Chapter 548: Intruders in the Night

Time passed by minute by minute. As the bright moon hung high in the sky and mist began to appear, the eyes of Old Ding and Feng Yue lit up one after another.
The next moment, Lin Dong could clearly sense an astonishing surge of energy erupting around Yun Lan.
Had she broken through?
Lin Dong was overjoyed. Meanwhile, Yun Lan, who was sitting in seiza, slowly opened her eyes, further confirming his suspicion.
Without hesitation, Lin Dong rushed forward and appeared outside Yun Lan’s room in an instant. With a gentle push, the door creaked open.
On the wooden bed, Yun Lan’s bright, star-like eyes shone with joy.
“I’ve broken through! I’ve reached the first level of the Heart Riding Phase.”
Yun Lan was extremely excited. Becoming a peak warrior was the ultimate goal of every martial artist. Even she, a natural genius and heir to the Tianjian Sect destined to reach that status, couldn’t escape this feeling after officially reaching the first level of the Heart Riding Phase.
“Congratulations!” Lin Dong spread his arms, his face filled with festive smiles.
Yun Lan rushed over and hugged Lin Dong tightly.
At the moment her waist was tightly held, Lin Dong abandoned any thoughts of taking advantage. He could sense her emotions—this was a moment of extreme joy, and it would be inappropriate for his hands to wander around.
“Girl Yun, congratulations!” Old Ding stood behind Lin Dong and bowed solemnly to Yun Lan.
“Congratulations on reaching the ranks of peak warriors. With your talent and age, you’re destined to leave your name in the history of the martial world,” Feng Yue said gravely. Reaching the peak was the most important moment in a martial artist’s life, and even he and Old Ding didn’t want to disturb Yun Lan’s joy at such a time.
“Thank you, Old Man, and Senior Feng. Without your protection, Yun Lan wouldn’t have been able to focus entirely on training,” Yun Lan said, bowing in gratitude.
The two quickly declined the praise.
“Why not thank me too?” Lin Dong laughed. “I was responsible for monitoring the surroundings. Honestly, my role wasn’t any less important than yours. Besides, while they two watched over your condition, I took care of the outside. In that sense, I deserve the most credit. Um…”
“Do we really need to say thank you for our relationship?” Yun Lan asked with a smile.
“Of course!” Lin Dong had originally wanted to steal a kiss, but hearing her words made him even more excited than if he had gotten one.
“Girl Yun, such great news—how about a jar of wine?” Old Ding took out a wine jar and waved it at Yun Lan.

“No, the elders, go back to your room! Do whatever you need to do—there’s plenty of good wine and Tianfeng peppers; eat as much as you want.” Lin Dong immediately spoke up in objection. Such a significant joyous occasion should naturally be shared only by him and Yun Lan.
Elder Ding and Feng Yue were speechless. They had wanted to express their dissatisfaction but decided against it. Silently, they turned around and disappeared.
“Shall we go out to enjoy the moon?” Lin Dong asked.
Yun Lan nodded.
As he walked toward the stone table, Lin Dong took out a jar of fine wine from the mobile cabinet, with two small jade cups on his fingers.
Sitting down on the stone bench, Lin Dong arranged the jade cups. In a flash, he appeared in the kitchen.
He brought back some cold dishes from the kitchen and placed them on the stone table.
“Fine wine and delicious food! This is how one should drink—unlike Old Master Ding, who drinks like water.” Lin Dong laughed as he filled a cup and raised it, saying, “Congratulations on reaching the ranks of a peak warrior—the youngest in the history of the Great Han Nation.”
“I didn’t expect you to know how to say nice words too,” Yun Lan said with a smile as she raised her cup.
“It depends on the occasion. Today is special, so what needs to be said must be said.” Lin Dong drank it all in one gulp, licked his lips thoughtfully, and said with a grin, “So, what does it feel like to be a peak warrior?”
“The feeling…” Yun Lan hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. “It’s hard to describe. It’s as if I’ve suddenly transformed—the spiritual energy in the world seems more intimate. With my mind focused, I can almost sense the thoughts and even the slightest details of every plant and tree in the courtyard.”
“So amazing?” Lin Dong was impressed, his anticipation for being a peak warrior growing even stronger.
Yun Lan nodded, trying to organize her thoughts before explaining in detail, but suddenly frowned.
“Someone’s coming!”
Soon, Lin Dong sensed it too. Extending his mind, he saw more than a dozen people leaping over the courtyard wall.
“People from Tianwei Pavilion?”
Lin Dong’s brows also furrowed. Today was the joyous day when Yun Lan became a peak warrior. He had even asked Elder Ding and Feng Yue, the two pillars of Lin’s Inn, to leave—he certainly didn’t want to be disturbed by spies.
“They can’t be from Tianwei Pavilion. One person would be enough,” Yun Lan said, shaking her head. “Besides, these people don’t seem like spies at all… they look more like…”
“Thieves?” Lin Dong sensed carefully and couldn’t help but say helplessly, “Thieves with decent strength. Could it be the group Ma Chun mentioned?”
“Who?” Yun Lan asked, puzzled.

“Ma Chun told me this afternoon that there was a group at the inn facing an unsolvable problem. I told him to figure out what the problem was, but I never expected…” Lin Dong smiled. “Although my motives aren’t pure, I was still trying to help them. Yet they came to my house and chose such a time to do it.”
“They don’t even know you want to help them,” Yun Lan said with a smile. “Since you might need them someday, it’s only right to spend some silver.”
“How do you know I might need them?” Lin Dong was surprised. Yun Lan seemed to know almost everything about Lin’s Inn, but since hidden missions were extremely rare, he remembered not telling her about them.
“I can tell from your tone,” Yun Lan replied cunningly. “The old man and Senior Feng have both left, yet you’re hesitant about these people. There’s no benefit to it—you wouldn’t do such a thing.”
Lin Dong gave Yun Lan a thumbs up.
“What should we do?” Yun Lan asked. “Move to another place, or go and offer them silver? I remember you saying that most of the inn’s silver is with you, and the rest with Ma Chun.”
“Let’s first see if they really came to steal!” Lin Dong said. “A group of warriors shouldn’t lack silver. If it’s a last-minute emergency, there’s no need for so many people—this isn’t moving someone’s house.”
Yun Lan nodded, and spiritual energy surged forth. Instantly, a faint barrier appeared in front of the two of them. Ordinary people, even warriors at the Mental State stage, would surely not notice the stone table or the two people sitting by it at a glance.
While talking, the skilled thieves carefully crossed the more than 200-meter courtyard and arrived in front of a row of houses.
Lin Dong took a closer look. There were nine of them—two women and seven men, all in their early twenties. The leader was the strongest, at the fifth level of the Mental State stage. The other eight were between the first and third levels of that stage.
In front of Lin Dong and Yun Lan, such strength might be easily dismissed with a wave of the hand, but in the secular world, they were definitely a formidable force. Given their age, they all had the potential to be disciples of major sects. In a medium-sized sect, they would surely be elite disciples under intensive training. The leader even had the qualifications to become an elite disciple of a major sect.
“Why is everything behind so shabby?” The leading young man frowned at the row of red brick and wooden walls, seemingly unprepared to find it not as prosperous as he had imagined.
Lin Dong was speechless. It was actually quite simple—the brick walls were brand new.

“Elder Brother, since this isn’t a wealthy household, let’s go back!” A silver-bell-like female voice suddenly rang out.
“With the business volume of this inn, it must be a wealthy household.” The young man known as Elder Brother grew excited. “In my opinion, it’s probably the innkeeper who’s stingy and unwilling to spend money on anything. That’s perfect—let’s empty it all at once and take advantage of them for free.”
Yun Lan smiled softly. Innkeeper Lin had become stingy.
Lin Dong, however, was displeased. Empty it all at once? There were many warriors who, while traveling, ran out of money and were too lazy to hire guards or faced emergencies. Most of them would seek help from wealthy households, but they would never suggest emptying their homes. Even if they did act, they usually wouldn’t be too harsh.
Generally, when a house was robbed and the authorities investigated and found it was done by a warrior, as long as no one was killed, they would issue a bounty to capture the warrior and then drop it. This was a rule set by Tianwei Pavilion, intended to tarnish the reputation of all sects in the eyes of the common people.
The common people were the foundation of the Han Empire, as well as the sects, whose disciples came from ordinary people. Therefore, if sect disciples encountered such notices, they would usually try to find out who the troublemaker was and eliminate them. Over time, this had become a habit. So, when warriors needed help, they would usually borrow a thousand or eight hundred silver coins from a wealthy household. If they were more upright, they might even leave a note stating their identity and repayment date. For warriors traveling, seeking help in emergencies wasn’t something shameful.
Emptying an entire family’s home was rather unkind and rarely happened. After all, although the major sects didn’t have the infallible scouts of Tianwei Pavilion, no secret could stay hidden forever. Doing such a thing meant facing the wrath of the martial world, where they would be hunted like rats.
“Not to mention us, it’s you who wants to take advantage!” Lin Dong was upset. Someone even more dissatisfied spoke up behind Elder Brother: “We agreed to take only two thousand silver coins. If it’s more, you can afford to lose face, but we can’t.”
“What? You want to rebel before I even take over?” Elder Brother turned away coldly.
“Elder Brother, taking too much silver will easily attract the attention of the sects in the capital,” the female voice spoke again. “We…”
“I decide this! Those who don’t want to listen can leave now.” Elder Brother glared coldly at his younger siblings behind him.

Everyone remained silent; clearly there was some reason why they couldn’t leave, and no one spoke up to argue anymore.