NOVEL WEB Chapter 91.1
“Heh, thinking a mere trifle could keep this old man tied to Great Xia, that’s simply a fool’s dream!”
“Still want to catch me? I am the supreme thief who has slipped in and out of several great dynasties’ imperial palaces numerous times. Even Grandmasters can’t keep up, and you think you can with your measly skills?”
“However, that foolish emperor’s literary talent is truly remarkable. I was fooled and fell right into his hands!”
As the Empty Hand Master spoke to himself with pride, he executed his body movement technique.
The scenery by his side rapidly receded.
In the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, he had already run far away from the capital city, with no idea where he himself might be.
“This should be safe now. Let’s see what spoils of war we have this time—a top-quality Night Pearl, heheh!”
The Empty Hand Master, brimming with pride, took out an exquisite box from within his robes and carefully opened the lid, his eyes filled with anticipation and admiration. However, after only a glance, his face turned pale with shock.
“Where’s the Night Pearl? How could the Night Pearl be gone?”
In the center of the box, there was only an ordinary stone; the Night Pearl was nowhere to be seen.The Empty Hand Master was horrified: “Who did this?”
He was known as the world’s number one thief; he was always the one stealing from others, and no one could ever steal from him!
Yet now, someone had managed to steal the Night Pearl right under his nose without him noticing it.
This was a shocking revelation that was nothing less than a provocation to him!
“Wait!”
The Empty Hand Master reached for the pouches on his person, only to find that they were all filled with stones.
“Damn it, my possessions have been stolen as well!” The Empty Hand Master felt as if his heart was bleeding.
He was, after all, the world’s number one thief. Anything he carried on his person was bound to be an invaluable treasure, with a total value exceeding three million taels of silver. And now, in just a moment, all had been stolen from him—he had suffered a tremendous loss!
Among the stolen items was something even more precious to him than his own life, which had also disappeared!
“Who could have done this?” The Empty Hand Master racked his brains.
He filtered through all the master thieves in the world, but in the end, he dismissed them all.
Because none of them had the ability to steal from him.
“Who on earth did it?” Empty Hand Master was frantic with anxiety.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered something Lin Beifan had said. His eyes lit up, and he became excited: “He must know! He said he knew someone whose thievery skills surpassed even mine!”
(TLN: Last chapter: Lin Beifan said disdainfully, “If I truly wanted to steal something, I wouldn’t need you, for I have a better candidate in mind!”)
Then, he quickly retraced his steps back to the capital city.
By this time, the moon-viewing banquet had already ended, the officials had retired, and Lin Beifan had returned to the Imperial Study.
There, he was sipping his hot tea to sober up while reading a book, seemingly waiting for someone.
With a whoosh, Empty Hand Master appeared in the Imperial Study and urgently said to Lin Beifan: “Great Xia Emperor, do you know someone whose thievery skills are stronger than mine?”
Eunuch Liu’s complexion changed abruptly: “Your Majesty, be careful!”
With a choking sound, Bai Zhu had already drawn her sword, thrusting it with fierce Sword Qi towards the Empty Hand Master.
The Empty Hand Master swiftly turned her body, dodging the sword, and asked again, “Great Xia Emperor, do you perhaps know a person skilled in thievery?”
“There’s no need for panic!”
Lin Beifan put down his book, smiling indifferently, “Empty Hand Master, you have the nerve to come back? What’s the matter… something of yours got stolen? That’s truly poetic justice, instant karma! Haha…”
The Empty Hand Master was initially uncertain, but seeing Lin Beifan’s smug expression, he became completely sure that the other party definitely knew the thief, and it was very likely that he had orchestrated the theft!
“You know! You definitely know!” The Empty Hand Master said excitedly.
“So what if I know, and what if I don’t?”
“Quickly give me his contact information! He has all my belongings, and they are extremely important; I must get them back!”
“Why should I care about your problems? Why should I tell you?” Lin Beifan said with a cold smile.
The Empty Hand Master’s breath stopped; the other party, indeed, had no reason to inform him.
Moreover, it was he who had struck first, stealing from the other’s home. He was the one at fault from the beginning.
The Empty Hand Master scratched his head in frustration, speaking in a humble tone, “Great Xia Emperor, I’m begging you here! As long as I can meet him, whatever you ask of me, I will agree!”
“Do you think I would still trust you, you dishonest thief!” Lin Beifan scorned.
The Empty Hand Master felt a burning pain on his face, for he had indeed broken a promise first and now found himself at a loss for words.
At that moment, Lin Beifan waved his hand dismissively, “I am ready to retire for the night. Do not be an eyesore here, be gone! Otherwise, I shall have to invite someone to throw you out!”
The Empty Hand Master was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pleading, “Great Xia Emperor, please don’t do this, everything is negotiable…”
“Throw him out!” Lin Beifan commanded.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Bai Zhu and Eunuch Liu acted at once.
The Empty Hand Master, skilled in movement skills, was of average strength and was quickly expelled from the imperial palace.
However, he did not lose heart and planned to find another opportunity to re-enter the imperial palace.
At that moment, Lin Beifan loudly declared, “Empty Hand Master, from today onwards, if you dare to trespass into my imperial palace again, you will never learn the identity of that person, nor will you ever retrieve your belongings! That is all I have to say; heed my words!”
The Empty Hand Master looked at the tightly shut palace gates and sighed in disappointment.
In the following days, the Empty Hand Master lingered outside the imperial palace.
He wanted to enter several times but didn’t dare to, so anxious that he was practically pulling his hair out.
Meanwhile, Lin Beifan was living the life of an emperor within the palace, enjoying luxurious clothing and exquisite food, the tender company of his beautiful consort, and the flattering praise of the court officials, so content that he had no thoughts of leaving home.
With his mind fixated on Empire Sandbox, he watched the impatient demeanor of Empty Hand Master and let out a chuckle.
“I refuse to believe that I can’t handle you!”
……
At this moment, Chai Yuxin was busy recruiting female soldiers.
But to be honest, even with a clear direction, recruiting soldiers proved to be difficult.
After all, given a choice, which woman would want to become a soldier?
Finally, after much difficulty, he managed to recruit 3,000 female soldiers, only to discover that training them was extremely challenging.
Because these female soldiers all came from the lower class, they had suffered from malnutrition since childhood and had never trained in martial arts, making them physically too weak.
Turning them into a force of capable and battle-ready elite soldiers was proving to be several times more difficult than imagined.
Thus, she came to the imperial palace once again, seeking Lin Beifan’s assistance.
“Your Majesty~~” Chai Yuxin clung to one of Lin Beifan’s arms, cooing softly.
Lin Beifan shuddered: “Don’t be so nauseating, just tell me what you want to do?”
Chai Yuxin continued in her coquettish tone: “Your Majesty, we have now recruited a full complement of female soldiers! But they are too weak and need to buy some medicinal herbs to supplement their nutrition, which requires money. Shouldn’t you offer some support? After all, they are your soldiers too!”
Lin Beifan shook his head: “No! They are my soldiers, but aren’t the other group soldiers as well? If they need support, do the others not need it? In this world, the problem is not scarcity but inequality!”
“But Your Majesty, they really need it!” Chai Yuxin’s voice became even more delicate.
Lin Beifan said sternly, “No matter how much they need it, it’s not possible. I am a man of principles, and I absolutely cannot compromise!”
Chai Yuxin became furious, “You are a foolish emperor, still caring about these matters?”
Lin Beifan was taken aback, “You make a good point!”
“Right, so now you are going to…”
“Still not possible!”
Chai Yuxin became furious: “Lin Beifan, you’re pushing me too far! Wouldn’t it be okay if I just borrowed some money from you?”
“That’s more like it!”
Moments later, Chai Yuxin had a box of silver in her hands and said gleefully, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Lin Beifan asked, “Let’s get this straight first, this money is a loan. What happens if you can’t pay it back?”
Chai Yuxin rolled her eyes and said shamelessly, “If I can’t pay it back, I’ll repay you with my body. What else do you want?”
Lin Beifan trembled with anger: “Chai Yuxin, I didn’t expect you to be so greedy, not only after my silver but also after my body!”
Chai Yuxin: “…”
“Hmph! Anyway, I’ve got the money now, so do whatever you want, goodbye!”
With that, she picked up the silver and happily ran out.
Then, Chai Yuxin used this sum of silver to purchase many precious medicinal herbs, which she then administered to the group of female soldiers.
She also personally infused them with True Qi to regulate their bodies.
After several days of effort, the health of many of the female soldiers improved.
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