore!”

“Brother Mu, it doesn't matter. It's not your meat anymore after you cut it off. Eating meat is the best way to recharge your Qi…”

“Shut up this instance!” Li Mu interrupted Shen Zixing, “If you dare to speak nonsense again, I will not take you as my disciple anymore!”

“You're not my Master anyways!” Shen Zixing retorted in a small voice.

“I will not take you as my sister anymore then!” Li Mu said loudly. His expression was very stern and was clearly not joking.

Shen Zixing didn't dare to persist and looked at the pile of meat with worry.

“I'm out of ideas, Brother Mu. Can I just throw them away then?”

Li Mu laughed bitterly. How could it be thrown away just like that? Whoever found it would call the police. And it would be filed as a major crime case!