Chapter 66 - 67: Making a Move, Reclaiming the Ginseng

Chapter 66: Chapter 67: Making a Move, Reclaiming the Ginseng

In the dead of night, a sharp cry pierced the heavens. Mingled with Zhang Hong’s irrepressible fury, the sound echoed through the silent main hall.

The expressions on everyone’s faces turned exceedingly grim. They hadn’t even caught a glimpse of the Flying Thief before the ginseng was stolen from right under their noses. For them, this was a monumental disgrace!

"Reporting to the master, we haven’t found any suspicious individuals!" a guard of the Zhang Family said as he entered the hall and knelt on the floor.

Zhang Hong remained silent. After taking a few deep breaths, he cast an inconspicuous glance toward a certain corner of the room, then waved his hand to dismiss the guard.

"Master Zhang, we were too careless this time!" someone spoke up, his voice tinged with shame.

"I can’t blame you all. The Flying Thief is simply too cunning." Zhang Hong shook his head, refusing to fault them.

A collective sigh rippled through the crowd, leaving them speechless.

Seeing their dejected state, a faint smile actually tugged at the corners of Zhang Hong’s mouth. "Heh, this Flying Thief is nothing but a fraud with an empty reputation."

Hearing this, the depressed crowd looked up at him in utter bewilderment.

"Master Zhang, what do you mean?" someone asked, sensing there was more to the story.

Zhang Hong chuckled softly. "We have Li Mo to thank for tonight’s outcome. If not for him, I’m afraid my treasure really would have been snatched away by the Flying Thief!"

Under everyone’s questioning gazes, Zhang Hong revealed Li Mo’s plan.

At Li Mo’s suggestion, Zhang Hong had deliberately placed a fake ginseng into a treasure box and left it in the main hall. It was a decoy designed specifically to bait the Flying Thief. Just as expected, the thief fell for the trap and stole the fake ginseng. The only pity was that the intruder had moved so quickly that he managed to make a clean getaway with the forgery before anyone could react.

This left Zhang Hong feeling somewhat helpless, but to his immense relief, the real ginseng remained safe even though the thief had escaped.

Li Mo, however, didn’t crack a smile. The Flying Thief’s strike tonight left him with a lingering sense of dread. He wondered if the thief would return to steal the real ginseng once he realized he had been duped. If that happened, he and the guards of the Zhang Mansion wouldn’t be able to stop the intruder. What worried Li Mo even more was the possibility that the thief might fly into a rage out of humiliation, taking his anger out on the Zhang Family and attacking the Zhang Mansion.

He had asked Zhang Hong to gather a large crowd tonight precisely to capture the Flying Thief and eliminate any future troubles. Unfortunately, things rarely went as planned, and the thief had slipped through their fingers.

"I see! Master Zhang, you truly have an excellent son-in-law!"

The guilt on everyone’s faces vanished, replaced by sudden realization and deep admiration. Hearing their praises, Zhang Hong’s smile widened.

Right at that moment, an abrupt voice echoed through the hall. "Heh, you’re celebrating a bit too early!"

"Who is it?"

Zhang Hong’s heart skipped a beat as he cried out in alarm. Suddenly, an afterimage blurred past his eyes.

"Oh no!"

Seeing the phantom dart toward the spot where the real ginseng was hidden, the color drained from Zhang Hong’s face. Confusion quickly followed—how did the intruder know the hiding place? But there was no time to ponder. When he saw a black-clad man grab a nearby vase, Zhang Hong turned deathly pale.

After seizing the vase concealing the ginseng, the black-clad man vaulted up to the rafters. He swiftly pulled a box out of the vase before hurling the ceramic vessel to the center of the hall.

CRASH!

The vase shattered, scattering porcelain shards across the floor and startling the crowd into stumbling backward.

The man opened the box, took a brief look, and let out a light chuckle. "Hahaha! The ginseng really is here!"

He then glanced down at Zhang Hong’s livid face and scoffed. "Old man, you thought you could trick me? Too bad you’re still a bit too green."

"Catch him!" Zhang Hong ordered in a dark tone.

The crowd immediately sprang into action, splitting into two groups. One faction moved to block the man’s escape routes, while the other charged directly at him.

The black-clad man shot them a disdainful look, completely unfazed by the impending siege. His movements were incredibly fast—so fast that their eyes struggled to keep up. With such speed, even tracking his movements was difficult, let alone actually catching him.

"Don’t even think about running!" Li Mo roared. Seeing that the thief was about to escape with the ginseng, he dashed forward and unleashed his long-prepared Iron Fist.

"Brat, I was planning to let you off the hook, but since you insist on throwing your life away, don’t blame me!" The black-clad man sneered. He threw out a seemingly weightless punch to meet Li Mo’s incoming strike.

BANG!

As their fists collided, a crisp sound rippled outward like a shockwave, echoing throughout the entire hall.

THUD THUD THUD.

"Li Mo, are you alright?"

Li Mo was no match for the black-clad man at all. Taking the brunt of the blow, he staggered backward repeatedly until Su Chen managed to catch him. Hearing the question, Li Mo shook his head without uttering a word. Suddenly, his expression stiffened; an unnatural flush surged to his cheeks, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky this time. You won’t be so fortunate during our next encounter!" The black-clad man sneered upon seeing that Li Mo was only injured. He failed to notice Su Chen’s expression rapidly darkening.

Supporting Li Mo, Su Chen prepared to attack, but his friend pulled him back.

"Don’t go," Li Mo said, shaking his head. "He’s too strong. You’re no match for him."

Su Chen shook his head in return. "Not necessarily!"

With that, Su Chen sprinted toward the intruder. Because Li Mo had momentarily delayed him, the other guards had managed to surround the black-clad man in the meantime. However, it mattered little; these people were simply out of his league.

"Enjoy playing among yourselves! I’ll be taking my leave!"

The black-clad man quickly smashed through the crowd in front of him, knocking them to the ground to clear a path. He glanced back, waved the treasure box in his hand, and sneered triumphantly at the battered guards.

Witnessing this scene, Zhang Hong seethed with fury. His complexion turned a ghastly shade of livid blue, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles popped with loud CRACKS.

"Dammit!"

Watching helplessly as the thief made off with his precious treasure made his heart bleed.

"Haha!" Faced with Zhang Hong’s outrage, the black-clad man only laughed uproariously. He then leapt into the air, his body shooting upward like a coiled spring.

"What?"

Right at that very moment, a tremendous force seized his lower leg. He whipped his head around, only to see a handsome young man with a cold, resolute expression gripping his ankle in an iron hold.

"You’re courting death!" The black-clad man’s face darkened. He violently kicked out with his free leg, aiming straight for Su Chen. But before the strike could land, he suddenly felt his body spin wildly out of control.

In a split second, the world flipped upside down. Everything around him blurred into a dizzying smear. After a few violent revolutions, his brain felt as if it had been blended into mush.

"Let go!" After a brief moment of disorientation, the black-clad man snapped back to reality and let out a furious roar. He launched another vicious kick at Su Chen, the fierce momentum generating a piercing howl through the air.

BOOM!!!

Su Chen’s reflexes were lightning-fast. Capitalizing on the incoming attack, he mercilessly slammed the thief into the wall. A deafening crash rang out as the black-clad man flattened against the masonry like a mural.

Immediately after, Su Chen leapt into the air, snatched the falling box, and landed gracefully on his feet.