Chapter 52, Highriver Robbery

Translator: StarReader

 

Su Chen moved swiftly and silently through the courtyard and pavilions of the Daoist temple, like a shadowy wildcat evading the patrolling Daoists. As he approached the wall, he let out a breath of relief—tonight’s mission had gone smoothly so far.

 

All he needed to do was return to Mist Terrace in Gusu County City, and he’d be safe.

 

Su Chen noticed drops of fresh blood on the ground outside the wall, leading towards the west gate pier and disappearing into the river.

 

This was Ah Chou’s doing, acting under cover of darkness. Using fresh rooster blood from a slaughtered chicken, Ah Chou had created confusion to draw enemies away. The blood had yet to dry. Ah Chou should have already returned to Heaven Falcon Group by now.

 

Su Chen immediately set off for Gusu City…

 

Daoist Qinghe, as usual, finished relieving himself, returned to his quarters, and prepared to rest. As soon as he stepped inside the room, he frowned.

 

First-rate experts were highly sensitive to Qi. Especially in their own rooms, where they were familiar with every object—from the table and chairs to the books and even the dust in the corners. Since outsiders rarely had access to his quarters, any foreign aura would be easily detected.

 

Although everything in the room seemed unchanged, he instinctively felt something was off. There was a faint, unfamiliar scent that disrupted the usual atmosphere of the room.

 

Daoist Qinghe narrowed his intense gaze as he scanned the room.

 

The bookshelves and desks inside showed no signs of tampering; there were no disturbed objects or traces of movement. It was possible that someone had gone through the room but meticulously restored it to its original state. Since he frequently dusted the tables, there were no visible layers of dust, making it hard to detect any disturbance.

 

Daoist Qinghe’s gaze settled on a candleholder in the corner of the room.

 

This particular candleholder was often used to light candles, but he never touched it unless necessary. As a result, it had accumulated a thin layer of dust on its surface. However, there were faint traces on the dust.

 

Although the intruder had been careful not to leave fingerprints, the act of removing the dust from the candle stand clearly suggested that it had been touched recently.

 

“Someone has handled this candleholder. Did they also open the secret room?!”

 

Daoist Qinghe’s expression showed surprise as he quickly approached the candleholder. He hesitated for a moment, fearing it might be a trap to lure him into opening the secret room so someone could observe how it was done.

 

There were numerous first-rate experts within the temple, deterring anyone from slipping inside.

 

In the end, Daoist Qinghe decided on opening the secret room to check for any missing items.

 

“Click!”

 

The door to the secret room burst open, revealing the ten overflowing chests with treasures and jewels. Their brilliance was almost blinding.

 

Daoist Qinghe noticed that the ten treasure boxes were still filled with countless ingots of gold. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. If outsiders had moved the candleholder and entered the secret room, anyone would be overtaken by greed at the sheer amount of gold and silver. They would surely take away a large portion of it in their excitement. However, Daoist Qinghe wasn’t fully reassured by the untouched treasure boxes; he proceeded to open a more concealed hidden cabinet on the wall of the secret room.

 

This hidden cabinet held a rare spiritual treasure, which was the most important item at the Han Mountain Daoist Temple. It was an unparalleled precious object, cherished deeply by their master. The combined value of all the gold and silver in the other ten boxes couldn’t match its worth. Daoist Qinghe carefully opened the cabinet to take a look.

 

Upon seeing what was inside, his entire being went numb, and his eyes were glazed in terror. The jade slip within the cabinet had vanished without a trace.

 

“It’s gone!” The thought sent Daoist Qinghe’s hair standing on end with sheer panic.

 

He had only gone to the outhouse for but a few minutes when the secret room was raided, and his most valuable treasure was gone. If it had been something else that was lost—even if it were a treasure chest containing a thousand kilograms of gold—the loss would have been the same. He could even cover it with his own wealth.

 

But the jade slip—that was a family heirloom of Master Daoist Han Shan, an unparalleled treasure. Even across the entire Wu Region’s thirteen counties, there was nothing that could compare to its value. Every time Master went on a distant journey, he would personally urge Daoist Qinghe to take care of the secret room and emphasized that the jade slip was of crucial importance.

 

If Master returned from his travels and wanted the jade slip only to discover it was missing, how was Daoist Qinghe going to explain himself?

 

[Even if I die as atonement, it would be insufficient to redeem this crime.]

 

“Damn it!” Daoist Qinghe was overwhelmed with shock and anger. This audacious thief had the nerve to enter the secret room while Daoist Qinghe was momentarily distracted. The thief would need time for forced entry, meaning he probably hadn’t gone far yet.

 

“Quickly, someone! A bandit has struck the Daoist temple!”

 

Daoist Qinghe stormed out of the hall like a whirlwind, his roar echoing as if it could split the heavens.

 

The entire Han Mountain Daoist Temple was roused by his furious shout.

 

Those Daoists who were preparing to sleep in their quarters were suddenly awakened, pouring out from every room. The patrolling Daoists rushed forward with torches held high, illuminating the area around Daoist Qinghe’s residence brightly.

 

“Senior Brother Qinghe, what’s going on?”

 

“Master, has something been stolen?”

 

Every Daoist’s face was filled with shock and anger.

 

The fame of Han Mountain Daoist Temple had long struck fear into the hearts of those in the martial world for decades; even minor pests and thieves stayed clear of it. It had been over ten years since any theft had occurred.

 

Among the leading figures of the gathered Daoists, four were prominent disciples at Han Mountain Daoist Temple: Daoist Qingshan, Daoist Qingyun, Daoist Qingshi, and Daoist Qingmu. Along with Senior Brother Qinghe, they were five close disciples directly taught by Master Han Shan.

 

The other two dozen young Daoists and nearly seventy junior Daoists represented the second and third generations of disciples at Han Mountain Daoist Temple. Their cultivation levels varied, but some were top-tier experts.

 

When Qinghe Daoist and the others saw Senior Brother Qinghe with his face twisted by rage, it filled them with unease. His appearance was more terrifying than ever before.

 

“Everyone, a crucial item has just been stolen from the secret chamber. All disciples must split up and search in different directions. If you spot any signs or suspicious individuals along the way, do not let them go. Detain them immediately and conduct a thorough interrogation. Our top priority is to retrieve the stolen object,” the Qinghe Daoist said coldly.

 

“Head Senior Brother,” many of the senior brothers and disciples asked in unison, “what exactly was stolen? Why such urgency?”

 

“The sacred book of our master has been lost,” Qinghe Daoist revealed through clenched teeth, unable to conceal the gravity of the situation from his fellow Daoists.

 

The spiritual treasure was lost—this was unacceptable. If Master returned and found out, disaster would surely follow. The only way to escape this catastrophe was to retrieve the lost text and redeem themselves.

 

“Ah!”

 

“How could it be the sacred text?! H-how can we possibly explain this to Master?!”

 

The four senior Daoists, holding torches in hand, were all shocked into gasping, their faces filled with terror.

 

While the younger generations of Daoists might not understand the significance of the text, these four—as direct disciples of Daoist Han Shan—had once collaborated with Master in studying this sacred text. They knew all too well how extraordinarily rare and precious it was. Among countless volumes of secular doctrines, none could compare to even a single jade slip of this sacred text.

 

“Brothers, don’t panic. The text was stolen only moments ago—within the brief span of one cup of tea time. The thief just recently got away, so he cannot have traveled far,” Daoist Qinghe said composedly.

 

Thinking of Daoist Qinghe, who had been navigating the martial circles for over three decades, having weathered countless storms and upheavals—despite the sudden chaos, he remained composed, his voice steady as he commanded, “Second-generation disciples, hear my command! Two first-rate experts will lead groups to pursue!”

 

Daoist Qinghe’s calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the chaos around him. Decades of navigating the treacherous waters of the martial world had honed his ability to remain composed, even in the face of sudden disaster. As he issued his orders, his voice carried an authority that left no room for doubt.

 

“Understood!”

 

The scene was one of precision and urgency. The senior Daoists overseeing the operation wasted no time. They swiftly mobilized their forces, around a hundred in total, assigning two top-tier experts to lead separate groups in a coordinated pursuit.

 

Each group spread out, their torches cutting through the darkness like streaks of light. They crisscrossed fields and roads, their chants echoing as they pressed onward. Yet, as they ventured deeper into the night, the vastness of the land began to work against them. Every turning point they encountered only served to thin their numbers further.

 

…

 

Han Mountain Daoist Temple’s many Daoists spread out to chase after the thief, but after half an incense stick’s worth of time, no Daoist had managed to catch sight of the criminal. However, they did uncover an extremely suspicious clue: a trail of bloodstains on the outer wall of the temple’s rear courtyard, leading in the direction of the west gate pier and disappearing at the river’s edge.

 

Daoist Qinghe, along with his fellow disciples, arrived at the wall. He plucked a bit of the blood and sniffed it, his expression turning serious. The night was too dark to discern much detail, but the smell of blood was strong and fresh—hardly an hour old, perhaps even less.

 

“Very fresh… probably left no more than a couple of teacups ago,” Daoist Qinghe remarked. “To search along the river’s edge upstream and downstream would require at least thirty or forty pairs of hands to do it properly…” But he also cautioned that it could be a diversionary tactic by the thief, leading them away from the real target. The more likely scenario, he believed, was that the thief had fled toward Gusu County City.

 

Daoist Qinghe, having roamed the martial world for decades and seen countless schemes, would not let himself be fooled by a mere trail of blood. He knew better than to assume the thief had simply escaped into the river, potentially leading them on a wild goose chase.

 

The west gate pier and Gusu County City directions were most suspicious. However, Gusu County City, with its massive size and over ten thousand households, made it far easier for someone to hide there compared to the west gate pier. Even the four senior disciples of Daoist Han Shan—Qingshan, Qingyun, Qingmu, and Qingshi—were visibly panicked, clearly considering the possibility that the thief could evade capture by fleeing into Gusu County City.

 

The jade slip, despite being lost by Daoist Qinghe, had put not only him but also his other four senior disciples at risk. Even the other Daoists within the temple would not escape punishment.

 

“Senior Brother,” one of them exclaimed, “the jade slip was hidden so secretly, with mechanisms involving a candleholder, that an outsider couldn’t possibly unravel it in the time it takes to drink a teacup!”

 

“True enough,” another interjected. “Although we senior disciples knew the jade slip was kept in the secret chamber, only Senior Brother knew how to activate the mechanisms.”

 

“Senior Brother, with Master trusting you to safeguard it and ordering you to guard it day and night, how did you manage your duties? Could it be that you…?” The unspoken accusation hung in the air.

 

Their suspicions inevitably turned toward Daoist Qinghe.

 

The other senior brothers fell silent upon realizing this.

 

Daoist Qinghe was in charge of guarding it and could check the jade slip at any time. There was no advantage for Daoist Qinghe to steal the books while Daoist Han Shan wasn’t watching.

 

This jade slip had been studied by Daoist Han Shan and their five close disciples for nearly thirty years with poor results. It was likely that some top-level bandit had discovered the information and stolen the Han Mountain Daoist Temple’s scriptures.

 

Daoist Qinghe’s gaze darkened as he stared at the distant, quiet Gusu County City.

 

That bandit was so powerful, daring to act under his nose. It must be an extraordinary individual. Such a person would certainly know that Gusu City was the perfect hiding spot.

 

With so few people at Han Mountain Daoist Temple, they couldn’t set up a net to catch this thief. They needed to mobilize both legitimate and illegitimate forces across the entire martial world.