Mu Jinyu inwardly cursed his bad luck.
In such a narrow washroom, and without anything on hand, he was completely unable to utilize his martial arts. Facing the old nun's pistol, he truly had no choice but to obediently comply.
He just hoped that the old nun wouldn't go crazy and start shooting randomly.
After all, martial arts grandmasters who had died under stray bullets were not unheard of; he certainly didn't believe his body could withstand bullets.
Mu Jinyu was just about to honestly reveal the secret formula of the Beauty Pill to the old nun.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out.
Mu Jinyu immediately groaned internally.
What the heck, does this old nun have a screw loose? He had obediently raised his hands already and was prepared to tell her the Beauty Pill formula, and she still fires her gun?!
While Mu Jinyu's thoughts were in turmoil.
"Mmnh!"
A grunt of pain echoed.
"Huh?!"
Mu Jinyu also sensed that something was off—he felt no pain whatsoever.
"Could it be, I'm not the one shot?"
Thinking this, Mu Jinyu hurriedly opened his eyes, only to see the flustered nun collapsed in a pool of blood.
Her face was deathly pale, hand clutching her chest, her eyes filled with bitter despair and resentment!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
At that moment, the sound of gunfire rang out once more.
The old nun lying in the pool of blood suddenly burst forth with three more sprays of blood.
The gunshots had come from upstairs.
Mu Jinyu poked his head out from the washroom to look, and saw Mei Yinxue dressed in a white bathrobe, her face cold as ice, walking down the stairs with a pistol in her hand that glinted with a cold sheen.
Mu Jinyu breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that it was Mei Yinxue who had heard the commotion when the old nun kicked the bathroom door open, then after secretly observing the situation, went back to her room for the gun, and took advantage of the moment when the old nun's attention was all on him to strike first!
"Sister Mei, thank you!"
Mu Jinyu looked up at Mei Yinxue and said with a grateful smile.
Mei Yinxue glanced at the old nun lying in the pool of blood, and seeing that she could not move, the icy expression on her face finally relaxed. She then looked over at Mu Jinyu, who stayed in the washroom, and a blush crept across her face as she whispered, "Thank me for what? I should be the one apologizing to you. To let an assassin sneak in like this, it's fortunate that you're unharmed, or else I really... "
Mu Jinyu crouched down, picked up the bath towel, and rewrapped it around his body, muttering, "What's the story with this assassin? She doesn't seem like she was sent by those two enemies of yours."
"Huh? She wasn't?" Mei Yinxue asked in surprise.
She had thought that the old nun was surely an assassin sent by Gu Youlan or Zhu Yeqing.
Mu Jinyu said, "Because she came for me right from the start. After kicking the glass door to pieces, she directly asked about the Beauty Pill formula without inquiring about your whereabouts."
He paused, then continued, "Think about it. If she were an assassin sent by Gu Youlan or Zhu Yeqing, wouldn't her first instinct be to take you down and then conveniently kidnap me?"
"It's possible that your Beauty Pill formula is too valuable, and greed has moved her to try and extract the formula from you, even after a mission failure," Mei Yinxue said.
Mu Jinyu nodded and said, "That's a possibility, but I still feel she might not be one of those two adversaries you mentioned, considering the amount of money it must have cost to hire an assassin who can sneak in without making a sound."
As he spoke, Mu Jinyu gently shook his head and said, "Let's not guess anymore. Go search her body and see if you can find anything that proves where she comes from."
Mei Yinxue, hearing this, cast a glance at Mu Jinyu and said irritably, "Why don't you do it yourself?"
Mu Jinyu glanced at the old nun lying in a pool of blood and shook his head, "She's too old, I don't want to touch her."
Mei Yinxue: "..."
With a light sigh, Mei Yinxue walked over to the old nun who had breathed her last, crouched down, and began searching her body.
In the end, Mei Yinxue found a nameplate inside the old nun's monk's robe.
"What is this?"
Mei Yinxue looked at the nameplate, which had a spring and a piece of withered wood engraved on it, her brow furrowed, not knowing what it represented. Was it a symbol of the other party's identity?
At this moment, Mu Jinyu also leaned in, taking a few glances at the curious nameplate, equally unaware of the other party's origin.
However, the old nun certainly came from some organization, and this nameplate might be a mark of the organization behind her.
And if he was not aware of it, Xiang Mantang would likely know, given that someone with such skills would certainly not be completely unknown.
Thus, Mu Jinyu immediately called Xiang Mantang to inquire what this nameplate found on the old nun represented.
"Are you saying that the nameplate is engraved with a piece of withered wood and a spring? Is that right?"
Xiang Mantang's tone became much heavier after hearing Mu Jinyu's description.
"Yes, is there something about it?" Mu Jinyu asked curiously.
Xiang Mantang sighed, "This is indeed a very powerful organization called 'Withered Tree Quest for Spring', but it is not an assassin's organization!"
As he spoke, Xiang Mantang informed Mu Jinyu about the history of 'Withered Tree Quest for Spring', why it was founded, and its guiding principles.
It turned out that 'Withered Tree Quest for Spring' was an organization created jointly by the wealthiest tycoons in the world, all in search of the Fountain of Youth, in hopes of achieving everlasting life!
The wealthier the tycoons became, the older they got, the more their bodies deteriorated, and they began to fear death, unwilling to just pass away and let the vast power and wealth they had amassed be gradually squandered by their successors.
Just like Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who once sent Xu Fu to sea in search of the Elixir of Immortality.
Though the so-called Elixir of Immortality and Fountain of Youth seem like unfounded myths that only exist in legends, there is no lack of people who believe in their existence.
They are convinced that somewhere in the world there must be a Fountain of Youth, a Spring of Life.
Once they find this divine spring, they will be able to inject new vitality into their decaying bodies, granting them eternal youth.
Even if it does not exist, they intend to create their own Fountain of Youth!
So, they combined the various privately established biological and genetic research laboratories under their control, recruited top talents, and reorganized them into 'Withered Tree Quest for Spring'.
They developed the organization on one hand, searching for the Fountain of Youth, while on the other hand, they advanced their research labs, creating countless bio-engineered humans, espers…
"This organization is actually very powerful and quite terrifying. You should be careful. I suppose they have taken an interest in your Beauty Pills, seeing it as a potential enhancement for their Fountain of Youth project and therefore have set their sights on you!"
Xiang Mantang said with a grave voice.
"Withered Tree Quest for Spring?!"
After hearing all this, Mu Jinyu murmured to himself, and looking down at the old nun's face that was as dry as a withered orange peel, he understood why they would target him.
"No wonder they came looking for me. After all, my Beauty Pills won't make one's body younger, but they can make one's appearance a decade younger, which is still of great research value."
"It seems I'll have to be even more cautious in the future."