Qu Lu was a thief.
Of course, "thief" wasn't quite accurate. They were an organized outfit—who in Pass Mountain City hadn't heard of the Heaven-Stealing Sect? They were said to pluck feathers from passing geese and skim a layer of grease off even a passing fly.
And now...
Their business was booming.
It couldn't be helped. The Tianyuan Conference had chosen Pass Mountain City as its venue, and looking around almost gave them the feeling that there was nothing left to steal.
Not because security was good, but because everyone in sight was a walking money pouch. How were they supposed to choose a target?
It was a truly extravagant dilemma. Of course, although the streets were full of easy marks, they still had their heads on straight and strictly observed their "three rules against stealing."
First, they never stole from members of prestigious major sects. The Heaven-Stealing Sect wasn't exactly a small outfit, but it was still nowhere near those behemoths. Whenever they saw someone bearing those sects' insignia, or anyone connected to them, they kept their hands to themselves.
Second, they never stole from anyone who looked dangerous. Plenty of independent cultivators had gathered here for the Tianyuan Conference. Who knew whether some great expert lurked among them, someone like Desert North Mad Blade...? In short, whenever they encountered anyone of that sort, they stayed well away.
Third, they never stole from anyone with powerful connections. That included sects like Spring Rejuvenation Hall and Heavenly Mechanism Valley, which weren't among the Thirty-Six Sects but had extensive networks, as well as merchants backed by major trading houses. The Tianyuan Conference would only last a while; afterward, they would still depend on these people to make a living in Pass Mountain City, so they left them alone too.
Once those