Under suspicion, Yang Ling decided to set an ambush himself.

  According to old steward Mulberry, the other party is very vigilant and has a keen sense of smell. As soon as they detect any unusual scent, they will retreat far away, waiting for the ambushers to exhaust themselves and leave in frustration, only to sneak back in quickly and cause more trouble, utterly detestable!

  In the late afternoon, Yang Ling arrived at the small bar inside Shangri-La and sat down in his usual high-backed chair. Behind him were only a few people chatting, including Double-Headed Man-Eating Demon, Heavenly Fox Yuna, and Dog-Headed Orlando, enough to deal with a wine thief, no need for a big fuss!

  Perhaps dissatisfied with the disturbance of the wine thief, or perhaps wanting to spend more time with Yang Ling, Alice also followed. After a few words of advice, seeing that the little girl was not yielding, Yang Ling did not say anything else. Anyway, they were just active in the town, and with their own strength, there shouldn't be any danger.

  Inside the small tavern, only a few people were scattered about, business had fallen off sharply compared to before. It was unclear whether it was because the mercenaries and adventurers were too busy to come or if it was due to the tavern's wine supply not being up to par.

  Perhaps due to the lack of customers, the handsome bartender John was idle, whispering with a beautifully dressed girl in a corner. The two heads were getting closer and closer, and even Yang Ling saw that his right hand was moving up and down unscrupulously, touching the girl in his arms and making her eyes dazed. It seemed that this charming guy was hooking up with another decent woman again.

  Accidentally catching sight of Yang Ling's figure, bartender John felt a bit awkward and comforted the girl in his arms for a few words before walking over with big strides. "Boss, it's been a long time, what can I get you? Rhum, wood wine, or the 1 million purple crystal coin per bottle Zi Hou Zi wine?"

  "Ah, two barrels of each then!" He glanced at John who had quickly calmed down and then looked at the girl whose face was still flushed. Yang smiled faintly.

  Although a bit of a rogue, John is still quite the capable fellow. As for mixing drinks, no one in Visen Town can match him; he's truly worthy of being a former royal bartender.

  Maybe it's time to help him set up a family and tie this guy down?

  There was no shortage of materials for building houses in Weisen Town, and with plenty of wood and stone available, Yang Ling quickly came up with an idea. He prepared to instruct the old steward to build a house for John, so that he could take root in Weisen Town as soon as possible and stop wandering around outside.

  Two bottles of each?

  Look at Yang Ling's enigmatic smile, and John's worried frown. If it were in the past, two jars would be no problem, let alone ten. But during this time, due to the trouble caused by the wine thief, not to mention two jars, even one jar might be a bit difficult.

  After all, whether it's rum or pomegranate wine, they all need to be placed for a period of time to have flavor. Although the winery has tried its best to increase production, after the wine jars in stock were smashed by thieves, it was impossible to supply a large amount of high-quality wine and water for the time being.

  Two bottles of each. Yang Ling was just talking, seeing John's gloomy face, he didn't need to say more to understand what was going on. He gestured for the other party to sit down and casually chatted about what had happened during this time.

  Look at the gentle Yang Ling, and then look at the shy girl not far away. John was straightforward and directly brought her over to introduce her to everyone, with excitement and joy on his face. It seems that this charming guy has actually moved for the first time.

  After taking out a few bottles of fine wine from the wine cabinet, John poured Yang Ling a full glass and then slowly began to speak.

  It turned out that at the beginning, the wine thief secretly entered the cellar where the wine was stored. He only picked one or two jars of the oldest wine to steal, not only did he not damage other wines, but he also wouldn't kick over the wine jars. At that time, no one noticed his movements.

  Later, a guard in charge of the cellar accidentally discovered that there were thieves sneaking in to steal wine and drink. In a fit of anger, he put anesthetic poison in a barrel of wine, planning to catch them after they passed out. Unexpectedly, not only did the thief with a keen sense of smell detect it, but also provoked him, drinking a few mouthfuls before kicking the barrel to pieces and causing chaos.

  Under the big fire, the guards responsible for guarding the cellar called over a few brothers. As soon as it got dark, they set up an ambush nearby, eager to catch the wine thief and cut him into pieces. Unexpectedly, the other party had a keen sense of smell, and after feeling that something was wrong, he didn't get close at all. After the ambushing guards were exhausted and retreated one by one, they sneaked in again, wreaking havoc with increased ferocity.

  So, the guards failed one after another, and the thief's movements became more and more daring. By the time the old butler found out, things had already gone to pot, and most of the wine stored in Shangri-La had been destroyed.

  After severely punishing the informed but unreported guard, the old steward led his elite warriors in an ambush, but the result was still disappointing. To say nothing of catching them alive, they couldn't even touch the hem of their clothes. The most successful time was just seeing the faint shadow of the opponent.

  "According to the warriors who were lying in ambush at that time, the other party was very fast and short in stature, seemingly a dwarf who loved drinking!" After taking a sip of wine to moisten his throat, John shook his head as he spoke.

  Dwarves who love drinking alcohol.

  Yang Ling was very surprised, originally he still thought it was some hostile force causing trouble, never expecting it to be a wine-loving little dwarf.

  After the unexpected event, he thought of Rumil, the dwarf who loved wine like his life. He felt that this statement was not entirely impossible either. After all, if it were a hostile force causing trouble, they would not have taken such clumsy measures.

  "I don't care if he's human or a ghost, I'll tear him apart with my own hands tonight!" Yang Ling fell silent, but the two-headed man-eating demon was furious, eager to rush out and engage in an all-out battle.

  "John, bring all the remaining wine down to the cellar!"

  After weighing it, Yang Ling decided to act according to the original plan. Under the heavenly net of his own demon beast army, he didn't believe that a mere wine thief could still run to where, as long as the other party continued to come and stir up trouble, they would definitely have no return!

  Put all the remaining wine into the cellar?

  After a moment of hesitation, John immediately took action and moved all the remaining wine in the tavern to the cellar with Orlando and others. Although the guards had failed many times, he believed that Yang Ling would personally take action and capture them easily.

  According to the law of the wine thief's appearance, Yang Ling lurked near the cellar after midnight. After repeated consideration, he still did not summon a large army of magic beasts to set up an ambush, so as not to disturb the sensitive sense of smell of the wine thief, but only summoned a few hornet beasts to lie in wait and stand guard.

  ******

  To deal with cunning and vigilant wine thieves, the fewer people the better. To prevent any accidents, he only let Orlando follow him, while everyone else lurked far away.

  After making arrangements, Yang Ling sat cross-legged in a small grove not far from the underground cave, his spiritual power spreading out like a spider web. Orlando stood quietly beside him, motionless, as the snowflakes and howling wind perfectly concealed their scents.

  Through the Tree Eye ability and the lurking Angle Beast, Yang Ling could clearly feel the wind blowing and the grass moving around him even with his eyes closed. Orlando's heartbeat, the occasional muttering of the two-headed man-eating demon Brasca in the distance, and even the grinding sound of the guests' teeth in the Shangri-La hotel room were all clearly audible...

  Time passed bit by bit, and except for the sound of the wind, there was not a single movement. In the distance, the two-headed man-eating monster that had been shouting and killing earlier was already fast asleep, and even Orlando and Yuna felt their eyelids getting heavier and heavier, while the cunning wine thief still had no trace!

  Could it be that the other party has seen through his own ambush?

  Yang Ling was puzzled, within tens of steps around the cellar, there were no ambushes. He and Orlando hid in the woods, the Double-Headed Man-Eating Demon and Yuna's group were hiding in a distant guest room, let alone the stealthy Angle Worm Beast, which was extremely secretive, motionless, and had no reason to expose its tracks!

  Taking a deep breath, he decided to continue waiting. After swallowing a magic beast blood bead, his spirit was lifted, and he quietly waited for the other party's trail.

  Under the hazy moonlight, snowflakes danced. Looking at the twinkling stars in the sky, Yang Ling's heart moved, and he simultaneously activated the Stellar Mark Spell and the Body Refining Spell.

  Slowly, strands of starlight penetrate and enter the body, operating along a mysterious trajectory. One part is absorbed by the ebb and flow of Wu Dan, transformed into pure Wu power, while another part seeps into the muscles and bones thread by thread.

  Every time he absorbed a strand of starlight, he felt an additional chill in his body. Where the chill passed, not to mention his skin, even his cells seemed to shrink bit by bit, and then under the scorching stimulation of the witch's power, they expanded bit by bit again. The constant contraction and expansion, cycling back and forth, tempered him bit by bit!

  A massive legion of demonic beasts, powerful followers, a sturdy physique, plus the ability to control souls...

  Yang Ling was full of hope for the future, he believed that one day, he would be able to face the strong people who were said to be at the holy level in this world. He could live a new life with peace of mind in this strange world, freely searching for the secrets of the ancient wizards and finding a way back to Earth.

  After a while, the night color gradually faded away, and a bright light appeared on the horizon.

  Dawn is coming!

  Just as all things were waiting to wake up on a clear morning, when the will of ordinary people was weakest, a low figure suddenly appeared in the wilderness outside the Shangri-La wall. With a light jump, it silently and quietly crossed the nearly two-meter-high wall.

  Gurgle, gurgle...

  Perhaps sensing something, the black shadow hiding behind the big tree by the wall cried out a few times, but did not take any further action.

  Is this what they call a wine thief?

  As soon as the black shadow appeared, Yang Ling noticed its movement. But unexpectedly, the visitor was not a dwarf, but a small dog bear with shiny black fur, round head and big ears, looking clumsy on the surface!