Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 335: The Final Stretch of the Kunlun Journey

Finding Ye Wuzong had become quite simple.

Although he was no longer selling wontons, his followers and disciples remained present in the Yukun Gang, including Tian Lingzi’s young Daoist disciple.

When the Tome of Troubled Times announced Tian Lingzi’s death, the Yukun Gang, like the Jinqian Gang, was thrown into disarray. Ultimately, however, Tian Lingzi’s disciple took over leadership of the gang, and the Yukun Gang’s assets remained intact, not sold off for a pittance.

After all, everyone knew that he still had the backing of the Thieves Guild. If Ye Wuzong decided to come and support him, who knew how the old man’s mood might swing?

So Zhao Changhe, accompanied by Xia Chichi, directly approached the Yukun Gang and cheerfully asked, “Do you still have the gourd we reserved?”

The young Daoist was so scared that he ran off to find his ancestor.

When Ye Wuzong arrived at the Yukun Gang, he saw the young couple examining the gourd with their heads close together, flipping it over and over with delight. It was clear that they both really liked it.

Ye Wuzong was speechless. “Are you two this happy because you won the sword pellet or because of this gourd?”

“The gourd,” the couple replied in unison. “This was the real reason why we went to look for Tian Lingzi in the first place. Who could have known that things would get so out of hand that we almost forgot about it?”

A mere gourd is what you were after, huh? Ye Wuzong found this both amusing and frustrating. This was the definition of buying the case and returning the pearls.

But this was precisely why he liked this young couple. After a lifetime of pursuing profit, his mindset had begun to change in his old age. He had grown tired of the profit-seekers around him, and he found himself appreciating the rare, genuine sentiment being shared between two people, such a thing being especially rare in Kunlun.

In reality, Ye Wuzong had no idea what connection Sisi had with Zhao Changhe. Mentioning Sisi to Xia Chichi was partly out of spite, but also partly because he wanted to see if such a simple provocation would cause them to fall out.

In the end, he discovered that it did not affect them at all.

Ye Wuzong did not know that the young couple had not even gotten around to discussing Sisi. They had been busy dealing with the female fire expert who had entered the secret realm with Zhao Changhe, and Xia Chichi had completely forgotten about Sisi...

Despite his fondness for the couple, Ye Wuzong kept a stern face and said, “The sword pellet wasn’t your original goal, just an unexpected gain, right? Then give it to me.”

Zhao Changhe stood up, bowed deeply, and respectfully said, “Previously, Chichi led you away, and you did not make things difficult for her. I am deeply grateful for this. For that alone, if you truly need the sword pellet, I am willing to give it to you.”

Xia Chichi’s face was flushed. She secretly watched Zhao Changhe’s performance and pouted.

Ye Wuzong found himself a little surprised by this. He stroked his beard and said, “You’re really willing to give it to me? Does this mean that you don’t want this little girl to refine her own flying sword?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “As you said earlier, the sword pellet was an unexpected gain. It isn’t something that we’re determined to have. Now that we have a direction, we can definitely try to find a similar item.”

“Forget it.” Ye Wuzong chuckled. “You know, I’m starting to suspect that you only said all that to make things hard for me.”

Zhao Changhe responded earnestly, “Absolutely not. How could any external item compare to a single strand of Chichi’s hair?”

The more Zhao Changhe deferred it, the more uninteresting Ye Wuzong found the item. “The sword pellet is useless to me, and its value as a collectible is of far less interest to me than the experience of attempting and failing to steal it. I’ve gotten what I wanted. Any more discussion would be pointless.”

With that, he took out a black jade token and tossed it to Zhao Changhe. “This was a part of the bet, and it rightfully belongs to you. As for the poison scripture, if the Four Idols Cult wants to have a copy of it, then you can send someone to copy it. If there’s nothing else, I’m leaving. I don’t have the time to watch you little kids be all lovey-dovey.”

“Senior, wait,” said Xia Chichi. “Earlier, we talked about potential cooperation between our forces. You said that there wasn’t much to collaborate on. However, after thinking it over, I believe there is.”

“Oh?” Ye Wuzong chuckled. “Tell me then.”

“I believe that, aside from your detachment from worldly matters, there are other reasons for you staying in Kunlun. After all, you still have disciples operating in the Central Plains.”

Ye Wuzong said, “Naturally. Do you think all my disciples would be here hiding in Kunlun to steal things? How much could they even steal if they did stay here?”

“Most of your disciples haven’t reached the level of stealing purely for the thrill and disregarding profit. They need to make profits to live, first and foremost, which means that they need channels to fence their stolen goods. Our Four Idols Cult can offer cooperation in this regard.”

Ye Wuzong smiled and said, “I don’t have that many disciples, and it’s usually easy for them to sell off stolen goods. We don’t need a large network. However, since you brought it up, there are indeed some items that are somewhat difficult to deal with... If you help us fence our stolen goods, what do you want in return? It can’t just be a share of the profits, right?”

“Establishing a close relationship with the Thieves Guild is our profit.” Xia Chichi smiled slightly. “As you said, sometimes the process itself is the most important part.”

Ye Wuzong laughed heartily. “You two are really good at buttering me up. Fine, it’s settled. This essentially means my disciples can make use of the Four Idols Cult’s network. I won’t be ungrateful.”

Zhao Changhe could not help but say, “Senior, your reasonableness makes it really difficult for me to associate you with the notorious demonic cults that people talk about.”

Ye Wuzong squinted at him. “When you were making out with the saintess of the Four Idols Cult, did you consider that she is a leading figure of one of those notorious demonic cults that people talk about?”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

Xia Chichi: “...”

“The main reason demonic cults become considered as such lies in the Dao. It’s because of the difference in paths and principles that such distinctions are made, not because of personal character,” said Ye Wuzong as he picked up his teacup, blowing the tea froth on it gently. “Besides, I am not this reasonable with just anyone. You seem to have misunderstood.”

Far away, the eavesdropping Vermillion Bird nodded. Ye Wuzong’s behavior at the moment simply overturned her understanding of the thief saint. Do these two not know how ruthless this old man was in his younger years? The fact that he’s acting like a kind grandfather at the moment is absolutely incomprehensible.

Zhao Changhe recalled how sinister and cold Ye Wuzong had been in the stone chamber. It did seem that his favorable treatment of them might have been influenced by their display of affection at his wonton stall. Their actions back then may have earned them a bit of goodwill.

It could only be said that perhaps there really were fated connections or predestined relationships between certain people.

After some thought, Zhao Changhe asked, “Senior, can I ask why you decided to hide in Kunlun?”

“Why I chose to stay here?” Ye Wuzong chuckled. “If I told you that I offended powerful figures in the Central Plains and decided to hide in Kunlun, would you help me handle them?”

Zhao Changhe earnestly replied, “It’s not impossible for me to give it a try.”

Ye Wuzong said lightly, “Kunlun suits someone like me, the follower of what people call an ‘evil path.’ Here, whether I steal or kill, it’s not considered improper.”

Zhao Changhe’s expression grew strange. So you mean, in the Central Plains, you feel some guilt when stealing from honest people? Brother, are you really growing old?

Seeing Zhao Changhe’s expression, Ye Wuzong knew that he had misunderstood. He shook his head and said, “Don’t think we’re some righteous upholders of social justice who rob the rich and give to the poor. Do you know the first commandment of the Thieves Guild?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I’d like to hear it.”

“Thou shalt not be greedy. The Thieves Guild can seek profit but must not give in to greed. Whether it’s insatiable greed or the inability to resist temptation, both are deadly enemies and the major taboos of the Thieves Guild. Greed blinds one’s reason, leading to poor judgment. Those who are greedy may end up targeting enemies they should not provoke, falling into traps, or missing their chance to escape. Ultimately, everything would come to nothing.”

Zhao Changhe and Xia Chichi exchanged glances, finding this quite interesting. They had always thought that those of the Thieves Guild were the greediest of all, yet they actually regarded greed as their foremost taboo. Ye Wuzong’s behavior at their first meeting made even more sense now.

“You want to know why I chose to stay in Kunlun? It’s because I realized that if I stayed in the Central Plains, I would be unable to resist temptation and might end up targeting someone I absolutely shouldn’t.” Ye Wuzong sipped tea leisurely. “I don’t believe in his weak appearance, but the more he seems vulnerable, the more tempted I am... It’s better to just cut off my hand. Until I am absolutely certain that I can steal from him without dying, I decided that I should exile myself and refrain from leaving Kunlun.”

The young couple knew exactly who he was referring to.

Does he consider stealing a nation as theft? That doesn’t really seem to fit the Thieves Guild’s style... What even is it about Xia Longyuan that interests him?

“What do you think? Can you handle this for me?” Ye Wuzong said with a sly smile. “If I steal from him, can you stop him? Actually, if there’s anyone who might be able to stop him, it really might be you.”

Zhao Changhe coughed awkwardly. The person who might be able to stop Xia Longyuan was right beside him—Chichi. But of course, Xia Longyuan might not really care about her, and Ye Wuzong was not seriously asking for help in stopping Xia Longyuan. He was just joking around.

This conversation was not going anywhere productive, so Zhao Changhe said, “No one can stop that person.”

“Exactly. On the other hand, here in Kunlun, I can touch whatever and whoever I want. It’s much more liberating here.” Ye Wuzong smacked his lips and sighed. “But then I discovered that the old Daoist has some odd treasures too... Is there no end to this? Can’t a person just live in peace?”

It must be a page of the Heavenly Tome.

Ye Wuzong might not know about the Heavenly Tome specifically, but as the thief saint, he must have sensed the presence of such treasures. He knew Xia Longyuan had one, and Daoist Yuxu probably had one as well.

It’s a bit strange, though. If Daoist Yuxu has the page of the Heavenly Tome, then there’s no way that I can get it. Why would the blind woman suggest that I go here then? Is she someone who would just send me to my death?

“Then...” Zhao Changhe asked after careful consideration, “Senior, do you know why Daoist Yuxu created this land of villains in Kunlun?”

Ye Wuzong did not answer directly, looking at him with a half-smile. “Did you come here today looking for me or Yuxu?”

Zhao Changhe did not hide it: “I do have intentions of meeting Daoist Yuxu.”

Ye Wuzong shrugged. “In that case, you can ask him yourself. I can pass him a message for you, but whether he’ll agree to see you or not, I don’t know, and whether he’ll kill you or not as soon as you meet, I don’t know either. That old Daoist’s temper is stranger than mine. If you aren’t afraid of dying, go ahead and try.”