Chapter 65 - 66: 30-Year-Old Ginseng, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track

Chapter 65: Chapter 66: 30-Year-Old Ginseng, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track

"Young Master, a guest has arrived."

A servant’s voice broke the silence outside the room. Zhang Hong gathered his thoughts and turned to Li Mo. "Li Mo, if you have things to do, go ahead and attend to them."

Li Mo nodded. Lately, he had been just as busy as Zhang Hong and the rest of the household.

Following the servant out of the courtyard, Li Mo immediately spotted Su Chen sitting in the main hall, sipping tea. Su Chen noticed him as well and stood up with a smile.

The two exchanged greetings. Su Chen brought out his congratulatory gift and handed it over. Li Mo accepted it cheerfully, clapping Su Chen on the shoulder. "I thought you’d forgotten about this," he laughed.

Their fellow disciples had all sent their gifts early; Su Chen was the only one left. It wasn’t that Li Mo worried about not getting a gift, but rather that he feared Su Chen had forgotten about his upcoming wedding entirely.

Su Chen gave a dry chuckle. "How could I possibly forget about your wedding, Senior Brother?"

"Haha!" Li Mo burst into laughter. He then pulled Su Chen aside to catch up for a while.

"By the way, Senior Brother," Su Chen said, bringing up a question that had been puzzling him, "I saw a lot of Guards patrolling the courtyard just now. Why is that?"

When he first stepped into the Zhang Mansion, he had sensed something off about the atmosphere. Instead of feeling like a place preparing for a joyous occasion, it felt heavily fortified.

Li Mo didn’t hide anything and told him about the Flying Thief. "...So that’s the situation. My father-in-law’s entire family is currently racking their brains over this Flying Thief. But if that guy actually dares to show up, I’ll make sure he pays dearly."

A perfectly good wedding had been turned upside down all because of a single letter from this thief. The mere mention of the culprit filled Li Mo with indignation. He had already made up his mind to teach the Flying Thief a harsh lesson the following night.

"Do you need my help?" Su Chen paused for a moment before asking.

"It’s just a minor issue. There’s no need for you to step in." Li Mo waved a hand dismissively with a light chuckle. "I just don’t believe this Flying Thief is as godlike as the rumors claim. Does he really have the power to deceive the very heavens? I’ve already had my father-in-law hide the ginseng. Even if this guy has extraordinary skills, he won’t know where it is."

"Senior Brother, is this Flying Thief really that formidable?" Su Chen asked.

Li Mo shook his head and relayed the information he had previously heard from Zhang Hong. However, in his opinion, they were nothing more than rumors. No matter how skilled the Flying Thief was, how could he possibly steal someone’s treasure completely undetected?

Su Chen asked a few more questions about the Flying Thief, which Li Mo answered one by one.

Seeing Su Chen so curious about the culprit, Li Mo smiled. "If you’re this interested in him, Junior Brother, why not come over tomorrow night and take a look? You might even get to see how I catch the guy!"

Su Chen thought for a moment before nodding. "I’ll do just that."

Li Mo smiled, paying no mind to Su Chen’s solemn expression. After chatting a bit more, he excused himself to attend to his duties. Su Chen stood up to bid him farewell, politely declining Li Mo’s offer to walk him out, and left the Zhang Mansion.

The next evening, Su Chen arrived as promised. Today, the security around the Zhang Mansion was exceptionally tight.

Upon seeing him, Li Mo pulled Su Chen over to introduce him to Zhang Hong. "Father-in-law, this is my Junior Brother, Su Chen."

Zhang Hong forced a smile onto his face. "So it’s Li Mo’s Junior Brother. I’ve heard him mention you, Young Master Su. Thank you for your help this time."

"You are too polite, Master Zhang," Su Chen replied with a smile.

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Hong took Li Mo away to continue their preparations.

Su Chen was left alone to sit quietly in the main hall. There were a few other people present, but he hardly recognized any of them. According to Li Mo, these were the Martial Artists that Zhang Hong had hired. With their assistance, tonight’s security was somewhat guaranteed.

After observing them for a moment, he lost interest and turned his gaze toward the courtyard. In the front yard, Zhang Hong was issuing orders to the Guards. In the backyard, Li Mo was handling similar arrangements.

It wasn’t long before Zhang Hong and Li Mo stepped back into the main hall. As the two entered, everyone stood up.

"Thank you all for coming to assist," Zhang Hong said, cupping his hands in greeting to the crowd, his mood appearing slightly more relaxed now that everything was arranged. "As long as you can help me protect the ginseng, the reward will certainly not disappoint you."

The crowd responded with smiles and words of agreement. Following the brief exchange of pleasantries, the atmosphere both inside the hall and out in the courtyard grew much more harmonious.

Su Chen noticed that despite the Flying Thief’s provocation, Zhang Hong hadn’t hidden the ginseng at all. Instead, it was placed right in the open inside the main hall, closely guarded by everyone present.

Li Mo walked over. Seeing Su Chen staring at the box containing the ginseng, he chuckled and leaned in to whisper, "Junior Brother, don’t worry. We want to lure the Flying Thief into making a move so we can capture him."

"Aren’t you afraid something might go wrong with it sitting out so blatantly?" Su Chen asked in return.

Li Mo shook his head. "With so many eyes watching, how could anything possibly go wrong?"

Hearing this, a thought popped into Su Chen’s mind: "If nothing is supposed to go wrong, then something is definitely going to go wrong!"

"Still, Junior Brother, you’ll probably end up sitting here for nothing all night," Li Mo added. "If you have other things to do, why don’t you head back first?"

Su Chen shook his head. "It’s no bother. Since I’m already here, wouldn’t it be a shame not to see this so-called Flying Thief?"

Li Mo smiled at this. He didn’t try to persuade him otherwise, feeling a surge of warmth in his heart.

Time ticked by. There was no movement at all, neither in the courtyard nor in the main hall. The Flying Thief had only stated he would visit the Zhang Mansion tonight, without specifying a time. Left with no other choice, Zhang Hong could only have everyone wait. However, they weren’t just waiting idly; he had the maids bring in fruits and desserts for the crowd to enjoy.

WHOOSH.

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew through the doorway into the main hall, causing the candlelight to flicker wildly. Everyone immediately went on high alert, their eyes darting around the room. After a short while, seeing that nothing had happened, they relaxed.

"Hmm?"

Su Chen furrowed his brow, suddenly sensing that something was wrong. Before he could even speak, the sound of several objects piercing the air rang out.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

"Watch out!"

The candles in the hall were instantly extinguished, plunging the entire room into total darkness.

WHOOSH!

A figure flashed by. Su Chen caught the faint sound of displaced air. He leaped forward, reaching out to make a fierce grab. With a loud RIP, Su Chen found himself holding a torn piece of cloth.

The intruder was incredibly fast, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Even Su Chen had only heard the sound without actually seeing the person’s figure.

"Men, quickly! Don’t let him get away!" Zhang Hong shouted, completely panicked.

Immediately, a swarm of Guards rushed in from outside.

A moment later, the candles were relit. The candlelight illuminated Zhang Hong’s tense, panic-stricken face. He looked toward the spot where the treasure box had been and murmured in disbelief, "The ginseng... it’s gone!"