Chapter 117: Song Zuzu [Changed the title]
[ps: At the editor's suggestion, I changed the book title back to its original one. The writing style of this book is mainly light-hearted. The original title was too serious and not very suitable for the content. Apart from changing the title, nothing else is affected. Please be informed.]
The first "wall climbing" competition has ended.
Inside the courtyard, three masked leaders looked at the twelve people standing in a row. One of them pointed and said, "You, you, you..., the six of you stay. The rest of you can go back."
The person who was called finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Those who were not called showed disappointment on their faces, but did not say anything and walked out of the yard one after another.
Of course, Li Nuo was among those who stayed behind. He felt extremely distressed when he saw the six people leaving. That was all his life, and it just slipped away in vain...
But he couldn't persuade him to come back.
He could only comfort himself that the monk could run away but the temple could not, and as long as he could catch the abbots in one fell swoop and follow the clues, these people would not be able to escape either.
The six people who passed the first level were taken into a carriage and were ordered to blindfold themselves.
This time, the carriage traveled significantly less time.
When Li Nuo and others got off the car again, they had arrived at an unfamiliar yard.
Li Nuo now knows that all masked people are top-level figures.
There are two other masked abbots in this courtyard.
Just like before, there are twelve people participating in this competition.
The other six people should have finished competing somewhere else.
A chief monk briefly explained the rules of the second level to them.
There were twelve tables in the yard.
There are three locks on each table.
The first step in burglary is to climb over the wall, and the second step is to pick the lock.
This level is also very simple.
Before the incense stick in the yard burns out, open the three locks on the table in front of you.
If any of the three locks is not opened, you will be eliminated directly.
Apart from these three locks, there was only a very thin wire on the table.
After a masked abbot lit the incense, everyone immediately picked up the thin wire and kept probing it in the keyhole.
These three locks have different shapes and internal structures, requiring three different unlocking methods.
Although Li Nuo had never opened a lock before, his hands moved quickly, and everything seemed to be muscle memory.
He was the first to open all three locks, and at this time, the incense was less than half burned.
Such a fast speed naturally attracted the attention of the five leaders.
"How can this person, at such a young age, have such skills?"
"You didn't see it just now. His ability to climb over the wall is also extraordinary."
"I don't know what his other abilities are, but judging from these two skills alone, he is more than qualified to be the chief."
…
As time passed, eight of the twelve people finally opened the three locks on the table before the incense stick burned out.
The other four were unfortunately eliminated.
But this time, the leaders did not ask them to move.
A chief monk led the eight people to a door and said, "In a moment, the eight of you will take turns opening this door. Only the four who open it in the shortest time and with the least noise will be able to enter the next round of competition."
Li Nuo took a look and found that the door was closed from the inside.
There are two situations that may occur during burglary.
When the owner is not at home and the door is locked from the outside, the ability to unlock the door is required.
When the owner is at home and the door is closed from the inside, another skill is required, which is called blocking.
To unblock means to use a knife to open the bolt.
The thief who broke into the Huang couple's room used this method.
This is an essential skill for a flower thief who steals beauty.
This task is a little more difficult than unlocking a door. It requires a knife as thin as a cicada's wing to open the bolt little by little, ensuring speed while avoiding any unusual noise.
A thief who dares to do this not only needs to be highly skilled, but also needs to have extraordinary courage.
This time, Li Nuo was the first to go up.
The gap in the door was very narrow, and the blade of the knife was extremely thin, making it difficult to control, but he didn't need to control it, everything happened naturally.
After a while, Li Nuo put away the knife and gently pushed open the door.
Everyone, including several chief monks, looked at him in surprise.
quick!
Too fast!
This kid is so young, but his skills in unlocking and clearing jams are better than many experienced thieves.
The managers of the Thieves' Sect present were even more alert, as this person might be the biggest obstacle in their path to becoming the leader.
After opening the door, Li Nuo stood aside and observed.
The members of the thieves' sect are obviously more skilled than those unorganized thieves.
Those who can reach this step are the elite among thieves.
Among the eight people, only one failed to pry open the door within one stick of incense. The other three were eliminated because they took too long or made too much noise.
Li Nuo's gaze lingered on the three people for a while.
The difficulty of unblocking varies according to the width of the door gap. The simplest unblocking is something that anyone can do.
But there are not many thieves who dare to do such a thing.
Only if you are extremely confident in your craftsmanship would you dare to do it when the owner is in the room.
The gap in the door of the Huang couple's room is smaller than the gap in the door that was just tested.
Someone who can't even pass the competition is unlikely to be the murderer; they don't have that ability.
There is a certain possibility that the murderer who killed the Huang couple is among these people.
All three of them were men, one of whom was thin and small. It should be impossible for him to kill the Huang couple by himself.
The other two, one a young man in his twenties and the other a middle-aged man, both had the ability and skills to commit the crime.
Unfortunately, it had been more than a day since the crime occurred, and he could not judge through the code.
Of course, the possibility that the murderer is one of the two is very small. After all, there should be several other groups of contestants besides them.
But narrowing down the murderer to a small circle is better than looking for a needle in a haystack.
Li Nuo learned from Zhao Wu that burglary is divided into different areas.
A thief in an area can only steal within that area, otherwise it would be breaking the rules.
As long as he could find out which area the Huang Mansion was located in, which chief was in charge, which managers were in charge, and who were their subordinates, he would be able to narrow the scope further.
Of course, when things have come to this point, investigating the Huang family’s case is just a side issue.
His ultimate goal was to wipe out all the top leaders of the Daomen Sect, and then follow the clues to wipe out this illegal organization entrenched in Chang'an.
The contribution of this incident is far greater than that of a murder case.
Led by a masked chief, the four walked out of the yard and the gate was closed from the inside.
Li Nuo looked back and asked in surprise, "Aren't those leaders going?"
The masked chief looked at him and said calmly, "You all have the hope of becoming the chief in the future. I might as well tell you the rules of the chief in advance. Except for important meetings, no more than eight chiefs are allowed to appear in the same place under any circumstances..."
Li Nuo was surprised.
The thief's caution was beyond his expectations.
They actually have this awareness of risk control.
He only knew that modern countries or companies have such regulations that leaders and successors, the top and second-in-command of a department, cannot take the same means of transportation, and executives of the same company cannot take the same plane.
If something goes wrong, it could paralyze the country and the company.
It is worthy of being a thief’s door, the safety awareness is so advanced.
But this ruined his plan.
He originally thought that this competition would be conducted by everyone together.
Most of the senior executives of the thieves' group will also be present at the scene.
Who would have thought that they not only divided the examination rooms and adopted a rule of elimination at each level, but also had risk control measures for senior management.
In this case, he might not even be able to catch half of the senior executives, which was far from his psychological expectations.
We can only take one step at a time and see what happens.
Several people got on the carriage and blindfolded themselves again.
The carriage drove for a while before slowly stopping.
At the signal of the masked abbot, Li Nuo and others jumped off the carriage and walked into the new courtyard.
He immediately scanned the courtyard and found that there were only two masked leaders here, and an old man in a black robe.
The masked abbot who brought Li Nuo in stepped forward and said respectfully, "Greetings to the Dharma Protector."
The old man in black robe also covered his face and said in a hoarse voice: "Wait a little longer, there are still a few people who haven't arrived yet."
Li Nuo stood in the yard for a while, and then he saw another masked abbot coming here with four other people.
One guardian and four chiefs - this was far below Li Nuo's expectations.
After passing the first three rounds, only sixteen contestants remained.
With so few people, even if we catch them all, it won’t add much to their lifespan.
A masked leader said, "The fact that you can get here shows that your basic skills are very good. This is the last competition site of the day. Here, you will have the last three competitions. The one with the best performance will be the new leader of the Thief Sect..."
Everyone looked a little excited when they heard this.
Becoming the first seat means officially becoming a senior member of the thieves' sect.
A chief monk's subordinate is in charge of dozens of followers, and can take half of the money they steal.
This power is not possessed by the steward.
Li Nuo had different ideas.
Only by becoming the first one can he have the opportunity to meet more high-level members of the Thieves Sect. He is determined to win the next three competitions.
The masked abbot walked to the center of the courtyard, stood in front of a straw-bound dummy wearing clothes, and said, "Go forward one by one, take out the silver and copper coins from the chest and sleeves of this person, and the one whose bell rings will be eliminated."
Those who can reach this stage are all elite thieves.
It's not difficult to climb over the wall and pick the lock when no one is at home.
The ability to steal money and other items in person without being discovered is the dividing line between professional thieves and amateur thieves.
This scene tests the fourth art of thieves, called "pickpocketing", which mainly involves quietly taking away the valuables from the target's chest or sleeve pockets when passing by.
Being a pickpocket requires being "fast, accurate, and steady," which tests both the technique and the psychology.
Stealing something by intentionally bumping into the target's body is the lowest form of stealing.
Anyone who is a little wary or has experience in anti-theft will check whether any property is missing as soon as they are hit.
A true master can pass by someone and take something from their pocket.
The dummies in the yard are hung with bells. If you move a little too much, the bells will be touched and make sounds.
The sixteen people who passed the first three levels came forward one by one.
Everyone must take away the valuables on the dummy as they quickly pass by it.
Some of them use two thin chopsticks, while others only use two fingers, but no matter which form is adopted, it takes years of uninterrupted practice to achieve this.
In the end, six out of sixteen were eliminated because they touched the bell.
Even though the bell only made a slight sound, this level of movement would hardly be noticed by a normal person when stealing, but it was still slightly insufficient compared to the other ten people.
"Pickpocketing" is the most common method used by thieves. For a skilled thief, it is as easy as eating and drinking.
The six people who were eliminated cannot go back for the time being and can only stand aside and wait.
Another skill corresponding to "pickpocket" is called "cutting hair".
Pickpockets can only steal money from open pockets. Poor people usually use open pockets, while wealthy people who are more particular will use purses hung or tied around their waists.
The purse is not open, so it is fine if you put it in your arms or simply hang it around your waist. But if it is tied tightly, you can only get it by cutting the ties.
This prompted the thieves to spontaneously study the skill of cutting silk strings. They glued two thin blades to their index and middle fingers and used them to cut the silk strings of purses.
This is a difficult skill for a petty thief.
But for the elite thieves who had made it here through the trials and tribulations, this was a piece of cake. At this level, not a single one out of the ten people was eliminated.
Everyone successfully cut the silk string that tied the purse to the dummy and took the purse.
Even the old man in black robes said with some satisfaction: "Yes, I thought that at this point, there would be three or five left, but I didn't expect that there would be ten left..."
The masked chief beside him also said with a smile: "They are all capable enough to be the chief. It all depends on who will be better in the final round of 'buying against each other'..."
Li Nuo's skills were inherited from the guardian of the thieves, so naturally he was one of the ten people who finally stayed.
The last competition is called "Buying".
The Six Arts of Thieves, to put it simply, are thefts in two situations.
Climbing over walls, picking locks, and removing blockages are essential skills for burglary.
Pickpockets, haircuts, and pair buyers are targeting street theft.
The last item, “pair purchase”, refers to secretly replacing other people’s property with items of equal weight.
When someone goes out on the street carrying a heavy purse and suddenly it's gone, even if they don't see the thief, they can still feel the change in weight.
But if you can replace the item with an item of equal weight at the moment of theft, the possibility of being discovered is very small.
But this requires very high skills.
First of all, you have to judge how much property the other person has based on the swing of the wallet when it falls, and then replace it with something of equal weight. This is already a professional level among professionals. Ordinary street theft would not be so troublesome.
The competition of stealing doors reduces the difficulty of "buying against each other".
An abbot was walking back and forth in the courtyard with a purse tied around his waist.
The ten people have to judge the weight of the purse by observing the movements of the abbot and the amplitude of the shaking of the purse, and then replace it with sand, soil and stones of equal weight. The one with the closest weight wins.
Inside the courtyard, ten people were staring intently at the purse on the abbot's waist, changing their positions from time to time, trying to observe it from different angles.
After a moment, the chief monk took out his purse and said, "Let's get started."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately picked up the empty purses on the table and began to fill them with sand.
The opportunity to strike is fleeting, and they need to do all this within ten breaths.
"stop!"
At the order given by the masked leader, everyone stopped.
He took out a scale, put it on the table, put the purse in his hand on one end of the scale, picked up the filled purse of another person and put it on the other end.
The balance was clearly tipped towards the filled purse.
Apparently he loaded it too heavy.
'Buying the right thing' is the most difficult of the six skills. It is difficult to accurately judge the weight of a purse just by visual inspection. Not to mention the abbot, even the guardian may not be able to do it so accurately.
The masked leader tried one purse after another, and found that everyone's purses were either too light or too heavy.
There are two people whose weight is closest to the original purse.
One of them was a middle-aged man. He knew this man. He was the most experienced manager of the Thieves Sect. He was proficient in the six arts of the Thieves Sect and was one of the people with the greatest hope of being promoted to the head.
The other person was a young man with dark skin. His appearance seemed ordinary at first glance, but upon closer inspection, he was quite handsome.
The purses filled by the two men were one a little heavier and one a little lighter, but the difference was not much.
He couldn't make up his mind, so he looked at the old man in black robe and asked, "Protector, it's hard to tell who will win in the 'buying match' between these two. Please make the decision, Protector."
The old man in black robe looked at the young man and asked, "What's your name?"
The young man said, "Replying to the protector, I am Song Yu, the junior."
The old man in black robe nodded and said, "Very good, from now on you will be the new leader of my thief sect."
Several chiefs were stunned when they heard this. They thought that the guardian would let the two of them compete again until the winner was decided, but they didn't expect that he would directly designate the young man.
The middle-aged steward was stunned for a moment after hearing the old man's words. He no longer cared about the hierarchy and said angrily: "This is unfair. Our scores are similar. Why can he be the first seat!"
The old man in black robe glanced at him calmly and asked, "Where is your steward badge?"
"Here..."
The middle-aged manager touched his chest, his expression suddenly changed, and he asked in shock: "Where is my badge?"
The young man took out a waist badge from his pocket and returned it to him, smiling and saying, "Thank you."
The middle-aged manager took the badge silently, lowered his head and dared not look at anyone.
He was too embarrassed to see anyone.
I have been a thief all my life, and today I was robbed by a thief.
He finally understood what it meant that there are always people better than you, there are always higher up in the world, and there are always thieves better than you.
He was not as skilled as the other person, so there was nothing to say. He put away his badge, bowed respectfully to the young man, and said with conviction: "Greetings, Master Song..."
The new leader has been chosen, and the other contestants present have dispersed.
In the small courtyard, only the old man in black robe and four abbots were left.
The old man in black robe looked at Li Nuo and said, "My last name is Zhang. You can call me Zhang the Dharma Protector. From now on, you will be directly responsible to me."
Li Nuo bowed to him and said, "Meetings, Protector Zhang."
The old man nodded, looked at the other masked man, and said, "Master Wu, Master Song has just been promoted and doesn't understand many things yet. Please take some time to teach him so that he can get familiar with the position of Master as soon as possible..."
The masked man nodded and said, "Don't worry, Protector Zhang. I will help Master Song get familiar with the affairs of the sect as soon as possible."
The black-robed old man and the other three chiefs left. Chief Wu, who had his face covered, clasped his fists to Li Nuo and said, "Chief Song, let's go back too."
Li Nuo followed him out of the yard and got on the last carriage parked outside the yard, which was the first carriage he took when he came.
This Chief Wu was the one who took him away from his fifth brother.
In Chang'an, inside a simple house somewhere.
Zhao Wu paced in the yard with an anxious look on his face.
Xiao Song has been gone for so long, why hasn’t he come back yet?
Although the later he came back, the further he had gone in the competition, this was still too long.
Could it be that after he was eliminated, he couldn't find his way back?
It is very likely that the alleys outside this stronghold are interconnected and winding, and it would be impossible to find the direction without walking dozens of times.
Xiao Song just walked there once, so it's normal that he can't find the way back.
He planned to look for him at the street corner where he met him. Xiao Song was so smart that if he couldn't find the way, he might wait for him there.
Bang bang bang!
Just as Zhao Wu was thinking this, there was a regular knock on the door.
He walked over quickly, opened the door, and saw the young man standing there. He smiled and said, "Xiao Song, you're finally back. It doesn't matter if you were eliminated from the competition. Just consider it as a chance to learn something new..."
The masked man standing next to the young man glanced at Zhao Wu and said indifferently: "What Xiao Song, it's rude, call me Song the Chief!"
A moment later, inside the room, Zhao Wu respectfully poured hot tea for the two of them. Li Nuo smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Wu."
Zhao Wu's face changed, and he kept saying, "No, no, no, Master Song, please forgive me. Just call me Xiao Wu..."
Chief Wu has taken off the veil on his face and looks like an honest middle-aged man. Judging from his appearance, no one would have thought that he is one of the sixteen chiefs of the Thieves' Sect.
He took out a wooden token from his arms, handed it to Li Nuo, and said, "This is the identity token of the chief. Chief Song, keep it well and do not lose it. This is the only proof of your identity."
Li Nuo took the wooden sign. The top of the sign was neat, but the bottom had irregular tooth-like indentations, which should be used to prevent counterfeiting.
Then, Wu Shouzuo said, "Song Shouzuo has just become the chief, so there is no need to rush to handle the affairs of the sect. In a few days, it will be the semi-annual Thieves' Conference. At that time, the sect will redivide the jurisdiction. Once Song Shouzuo's jurisdiction is determined, I will tell you what you should do so that you can get familiar with this position as soon as possible..."
Li Nuo cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Master Wu."
Chief Wu smiled and said, "As you should. Chief Song can go back first. If you have any problems in the next few days, just look for Zhao Wu. Zhao Wu, you send Chief Song out..."
Zhao Wu sent Li Nuo to the entrance of the alley. When they returned to the base, Wu Shouzuo closed the door and asked, "How did you know Song Shouzuo? Tell me everything."
Zhao Wu was slightly stunned, and then told him the details of what happened.
Then, he asked tentatively: "Master Wu, Xiao Song... No, Master Song, is there a problem?"
Wu Shouzuo said calmly, "Whether there is a problem or not, we have to investigate to know. The position of the chief is extremely important. If there is any mistake, it will bring immeasurable damage to the thieves. It is better to be careful. In the next few days, you should find someone to watch him 24 hours a day and do a detailed investigation on him to make sure there are no omissions."
Although Zhao Wu was sure that Xiao Song was fine, he still nodded and said, "Yes."
Chang'an, north of the city.
Li Nuo walked to a house on the street and knocked on the door.
After a while, the courtyard door opened from the inside, and Li Anning, wearing coarse cloth clothes and with makeup on her face, walked out.
A smile appeared on her face. She took Li Nuo's arm first and said happily, "Husband, you're back!"
Li Nuo was slightly startled when he felt the full pressure on his arm. But before he could speak, Li An Ning lowered his voice and said, "Someone is following you. Don't let it show..."
Li Nuo reacted instantly, a smile quickly appeared on his face, he picked her up, turned her around on the spot, and said, "My lady, come in quickly, I have good news to tell you!"
At the gate of the courtyard, the couple walked into the yard hand in hand and closed the gate.
Not far away, a figure hiding next to another door slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
This chief monk is a first-rate thief, but his vigilance is too poor.
He actually walked straight into his house without even taking a detour, and had no awareness of resisting being followed.
Such a person can actually become the chief. There must be a big problem with the promotion system of the Thieves' Sect.
When he becomes the manager, he will make sure to give his suggestions to his superiors.
Crunch!
Just as he was thinking this, the door behind him suddenly opened, and he was caught off guard and almost fell down.
An old man was carrying a basin of dirty water and was about to dump it on the street when he saw the man standing at the door, holding onto the door frame, and asked, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The man smiled and asked, "Old man, do you know Song Yu?"
The old man pointed to a house not far away and said, "I know him. That's his house. What are you looking for Song Yu for?"
The man said, "I am Song Yu's friend. I have something to ask him. Old man, are you familiar with Song Yu?"
The old man smiled and said, "Of course I am familiar with him. I watched him grow up. Time flies. It feels like he was still crawling on the ground two days ago, and in the blink of an eye he has grown up so big and even got married..."
“Who says it’s not?”
"Alas, time is merciless, I am getting old!"
"The old man is in such good health, he will surely live to be a hundred years old."
"Then I'll borrow your good words!"
…
The two chatted for a while. The old man and the man got along very well and warmly invited him to come in for dinner. The man smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, old man, but I still have some things to do, so I won't bother you anymore..."
After the old man returned home, he waited for a while and then knocked on the door of a house across the street.
Soon, the gate opened a crack, and a peasant woman looked at him from behind the gate and asked, "Who are you and what do you do?"
The man asked with a smile: "Excuse me, is this Song Yu's home?"
The woman slammed the door shut and said unhappily, "No, Song Yu's house is across the street, you knocked on the wrong door!"
The man touched his nose and thought there was no need to ask any more questions, as Master Song had indeed grown up here.
Not long.
Inside the stronghold, the man said to Zhao Wu, "Manager Zhao, I have found out that Chief Song grew up there. There is nothing wrong with his identity. Do you still need to keep an eye on him these days?"
Zhao Wu asked, "How many neighbors did you ask?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "About seven or eight."
Zhao Wu touched his chin and said, "If there are seven or eight, it should be confirmed."
The man asked again: "Do you still want to keep staring at him?"
Zhao Wu waved his hand and said, "No need. Even if we don't keep an eye on him, Wu Shouzu will definitely send someone to keep an eye on him. I personally recruited Xiao Song into the Thieves' Sect. How could I not know if he has any problems..."
(End of this chapter)
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