On Imperial City Street.
At the commandant's residence.
Xiao Yu held the list in his hand, the corner of his eye twitching.
That worthless emperor... Fine, he made me his adopted son without asking me,
but now he says the three million taels of silver from a few days ago have been distributed to the border garrisons, leaving next to nothing,
and wants me to look into the people on this list, find out whose "private fortune is substantial," and take it to replenish the empty treasury...
The ruler of an entire nation, encouraging me to stoop to petty theft... Has he no shame?!
He suppressed his indignation.
He studied the list.
The very first person caught his eye.
Cao Lin, Commandant Cao.
On the surface, he was a lone official who kept to himself and served only the emperor. In truth, he was two-faced and secretly colluded with several factions.
He had a taste for males, particularly boys of eleven or twelve.
Tsk, someone even more shameless than that worthless emperor!
"Master, you know that scumbag Cao has those tastes, yet you still want to enter his residence... What if he captures you?"
Qinggeng sounded worried.
"I simply can't stand him," Xiao Yu replied.
"But in my current physical condition, crippling him and getting out unscathed... That'll be hard! I can only cut off his funds for now."
In his previous life, this was the man who had brought a forged imperial edict and surrounded his father and the others...
He could hardly blame Xiao Yu for using official business to settle a personal grudge.
He told Qinggeng, "This man is extremely cautious. Be careful, and make it quick!"
A dark, windy night was perfect for plunder.
Xiao Yu scaled the wall into the commandant's residence.
"Master, the storeroom is this way," Qinggeng said.
He had come to scout the place that morning.
Xiao Yu followed him.
Was Commandant Cao careless or simply arrogant? Security throughout his residence was astonishingly lax.
They had not seen a single soul along the way.
They reached the storeroom.
The glittering gold nearly blinded Xiao Yu.
Unlike the unremarkable storeroom at the Li residence, which held nothing but silver, this place dazzled with jewels and treasures.
Clearly, Commandant Cao loved precious treasures and jewelry.
He took out his storage ring and silently recited the incantation. In an instant, all the gold, silver, and treasures before him vanished into its storage space.
"Master, Master! There's a basement here, too!"
Qinggeng pushed aside the shelves at the back of the storeroom, revealing a stone door.
"Come on, let's go down and look," Xiao Yu said.
They entered the basement.
When Xiao Yu saw what was inside, he froze in astonishment.
It was an armory!
Cao Lin had actually dared to stockpile so many weapons!
Xiao Yu gave it a cursory look.
The armory stretched beneath the entire commandant's residence, with at least twenty or thirty thousand weapons in each room!
There was gunpowder, too, as well as bows and crossbows!
Could these be the very weapons he had used against Xiao Yu's father and the Xiao Family Army in his previous life?
The sheer audacity!
How dare he!
Indignation filled Xiao Yu's face.
He turned his storage ring and swept everything away.
Looking at the empty secret chambers, Xiao Yu immediately felt better.
"Master! Run, someone's coming!" Qinggeng warned telepathically.
Xiao Yu immediately affixed an invisibility talisman to himself and another to Qinggeng, slipping past Cao Lin as he hurried over.
Seeing the storeroom stripped of even its shelves and chests, Cao Lin's vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
Then something occurred to him, and he immediately ran to open the stone door at the back of the storeroom.
His heart lurched when he saw the footprints by the entrance!
He hurried inside.
Finding every room completely empty, he collapsed onto the floor and nearly passed out!
Gone!
The weapons they had stockpiled for more than a decade had all vanished in a single night!
What bastard could be so ruthless?!
They had not even left them a whetstone!
His hand suddenly brushed something soft. He lifted it for a look and found several blue-green feathers!
This place was tightly sealed. How could a bird have gotten in?
Cao Lin examined them closely.
They were still warm. Those thieves could not have gone far!
He immediately sprang up and rushed outside. "Lock down the entire residence!"
"Surround the commandant's residence! Don't let even a bird escape!"
The sudden roar startled Qinggeng.
Xiao Yu also retreated from the perimeter wall.
A dense crowd now stood outside below him, leaving him nowhere to land.
So security at the commandant's residence had not been lax at all. Everyone had been lying in wait outside.
Anyone who dared enter could forget about leaving!
Qinggeng looked at Xiao Yu. "Master, what do we do now?"
"Find somewhere to hide first," Xiao Yu replied.
He refused to believe they could keep watch for days and nights on end.
Qinggeng looked up and suddenly spotted several familiar figures.
"Master, Master, look! Aren't those two the guards we saw in the palace last time?"
"What are they doing here?" Qinggeng asked curiously.
"Who?" Xiao Yu could not immediately recall them.
"The guards who were bullying that hostage prince last time."
Qinggeng remembered it clearly.
His master had kindly saved that hostage prince, only for the prince to accuse him of meddling!
"Oh, the hostage prince from Southern Zhao!"
Xiao Yu remembered.
"We can't get out for a while anyway. Let's follow them and have a look."
"Master! What if they discover us?" Qinggeng asked anxiously.
But Xiao Yu had already followed them, so Qinggeng had no choice but to hurry after him.
"They seem to have carried something inside. Come on, let's take a look!"
Xiao Yu hid in a corner.
Once Li Chunlai and the others left the room, he slipped inside.
He gently pushed the door open and tiptoed in.
Suddenly, he found more than a dozen pairs of eyes staring straight at him.
Xiao Yu steadied himself and looked.
They belonged to several little boys around his age, watching him timidly.
He swept his gaze around and suddenly spotted a familiar face...
The boy's eyes were fierce, as though he wanted to bite Xiao Yu to death.
Xiao Yu stiffened slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not the one who tied you up and brought you here."
Qinggeng only just mentioned him outside, and now we've run into him. The world really is too small for enemies.
My damned curiosity... If I'd known he was here, I wouldn't have come in.
Maybe I should just pretend I never came in...
Xiao Yu surveyed his surroundings.
That vase looks nice. I'll take it!
Those gauze curtains look nice, too. I'll take them.
The table, the candlestick-I'll take them all.
Everyone's eyes widened as objects vanished into thin air wherever he went!
Because Qi Yunheng had resisted so fiercely earlier, his hands and feet had been bound, unlike the other children who had stayed obediently in place.
Xiao Yu approached, intending to take the large bed beside him, and glanced at him.
In a sudden fit of kindness, he asked, "Want me to untie you?"
Qi Yunheng nodded stiffly.
Xiao Yu's lips curled. "Beg me."
Disgust and anger flashed through Qi Yunheng's eyes as he glared at Xiao Yu, his eyes bloodshot.
"Just kidding," Xiao Yu said, knowing when to stop.
He stepped forward and untied him.
The next instant, Qi Yunheng lunged and pinned him to the floor!
Xiao Yu was speechless.
No good deed went unpunished.
Qi Yunheng glared viciously at Xiao Yu. "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you-"
He would have killed Li Chunlai that day!
If it had not been for Xiao Yu...
He would not have taken a cold bath in the middle of the night, developed a fever, and lost the strength in his limbs...
Only to be tied up and brought here...
"Let go of my master!"
Qinggeng flew over and buffeted Qi Yunheng with his wings, but Qi Yunheng did not budge, keeping Xiao Yu firmly pinned down.
"Why?! Why did you help Li Chunlai?!"
Xiao Yu froze for a moment.
Li Chunlai?
"Let go of my master! If you don't, I'll peck you to death!"
"Qinggeng, quiet."
Xiao Yu first soothed Qinggeng. "We don't want to draw those people back here."
Qinggeng quietly fell silent.
Seeing this, Xiao Yu turned back.
He told Qi Yunheng, "Hey, I don't know this Li Chunlai you're talking about, and I'm not working with him."
"Besides, that Li Chunlai will offend someone and get stabbed to death before long. There's no need to dirty your hands..."
Qi Yunheng still had a fever, and his head was buzzing. He could not make out Xiao Yu's words very clearly.
All he knew was that a seething anger remained trapped inside him.
He stared at Xiao Yu, then suddenly lowered his head and viciously bit his face!
"Ow!"
Furious, Xiao Yu kicked him away, then knocked him unconscious with a chopping blow!
He touched his face and found blood seeping out. In his anger, he kicked Qi Yunheng again!
You little bastard! You think I'm easy to bully?!
If my face is ruined, you-you'll be buried along with it!
He turned back and saw the children shrinking away.
Xiao Yu paused.
Now that he had seen them, he could not simply turn a blind eye.
So, including the little bastard, there were thirteen of them. How was he supposed to get them out without anyone noticing?
He turned the ring on his finger. His cultivation had not recovered, so its storage space could not hold living creatures yet.
Then his hand suddenly brushed the scroll against his chest.
He asked the children, "Do you want to come out with me?"
The children looked at Xiao Yu, then nodded.
The next moment, a strange smile suddenly spread across Xiao Yu's face.
"..."
Was it still possible for them to change their minds?
In less than a quarter of an hour, Xiao Yu had slapped those children into the scroll, turning them into figures in the painting.
He put the scroll away, tucking it back against his chest.
All he had to do now was wait for the guards outside to let their guard down, and then he could return to the palace.
Perfect.
Before you continue