"City Lord Lin, could you please elaborate?"

Lin Mo poured a cup of tea, squinted his eyes, picked it up and said slowly: "I know the identity of the assassins. They are the blood guards of the Lin family. Before this operation, the family informed me and asked me to assist them in assassinating His Highness, but I couldn't do it."

"Why? Isn't the Lin family the pillar of the empire? Why would they assassinate a member of the royal family?"

Gu Yuan asked in surprise. It stands to reason that Mr. Lin Tianpo has been loyal all his life, it is impossible for him to do such a thing!

"Alas, speaking of this, there are too many things involved. Moreover, since I haven't had any contact with the Lin family for so many years, I am not very clear about it."

Gu Yuan couldn't help but frown. Did he really not know or did he not want to say?

"Lord Lin, I have no ill intentions. The reason I asked you about this is, first, because the princess is my good friend, and second, because this matter involves the Lin family. Mr. Lin Tianpo of the Lin family is my idol, so I want to know more about him." Gu Yuan said sincerely.

Lin Mo looked into Gu Yuan's eyes and could tell that Gu Yuan was not lying.

"Alas, what I'm telling you today is a serious matter that will lead to a U-turn. I can tell you, but please keep it confidential. After all, I'm also a member of the Lin family. Although I haven't been in contact with the family for a long time, it's inevitable that people will be suspicious."

"City Lord Lin, please rest assured. Gu Yuan knows what to do."

"Actually, my uncle has passed away a long time ago." Lin Mo shook his head, his face full of sadness.

Gu Yuan's eyes widened. "You mean..."

Lin Mo nodded, memories emerging in his eyes.

"I still remember the first time I came here was eighteen years ago. Wan'er is sixteen now. Eighteen years ago, I was the best in the family. I was gifted and reached the ninth level of spiritual master at the age of fifteen. I broke through to spiritual master at the age of seventeen and to spiritual master at the age of twenty."

Gu Yuan was shocked by these few words. A twenty-year-old Spirit Master? This talent was too abnormal, wasn't it?

But then Gu Yuan frowned again, "Why don't I feel the fluctuation of spiritual energy from you?"

Lin Mo smiled bitterly and said, "Just listen to me slowly, and you will understand."

"When I broke through to the Spirit Master level, I was only twenty years old. My ancestors were ecstatic and extremely excited. The family members admired me immensely when they saw me.

At that time, I was arrogant and proud, and the younger generation in the family had no rivals, so I decided to leave the family and go out to gain experience.

At that time, thieves appeared in a city. It was said that the thieves were very powerful and many family members who went there were killed. So I went there alone with a sword and killed hundreds of thieves.

After I came back, the emperor at that time, Shui Mingjun, invited me to the palace to welcome me.

Haha, I went there that time. The previous emperor Shui Hantian had a son in his old age and was extremely fond of Shui Mingjun. Therefore, he passed the throne to him when he was thirty years old. He and I were like brothers and grew up together.

We talked a lot that night, from me to him, from childhood to growing up.

He said he envied me for my extraordinary talent, but also hated himself for not having such talent.

That night, because we were all preoccupied with our own thoughts, we didn't use our spiritual energy to expel the alcohol, so we both got drunk and passed out. That night also changed my life."

Speaking of this, Lin Mo's expression was extremely painful, and he even had a hint of regret.

“When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bed with a woman next to me.

I took in my surroundings, then sat up immediately and woke the woman. I recognized her; she was Shui Mingjun's concubine, Ming Fei.

I was very scared at that time. As a spirit master, I was at a loss. I looked at her confused expression and I knew it was over.

The moment I woke up, a group of guards rushed in. There were ten powerful Spirit Lords, and beside them stood Shui Mingjun, who looked furious.

As he spoke, tears began to flow down Lin Mo's face.

Gu Yuan looked at him and seemed to understand something.

"You were framed by him?"

"I have no idea."

Lin Mo shook his head in pain and said, "That day, Lord Shui Ming was furious. Although I did nothing, I knew that the situation was already before me and there was nothing I could do. I was thrown into the royal prison, where I was tortured."

"After all, my uncle and Shui Hantian are brothers, so my uncle came out of seclusion. I don't know if they reached some kind of agreement, but after being imprisoned for half a year, I was released. It was also around that time that I was expelled from the Lin family."

Gu Yuan sighed inwardly. Is there any need to doubt this? This must be a frame-up!

"And not only was I removed from the list, I was also told that I would be the lord of Beast Taming City on the border. Without being recalled, I would never be allowed to enter the imperial capital again. So, I came."

"What about your cultivation?"

Gu Yuan was puzzled. Lin Mo clearly looked like an ordinary person now.

"I'm useless now. On the way to Beastmaster City, I began to tire easily. Although my body showed some signs of abnormality, I didn't expect that in the following dozens of days, my cultivation would continue to decline, and there was absolutely no way to stop it. My spiritual veins were like a leaking balloon, leaking spiritual energy like crazy. I started practicing at the age of four, sixteen years! Sixteen years of hard work turned to dust, and the strength of the Spirit Master disappeared overnight! I'm finally a useless person!"

Lin Mo covered his face and cried. As the master of the city, he actually lost his composure like this, which shows how much pain he was in.

"Could it be that... someone secretly used some trick on him?" Gu Yuan guessed carefully.

"Who knows? Maybe it's the alcohol I drank that day, or maybe there's something wrong with me. Who knows?"

Lin Mo smiled bitterly, but anyone could see that he was just deceiving himself.

"The spiritual vein cannot become like this for no reason. If the royal family is afraid of the genius of the Lin family and wants to destroy him, it is not impossible." Gu Yuan said.

"A twenty-year-old Spirit Master, even Shui Hantian is probably only at the Spirit King level now, right? Yes, if it were me, I would also be wary, even panic."

"In fact, I would rather believe that there is something wrong with me."

Gu Yuan smiled and said, "After getting drunk, he inexplicably appeared in a woman's bed. City Lord Lin, this alone is worthy of suspicion. Sometimes we have to face reality. There is no point in deceiving ourselves."

Lin Mo shook his head in pain. "My Lin family has been loyal for generations. Why would they do this?"

"Human desires are endless. As members of the royal family, no one wants to have someone under their wing who becomes too powerful to be trusted. Furthermore, there's a peerless genius like you who will surpass them all in a matter of years. Anyone would try to secretly trip you up. After all, a single expert is worth countless armies. Once that genius grows up, who will have the final say in this empire?"