[Vol. 7] Chapter 202: A Secret Never Heard Before
As expected, just before the lost zither of the Spirit Fox Shrine Maiden could be returned, it was stolen. The Immortal Envoys were instantly filled with rage. Their divine power swept across the lands, and top warriors from all four nations joined the search, casting a massive net to hunt down the bold thief.
Only then did the [Thief Saint] finally realize, too late, that he had fallen into a carefully planned trap set by evil people. His arrogance had led him to cause a disaster of huge proportions.
For hundreds of years, except during the rare [Four Saints' Immortal Selection Ceremony], the Spirit Veil Immortal Island had almost never interfered with worldly matters. For them to now go all out just to catch one person was something the [Thief Saint] had never seen in his life. This showed how truly furious they were.
He wanted to return the ancient zither, [Mortal World], and make up for what he did, but he had no way to reach the Immortal Envoys. In his heart, he was filled with fear, afraid they might strike him down with divine power before he could even explain himself.
After all, he was a thief, and the fact that he had stolen something from Immortal Island was undeniable. If he hadn’t become so arrogant and lost his respect for the mysteries of the world, he would never have ended up like this.
The [Thief Saint] didn’t dare gamble with his life. After much hesitation, he finally chose to flee. But when you’re going up against almost the entire world, even the most powerful and skilled thief will eventually run out of strength.
He fled east from his homeland, circling around the Cangyun Mountains, traveling by night and hiding by day. Even though he was extremely careful, he still fell into over ten ambushes along the way. By the time he reached the borders of the Eastern Kingdom, he was seriously wounded and too weak to keep running. It seemed only a matter of time before he was caught.
But just when the [Thief Saint] had lost all hope and run out of options, something unexpected happened. On the roadside, he randomly ran into a young diviner.
This diviner had only one eye and traveled alone. He seemed just as young and reckless as the [Thief Saint]. He claimed he could see the hidden truths behind all things in the world. At first, the thief didn’t want to pay him any attention, he looked like a scammer you'd find in a street market. But to his great surprise, the diviner immediately saw through his situation, his troubles, the people chasing him, and everything that had led to this moment.
Even more surprising, the diviner gave him a way out.
The [Thief Saint] couldn’t understand why the diviner would help him, especially at a time when everyone else had turned their backs on him. Helping him could bring disaster to the diviner too. But the man calmly said that what he saw on the surface was only part of the truth. The real fate behind all this had already connected cause and effect into one long chain. The ancient zither would eventually return to its true owner in a natural way, no matter what people tried to do.
What the thief did might seem rebellious, but in fact, it was part of a hidden destiny. And because of that, the diviner needed to help the thief complete this “cause” in order to receive a reward from the heavens.
It all sounded mysterious and confusing, almost like nonsense. But the diviner had spoken the full story of the [Thief Saint] troubles, including old secrets that no one else knew, as if he had seen them with his own eyes. That alone made the thief believe.
At that time, the [Thief Saint] had truly run out of options. To survive, he had no choice but to follow the diviner’s instructions. He stayed in a temporary hiding place the diviner provided to heal his injuries and was given a plan that sounded incredibly strange, a “plan to wash away his crimes.”
According to the diviner, the shelter he gave could only protect the [Thief Saint] for a short time. If he really wanted to escape from this deadly trouble, he needed help from someone with even greater power.
So, about half a month later, once he had mostly recovered, the [Thief Saint] traveled to the capital of the Eastern Kingdom. He secretly entered the mountain fortress of the Eastern Kingdom Holy Sect, and late at night, he met the current Saint of the Eastern Kingdom alone.
What exactly the [Thief Saint] and the Saint talked about that night, and what kind of “heavenly cause and effect” the diviner was referring to, the old man never explained. Even though he had told this story to Lukeke so many times she could nearly recite it by heart, he always stopped the story at this point, acting all mysterious and refusing to say more. It made the girl so angry she wanted to punch his old face.
Over time, Lukeke lost interest in the tale. It all sounded too far-fetched, with no clear ending, more like something the crazy old man made up for fun than a real story.
She had asked the villagers about the [Thief Saint] before, but in that poor countryside, almost no one had heard of him. A few old people who did remember the name said he had been caught and publicly executed decades ago. So there was no way he could still be alive now.
Well, it made sense. While the old man did have some skill, despite being a bit crazy, and had taught Lukeke many clever thief tricks, just saying he was the long-dead [Thief Saint]? That was just too silly to believe.
Still, even though the story had no ending, it had left a deep mark on Lukeke. As her skills improved thanks to the old man’s teaching, and as she grew older, she started to feel bored staying in the village. During her free time, she began secretly trying out the same kind of “righteous thievery” the [Thief Saint] once did in the stories.
At first, she was careful and only targeted rich bullies in the nearby area. But after a few easy successes, Lukeke slowly realized something, she might be a lot stronger than she had thought… or maybe, it was that everyone else was just too weak compared to her and the old man.
Those rough-looking gangs and thugs couldn’t even catch her. She could steal things right off them in plain sight and leave calmly, and they wouldn’t even notice anything was wrong.
Although the old man quickly noticed what she was doing and tried many times, both directly and indirectly, to warn her, telling her that “there’s always someone better out there,” Lukeke, still young and inexperienced, didn’t take his words seriously at all.
Just like the [Thief Saint] in the past, Lukeke’s confidence slowly grew too big. She started acting more and more boldly, not knowing how dangerous the world really was. Before long, she angered a force that was far too strong for her to handle. Even though she had great skills, she lacked the wisdom and experience to deal with real danger. By the time she realized the situation was serious, the people chasing her had already followed her all the way back to the secret place where she and the old man lived.
The enemies were cruel and deadly. They didn’t come to capture, they came to kill. They had set a huge trap, leaving no way out. Lukeke, after all, was a thief, and not someone trained to fight head-on. She was quickly overwhelmed and badly hurt, her life hanging by a thread.
She thought everything was over.
Just when she thought everything was over, in her moment of despair, the crazy old man, who had always been with her, accompanying her throughout her life and who had seemingly fled when the formidable enemies arrived, suddenly rushed out to block them. He even displayed a formidable strength she had never witnessed before, forcibly creating a path for Lukeke to escape!
“Run! Don’t look back!!!”
She had never seen the silly old man, who usually laughed and joked all day, look so serious and fierce. Her body moved on its own.
At that moment, Lukeke was in a total panic. She just followed the old man’s final shout, running for her life without thinking. When she finally came to her senses… she realized she was all alone.
The old man hadn’t escaped with her.
Of course not, someone had to stay behind and hold off the enemies. Otherwise, those who wanted her dead would never have let her get away.
After taking a bit of time to quickly wrap her wounds, Lukeke waited… but the old man never came. Finally, unable to sit still any longer, she secretly sneaked back to their hiding place, despite the danger.
But when she got there…
It was already a pile of ashes. The whole area had been burned to the ground. Not a single person remained.
Lukeke collapsed on the ground. Her heart was filled with confusion, sadness, and regret.
They had lived together for more than ten years. Even though she didn’t always show respect, she had long seen the old man, though not related by blood, as a grandfather figure. He was the only family she had in this world. Before that day, Lukeke had no idea that this crazy, silly old man was actually so strong. Even in his old age, he had managed to stop more than a dozen enemies, all of them stronger than her, just by himself.
Maybe… maybe he had never lied.
Maybe he was the [Thief Saint] from the stories. And maybe the promise he always talked about, the vow to retire, had finally been broken, just to save her.
Lukeke searched for him like a madwoman. She looked everywhere. But she found nothing. Not even a clue.
Even the nearby village, with dozens of families, had been caught in the fight. The whole village… was gone.
And it was all… because of her.