Chapter 542: ‘Thief’
Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
The immense city gates were defended by twenty guards who were carrying out strict checks on those who wished to enter the city. Each had a cultivation between the Imperial Realm and the Emperor Realm.
Although entry was allowed and exit was forbidden, it was impossible for ZiRan City to remain in this state forever.
If one person could think of this, others could think of it too. Therefore, there were still many people who chose to enter the the city because of this. Apart from a large number of people crowding outside the city walls and taking the wait-and-see approach, the rest were lining up in an orderly manner.
You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao were also amongst those who were taking the wait-and-see approach.
He thought that he probably knew why Mo Jing wanted to meet them in ZiRan City.
It turned out that Mo Jing was trapped inside so he had to find someone to help him pass a message. That was why he had not appeared even when it was clear that he had already arrived.
“Shall we enter?”
The person who said this sentence was not You XiaoMo but Ling Xiao.
The current situation indicated that some troublesome matter was happening inside ZiRan City and what they needed the most now was to avoid trouble. Therefore, Ling Xiao passed the right to choose whether to attract trouble by getting Mo Jing’s magic herbs or leave right away to You XiaoMo.
Xiao Mo hesitated for two seconds before he nodded.
They already had more than enough trouble on hand, adding another one would make no difference.
Moreover, they had just exited ZiRan City not long ago. The strongest cultivator in the city was Hei Xiong, who had been defeated by Ling Xiao, so leaving would be an easy matter.
“Then let’s enter.”
Ling Xiao did not have any objections. He understood You XiaoMo’s way of thinking quite well. If they missed this opportunity, they did not know when the next opportunity to contact Mo Jing would come.
The two walked to the end of the queue to line up.
Although the checks were very strict, they were completed very quickly. It did not even take thirty minutes before it was their turn. The guards gave You XiaoMo a once over before letting him in. It was that simple.
“What’s your name?”
You XiaoMo heard the voice of the guard when he had just walked in. Ling Xiao was behind him. When he looked back, he saw that the guard was indeed questioning Ling Xiao. There was obviously no such procedure just a moment ago.
“Ling Si.” Ling Xiao answered with straight face.
You XiaoMo’s mouth twisted.
Seeing that they were currently famous and were enjoying great popularity, they decided not to reveal their names. So they would just give a random name if anyone asked.
The guard was sizing him up in suspicion, “Where did you come from? What do you want to do in the city?”
Ling Xiao replied, “I’m from the Living Waters River Boundary and have come to the city to look for my friend.”
You XiaoMo felt that the guard was living the good life. It was very rare for Ling Xiao to answer his questions so honestly. He was really so envious!
The guard asked a few more questions and Ling Xiao gave perfunctory answers. Probably because he could not find anything suspicious, the guard finally let Ling Xiao in.
Mo Jing had only told them that he was at ZiRan City, and he had not told them basic information like the time and place to meet. He just let Xuan Ming tell them that he would come to them immediately after they entered the city.
The two then proceeded to find a bustling restaurant.
Many people were gathered in the lobby of the restaurant and each table had at least two or more people were sitting around it. They were chattering continuously about the closure of the city for these two days. No one seemed to know why the city was sealed and many were trying to guess the reason.
The order to seal the city was issued by Hei Xiong.
Some said that Hei Xiong was trying to find the person who beat him that day, others said it was for catching thieves, as it seemed that Hei Xiong had lost something important.
In conclusion, there were many different opinions, yet every opinion had someone opposing it.
“It should not be possible for him to have sealed the city in order find us. Could it really have been due to a thief?” You XiaoMo poured a cup of hot tea for Ling Xiao while speculating enthusiastically. One person came to mind while speaking of thieves.
They had first met Dao Yun at the spatial passageway, and he declared that he was the disciple of the Thief God from the Ten Divine Gods Ranking. They had not seen him again after leaving Bei Dong. Furthermore, there had been no news regarding the Thief God. You XiaoMo did not know if Dao Yun had found his Shifu and whether he had passed his Shifu’s test.
Ling Xiao drank a mouthful of tea, “The rumor of something being stolen is false. It should be because he’s looking for someone.”
You XiaoMo was just about to blurt out the sentence ‘He can’t really be looking for us right?’, when he suddenly felt that this sentence was honestly quite stupid and quickly covered his mouth.
“Then who do you think they are looking for?”
“I don’t know!”
You XiaoMo was suddenly choked by Ling Xiao’s blunt statement. He was just expecting Ling Xiao to prophesy with supernatural accuracy and it seemed that he had been waiting for nothing. After thinking about it, he unwillingly asked, “How are you so sure that they are looking for someone?”
“They would not need to only allow entry yet restrict exit if they weren’t looking for someone. Furthermore, the checks to enter the city were so strict. It was obvious that they were looking for more than one person. They were probably worried that someone would come to the rescue of that person.
“You’re really smart!” You XiaoMo praised with sparkling eyes.
“No, you are just too stupid.”
“…”
The sun soon set after staying in the lobby of the restaurant for more than an hour. The sky and clouds was dyed red by the setting sun and the light reflecting off painted the people’s faces in a red hue.
You XiaoMo looked at the color of the sky and felt they would probably be staying for a night, so he went to ask the shopkeeper for a room.
He was actually very doubtful that Mo Jing could find them. After all, there were still too many people in ZiRan City and there were still large crowds walking in the streets even though the sun had set, especially after the exit restrictions were put into place.
Night fell and it was pitch dark.
This was the moment where thieves were the most active.
Hence, You XiaoMo and Ling Xiao’s room was patronized by a thief.
“Stop, I’m not a thief.” The ‘thief”s voice that had been painfully suppressed came from below You XiaoMo’s body. He had been kicked over by an alert You XiaoMo just as he had entered from the window.
You XiaoMo was stunned, why did he feel that this voice was a little familiar?
The dimly lit room was illuminated by a faint beam of moonlight. Ling Xiao let out a low laugh while sitting on the bed with a hand supporting his chin, “He is Mo Jing.”
You XiaoMo immediately released his hands and feet. Looking carefully, it was really Mo Jing. You XiaoMo awkwardly helped him up and dusted his clothes as he embarrassedly laughed, “Are you okay?”
Mo Jing rubbed his old waist which had been kicked and grimaced, “You can try being kicked suddenly. I’m sure it’ll be memorable enough for a lifetime.”
You XiaoMo felt even more embarrassed, but he could not help refuting, “Who asked you to enter by flipping over the window instead of entering from the door. I thought you were a person harboring malicious intentions.”
“I might have been arrested if I didn’t enter through the window.” Mo Jing did not want to enter in this manner too, but he was currently wanted by the whole city. He also could not exit the city gates and he definitely would not be able to wait for them to arrive if he was not careful.
“How could you become wanted by the city guards?”
You XiaoMo immediately knew that Mo Jing was the person that ZiRan City was looking for upon hearing his words. He was quite surprised. Mo Jing shouldered heavy responsibilities, how could it be possible for him to provoke trouble without any reason?
Mo Jing waved his hand and walked over to the table to sit, “Xing Qi and Gao Yin have been chasing after me. They seem to have some friendly relations with Hei Xiong from ZiRan City. Hei Xiong ordered the city gates to be sealed up just as I was about to leave the city, so I’ve already been trapped here for almost seven days.”
“You’re so pitiful!” You XiaoMo sympathized.
Mo Jing fully agreed and was about to give an appropriate follow-up when he heard You XiaoMo’s second sentence.
“Then what about my magic herbs?”
“…”
Mo Jing coughed. Then he took out a storage bag from his sleeve and threw it to him, “There are not many magic herbs inside. These are all that I have collected at present. As per your instructions, there are seeds, seedlings and mature ones, but the mature ones number the least.”
You XiaoMo took a look. Magic herbs were really abundant in Xi Jing. He had never seen most of the herbs that Mo Jing had collected. Seeds were the most plentiful, but there were also many seedlings. As long as he paid more attention to nurturing them, it wouldn’t take long for the seedlings to mature.
He had not expected Mo Jing to collect so much in such a short time. He had finally ushered in a nice surprise after experiencing a succession of bombshells.
“Comrade, it’s been hard on you.” You XiaoMo resolutely accepted the magic bag and held Mo Jing’s hand as he emotionally thanked him. His gaze when looking at Mo Jing was as if he was looking at a gold mine.
Mo Jing was embarrassed by his thanks, actually it also was not too much trouble.
It just so happened that he was carrying mature magic herbs with him. The seeds and seedlings were purchased along the way and these were much less valuable than mature magic herbs. Although the marketplace was small, he was still able to purchase them. Previously, he was even worried that You XiaoMo would be dissatisfied.
“These are only just a small portion. After settling down, I will help you find more.”
“Then I’ll be counting on you.” You XiaoMo patted him on the shoulder excitedly, “By the way, your little master has been successfully picked up by his great-grandfather. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Mo Jing nodded. He had guessed as such when he saw them appear in ZiRan City and at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. His task was finally completed.
“We are going to leave ZiRan City after this. What about you?”
This sentence from You XiaoMo was exactly what Mo Jing has been looking forward to. It sounded just like heavenly music to him.
Why would he be have been trapped in ZiRan City? It was because of his lack of strength. With the addition of Hei Xiong to the team of Xing Qi and Gao Yan, he was certain that the group of three would be able to capture him as long as he dared to break through the city gates.
Therefore, he had been waiting for the arrival of Ling Xiao.
