After Wenlong's guidance, Wenye's swordsmanship improved with immediate effect. As she wielded her longsword, every move struck just the right note, her blade appearing and vanishing like a spirit serpent darting from its cave.
Wenlong then turned to Shitou, whose favorite weapon was the broadsword. In his hands, it carried tremendous weight and power, stirring the wind like a prowling tiger.
Shitou had already achieved a measure of proficiency with his saber techniques, and it was hard to find any flaws. Even Wenlong kept nodding, full of praise.
Shitou also had some skill with the spear, his thrusts weighty and powerful. Of them all, he gave Wenlong the least cause for worry, and he handled matters steadily, too.
With Shitou leading everyone's martial training in the future, Wenlong could rest much easier.
It seemed everyone was advancing by leaps and bounds in martial arts. They needed to visit Wan Family Town again. It was time to settle a little of their debt with the Kai Lineage; surely the Kai could do nothing to them.
If he took a few people into Wan Family Town, the Kai would not necessarily be able to stop them when they wished to leave.
With the year's end approaching, it was also the right time to get some grain from the Kai in Wan Family Town.
It had been too long since they had caused the Kai any trouble. They could not let them live comfortably for too long.
Until their Lineage members were avenged, the pain lingering in everyone's hearts would never ease.
Inside the cave, Wenlong sat with his father and uncles. Blessed by their ancestors, he was no longer regarded by his uncles as an ordinary child.
He had saved their people from peril several times. Even the food in their bellies and the warm clothes on their backs were thanks to Wenlong.
"Father, uncles, the year's end is approaching, and we're beginning to run short of clothing and grain. Naturally, we should charge that debt to the Kai."
As Wenlong spoke, he looked around at everyone. His uncles kept nodding in agreement.
"This time, I'll take Shitou, Wenlin, Wenzhu, and Wenye with me to Wan Family Town again." When Wenlong finished, he saw worry on everyone's faces.
Wenlong still wanted to put their minds at ease. "There's no need to worry. With the skills of the five of us, we can't defeat their superior numbers in a head-on fight, but they won't be able to stop us from leaving either."
"On this trip, put your safety first. Don't clash with them head-on." His father's words showed that he had tacitly approved their plan.
That morning, five horses stood ready, and the village gate slowly opened. The admonitions of his mother and their people still rang in his ears.
Wenlong did not dare look at his mother. He raised his arm high and waved farewell to their people.
Taking the lead, he galloped out of the village gate, even less willing to look back at his mother's tear-streaked face.
In truth, Wenlong felt no better inside. Every raid on Wan Family Town carried enormous danger. One careless moment could cost him his life, leaving him unable to return.
Of course, he took his mother's worries to heart. He feared that if he saw her sorrow, he would never want to leave her again. After all, who would willingly make their mother grieve?
Wenlong led the four at a gallop toward Wan Family Town, once again taking a route through sparsely inhabited country. Only when the town came into distant view did they slow down.
Wan Family Town had originally earned its name because people of many different surnames lived there.
Later, once the Kai grew powerful, they began bullying merchants and dominating the markets. To survive, the weaker Lineages of other surnames had to attach themselves to the Kai.
Otherwise, they would perish in the brutal struggles between Lineages, just as the Wen had.
Now the Kai ruled Wan Family Town. Anyone who resisted faced only death; that much was certain.
The Kai had a vast population, and most people of other surnames had been reduced to their farmhands, servants, or hired laborers.
Very few people of other surnames in Wan Family Town could stand as their equals. Perhaps relatives could, but otherwise, the Kai would never tolerate their living there.
Before night fell, Wenlong stationed Shitou and the other three in the wooded hills to provide support, forbidding them from entering Wan Family Town.
If they were surrounded, they might struggle to escape unscathed. Everyone accepted Wenlong's arrangements.
Wenlong's prestige in their eyes had already risen another notch, and they had complete faith in his words.
After settling everyone in place, Wenlong headed straight into Wan Family Town alone. His destination was still their Lineage head's compound, and he hoped to pocket their Treasure Vault this time.
It might take somewhat longer, since searching the Treasure Vault would take time. He had already told Shitou and the others so they would not worry.
Wenlong had been here several times already, and he slipped into the compound as easily as driving a light carriage along a familiar road.
The courtyard lay in darkness. Only guards stood along the walls, with the footsteps of patrolling sentries occasionally breaking the silence.
He activated his mental power to probe the compound and found everyone inside sleeping quietly. Even after a long search, he failed to locate the Treasure Vault.
Helpless, Wenlong slipped into the grain storehouse again and enjoyed a sound sleep inside.
After dawn, Wenlong kept monitoring the Kai's movements with his mental power.
Suddenly, he spotted a dignified old man who was very likely their patriarch.
Wenlong secretly followed the old man with his mental power, hoping his movements would reveal a clue to the Treasure Vault's location.
The old man seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned, his eyes blazing like torches as he stared toward Wenlong's hiding place.
Wenlong's heart jolted, and he thought he had been exposed, but the old man merely frowned and continued on his way.
He continued his mental probing, cautiously following behind, and saw the old man enter a seemingly ordinary room.
The room was simply furnished, with nothing remarkable about it. Wenlong continued searching carefully with his mental power and finally discovered a mechanism beneath a floor tile.
Beyond the mechanism had to be a place where treasure was hidden. Wenlong did not act rashly, lest he invite trouble.
Being discovered here in daylight would be little different from throwing my life away. Only after nightfall will this become my domain. I'll just have to endure a little longer.
Now that he had located the Treasure Vault, there was no hurry. He ate some dry rations and enjoyed another long, sound sleep in the grain storehouse.
Another day passed in the blink of an eye before Wenlong leisurely woke. Seeing that it was already dark, he ate some more dry rations before beginning his mental probing.
Let's see whether I can empty their Treasure Vault, then kill a few of their important figures.
That would throw their Lineage into chaos and further weaken their strength, reducing the obstacles to his plan to exterminate the Kai.
Under cover of night, Wenlong quietly approached the place he had discovered during the day, repeatedly inspecting it with his mental power.
At last, he discovered the ingenious mechanism. Seeing clear marks on it, he reached out and pressed down, and a door opened without a sound.
Naturally, Wenlong dared not be careless in a place fitted with hidden mechanisms. Fearing traps, he only dared advance after searching with his mental power.
It would hardly be worth taking a nasty fall here. I still have lofty ambitions left to fulfill.
Thus, he only dared act after carefully probing ahead all the way. Still, under the scrutiny of Wenlong's mental power, every arrangement inside lay fully exposed.
He disabled and dismantled the simple traps one by one, easily entering the Kai family's Treasure Vault. Inside, gold and silver were piled into little mountains.
How much blood and sweat from other Lineages had gone into this? Through plunder and coercion, the Kai had brutalized countless Lineages of other surnames.
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