Chapter Fifteen: Talkative

“Then please be careful. I’ll wait for you by the ox cart,” Granny Sheng said, gripping Sheng Wanqiu’s hand firmly.

With Granny Sheng’s approval, Sheng Wanqiu took off running without hesitation.

She first sought out a group of street urchins—about a dozen or so—each gazing at her eagerly.

The young lady handed each of them a steamed corn bun and asked for their help to find someone wearing black shoes embroidered with green leaves on the heels. This person also had a distinctive black mole above their eyebrow.

If they could successfully provide a clue and find this individual, they would be rewarded with ten meat-filled buns.

The urchins were instantly tempted—meat buns falling from the sky! Finding people was their specialty.

Every day, crouching in corners and watching passersby, they were skilled at reading people, especially noticing their shoes since they were small and often looked down.

After quickly devouring their corn buns, the little beggars dispersed to search.

Sheng Wanqiu sat leisurely at a tea stall, enjoying the multigrain steamed buns she had just bought from a street vendor, waiting for news.

This was the Beggars’ Sect, after all.

Why waste such an opportunity? That’s why in martial arts novels, everyone dreams of becoming the leader of the Beggars’ Sect—their network was unparalleled, and their information gathering unmatched.

Soon, a small urchin, shorter than her, came gasping back.

“Sister, there are several people wearing those shoes. They’re all in the City God Temple over there!”

Sure enough, they were connected. Sheng Wanqiu had suspected that the large number of stolen purses couldn’t have been the work of a single person. Her prediction was correct.

“Thank you. Can you take me there?”

“Once I finish my business, I’ll take you to buy meat buns!” Sheng Wanqiu reached out to stroke the little urchin’s soot-covered face.

The boy’s ears flushed red instantly. No one had ever touched his face so gently before; he barely reacted.

“I’ll take you there right now!” The urchin said and dashed off, Sheng Wanqiu following close behind.

They soon arrived at the so-called City God Temple, a dilapidated building with missing roof tiles and a half-collapsed wall, looking as if it might fall at any moment.

“Sister, they look like bad guys. They have knives!” the urchin whispered from behind her.

Sheng Wanqiu crouched by the half-fallen wall, quietly peering inside.

There were about five men inside, none appearing to be from the Great Yue Kingdom—their beards were yellowish, and their hair was tied up, making it difficult to discern further.

“You wait outside. Don’t go in, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll wait for you to come out and then take me for meat buns!”

Sheng Wanqiu gently warned the urchin before moving stealthily to a half-standing pillar, carefully observing the men inside.

Those scoundrels, jabbering away like they were in some petty little world.

She picked up a few small stones from the ground, flicked them between her fingers, and then flicked her wrist, shooting the stones forward.

This was the hidden weapon technique she had learned at the training base, where she had ranked first—though it had earned her some grudges.

“Ah!” Four sharp cries echoed as four of the five men collapsed, while the last clutched his knife, staring fearfully toward the entrance.

“Who’s there? Don’t play tricks!”

“It’s me, your grandaunt!” Sheng Wanqiu leapt out, glaring at the young man with the mole above his brow.

“You’re not from Great Yue, are you? What were you yabbering about earlier?”

“Stealing from ordinary folk is a moral disgrace!”

“Go steal from the treasury if you have guts! There’s plenty of silver there; the emperor won’t even spend it all. You might as well help him use it up.”

One of the onlookers sneered, “Stealing from the treasury? What a bold idea!”

Ling Yi couldn’t help but suppress a laugh. This young lady was truly amusing—skilled and witty.

What was even more entertaining was when Lu Yu and his servant watched Sheng Wanqiu subdue the remaining man, stripping him down to his underpants.

Of course, the other four unconscious men were treated the same way. After stripping them, she gagged all five and tied them to pillars with hemp rope.

It was early spring; seeing them bare-chested was quite chilling.

“You don’t seem like good men. Whether you live or die is up to fate!”

Sheng Wanqiu retrieved the purses she had freed—among them was Granny Sheng’s, which she pocketed.

She also found about two taels of silver on two others and took those as well, tossing the five knives into a dry well in the courtyard before leaving.

Lu Yu and his servant stared in disbelief. Was this girl planning to prey on thieves herself?

Once Sheng Wanqiu was a good distance away, the two men jumped down from a tree and found a letter among the shoes of the five unconscious men.

“Master, what shall we do with these men?” Ling Yi asked.

“Didn’t you just hear me? Leave it to fate!” Lu Yu sneered. “If the cold doesn’t kill them, starvation will. No one normally comes to this place.”

“Understood,” Ling Yi nodded, following Lu Yu.

Meanwhile, Sheng Wanqiu had finished buying buns with the little urchin and even purchased an extra dozen to hand out.

“This is your reward. And this packet, please give it to them, thanking them on my behalf.”

“Thank you, sister!” the urchin bowed politely.

“Go back quickly. I’m leaving too. Goodbye!” Sheng Wanqiu smiled back as she quickened her pace.

The little urchin watched her retreating figure until it vanished, then lowered his head, clutching the still-warm buns tightly.

Sheng Wanqiu was not greedy. Those purses were not hers, so she couldn’t keep them—unless it was from corrupt officials.

Presumably, those whose purses were stolen had reported the incident. To avoid trouble, Sheng Wanqiu wrapped the remaining purses in a rag and slipped them beneath the stone lion at the entrance of the government office as she passed by.

In this day and age, without surveillance, she shouldn’t be discovered.

Afterwards, she picked up a stone and struck the large drum at the government office’s entrance.

Standing at the street corner, she watched as officials discovered the purses under the stone lion, then turned and walked away.

“Master, who do you think she is?”

“You say she loves money—there was so much silver, and she just returned it to the office.”

“You say she doesn’t—she chased down the thief over a mere purse. It’s puzzling.”

Ling Yi rambled on.

“You’re talking too much today!” Lu Yu glanced at him, and Ling Yi immediately shut his mouth.