When the Shadowless Thief sends out a notice, one natural benefit comes along with it.
Who is in charge of the Shadowless Thief case in Wuhan?
When a notice flies in, who do you think they’ll look for first?
“If that black-haired fellow became Ho Pil and gained fame, it means he has some skills. Follow the Head of Guards and point out anything you see.”
A black guy becoming a famous cop? He must be quite capable. Check our home security a bit.
Resolving to pay back the Branch Head’s words that could bring tears to even a racist, I nodded my head.
The homeowner personally told me the safe’s password, so let’s wait for that.
“There are many places to secure besides the safe room.”
“Haha. The Branch Head is so virtuous that even if he clears out the storeroom, it will be filled again shortly after.”
Indeed, like master, like servant. The Head of Guards sure knows how to wrap an evil bureaucrat.
While I was about to chime in, I turned my head at the sound of someone sobbing near the entrance.
“B-Branch Head! How can you take my land for failing to repay even triple the amount for Huankong? Please let me meet the Branch Head!”
“Who do you think you are coming in here and causing a scene! Get him out of here!”
No matter how rotten a bureaucrat he is, you shouldn’t play around with money released by the country! Even loan sharks wouldn’t demand triple.
“Haha…”
The eunuch chuckled awkwardly, as if he wasn’t expecting this situation.
I should tidy things up here.
“Tsk tsk. They take advantage of the Branch Head’s virtue when borrowing, but when it’s time to repay, they act as if they don’t know him. There are plenty of those kinds.”
To avoid the awkward atmosphere, I casually crossed the line first.
The Head of Guards’s eyes widened as if to say, “Oh, look at this character,” but then he opened his mouth with a relaxed expression.
“One who doesn’t appreciate kindness lives like a beast, doesn’t he?”
This cannot end here. This is a situation where a few words can earn points.
“On the other hand, there are people who express gratitude for the Branch Head’s virtue, aren’t there? I think it’s necessary to work harder when there’s an evil thief trying to target a storeroom filled with the sincerity of a gift.”
Would anyone dislike a person whose thought process aligns with theirs and who shows enthusiasm?
I’m on your side. We’re seeing the world from the same viewpoint. So hurry up and show me one more thing I can nab. I quickly built up the conversation.
“Ha ha ha! That’s right! That’s why you hear praises for the capable Ho Pil! Follow me! I’ll show you the safe room!”
The Head of Guards led me with a pleased look.
—
“The safe room was made by an expert famous for their mechanical creations. Jung Ho-won! What are you going to do now?!”
The Head of Guards introduced me to the martial artist in charge of the mansion’s security at the safe room door.
“What does a barbarian know to bother waking people up during the day?”
Jung Ho-won glanced at me irritably.
I can smell alcohol. Is this guy one of those who drinks himself to oblivion on his off days? And judging by his demeanor, he seems like he’s had more than just booze.
“Jung Ho-won. Watch your mouth.”
“What do you mean watch my mouth? Hey, barbarian. I need to sleep until dusk. Don’t bother me and just take a quick look, okay? I’ll just go in. The Head of Guards can handle the rest.”
Jung Ho-won waved me away like a bothersome fly and turned his back.
“Ho Pil! I apologize on his behalf.”
“Why should the Head of Guards apologize? I just want to see the safe room quickly.”
I’m curious about that guy’s expression after the mansion was robbed by Im Ha-yeon.
“I’ll open it for you!”
When the door opened, I was greeted by a treasure unimaginable.
The common folk ruled by the Branch Head have to worry about one meal a day, but this guy has enough wealth to live for hundreds of years.
“The room itself looks ordinary.”
I barely suppressed a laugh while scanning the surroundings.
“It must look like this because it’s opened with a key. The key functions to disable the mechanisms.”
“Does the room have traps set up?”
Traps? Isn’t that a martial arts-style version of advanced technology combined?
Of course, it feels like this world is packed full of science even in the kitchen.
“If someone tried to break in, arrows would fly and hit them. Even if they avoided the arrows, stepping on the pressure plates on the floor would cause the steel door to slam down, closing off the windows and doors.”
This could be troublesome. I wonder if Im Ha-yeon can infiltrate.
“Looks like I shouldn’t have bothered coming after all.”
I need information. I must act useless and get them to spill why I need to know.
“That’s not true. There isn’t anything that’s all-powerful. Even mechanisms have their weaknesses.”
Good job with the flattery. When I pretended to be disappointed, the Head of Guards eagerly entered and began to explain the traps.
Pointing out the holes inside, he lay out how arrows would fly and which pressure plates were dangerous.
‘So arrows only shoot toward doors and windows. I must move without stepping on the floor once I get in.’
“I think I’ve shown you everything. Is there anything else you’d like to point out?”
I had seen what I needed to see and collected all the information I could. It would suffice to meet my objectives, but—
Suddenly, the faces of the Branch Head, Head of Guards, and Jung Ho-won flashed through my mind. Should I mess with them a bit?
“I do have something to point out.”
So that the Shadowless Thief can easily take everything.
—
The Branch Head’s mansion.
A place where an ordinary thief wouldn’t dare to climb over the wall.
Martial artists stand guard, and valuables are kept in rooms powered by mechanisms. Plus, notices were already sent out stating that someone was coming to steal.
For everyone in Wuhan to scream that if the Shadowless Thief isn’t in a novel, it’s absolutely impossible.
Nevertheless.
“It’s a basic-level mechanism. I’ll teach you how to disassemble it from outside.”
We have the youngest daughter of the Zhuge clan with us.
“The Branch Head’s security shift schedule. I’ve indicated areas where the defenses may be weak.”
And there’s Ho Pil, who brought information that only an insider could obtain.
“With this, I can probably steal it blindfolded!”
And there’s even the Shadowless Thief, known as the best thief in the Central Plains.
“Go steal it flamboyantly.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Soon after, news of the Branch Head’s house being robbed spread throughout Wuhan.
—
“The Branch Head’s mansion got robbed!”
“The Branch Head’s house finally got robbed?”
“Yes! The Hoarder and all sorts of treasures were swept away!”
“A thief sent a notice and still managed to rob?”
“How extraordinary must a thief be to send a notice and steal treasures!”
When the Branch Head’s mansion was robbed, everyone in Wuhan was in an uproar, but the loudest place was where I was called.
“Ho Pil! What on earth happened! Speak if you have a mouth!”
The Branch Head called me to reprimand for the simultaneous theft of the Hoarder and all the treasures.
You all got robbed, not me.
“We followed Ho Pil’s orders!”
Someone was bound to pay for infuriating the Branch Head. The Head of Guards and Jung Ho-won, both of them, looked at me with wary eyes.
How did it feel to join a company where the president changes foreign cars frequently and employees who earn low wages are treated poorly?
Are they trying to pin the blame all on me?
I have no intention of sitting still, though.
“Who’s in charge of guarding the west wall?”
I looked around casually and asked.
“That would be me.”
Jung Ho-won confidently stepped forward.
“Didn’t I tell you to be cautious of the west before I left?”
“We were vigilant. It must have been from the other side…”
Right, it wasn’t from the west but from the east side. But you see—
“There were traces of light body movement on the outside of the west wall.”
I calmly revealed the truth to the angry Branch Head, almost like a cold intellectual had pieced it all together.
“What?!”
“Anyone trying to jump over such a high wall must have used a technique like the Shadowless Thief to do it. I found a gouge.”
“Y-Yes! There are gouges on the west side!”
One of the guards with his eyes wide said they discovered it.
It’s the trace I had told Im Ha-yeon to make and told him to cover with some leaves.
“There’s an even bigger problem.”
“What is it?”
Now that evidence has been found, everything I say will be the truth. As the mansion’s people turned towards me, I spoke of yet another discovery.
“The mechanisms didn’t activate at all.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The safe room was opened by a key. Who’s in control of the key?”
“The Head of Guards!”
“E-Excuse me! This key must be the real deal!”
The Head of Guards raised the key in a panic to the furious Branch Head.
“It would’ve been easier to come and go from the Head’s room than to open a room that can’t be opened by mechanisms.”
“…”
The incompetence of hired guards. The carelessness of the reliable Head of Guards. The Branch Head’s face turning crimson. The mansion was filled with a silence that felt ready to burst.
No one dared to move or speak, lest they bear the wrath.
“It seems like I’ve been the only one making efforts to protect the Branch Head’s property here today.”
But I’m not. I made it light and easy.
“Yes, you rascals!!! Do you know how much the Hoarder is worth! Even if you rob the entire storeroom of treasures! Ugh!”
“Branch Head!”
“Branch Head!”
I didn’t see this coming.
It seems like there’s something fundamentally wrong in the Branch Head’s mind now.
Should I go back now?
“Ho Pil! Where are you going?”
“I haven’t caught the Shadowless Thief yet. I hope the next notice goes where Ho Pil says.”
I’ll eat well. I’ll give this a 3-star rating. Handle the aftermath yourself.
—
“Are you saying the Shadowless Thief from Chronicles of the Wind and Cloud Heroes has appeared in the world?”
“How incredibly skillful must they be to steal the precious Hoarder from a mansion under watch by martial artists?”
“Oh dear. It’s truly ghost-like!”
“The Hoarder got stolen? Such a valuable item that countless martial artists begged the Branch Head for but couldn’t have! I wonder what the Shadowless Thief plans to do with the Hoarder.”
“Well, it’s the Shadowless Thief. Perhaps they aim to make a divine weapon?”
“Oh please! It’s the Shadowless Thief! Charity! They must be planning to sell it and fill the bellies of the poor! That’s why it’s chaos in the black market right now! Everyone’s looking for the Hoarder sold by the Shadowless Thief!”
—
“…Should I use it as a laundry bat?”
Many wondered about the whereabouts of the Hoarder, but now that it’s been stolen, it seems to only serve as a trophy or fame.
There’s no need to be exposed if I sell it by mistake anyway.
It’s definitely heavy. Carrying a rifle during a march was heavy, but martial artists lug around weapons made of this iron?
“If I entrusted it to a craftsman and had them make a sword, even a noble martial artist would likely trade their daughter for it.”
“That much?”
Who would’ve thought it was for boosting the affection ratings of the heroine among martial arts clans? Suddenly, I see it in a different light. Which characters from the original story had female martial artists as well?
“You… seem to have some terribly audacious thoughts. Am I just imagining it?”
Surprised, Im Ha-yeon approached me with a dubious expression on her face.
“H-Ho Pil.”
Even Miss Zhuge came close to me with anxious eyes.
“What do you mean? I was thinking about making a bracelet.”
I didn’t think that at all; I was just slightly.
“A bracelet?”
“Isn’t it made out of really heavy metal? You wear it on your limbs normally, then when it’s important, you release it. Until now, you’ve only used about 30% of your power, but then everyone would be shocked.”
Throwing the bracelet to crack the ground, sending dust flying, or asking another martial artist to hold it and dropping it because it’s too heavy, making a thunderous noise.
I mentioned a scene a man would dream about.
“…”
“Not good?”
Why is everyone silent?
“You’re saying a martial artist can’t control their own strength to the point of needing a tool for assistance. How can that be called a martial artist?”
Im Ha-yeon asked me, clearly confused.
She doesn’t know the romantic ideals of a man.
A bracelet that seals power. A heavy bracelet suddenly lifting after blinking! A 1% chance of fusion! There’s no hope! 99% comes from our courage, friendship, and love! Crying out about successful fusion.
Anyway, it’s cool, right?
“I-I think it’s okay.”
Miss Zhuge seemed to be motivated after seeing my disappointment and gently nodded her head after tugging on her sleeves.
“Miss Zhuge…”
I’m touched.
“Ugh! Lately, I’ve been thinking… I also think it sounds good!”
Finally, they all understand the romantic ideals of a man.
“Ah! Did you bring that from the Branch Head’s house?”
Thinking about the day I’ll write a story about a man’s dreams, I asked Im Ha-yeon.
“Here. But didn’t the Branch Head finish with the Hoarder?”
Im Ha-yeon handed me something she was carrying in her arms and questioned.
“Not a chance. The world should cry out joyously that it was looted grandly.”
The Shadowless Thief sent out a notice, stealing the treasure, Hoarder.
Although he had certainly built immense fame as a thief, it would be a disappointment if it ended there.
The Shadowless Thief is both a thief and a righteous outlaw.
What I received from Im Ha-yeon was not a treasure per se, but rather the secret ledger filled with the Branch Head’s hidden finances.
