Chapter 230: Qiao Tianhao Is Captured

Seeing this situation, Lin Dong frowned slightly. It seemed he needed to let Ma Chun know about the delivery issue sooner. Otherwise, if something unexpected arose that Ma Chun couldn’t handle, there could be serious trouble without someone to deal with it.
“Ma Chun!”
After closing the storage room behind him, Lin Dong called out.
“Boss, why are you in the storage room?” Ma Chun looked surprised and rushed over. “Something happened in the guest building. I couldn’t find you anywhere and was getting worried sick.”
“Something happened in the guest building?” Lin Dong was puzzled. The guest building was barely making a profit thanks to the Colorful Beds. Even if something serious happened—like a guest falling ill or dying in a room—it could usually be handled by keeping it under wraps. With Ma Chun’s abilities, he should be able to manage it.
Ma Chun nodded urgently. “Qiao Tianhao was captured by some guests last night. No matter how I tried to explain, they refused to release him. Midday is the busiest time for business. If we don’t get him out soon, Jiang Kui alone won’t be able to serve over twenty tables at once.”
“If he’s fine, take your time and explain what happened,” Lin Dong said gravely.
“Here’s what happened,” Ma Chun said, catching his breath as he described it. “About a month ago, a pair of young people in their twenties came to stay at our inn. They acted strange and rarely left.”
“Acted strange and rarely left?” Lin Dong’s lips curled. Those words reminded him of Wang Bin and Yi Yi not long ago.
“Yeah!” Ma Chun nodded. Seeing that Lin Dong wasn’t asking further questions, he continued, “Five or six days ago, a waiter delivering water accidentally heard coughing—female coughing, at that.”
Lin Dong’s expression turned strange. Could it be another elopement?
In this world, elopement was almost seen as ruining a family’s reputation. In Autumn Wind City, two or three cases per year were already considered many. If Jin Ji Inn encountered two such cases in just a couple of months, it could be called a haven for elopements.
But if they could hold Qiao Tianhao captive, even if it was an elopement, they probably weren’t ordinary people’s children—they might even be disciples of a sect.
“The waiter told me right away, but I didn’t pay much attention at the time,” Ma Chun said, looking at Lin Dong’s expression. “I had the same reaction as you—probably another pair like Yi Yi and Wang Bin. It’s not something our inn can control.”
“Is that so?” Lin Dong was surprised.

Ma Chun shook his head and said, “Later, that girl’s cough got worse and worse. The worker even found blood clots in their bedding. In a lodging house, the worst thing that can happen is a death. If word gets out, it will severely affect business, regardless of whether it’s related to the inn or not. That’s why I sent the worker over to find out and see if we should hire a doctor. If there’s not enough silver, the inn can cover it first.”

Lin Dong smiled bitterly. A nobleman’s son or a sect disciple, one of them seriously injured yet too afraid to go outside—clearly out of fear of being discovered. Moreover, such serious injuries couldn’t be cured by ordinary doctors. The biggest possibility was that the worker would be outright refused.

As expected, Ma Chun continued, “As soon as the worker arrived, he was harshly scolded, accused of cursing them with a serious illness. On the spot, his head was smashed with a silver ingot. I guess they have some unspeakable reasons, so we can only put it aside for now. Unexpectedly, last night, while chatting in the kitchen, the worker vented all his resentment when asked about the swollen bump on his head. Qiao Tianhao overheard this. Without hesitation, he asked Jiang Kui for a silver ingot and went to the lodging house, determined to get it back for the worker—no one could stop him.”

“Then, as soon as Qiao Tianhao entered, there was a series of fights inside. After that, everyone was tied up tightly. The young master surnamed Xia spoke up, saying they would hold them as hostages for now. As long as their secrets stay hidden and everyone stays peaceful for a while, they would release them.”

The people had to be rescued first; otherwise, the kitchen would be in trouble without Qiao Tianhao. Lin Dong thought for a moment and looked at Yun Lan beside him.

Yun Lan nodded gently. “Go take a look.”

“Show me the way!” Lin Dong said.

Ma Chun nodded quickly.

The three of them passed through the back and front yards and arrived at the lodging house. They went up to the second floor, to the room at the far end of the Y-shaped corridor. Ma Chun stopped at the door.

“You handle it first. If it doesn’t work, I’ll step in to help,” Yun Lan said calmly.

Lin Dong nodded reluctantly, closed his eyes slightly, and let his spiritual energy flow into his brain. In a daze, his vision slowly penetrated inside the room.

Tables and chairs, a wooden bed, and Qiao Tianhao, tied up like a zongzi yet still sleeping soundly…

Lin Dong frowned slightly, pressing his eyelids tighter as he concentrated. Finally, a figure sitting in lotus position appeared on the wooden bed, growing clearer. He could faintly make out a blue robe. Soon, another figure slowly appeared on the wooden chair, but no matter how hard Lin Dong tried, he couldn’t see it more clearly.

“One at about the third level of the Mental State phase, and the other at the first level?” Lin Dong turned and whispered.

Yun Lan slowly shook her head. “One is at the third level of the Mental State phase, four parts; the other is at the fourth level, one part.”
“The fourth level, one part?” Lin Dong frowned and then asked doubtfully, “With injuries, is it easier to probe?”
Yun Lan nodded slowly.
Lin Dong clicked his tongue. The two inside must be quite remarkable!
Within the Autumn Wind Mansion, those who reach the third level of the Mental State phase before the age of thirty are already considered young talents among the sect’s disciples. Those at the fourth level can only be described as prodigies.
Although it’s just one level difference, it takes five to six years for a disciple who breaks through to the second level of the Mental State phase before the age of twenty—even those regarded as highly talented among ordinary martial artists—to advance from the first to the second level. It takes another ten-odd years to go from the second to the third level. To advance from the third to the fourth level without fifteen or sixteen years is pure delusion.
Among the tens of millions of people in the Autumn Wind Mansion, there are surely no more than a hundred outstanding sect disciples who can reach the fourth level of the Mental State phase before the age of thirty.
Someone at the first level of the Mental State phase, trying to snatch a hostage from someone at the third level, can only rely on surprise and distracting them. Recalling Qiao Tianhao’s location carefully, Lin Dong suddenly kicked out.
With a bang, the door flew inward.
Inside the room, on the chair, a young man in a green robe sensed the sudden disturbance, sprang up instantly, and rushed to the bed in an instant. A choking sound came as the long sword at his waist emitted a faint silver glow.
On the wooden bed, the young man in blue frowned. The sudden noise interrupted his cultivation. Though he controlled it with the spiritual energy in his meridians, it still caused him to cough violently, with a trickle of blood slowly sliding down from the corner of his mouth.
Lin Dong rushed in and quickly reached Qiao Tianhao’s side.
“Boss, why did you come so late…”
Qiao Tianhao, just awakened by the noise, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Lin Dong.
“Boss?” The young man in green stared coldly at Lin Dong and demanded, “Who are you?”
“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding…” Ma Chun hurried over, while Yun Lan entering slowly behind him made the two momentarily distracted.
“Young Master Xia, Young Master You, this is my boss,” Ma Chun quickly explained. “I’m sorry for any offense. It was out of necessity. You two held our chef hostage. If we don’t rescue him, our business will be ruined.”
“Rescue him!” The young man in green snorted coldly. “At least don’t keep the boss here too.”
Lin Dong went ahead and untied the ropes around Qiao Tianhao.
“Boss, um, I…” Qiao Tianhao remembered the trouble he had caused and looked at Lin Dong sheepishly.

It’s hard to say whether Qiao Tianhao was right or wrong. If it were someone else, Lin Dong would have just smiled and let it go. But since it was Qiao Tianhao…
Lin Dong stretched out his right foot and kicked him in the abdomen: “Go back to the kitchen and stand outside the inn all night.”
“Ee!”
As he flew backward, Qiao Tianhao nodded frantically. With a thud, he hit the wall and got up quickly before running away at top speed.
“Want to leave?”
The young man in green drew his sword and stepped forward. Behind him, a delicate voice said, “Third senior brother, forget it. It’s our fault after all.”
“No, what if they spread this news?” The young man in green thrust his sword forward and rushed toward the door.
Swish!
A brand-new bench blocked his sword. The deep sword marks on the bench made Lin Dong smile. With the door and Qiao Tianhao tied up for the night, he demanded at least three or five taels of silver as compensation.
The young man in green looked surprised: “I never expected an inn owner to have skills on par with those of a sect disciple.”
Seizing the rare opportunity to spar with someone only slightly stronger than himself, Lin Dong didn’t hesitate. He kicked the young man in green in the abdomen.
The young man in green’s body slid backward as he swung his sword horizontally. In a hurry, Lin Dong tried to block with the bench but suddenly remembered Yun Lan’s instructions from Gu Huan Mountain. He pushed off with his left foot and stepped back quickly. As the young man in green chased after him with his sword, Lin Dong adjusted his stance and vanished in a flash.
“What fast!”
The young man in green was shocked and dared not pursue further. He quickly retreated to the bed.
“Third senior brother!” Behind him, the young man in blue started coughing violently again. His already pale face turned even whiter. “Let’s change to another inn.”
“But…”
The young man in green wanted to argue, but seeing the firm determination in the young man in blue’s eyes, he slowly lowered his sword.
Was he giving up?
Lin Dong felt slightly disappointed. He had wanted to force the other party to pay three or five taels of silver, but since they apologized politely and offered two taels as compensation, it would be unreasonable to demand more.

As the two walked toward the door, Lin Dong suddenly raised his hand and said, “Wait!”
The two turned to look at Lin Dong, puzzled.
“How about sitting down and talking?”
Lin Dong smiled politely. He couldn’t bring himself to mention the claim, but these two clearly had interesting stories, and maybe he could uncover some hidden tasks from them.