Chapter 160 The Crime is Discovered

Early the next morning, Lin Qi climbed out of the single bed in his dormitory, still feeling groggy. Shaking his heavy head, he sat on the bed in a daze for a moment before beginning to move his body, waving his arms and legs energetically.

The Profound Tiger Power roared through his meridians. A rushing sound, audible only to Lin Qi himself, spread continuously inside his body, causing his internal organs, muscles, tendons, and bones to vibrate in unison. Like a fierce tiger sprinting through the forest, within just a few breaths, the Profound Tiger Power completed nine rapid circulation cycles through his meridians. Only then did Lin Qi jump out of bed, twisting his hips and rolling his neck as he always did.

His joints popped with crisp, cracking sounds, and his entire body was fully limbered up. Exhaling a long, heavy breath, he expelled all the stagnant air that had accumulated inside his body throughout the night. Lin Qi instantly felt refreshed. Humming a little tune and swaying his hips, he bounded into the washroom to take care of his personal hygiene.

After rinsing his body with ice-cold water and rubbing his skin red with a rough towel, Lin Qi, in an exceptionally good mood, threw his head back and let out three loud laughs. The mere thought of the rare and precious jewels belonging to Dragon City that were now stored in his leg chain made a brilliant, prosperous vista bloom before his eyes. His mood was wonderful—unimaginably, wonderfully good.

Those jewels had all been plundered from Number One, Holy Glory Street, and represented the most valuable batch. Every single gem had its own provenance and belonged to the ranks of rare, antique-grade treasures. The wealthy and noble families across the continent, who were constantly in urgent need of various antiques and precious items to maintain their prestige, would undoubtedly spend a fortune to bid on these priceless rarities.

And yet, as of now, they all belonged to Lin Qi!

Having just finished his morning exercise, Lin Qi’s entire body was warm and glowing, his muscles and bones brimming with strength. Humming a triumphant little tune, he put on a clean martial arts uniform, tossed the clothes he had worn the previous two days into a large wooden barrel in the washroom to soak in water, wrapped himself in a bearskin overcoat, and carefully reset the three mechanical traps in his dormitory.

With everything properly put away, Lin Qi stepped out of the dormitory humming a song and pulled the door shut with a heavy thud.

As usual, not a ghost was to be seen in the dormitory building besides Lin Qi. He glanced to the left and right, shook his head, and walked out of the building. Yulian and Enzo were not waiting for him outside the dormitory. Enzo had been suddenly conscripted late last night by the instructors of the Military Academy to join the winter campus patrol and simply could not get away. Yulian, on the other hand, had been gathering information around the Tixian estate and had not yet returned. Could it be that last night Tixian had stubbornly forced Al-Ham and the others to stay at the manor and refused to let them leave?

Well, interesting. Things were getting more and more interesting.

Fingering a shiny copper coin in his hand, Lin Qi stepped out of the campus with a relaxed stride. At a small tavern outside the school gates, he bought a black bread sandwich with raw ham slices for five copper coins, and a large mug of light beer for ten copper coins. This was his breakfast. Standing before the tavern counter, he wolfed down this meal, which could hardly be called delicious but definitely filled the stomach. Wiping his mouth, Lin Qi resumed his leisurely stroll toward Number One, Holy Glory Street.

As he walked, Lin Qi nimbly smeared and rubbed various substances onto his face and hair. Within moments, his eyes turned a pale green, his hair shifted to a light gray, and the bridge of his nose became much more prominent. In particular, he daubed two faint touches of rouge near his cheekbones, making them appear much higher. In an instant, he had been transformed into the spitting image of a pure-blooded Westerner.

Swinging his slightly fleshy body, Lin Qi sauntered along for over an hour until he finally reached Orchid Road. A crowd of idle loungers had gathered there as usual, most of them leaning sideways against the roadside walls with their eyes fixed firmly on the grand gates of Number One, Holy Glory Street.

Last night, Lin Qi and his companions had broken in by breaching the back courtyard wall, while the front entrance had remained completely undisturbed. No one had any idea what had transpired here the previous night. Wearing a peculiar smile, Lin Qi leaned lazily against a white magnolia tree, pulling his head into his shoulders as he glanced casually from side to side.

After waiting for a long half-hour, the sound of horse hooves echoed from afar. Two four-wheeled carriages and a guard of over thirty horsemen turned in from Holy Glory Street. The two carriages rolled forward side by side, and as the carriage window was pushed open, Tixian’s pale, delicate face was revealed. With a smile, he spoke to the carriage beside him, "Mr. Higgins’s sonnet is full of charm. Heavens, how could he possibly capture a maiden’s romantic yearning like that? It’s simply marvelous, truly too marvelous."

Laughing heartily, Tixian continued with a grin, "And what about Mr. Belphegor’s little waltz—wasn’t it exquisite? Just like a nightingale singing clearly in the forest. Oh, dum-dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum-dum, simply wonderful, beyond description. Well, my two esteemed young ladies, you will agree to my request next time and dance with me, won’t you?"

Tixian intentionally or unintentionally raised his voice so that every idle lounger on Orchid Road could hear his loud proclamation. Lin Qi could not help rolling his eyes. This fellow had kept the guests trapped at his mansion all night and still hadn't managed to share a single dance with them; that was utterly pathetic.

The idlers immediately scattered like a swarm of flies disturbed by violence. Some rushed up to the gates of Number One, Holy Glory Street, to dig for more detailed gossip, while others hurried off into the distance to carry the news back to their respective masters. Naturally, the reports they delivered would undoubtedly be spiced up with a touch of sensationalism so they could secure a larger reward—stories such as the esteemed young ladies Ya and Ling spending the night at Tixian’s estate, the three of them sharing romantic poetry and serenades together, and the like.

Seeing those idlers scurrying about in every direction, Lin Qi also swayed his body and edged toward the front entrance of Number One, Holy Glory Street. He was dying to see the expressions on Al-Ham and the others when they discovered their home had been burglarized. As the poor souls who had contributed a king's ransom in wealth to him, Lin Qi genuinely felt a tiny sliver of pity for them. What kind of punishment would Al-Ham and the others face after losing so much precious property?

Wearing a subtle, mysterious smile, Lin Qi edged closer while giving a very subtle hand gesture to Yulian, who was trailing near Tixian’s carriage.

Yulian smiled faintly, giving a slight wave of his hand with his fingers curled into an odd shape. Lin Qi immediately knew that Tixian had been very happy and excited last night; the terrible piece of advice Lin Qi had fed him had worked, and the two lovely young maidens had indeed been forced to visit his estate.

Lin Qi smiled as he watched the two carriages roll into the courtyard. Then, he quietly waited for the time it takes to brew a pot of tea before a piercing police whistle suddenly shrilled from within Number One, Holy Glory Street.

A dozen of Tixian’s guards rushed out at top speed, blowing short, frantic, ear-piercing notes on their whistles.

Following the whistle blasts, the thunderous sound of approaching horse hooves echoed from afar. The Dragon Cavalry garrisoned near Holy Glory Street had been mobilized.

Yet even faster than the Dragon Cavalry came a pack of sprinting Copper-Hats.