"Hey, stop right there! You scumbag!! Thief!!!"
A lady screamed as she chased after a muddy looking boy who was running with her newly bought hairpin.
The boy kept running and dodging past people who tried to stop him cause of the woman chasing behind him
As he kept running, he thought to himself 'Doesn't this miss get tired, why is she still freaking chasing me! This won't do, I have to escape her somehow'
He saw a nearby clothing shop and ran into it. The lady saw him enter and hurried in after him but surprisingly when she entered, she couldn't spot his dirty clothing at all or his muddy hair.
She was puzzled and decided to ask one of the young boys attending to customers "Excuse me, please have you seen a muddy boy about this height enter this shop?"
The young man excused himself from the customer he was attending to and replied her politely "Young miss, no one such as that has stepped foot into this establishment today"
The lady stomped her foot in anger and mumbled to herself "That bastard peasant got away! I must find him somehow, I'll go report this to my big brother"
The young man was terrified by the sudden burst of anger and asked carefully "Young miss, am sorry, did I offend you? You can take your anger on me. It isn't good for a beautiful young miss such as you to stomp your foot against the hard wooden floor. You might hurt yourself, do be careful"
The lady blushed and said "You're pretty good with words, young man. You're also very dashing"
The young man smiled shyly "Young miss, you're praising me too much. Oh right, you said you wanted to report something to your big brother, what is it if I may ask? Maybe I could be of help to you"
The lady scoffed "It was just a stupid peasant who snatched my hairpin right before I even paid for it so I had to pay for the stolen hairpin since the seller wouldn't let me go thinking I wanted to rip him off
When I finally paid the seller, I searched for the boy and saw him when he was about to steal something for someone again so I screamed ah thief then he ran and I ran after him. We kept running until I saw him enter this shop but now that I have confirmed from you, he is truly not here"
The young man held his chin and nodded "I think I have heard cases like this before, pickpocketing is very common around here, there are a lot of rascals here who snatch things from noble people like yourself and it is truly not a good thing"
The lady snapped her fingers "You're absolutely right, young man"
The young man then asked again "So your big brother that you wanted to report to is?"
The lady said proudly "My big brother... wait why should I even tell you? We're strangers!"
The young man replied "Young miss, I just want to help, see I know someone in the Municipal Bureau who could help you investigate and get your valuable hairpin back, I just cannot bear seeing a young lady such as yourself in distress"
The lady smiled and said "Well, no need to trouble yourself with that, my brother is also a municipal bureau officer and he is second in command, he can find out in a snap. Well I must be going now thank you for the hospitality, I will definitely patronize this shop of yours next time"
The young man bowed "Thank you young miss, please come back soon"
The lady proudly left
After making sure that the lady had truly left, the young man sighed and thought 'That crazy bitch thought she could catch me but was actually completely fooled by me, what a duffus. Go on, go report to your brother. I'll just have to avoid him, hahaha'
The young man strolled calmly out of the shop while the hairpin in his hand and heading for the pawn shop
When he arrived, as usual, it was totally empty. Not many people liked pawning off their stuff unless they were truly poor or being chased by loansharks
But actually, this young man was neither of these two types as he only stole to sell for money to get somewhere as for where that is, it shall be made known later
The young man knocked on the little window beside the always locked door then someone opened the window and said "Oh, not surprising, Long'er is here again with some very valuable goods I suppose"
Tang Xilong raised his sleeve and brought the hairpin he took from that lady and a few other stuff he stole then asked with a raised eyebrow "Would these suffice? And you better not think of cheating me like the way you cheat your other customers"
The middle aged man's eyes kept shining with greed as the value of the things Tang Xilong brought to his shop was higher than the last so he cleared his throat "Well, I have carefully appraised it and your money is one platinum coins"
Tang Xilong stared at him with suspicion "Laozi, are you sick? These things are definitely not up to even fifty gold coins, okay I get that the hairpin and jade bottle are a bit expensive but altogether they are not up to fifty so what the heck are you giving me a freaking platinum coin for??"
Gong Panzi sighed "The time for the entrance competition into the three sects is drawing closer and I know that you have been saving money from stealing so you could afford a ship to go the Banggu Island which is in the middle of the ocean and as it is very far from here also is the main place for the entrance competitions for everyone who wants to enter one of the sects, the ship to take you there is naturally expensive"
Tang Xilong sneered "Let me guess, the cost is a platinum coin, right?"
Gong Panzi nodded "You're correct, boy. As you have been coming here every week since you were seven years old, it's like I have raised you cause I saw you grow from an amateur pickpocket to an expert thief. I want to at least give you something as farewell"
Tang Xilong smirked and said "Or is it that you're afraid of the fact that I could possibly come to steal from your treasury if I realized that I don't have enough money for survival"
Gong Panzi laughed wryly "Kid, you got me so please take the coin, I beg of you and enjoy your ride, you should leave early in case of circumstances"
Tang Xilong leaned in and said "Laozi, don't you have any special artefact to give me to aid me on my journey or something?"
Gong Panzi slapped his head in surprise "That's right, I do have something I specially kept for you, wait here and I'll go get it"
Tang Xilong grinned "Hehe, I knew it. Laozi, you're so forgetful"
Then Gong Panzi came back with a silver bracelet and said "Here it is"
Tang Xilong raised an eyebrow at the bracelet and said "Laozi, I know you're the most thrifty person in the world but seriously, a plain silver bracelet? That's your parting gift to me?"
Gong Panzi almost smacked the boy's head and said "Silly boy, this was the cheapest storage space artefact I could get. For a thief like you, you can't always carry the things you take and hide them in your clothes. You need this and it has two cubic meters space, don't steal too much and don't get into too much trouble like you usually do here.
You should know that you barely reached Body Tempering middle stage in four years of body cultivation and that is still the first level in body cultivation. There will be others who cultivate spiritual energy and those demons who cultivate demonic energy, there will also be other body cultivators who will be much stronger than you
Most important of all, don't be sympathetic to anyone, don't befriend anyone, don't ever reveal your true emotions, don't involve yourself with the matters of others. You are not their family and always be vigilant even in your sleep, okay?"
Tang Xilong bowed in appreciation "Although you're a stingy old man, your words are exactly my thoughts right now, I shall heed your words and repay you when I am able"
Gong Laozi nodded "Okay okay bye, I want to go sleep now"
Tang Xilong wore the bracelet, smiled at Gong Laozi and left
Gong Laozi was stupefied "In all my ten years of knowing that boy, that is the first time I have seen his sincere smile... I hope he survives this competition"
A few days later, Tang Xilong set off from his old home which had only him living there since he only has memories from when he was five years old.
He had begged on the streets for two years and when he realized others didn't even bat an eyelid towards him, he resorted to pickpocketing to make a living for himself.
The first time, he almost got caught but Laozi saved him and he brought him to his shop, fed him and told him that he should be more proper and careful when he took things.
Laozi also told him that he would buy whatever he stole and that was how his life as a thief started.
After paying respect to the home he woke up in and lived in for twelve years, he set off for the port to get set for the competition so he could become a disciple of the All The Way Sect.
Actually, the three sects are known as the following, Creation Sect which only accepts immortals, beastkins and mortals.
Next is the Bane Sect which only accepts the demonic cultivators and lastly, All The Way Sect which accepts all cultivators.
Tang Xilong took a deep breath and said "Starting now, I will definitely become... something at least"
Tang Xilong arrived at the port, asked for the ship that took cultivators to the Banggu Island and when he found out that the money for the trip was truly a platinum coin. He sighed in relief when he gazed upon the five platinum coins he had gotten from his ten years of theft, he was truly an expert.
Tang Xilong got on the huge ship that looked super expensive, even the interior was something so exquisite he had never seen before. But he quickly went to his room so that he wouldn't have to meet any troublesome cultivators.
But things don't always go your way most times. On his way to the stairs, he met a group of four boys who looked like they were in their early twenties troubling two girls who were dressed pretty well.
The girl on the left had dark brown hair and green eyes while the girl on the right had jet black hair and lavender eyes although the girl on the left was dressed normal but the girl on the right wore expensive silk all over
He moved closer but hid himself so he could hear what they are talking about
The boy with orange hair who looked like he was the leader spoke "So you pretty ladies wanna go to your room, right? Then pay us and we let you pass"
The girl on the left angrily replied "How dare you! Do you know you're talking to a noble? My friend here is a daughter of the Zhen Family, she deserves some respect!!"
Zhen Subai held down her friend who seemed like she wanted to pick a fight "Fuxiu, don't get yourself worked up cause of these boys, they're not worth it"
Chen Fuxiu calmed down and snorted "You boys let us pass through or you'll regret it!"
The boy with orange hair laughed "Do you think a cat like you has the authority to speak here? Just cause you're of the Beastkin race doesn't mean I have to be nice to you"
Chen Fuxiu was offended and stomped her foot
Tang Xilong had a thought after hearing that 'So the one on the left is a beastkin, now that I look at her closing enough, she does have cat ears and a tail
Tang Xilong who was listening on the side finally decided to help... himself and took out a shawl from his bracelet then wrapped his head and neck so well only his eyes were visible.
He did this for two reasons, firstly, he didn't want to get involved because those two girls looked weak and would just have to pay up since the girl on the right looked like she had the money and secondly, since he isn't going to meddle in it, what if those girls are actually strong and they want to beat him up in the future for not helping today. He absolutely cannot let them see how he looks like.
Tang Xilong speedily walked up to the boys while covering his eyes and said with a change in his voice "Please let me pass, big brothers"
The guy in orange said "Let him pass, boys, we only have business with girls"
Chen Fuxiu got angry and shouted "Why doesn't he have to pay up! It's unfair!!"
The guy in orange grinned at her "If you also want to pass, just pay"
As soon as Tang Xilong was let to go to the stairs, he quickly fled from them so as to not be involved
Chen Fuxiu who was about to ask for his help could not find him when she looked towards the stairs again and spoke in her thoughts 'Coward!'
Zhen Subai held Chen Fuxiu hand and said "We'll not go upstairs"
The boy in orange said while laughing "You're free to sleep on this floor then, hahaha"
Zhen Subai pulled the fuming Chen Fuxiu to a corner far from the boys "Fuxiu, didn't you see what that boy did, he gave us an idea"
Tang Xilong: Which stupid idea, I only wanted to run away from all of you
Chen Fuxiu was curious and asked "Which idea do you mean, Baibai?"
Zhen Subai whispered into Chen Fuxiu ears and her eyes lit up with surprise
By the stairs again, the boys were still there and two young men with masks on their face walking upright and proudly came towards the stairs and one of them said "Big brothers, let us pass please"
The guy in orange who was busy counting the money he just got from a scared lady didn't even bother looking at them and just waved his hand for them to pass
The other three let them pass and the two men nodded and went up the stairs calmly. When they are out of the four boys sight. They started giggling like little girls
The young men took off their masks and let their hair down and removed the belt and robe they had put on. Shockingly, it was those two girls from before, Zhen Subai and Chen Fuxiu.
Chen Fuxiu laughed so hard "We fooled them, oh they are so dumb!"
Zhen Subai chuckled as she said "That guy who wore a shawl was very kind to give us the idea, luckily am smart and I can pick up hints"
Chen Fuxiu gave a thumbs up "Yes it's true, thanks to your smartness. It seems like the dude isn't such a coward after all. He just didn't prefer violence, what a skilled guy"
Zhen Subai got to her door and Chen Fuxiu went to hers which was right opposite so they both bid goodbye and as they entered their rooms.
Tang Xilong opened his door a bit and peeked through to confirm what he heard then when he saw the two of them, he sweated bullets
He hurriedly closed the door and locked it "What freaking fate is this, why are these two girls' rooms so close to mine, I must definitely not step out throughout the journey, what if they saw my eyes and recognized me at once! Oh scary"
Tang Xilong went to his bed deciding to cultivate throughout the trip instead and would only go out the night before the journey ends so he could steal some food in the blanket of the night.
He doesn't wish to pay and waste his money, he would rather take it for free like he usually does for his everyday meal back home and by the time they realized most of their food was gone, he would have already hidden himself on the Banggu Island.
Ten days later, after so many troubles on the sea which delayed their journey by three days, the ship was closer to Banggu Island and would reach there before dawn of the next day and the day after that is the beginning of the entrance competition where elders from the three sects will come give them the rules on what to do to enter their sects.