Chapter 23: A Thief’s Persistence and a Master’s Plight

‘This weight must mean it’s filled with treasures.’

Considering his earlier performance, Su Qin’s identity as a wily, unscrupulous merchant had clearly taken root in her mind. Moreover, given his demonic path, these riches were undoubtedly ill-gotten.

The little thief’s touch was exceedingly light; if not for the Blood Demon Spirit Body’s acute perception of spiritual energy and human scent, Su Qin would never have detected her.

‘What an advanced spatial technique; I wonder which of the Twelve Heavenly Gate Techniques it is.’

Its characteristic low spiritual energy consumption, coupled with its profound and covert manifestation, unequivocally placed it at that caliber.

Su Qin watched her silently as the white-haired little thief, after fumbling for a moment and failing to find where the pouch was secured, retracted her hand. Her fair, tender finger tapped her cherry lips, seemingly lost in thought.

The demon lord let out a sigh of relief.

He had just attempted to harbor murderous intent, but the very instant the thought arose, he sensed a subtle shift in the surrounding aura.

To achieve Golden Core at such a young age without overt master-disciple lineage was indeed extraordinary.

‘Why aren’t you leaving? When you can’t get away with thievery on your first try, what are you waiting for if not to run?’

However, Bai Jiaojiao was thinking of a different adage: a thief never leaves empty-handed; even if she had to go, she would at least pilfer something from the demon lord!

With a flicker of thought, Bai Jiaojiao’s small hands overlapped in space, and she swiftly located other pouches on the demon lord’s person, causing Su Qin to instantly grow tense.

There was a good reason for his tension: while it was fortunate that the recently acquired ill-gotten gains had been moved, the crucial point was that he still carried Qi Shuyue’s pouch and his storage bag containing the remaining magical artifacts.

Qi Shuyue’s pouch… the contents within were so perverse they were unbearable to behold. As for the remaining magical artifacts, they were evidence of his massacre at the Bone Painting Hall and absolutely could not be exposed.

‘I knew it; this demon lord definitely has a lot of treasures on him!’

Filled with delight, Bai Jiaojiao was about to claim them when, in a moment of desperation, Su Qin unexpectedly stretched and yawned.

His seemingly innocuous movement, however, sent shivers of fear through every cultivator in the valley. They were so terrified of the powerful being that they dared not make a move, each wondering what the great lord’s intentions were.

The Golden Core Rogue Cultivator’s expression turned solemn as he stopped vigorously bludgeoning Gao Pei. The cultivators besieging Qi He retreated several steps, hesitantly looking in Su Qin’s direction.

After witnessing his earlier palm strike, who among them would dare utter a single word of defiance to this formidable lord?

Seeing them halt, Su Qin felt a touch of bewilderment, and the Echo Bug (TL Note: A magical creature or artifact that repeats or amplifies sounds) once again emitted an aged voice.

“Why stop? Keep fighting! This old man is merely bored and a little sleepy.”

The Golden Core Rogue Cultivator’s eyes lit up; he understood. The great lord must have felt they weren’t fighting fiercely enough.

“Look at my spear!”

Even without a spearhead, this Golden Core body cultivator exerted immense strength, piercing Gao Pei’s left waist with a single staff strike.

“You, you!” The old man was too agitated to speak.

“Don’t blame me. I just want to live. We dare not disobey Master Fan’s orders.”

In the current situation, they all understood that only with the approval of that esteemed expert could they survive.

“Bastard!”

Gao Pei cursed furiously, his entire body erupting with green light. Yet, the cultivators’ fighting spirit only intensified, and they swiftly surrounded him.

Su Qin raised an eyebrow, finding it somewhat peculiar that a mere treasure hunt had escalated into such a fierce battle, though he didn’t dwell on it.

Bai Jiaojiao, still lingering before him, began to try Su Qin’s patience.

‘What a stubborn white-haired donkey; are you truly so intent on stealing my things?’

Bai Jiaojiao struck again, but this time Su Qin was prepared. His fangs burrowed beneath his clothes, hooking onto several magical artifact pouches on his person and shifting them around.

‘What kind of technique is this?’

It was the first time the little girl had encountered a method that could arbitrarily shift pouches, their paths seemingly random, unlike anything controlled by a person.

Lifting her head, she confirmed Su Qin hadn’t noticed, and a fighting spirit ignited in her eyes.

Her small hands moved so swiftly they left afterimages, relentlessly pursuing the magical artifacts, an expression of unwavering determination to succeed.

‘Seriously, why is she so stubborn?’ Sweat beaded on Su Qin’s brow as he accelerated the fangs’ movement.

“Master, what’s wrong? You seem a little… unnatural.”

Since the immediate danger had subsided, Su Qin remotely deactivated the obstructions on her eyes and ears, instructing her to observe the battle and gain experience. It was then that Gu Yuhe noticed the unnaturalness in Su Qin’s expression.

Both froze for a moment. Su Qin quickly adjusted his demeanor and composed his words:

“Ahem, this master is a bit… mm-hmm, just a little tired.”

While Su Qin spoke, Bai Jiaojiao, seeing she couldn’t catch the elusive pouches, pouted and gripped the one stationary bag.

Gu Yuhe wore a thoughtful expression, her cheeks flushing slightly as she gazed at her master’s robust physique and his domineering demonic presence.

‘Has Master always been this handsome? I don’t think I ever noticed before.’

“Master, does Yuhe need to help you massage your body?”

The little girl’s cherry lips parted softly, her skin emanating a beautiful luster.

Needing to distract Gu Yuhe while also preventing Bai Jiaojiao from noticing anything amiss, Su Qin nodded and said:

“I’d appreciate it. My back is indeed a bit sore.”

“It’s no trouble at all. It’s a disciple’s duty to show filial piety~”

Gu Yuhe’s eyes sparkled like little stars as she walked behind Su Qin, placing her small hands on his back, her cheeks growing even redder.

‘Master’s body is so firm; he must be incredibly strong, right?’

His muscles, like refined steel, exuded the domineering aura of a demon lord, and his scent made her breathing a little ragged.

As he felt the massage on his back, Su Qin dared not relax. The reason was simple: Bai Jiaojiao had somehow discerned the trick and seized his fangs.

She was on the verge of refining them.

Su Qin groaned inwardly. Having just controlled so many Blood Beasts, his divine soul was already considerably depleted and somewhat weakened, thus his control over the fangs had diminished.

Under normal beast taming, simply issuing commands would suffice, but this approach had many drawbacks.

For instance, demonic beasts often fought with brute force, essentially channeling immense spiritual energy and physical strength, which was a wasteful method.

Furthermore, their instinct to seek fortune and avoid calamity would cause demonic beasts to unconsciously defy orders, making them difficult to control.

This was why the Blood Dao (TL Note: A cultivation path or school that specializes in blood-related techniques and often involves controlling blood or blood-spawned creatures) opted for absolute control, uniting beast hordes into a collective lifeform.

It was, in itself, a double-edged sword: those who mastered it would wield power akin to divine aid, while those who didn’t wouldn’t even comprehend how to arrange the formation.

Su Qin was a master of manipulation, and coupled with his veteran player’s keen intuition, the strength of his beast horde multiplied.

With hundreds of thousands of Blood Beasts unleashed, enemies of the current caliber posed no challenge to him.

Bai Jiaojiao’s eyes gleamed, the thick fangs in her hand possessing a peculiar sensation. She had a premonition that this was an exceptionally rare treasure.

And so, she infused a wisp of her divine sense and spiritual energy into it.

Su Qin was dumbfounded. Not only was this little thief stealing his treasures, but she was also refining them right in front of him?

Just as the demon lord was about to intervene and teach her a lesson, a pair of slightly excited small hands, after much hesitation, pressed against his backside.

‘I really, really want to give him a few slaps…’

Gu Yuhe’s eyes sparkled. Seeing that her master offered no resistance, her delicate pink hands gave a squeeze.

“Master’s… texture is absolutely wonderful.”

Alas, Master Su’s plight was truly difficult.