Lin Mu became shocked upon seeing so many weapons pointed at him at once. Immediately, his spirit sense spared out scanning each and every person in the room, and along with it, he started chanting the severing heart sutra.
The expression on his face became cold, and he stared at the people with sharp eyes. The people who had pulled out their weapons at Lin Mu felt as if cold water was poured on them. They had thought that an intruder had arrived, and they had pulled out their weapons in response. They had known that every person that was supposed to be here was already here, with the exception of two people: the leader and another ally.
They knew what their leader looked like, thus they knew that the person that walked in wasn't her. The only remaining option was the ally that they had been informed of, but they highly doubted that this was the same person. They had been told that their new ally was a peak stage qi refining realm cultivator, thus they were sure that it wasn't a teenager that Lin Mu looked like.
But when they saw the instantaneous response of Lin Mu and the feeling of being probed by the spirit sense, they knew that they had made a mistake. Additionally, upon that, a very cold and sharp feeling was washing over their bodies. They felt as if blades were pointed at their necks and would slash them apart the second they made any movement.
They could see that Lin Mu's lips were faintly moving, but they could not identify what he was saying. The chants of the severing heart sutra were very faint and could not be clearly heard by them. Even still, their effects were apparent as the three people that were in the front were affected, but the chants and their gazes became dull and they entered a daze.
It was at this moment that the door of the meeting room opened and a voice shouted out from there.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU IMBECILES DOING! PUT DOWN THOSE WEAPONS RIGHT THIS INSTANT!" The voice ordered in a furious yet slightly startled tone.
Lin Mu and the rest heard the shout and turned to look at the source. The people had immediately reacted and lowered their weapons. Lin Mu saw that the person who was shouting was none other than Hei Bao, and there was another person following behind him, this person was Hei Shi.
Lin Mu unlike the others didn't lower his sword and kept it pointed at the people. He still didn't trust them, and even senior Xukong had asked him to maintain his stance and not back down. Thus heeding his advice Lin Mu stayed the same and stared at the people with the same cold gaze.
He was still chanting the severing heart of sutra and had maintained it. The people in front of him finally realized that the cold and sharp feeling they had felt was not fading, and instead now that they had lowered their weapons, the feeling had intensified.
They could not help but keep on staring at the figure of Lin Mu, who was standing in the door way. They now felt as if they were not staring at a person, but instead at a mountain; a mountain that was made of swords.
A peerless sword intent was emanating from the mountain and held their souls hostage. It was as if they were now stuck in a mire of countless blades that would mince them into oblivion.
It was now that Hei Bao walked forward and cupped his hands.
"Please forgive them, brother Lin Mu, for they've made a grave mistake. I assure you on my life that I will take care of this and that you are properly compensated." Hei Bao spoke in a restful tone.
He then turned to his companions and shouted. "What are you doing there still standing?! APOLOGIZE!"
Hei Bao's companions then stumbled and hurriedly cupped their hands before bowing and apologizing in unison.
"Please forgive us senior!"
Lin Mu had never expected this reaction. The most he had thought would happen was that they would just lower their weapons and return to normal. Lin Mu didn't know the effect that he was having on these people.
He had reached the late stage of the refining realm very recently, and his aura was still slightly unstable. This combined with the effect of the severing heart sutra increased the effect of his aura by multiple folds.
Seeing that the people in front of him were regretting their actions and even Hei Bao was apologizing, Lin Mu didn't take the offense to his heart. He stopped chanting the severing heart sutra and sheathed the short sword.
"It is fine, I accept." Lin Mu spoke in a calm tone.
~Huuu~
Simultaneous breaths of relief could be heard as the unsettled hearts of the people in the room calmed down.
~Sigh~
Seeing that the situation had turned normal, Hei Bao let out a sigh as he thanked the heavens for avoiding a big mistake.
Hei Bao looked at Lin Mu and spoke, "Brother Lin Mu, please come with me we will talk inside. Hei Shi, take care of them."
Lin Mu nodded and followed him to the meeting room. A few seconds later he was gone and the door to the meeting room was locked behind them. The people in the room stared at his back until he was gone and then looked at each other.
"Wha-what was that?" One of the persons that were dressed in the clothes of a commoner spoke, building up a little courage.
"Whatever it may be, just know that we have avoided a huge mistake. I doubt we will escape punishment though." Another person that was dressed as a mercenary spoke.
"But how should have we known that the ally who captain Hei Bao was speaking about would just be a boy." Spoke a man that was dressed like a merchant.
"Watch your tongue! You are lucky to just get a punishment. If the senior had not forgiven you, it wouldn't be unjust if some heads fell. People have been killed for far less than this before. Better know your place." Hei Shi scolded in a stern tone.
After hearing her words, everyone lowered their heads and went over some thoughts in their minds.
*****
Lin Mu had just walked into the meeting room. His eyes wandered over to the metal plates that were hung on stands to the side and then onto the person that was sitting on the table that was at the other end of the room.
The person was facing away from Lin Mu, thus he could not see his face. There was a teapot, and some cups kept on the table, so it seemed that the person in question was drinking tea. Hei Bao walked forward and came to stand a little distance away from the man.
"I've brought brother Lin Mu, lieutenant." Hei Bao spoke.
The man who Hei Bao had called as lieutenant stood up from the chair and turned around. Lin Mu finally got a look at the man's face. The man looked to be in his late forties and had a calm look on his face. He had long black hair that was tied in a neat bun, the same way an aristocrat would do. He had a neat and trimmed mustache, but the rest of his face was clean shaven.
He was wearing dark green robes that matched his visage and made Lin Mu think that he was a gentleman. He had no ornaments or jewelry on his body, and neither did he have any weapons on him. Lin Mu felt that this was strange, as he had not expected a member of the Hei corps to ever be without a weapon.
The man cupped his hands, and a gentle smile appeared on his face, as he spoke.
"Greetings, brother Lin Mu. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Lin Mu instantly felt better upon seeing his mannerisms and demeanor. This only made him feel as if the person in front of him was an aristocrat, or perhaps even a noble.
"Greetings, it is nice to meet you." Lin Mu responded in a respectful tone as well.
The man then gestured with his hand towards a chair before speaking, "Come sit, I just made some fresh tea."
Lin Mu took up on his invitation and pulled the chair opposite to him. Hei Bao did the same, and both of them sat down.
"My name is Hei Yingjie and I am one of the lieutenants of the Hei corps working under my lord." He introduced himself.
Hei Yingjie then placed a cup in front of Lin Mu and poured him some tea as the etiquette dictated.
"Please," he gestured.
Lin Mu thus picked up the cup and took a small sip. But when he did, he was surprised as a very faint trace of qi was absorbed by his body.