For several days, I lived without incident, renting a room at an inn, and during the day, I was checking on the manor's repairs. Then, suddenly, beggars began surveilling me. It didn't feel like intensive surveillance, just watching from a distance.
'Since catching the Divine Thief is difficult, they seem to be watching people who spend large sums of money in the Central Plains.'
I ignored it and acted as usual, going back and forth between the inn and the manor. In Sichuan, I was known as a scholar from the West, so to avoid suspicion, I had bought some Western books and was reading them.
After living like that, feeling the time was right, I left a clone sleeping at the inn, teleported to Henan, and robbed the Shaolin Temple. This time, they seemed to have been prepared. As soon as I robbed them, countless monks jumped out and began chasing me.
"You, immediately spread this news! As planned, set up the net! We must catch the Divine Thief this time! This is a matter of Shaolin's prestige!"
"Understood!"
While chasing me, these fools were shouting orders loud enough for me to hear. During the escape, not only monks were chasing me, but beggars also began to join, and occasionally, muscular martial artists appeared. It seemed they had allied with other sects. They might have even predicted that I would rob Shaolin.
'This is the work of the Zhuge Clan.'
There was only one group in the martial arts world that would use such cunning schemes. Probably, fearing they would be robbed too, they had prepared in advance and devised a plan. It seemed I would have to get revenge later.
After fleeing for a long time, I arrived at a cliff on a high mountain somewhere between Henan and Shanxi. I paused for a moment and looked down. The cliff was so high that the wind blew fiercely, brushing against my face as if to gauge its height. While enjoying the view, those chasing me also arrived before me one by one.
"It's over, Divine Thief! Give up! Even if you jump off the cliff, we are guarding below. There's no place left to run."
A monk, who had been having a hard time chasing me, wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke to me. Having run all the way here, they seemed quite tired.
"Are you tired?"
"Yes, I'm tired. I never imagined your light-foot technique would be this excellent. Truly as rumored. But it ends today. We have enough inner energy to catch you."
"Really? Go ahead and try."
With those words, I leaped off the cliff and spread my cloak. Like Batman, the cloak stiffened, and I began to ride the wind into the sky. This was why I had fled to the cliff.
"Th-This can't be!!"
"Monk, you're a hundred years too early to catch me! I'll enjoy the Great Return Pills from Shaolin! Puahahahaha~!!!"
The monks, beggars, and muscular martial artists who had chased me to the top of the cliff watched me glide away, riding the wind, in despair, listening to my echoing laughter.
After flying like that for a while, I arrived at a deserted place and teleported back to the inn.
Three days after that incident, the beggars' surveillance disappeared. They knew I had been sleeping at the inn when the incident occurred, and realistically, it was impossible to travel that great distance in a moment of lax surveillance, so they seemed to have completely dismissed their suspicion.
Next, I robbed the Zhuge Clan. They had installed various mechanical traps in their treasury, but I wasn't one to be caught by them. And since the Zhuge Clan was particularly deserving, I stole all their property without leaving a single thing. However, from rumors, I learned that the Zhuge Clan, anticipating this, had split and stored their assets. They were truly exceptionally clever. So I robbed them a second time.
In the meantime, the manor was completed. I hired people to take care of cleaning, cooking, and security. I had also hired a competent steward, so there seemed to be no problems. After that, I created a hidden room within my room, decorated it with modern items, and modified it so that living in this other world would be comfortable.
Once the manor was settled, I proceeded to rob the Namgung Clan, the Wudang Sect, and the Jongnam Sect. And that wasn't all. I even robbed the merchant associations. In a situation where even the imperial palace and Shaolin Temple had been robbed, there was no way merchant associations could stop me. They dug pits and used various methods, but it was all useless. Because I teased them with extremely narrow escapes, the anger of the martial artists and merchants soared to the heavens, while my fame only grew proportionally day by day.
"I should start giving back now."
At night, I began visiting poor villages, distributing food, goods, and money. Of course, I didn't make it obvious that I was the one giving. If I did, the imperial court, the martial artists, and the merchants might retaliate. But, as always, there were loose lips. Because of that, a certain high-ranking official began confiscating not only what I had given but also everything else, sweeping through poor villages.
'Even better! Because it allows me to be a righteous thief.'
Not only did I take all of that high-ranking official's wealth, leaving not a single grain of rice, but I also used [Matter Copy] to make numerous copies of the corruption documents he possessed and scattered them everywhere. After that, I secretly distributed food and money to the poor again.
After that incident, no one dared to touch the food supplies of the poor. Then, rumors began to spread that the Divine Thief was a righteous outlaw. I had effectively spun my reputation.
'Now I should go to Mount Hua.'
In the lands of Henan, Shaanxi, and Hubei, the only place I hadn't robbed was Mount Hua. At this time, Mount Hua was a major sect, competing with Wudang for the position of the best sect under heaven. They also had overwhelming support in Shaanxi, so it was no exaggeration to say they were at their peak.
I scouted Mount Hua at night. Not only the Mount Hua Sect, but also other sects I had robbed β the Beggar's Sect, Hwangbo, Shaolin, Zhuge, Jongnam, Wudang β were all stationed there. Probably, since Mount Hua was the only nearby major sect that hadn't been robbed, they had all gathered there to catch me.
'Hmm... At this rate, do I even need to rob this place first?'
With that thought, I went back up to Hebei and robbed not only the Hebei Peng Clan but also the Moyong Clan. After coming back down and resting for a while, I went to the evil faction side and began robbing the bandits, the Yangtze River Waterway Gang, the Hao Clan, and all the other prominent evil factions of the time. As expected, the evil factions didn't cooperate well, and they didn't even seem to think about allying with other evil factions. They were so easy that it was actually boring.
After spending a few months like that, I went to Mount Hua again. Having grown tired of waiting, the other sects seemed to have returned to their own. I was able to observe the figures at Mount Hua more closely.
Then one day, Cheongmyeong, after being severely scolded by his senior brother Cheongmun, came down to the village alone to drink, grumbling to himself. I thought it was a good opportunity.
"I wanted to steal something special. This is perfect."
I waited for a while. When Cheongmyeong was about to return to Mount Hua, I followed him stealthily. In a secluded spot, I quickly approached him from behind, struck his pressure points, and knocked him out. No matter how skilled Cheongmyeong was, with alcohol in his system and me using [Stealth], it was practically impossible for him to sense my presence.
Then, I took Cheongmyeong to a cave a little away from Mount Hua, tied him up tightly with rope, and made him into a caterpillar. Of course, I also blocked his inner energy through pressure points.
"Hey, wake up!"
Slap slap!
I slapped Cheongmyeong's cheeks to wake him up.
"Gasp! Where is this... Gasp! Y-You're the Divine Thief!!!"
"Oh~ You know me? How?"
"Your outfit is famous enough that every martial artist knows it! More to the point, untie me now!! You thief!!"
Cheongmyeong, turned into a caterpillar, scowled and shook his body back and forth, going berserk.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I can't just untie you easily. You have to become the key for me to easily enter Mount Hua."
"What are you talking about! Do you think I'll cooperate?!"
"You're cooperating by being here. Let me show you something interesting."
I went outside the cave for a moment, used my [Transformation] ability to change into an exact replica of Cheongmyeong, and returned. Cheongmyeong was very flustered.
"Gasp!!! What is this!!!"
"How is it? Identical, right? I'm going to have fun robbing Mount Hua in this form and leave. So you just stay here quietly, got it?"
Then Cheongmyeong got angry and said to me.
"Do you think you can get in that easily?! Even if you look like me, you can't be exactly the same on the inside! You'll be caught right away!!!"
This was because Cheongmyeong didn't know my abilities. I had already read all of Cheongmyeong's memories, and I could even perfectly mimic his expressions. To prove it, I made the expression Cheongmyeong always makes when being nagged by his senior brothers β a face of pretending to listen with one ear while picking the other β and said to Cheongmyeong.
"Yeah~ yeah~ I understand."
Watching that, even Cheongmyeong was so creeped out that he started trembling.
"Well then, wait quietly. I'm going to have fun robbing! Puahahahaha!!!"
"You son of a bitch~~!!! Get back here~~!!!"
Leaving the raging Cheongmyeong behind in the cave, I returned to Mount Hua and began having a great time stealing their martial arts manuals and assets. The Mount Hua disciples, perhaps not wanting to get involved with Cheongmyeong, didn't touch me, making it very easy.
But somehow, Cheongmyeong must have gotten free, because he came running back to Mount Hua, huffing and puffing, and shouted loudly.
"It's the Divine Thief!!! The Divine Thief has infiltrated!!!"
Then, everyone at Mount Hua looked at Cheongmyeong and me. With two Cheongmyeongs, the disciples were very flustered. But I had no intention of hiding. I smiled and said to Cheongmyeong.
"Oh~ Impressive. How did you get free? But it's too late. I've already taken everything I need. Puahahahaha~!!"
With those words, I immediately started fleeing. The Mount Hua disciples, led by Cheongmyeong, chased after me like mad.
"For the last time, stop right there!!! You thief!!!"
"Would you stop if you were me? Hahahaha!!!"
I easily ran across the rugged peaks of Mount Hua as I fled. Among the Mount Hua disciples, those with lower martial arts began to fall behind. Only Cheongmyeong and a few others barely managed to keep up.
"Oh~ You're keeping up well? Try harder. Then you might catch me."
"You fucking bastard!!! When I catch you, I won't let you off!!!"
Cheongmyeong said that, but judging by his sweat, he was quite tired too.
"Yeah~ yeah~ I understand."
I still hadn't de-transformed, so with the same face as Cheongmyeong, I imitated him again.
"You (heavy cursing)!!! I will definitely catch you, you bastard~!!!"
With that, the enraged Cheongmyeong chased me with insane determination. The chase went on for so long that we eventually left Mount Hua, crossed Shaanxi, and arrived in Shanxi. Now, the other Mount Hua disciples were nowhere to be seen. Cheongmyeong was the only one chasing. He was staggering, having almost exhausted his inner energy. Of course, I hadn't broken a single sweat.
"Pant, pant, pant... You... stop right there..."
"Wow~ Impressive? You came all this way. Want to rest? The other Mount Hua kids have really weak lower bodies."
"What are you talking about, you monster!"
I threw a water bottle to Cheongmyeong. He caught it and drank urgently.
"Now, you've had some water, let's run again. Isn't it fun to run like this after a long time?"
At that, Cheongmyeong was incredulous.
"Damn... How is this possible?? What are you? Why aren't you getting tired!"
"Ah, well, you see. I've eaten all the elixirs I've stolen so far. So I'm confident that in terms of inner energy and light-foot technique, I won't lose to anyone."
Even with that explanation, Cheongmyeong couldn't know the truth.
"I-I see..."
Perhaps because my story sounded plausible, Cheongmyeong seemed to accept it.
"Anyway, are you tired now? You're the first to have chased me this far."
"No, I'm done. I give up. Honestly, I don't have the strength to run anymore."
"Really? Then I should go back to Mount Hua. I'll continue impersonating you, mooching meals, and having some fun with the female disciples. Come find me then."
"Wh-What???!!!! W-Wait!!!! You bastard!!!"
Ignoring the flustered Cheongmyeong, I started running back to Mount Hua. Cheongmyeong, truly exhausted, could only squawk, unable to follow at all.
Arriving at Mount Hua, I continued impersonating Cheongmyeong, mooching meals, and acquiring all of the Mount Hua Sect's martial arts and manuals. Even the 'Earth Stride Divine Art' and the 'Plum Blossom Sword Art,' which only the sect leader could learn. After having some fun slapping the female disciples' bottoms, just before Cheongmyeong returned, I threw a Divine Thief card into his room and left Mount Hua, returning to my manor.
'He's going to be so mad. Hehe.'
Imagining Cheongmyeong's anger upon seeing the card in his room, I rested well at my manor.
For several days after that, I distributed food and money to the poor and spent time reading books at the manor. The remaining sects were the Kongdong Sect, the Kunlun Sect, and in Sichuan, the Sichuan Dang Clan, the Jeongchang Sect, and the Emei Sect.
Feeling a craving for Sichuan cuisine after a long time, I went to an inn to eat. There, people who seemed to be martial artists were having a very interesting conversation.
"Hey, did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"I heard that elite martial artists from all sects are gathering at the Sichuan Dang Clan."
"Really? That's unusual. Why are they coming?"
"I don't know the details, but it's obvious. The sects the Divine Thief hasn't touched yet are all in Sichuan."
"I see. Do you think he'll get caught this time?"
"Shall we make a bet? On whether he gets caught or not."
"Sure, let's."
Hearing that, I went secretly to the Sichuan Dang Clan at night to scout. Indeed, numerous martial artists were arriving one by one. The Mount Hua Sect was also among them. Cheongmyeong was entering the Sichuan Dang Clan, grinding his teeth.