Ransoming a captive

Xu Qi'an sat in the large chair, held his teacup, took a sip, and slowly said, "Tell me."

Miss Rongrong pursed her red lips and said, "Since Lord Xu has heard of my reputation, he must also be familiar with the Thousand-Faced Female Thief."

"I've heard of it." Xu Qi'an stroked his chin, looking at her. "You mean, the one who stole my treasure was actually that Thousand-Faced Female Thief?"

"Min Yinluo, get me the information on that female thief."

Min Shan then instructed his clerk to search for it. After a short while, the clerk returned with a booklet, opened it to the corresponding page, and handed it to Xu Qi'an.

Information about the Thousand-Faced Female Thief is scarce. It is only recorded that she is an extremely skilled thief who works alone, and her school and background are unknown. She has committed countless crimes, both big and small, and has never been caught.

This record provided Xu Qi'an with two pieces of information: First, the other party was no ordinary thief; he had committed serious crimes and had never failed.

Secondly, the female thief's domain was limited to theft and she didn't cause much damage, so the Nightwatchers government office) only made a few records of her activities and didn't take them seriously.

"She's a highly professional thief." Xu Qi'an closed the booklet, handed it back to the clerk, and asked the bound and gagged Rongrong:

Why did the Thousand-Faced Female Thief disguise herself as you?

Rongrong sneered, "Who knows? Perhaps they're just jealous of my social skills."

It seems they had a falling out, hence the retaliation. Xu Qi'an grabbed his sword and slung it back at his waist, saying, "Min Yinluo, the man is yours now. He can't be released until I agree, no matter who comes."

After giving his instructions, Xu Qi'an hurriedly left the yamen, mounted his beloved little mare, and galloped towards the outer city.

The only solution was to ask Master Jinlian to intervene personally. Fortunately, he knew where Master Jinlian lived, even though he had never been there.

The sun was gradually moving westward, and curfew would be in an hour. He had to find the female thief and retrieve the fragments of the Earth Book before curfew, otherwise he would have no choice but to return to the yamen and ask Wei Yuan to sign a warrant for his arrest.

Master Jinlian lived in the northern part of the city, in a small courtyard by the river. The distinctive feature was a small scarecrow standing on the roof of the main house.

When Xu Qi'an arrived, he knocked on the courtyard gate, but it was quiet inside and no one answered.

"Has the Daoist priest gone out?"

Xu Qi'an climbed over the wall into the courtyard, pushed open the door of the main house, and found the house clean and tidy. On the bed, Daoist Jinlian lay peacefully, as if she had passed away.

Xu Qi'an called out "Daoist Master" a few times, but seeing that he was still fast asleep, he knew that the old man had gone out for a stroll with the cat again.

How did he suddenly develop such a strange habit? What should he do? He doesn't even know when the Daoist priest will return. Xu Qi'an frowned and thought for a moment, then had an idea.

He strolled to the bedside, raised his hand, and slapped the Daoist priest across the face with both hands.

As a seasoned veteran of the martial arts world, Master Jinlian should know how to protect his physical body. He must have had a backup plan. He could immediately sense any damage to his body, and even detect it.

"Clap clap clap!"

Only the sound of slapping remained in the room.

After a long while, Xu Qi'an heard the emotionless voice of Daoist Jinlian coming from the doorway. "What are you doing?"

The slapping stopped immediately. Xu Qi'an, surprised and delighted, looked towards the door and said, "Daoist Master, you're back."

An orange cat stood on the doorstep, gazing at him wistfully.

Seeing that Master Jinlian remained silent, Xu Qi'an quickly explained, "I have urgent business with you, but you're not in the courtyard. I suspect you must have left a hidden trick in your body, so I had no choice but to resort to this."

The orange cat's voice remained emotionless. "Did you guess that I sensed you the moment you entered the yard?"

Even when I was admitted to the hospital, Master Jinlian sensed that a guest had arrived. Xu Qi'an asked blankly, "I didn't know."

The orange cat nodded, strode gracefully into the house, leaped onto the bed, and asked, "What is it?"

My fragment of the Earth Book has been stolen.

At that moment, he told Master Jinlian how he encountered the Thousand-Faced Female Thief and how he mistakenly arrested Miss Rongrong.

"Once the fragment of the Earth Book recognizes its owner, outsiders cannot see the message or retrieve its contents. You can rest assured." The orange cat remained calm.

"So when I got it from you, it was ownerless?"

"The mark was erased by the leader of the Earth Sect."

Xu Qi'an nodded; he already knew about these things. "Without further ado, let's go retrieve the fragments of the Earth Book."

"Come with me."

The orange cat leaped off the bed and darted out of the house. Xu Qi'an chased after it and found it crouching on the horse's back, its head tilted to the side, quietly waiting for him.

Why didn't the Daoist priest use his physical body? Even if riding cats is a hobby, he was on official business. Did he see no difference between using his physical body and his Primordial Spirit?

With a sense of doubt, Xu Qi'an untied the reins, stroked the mare's face, and thought to himself that it was unfair to let another man ride her once.

Da da da.

The mare galloped wildly down the wide street, and pedestrians consciously stepped aside, with no one foolishly blocking the road.

This is an era where people yield to cars.

"Turn left!"

The orange cat suddenly said.

Xu Qi'an turned his horse around, controlling the mare to complete a beautiful drift, turning to the left.

Under the guidance of Master Jinlian, Xu Qi'an traveled from the north of the city to the east, arriving at an inn. Master Jinlian said, "The fragment of the Earth Book is inside."

As he spoke, Xu Qi'an felt a connection like blood, mysterious and profound, and clearly sensed the location of the Earth Book fragment.

When the fragments of the Earth Book are in close proximity to their host, they can develop a sympathetic connection.

In a room of the inn.

A woman with heavy makeup, large almond-shaped eyes, and a gentle, alluring gaze sat at the table, one hand supporting her chin, the other playing with a small jade mirror.

Why can't I use this item?

The imposter Rongrong examined the fragment of the Earth Book. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but as the sole heir of the Thieves' Guild, she had a keen intuition for treasures.

Finding treasures is a natural skill of the disciples of the Thieves' Guild.

The mirror surface had many strange patterns: boxes, silver notes, crossbows, and silver ingots. Based on her years of "treasure hunting" experience, she quickly made a guess:

This is a magical Law Treasure that Blood-Drip Recognition, and it also has a built-in storage function.

The girl named Rongrong was immediately thrilled. She hadn't expected to catch so many big fish in one net, not only a treasure but also a huge fortune.

How do we get the contents out of there?

The imposter Rongrong gripped the fragments of the Earth Book and banged them against the table.

She had never seen a magical Law Treasure that required Blood-Drip Recognition, and was helpless in dealing with it. Of course, one principle remained unchanged: any storage Law Artifact would automatically release its stored contents if the Law Artifact was destroyed.

But this is a Law Treasure that Blood-Drip Recognition; its value is immeasurable. We certainly can't do something so short-sighted as to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

"Rongrong," the young woman asked with a frown. She hadn't asked the waiter for hot water, and she still had enough money for the room.

"Check the watermark." A man's voice came from outside.

Upon hearing this voice, "Rongrong's" expression changed drastically. Without thinking, she grabbed the small jade mirror, put it in her pocket, stood up, and rushed to the window.

"Bang!"

She opened the window, about to escape, when she saw an orange cat sitting by the window, its amber eyes staring at her intently.

The girl, named Rongrong, felt as if steel nails had been driven into her brain, tearing her soul apart. She clutched her head, groaned, and collapsed to the ground.

The door was pushed open, and Xu Qi'an, with one hand on his knife, strode into the room with an air of indifference.

The orange cat also jumped into the house from the window.

"It really was you!"

Xu Qi'an drew his black and gold longsword, held it to "Rongrong's" neck, and sneered, "Thousand-Faced Female Thief."

"Sir, what are you saying?"

The girl named "Rongrong" turned her bright eyes, seemingly thinking of a solution.

Xu Qi'an reached out and gently grabbed the fragment of the Earth Book, which flew out from the girl "Rongrong's" arms and fell into his hand automatically.

"Rongrong" exclaimed, reaching out to try and stop her, but a sharp pain in her neck made her give up in frustration.

This man is incredibly powerful; ten of me wouldn't be enough to withstand a single blow from him.

After checking the fragments of the Earth Book and confirming that nothing was missing, Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

The gold, silver, and banknotes in the mirror were all his possessions. He had come to this world half a year ago and worked hard to accumulate these assets.

That's all my savings for getting married.

He put the fragments of the Earth Book back into his pocket, then sheathed his knife, pulled up a chair, sat down, and smiled as he scrutinized the disheartened female thief, saying:

"Hey, aren't you going to try and make an excuse?"

"Caught red-handed, what's there to argue about?" The female thief rolled her eyes and muttered.

"I've roamed the land for years, never expecting to be defeated in the capital. Truly, it lives up to its reputation as the most virtuous city under heaven; it's no wonder."

His tone and demeanor screamed "old hand, tough nut to crack," a stark contrast to the cunning and manipulative person he'd displayed at the restaurant.

The act in the restaurant was a facade; now she's showing her true colors.

Xu Qi'an, like a cat catching a mouse, teased, "Try to argue a little, maybe I'll soften and let you go."

The female thief's expression changed instantly, revealing a sorrowful look, and she seemed about to weep:

"I am also a woman of misfortune. I was sold to a brothel by my parents when I was three, forced to serve customers at ten, and taken in as my master's last disciple at fifteen. I thought my suffering was finally over, but little did I know that my master was a beast in human form. One dark and stormy night, he, he..."

Perhaps the acting was too realistic, Xu Qi'an couldn't immediately tell the difference between reality and fiction.

"Alright, alright, I sympathize with your situation, but the law is impartial. I have a few questions for you, so answer them honestly."

Xu Qi'an asked, "How did you manage to steal my treasure without anyone noticing?"

"This is my specialty; I can steal whatever I want from anyone below the fourth rank."

"And how did you disguise yourself?" Xu Qi'an leaned down, pinched her chin, and examined her closely, then chuckled:

"It's not a human skin mask, but this face definitely isn't yours."

"This is a unique secret technique of our thieves' sect, called the 'Deceive the Heavens and Cross the Sea Technique.' It truly alters one's appearance, far surpassing ordinary disguise techniques."

"Etc!"

Master Jinlian suddenly interrupted, her amber eyes fixed on the female thief. "What did you just say? What sect are you from?"

Sensing a sudden, sharp murderous intent, the female thief weakly said, "The Thieves' Guild."

Master Jinlian looked at Xu Qi'an and said coldly, "Just kill this female thief."

This was the worst smear ever leveled against the Daoist School. Xu Qi'an suppressed the urge to smile and asked seriously, "Do you know who this person in front of you is?"

The female thief shook her head.

"A big shot in Daoist School Earth Sect of Daoism."

"From now on, my 'Thieves' Guild' will be renamed 'Divine Thieves' Guild.'" The female thief had a strong will to survive.

"A sect can be changed so easily?" Xu Qi'an was taken aback. Seeing that Daoist Jinlian was no longer speaking, he continued the previous topic, "Hand over the secret manual."

The female thief looked pitiful. "This is a skill I learned from childhood. My master taught me step by step; there's no secret manual. I started practicing at the age of four and it took me over ten years to complete my training."

"Didn't you just say that you entered a brothel at three, started serving customers at ten, and became your master's exclusive 'untouchable' at fifteen?"

"Perhaps you misheard me, sir?"

Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "You really can't believe a single punctuation mark from this seasoned veteran of the underworld."

"Hand over the secret manual of disguise."

The female thief nodded resignedly. "The manual is in the wardrobe, I'll go get it now."

Seeing Xu Qi'an nod, she got up, walked to the wardrobe, took out a bundle, and said, "The secret manual is inside."

Xu Qi'an took the bundle, and the moment he opened it, a burst of green mist shot out. Caught off guard, he and Daoist Jinlian inhaled a few breaths and immediately fainted.

The female thief, who had been holding her breath all along, took out a porcelain bottle from her bundle, took the antidote inside, and then breathed calmly, groaning softly:

"You're no match for me."

As he spoke, he kicked Xu Qi'an a few times in frustration, then reached into his pocket, rummaged around for a bit, and found the jade mirror he had lost.

Suddenly, she felt something hard pressing against her buttocks, and Xu Qi'an's voice came from behind her. "So you should just kill him after all."

The girl named "Rongrong" looked down in horror and found that the silver gong that had been lying there was gone.

She didn't dare move, knowing there was a knife pressed against her buttocks.

"I already reminded you, this is a big shot from the Daoist School Sect of Daoism. You didn't even know when you fell under the illusion." Xu Qi'an said with a smile, "Your butt's quite perky."

The female thief resigned herself to her fate.

"By the way, what's your name?"

Ge Xiaojing.

Xu Qi'an sealed the female thief Ge Xiaojing's acupoints, tied her up tightly, threw her onto the horse, and bid farewell to Master Jinlian.

The orange cat nodded slightly and said, "Be careful on your journey."

She left with graceful steps.

Xu Qi'an untied the reins and was about to mount his beloved mare when the mare suddenly went berserk, turned its head, spun at a forty-five-degree angle, and delivered a beautiful back kick that sent Xu Qi'an flying.

Then, with a long neigh, it galloped away.

"???"

Xu Qi'an, covered in dust, chased after it and subdued it before it could charge at pedestrians. It took him a long time to calm the mare down before it became docile again.

"Little mare, don't you love me anymore? You've grown tired of me after that old geezer Jinlian rode you."

Sitting on horseback, Xu Qi'an thought to himself, "I'll never play tricks again. Old foxes are shrewder."

Back at the Nightwatchers's office, Xu Qi'an took the female thief to jail and warned the jailers not to do anything unnecessary, as he still had a use for her.

By this time, the curfew had been in effect for half an hour, and it was already dark. However, for a silver gong, the curfew was practically meaningless.

"Rongrong, the 'Soul-Stealing Hand,' can be released, but there's a curfew now, so she can't leave the inner city. We'll deal with her tomorrow."

The next day, Xu Qi'an rode his horse to the Nightwatchers's office. An official was already waiting at the gate. Upon seeing him, the official trotted up to greet him and said:

"Sir Xu, a group of people from all walks of life came to the Yamen to redeem someone. It is the girl you brought back yesterday. She is at Min Yinluo's place."

"You're only coming to redeem them now? If I were a lecherous scoundrel who preys on men and women, I would have already filled the kids' bedroom several times over." Xu Qi'an clicked his tongue.

"I see."

P. S.: Haha, there was a bug with Rongrong's name; it didn't match the previous text. I corrected it, but tragically, it seems no one noticed.

I suddenly have a feeling that I'm going to have a whole bunch of bears, hahaha.