Chapter 1209: Instigator

"The spiritual fruit is gone?" Lu Yang asked.

Ji Zhong nodded.

How come things are happening one after another late at night? We just caught a group of robbers, and now there's a theft case?

We're here to catch ghosts, so where are they?

Normally, we'd take a statement after receiving a report, but considering it would waste time and allow the thief to escape, we'll have to take one after catching them.

"Tell us what happened. When do you think it went missing?"

"Someone bumped into me before I arrived at the inn..." Ji Zhong offered his guess.

After hearing this, Lu Yang and his companion had a general understanding of the case and stood up to get ready.

"Alright, you wait here. We're going to catch him."

Ji Zhong opened his mouth, terrified as he looked at the room full of prodigies tied up by Meng Jingzhou.

With Meng Jingzhou here, these people wouldn't dare do anything, but if Lu Yang and his companion were to leave, merely being tied up might not be enough to restrain these prodigies.

Lu Yang noticed Ji Zhong's concern, scanned the prodigies, and coldly ordered:

"Nobody move!"

An invisible rule was set. These prodigies felt something beyond ropes binding them, and no matter how much power they mustered, they couldn't move an inch.

They panicked, having only encountered such power when facing their sect elders.

This was the power of rules!

To so effortlessly establish rules to suppress them, this power was even more terrifying than that of their elders!

Who exactly were these two constables?!

Didn't they say powerful cultivators liked to disguise themselves as street beggars? Why are they pretending to be constables now?

Lu Yang and his companion jumped out the window and flew over Quyi County. At the same time, they spread their divine sense, covering the entire county, searching for suspicious cultivators.

They pinpointed a figure completely merged with the night, casually strolling down the street. Several cultivators passed by him without noticing him, showing the profound level of his concealment art.

"Found him!"

The figure continued to walk leisurely down the street, humming a tune and tossing the spiritual fruit in the air. Even when he saw two constables patrolling nearby, he paid them no mind.

Just as he brushed past the two constables, they both moved simultaneously, pinning him to the ground and subduing him.

"You... you can see me?!"

The figure was astonished; this was impossible!

"You can steal from a Soul Transformation stage cultivator while only being at the Nascent Soul stage? Impressive skills," Lu Yang quipped.

Ji Zhong's ability to obtain the spiritual fruit in the Four Treasuries Secret Realm certainly wasn't entirely due to luck; his combat skills were exceptional even among early Soul Transformation stage cultivators.

Yet, this young thief, only at the Nascent Soul stage, managed to steal from Ji Zhong, highlighting his formidable abilities.

He must be kept under strict watch.

Meng Jingzhou snatched the spiritual fruit, scaring the young thief into silence.

He was skilled in spatial magic and could instantly move to other places, but when he secretly tried to activate his spatial art, he found the surrounding space completely frozen, making escape impossible!

This wasn't even an intentional spatial lockdown; it was simply that they were so powerful they unintentionally distorted space!

Did he not check the almanac before leaving home? Where did these two mighty figures come from?

"Not learning good things, just stealing." After confirming the spiritual fruit was genuine, Meng Jingzhou tapped the young thief on the head.

"What's your name?"

"Fang Ning. Esteemed sirs, this is truly my first offense. Please spare me! I swear I'll never do it again!" Fang Ning cried as he spoke, tears and snot streaming down his face, a truly pathetic sight.

Lu Yang and his companion were unmoved. It was one thing to deceive others, but to try and deceive them? His crying was too fake.

Furthermore, for someone at the Nascent Soul stage to have cultivated thievery to such a masterful degree, it was clear this wasn't his first offense.

Given his skills, it was likely that local constables would have a hard time catching Fang Ning after he committed a crime.

"Search him."

Meng Jingzhou held Fang Ning's wrist, while Lu Yang searched him, quickly finding a storage ring that, judging by its style, looked very expensive.

"Is this a stolen storage ring?"

"No, this is my storage ring."

"Then open it."

Fang Ning stammered. Seeing this, Lu Yang concluded that it was indeed a storage ring Fang Ning had stolen.

Several days had passed since Fang Ning stole this storage ring, but the seal attached to it was too complex; he couldn't open it at all. He had been studying how to open it these past few days.

"The seal is quite complex," Lu Yang remarked, and with a casual flick, sent out a sword qi, forcibly breaking the storage ring's seal.

Lu Yang took out the contents of the storage ring. There were only a few items, suggesting the owner didn't use this particular storage ring very often.

A book in the storage ring caught Lu Yang's attention: "'Biographies of Officials'?"

Although he didn't know what was written inside, the title alone suggested it was completely unrelated to Fang Ning.

"Where's your identification?" Lu Yang now suspected that even Fang Ning's name was fake.

"I don't have it with me," Fang Ning said honestly.

"Where is it? Take us there."

"In Yun Province," Fang Ning deliberately named a very distant place.

Lu Yang was unmoved: "No problem. We can make a business trip there."

Fang Ning was on the verge of tears; this was his first major stumble.

A steady voice drifted from the end of the street. A middle-aged man in a black robe and black hat walked towards them.

"Hehe, my humble disciple was merely completing my test. Young friends, for my sake, could you perhaps let him go this time?"

"Master!" Fang Ning exclaimed excitedly, deeply moved. So, his master had been secretly watching him while he completed the test?

After the middle-aged man appeared, the surrounding air seemed to solidify. The aura he exuded was like that of an ancient beast, terrifying and chilling to the bone, almost freezing one's blood.

"Inciting theft is justifiable now, is it? Arrest him!"

Lu Yang and his companion moved simultaneously, startling the middle-aged man into withdrawing his aura and quickly dodging. Why were they attacking without a word?

We're all Tribulation Transcenders, can't we just sit down and talk it over?

Just as Lu Yang and his companion were about to touch the middle-aged man, he instantly appeared ten zhang away.

"Spatial magic? No, it's just incredibly fast movement speed." Lu Yang raised an eyebrow. It was rare for a Tribulation Transcender to have such speed; it could probably rival Venerable Black Feather, the Kunpeng Clan ancestor.

The middle-aged man was secretly astonished. Usually, people who fought him for the first time would mistake his extreme speed for spatial magic. Who exactly were these two, and how did they see through it so quickly?

Of course, Lu Yang and his companion could see through it. Patriarch Han Hai frequently demonstrated the nascent form of the spatial Dao Fruit in front of them, so they were extremely familiar with what spatial magic looked like.

"Few human Tribulation Transcenders can achieve such speed. Are you the Grand Thief?"

"No, the Grand Thief only has one leg, which is why he claims unmatched speed in the world without contradiction."

"So, you're the King of Thieves!"

"Huh? Master, you're the King of Thieves?" Fang Ning was greatly surprised. His master never revealed his true identity.

The middle-aged man remained silent, not answering. After just one move, the other party had almost completely exposed his background.