Chapter 879: Thief Saint VS Thief Saint

Thief Saint VS Thief Saint

[Audience Expectation Value +3]

[Current Expectation Value: 51%]

When these two lines of text drifted past Chen Ling's eyes, his heart instantly trembled!

Something's not right...

An ominous premonition surged into Chen Ling's heart. He immediately stopped the rummaging in his hands and vigilantly looked around...

"What's wrong? Did you find it?" Seeing his baffling reaction, Jian Changsheng spoke in confusion.

Chen Ling didn't answer, but pondered with a serious expression for a moment. He walked to the door of the Imperial Study, quietly opened it a crack, and looked outside.

Outside the Imperial Study, it was completely empty.

[Queen of Hearts].

Chen Ling's pupils contracted slightly.

"This is..."

...

"A thief is a thief, why act so scholarly? Are you going to take the civil service exam?"

In the sky above the Imperial Study, Mo Lian held his Cane and spoke with some disdain.

"..."

Bai Ye's back was already soaked with cold sweat.

Bai Ye absolutely never expected to run into Chen Ling's group here... Usually, that would naturally be a joyous reunion of old friends. But right now, Mo Lian was by his side, a Thief Saint of the Fire-Stealers of the same rank as him!

This feeling was too strange, like cheating in a marriage, taking your original spouse out for errands and ending up bumping right into your old flame...

Bai Ye was a member of the Dusk Society. Even though he still retained his identity as a Thief Saint of the Fire-Stealers, he was more like a double agent. And right now, he encountered a predicament that no double agent in the world would ever want to see.

Encountering Chen Ling's group in the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path, although Mo Lian didn't know their backgrounds, with his personality, he would definitely strike to kill. And Chen Ling and the others were far from having grown up yet, it was fundamentally impossible for them to be a Thief Saint's opponents...

If Bai Ye didn't make a move, Chen Ling and the others would undoubtedly die;

If he made a move, he himself would be completely exposed. Moreover, Mo Lian's Path was quite troublesome. If they were to fight, even Bai Ye didn't have much confidence in winning.

Fortunately, Bai Ye used his [Heart Python] to temporarily steal a segment of Mo Lian's memory, stabilizing the situation.

He calmed his emotions and answered calmly:

"Profession is profession, learning is learning. You can actually learn a lot of things from history... Besides, I have a criminal record, I can't take the civil service exam."

"So you mean to say, when you can't be seen on normal days, you went to study?"

"What I do, doesn't seem necessary to report to you. Mo Lian, you're meddling too much."

Bai Ye repeated the conversation from just now, minimizing Mo Lian's abrupt feeling towards the memory gap as much as possible.

"Heh."

Mo Lian sneered.

A moment later, he actually spoke leisurely again,

"As expected of you... With this kind of method, if I hadn't prepared in advance, I'm afraid even if I noticed the anomaly I would forget it... What a trick to cross the sea under the heavens' watch."

Bai Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.

He turned his head abruptly, only to see Mo Lian leisurely taking off the Bowler Hat on his head. With a gentle shake, the playing card stuffed into the Imperial Study just now was casually pulled out by him.

The corners of Mo Lian's mouth hooked up slightly,

"The Silver King's guess was indeed correct. Following you all the way, I finally found a flaw..."

"Should I call you Thief Saint Bai Ye, or... [Queen of Hearts]?"

A thunderclap resounded in Bai Ye's mind. His thoughts instantly moved like lightning, and without hesitation he pulled back to distance himself from Mo Lian!

In the next moment,

The two Paths of the Thief were urged. One black and one white beam of light flashed out almost simultaneously!

"It's a pity, you can't steal my memory."

Mo Lian casually flipped his Bowler Hat and put it back on his head. On the inner edge of the original hat, a silver flame Marking was silently radiating a faint light.

Demigod's Aura!

The moment he saw this Marking, Bai Ye's heart already sank to the bottom of the valley.

That Marking came from the Silver King, the Pathway Chief of the Path of the Thief... The Silver King mastered all "Thief" methods, naturally including stealing memories. This Marking was specifically meant to counter Bai Ye.

No wonder pursuing a group of children required dispatching two Thief Saints... No wonder after entering the Gray World this time, Mo Lian seemed to have been intentionally or unintentionally testing him...

From the very beginning, this was a setup targeting him!

"When did you guys start suspecting me?" Bai Ye asked in a deep voice.

"Then you have to ask the King." Mo Lian spoke leisurely. "To be honest, I also didn't expect you to actually join the Dusk Society... Among us, you are the laziest and most casual. You actually dared to take such a huge risk to be a spy right under the King's nose?"

Bai Ye didn't answer, just looked at the Bowler Hat in Mo Lian's hand with a solemn expression, rapidly calculating follow-up plans in his heart.

Since the Silver King had long suspected him, he definitely couldn't return to the Fire-Stealers' side. Moreover, Mo Lian possessed the Marking given by the Silver King, able to ignore Bai Ye's "Steal". Right now, he was absolutely not Mo Lian's opponent!

The only method at present was to abandon his spy identity, take Chen Ling and the others, and immediately leave the Ancient Vault of the Imperial Path!

"I know you want to leave, but since I came prepared, can you still escape?"

Mo Lian lowered his palm, the black leather glove already covered in a faint layer of white light... That was Bai Ye's [Heart Python].

"You can't steal my memory, but I can steal your ability... You should just forget everything, obediently return to the Wuji Domain with me, and await the King's judgment."

Mo Lian's leather glove made a grabbing motion in mid-air. A smear of white light instantly enveloped Bai Ye's figure, and an invisible giant python surged past, plundering his memories in one bite!

A gentle breeze brushed past Bai Ye's side,

He stood blankly in place, looking down at his hands, as if he had even forgotten how to use his abilities.

The black leather glove seemed to steal space, instantly covering Bai Ye's face. After a flash of black light, Bai Ye fell unconscious, dropping limply downwards...

Mo Lian released his palm, and that Cane visibly softened, tying up Bai Ye's figure like a vine, hanging and following behind him.

"I didn't expect... you would also have this day." Mo Lian patted his black leather gloves. His gaze towards Bai Ye was full of mockery.

Mo Lian was just about to leave when he suddenly seemed to remember something, his gaze looking towards the Imperial Study below...

"Almost forgot, there are still a few little mice."

He snorted coldly. Taking the unconscious Bai Ye, he rapidly descended towards the Imperial Palace beneath his feet.

...

Inside the Imperial Study.

"This is Bai..." Seeing that playing card, Jian Changsheng subconsciously wanted to say something.

Immediately following, Chen Ling's foot directly stepped on the playing card. After glancing at Jiang Xiaohua not far away, Jian Changsheng silently shut his mouth.

Almost forgot, Jiang Xiaohua was still here... A playing card was too obvious a pointer. If the three of them reacted, it would quickly be associated with the Dusk Society...

No, perhaps he had already realized it?

In the silent atmosphere, Jiang Xiaohua blinked, without saying a word.

"Things aren't quite right." Chen Ling spoke in a deep voice. "We better leave here as soon as possible."