Chapter 326: Encountering an Ancient Martial Arts Master Again!

Luo Renhai on the other end of the phone heard this, unable to contain his excitement, his breathing quickened:

Great, Lin Yuan! You must come to the academy tomorrow; we'll not only discuss the competition schedule, but also talk about the professional recovery in traditional Chinese medicine—this can't be done without you!

Lin Yuan held the phone and replied softly: "Okay, after I finish my work at the Su Group tomorrow, I'll come see you."

After hanging up, Lin Yuan put his phone on the desk.

His gaze returned to the line that read "Professor Dong, this time I'll prove it"; his hesitation vanished completely, leaving only resolve.

At ten o'clock at night, Lin Yuan had just finished washing up and changed into pajamas when his phone suddenly rang; the three characters "Mu Lingxue" on the screen were especially conspicuous.

He frowned, but still slid to answer.

Lin Yuan, you've been drinking. Come quickly to the Goddess Bar Qing Chun Lu branch; we're still staking out that general manager—tonight it's crowded, we might run into him! Mu Lingxue's voice came through the earpiece, tinged with urgent excitement.

Lin Yuan leaned against the headboard, his tone full of resignation: "Still staking out? We've tried several times before and never saw anyone—will tonight be any different?"

Trying is better than giving up! I'm already at the door, and Yin Yirou is here too—hurry over, the three of us together will definitely be stronger than me alone! After saying that, Mu Lingxue didn't give Lin Yuan a chance to refuse and hung up directly.

Lin Yuan stared at the darkened phone screen, sighed helplessly, got up, pulled a black jacket from the closet, and headed out——

He knew that if he didn't go, Mu Lingxue would call him over and over until he gave in.

By the time Lin Yuan drove to the entrance of the Goddess Bar, Mu Lingxue was already leaning against a lamppost, scrolling on her phone.

Yin Yirou stood beside her, wearing a simple white T-shirt and light-blue jeans, lacking the sternness of her forensic uniform and instead showing a gentle, girl-next-door softness.

Lin Yuan walked over, his gaze landing on Yin Yirou, and he asked casually:

"Forensic Doctor Yin, are you really free tonight? Do you not need to handle the follow-up to the 907 case?"

Yin Yirou's body tensed imperceptibly at the sound of Lin Yuan's voice.

A flash suddenly crossed her mind of the few days ago when Lin Yuan staunched her bleeding, his lips brushing her thigh and fingers……

"The case currently has no new leads; Officer Mu called me over, so I came."

Mu Lingxue put away her phone, tapped Lin Yuan's shoulder, and led the way into the bar:

"Don't loiter at the entrance—go inside and find a window seat so we can watch the door; as soon as that general manager shows up, he won't escape our eyes."

The three entered the bar, and deafening music immediately enveloped their ears while colorful lights flickered across the dance floor crowd.

Mu Lingxue, familiar with the layout, weaved through the crowd, found a booth with a view of the door, and waved for Lin Yuan and Yin Yirou to sit down.

After the waiter set down three cocktails, Mu Lingxue lowered her voice and explained the reason for their stakeout to the two:

"The 907 case has been under investigation for almost half a month with no sign of the bandits' hideout; I always feel something's off about the Goddess Bar—the general manager hides away every day, possibly colluding with the bandits, after all the bar's heavy foot traffic makes it easy to hide people and pass messages."

Lin Yuan heard this and was almost dazed……

No, this beautiful policewoman's train of thought is really weird!

How can this even be linked to the bandits?

Lin Yuan really wanted to explain, he certainly didn't want to be wrongfully accused for no reason!

But he really didn't dare to explain.

He was afraid his dealings in the martial world would be discovered……

Lin Yuan could only let out an embarrassed cough and say: "Didn't we already check the bar's registration info? We didn't see any problems."

"Surface information is surely clean; if there were a problem it would have been found already. Besides, their general manager has never shown up—there must be something up!" Mu Lingxue set down her drink, her eyes gleaming with determination: "Tonight we need to pay closer attention—for instance, whether any suspicious person contacts the staff, or whether the general manager might slip in through the back door."

Yin Yirou sat beside them, hardly interjecting.

She merely occasionally lifted her glass for a sip, her gaze occasionally drifting to Lin Yuan…… Thinking back to their earlier intimate contact, her emotions grew somewhat complex.

The three chatted on and off, and time slowly crept to eleven o'clock.

The dance floor grew more crowded, yet the general manager never appeared at the bar's entrance, and Mu Lingxue's face gradually showed disappointment.

Just then, three men in floral shirts staggered over.

One, reeking of strong alcohol with dyed yellow hair…… his gaze darted nervously at Yin Yirou.

The yellow‑haired man grinned, showing his teeth: "Hey, this girl's really pretty—come drink a few cups with us brothers, I'll treat you to the most expensive liquor!"

The other, a tall and thin man, fixed his gaze on Mu Lingxue and reached out to touch her hair: "And this beauty, let's sing together—don't be like a block of wood; when you go out to play, you've got to loosen up!"

Mu Lingxue instantly furrowed her brows, her eyes turning icy cold, and she lifted her hand to slap away the tall man's hand.

Mu Lingxue snapped coldly: "Get lost! Can't you see we're talking? Don't bother us!"

The yellow‑haired man, provoked by Mu Lingxue's attitude, reached out to grab her wrist and snarled: "You think I'm giving you face? You still dare to give us brothers the cold shoulder—if you won't drink with us today, you're not leaving!"

Mu Lingxue reacted instantly, grabbing his wrist with a reverse grip and twisting it hard!

With a soft "crack", the yellow‑haired man winced in pain, gritting his teeth as he yelled: "Ah! My hand! You dare to strike me?"

The other two men, seeing this, also lunged forward, drunk and reckless!

One aimed a sneak attack at Mu Lingxue's back, trying to shove her over.

The other reached out to grab Yin Yirou's arm, shouting: "You dare hit my brother? You're asking for death!"

Lin Yuan had been sitting aside, unmoving, but seeing someone about to ambush Mu Lingxue and then lay hands on Yin Yirou……

Lin Yuan's eyes instantly hardened; he rose and kicked the attacker square in the gut!

That man flew off like a torn sack, slamming into the booth's armrest and groaning in pain.

The man reaching for Yin Yirou froze for a moment, still dazed…… Lin Yuan had already closed the distance to him!

Lin Yuan lifted his hand, seized the man's collar, and with a light toss flung him beside the yellow‑haired man; the three drunkards crashed to the floor in a tangled heap, disheveled.

The yellow‑haired man scrambled to his feet, clutching his twisted, painful wrist, alcohol and rage surging upward as he pointed at Lin Yuan and shouted:

"You dare hit us? You motherf***er, just wait!!"

The tall, thin man fumbled out his phone from his pocket, shakily opened the TikTok recording function, and pointed the wobbling lens at Lin Yuan:

"Hey, somebody come! Someone's deliberately beating us up here! Where's the security at the Goddess Bar? Is there any law left? I'm going to post this on TikTok and let you get internet‑shamed!"

Mu Lingxue, seeing this, already had her hand in her pocket feeling for her police ID.

She intended to flash it to identify herself, so that the bar's security wouldn't confuse right and wrong and complicate matters.

Soon this scene alerted the bar's security.

Four men in black security uniforms quickly walked through the crowd; the lead security captain, Pan Jia, first glanced at Lin Yuan, and upon seeing his face clearly, his pupils contracted slightly—

Huh? Isn't that Manager Lin?!

And how did this female police officer also...??

Security captain Pan Jia suppressed his shock and dared not make any eye contact with Lin Yuan.

Pan Jia still remembered Lin Yuan's reminder to keep his identity secret and not let this female police officer find out.

Pan Jia turned his head to look at the three men causing trouble, his face sinking with a 'swish': 'What are you arguing about here? Don't you know you can't cause trouble in the bar?'

Yellow-haired guy, like grabbing a lifeline, pointed at Lin Yuan and shouted urgently: 'Security big brother! He started it, hitting us first! We were just chatting with these two beauties, and he came over and threw us to the ground, even kicking us!'

Security captain Pan Jia didn't even listen to the yellow-haired guy's explanation, giving a glance to the security behind him!

Two security guards immediately stepped forward, snatched the phone from the thin tall guy's hand, violently threw it to the ground, and even ground it with their soles, the screen instantly shattering like a spiderweb.

"Drunkenly harassing female customers, then daring to bite back and frame people?" Security captain Pan Jia pointed at the yellow-haired guy's nose and scolded, his voice full of anger: "Our bar hates this kind of hooligan behavior the most; if we don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is!"

Yin Yirou sat in the booth, watching the security help them without hesitation; she felt a bit dazed?

Yin Yirou quietly tugged at Mu Lingxue's sleeve and whispered: "This bar's security is too righteous, isn't it? They didn't even investigate, just spoke up for us directly."

Mu Lingxue put away the hand that had just touched her police ID, her brows slightly furrowed—

She always felt something was off; the security's reaction was too decisive, as if they already knew whom to help, with no suspicion of Lin Yuan's intentions at all.

Security captain Pan Jia gave the troublemakers no chance to excuse themselves, raising his hand and throwing a punch at the yellow-haired guy's back!

The yellow-haired guy groaned in pain and fell to the ground again.

The other two security guards also joined in, their fists landing on the arms and legs of the three men, not hitting vital spots but hurting enough.

"Stop hitting, stop hitting! We were wrong!" the thin tall guy, beaten and curled up on the ground, kept begging for mercy: "We apologize! We apologize to the two ladies!"

Only then did security captain Pan Jia shout to stop.

Pan Jia shouted at the three troublemakers: "Stand straight and apologize to these two ladies! Your attitude must be sincere; if the two ladies don't forgive you, you won't be leaving this place today!"

Yellow-haired guy endured the pain, crawled up, head drooping, and mumbled to Mu Lingxue and Yin Yirou: "Yes... sorry, we shouldn't have harassed you, nor should we have framed this gentleman; we were wrong..."

Lin Yuan stood aside, silent the whole time, merely glancing at the security captain and lightly nodding his head—

This subtle gesture neither revealed his identity nor failed to give the security a response.

Seeing Lin Yuan's nod, security captain Pan Jia felt more assured and waved his hand at the troublemakers: "Get out! Don't let me see you in the bar again; if you dare cause trouble again, I'll break your legs!"

The three troublemakers scrambled out of the bar, not even daring to pick up their broken phones.

The crowd in the dance floor gradually returned to its liveliness, as if the earlier disturbance had never happened.

Mu Lingxue turned her head to look at Lin Yuan and asked doubtfully: "Have you been to this bar before? Why does it feel like the security knows you?"

Lin Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly covered up: "Maybe they saw those guys really harassing you, felt guilty, and thus helped us; I'm also visiting the Qing Chun Lu branch for the first time."

Yin Yirou didn't think much, picked up the cocktail on the table, took a sip, and said smiling: "No matter what, thanks to you both today; otherwise we might have been entangled with them for half a day."

The security captain didn't dare linger, gave a glance to the security behind him, and quietly withdrew.

The three drank until 1 a. m., yet still didn't see the bar's general manager appear.

In the end, Mu Lingxue could only pay the bill and leave.

The three walked out of the bar.

The late-night neon dyed the stone pavement in front of the bar in all sorts of colors.

Mu Lingxue leaned against the doorframe, swayed a bit, raised her hand to rub her heavy temples, and muttered: "This general manager is too good at hiding; I've waited this long and still haven't seen him—next time I'll just bring a search warrant!"

Yin Yirou followed behind her, lightly placing a hand on her forehead.

The alcohol made her vision hazy with a thin mist, her steps unsteady as if walking on cotton.

Hearing Mu Lingxue's words, she only gave a soft 'um,' lacking even the strength to retort.

Lin Yuan stepped forward quickly, first steadying Mu Lingxue, who was about to bump into the doorpost, then reached out to shield Yin Yirou from the incoming night wind—

The night wind carried a chill, making her shiver slightly.

"Don't push yourself, get in the car first; I'll send you home, we can talk about anything tomorrow." Lin Yuan said.

Earlier while drinking, Mu Lingxue and Yin Yirou had alcohol, but Lin Yuan did not.

He had been drinking non-alcoholic beverages, so he could still drive.

Mu Lingxue's Range Rover was parked by the roadside, its black body gleaming coldly under the streetlights.

Lin Yuan opened the passenger door and carefully helped Yin Yirou get inside.

He then went to the back seat and fastened Mu Lingxue's seat belt—

She was so drunk that upon sitting in the car she leaned against the seatback, her gaze somewhat unfocused.

Lin Yuan got into the driver's seat, turned the key, the engine emitted a low rumble, and gradually merged into the late-night traffic.

The car interior was quiet, except for Mu Lingxue's occasional soft muttering.

Yin Yirou leaned against the passenger seatback, closed her eyes, her long lashes casting a faint shadow below, her breathing gradually steadying.

After driving for about ten minutes, Lin Yuan unintentionally glanced at the right-side rearview mirror, his pupils slightly contracting—

A black motorcycle followed behind, about ten meters away from their car, the rider wearing a full black helmet, not revealing any part of his face.

Lin Yuan didn't immediately make a fuss, just continued to focus on driving.

After passing two intersections, Lin Yuan looked toward the back…

That motorcycle still followed behind, neither far nor near, neither overtaking nor lagging, like a shadow that couldn't be shaken off.

Lin Yuan's brows furrowed slightly, his fingers lightly tapped the steering wheel, and he whispered a reminder:

"Officer Mu, it seems we're being followed."