The tricycle drove along the rural road and soon arrived at the agreed-upon location.
Before them was a small inn with no name, its facade no larger than the convenience store next door.
Guo Linqing alighted from the vehicle and quickly received a message from the other party.
"Go upstairs, room 206 on the second floor, and wait for me there." The WeChat message read.
Guo Linqing felt a pang of anxiety.
If she were to enter that room, she would truly be in a desperate situation with no one to call for help.
Should she really go?
Just then, Lin Xiaotian suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
It turned out Lin Xiaotian had been following her all along.
Seeing Lin Xiaotian, Guo Linqing felt a considerable sense of relief. For some reason, she always felt incredibly secure when Lin Xiaotian was around.
Without further delay, Guo Linqing entered the small inn.
Not far away, Lin Xiaotian also saw Guo Linqing enter the inn.
"It seems the other party is here," Lin Xiaotian murmured.
"My men are already deployed nearby, and I have people inside the inn as well. Doctor Lin, rest assured, we will definitely catch that person later," a gruff voice replied.
This person was none other than the "big brother" from the social circles whom Lin Xiaotian had treated at the National Traditional Chinese Medicine Hall, named Yang Wei.
Yang Wei harbored animosity towards Cao Yuntian, and as the saying goes, an enemy's enemy is a friend. Moreover, Yang Wei was very grateful to Lin Xiaotian for curing his illness, and the two quickly formed an alliance.
Lin Xiaotian dared to send Guo Linqing here this time precisely because of Yang Wei's assistance.
"Doctor Lin, my men have received news; Doctor Guo has gone upstairs," Yang Wei reported.
"Mhm, mhm!" Lin Xiaotian nodded.
"Doctor Lin, please rest assured. If someone dares to touch your woman, I guarantee they will have a hard time," Yang Wei said, patting his chest.
However, Lin Xiaotian was still somewhat uneasy and messaged Guo Linqing again. To prove she was safe, Guo Linqing even sent a selfie.
But her photo angle was a bit too revealing, and she didn't realize that the downward perspective had inadvertently shown a bit too much.
"If anything happens, remember to notify me. I'll go up immediately," Lin Xiaotian reminded her again.
His plan with Guo Linqing was to apprehend the threatening individual as soon as they arrived.
"Don't worry, I remember everything!" Guo Linqing replied promptly.
As they were chatting, Lin Xiaotian noticed movement at the entrance.
Several ruffian-looking youths entered the inn, their eyes scanning their surroundings.
Lin Xiaotian inquired about the situation upstairs, but it turned out the group of youths were not looking for Guo Linqing. They merely knocked on several rooms on the second floor, seemingly searching for someone.
After knocking on all the doors, the youths all left.
In the following period, people started arriving in groups near the inn, making the area noisy. Each time, these groups would check the rooms, which puzzled Lin Xiaotian.
Even several vans showed up, but they only stayed for a moment before leaving.
"Doctor Lin, it's too noisy upstairs now; it seems two groups are fighting. We can't get any information about Doctor Guo's situation. Would you like to ask her?" Yang Wei said with some guilt.
He hadn't anticipated such a peculiar turn of events.
Lin Xiaotian nodded, deciding to ask again, even though he had just done so not long ago.
Guo Linqing did not respond.
Ten seconds passed.
Twenty seconds.
Thirty seconds.
Lin Xiaotian began to panic.
When he had asked Guo Linqing before, she had always replied instantly. Why was she taking so long this time?
With this thought, Lin Xiaotian impatiently made a phone call.
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."
"This is bad!" Lin Xiaotian exclaimed.
The next moment, Lin Xiaotian rushed upstairs.
Seeing this, Yang Wei immediately reacted.
"Hey, Xiao Jiang, hurry and check Doctor Guo's room!"
"Hey! Brother Wei, I... I'm blocked by these people at the door right now, I can't get out!"
"What does their fight have to do with you?" Yang Wei roared.
"Brother Wei, I..."
The subordinate on the other end of the phone was about to explain, but the next moment, Yang Wei heard screams from the phone.
"Hello, hello!"
"Damn it! This is trouble now!"
After speaking, Yang Wei also ran upstairs.
At this very moment, Lin Xiaotian had already reached the second floor.
Only then did he understand the situation in the hallway.
The phone said the two sides were fighting, but this was no fight.
Two groups of people stood neatly in the corridor. On the ground not far away lay several figures, who were the subordinates Yang Wei had sent to keep watch.
"Who are you?"
"What are you doing here?"
"We've booked this entire floor today; no one is allowed here!"
A burly man leading the group blocked Lin Xiaotian's path.
Lin Xiaotian remained silent, merely casting a cold glance at him.
That single glance made the burly man instinctively take several steps back.
But as he retreated, Lin Xiaotian advanced a few steps.
"Damn it, beat him!" the burly man shouted.
The next moment, everyone in the corridor charged towards Lin Xiaotian...
Meanwhile, after dealing with two tattooed men downstairs, Yang Wei had also rushed to the second floor.
"Damn it, it's been too long since I've moved. This time it took me over ten seconds."
"Doctor Lin, you have to hold on!" Yang Wei muttered to himself.
But as he reached the second floor, the scene before him made him dumbfounded.
There were more than twenty people in the corridor, but now, only Lin Xiaotian was standing. Everyone else was groaning on the ground.
"This... could this be Doctor Lin alone?" Yang Wei murmured to himself.
Bang!
A loud noise echoed from the corridor.
Immediately after, a door was forcefully kicked open by Lin Xiaotian, revealing room 206.
Lin Xiaotian glanced at the bed in the room; Guo Linqing's phone was still there, but no one was in the room.
"Strange, where could Doctor Guo have gone? Could she be in another room?" Yang Wei frowned. "Doctor Lin, don't worry, I'll go check the other rooms now."
Lin Xiaotian stopped him. "Yang Wei, if I recall correctly, you said you had people stationed at all the exits of the town. Help me check if anyone or any vehicles have left."
Yang Wei nodded and immediately began making inquiries.
"Doctor Lin, I've checked. No vehicles or people have left the town."
Hearing Yang Wei's answer, Lin Xiaotian fell into thought.
Guo Linqing wouldn't have left her room on her own; someone must have taken her. But he had been monitoring the inn's entrance the entire time and hadn't seen anyone leave. How had these people managed to take Guo Linqing away?
However, it had been less than five minutes since Guo Linqing lost contact, and no one or vehicles had left the town. This meant Guo Linqing was definitely still in town, and he still had a chance.
With this thought, Lin Xiaotian walked into the corridor.
"I'll ask you a question, where did the person from that room just now go?" Lin Xiaotian looked down at the burly man who had blocked him earlier.
"Why should I tell you?" The burly man was still defiant.
But the next second, a golden needle was inserted into his pressure point of pain.
A pig-like scream echoed, and even Yang Wei, standing not far away, felt his scalp tingle.
"Now, what?" Lin Xiaotian dangled the golden needle in his hand.
"I... I'll tell you. I was just ordered to come here to fight. I only know she was taken away just now, and I don't know where she is, but she's definitely still in town," the burly man said cautiously.
"Ordered? By whom?"
"Brother Baldy."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiaotian was stunned.
"Is that Cao Yuntian's subordinate?"
The burly man nodded.