No screams, no pleas for mercy, only the dull sound of iron piercing flesh. Eight thieves clad in nightwear, armed with great blades and machetes, were engulfed by the surging crowd of Lin Family Manor without a sound. When the crowd dissipated, all the palace lanterns at Lin Wanwan’s home were lit up, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daylight. Eight ragged bodies lay sprawled on the ground. Villagers gripping fish forks, their eyes bloodshot and their hands trembling slightly, felt an aftertaste of fear as they all looked at their clan leader. Clan Leader Lin glanced at the thieves, who had been turned into bloody gourds on the ground, and then looked at Hua Nong, standing pale behind the glazed door. He took a few steps forward and asked through the door, "Where is your wife? Was she disturbed by the thieves?" Hua Nong trembled as she replied, "No... no, she wasn’t." In the light behind her, Lin Wanwan walked down the stairs step by step to the door, ready to open it. Clan Leader Lin waved a hand to stop her: "Wanwan, don’t come out, this has nothing to do with you, go back to sleep peacefully." Having said this, he turned to the group of bewildered clan members and ordered, "Drag them away with the fishing nets, set sail, sink them in the sea!" Lin Mengbo emerged from the crowd, snatched a fishing net from the hands of a completely dazed clan member, and began to silently drag a corpse’s foot into the net. The clouds that blocked the moon were blown away by the wind, and the mess in the courtyard quickly vanished without a trace, not a single drop of blood was seen. It was washed clean by the silent Lin clan members who fetched bucket after bucket of pond water. Lin Wanwan, silent and slightly trembling, stitched the wound Kun Lun had been slashed by the thief. This was her first real practice after self-studying the Barefoot Doctor Manual. Previously, she had only practiced on pigskin. Sun Chuyao had already changed into clean clothes and wanted to come over to talk but was driven back to the servants’ quarters by Yun Shang. Everything seemed orderly again, except for the slight smell of blood suppressed by the disinfectant on Kun Lun. Outside in the courtyard, no trace remained. Hua Nong had already thrown up twice, Yun Shang three times, but it didn’t matter. After vomiting, they wiped their faces and appeared normal except for their excessively pale complexion. With the lights out again, the entire Lin Family Manor seemed to have returned to its previous tranquility, darkness swallowed everything. The sea appeared like a gaping maw, waves beating against the shore, an old fishing boat sinking and floating among the waves, barely visible. Only Lin Wanwan, lying in bed, found it difficult to sleep. Recalling the clan members silently and methodically handling the aftermath, Lin Wanwan’s understanding of these ancestors of the Lin clan from a thousand years ago reached a new level. No wonder they survived the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty. It wasn’t because they were hiding; they were fierce. People outside talk about how tough the sea folk are, and Lin Wanwan understood for the first time what toughness meant. A village both poor and fierce, who would dare provoke them? There’s not much benefit to be gained, but you could end up losing your life. When the thieves were first discovered, Lin Wanwan was still dealing with matters in the modern world. If she had returned half an hour later, she might not have known anything. Clan Leader Lin would have resolved everything. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveIꜰire.net Who targeted her? On the night of the twenty-ninth New Year’s Eve, they still came to her door? The thieves who came were all gone, even their knives were tied with hemp rope and stones and sunk into the sea. If Kun Lun hadn’t suffered some minor injuries, tonight would have seemed as if it never happened. The people in the front courtyard slept soundly, not a single one was awakened by the courtyard door. Little Qingyu also slept sprawled out in her silk quilt, completely unaware of the commotion outside. Children sleeping soundly would not know what had happened tonight. Lin Wanwan pulled the quilt out from under Little Qingyu’s leg, tucked her back in, and hugged her, deeply inhaling the milky scent from her body, finally feeling truly relieved. Although her body was transformed by the Space-Time Gate, becoming extraordinarily strong, although she had once hurt people out of righteousness, this was still different from killing. In ancient times without surveillance, human lives were like grass. The next day, the sun rose as usual. Lin Wanwan, who hadn’t slept well all night, stayed in bed. Early in the morning, when Little Qingyu woke up wanting to disturb Lin Wanwan, Yun Shang, who was on night watch outside, heard the commotion and came in to carry her out, hushing her, saying, "Madam didn’t sleep well last night. Little Missy, be good, we won’t disturb Mother. Hua Nong has made delicious rice wine dumplings for you!" Little Qingyu glanced at Lin Wanwan, who barely responded to her, then closed her eyes and fell back asleep, nodded, and let Yun Shang carry her out. Sitting cross-legged on her little stool eating dumplings, Little Qingyu looked at Yun Shang and Hua Nong, and curiously asked, "Auntie Hua Nong, Auntie Yun Shang, why are there dark circles under your eyes?" The two instinctively touched their eyes upon hearing this, Yun Shang said, "I couldn’t sleep out of joy thinking about the Exorcism and firecrackers during tonight’s New Year’s Eve, so that’s why the dark circles are there." Upon hearing this, Little Qingyu laughed, revealing a row of small rice teeth: "Oh, where’s the tiger mask Mother prepared for me? Bring it out for me later!" When Lin Wanwan came downstairs, she saw Little Qingyu with the mask, playing happily with the children next door like Little Crab and Big Ya. The small elephant kept in the backyard had also been let out and was merrily circling around with the children. After washing up and eating brunch, Lin Wanwan walked along the village path, watching the clan members busy preparing for the New Year, feeling a sense of disorientation. From their simple and honest faces, there was no trace of the fierce battle from last night! "Teacher Lin, good afternoon!" "Teacher Lin, come to my house for some steamed eel shang?" Everyone she met, regardless of age or gender, greeted her warmly. In this part of the village, she was a walking treasure, liked by everyone. In a large mansion in Wanghai Town, an elderly man with a goatee, dressed in fine silk and wearing a turban, was half-lying on an Imperial Concubine Couch, squinting and enjoying the punches and shoulder rubs from two young girls. A short distance in front of him stood a man who looked like a housekeeper, waiting for his orders. After a while, the old man opened his eyes and looked at him, saying, "Are you certain that none of the people who went out last night returned?" "Chief, it’s true that none of them came back." "Did you send someone to inquire in the countryside?" "We did. We have asked around in Dafeng Village, Lu Family Manor, Lin Family Manor, and haven’t heard anyone mention that there were thieves last night. Chief, should we report it to the authorities?" The old man snorted coldly, "Report to the authorities? Old Xu, you’re getting senile. You say report to the authorities, and I find it amusing. Leave and send someone to inquire again."