The shortcut revealed by the ghost was not a path; it was a vertical chute carved inside the mountain. It was dark, slippery, and smelled of bat guano.
"I hate this," Bo whispered, his voice echoing slightly as they slid down. "I hate ghosts. I hate caves. And I definitely hate sliding down a mountain on my butt. This is not how a master thief operates!"
"Quiet," Kaelen commanded softly. "Sound carries."
Rai, the Thunder-Spirit Hawk, was perched on Kaelen's head, gripping his hair like a nest. The bird seemed to be enjoying the ride, occasionally letting out a soft chirp of excitement, which Kaelen silenced with a tap on its beak.
They emerged from the chute into a hidden alcove behind a waterfall. The water crashed down in a curtain of white noise, masking their presence.
Through the water, the lights of Mist City twinkled below. Specifically, the lights of the City Lord's Manor. It sat on a hill, overlooking the city like a bloated spider watching its web.
"Alright," Kaelen wiped the water from his face. "The City Lord, Baron Kaelus, is a Spirit Ocean Level 3 cultivator. He is paranoid. His manor is surrounded by a 'Sensory Array'. If a fly enters without a token, the alarm rings."
Bo shivered, wringing out his wet robes. "Great. So we just walk in and ask for a donation?"
"No," Kaelen's eyes glowed faintly in the dark. "We don't walk. We glide."
Kaelen placed a hand on Bo's shoulder.
"Do you trust me?"
Bo looked at the waterfall, then at the heavily guarded manor, then at Kaelen's serious face.
"Do I have a choice?"
"No."
Kaelen grabbed Bo's belt.
Dragon Art: Shadowless Tread.
They jumped through the waterfall.
To the guards patrolling the walls, it looked like a trick of the mist. A shadow detached itself from the water and floated across the gap, landing silently on the roof of the manor's outer wall.
Bo landed with a soft thud, his face green. He wanted to vomit from the speed, but he held it in.
"Don't vomit," Kaelen whispered without looking. "Acid leaves a smell. Guard dogs can track it."
Bo swallowed hard. "You are a demon, Boss. A pure demon."
They crept along the roof tiles. Below them, heavily armored guards marched in perfect formation.
"Where is the vault?" Kaelen asked.
Bo squinted. The thief in him took over. He sniffed the air.
"Rich people are predictable," Bo whispered, pointing to a central tower. "They always keep their gold close to where they sleep. The Master Bedroom is in that tower. The vault will be underneath it."
"Good. Let's go."
They moved like ghosts. Kaelen's technique shrouded their aura, making them invisible to the low-level sensory arrays.
However, as they reached the tower, Kaelen stopped.
In front of the tower door, the air was shimmering. It was a Barrier.
"Uh oh," Bo whispered. "That's a Red-Line Array. If we touch it, we turn into barbecue."
Kaelen knelt down. He looked at the shimmering light.
In his past life, this level of array was something he wouldn't even use to lock a bathroom. It was crude. But for his current cultivation level, it was dangerous.
"Rai," Kaelen whispered.
The hawk hopped onto his hand.
"Do you see that stone gargoyle on the roof corner?" Kaelen pointed. "There is a small crystal in its mouth. That is the power source."
Rai understood. The bird flapped its wings silently, gliding upward.
"Bo," Kaelen ordered. "When Rai steals the crystal, the barrier will flicker for exactly two seconds before the backup power kicks in. In those two seconds, you must pick the lock on the door."
Bo's eyes widened. "Two seconds? That's a Seven-Tumbler Iron Lock! It usually takes a minute!"
"Then you have a minute of work to do in two seconds," Kaelen said calmly. "Or we turn into barbecue."
Bo started sweating. He pulled out a thin wire from his hair. He crouched by the door, his hands trembling.
"Ready?" Kaelen looked up.
Rai reached the gargoyle. With a swift peck, the hawk grabbed the glowing red crystal.
Bzzt!
The red barrier vanished.
"Now!"
Bo's hands became a blur. Click-click-click-click.
Sweat dripped from his nose.
Click.
"Got it!" Bo pushed the door open.
They dove inside just as the barrier reactivated with a loud HUMMMM behind them.
They were in.
The corridor inside was lined with expensive paintings and vases.
"That vase is worth 200 stones," Bo drooled, reaching for it.
Slap.
Kaelen hit Bo's hand. "Focus. We are here for the Ship Token and the Liquid Assets. Vases are heavy."
They descended the spiral stairs into the basement.
There stood the Vault Door. It was huge, round, and made of Star-Steel.
"Okay, Boss," Bo cracked his knuckles. "This one needs a key. Or explosives. I have neither."
Kaelen walked to the door. He didn't look at the lock. He looked at the wall beside it.
"City Lord Kaelus is arrogant," Kaelen noted. "Arrogant men don't like carrying keys. They use blood."
Kaelen scanned the wall. He found a small, needle-like protrusion hidden in a decorative flower carving.
"Give me your hand," Kaelen said to Bo.
"Why?"
"I need blood."
"Use yours!" Bo yelped.
"My blood is too potent. It might melt the lock mechanism," Kaelen said seriously.
Bo stared at him. "You are joking, right? Please tell me that's a joke."
Kaelen didn't answer. He grabbed Bo's finger and pricked it on the needle.
Ouch!
A drop of Bo's blood entered the mechanism. The array flashed red: "Access Denied."
"Plan B," Kaelen said instantly.
Before the alarm could trigger, Kaelen channeled his Golden Spirit Ocean. He forced his own Qi into the mechanism, mimicking the energy signature of the lock itself.
He overloaded the sensor.
Spark. Fizzle.
The mechanism thought it was being accessed by a high-level authority—or rather, it was terrified into submission.
Clank.
The vault door swung open.
Bo stared. "You... you just bullied a door into opening?"
"Objects have spirits," Kaelen walked inside. "Sometimes they need to be reminded of the hierarchy."
Inside the vault, piles of Spirit Stones glowed in the dark. There were chests of gold, rare herbs, and weapons.
Bo let out a sound that was half-squeal, half-sob. He dove into a pile of gold coins, swimming in it. "I'm rich! I'm finally rich! Mama, look at me now!"
Kaelen ignored the gold. He went straight to a pedestal in the center.
There, sitting on a velvet cushion, was a blue jade token carved in the shape of a wave.
The Sea Crossing Token.
With this, they could commandeer any ship in the harbor.
Kaelen took it.
Then he saw something else. On a shelf in the back, there was a glass jar.
Inside the jar was a pair of human eyes.
Kaelen's blood ran cold. The eyes were blue—the same shade as the sea.
Under the jar, a label read: Subject 105 - Visual Catalyst Extracted.
Subject 105. His mother.
Kaelen's grip on the Sea Token tightened until the jade creaked. The rage he had suppressed in the cave threatened to explode again. They had taken her eyes?
"Boss?" Bo sensed the shift in the air. He stopped stuffing gold into his pockets. "What's wrong?"
Kaelen took a deep breath. 'Calm down. If she is a cultivator, eyes can be regenerated. As long as she is alive, there is hope.'
He grabbed the jar gently and placed it in his spatial bag (which he had looted from the Bandit Leader).
"Bo," Kaelen said, his voice terrifyingly quiet. "Empty the vault."
"Empty it?" Bo blinked. "There is too much! My bags are full!"
"Then burn the rest," Kaelen commanded. "Burn it all. I don't want the City Lord to have a single coin left to fund his operations."
Bo looked at the gold. It pained him physically to destroy money. But he looked at Kaelen's face and nodded.
"With pleasure."
Bo pulled out a flask of oil and a flint.
Within minutes, the vault was ablaze. The rare herbs turned to ash. The silk tapestries caught fire.
"Let's go."
They ran back up the stairs.
As they reached the top of the tower, the alarm finally rang. The smoke had triggered the sensory array.
WEOOO! WEOOO!
"Intruders!" "Fire in the vault!" "Seal the gates!"
Guards were swarming the courtyard below.
"We are trapped!" Bo panicked, looking over the railing. "There are fifty of them! And the barrier is back up!"
Kaelen looked at the chaos below. He looked at the City Lord, a fat man in silk pajamas, running out into the courtyard screaming at his guards.
"Perfect," Kaelen smiled.
He pulled out the Black Iron Ledger—the book proving the human trafficking.
"Bo, do you have any 'Thunder Balls' left?"
"Just two," Bo patted his pocket. "They are loud, but they don't do much damage."
"Loud is good."
Kaelen handed the Ledger to Rai.
"Rai," Kaelen pointed to the City Lord below. "Drop this on his head."
Rai screeched and took flight.
"Bo, throw the Thunder Balls at the main gate. Create a distraction."
Bo threw the explosives. BOOM! FLASH! The guards panicked, thinking they were under heavy attack.
In the confusion, Rai dropped the heavy book.
Thwack!
It hit City Lord Kaelus right on his bald head.
"Ow! Who dares?!" Kaelus picked up the book. He opened it. His face went pale. He recognized his own ledger.
Attached to the cover was a note written by Kaelen:
"The Eclipse cannot hide from the Sun. I have taken your gold. I have taken your ship. Next, I will take your life. — The Dragon."
Kaelus looked up, trembling with fear. He saw two silhouettes standing on the tower roof against the full moon.
One was a fat man. The other was a figure in black, eyes glowing like a predator.
"Catch them!" Kaelus shrieked. "Kill them!"
Kaelen grabbed Bo.
"Time to fly."
He jumped off the tower—not toward the ground, but toward a nearby tall tree outside the wall. He used his Spirit Qi to glide.
They crashed into the branches, tumbled down, and landed in the muddy street outside.
"Run!"
They sprinted into the night, vanishing into the labyrinth of Mist City's alleys. Behind them, the City Lord's manor burned, a beacon of chaos in the silent night.
They had the money. They had the token. And they had started a war.
...
The Harbor.
An hour later, panting and covered in soot, they arrived at the docks.
"That..." Bo wheezed, bending over, "was... the most... terrifying... fun... I have ever had!"
Bo looked at his heavy bag of stolen gold and grinned. "We are rich, Boss! We can buy the best cabin!"
Kaelen looked at the dark ocean stretching out before them. The Endless Sea.
He touched the spot in his bag where the jar of eyes lay.
"This isn't a victory, Bo," Kaelen said softly. "This is just the toll fee."
He walked toward a large, three-masted ship docked at the pier.
"Get on board. The captain will listen to the token."
As they boarded the ship, the wind smelled of salt and freedom. But for Kaelen, it smelled of blood and vengeance.
The land arc was over. The sea awaited.