Could it have been someone Wang Shun had made a mortal enemy of outside? But if they had truly come for revenge on Wang Shun, they could have attacked him on his way home or slipped straight into his house. Why go to all the trouble of coming to the rice shop and making such a commotion?
Just as Cheng Ming was puzzling over it to no avail, Cheng Zhiwei, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. "Grandfather, Patriarch Lin, in my view, since this person chose to strike at Granary Full of Fortune and acted so brazenly, I fear it was not simply a matter of venting his anger. If he could come and go so easily at Granary Full of Fortune today, there's no guarantee he won't target the Lin Family's other businesses tomorrow."
Lin Hong's expression changed. "Miss Zhiwei, you mean..."
Cheng Zhiwei's eyes were clear. "This person is bold because his skills are great, and he also seems hostile toward the Lin Family. Why don't we turn his own scheme against him?"
"Patriarch Lin can secretly strengthen the defenses of the other important businesses under his name, while leaving one or two openings in certain places to lure him into striking again. As long as he dares to return, we can spread a net from heaven to earth and lie in wait for the hare, capturing him in one stroke!"
"Brilliant!" Lin Hong's eyes lit up at once. "Miss Zhiwei, your plan is brilliant! We'll do just that!"
He immediately ordered the steward to gather all the skilled fighters in the residence and secretly strengthen the defenses of the Lin Family's shops, especially important businesses such as its banks and pawnshops. At the same time, following Cheng Zhiwei's suggestion, he relaxed security somewhat at a few less important shops, setting out bait.
Before long, the entire Lin Family had been mobilized. And it wasn't just the Lin Family. The other powerful and wealthy families in the capital who heard about the incident also feared for their own safety and hastened to tighten security at their residences and shops.
Throughout the capital, the very sound of the wind and the cries of cranes put people on edge.
Meanwhile, Chen Ye, the instigator of it all, sat leisurely in his little room in the shared courtyard, taking stock of the previous night's gains.
[Name: Chen Ye] [Class: Nightwalker (lv3)] [Talent: Child of Shadow] [Skills: Deft Hands lv10, Swift Blade lv10, Running on Eaves lv10, Shadow Concealment lv1] [Shadow Concealment]: A skill exclusive to Nightwalkers. Allows the user to actively merge into the shadows, completely concealing their form and presence for a short time, as if they had vanished from the face of the earth. The higher the skill level, the longer the duration and the fewer the flaws.
In just one night, his class had risen from lv2 to lv3, and he had even gained such a practical new skill.
Chen Ye slowly let out a breath of turbid air, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
It seemed his guess had been right.
For advancing his class, cultivating behind closed doors was far too inefficient. The real shortcut was to do things closely related to the class itself.
A roof-running thief relied on stealing.
A Nightwalker, then, naturally relied on stealth and slaughter!
Last night, he had infiltrated Granary Full of Fortune, killed a wicked man, and distributed money and grain. That whole series of actions had perfectly matched the core of the Nightwalker class, which was why his experience had shot upward like a rocket.
Just then, Fang Tao's voice came from outside the door.
"Xiao Ye, come out and eat!"
Chen Ye gathered his thoughts and pushed open the door.
For once, the little square table in the courtyard was laden with several hearty dishes. There was even a jug of warmed wine, wisps of steam rising from it.
"Shaojun, what's the occasion? Such a feast?" Chen Ye was a little surprised.
"Hahaha, a happy occasion, of course!" Fang Tao's face was flushed, and he looked unusually excited.
"You've all heard about last night, right?"
"More than heard about it," a fellow disciple beside him said animatedly.
"The whole city's buzzing about it now. They say a masked hero visited Granary Full of Fortune at night, killed that blackhearted shopkeeper, and gave away all the grain the Lin Family had hoarded. Good heavens, that's the Lin Family we're talking about! What he did was fucking uplifting!"
Fang Tao patted his chest proudly. "You bet! We don't know which senior expert it was, but who else besides our Rong Character Gate could have done something like that? What do you call this? Ridding the people of a scourge, the mark of a chivalrous thief!"
"Come on, everyone, sit down! Today we have to share a good drink and celebrate the appearance of another top expert in our Rong Character Gate!"
Everyone roared their approval and took their seats.
The atmosphere was more spirited than ever, and every face wore the excitement of shared pride.
Fang Tao personally filled a cup for each of them, then raised his high. "Come! We may not have had the fortune to meet this expert, but the bond is there! Brothers of the Rong Character Gate, let's drink a toast to him from afar!"
"To the expert!"
"To the hero!"
Everyone raised their cups and drained them in one gulp, their faces full of reverence and longing.
Chen Ye raised his cup with them and drank. The fiery liquor slid down his throat into his belly, kindling a blaze.
He looked at their excited faces and laughed inwardly. If they knew that the "expert" with wondrous abilities they were talking about was sitting among them right now, he wondered what they would think.
One cup of wine opened Fang Tao's floodgates.
"You have no idea," he said, lowering his voice with a boastful air. "First thing this morning, Uncle summoned me over and immediately asked if I knew who this senior was."
"Of course I didn't, but Uncle told me to keep an ear out. He said that if I could get in touch with this expert, I had to treat him with courtesy. When I came out from Uncle's place, boy, people from the other gates all crowded around to ask me for news. You should've seen how polite they were!"
Fang Tao talked with spittle flying, as if he himself were the moon surrounded by stars.
"Our Rong Character Gate has really earned itself some face this time."
Their blood boiled as they listened, as though they themselves had become that hero admired by all.
Only Chen Ye continued eating in silence.
Fang Tao noticed him and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Xiao Ye, you have to work hard," he said earnestly. "With your talent, if you're willing to put in the effort, you might become a great figure like this senior one day. Then your big brother here can bask in your reflected glory!"
Chen Ye looked up, met Fang Tao's expectant gaze, and nodded seriously. "I will, Shaojun."
The feast ended, and night once again enveloped the capital.
When the last light in the shared courtyard went out and all was silent, a dark figure slipped quietly from the little room. He disturbed no one, not even stirring a breath of wind.
Chen Ye merged into the night once more.
Now, with the Child of Shadow talent, he moved through the night like a fish swimming in water, naturally and without a sound.
His breathing, heartbeat, and footsteps all became one with the darkness. Even face-to-face with him, an ordinary person might not notice his presence.
He first came to a silk shop belonging to the Lin Family in the western part of the city.
From a distance, the shop entrance was brightly lit, and only two yawning clerks stood guard, seemingly lax in their vigilance.
But Chen Ye cast a single glance from a distant rooftop and could not help letting out a cold laugh.
Within his field of vision, at least seven or eight skilled fighters with long, steady breaths lay hidden in the shadows around the silk shop. On the second floor of the teahouse opposite, a window stood half open, and the cold gleam of a crossbow bolt could faintly be seen flashing past.
Lax in the open, vigilant in secret, lying in wait for the hare.
Not all the Lin Family were fools, then. They knew to set a trap and wait for him to take the bait.
Unfortunately, they had gotten one thing wrong.
He was not fixated on the Lin Family alone.
The only reason he had chosen Granary Full of Fortune as his first target was that it was closest to the disaster victims in the southern part of the city, making it convenient to distribute the grain.
How many of the powerful and wealthy families in the capital had clean backsides? When it came to committing evil and hoarding goods to drive up prices, the Lin Family didn't even rank among the worst.
Since you Lin Family people are already prepared, I'll just pick another family.
With that thought, Chen Ye's figure flashed and vanished completely into the darkness, like a fish entering the sea, leaving no trace behind.