The moonlit frost sprinkled the street. The cultivators peeking from their windows at Ye Anping and his companions immediately shut their doors and windows tight upon seeing the three cultivators arrive flying their swords. They were afraid of getting caught up in the trouble.
Jade Pass City was remote, with a harsh environment and its location at the junction of two immortal realms. Most cultivators who lived there long-term had committed offenses in the Western or Northern Regions and had come to lie low.
In other words, this was the Central Domain’s biggest rat’s nest. And now, a cat, or rather three big cats, had appeared in the Central Domain’s biggest rat’s nest.
“Tsk…”
Ye Anping cupped his fists in greeting, clicking his tongue softly. He had previously thought that the fight between Feng Yu Die and Su Wan’er might attract regular guards from Jade Pass City. If it were regular guards, they could simply drive them away using their Xuan Xing Sect disciple identities.
However, the people who had arrived now were inner disciples of the Xing Tian Division? While it was true that the Xing Tian Division served as the pawns of the Central Domain’s Imperial Sect, responsible for patrol, apprehension, and intelligence gathering, and they could indeed handle street brawls or petty theft, their appearance now was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito. And, more importantly, it might not even hit the target.
Feng Yu Die looked up at the three figures above and seemed to sense that things were not good. She leaned towards Ye Anping and whispered, “Young Master Ye, these newcomers look troublesome.”
“We’ll just show them our Identity Tokens,” Ye Anping replied. After the three figures descending from the sky landed, he straightened his body and introduced them: “Three seniors, this is my Senior Sister, and the person across the street is my Junior Sister. The three of us were on a mission to the Imperial Sect, passing through Jade Pass, when we encountered that little thief. We intended to capture her and deliver her to the Jade Pass Ministry of Justice.”
The middle-aged man at the head, who appeared to be older, examined the jade token in Ye Anping’s hand carefully. Confirming that they were indeed Xuan Xing Sect disciples, a hint of seriousness eased from his face. “So, you are three young friends from Xuan Xing Sect. I apologize for my rudeness.”
He returned their salute, then turned his gaze to Su Wan’er kneeling on the ground. Seeing her dressed in white with a fox mask, he naturally thought of the notorious “Immortal Thief.” However, precisely because the title “Immortal Thief” was so well-known, many pickpockets also used this name to commit crimes. With Ye Anping and his companions not having high cultivation, he didn’t believe Su Wan’er was the actual Immortal Thief.
“You three young friends have traveled a long way from Xuan Xing Sect. As disciples of the Imperial Sect, we should have prepared tea to welcome you. Unfortunately, Jade Pass is located in the borderlands, with only endless yellow sand. Please forgive us.”
“You are too kind, senior.”
“Allow me to take this little thief to the Ministry of Justice for you, saving you the trouble of explaining the situation to the captain there. How does that sound?”
Hearing this, Ye Anping felt a hint of helplessness. These inner disciples of the Xing Tian Division were polite and seemed genuinely willing to help, leaving him with no excuse to refuse. He glanced at Su Wan’er and forced a smile, “Then we thank you for your trouble, senior.”
“You are most welcome.” After replying, the man walked to Su Wan’er’s side with the two behind him, reaching out to grab her shoulder to lift her up. But Su Wan’er’s legs and knees were frozen to the ground by Pei Lianxue’s sword. She quickly cried out, “Ouch! Don’t pull, don’t pull! My legs are frozen. If you’re going to grab me, first ask that girl to unfreeze the ground!”
The leading Xing Tian Division disciple’s brows furrowed slightly, and he looked towards Pei Lianxue. “Little Daoist friend, please retract your spell.”
Pei Lianxue, standing at a distance, did not react. Her gaze shifted towards Ye Anping, as if asking if he wanted her to comply. Ye Anping hesitated for a moment, then reminded them politely, “Senior, this thief is skilled in evasion techniques. If my Junior Sister withdraws her spirit art, she will immediately escape. Do you have an Immortal Rope or something similar? Perhaps you could entangle her a few times?”
The Xing Tian Division disciple’s expression clearly showed displeasure. He thought Ye Anping was underestimating him, but he didn’t show it directly, smiling and saying, “Little Daoist friend, I have served in the Xing Tian Division for seventy years. No thief has ever escaped from under my nose. Rest assured…”
Ye Anping felt a bit helpless. He continued to remind them, “This person is the one who broke into the Sword Sect’s treasury a while ago and stole things. Senior, are you really…”
“Little Daoist friend, to put it bluntly, if this person were truly the Immortal Thief, how could she be captured by three mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators like yourselves?”
Ye Anping pursed his lips. He had anticipated this outcome when the three of them arrived and no longer struggled. He waved his hand, signaling his Junior Sister across the street to cease her spirit art. However, he was indeed curious how Su Wan’er would escape from the three Xing Tian Division disciples.
Seeing this, Pei Lianxue directly put away the Snow Jade Myriad Spirit Sword into her Storage Bag. The thick frost that had formed on the yellow sand began to slowly melt. A sly smile appeared on Su Wan’er’s face beneath her mask. Before the Xing Tian Division disciple could reach out and grab her shoulder, she flicked her right index finger.
*Swish—*
In an instant, the golden robes on the three Xing Tian Division disciples were swapped and now resided in her hands.
“What?!”
“Pfft! You three little weaklings think you can catch me? Better luck next lifetime!” Su Wan’er stuck out her tongue. Her figure instantly transformed into a streak of white light and escaped from under their noses. Neither the inner Xing Tian Division disciples present nor Ye Anping, Feng Yu Die, and the others could track her escape.
*Swish, swish—*
A breeze swept through the streets of Jade Pass City. The three of them were stunned for a long time before realizing that their Xing Tian Division robes were gone. They were left with only their Storage Bags and a loincloth.
Feng Yu Die looked at the three of them, who were still reasonably fit, and covered her mouth with a laugh, repeating, “Little Daoist friend, to put it bluntly, if this person were truly the Immortal Thief, how could she be captured by three mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators like yourselves? Hehe~~”
“Sigh…”
Ye Anping sighed and flicked Feng Yu Die’s forehead, signaling her not to provoke these Xing Tian Division disciples. He then took out the spare clothes he had prepared from his Storage Bag and handed them to the middle-aged man. He politely said, “Three seniors, if you don’t mind, please make do with these.”
The three Xing Tian Division disciples remained silent. After handing the clothes to the man, Ye Anping respectfully cupped his fists to them and turned around, leading Feng Yu Die and Pei Lianxue back towards their inn.
“Junior Sister, Senior Sister Feng, let’s go back.”
“Oh…” “Mm.”
Pei Lianxue and Feng Yu Die followed Ye Anping, but they couldn’t help but glance back at the three figures standing in the middle of the street, wearing only loincloths. After a while, the three of them finally realized what had happened. The leader, who had claimed to have “stayed in the Xing Tian Division for seventy years,” looked down at the clothes Ye Anping had given him and swallowed hard.
Having lost all face in front of juniors… and in such a disheveled state… He suddenly felt like ending it all.
Another person beside him was more resigned. He sighed, “Brother Chen, why did we have to meddle in other people’s business today? If the Ministry of Justice finds out about this, we’ll definitely be severely punished when we return. Inner guards of the Xing Tian Division, stripped bare by a little thief on the street, under the watchful eyes of three Xuan Xing Sect disciples.”
However, another person was quite optimistic. He said, “On a side note, was that girl in white with the fox mask really the Immortal Thief? And weren’t those three only at the Foundation Establishment Stage? How did they capture her?”
