Regarding the incident in the cabbage field in the Flaming Horn tribe, many heard the noise but didnât know what happened. It was not until the next day when they heard that the patrolling team caught a vegetable thief.
Were thieves stealing vegetables now? At this time of the year?
The wanderers didnât get it. Why steal from the tightly guarded cabbage garden when there are loosely guarded grains enough to fill your stomach?
However, several figures lurking amongst the wanderers were suspicious and wanted to learn more about the incident. But unfortunately, during the time of the theft, it was night time, and generally after dark, everyone except the soldiers on patrol would be resting in their houses. Even if they heard the noise, without the notice of the patrolling soldiers, they would not rush out to watch. With their weak physique, any wrong move would cost their lives, so being too curious might end up getting them killed.
Therefore, after the few figures asked around and received no relevant information, they could only return with their doubts unresolved.
A few scattered figures gathered once again where the guards on patrol and wanderers didnât notice.
âWho do you guys think was caught last night?â a slightly deep voice inquired.
âJudging from the noise last night, would it have been Robber Seven? As far as I know, he seems to have had a great interest in that vegetable field for a long time.â remarked another with a hoarse voice. It seemed as if his throat had been seriously hurting, and listening to his voice made people feel uncomfortable.
âRobber Seven? Impossible, It canât be!â If Shao Xuan was here, he could definitely recognize the owner of this voice. This person who spoke was the thief who was previously caught by Shao Xuan, Robber Eleven.
âOut of us all, Robber Seven is most skilled in escaping. He is the best. Even if he was found, he could still escape from the Flaming Horns. Itâs probably not him,â Robber Twelve conceded.
The first inquirer was silent for a moment. He stood up and looked around. âBut Robber Seven hasnât appeared yet. Even though he doesnât like to be part of the group, he wouldnât reject our invitation and choose not to show up. And even if he didnât want to show up, he would have at least expressed something instead of doing nothing.â
Hearing the words, the others were silent.
They really didnât believe it and didnât want to believe that the culprit was Robber Seven.
If indeed it was Robber Seven who had been caught, then how would they even stand a chance?
About half an hour passed, and they still didnât see Robber Seven.
âItâs probably him,â the hoarse voice said slowly, his voice resembling a blade scratched on a rock. Just listening to him brought the goosebumps.
Their facial expressions were full of mixed feelings, each in their own dispositions.
âWe canât stay in Flaming Horn for any longer, letâs leave and look for something else in the forest,â the first low voice said carefully.
None of them had the slightest intention of saving Robber Seven for the moment.
What a joke! Robbers only looked out for themselves, when had there ever been such a thing?
Getting caught just meant one was not skilled enough. He was out of luck and probably deserved it! Within the group, the happiest one was probably Robber Eleven. With Robber Seven removed, he would be stepping into the top ten.
Hahaha, if you thought about it that way, it was actually a nice thing.
The other two didnât even want to pay any attention to Robber Seven. Robbers Eleven and Twelve definitely didnât want to care. They were lucky enough last time to have escaped from the hands of the Flaming Horn. That was when Shao Xuan assigned them with a task and made a promise that he kept.
But if they were caught again, it would be very hard to escape.
There was hardly any hesitation. After they separated, they left the Flaming Horn grounds, and entered the Fearsome Beast Forest from another place outside of Flaming Hornâs territory.
Meanwhile, the Flaming Horn were in a stone house in their forest territory.
The person who was tied into a spread-eagle â大â shape finally moved.
When Robber Seven woke up, he felt all his bones crackling and squeaking. Every movement was painful, as if his bones had been crushed to pieces. His mouth still had a bloody taste, and his face was a little swollen. He was feeling a little dizzy, and his vision was blurred. He couldnât see his surroundings clearly.
In addition to the taste of blood in his mouth, there was a bitter taste of medicinal herbs. He knew what the herb was, and he could guess that the Flaming Horns didnât want him to die right away. They wanted to get something more out of him, so they reluctantly fed him some medicine to prevent him from being hurt so much to the point that he couldnât speak.
Robber Seven quickly analyzed his surroundings and thought about a way to safely escape. He also knew that his other robber comrades would not come rescue him. So if he wanted to stay alive, he could only depend on himself.
What did he have to trade in the face of the Flaming Horns? What could he say to trick them?
He had indeed miscalculated. He was too confident. He never thought that the Flaming Horns could knock him down with a strange thing like that. More so, the person who used that strange thing moved too fast. He didnât even have time to react or change his direction, so he suffered a hit.
His face hurt even from a slight movement.
He had taken a direct hit on this half of his body, including this half of his face. He was fast, but his physical strength could not compare to Flaming Horns. He was as light as a bird, but if he suffered an attack, it would cost him quite some suffering.
Wasnât it supposed to be just stealing a vegetable?! Canât believe I ended up like this. The thief sighed for himself.
He scanned around the stone house. There were a few others in the house. Even if Robber Seven could not see them, he could make accurate assumptions just by their breaths. As a person who often stole in the dark, he could accurately identify people from their breaths, even if they had just a moment of contact.
Among the few people in the stone house, one was the person who threw a spear at him the previous night, and the other was the person who suddenly appeared and gave him an intense sense of danger before he was knocked out.
âYouâre awake?â A very strange voice that Robber Seven couldnât recognize spoke, breaking the silence in the stone room.
Zheng Luo walked to the person who didnât seem to be fully awake. He looked at the thief who had a half swollen face. Even his original appearance was ruined.
âYou are Robber Seven?â Zheng Luo asked.
The thief was stunned for a while. He did not expect the enemy to be able to determine his identity so quickly. If you think about it carefully, the only ones who knew about his identity were his own people. Among those who infiltrated the Flaming Horns, only two useless bastards were caught! Robbers Eleven and Twelve.
Robber Seven took note of the two other robbers who probably sold him out, and thought hard about how he should deal with his tough situation.
Rumours told that Flaming Horns were very unreasonable creatures. Did they eat raw human flesh? Would they cook him directly? He might be cooked in the same pot with some cabbage leavesâŚ
Wait, now is not the time to think about the cabbage!
âMy robber number is indeed âSevenâ.â The thief did not deny it.
In fact, in many situations, they were proud to let others know their ârobber numberâ, but they would take pride only after successful theft. When people mentioned their names, they would grind their teeth and fake an innocent expression. But this was a different situation. He was almost beaten to death before he even succeeded.
Robber Sevenâs gaze moved from Zheng Luo to the people behind him, and finally rested on Shao Xuan.
So this was the bastard that knocked me out?!
Robber Seven made a mental note again.
âWhat is your purpose in infiltrating our territory?â Zheng Luo interrogated.
âPurpose?â Robber Seven wanted to say âsteal vegetablesâ, but he also knew that these people might not believe him, and it wouldnât help him escape.
Robber Seven rolled his eyes and said, âMy purpose is the same as those who still remain in your tribe, who still rely on you.â
Zheng Luo and Ao took a quick glance at Shao Xuan. This answer was similar to the news they got from the Hui tribe.
Zheng Luo waved the knife in his hand, pressed it against Robber Sevenâs neck, and asked, âWhat exactly are you looking for?â
The ice-cold blade made the thief shiver, but he quickly calmed down and said hastily, âDonât make any wrong moves. I wonât say anything even if you threaten me, and donât think you can get an answer from those who are still in your tribe. They donât even know the answer themselves.â
âWhat is Rock Hill City looking for?â Shao Xuan suddenly asked.
Robber Seven gave Shao Xuan a surprised look. He originally planned to tell them part of the truth to entice the Flaming Horns and arouse their curiosity. The more curious they were, the easier it was for him to negotiate with them. But he did not expect such a specific question. Although he was curious how Shao Xuan could so surely mention âRock Hill Cityâ, it became obvious as he thought about the tribesmen outside. This brat probably heard it from those people.
They did what they did merely because of something the people from Rock Hill City said.
âIf I tell you, will you let me go?â Robber Seven asked.
Zheng Luo frowned. Why do you even bother to negotiate under such conditions? But he nodded, âYes.â
âYou promised too quickly, I donât believe you.â As the thief shifted his gaze onto Shao Xuan, he felt that this brat was not reliable, so he continued to move until his gaze landed on two old shamans, and his eyes went back and forth between the two.
âYes,â the old shaman nodded.
âShaman!â Ao disagreed. He felt that a thief of this kind should be killed right away, instead of letting him escape. After they leave, they would still steal a second time.
The shaman raised his hand to stop Aoâs words, and then looked at the old lady who was sitting still next to him, âWhat do you think?â
âYes.â The old lady agreed.
Although they all knew that letting him go meant he would steal from them again, but compared to what they wanted to know, both shamans thought it was worth the deal. They also wanted to know what the Desert King, Rock Hill City, wanted to do. Did he intend on going after the Fearsome Beast Forest after taking over the desert?
When he heard the word âshamanâ, Robber Sevenâs eyes lit up.
Whatever other people said could be taken back, but if a shaman agreed, then the chance of them going back on their word was comparably lower.
Seeing the opportunity, Robber Seven perked up. He cleared his throat and said, âThe people in Rock Hill City are looking for something, and this âthingâ is most likely in the Fearsome Beast Forest.â
âWhat is this âthingâ?â Zheng Luo asked.
âThe green-faced fanged beast!â