On a dark and windy night, perfect for murder and arson.
“Hey, what are we doing out here so late?”
Meng Xiaoyu, dressed in all black with the lower half of her face covered by a black cloth, was lying on the roof of a wealthy household alongside Ling Yuer, who was dressed similarly.
“We’re borrowing something,” Ling Yuer said, her eyes fixed on the courtyard below where guards patrolled back and forth.
“…”
Meng Xiaoyu looked at her companion, who spoke of “borrowing” things so casually.
“Why are we stealing?”
she asked, immediately regretting her question.
How could she forget that the person beside her was a notorious thief?
“I told you this morning, didn’t I?
We have less than a tael of silver left.
If we don’t go out and borrow some money, do you want to sleep on the streets tomorrow?”
Ling Yuer turned to Meng Xiaoyu with a look that screamed ‘idiot.’
“Oh!
So when do you plan to return it?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked innocently.
“Have you ever seen a thief return what they stole?”
Ling Yuer looked at Meng Xiaoyu with even more disdain.
“Damn, so you’re dragging me into a crime with you?”
Realizing she was being roped into this, Meng Xiaoyu smacked Ling Yuer on the head.
“I’m a law-abiding citizen, I’m going back.”
She turned to leave for the inn.
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu about to leave, Ling Yuer quickly grabbed her.
“Don’t go!
What about me?
Look at all those people down there.
If I’m alone, I’ll easily get caught.
Can you really bear to see me get caught and thrown in jail?”
She put on a pitiful expression.
“Playing cute is shameful,” Meng Xiaoyu thought to herself, looking at the person holding her.
“Why don’t you come back with me?”
she suggested.
“If we go back, what about tomorrow?
Do you really want to sleep on the streets and go hungry?”
Ling Yuer said with a mischievous grin.
“Well…”
Meng Xiaoyu hesitated.
She really didn’t want to sleep on the streets.
But stealing was illegal, and she couldn’t get past that.
“But stealing is wrong.”
“It’s not wrong.
Do you know what kind of person the owner of this house is?
He’s a notorious, heartless tyrant in this area!
Stealing from others might be wrong, but stealing from him is definitely okay.”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s hesitation, Ling Yuer continued to persuade her.
“Is that so?”
Meng Xiaoyu, now convinced by Ling Yuer, asked again.
“Of course, I would never lie to you,” Ling Yuer said, making a gesture as if swearing an oath.
“Oh!
If that’s the case, then it’s fine.”
Meng Xiaoyu lay back down on the roof.
Since the owner was a heartless tyrant, she felt no guilt.
Lying back on the roof, she was secretly pleased.
“This is great, no guilt, and I won’t have to sleep on the streets tomorrow.”
“Quick, let’s go down and find a place to hide while they’re changing shifts.”
After waiting for a while, the guards finally started changing shifts.
Ling Yuer quickly pulled Meng Xiaoyu into the courtyard, hiding behind a rockery.
“So what do we do now?”
Meng Xiaoyu, who had never stolen before, was both excited and nervous.
She thought to herself, “Today, I’m like a hero, robbing the rich to help the poor.
Even if the poor I’m helping is myself, I’m still a poor person about to sleep on the streets.”
“Wait a bit, once this group passes, we’ll…”
“Quickly sneak over to that Golden Jade Pavilion.
That’s where this heartless tyrant keeps his wealth!”
Ling Yuer said with an evil grin.
“Oh!”
Meng Xiaoyu nodded, then realized something.
“Hey, how do you know the tyrant’s wealth is there?”
“Heh, I have my ways,” Ling Yuer said smugly, then pulled Meng Xiaoyu along, using Light Skill to dash to the Golden Jade Pavilion’s door when the guards were far enough away.
“How do we open this?”
Meng Xiaoyu pointed at the large lock on the door, looking innocent.
“Step aside, watch me.”
Ling Yuer pushed Meng Xiaoyu aside, took out a thin silver needle, and started working on the lock.
In less than a minute, Meng Xiaoyu heard a soft click, and the lock was open.
“How did you do that?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked, looking at Ling Yuer with admiration.
“Hehe, you want to know?”
Ling Yuer said with a teasing expression as she put the needle away.
“Yeah, yeah,” Meng Xiaoyu nodded eagerly.
“Not telling you,” Ling Yuer said, flipping her hair dramatically before opening the door and walking into the Golden Jade Pavilion.
“…”
Meng Xiaoyu quickly flipped a middle finger at Ling Yuer’s back before slipping into the pavilion and quietly closing the door.
“Are you sure the owner’s wealth is here?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked, holding a fire stick and searching the pavilion inside and out three times, but she didn’t find any gold, silver, or even a single copper coin.
She began to suspect Ling Yuer was tricking her.
“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you,” Ling Yuer said, holding a fire stick in one hand and fiddling with a bookshelf with the other.
“What are you doing?”
Meng Xiaoyu asked, puzzled by Ling Yuer’s actions.
“Looking for a mechanism!”
Ling Yuer said, still fiddling with the bookshelf.
“Seriously, have you watched too many TV dramas?”
Meng Xiaoyu was exasperated.
“TV dramas?
What’s that?”
Ling Yuer stopped and turned to Meng Xiaoyu, confused.
“Uh, TV dramas are…
well, I don’t know either,” Meng Xiaoyu said, not knowing how to explain.
She watched as Ling Yuer gave her a look that screamed ‘idiot’ before turning back to her search, leaving Meng Xiaoyu feeling frustrated.
After about twenty minutes, Meng Xiaoyu yawned and said to Ling Yuer, who was still searching, “Give up!
You’ve been looking for so long, there must be no mechanism.
Let’s go back to sleep!”
She yawned again.
Ling Yuer ignored Meng Xiaoyu and continued her search.
Seeing that Ling Yuer was ignoring her, Meng Xiaoyu didn’t mind.
After looking around, she walked over to a chair and plopped down, ready to rest for a bit.
However, not even two seconds after she sat down, the ground beneath the chair suddenly gave way.
Meng Xiaoyu fell straight down with the chair, the sudden change leaving her too shocked to even scream.
Ling Yuer, upon hearing the slight noise, turned to look in Meng Xiaoyu’s direction.
When she saw a large hole had appeared in the ground and Meng Xiaoyu was nowhere to be seen, she cursed silently, “Zhao Tianyu, you old fox, you actually set a trap on the chair.”
After cursing, Ling Yuer leapt into the hole.
The hole was deep, and the space widened as it went down.
When Ling Yuer landed, she saw Meng Xiaoyu still sitting steadily on the chair.
It seemed this chair was no ordinary chair!
Falling from such a height and still intact.
Ling Yuer marveled for a moment, then walked over to the stunned Meng Xiaoyu.
“Wife, are you okay?”
she asked with concern, gently stroking Meng Xiaoyu’s cheek.
Due to the sudden free-fall incident, Meng Xiaoyu, the victim, snapped back to reality when she felt Ling Yuer’s gentle touch.
“So sca…
ugh…”
Before she could finish saying “scary,” Ling Yuer covered her mouth.
Then tears began to roll down her cheeks, flowing continuously.
“What’s wrong, wife?”
Seeing Meng Xiaoyu’s tears, Ling Yuer quickly bent down and pulled her into her arms, softly comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, it’s okay now.”
As soon as Meng Xiaoyu was held in Ling Yuer’s embrace, she cried even harder.
Ling Yuer’s embrace reminded Meng Xiaoyu of the Han Rubing sisters who always protected her.
After the recent incident, Meng Xiaoyu missed the times with the Han Rubing sisters even more.
“There, there, it’s okay.
I’ll protect you and won’t let anything harm you, trust me,” Ling Yuer gently reassured her with a firm promise.
“Where is this place?
Where are we now?”
After Ling Yuer’s gentle comfort, Meng Xiaoyu finally calmed down from the fear caused by the earlier event.
Once she stopped sobbing, she began to look around their current location.
However, the surrounding darkness made it impossible for her to see anything.
“I don’t know either,” Ling Yuer replied, lighting a fire stick that had gone out when she hugged Meng Xiaoyu to comfort her.
The dim light illuminated their faces and dispelled the surrounding darkness.
Ling Yuer, holding the fire stick in one hand and Meng Xiaoyu’s hand in the other, began to examine their surroundings.
Apart from a narrow passageway to the left, the rest of the area was surrounded by bare stone walls.
Looking up at the place they fell from, Ling Yuer shook her head, “It seems there’s no way to get back up from here.”
After sharing her thoughts, Ling Yuer led Meng Xiaoyu towards the passageway on the left.
