Chapter 1329 — Somewhat Familiar? Of course, you shouldn't underestimate these people either — behind them stand several big shots of the Thief Sect. If anyone dares to lay a hand on them, what they'll face is the ostracism of the entire Thief Sect!
And these tomb robbers were all wealthy; they didn't mind paying high prices for costly daily necessities — the point was that such men were also too lazy to carry things themselves.
The Couple Bandits, however, were an exception. Arrogant as that pair were, they were extremely vigilant, forever on guard against a knife in the back, so in food, clothing, shelter, and travel alike, they seldom bought from others and preferred to bring their own.
Yu Xiaoke knew the rule as well. She carried a backpack stuffed with compressed biscuits, plain water, and a few indispensable tools.
A little money-grubber like her would sooner die than pay a high price for food like that.
Back inside the tent, Yu Xiaoke first set up a warning device, and only then threw herself down on the mat to sleep.
Everyone here might be of the Thief Sect, but Yu Xiaoke was a girl out on her own, and she still had to take certain precautions.
"That male half of the Couple Bandits today — why did his voice sound so familiar?" Yu Xiaoke muttered to herself in puzzlement. "Could I have met him somewhere before?"
Yu Xiaoke was of the Thief Sect and had taken part in several operations to crack the mechanisms of ancient tombs, yet she had never dealt with the Couple Bandits. The two of them always wore masks; had they met, the impression ought to have been a deep one — and yet she had never met them...
Could it be that she had seen the Couple Bandits without their masks? Yu Xiaoke went blank, frightened half out of her wits by her own bold notion!
Was such a thing possible?
Never mind. Yu Xiaoke shook her head and stopped thinking about it. The Couple Bandits wore masks precisely because they did not want their true faces seen. If she rashly went to claim acquaintance, she might well earn their resentment!
She had come on this trip for money; as for everything else, she had no wish to stir up trouble.
Old Hei had not bugged Yu Xiaoke. She was alone; eavesdropping on her would yield nothing, and the Flying Swallow Sect was famous for its caution, so there was no need for him to bother with such a pointless step.
On Wei Zhao's side, once Chen Yutian had finished off the listening device, Wei Zhao shot Qiu Lingshan a glare and said, "Be more careful when you talk from now on. Don't speak without using your brain! Honestly, like an idiot!"
"Oh, come on, don't call me a silly girl. I know I was wrong, all right...?" Qiu Lingshan's face flushed at his words, and she said sheepishly, "I didn't know these tomb robbers were so cunning — that they'd take the chance to plant a listening device in here."
"From now on, unless I ask you about it myself, don't say a word about the plan," Wei Zhao instructed.
When they had first entered the tent, the jade pendant had sent out a warning that there was danger inside, so Wei Zhao had instinctively clapped a hand over Qiu Lingshan's mouth and casually uttered something ambiguous on the spur of the moment — never expecting to actually find a listening device in the tent.
"I understand!" Qiu Lingshan nodded obediently enough.
Chen Yutian had learned his lesson too. He had not spoken earlier simply because he had not had the chance; only now, with Wei Zhao's reminder, did he realize that these tomb robbers were far more cunning than they had imagined!
"When do you plan to make the arrest?" Wei Zhao asked. "With their current numbers and weapons, it wouldn't be hard for us to break out, but taking them all down would be somewhat difficult."
"We'll play it by ear. Once all the tomb's mechanisms have been cracked, I'll notify my colleagues. We'll surround this mountain range and catch every last one of them in a single net!" Chen Yutian said.
"Crack them all? Let's hope so." Wei Zhao smiled and said no more. The earlier mechanism-cracking diagram Liu Bojia had given him was hard enough; who knew what other mechanisms lay ahead?
This ancient Sage of Medicine had been a man of great renown, and he had known no small number of capable people from every walk of life. The mechanisms of his tomb had been designed and built with their help — no ordinary person could ever dream of cracking them!
That night, Wei Zhao sat on the ground cultivating, while Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian drifted off to sleep. The two of them had to bring both mind and body back to peak condition, to throw everything they had into tomorrow's operation!
"Awake? Eat something, and then we'll go to Old Hei's." Wei Zhao could hear people stirring outside the tent; evidently others among the tomb-robbing crews had woken as well. Whether they had rested well was no concern of his.
"You didn't sleep all night?" Qiu Lingshan asked.
"Mm. Don't ask useless questions. Eat, and let's go." Wei Zhao sounded a little impatient.
Qiu Lingshan did not dare say anything more. She and Chen Yutian gnawed a few bites of bread, and then the three of them left the tent.
Sure enough, in Old Hei's tent, Yu Xiaoke, Brother Keng, and James had all arrived. Only Lord Hao had yet to come — being a man of years, his vigor could hardly match that of the young.
"You two great thieves are up this early as well?" Seeing Wei Zhao and Qiu Lingshan approach, Old Hei greeted them with a smile. Ever since hearing Wei Zhao's words in the tent the day before, Old Hei's attitude toward him had grown even more respectful!
"Hmph!" Wei Zhao gave a cold snort. "Was it you who planted the listening device?"
"Haha, my men don't know any better. Don't hold it against them, male thief!" Old Hei laughed heartily, thinking to himself that only the Couple Bandits, with a temperament like theirs, would call a man out on such a thing to his face; anyone else would probably have been too embarrassed to bring it up.
But now that it had been said aloud, everything was much easier to handle — no more need for concealment.
"Now do you think twenty percent isn't too much?" Wei Zhao asked.
"Naturally. If you can lend a hand at the critical moment, I'll give you that twenty percent gladly!" Old Hei said.
"Good that you know it." With that, Wei Zhao paid the others no further attention, found himself a spot, and sat down, seemingly to rest with his eyes closed. Qiu Lingshan sat down beside him, while Chen Yutian stood behind them both like a door god.
Yu Xiaoke said nothing either, sitting at the edge of Old Hei's tent drinking eight-treasure porridge. Old Hei had treated her to it; free food was not to be refused — a single can cost the outrageous sum of ten thousand yuan! As she drank, her heart ached: if only that ten thousand had come to her! She could have bought a cartload of eight-treasure porridge, enough to keep the orphans fed for who knew how long!
Two million–plus might seem like a lot, but no one knows the cost of rice and firewood until they must run a household, and Yu Xiaoke knew the orphanage's expenses all too well. Sitting on a pile of two million and doing nothing, it would not last long; many of the children had reached school age — surely they could not be made to drop out?