Chapter 249: The Thieves

The night was dark, without a moon.

Wang Lin lay on the bed in the back room of his shop, a wine pot beside him, which he occasionally picked up for a sip. In the past year, Wang Lin could clearly feel that his mindset had slowly detached itself from the life of a Cultivator and become like that of a Mortal.

For example, he now rarely meditated or absorbed Qi, which would have been impossible before. During those four hundred years of escape and slaughter, he almost constantly kept the spiritual power within his body circulating, using every moment to improve his cultivation. His life was filled with schemes, the strong preying on the weak, where a single misstep could lead to death.

He had almost never lain down to sleep as he did now; even deep into the night, he would spend it in meditation.

This kind of life, though thrilling and passionate, carried a hint of regret and lacked a touch of peace; it was incomplete.

Now, Wang Lin's life had no struggles. Though plain, it was like a gentle stream, cleansing his soul.

This feeling was extremely unfamiliar to Wang Lin at first, but as time slowly passed, his mindset gradually accepted the present, living the life of a Mortal.

Picking up the wine pot and taking a sip, Wang Lin suddenly frowned.

At this moment, two Cultivators arrived outside his shop. Their bodies floated swiftly like Wandering Souls. One of them waved his right hand, and the main door of Wang Lin's shop silently opened without a sound.

The two quickly flashed inside. Immediately after, the shop door was caught by a gust of wind and closed.

Inside the shop, the two men's eyes flickered as they stared at the surrounding wood carvings, revealing shock. But immediately, the shock disappeared, replaced by endless greed.

"There are so many Magic Treasures!" one of the Cultivators gasped, picking up a nearby statue. He concentrated on it, and his body instantly trembled, almost dropping the wood carving.

The greed in his eyes grew stronger. With a flick of his sleeve, the wood carvings on the shop shelves one by one fell into his Storage Pouch.

The other Cultivator squatted down and rummaged through a wooden box nearby. He then suddenly exclaimed, holding a half-finished human-shaped wood carving. His face instantly turned an unusual shade of red, and with a sweet taste in his throat, he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

He quickly threw away the wood carving in his hand, as if it were an ancient Vicious Beast, and hastily retreated a few steps.

It was no wonder he couldn't bear it. The carver of this half-finished wood carving was the Demonic Lord of Six Desires. Although it was incomplete, the spiritual power contained within it was equivalent to that of a Nascent Soul Stage Peak. With this person's Core Formation stage cultivation, it was simply impossible to endure.

Fortunately, he let go quickly, and the spiritual power within the wood carving was not activated; otherwise, his outcome would not have been as simple as spitting blood.

The moment the wood carving fell to the ground, it was suddenly caught by an invisible large hand and landed in the hand of Wang Lin, who had walked out from the back room. Wang Lin casually placed the statue aside, held the wine pot in his right hand, took a sip, and said, "Four thousand five hundred taels of gold in total. Hand it over."

The moment Wang Lin appeared, the two men froze, staring at Wang Lin with horror.

Especially the Cultivator who had just been injured by the spiritual power within the wood carving, his face was pale, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

In their eyes, Wang Lin's appearance was too bizarre. Before entering the shop, they had clearly used their Divine Sense to probe, and although they detected someone lying in the back room, that person was merely a Mortal.

But now, this Mortal in their eyes had appeared silently without them noticing, like a bolt from the blue, filling their hearts with dread.

Coupled with the Magic Treasure wood carvings appearing in the shop, even if these two were foolish, they instantly understood that the person before them must be a Senior expert, far beyond what they could provoke.

The two looked at each other, then quickly and respectfully whispered, "Greetings, Senior. This Junior is a Disciple of the White Cloud Sect. We have offended you greatly today, and we hope Senior will be magnanimous."

"Four thousand five hundred taels of gold, do you have it?" Wang Lin said, his voice calm.

The two looked at each other. As Cultivators, they might have some Spirit Stones, but they didn't have that much gold and silver, which were Mortal currency. Of course, if they were given time to prepare, they could produce not just four thousand, but even forty thousand.

Wang Lin saw through their thoughts and sighed. With a call of his right hand, the Cultivator's Storage Pouch was snatched from his waist through the air. He lightly wiped it, and the Cultivator's face instantly flushed. He retreated a few steps, swallowing a mouthful of blood he had almost spat out.

The reverence in his eyes grew even stronger. Wang Lin's wipe had already removed his Divine Sense.

With a gentle shake, all the wood carvings inside flew out, landing one by one in their original positions on the surrounding shelves, without any error, as if they had never been moved.

"Go back. Next time you come, bring enough gold," Wang Lin said, casually waving his right hand. The Storage Pouch was immediately sent back to the Cultivator's hand. Then, the two men's bodies were uncontrollably pushed by a great force, crashing towards the shop door.

The moment they crashed towards the door, it suddenly opened. After the two were swept out, the door closed.

This sweep carried them more than ten li away. After the two Cultivators finally managed to stop themselves, their eyes showed unimaginable horror and fear. In their eyes, the young man in the shop had unfathomable cultivation.

The two were silent for a moment, both secretly calling themselves lucky. They looked at each other, then hurriedly left. These two were precisely the two Cultivators from the Prince's Estate.

They had noticed the extraordinary nature of the wood carvings and, after questioning, found Xu Tao, who was enjoying himself. That's why they rushed here overnight. However, after the scene they had just experienced, the two were utterly terrified and dared not have any designs on that shop again.

They did not know that Wang Lin's Divine Sense had already been left on their bodies. If they harbored any thoughts detrimental to Wang Lin, they would be instantly killed by his Divine Sense.

In fact, if these two knew Wang Lin, they would consider themselves quite lucky, because if it had been a year ago, their fate would have been nothing but death.

Wang Lin sat in the shop, took a sip of wine, sighed, and muttered to himself, "It's been a year since I killed anyone…" He shook his head, turned, and went back to the back room, lying on the bed to sleep.

Time flew by, and another two years passed. This was Wang Lin's third year in the capital.

Da Niu grew taller and stronger. A few more families moved into the surrounding neighborhood. The owner of the Kong Family Cloth Shop also died of severe illness, and the shop was transferred to someone else.

Da Niu's parents' faces gradually showed some faint wrinkles. Although they were still young, they couldn't withstand the erosion of time.

It's worth mentioning that in these two years, many neighbors came to propose marriage, but each time, Wang Lin politely declined.

The second son of Xu's shop also married a wife and had a chubby baby. When Xu Tao returned, he respectfully came to Wang Lin, presenting a hundred taels of gold, saying it was a tribute from His Royal Highness the Prince.

In fact, in these two years, every New Year, Xu Tao would come with a large amount of gold. Wang Lin did not decline and accepted it directly.

Spring turned to autumn, and days turned into months. In these two years, Wang Lin witnessed birth, aging, sickness, and death, feeling deeply moved.

He only meditated and absorbed Qi twice in these two years. He rarely even cared about his cultivation and hadn't introspected for a long time. As for the red mist outside his body, only a thin layer remained, all condensed into three red beads, which he put into his Storage Pouch.

According to his analysis, when the fourth red bead condensed, the red mist would completely dissipate.

The two Cultivators from back then came once in these two years. After offering a large amount of Mortal gold and silver, they respectfully took away three wood carvings.

In these two years, Wang Lin's shop gradually gained a reputation in the entire west of the city. Although there weren't many customers, it was still much better than not having opened for a year initially.

However, the most frequent visitors to Wang Lin's shop were not Mortals, but Cultivators. Basically, six out of ten people were Cultivators.

Every Cultivator who came here bought wood carvings with Mortal gold and silver. Over two years, many wood carvings were sold, and Wang Lin had accumulated a large box of gold and silver.

The matter of the extraordinary person in the West City of the capital gradually gained a certain reputation in the Cultivation World there.

Wang Lin's mindset remained peaceful and unchanged. What he sought was a Mortal mindset, to experience a Mortal's life, and to comprehend the Reincarnation of the Heavenly Dao. The shop was merely a tool for him to comprehend the Heavenly Dao, and so were the wood carvings.

Now, with the New Year approaching, the capital was filled with joy. Wang Lin walked out of his shop and sat by the doorway, watching the passersby outside. A deep sense of nostalgia appeared in his eyes.

This was the third New Year he had spent in the capital. Each time, the feeling was different, but one thing was constant: a remembrance of his childhood.

In the ironware shop directly opposite, Da Niu quickly ran out, holding some fireworks, playing excitedly. Seeing Da Niu, a trace of joy appeared in Wang Lin's eyes. This child, he had watched him grow up over these three years, from an eleven-year-old boy to a fourteen-year-old youth.

Last year, Da Niu couldn't stand his father's nagging anymore and started learning to forge ironware. However, whenever he had free time, he would still run to Wang Lin to watch him make wood carvings.

Although Da Niu didn't come as often anymore, the daily pot of fruit wine never stopped.

Setting off fireworks, Da Niu shouted and ran to Wang Lin, plopping down on a cold wooden bench beside him, not feeling the chill. He winked and said, "Uncle Wang, a few days ago I heard my dad say that Shopkeeper Lu from the east is going to marry his daughter to you. Why didn't you agree? I secretly saw his daughter, she's really pretty."

Wang Lin smiled slightly, patted Da Niu's head, and said, "Your uncle already has a wife."

"Ah? Really? Then why haven't I seen her?" Da Niu sprang up, his face full of surprise.

"She's waiting for me in a very distant place. One day, I will go find her." A hint of tenderness appeared in Wang Lin's eyes, and a female figure emerged in his mind.

"I know, Uncle Wang, you must have come to the capital to do business, planning to earn a lot of money so you can go back and marry your wife," Da Niu said with a chuckle.