The Young Wanderers 05

"Steal?" Seeing this word, Ye Qingzhou felt an inexplicable thrill.

"Right. Since we can't find anything openly, we'll investigate in secret. With our skills, this dyeing workshop is nothing," Li Wenyan said with full confidence. "Remember, two things: first, find out where those things went; second... take their ill-gotten gains and distribute them to the people."

"The fame of our Nine Heroes of Qingyun will surely spread throughout Xuanzhou!"

In the candlelight, each face glowed with anticipation for the future.

"As you command, Big Brother!"

That night, more than half of the Nine Heroes of Qingyun set out. According to the original plot, this time they would discover the banned hallucinogenic herbs and deduce the motives of the Wanbao Pavilion.

Incidentally, Lin Wanqing would poison Yue'e.

However, this time things weren't so complicated. Their operation went very smoothly; the dyeing workshop didn't even have a night watchman.

It was the sudden flare of torches and the shouts that truly startled the youths.

They had considered ambushes from the shadows, they had imagined nets closing in, but they never expected the most plain and simple method: shouting.

"Thieves! Thieves!"

In the dead of night, the cries to catch thieves carried far.

"We are not thieves! You villains from the Wanbao Pavilion!" Lin Wanqing was furious, even pulling down her face covering to shout. How dare they call a young lady of the Lin family a thief? She couldn't bear that.

Li Wenyan wasn't there, but Zhao Jinglei sensed something was wrong. "Let's go!"

"Go where? They called us thieves! We clearly aren't..."

By now, the workshop gate was wide open. Neighbors holding torches kept arriving, and even the distant, orderly footsteps of patrolling soldiers could be faintly heard approaching.

Zhao Jinglei was a man of few words, not a fool. "Go!"

With their superb skills, they leaped onto the wall and vanished gracefully into the night sky.

Although there were some twists, they had at least achieved half their goal... They didn't find the banned drugs, but Ye Qingzhou cleaned out the workshop's money stash. After counting, it was nearly a thousand taels of silver, enough to distribute to some poor families.

However, their excitement was doused the very next day by news from outside.

"The dyeing workshop in the city was visited by thieves last night!"

"Ah? Really?"

"There's something even more shocking. All the disaster relief funds the workshop prepared to donate to the southwest were stolen—a full ten million taels of silver!"

"What! Good heavens!"

"My second granduncle's cousin's brother's son works at the yamen. He said the workshop reported this to the authorities days ago. The officials specially sent people to verify the silver and seal the boxes, just waiting for an auspicious day to send it out!"

"Who would do such a thing? How despicable!"

"Exactly! The flood in the southwest, and the higher-ups won't lift a finger... It was hard enough for this workshop in our city to offer the money... Oh, by the way, did you know the workshop is actually backed by..."

The youths had no interest in hearing what they already knew—that the workshop was backed by the Wanbao Pavilion! Now there was a more urgent matter to clarify!

"Qingzhou, exactly how much silver did you take?" Li Wenyan asked gravely.

Ye Qingzhou was taken aback. "We all counted it yesterday! Just that amount! That workshop really had no money."

"But did you hear what those people just said?" Lin Wanqing stared at Ye Qingzhou.

Ye Qingzhou felt uncomfortable under their gazes. "Why are you all looking at me like that? I have good lightness skills and agility, but I'm not some notorious bandit. Do you suspect I embezzled some?"

He was clearly upset.

Li Wenyan shook his head. "No, I'm asking if you saw... those sealed boxes?"

Ye Qingzhou shook his head like a rattle drum. "Never saw them."

"That's strange..." Liu Yueya fiddled with a delicate mechanism in her hand, tilting her head. "Big Brother, could it be..."

Li Wenyan, the brains of the group, immediately grasped the key. "They're lying."

"But the local authorities were involved..."

Li Wenyan shook his head. "They deliberately hid that money and then framed us for it!"

"Could they have known we were coming? Impossible, right?" Xiao Changfeng wondered.

Li Wenyan narrowed his eyes. "We underestimated them... This opponent is formidable." He looked at his sworn brothers and sisters. "But he won't be a match for us."

The youths' eyes gradually lit up.

"Right!"

However, after the brave talk, reality still had to be faced. Because Lin Wanqing had revealed her face that night, her portrait was soon posted everywhere. The local magistrate, who had originally hoped to gain political credit, now utterly despised these petty thieves. All the local cultivators were also mobilized, searching the city for suspicious individuals.

The youths now realized they were in a predicament where they looked guilty no matter what.

Only two paths lay before them now. First, turn themselves in and explain clearly.

But that option was clearly foolish. They currently assumed the authorities were colluding with the Wanbao Pavilion. Even if they weren't, how would they explain? Say they only stole a thousand taels? Wasn't that still theft? What would become of the reputation of the Nine Heroes of Qingyun?

So everyone rejected that proposal. That left only escape.

But the thought of running again made everyone feel as miserable as if they'd eaten something foul. Weren't they supposed to be venturing into the world, championing justice? Why did it feel like they were either fleeing for their lives or on the verge of doing so?

After a long silence, Li Wenyan steeled his heart. "Perhaps there's a third path."

Everyone looked at him. Feeling the trust in his companions' gazes, Li Wenyan slowly laid out his plan. "We go back again."

"Huh?"

"They must have been prepared last time, which is why they set us up. I suspect... it was because of the few times you went there, Second Sister, that raised their alert."

Lin Wanqing's expression darkened.

"But they'd never expect us to go back. That means, this time they definitely won't be prepared! As long as we find that silver there, find the hallucinogens they've hidden, and expose their plot on the spot, we can clear our names."

"As expected of Big Brother!" Everyone couldn't help but applaud after hearing his words.

Li Wenyan smiled. In his mind's eye, he was now himself, waving a feather fan, strategizing and determining the course of events.

What they didn't expect was that this operation also went very smoothly, and yielded absolutely nothing. The workshop was empty, even the money vault Ye Qingzhou had found last time was completely bare.

Only, in front of a nearby warehouse, they saw a clerk.

They stared at each other, wide-eyed. The clerk suddenly grinned, then, to everyone's astonishment, threw the torch in his hand towards the warehouse next to him.

Everyone was stunned. Was he a friend? Or a mole?

The clerk took a deep breath and shouted: "THE THIEVES ARE SETTING THE PLACE ON FIRE!!!!!!!!"