Good times don't last long, and old friends return.

After becoming the disciple of the middle-aged man, the man led Jiuwan south for four or five days and returned to his residence.

When I arrived at my doorstep, someone was already out to greet me.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "His name is Shi Qian. He's your senior brother. He entered the sect two months before you."

Jiu Wan bowed to Shi Qian and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother."

Shi Qian returned the greeting and said, "No need to be so polite. From now on, we're brothers and family. You don't know, Master is often away from home, and sometimes I get so bored by myself! It's much better with you here to keep me company."

The middle-aged man scolded with a stern face, "Why aren't you practicing your skills? Do you want to get a beating again?"

Shi Qian said "yes" with a bitter face, and went back inside to practice his skills.

The middle-aged man looked at Jiuwan and said, "To enter my thief's guild, you must first pay your respects to our patriarch."

Upon entering the lobby, a painting hangs on the wall directly opposite. It depicts a young man dressed in black, quite handsome, but with unruly eyes that reveal indifference and dissatisfaction with everything in the world.

The middle-aged man introduced, "This is the founder of our Thieves' Sect. He founded the sect and was named Dao Zhi. He lived during the Spring and Autumn Period, which is more than a thousand years ago."

Jiuwan respectfully lit three incense sticks, bowed three times, inserted the incense, and then knelt on the prayer mat and kowtowed three times.

"Get up! Let me tell you about the history of our Thieves' Guild," the middle-aged man said solemnly, sitting in a chair.

Our Thieves' Guild was founded by our patriarch, Dao Zhi, during the Spring and Autumn Period. He established the guild because the powerful and wealthy were indulging in extravagance and debauchery, while many ordinary people were starving. So he stole the jewels and money of the powerful and wealthy and then distributed them to the common people. Gradually, many people spontaneously joined the guild and contributed everything they had to it.

As the number of people grew and the time was ripe, Dao Zhi raised his arm and launched an uprising, leading nine thousand men to overthrow the feudal lords. Unfortunately, the difference in strength was too great, and he ultimately failed. After his defeat, Dao Zhi had no choice but to go into hiding to avoid being captured, and the Thieves' Guild slowly went from prosperity to decline. Dao Zhi took on only one apprentice in his life, hoping that the Thieves' Guild could be revived and flourish under his leadership. However, with the rise of the Qin state, the various states fell one after another, and finally King Ying Zheng of Qin unified the world. The Thieves' Guild was powerless to reverse the decline and continued to fall into disrepair. Each generation of leaders took on a maximum of four or five apprentices, and some even had only one.

The middle-aged man paused, sighed, and continued, "I'm no longer capable. You're only my second apprentice now, and I doubt the Thieves' Guild will flourish under my leadership."

Jiuwan lowered his head and remained silent.

The middle-aged man chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Once you join my thief's guild, you must know its rules. First, do not steal from the poor. The poor are already struggling to eat, and if we were to steal from them, we would feel truly guilty. Second, do not flaunt your wealth. No matter how much money you have, you must act discreetly and cautiously. Third, do not compete with your fellow thieves. The thief's guild is small, so we must help each other."

Jiuwan nodded, and the middle-aged man took a sip of tea and said, "Since you have joined my thief's sect, you should know my name. My name is Lie Yi. You should rest for today, and you will start practicing with Shi Qian tomorrow."

Jiuwan's apprenticeship began after he met Shi Qian. Every day, he would either practice jumping, running, and flipping with sandbags tied to his feet with Shi Qian, or practice various hand skills. Although it was hard work, it was also the happiest and most fulfilling time for him.

Jiuwan only learned after Lieyi disappeared that Lieyi's family fortune was actually as large as tens of thousands of taels of silver.

However, Lie Yi looked no different from ordinary people. All the food, clothing and daily necessities he had were the most ordinary kind, without any concern for extravagance! The only thing he valued was the teapot he always carried. However, Lie Yi was truly devoted to his two apprentices. Every month, he would have one of them send one tael of silver to Jiu Wan's family and have someone say that it was earned by Jiu Wan. As for Shi Qian, who had been orphaned since childhood, Lie Yi would also give Shi Qian one tael of silver, which he would save himself.

Jiuwan always remembered Lieyi's kindness. To Jiuwan, Lieyi was second only to his parents. Jiuwan always thought that once he completed his apprenticeship, he would definitely repay Lieyi.

Spring came and autumn went, and several years passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, when the two were practicing their skills, they did not see Lie Yi. This had happened before. Lie Yi was often not at home. Usually, when he was not at home, Lie Yi must have gone treasure hunting! And sometimes, in order to practice their skills, he would take them with him to "treasure hunt" at the homes of wealthy families.

They would each take one valuable item before meeting up again, never stealing more than necessary, and never breaking any locks—that was the code of conduct!

So for several years, no one reported the theft. Some people thought the items were simply misplaced, while others believed it was a case of thieves within the family.

They didn't pay much attention to Lie Yi's disappearance when he wasn't around, but three days passed and Lie Yi was still nowhere to be seen. Now the two of them had no time to practice their skills. Lie Yi had never been away for so long before. However, the two of them still had a bit of hope that Lie Yi might have gone to a more distant place to "hunt for treasure" this time.

Five or six days later, Lie Yi still hadn't returned, and the two began to speculate, fearing that something had happened to him. Shi Qian suggested that he go look for Lie Yi first, while Jiu Wan stayed home to wait, so that the two brothers wouldn't be worried if Lie Yi returned home and neither of them was there.

Shi Qian had been gone for several days, and Lie Yi still hadn't returned. For Jiu Wan, these past few days felt like the days right after his father left, except that he had his mother, sister, and younger sister back then, but now he was all alone.

That night, Jiuwan tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep. Suddenly, the door opened, and Shi Qian returned.

Shi Qian was in a sorry state, which surprised Jiu Wan. He hurriedly asked what happened. Shi Qian said that he had searched all the surrounding areas but could not find any trace of his master, nor had he heard that his master had been captured. When he returned, he couldn't help but take a case, but he did not expect that there was a master guarding the house across the street. He almost could not get back.

Jiuwan hurriedly ran to the door, but fortunately Shiqian had completely shaken off the other party. Jiuwan closed the door, feeling worried about his master's situation, and also thinking that Shiqian was too reckless. They rarely went to each other's homes to search for treasure. Before searching for treasure, they would definitely investigate in advance, which is commonly known as scouting, to avoid any accidents.

A few days later, Lie Yi vanished as if he had disappeared into thin air. Shi Qian and Jiu Wan discussed it for a long time and finally decided to leave this place to search for Lie Yi's whereabouts. After leaving a letter, they locked the door and left the place where they had become apprentices.

This place holds their hard work, beautiful memories, and sincere feelings, but in the end, they still had to leave. The ending wasn't perfect, but they had no choice but to face it.

After parting ways with Shi Qian, Jiu Wan wandered the martial arts world for half a year, but still couldn't find any trace of Lie Yi. Most people had never even heard of Lie Yi. Jiu Wan knew that Lie Yi had said that the most important thing in their line of work was to keep a low profile and not let anyone know their identity.

Two months later, he heard that a master thief had appeared in the martial arts world, named Drum Flea. He not only robbed the wealthy, but also sometimes the people on the street. In a single glance, the money bag would disappear without a trace. The problem was that no one knew where he was. This Drum Flea had also taken in more than a dozen disciples, and for a time he was unparalleled in the world of thieves.

Jiuwan had no intention of looking for his master anymore. He found Shiqian and told him that being so high-profile would inevitably lead to trouble. Shiqian listened to Jiuwan and became more low-key, committing crimes less frequently. However, he didn't change his thieving nature and would still steal from people on the street sometimes.

Jiuwan didn't know what else to say, so he returned to his hometown.

Because of Lie Yi, Jiu Wan's family was doing quite well. His older sister married a scholar from Yuncheng County, his younger sister had come of age, and although his mother was old, she no longer had to work hard. Overall, everything was going in a good direction. But not long after, his brother-in-law died in an accident, leaving his older sister, who had only been married for a short time, a widow. She spent her days in tears.

After my brother-in-law died, his family was not well-off, and my sister had to take care of her parents-in-law, so life was not easy for her.

Jiuwan really wanted to persuade his sister to return to Qinghe County, but she refused, vowing to observe three years of mourning. Jiuwan had no choice but to respect his sister's opinion.

After returning home, Jiuwan would occasionally steal a couple of treasures and sell them for silver to help poor people. However, he spent most of his time working diligently, and his family's life got better and better. Jiuwan would help his neighbors, and everyone praised him highly.

One evening when he returned home, his mother and sister were not there; he was alone at home.

Jiuwan's face was as gloomy as charcoal, but the man didn't care at all and just stared at Jiuwan without any restraint.

The visitor seemed hostile. Jiuwan sighed and asked, "Who are you? Where are my mother and sister?"

The man laughed and said, "You must be Jiuwan! Don't worry, they're fine. Meet me tomorrow night at this time in the dense forest outside Qinghe County. I need to talk to you. Your mother will be there too. If you dare not come, they will all die."

After the man left, Jiuwan was extremely anxious. He wanted to chase after him and fight him to the death, but he was also worried about his mother and sister being in that man's hands and feared that they might be in danger. In the end, he gave up the idea.

The following evening, Jiuwan arrived at the agreed-upon place, where the man was already waiting. His mother was anxiously watching him from a short distance away, with two knives held to her neck, seemingly telling Jiuwan not to act rashly, or the knives would not be merciful. Twenty men in black stood on either side, watching Jiuwan menacingly.

Jiuwan stared at the man for a long time before speaking, "I have come here to keep my promise and released my mother and sister."

The man sneered, "You're such a big man, and you're still joking with me."

Jiuwan took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "You must have something to say about kidnapping my mother and sister. Just say it!"

The man chuckled and said, "I've heard that your thieving skills are unparalleled. Now I need you to steal some items for me. After you've done it, I'll release your mother and sister, and I'll also give you a thousand taels as an apology."

Jiuwan had no idea how these people knew he could steal. Without a second thought, he said without hesitation, "It's a deal. What do you need me to steal?"

The man sneered as he handed the exquisite eight-treasure box and the blueprints for the luminous pearl to Jiuwan, telling him that the items he was to steal were in Jeju Prefecture.

Jiuwan wasn't stupid. After pondering for a long time, he said, "This is a capital offense, and you clearly want me to die."

The man shook his head and said, "If you go, with your skills, I think no one will know that you stole it. But if you don't go, your mother will die now, and your sister will die too."

Jiuwan turned and left without saying a word, leaving behind only his desolate and lonely figure.

On this trip to Jeju Island, Jiuwan was prepared to die, only hoping that her mother and sister could survive.

But he didn't believe that the man was so kind as to actually release his mother and sister as promised after stealing the treasure. He could only take a gamble and hope that the man would keep his promise.

As for himself, whether he succeeds or fails, he has no way to survive. The matter is of great importance, and that person will definitely kill him. As for his mother and sister, he hopes to exchange himself for them; otherwise, he will be left to die.

Arriving in Jeju Prefecture, this was his first time coming to the government office alone to steal treasure. If he was not careful, he estimated that he would not only fail to steal the treasure, but also lose his life.

He meticulously planned and made two scouting trips to the Jeju Prefecture residence, along with numerous preparations. On his third scouting trip, a man emerged from the residence. To his surprise, he discovered that this man from Jeju Prefecture was the same person his master had sent to deliver money to his family every month when he was learning his skills. After his master disappeared, the man could no longer be found. He never expected to run into him here. The man also saw Jiuwan and naturally recognized Jiuwan's identity.

The two agreed to meet that evening. Upon meeting, Jiuwan's first question was why Lieyi had disappeared. The man replied seriously that he truly didn't know, only that Lieyi had found him before disappearing that night and told him to leave and never return.

He had been saved by Lie Yi, otherwise he would have been dead long ago, so he always respected Lie Yi very much. Lie Yi had his reasons for saying that, and he left the place at Lie Yi's request. The man was not usually by Lie Yi's side, but Lie Yi would sometimes ask him to do things, such as delivering money to Jiu Wan's family. So he really didn't know what happened after that, and Jiu Wan believed him.

Jiuwan was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He had thought that seeing this person would lead him to Lieyi's whereabouts, but it turned out to be another false alarm.

The man asked curiously, "I remember you're from Qinghe County, why are you in Jeju?"

Jiuwan was unsure whether to tell him what he was about to do, as the risks were too great. If anything went wrong, it would be irreversible, and his entire family would be in grave danger.

Seeing that Jiuwan seemed to have something difficult to say, the man sighed and said, "I owe Brother Lieyi a debt of gratitude. Even if it's a huge matter, I will help him accomplish it. If you trust me, tell me, and maybe I can help. If you don't trust me, I'll pretend you've never been here. Be careful from now on." After saying that, he turned and left.

Jiuwan hurriedly said, "Brother, wait a moment." After hesitating for a long time, he finally told him what had happened.

The man's expression didn't change much after hearing this. He simply said, "At midnight three days from now, just sneak into the mansion. You'll definitely get what you want. I'll help you from the shadows."