Chapter 65 Even Thieves Have Their Code
"Wasn't Lu Yinzhou hunted down and killed by his enemies long ago?"
My dad mentioned it to me last year, saying that the Thieves' Guild was almost falling apart without him! Xie Ji was very puzzled.
Pei Zhiwei was completely confused. She knew a little about the affairs of the martial arts world, but she had never heard of a person named "Lu Yinzhou".
"Who is this Lu Yinzhou? Why are you two reacting so strongly?"
Xiao Yunzhan explained, "He is the leading figure of the Thieves' Sect. In terms of lightness skills and thieving abilities, no one in the martial arts world has been able to surpass him for so many years."
His files are kept in the palace. The late emperor even commissioned a portrait of him, saying that this man had "a code of honor even among thieves," and was a rare genius.
"Even thieves have their code of honor?" Pei Zhiwei became even more curious.
"What kind of 'principle' could the Thieves' Sect possibly have?"
Xie Ji perked up and, before Xiao Yunzhan could speak, began gesticulating wildly like a storyteller.
"You don't know this, do you!"
Lu Yinzhou became famous in the martial arts world back then because of his three entries and exits from the palace!
He was not yet thirty years old at that time.
On his first visit to the palace, he stole the 'Millennium Snow Lotus' from the treasure pavilion.
That snow lotus was a tribute from the Western Regions, and the late emperor treasured it immensely.
I specifically had someone guarding the place, but he still managed to grope me!
The key point is that he not only stole the item, but also left a note saying, "This lotus was borrowed to save someone's life; I will return it later."
Pei Zhiwei raised an eyebrow: "He stole something and dared to leave a note? Didn't the late emperor send someone to arrest him?"
"They caught them! Why weren't they caught?" Xie Ji slapped his thigh, his eyes full of excitement.
"But where can we catch them?"
In the end, they couldn't find a single person.
Who knew that a year later, he would sneak into the palace again.
This time it wasn't stealing; they simply put a snow lotus of the same quality back in the original box and returned it!
It also included a prescription that could use this snow lotus to save lives.
They said the person had been cured and they had come to return the item, and the prescription was an apology.
The late emperor was both angry and amused upon seeing this, and immediately ordered someone to spread the word.
He said, "If Lu Yinzhou manages to sneak into the palace again without anyone noticing, and takes whatever he wants from the palace, I will not pursue the matter."
"And the result?" Pei Zhiwei asked, engrossed in the conversation.
"And he actually went!" Xie Ji smiled, his eyes crinkling.
"The third time, he didn't steal anything else, but he took a string of white jade beads that the late emperor often wore, with a note that read 'Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty.'"
The late emperor was so angry that he demoted the commander of the Imperial Guards to the border to feed pigs for three years.
But then he turned to those around him and said, "Lu Yinzhou is a man of integrity and loyalty, far superior to those hypocrites who preach morality and shame all day long."
They actually didn't pursue the matter any further.
From that time on, who in the martial world didn't know Lu Yinzhou?
At this point, Xie Ji suddenly turned to look at Xiaodouzi, "But I really heard that he died."
He was still hunted down by several enemies, and his body was left in a mass grave, with no one even willing to collect it.
You must have misremembered, right?
"It's nighttime, and you were lying on the roof; maybe you misjudged it?"
Xiao Douzi had been listening with great interest and seemed to admire Lu Yinzhou very much.
Upon hearing this, he immediately exploded, jumping up with his hands on his hips.
"I didn't remember wrong!"
I saw it clearly!
You said he was dead, but you were clearly out of the loop and got lied to!
You got into a fight first, giving bad guys an opportunity to take advantage of you, and now the news is still false!
You're a complete idiot, a piece of trash!
"Hey, you're getting cocky, aren't you!" Xie Ji also got cocky and started rolling up his sleeves, ready to argue with him again.
Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again, Xiao Yunzhan kicked Xie Ji in the butt in annoyance.
"Stop fooling around, the investigation is the priority." He glared at Xie Ji, then turned to Xiao Douzi, "Ignore him, he's just jealous of you."
Xiao Douzi finally calmed down, glared at Xie Ji fiercely, and turned her head away from him.
Pei Zhiwei rubbed her temples, and the hope that had just risen in her heart sank again.
Lu Yinzhou is such an elusive person, even if you know he might have seen the murderer, how could you possibly find him?
She sighed, "But even if we know he might have seen the murderer, it's no use."
This kind of person comes and goes without a trace; even the late emperor couldn't find him, how are we supposed to find him?
Liu Jingchang also frowned: "Yes, Lu Yinzhou is very aloof, and no one has heard of his whereabouts over the years."
Moreover, he has never dealt with the government; even if we find him, he might not be willing to talk.
Everyone fell silent again; the back office was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.
Little Bean squatted on the ground, supporting his cheeks with his hands, and his big, dark eyes suddenly lit up.
"You just said he's a master thief, right?"
Pei Zhiwei was taken aback for a moment: "Yes, what's wrong?"
"Don't master thieves all love rare treasures?"
If there were something particularly rare or valuable, wouldn't he be tempted to take a look?
Even if you don't steal it, you should at least take a look at what it is, right?
If I were him, I would do the same.
Last time a golden Buddha statue came to the pawnshop in the west of the city, I even took a special detour to see it!
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately perked up.
Liu Jingchang excitedly slapped his thigh twice: "That's right! How come I didn't think of that!"
Although Lu Yinzhou said "even thieves have their code of honor," what thief could resist the urge to find rare and unusual items?
A glint of light flashed in Xiao Yunzhan's eyes: "If we can find something he has never seen before and that is rare enough, we might be able to lure him out."
Pei Zhiwei's mind started working, but after thinking for a long time, she was stumped again: "But what kind of thing is something he has never seen before and that would interest him?"
Having spent so many years in the palace, Lu Yinzhou had seen all the treasures; ordinary gold and silver jewelry certainly wouldn't catch his eye.
Liu Jingchang: "Yes, that is a problem."
There are many prominent families in Yangdu, and many strange and unusual things, but it would be really hard to find something that "Lu Yinzhou has never seen before."
Everyone started pondering again, and Little Bean frowned as he thought, muttering, "Even rarer than the treasures in the palace... what could it be?"
Seeing that she couldn't come up with a solution for the time being, Pei Zhiwei turned her gaze back to Xiaodouzi.
Remembering that he had said "someone paid him to follow Wu Ming", I asked, "Xiao Douzi, do you remember what the person who paid you to follow Wu Ming looked like?"
For example, what's their height, what clothes do they wear, and is there anything special about them?
"I remember." Little Bean was clearly still thinking about the baby, but he could still describe it accurately.
The man was wearing a long silk robe, and wasn't very tall; I only reached his chest (he gestured to his chest). He had a mole on his face, below the right corner of his mouth.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunzhan began to draw according to Xiaodouzi's description.
In no time, a portrait of a man with a mole on the corner of his mouth and a thin build was completed.
Liu Jingchang narrowed his eyes and said, "Isn't this Liu Yang? Xu Ren's maternal uncle, the illegitimate son of Xu Fengyan!"
"Xu Ren's uncle?" Everyone was taken aback.
Liu Jingchang: "I recognize this person. His family fell into poverty, and he used to go to the Xu family every day to beg for money."
Xu Fengyan didn't feel comfortable kicking him out because he was Xu Rensheng's mother's younger brother.
But he did it differently. He went around swindling people every day, using the name of "Xu Fengyan's brother-in-law, the richest man in Yangzhou," and many people were deceived by him.
Pei Zhiwei was even more puzzled: "What is his relationship with Wu Ming, and why would he have someone follow Wu Ming?"
Liu Jingchang turned to the constable and ordered, "Bring Liu Yang to me. I want to ask him why he was following Wu Ming!"
The constables obeyed and left, bringing Liu Yang back in no time.
As soon as Liu Yang entered the back office and saw the room full of officials and constables, his legs began to tremble, and the color in his face slowly faded.
He simply knelt down and kowtowed, pressing his face to the ground, "This humble subject, Liu Yang, greets Lord Liu."
"I wonder what business you have with me, sir?"
Liu Jingchang: "Didn't you give some money to a little beggar a few days ago to have him follow Wu Ming?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Yang, who had been trembling slightly and even startled, stopped trembling and raised his head to reply, "Yes, it was I who found a little beggar and asked him to follow Wu Ming."
But that wasn't my idea; Chen Gong made me do it!
"Chen Gong?" Liu Jingchang raised an eyebrow, his tone full of disbelief.
"Chen Gong is Xu Fengyan's steward. How could he possibly order you around, the 'Xu family's brother-in-law'?"
Do you think I'm a fool?
Liu Yang explained, "My lord, what I said is true!"
Chen Gong once promised me that if I could find out Wu Ming's whereabouts and the people he had been in contact with, he would plead with Master Xu to give me the jewelry shop in the west of the city.
That jewelry shop is doing very well. I've wanted it for a long time, and Chen Gong is Master Xu's most trusted man. If he says he can get it done, I'll believe him..."
Liu Jingchang asked a few more questions, and Liu Yang said he didn't know why Chen Gong was following Wu Ming, only that Chen Gong had asked him to do it.
Seeing that he couldn't get any more clues, Liu Jingchang had no choice but to detain Liu Yang and investigate further later.
As darkness fell, everyone was exhausted after a long day.
Xiao Yunzhan glanced at the sky and said to Liu Jingchang, "Let's call it a day for now. We can discuss anything else tomorrow."
Liu Jingchang nodded and saw them out of the government office.
Xie Ji suddenly remembered something and grabbed Xiaodouzi by the neck.
“Come with us, you are an important witness.”
"It's too dangerous to stay on the street. What if the killer silences me?"
Little Bean struggled: "I won't go with you! You just doubted me!"
"Hey, you little brat!" Xie Ji didn't care whether he wanted to or not, and grabbed him by the neck, heading towards the carriage.
"Don't be ungrateful! Come with me and you'll get meat to eat, or you'll go hungry tonight!"
Little Bean struggled and cursed, but Xie Ji didn't get angry and just argued with him.
Pei Zhiwei and Xiao Yunzhan followed behind and boarded the carriage. Listening to the two bickering all the way, they couldn't help but sigh.
I haven't recovered from the exhaustion of investigating the case, and now I have to deal with these two clowns. It's even more tiring than investigating the case.
After finally returning to Yaoguang Garden, Xie Ji carried Xiaodouzi and headed towards the guest room.
He was yelling, "You're almost stinking, hurry up and wash yourself clean, or you're not allowed to eat at the table tonight."
"Let me tell you, if I wash you clean, I might even cook you a couple of dishes; if I don't, I'll throw you to the dogs!"
Little Bean stomped his feet in anger: "How dare you!"
"You'll see if I dare!" Xie Ji grabbed him and walked away while arguing.
Pei Zhiwei and Xiao Yunzhan stood in the courtyard, let out a long sigh of relief, walked side by side to the pavilion, and lay down on the stone table, not wanting to move.
Pei Zhiwei rubbed her temples. "I've never heard two people so noisy in my life. If I keep listening, my head is going to explode."
Xiao Yunzhan couldn't help but laugh when he saw her listless appearance.
"Xiao Douzi has the potential to be a scout. Xie Ji brought him back, probably with the intention of training him."
"Father, Mother." Pei Zhiwei saw Pei Lin and Yan Jinghong standing outside the pavilion and couldn't help but call out in a wronged tone.
Yan Jinghong walked over, reached out and patted her head, his eyes full of smiles: "Are you feeling down from investigating the case? Or did someone bully you?"
“It was Xie Ji and Xiao Douzi who were making noise,” Pei Zhiwei pouted.
"The two of them have been arguing since they came here from the government office, and they haven't stopped talking. It's driving me crazy."
Pei Lin smiled and shook his head, then asked Xiao Yunzhan, "How did the investigation go today?"
Xiao Yunzhan briefly explained the situation of the day.
Pei Zhiwei sighed: "The most troublesome thing now is that we can't find Lu Yinzhou."
We wanted to lure him out, but we couldn't think of anything that would interest him.
He entered and exited the palace three times, and apart from the late emperor's bracelet, he was never seen carrying anything else.
It's clear that ordinary things don't even register on his mind.
Yan Jinghong couldn't help but laugh: "Why don't you ask me? Maybe I know?"
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