CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 38: THIEVES COME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

"Chengyu! What were you trying to tell us downstairs just now?" As soon as Gu Chengyu and his group arrived at his room, Sun Xian couldn’t wait to ask.

Earlier in the main hall, he noticed Gu Chengyu’s serious expression and remembered the few people he had seen earlier, raising some suspicions in his mind!

"Yes, Chengyu, is something wrong?" Ye Zhiqiu also asked with curiosity.

"Did you notice the people at the table next to us just now? Did you find anything unusual?" Gu Chengyu sat by the table, and Ming Mo immediately served tea for everyone!

"You noticed too? I thought something was off with those people. We should be cautious, especially Chengyu!" Among the group, Sun Xian had been studying the longest and considered himself the senior student, so he felt responsible for looking out for his juniors. Besides, he had met all kinds of people before and prided himself on having a keen eye.

"What’s off about them? Aren’t they just laborers in the Prefecture? They’re just poor folks! And why should Little Uncle be more careful?" Gu Wanhua wondered, not having seen anything wrong himself, except that those people had glanced at their dishes several times, which was understandable since they probably didn’t get to eat such things often!

"Haha! Look at your Little Uncle, blatantly saying I have Silver on me! I’m a fat sheep!" Sun Xian glanced at Gu Chengyu and laughed heartily.

Gu Wanhua and He Shunian turned to look at Gu Chengyu. Now that it was pointed out, it seemed true! Gu Chengyu was dressed in a sky-blue silk robe with a jade ring hanging at his waist, looking every bit like a noble son!

"Oh? Now that you mention it, it really seems that way!" Gu Wanhua suddenly realized. Could those people have been eyeing Little Uncle’s Silver? That would be a miscalculation. Little Uncle might come from a family with Silver, but he wasn’t a deeply rooted noble son, so he couldn’t possibly carry much Silver on him!

Even Ye Zhiqiu now had a smile on his face!

Gu Chengyu felt helpless. The clothes were made by his second elder sister, and the silk wasn’t particularly fine to him. The jade ring was bought by his mother, who insisted he couldn’t dress shabbily in the bustling Prefecture, so she forced him to wear it, even buying several for him to change!

"What’s so funny? Actually, I’m not worried. You all know I have some martial arts skills. It’s you who should be careful!" Gu Chengyu rolled his eyes at them, feeling disheartened by their carefree attitude, despite his concerns!

After laughing, Sun Xian thought about their situation and grew serious. He was the most stable among them, and when traveling, he naturally had to take care of his juniors.

"Later, we’ll go to Manager Niu to find out more about these people. In any case, everyone should stay alert while sleeping tonight, watching Silver and valuables carefully, lest they get stolen!"

"No way! We need to plan a strategy and let Manager Niu know as well!" Ye Zhiqiu was very protective of his Silver and would definitely cry if it was stolen, wouldn’t he?

That night, a full moon hung high in the sky. The night sky was clear, with no clouds, and the bright moonlight cast a silvery frost over the inn’s rooftop.

In the room on the third floor, Gu Chengyu was sleeping in bed, his breathing steady.

Suddenly, it seemed as if a gust of smoke blew in from outside the door. After a while, Gu Chengyu’s breathing noticeably deepened, as if he were sleeping even more soundly.

After a moment, there was a slight noise outside the door, and a bright, sharp knife slipped in from outside, sliding the lock to the right! Before long, the door opened, and Gu Chengyu remained unaware of it all!

Then, the door was gently pushed open, and two shadowy figures entered the room. The two shadows exchanged hand signals, one headed towards Gu Chengyu’s luggage while the other approached the sleeping Gu Chengyu!

The shadow slowly drew close to the bedside, just about to reach towards Gu Chengyu. Unexpectedly, the previously sleeping Gu Chengyu suddenly sprang up, kicking the shadow to the ground. The person crashed into a chair, making a loud noise!

The noise alerted the other person, who hurriedly dropped the bundle in his hand and charged forward with a dagger. Gu Chengyu leaped from the bed, snatched the dagger from the person’s hand with a quick move, and then punched the opponent’s face, followed by two more powerful punches!

The person immediately let out a scream, "Ah!" and then fell to the ground.

Seeing he was no match for Gu Chengyu, the shadow on the ground quickly stumbled up and tried to flee. How could Gu Chengyu let him escape? He rushed forward with a stride and kicked the shadow heavily, immobilizing him on the ground. This kick was no light one, aimed at the other’s knee bend, ensuring he couldn’t walk!

"Uncle! Are you okay?" The one rushing over, holding a bunch of ropes, was Gu Wanqian, prepared beforehand by Gu Chengyu and borrowed from Manager Niu!

"Quickly tie them up and check on Young Master He and the others. There are only two here; the other four are elsewhere, and we don’t know if Ming Mo can handle it alone!" Gu Chengyu donned his outer garment and hurried out the door.

Earlier, they had discussed that if those people wanted to steal, they were most likely to come for Gu Chengyu first. When Gu Chengyu sent Ming Mo out on an errand before, it might have gotten him noticed, leading them to think Gu Chengyu had Silver worth stealing!

Ming Mo might have martial arts talent but was still young and could let down his guard.

These folks seemed very cautious, so it was normal for Ming Mo not to notice! Before sleeping, Gu Chengyu had arranged for Ming Mo to hide in a dark spot, carefully observing He Shunian and the others’ room.

However, there had been no fighting on the third floor, so Ming Mo probably wasn’t there anymore; otherwise, he would’ve responded to such a loud noise! These people only sought wealth, so as long as He Shunian and the others were knocked out with smoke, the thieves would likely not harm their lives.

Of course, the recent scuffle was an accident since he had fought back!

Gu Chengyu quickly descended the stairs, hearing the sounds of a struggle in the courtyard outside. Ming Mo, fighting four people alone, wasn’t at a disadvantage and quickly subdued them. Gu Chengyu hastily summoned Manager Niu and his assistants hiding on the side to tie them up!

Manager Niu trembled as he came forward, tying them up one by one. These people had been kicked down by Ming Mo and couldn’t get up. They had no martial arts, only brute force. Now they realized they’d hit a hard wall.

Among them, two started shouting, "What are you doing? We’re farmers who came to the Prefecture to work, and we haven’t done anything wrong! Manager, take a good look, we’ve been staying at your inn for several days! Why are you arresting us?"

This made Manager Niu hesitant again, as he only knew what Gu Chengyu and the others had told him, and they hadn’t caught them red-handed!

"Your companions have already been caught, and you’re still trying to argue! No matter what you say, once it’s daylight, we’ll hand you over to the government and see how you’ll deny it!" Gu Chengyu said with a cold snort at the four.

"Hmph! If you did nothing wrong, then what were you doing prowling around our young master’s door in the middle of the night? And blowing smoke into other rooms?"

Ming Mo had seen everything clearly from outside. Two of them went inside to steal, and the other four weren’t idle either, planning to check out He Shunian and the others’ room. If it weren’t for the sudden fight with Gu Chengyu, they might have entered He Shunian’s room!