Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 28

The next morning, when Jiang Xun woke up, Liu Qing was still asleep in bed, covered with an old quilt.

Perhaps because he hadn't slept in a bed for a long time, he slept very soundly, and his breathing was more steady than last night.

Jiang Xun didn't disturb him. He tiptoed out the door, bought a few steamed buns, wrapped in oil paper, and they were steaming hot and fragrant.

Liu Qing opened her eyes when she smelled the aroma, and was stunned when she saw the steamed buns being handed to her.

"For me?"

Jiang Xun nodded, picked one up himself, and took a big bite.

Liu Qing took the bun, took a bite, chewed it a couple of times, and suddenly sighed.

"It's been ten years, and this is the first time someone has bought me breakfast."

Jiang Xun didn't reply and continued eating his steamed bun.

He didn't know how to respond to that, nor did he think it was anything special—it was just a matter of a few steamed buns.

After finishing breakfast, Liu Qing suddenly said, "Kid, do me a favor."

Jiang Xun looked at him.

Liu Qing pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

"Buy me some medicine."

Jiang Xun took it and unfolded it. A string of medicine names were written on it in crooked handwriting—hemostatic, tissue-regenerating, blood-stasis-removing, and some others that he didn't quite understand.

His handwriting is about the same as his; they're pretty much evenly matched.

Liu Qing took out another silver ingot, weighing ten taels, and placed it heavily in Jiang Xun's hand.

"Take it."

Jiang Xun weighed the silver in his hand, glanced at the piece of paper, and suddenly asked, "Can't you go to a clinic for this injury?"

Liu Qing shook his head and lowered his voice: "The Golden Feather Guard must have planted spies in the city. If I go out, I'll be walking into a trap."

Jiang Xun nodded, stuffed the silver and prescription into his pocket, and stood up to leave.

"Wait a minute," Liu Qing called out to him.

Jiang Xun turned back.

Liu Qing looked at him with a serious expression, not like she was joking.

"Remember, buy the medicine separately. Buy one ingredient from one store, and one ingredient from another; don't buy them all from one place."

Jiang Xun was stunned for a moment, then he understood.

Buying them separately will avoid attracting attention.

This person is quite thoughtful; no wonder he's my idol.

He nodded and went out the door.

After leaving the alley, he first went to a pharmacy in the east of the city and bought some herbs to stop the bleeding.

Then I went to a pharmacy in the south of the city and bought a skin-regenerating ointment.

Then I went to a pharmacy in the west of the city and bought herbs to help clear blood stasis.

Finally, he went around to the north of the city and bought some ginseng rootlets to replenish qi. Although Liu Qing didn't write it down, he remembered the old man saying that if you lose too much blood, you need to replenish your qi, otherwise your body won't recover.

After running around all morning, my legs are sore from all the walking, but I finally managed to buy everything.

He returned to Willow Lane, pushed open the door, and entered the west wing.

Liu Qing's eyes lit up when she saw the medicine packet in his hand.

"Have you bought everything?"

Jiang Xun nodded, placed the medicine packets in front of him, and untied and spread them out one by one.

Liu Qing flipped through the items one by one, then suddenly looked up at him.

"You also bought ginseng roots?"

Jiang Xun nodded: "I've lost a lot of blood, I need to replenish it."

Liu Qing looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Jiang Xun".

"Jiang Xun..." Liu Qing murmured twice, as if savoring the name, "It's a good name."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xun's heart stirred slightly, and he couldn't help but think of Ajiu from Wuling City, who had said the same thing.

Liu Qing lowered his head and began to fiddle with the medicinal herbs, no longer speaking.

Jiang Xun, being sensible, turned around and went to the kitchen, found a ceramic pot, and started a fire to brew the medicine.

…………

three days later.

Liu Qing's injuries have healed considerably.

The cut on his side had scabbed over, and its color had changed from dark red to dark brown. His complexion was no longer frighteningly pale, and he finally looked somewhat human again.

He leaned against the wall of the east wing, a steamed bun in his hand, eating it with relish, his cheeks puffing out.

"Kid, you're pretty good at cooking." He mumbled through a bun, "The meat filling is seasoned perfectly."

Jiang Xun squatted at the door, also munching on a steamed bun, his mouth stuffed full.

"Bought from a steamed bun shop."

Liu Qing choked for a moment, glared at him, and put the steamed bun down.

He stared at Jiang Xun for a while, then suddenly asked, "Kid, are you rich?"

"I've been poor since I was a child."

"Then how did you manage to afford this house?"

"I was lucky and got a big job, so I made some money."

Who else is in your family?

Jiang Xun slowed down his chewing of the steamed bun.

"That's all."

Liu Qing raised an eyebrow.

Jiang Xun chewed on his steamed bun, speaking in a flat tone as if he were talking about someone else's affairs: "I'm an orphan, someone took me in. The old man who took me in passed away at the beginning of the year."

Liu Qing looked at him, a hint of something indescribable flashing in her eyes.

"Me too."

He leaned back, resting his head against the wall, looking at the wooden beams of the roof.

"I lost my parents when I was eight years old and had to beg for food on the streets, fighting with stray dogs for food."

Later, I met an old thief who took me on as his apprentice. He taught me how to steal, how to use light-footed skills, and how to survive.

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"That old thief is gone too, thirty years ago."

Jiang Xun didn't say anything, he just listened.

Liu Qing suddenly turned her head and looked at him.

"Kid, do you want to learn?"

Jiang Xun was stunned: "Learn what?"

"Learn my skills," Liu Qing said, "the skills of stealing."

Jiang Xun's eyes lit up instantly, as if they had been lit up.

But soon, he became wary again, his eyes darting around.

"Why...why do you want to teach me?"

Liu Qing smiled.

"Because you are a reliable person."

He pointed to the newly bought medicine packets on the ground.

"You didn't find it troublesome, you really bought the medicine separately. You bandaged me up, not minding the dirt or the hard work. You bought me food, paying for it yourself, without touching my silver ingot."

He looked at Jiang Xun with a deep gaze.

"You can sell me anytime you want these three days. The Golden Feather Guard has put a bounty on my head; the reward is enough for you to buy three of these courtyards."

Jiang Xun didn't say anything.

"But you didn't sell it." Liu Qing smiled, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. "In this world, there aren't many reliable people. You're one of them."

Jiang Xun remained silent for a while, squatting there without moving.

Then he suddenly stood up, walked to Liu Qing, and knelt down.

"Master."

Liu Qing was stunned for a moment, then smiled and reached out to grab his arm.

"Get up, get up, stop with the nonsense."

Jiang Xun got up, his eyes sparkling, completely different from before.

Liu Qing looked at him, her smile fading, and said seriously, "Do you know what I do?"

"The Saint of Thieves."

"That's what other people call the 'Thief Saint,'" Liu Qing said. "I know myself, I'm just a thief. I've stolen my whole life, and I've been chased my whole life."

He looked at Jiang Xun.

"You'd be willing to be a thief?"

Jiang Xun thought for a moment, then said seriously, "I don't steal from good people."

Liu Qing laughed, and this time he laughed heartily.

"Okay, that's enough."

He patted the straw beside him.

"Sit down, let me tell you."

Jiang Xun sat down cross-legged, his back straight, his ears perked up.

Liu Qing leaned against the wall and slowly began to speak:

"Do you know what's most important when stealing?"

Jiang Xun thought for a moment: "Quick-handed?"

Liu Qing shook her head.

"A keen eye?"

Liu Qing shook her head again.

Jiang Xun couldn't figure it out and scratched his head.

Liu Qing smiled and tapped her head with her finger.

"It's the brain."

"No matter how fast your hands are, can they be faster than the government's sword? No matter how accurate your eyes are, can they be more accurate than those martial arts masters? If you're really cornered, no matter how fast your hands are, it's useless."

Jiang Xun nodded thoughtfully.

Liu Qing continued, "Stealing is 30% skill and 70% brain. Scouting, keeping watch, escaping, and cleaning up—which of these doesn't require thinking? No matter how fast you are, if you don't scout the place well and run into someone as soon as you walk in, it's all for nothing."

Jiang Xun nodded, listening attentively.

"The time you got arrested..."

Liu Qing's smile froze, and the corner of her mouth twitched.

Liu Qing paused for a moment, then sighed.

"I was careless that time. That old bastard Huang Hao is too cunning. I spent three months tracking the situation, but he still managed to figure it out."

He pointed to the two scars below his collarbone.

"These two holes are the lesson we learned from that incident."

Jiang Xun stared at the scar for a moment, then suddenly asked, "So how did you recover your martial arts skills later?"

Liu Qing glanced at him but didn't reply.

"We'll talk about that later."

He changed the subject.

"Let's continue talking about stealing. Besides brains, there's one more thing that's most important."

"What?"

Liu Qing looked at him and spoke slowly and deliberately.

"It is the heart."

Jiang Xun was stunned: "Heart?"

"Yes," Liu Qing said. "You need to know who can steal from and who can't."

He leaned back and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"When I was young, I stole everything. I stole from the rich, and I stole from the poor; I stole from the bad, and I stole from the good. Later I met a woman who scolded me, saying that I couldn't distinguish right from wrong, and I couldn't tell good from evil."

"Who?"

Liu Qing's eyes darted around, as if she was recalling something from the past.

"The head of Mirror Lake Sect, Fu Hongyin."