Chapter 79: Exposed
Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Exposed
Bai San instantly froze, still as a statue. He held his breath, straining to hear any noise outside, but there was only the sound of the wind.
He cursed himself internally. ’It’s been too long, I’m getting rusty.’ His movements became even lighter and more skillful, his fingertips leaving almost no trace.
Soon, in a hidden compartment beneath the floorboards of the bed, he found a dense pile of silver, gleaming seductively in the darkness.
A look of wild joy flashed in Bai San’s eyes.
This hoard of silver was worth no less than ten thousand taels.
Just then.
CREAK!
A sharp, grating sound came from the courtyard gate.
It was followed by the sound of drunken, slightly hoarse footsteps stumbling closer, accompanied by off-key humming and a man’s satisfied laughter. "Marvelous... that Widow Wang, she’s really something else..."
The man was none other than Chen Yongxiao.
Ever since seizing the family property, he had grown paranoid and distrustful, even of the original household servants. He found an excuse to let them all buy their freedom, relying instead on day laborers and hired hands for daily chores.
After some time of living on edge, he had finally begun to feel at ease.
As the old saying goes, a full belly and a cup of wine turn a man’s thoughts to lust.
As his fortunes improved, Chen Yongxiao began to think about taking another wife.
After all, while he had children, they were with the Cao Family and refused to acknowledge him. It was no different from having no heir at all.
One day, when his clothes were torn, Chen Yongxiao asked one of the village women for help with mending and instantly hit it off with Widow Wang.
They were like tinder and flint, and their affair ignited at once.
But once he’d cooled his head, Chen Yongxiao knew he could never make Widow Wang his proper wife. He still dreamed of marrying a pure young maiden.
Widow Wang wasn’t easily fooled, however, so he had to promise that he would marry her as soon as she became pregnant.
This made Widow Wang all the more desperate. Eager to move into the Chen Family Mansion, she constantly pestered him to "work hard" at conceiving a child.
Tonight, Chen Yongxiao had just returned from his usual visit to Widow Wang.
Hearing someone returning, every hair on Bai San’s body stood on end. His gaze shot around the room. Like a startled cat, WHOOSH, he slipped into the narrow shadow between a tall wardrobe and the wall, completely suppressing his aura.
The footsteps stopped outside the door. After a brief pause, the door was pushed open, and Chen Yongxiao stumbled in, reeking of strong liquor and cheap powder.
Still savoring the memory of his recent tryst, he chuckled vaguely and fumbled for the oil lamp on the table, intending to light it.
Suddenly, he froze.
In the darkness, Chen Yongxiao could vaguely see that the boards of the bed seemed to have been moved. An indescribable feeling of wrongness cut through the drunken haze in his mind.
He scanned the dark room suspiciously and barked, "Who’s there? Show yourself! Get the hell out here!"
His voice sounded exceptionally shrill in the dead of night.
Hiding in the gap, Bai San cursed internally. ’This old bastard has sharp eyes!’
’Have I been exposed?’
’No! I can’t let this old man shout and alert the neighbors. If that happens, my reputation as the "Thief King" will end tonight in this godforsaken hovel!’
’I have to silence him!’
The moment the thought to kill arose, all hesitation vanished.
Just as Chen Yongxiao warily took a step forward, a dark figure shot out from the shadows, moving so fast it was just a blur as it lunged straight for him.
Chen Yongxiao’s vision blurred. An icy chill, thick with the stench of death, instantly closed around his throat.
He didn’t even have time to scream, managing only to see a pair of eyes glinting murderously in the dark.
"Gck..."
A faint, crisp snap, like something hard and thin strangling the life out of a throat.
Chen Yongxiao’s eyes bulged. His body convulsed twice, a choked gurgle escaping his throat as he collapsed limply to the floor, his life instantly extinguished.
Bai San released the thin, tough, custom-made steel wire, now stained with blood, and looked down at the rapidly cooling corpse.
He quickly wrapped Chen Yongxiao’s body in a quilt, dragged it to the outhouse in the backyard, and tossed it inside.
"Now, everything in this house is mine!"
Back in the room, gazing at the hoard of silver spread out under the bed, Bai San felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
...
A day later, having packed up all the valuables in Chen Yongxiao’s home, Bai San was preparing to leave with the first load.
"I still have one last house to visit," he sighed.
’The fortune from Chen Yongxiao’s house is enough for me to live lavishly for a long time,’ he thought.
’But I can’t afford to cross my employers. If I don’t deliver what’s on the list, they’ll surely hunt me down.’
’Got to finish the job.’
The night grew darker and the air colder.
Bai San moved swiftly through the patchwork of shadows in Lingxi Village, finally concealing himself in the darkness outside the high courtyard wall of Chen Li’s home.
He pushed his Golden Sparrow Flying Swallow Skill to its limit, concealing his presence so completely that he seemed to merge with the night wind.
He carefully observed the imposing, heavily guarded compound.
The walls were high and thick. He could faintly hear the low growling of dogs and the subtle sounds of breathing from within. This was clearly not a one-man household like Chen Yongxiao’s.
The moment he drew near, his thief’s intuition screamed at him. The sense of danger was stronger than anything he had ever felt.
’This place... something’s not right about it...’
he muttered to himself, his palms slick with cold sweat. ’Fine. I’ll just take a quick look, memorize what I need to, and get out. No need to stir up trouble.’
Holding his breath and focusing his senses, he silently scaled the high wall and crouched in the shadows atop it.
Seizing an opportunity, his body drifted down into the courtyard like a falling leaf.
With his superb stealth techniques, he used the shadows and pillars for cover, moving like a phantom through the courtyard as he made his way toward the granary in the rear.
’What is this?’
Bai San stared, dumbfounded, at the square granary. Even its roof was sealed with brick and mortar.
’Who builds a granary like this?!’
In all his years, Bai San had seen countless granaries, but never one built so securely.
He crept to the granary door, preparing to peek inside.
CLICK!
A faint sound came from the lock.
In the main house, Chen Shouheng—who had just entered the Qi Realm and whose Spiritual Sense was newly awakened—jerked his head up. His qi sense detected the presence of an unfamiliar aura.
Chen Shouye, who was in meditation, snapped his eyes open. His physical senses, far superior to an ordinary person’s, caught the faintest, most unnatural sound from the courtyard.
"An intruder!" Shouheng hissed.
Without a word, Shouye moved like a tiger bursting from its cage, smashing through the door and lunging toward the source of the disturbance.
The brothers’ shouts and the splintering of the door instantly shattered the silence of the night.
Bai San, his attention completely on the granary, was scared out of his wits.
’Damn it! I’ve been spotted!’
Without a second thought, he unleashed his Golden Sparrow Flying Swallow Skill. Like a startled sparrow, he shot into the air, making to flee over the wall.
But just as he launched himself into the air...
...a figure appeared beside him on the roof of the covered walkway, as silent and sudden as a ghost, as if he had been waiting there all along.
It was Chen Li.
His Divine Sense was so powerful now that he could perceive the faintest ripple of an aura.
The moment Bai San had landed on the roof, Chen Li had been instantly pulled from his Cultivation. ’Where did this thief come from? Can’t be the Sect, back again for more, can it?’
But as he focused his sense, he realized something was off.
’This thief isn’t heading for the main house. He’s going for the granary in the backyard.’
This puzzled him even more.
’What’s he trying to do? Steal grain? How is he planning to carry off a few hundred pounds of it?’
He hadn’t expected Shouheng and Shouye to be so alert.
In the night sky.
Bai San couldn’t even see how the man appeared. He only felt an irresistible, terrifying pressure crash down on him like a mountain, instantly freezing the qi and blood in his veins.
Chen Li simply raised his right hand. A plain, unadorned straight punch, yet imbued with immense Inner Qi and the Spirit Realm Will, struck faster than Bai San could react. Though launched second, it landed first, slamming into Bai San with unerring accuracy.