Chapter 1: The Entanglement of Fate and Enmity, Ha City's Lonely...

  Gao Chufeng got off the No. 203 bus and looked back at the handsome young man following closely behind, sneering to himself: what Black Butterfly, what never losing a hand, if it weren't for these people secretly helping him out, if he didn't have that awesome background, by now he would've been caught long ago for theft.

  She walked aimlessly on Jingjiang Road, occasionally glancing around. The young man who was following and protecting her kept a distance from her. She felt that such days were really too boring. She wanted to shake off the young man behind her, but unfortunately, she didn't have the skill. She had tried countless times, but never succeeded. Just as she was feeling bored, someone passing by hastily said in her ear, "Run! I'll help you block him." The voice was a bit familiar, and she suddenly remembered Li Huqiu, who was said to be missing. She turned her head to look at the back of the passerby, but he had already confronted the young man following her. The wide windbreaker made it impossible to discern his figure, let alone judge anything. Gao Yunfeng didn't have time to think much and took off running.

  The young man responsible for protecting Gao Yunfeng was about to give chase when a man wearing large sunglasses suddenly appeared in front of him, flinging his windbreaker over the young man and wrapping it around him. In the chaos, the young man's hand had just reached into his pocket when he felt himself lifted off the ground, followed by a splash as he was pushed into the river. The young man was well-trained and regained his composure within seconds, shaking off the windbreaker and scrambling out of the water. Looking around, he saw that Gao Yunfeng and the sunglasses-wearing youth were nowhere to be seen. He hastily reached for the wireless intercom device on his body, only to remember that it would be rendered useless after getting wet, and in frustration, he smashed the device into pieces!

  Gao Chuxin excitedly ran to a place where she thought others couldn't catch up, looked around, and suddenly felt a little puzzled. What's the point of running like this? Can it bring her freedom for just a while? Why did that person want to help her? What was his purpose? If he was a bad guy, wouldn't she be walking right into trouble? Just as she was lost in thought, she suddenly felt someone blow air into her ear, startling her so much that she jumped high. Turning around, she saw Li Huqiu hugging his arms and smiling at her with a mischievous grin.

  "Wasn't it you that they said had gone missing?" Gao Chufeng asked in surprise. "Didn't you lose your hand that day? I thought you were already, already......"

  "Is he dead?" Li Huqiu smiled and said, "This is called 'golden cicada sheds its shell', do you understand? I'll give you a gift, take it back to that person, tell him it's something you stole yourself, and guarantee you'll become the recognized thief king of China." After finishing speaking, he handed her a key and a storage card from a bath center.

  Gao Chufeng grabbed him and said, "Anyway, they won't find me for a while, you tell me how did you escape from their control and how did you steal this thing?" After finishing speaking, Gao Chufeng raised the key and the storage card of the bathing center in her hand. Obviously, she had already guessed that what Li Huqiu gave her was that picture.

  Li Hu couldn't resist her gentle pleading, nodded and said okay, then follow me, listen to me tell you slowly.

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  People are accustomed to turning a blind eye to evil under the sun, whether it's robbery on the street or theft in the yard. The former is because of the decline of public morals, and everyone fears the power of robbers, while the latter is because most people can't imagine that thieves will come in broad daylight.

  The garbage truck left after replacing the trash can, and Li Huqiu quietly climbed up to the second floor balcony of the villa. The simple lock was opened by him with a wire, and the speed was no slower than that of a normal key. He walked into the room, his footsteps quickly crossing the room, and he cautiously looked around, but there were no cameras everywhere as he had imagined. Li Huqiu carefully listened to every sound in each room. According to Bao Wenjing's description, she met that person in the last room on the second floor. Li Huqiu surveyed the layout of the entire building and felt that Bao Wenjing was a bit overrated. The most likely place to put that picture should be on the first floor.

  "A thief with good experience and instincts can spot where his target's valuables are hidden, no matter how well concealed. In our line of work, the location of wealth is more important than dignity or family ties. But even if you do find it, don't show your excitement, remain calm and composed, because there are countless hunters around you waiting for you to slip up."

  Observation is the first step to becoming an excellent thief, observing people, objects, and terrain. A building, an excellent thief should be able to spot a suitable hiding place at a glance. The thickness of the walls, the size and layout of the rooms, whether there are hidden compartments, all should be clear at a glance. Usually, things will be placed high up or underground. This three-story villa was built on the side of a mountain, with the entire back wall of the first floor connected to the mountain body. If you dig a hole there, it's definitely not easy to find the hidden things. With the idea that less is more, Li Huqiu did not try to find the master mentioned by Wen Jing, he lightly went down from the second floor, and suddenly heard a dog barking in the corridor.

  Walking the rivers and lakes, eating three-handed rice is most afraid of encountering dogs. The ears and nose of this thing are too sensitive. Li Huqiu took out a mothball and threw it far away along the corridor on the first floor. A black shadow rushed out from the door house on the first floor, chasing after the mothball. Li Huqiu took advantage of this moment to flash down to the first floor, rushing towards the room he had been eyeing. The large iron gate wrapped in full metal, sixteen iron generals guarding the door. Li Huqiu didn't hesitate at all, taking out a small iron wire, just like practicing at home every day, his hands and feet moved quickly to unlock it. His hand was steady and his heart was calm. Usually, he practiced with thirty-two locks, so this time switching to sixteen was naturally no problem, solving it in one minute, pushing the door open and entering. A man's lazy voice came from behind: "Go see what's going on with the dog?" In the blink of an eye, Li Huqiu had already entered the treasure room.

  The security here is so lax that Li Huqiu finds it unbelievable. Although there are experts on the second floor and a yellow dog on the first floor.

  In those years, households with cameras were rare in the country, but infrared alarm devices were not uncommon. Li Huqiu carefully searched for possible places where infrared rays might be set up at first, but he didn't find a single infrared alarm device until he entered Baoshan. As he walked into the treasure room, the walls were empty, and Li Huqiu realized that it wouldn't be easy to move forward from here. He carefully searched around for mechanisms, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find anything. There wasn't even a single thread or clue. It was just an ordinary room, except for the extra locks, it was empty. Li Huqiu didn't doubt his judgment at all, and he firmly believed that there must be some detail he hadn't noticed that was the key to triggering the mechanism.

  The walls had no clues, so he looked down at the ground. Time was precious and couldn't afford to hesitate. He knelt down and gently tapped each brick with his hand. Suddenly, he raised his head and found that the lamp on the ceiling was a bit strange. The lamp was a cylindrical combination lamp, one low and two high. Li Huqiu looked up along the lamp post and finally understood that the mechanism of this room was not here, but upstairs. Li Huqiu glanced at the ventilation window in the house, which couldn't fit another person. He thought for a moment, the mothball had lost its effect, the dog might be in the corridor now, going out would definitely be discovered, and the mechanism couldn't be opened. It seemed that he was trapped in a desperate situation.

  He kept himself calm. He still had Little Swallow to take care of, and he dreamed of finding his biological parents, and wanted to leave something in this world, anyway, he didn't want to be trapped here. Suddenly, he remembered the incident where Bao Wenjing was exposed and then released, and he suddenly stood up, opening more than a dozen locks with a loud noise, and rushed out of the room, rushing straight to the second floor. A big yellow dog fiercely barked at him. Someone in the gatehouse poked his head out and saw Li Huqiu for a moment.

  "Someone's coming, a thief is entering the treasure house!" The man shouted loudly in fright.

  The yellow dog rushed up, and Li Huqiu kicked it with one foot, kicking it into the air. He took three or two steps to rush to the door of the house, where there were two people holding things to go out. Li Huqiu kicked the door with one foot. The gate pushed the thin man who was walking to the door into the house. In the blink of an eye, Li Huqiu had already jumped up to the second floor and rushed straight to the room above the treasure house. It was the innermost room that Bao Wanjing said.

  In the corridor, someone shouted loudly, "Don't mind him, let him come up." Li Huqiu looked carefully and indeed saw a young man with gold-rimmed glasses. The other person also stared blankly at Li Huqiu's appearance, apparently not expecting the thief to be so young either. He asked loudly, "Are you a master sent by Huang Baojiang?" Li Huqiu didn't know who Huang Baojiang was and guessed it might be that middle-aged man, but he remained silent. The young man with gold-rimmed glasses didn't press further and instead used the jargon of the Jianghu to say, "Since you're a guest, let's exchange greetings!" (asking for his surname) Li Huqiu replied, "Taoman Tianxia." The young man with gold-rimmed glasses smiled and said, "So it's Brother Li, how old are you?" Li Huqiu replied, "Seventeen!" The young man asked about Li Huqiu's age, and Li Huqiu's answer of "one zhang seven" meant he was seventeen years old. This exchange was a way for the two to test each other.

  Young man made a self-introduction: "People from Hufu's family, height two zhang five." Li Huqiu smiled and said: "It turned out to be Wang Lao Ge."

  A young man with the surname Wang invited Li Huqiu into his house, and Li Huqiu walked into his room with a sense of relief. The outer room turned out to be a small living room. Li Huqiu sat down on the sofa with ease. Looking around the room, the decor was plain and unremarkable, but one thing caught his eye: a calligraphy piece on the wall that read:

  "The earth rotates, today is better than yesterday; the human world is smiling;

  Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp;

  Friends, be bold and meticulous;

  If you fall, get beaten with an electric baton, kicked by flying feet;

  What's there to be sad or afraid of?

  For those lonely widows and orphans;

  We not only don't steal from them,

  But also need to help them.

  Officials and rich ladies;

  Make a lot of money without putting in effort;

  Who else would they steal from if not us?

  When feeling down, find a pretty young auntie;

  Go play games like hide-and-seek in the park.

  The crude but endearing words made Li Huqiu feel even more at home.

  The young man poured a cup of water for Li Huqiu and said, "Brother Li is good with his hands, he entered the treasure house without being detected, so far you are the first!" Li Huqiu noticed that there was a swallow tattooed on his wrist.

  Li Huqiu pointed to the words on the wall and asked, "Did Brother Wang write this?" The young man with the surname Wang shook his head and said, "This was written by my master." Li Huqiu had heard the phrases in this calligraphy countless times since he was a child. Whenever Hao Zhanzi got drunk, he would recite them several times. Hao Zhanzi came from the Empty Gate Sect, also known as the Thieves' Sect, and had a swallow tattoo on his wrist. Li Huqiu, who was his apprentice, did not have this tattoo.

  Li Huqiu remained calm and composed, pretending not to understand, and said with a clenched fist: "I've heard people talk about your skills and sense of justice, I'm not talented, but today I came here for a painting. We've talked about the Tao and drunk tea, since you're a man who follows the rules of the Tao, let's see whose skills are true in a fight. Do you want to exchange blows or compare our ultimate moves?"

  The young man with the surname Wang said, "It seems that the big sister who lost three fingers in the fire last time and you, little brother, are on the same path. How about we follow the rules from last time?" Li Huqiu said, "Good, let's do it your way." The young man with the surname Wang laughed and said, "That's refreshing, but I don't know if you'll come first or I'll come first?" Li Huqiu said, "The guest follows the host!" "Then let's see the little brother's true skills," the young man with the surname Wang said, making a please gesture with his hand.