My Scales Can Make Equivalent Exchange
Chapter 93: Theft

Chapter 93: Chapter 93: Theft

In the East District of Qifu Faction, on Bai Hui Street, Wang Zijia leapt down from his Paper Kite, landing on the ground within a residential alley.

As he landed, the Paper Kite quickly shrank, ultimately transforming into a palm-sized paper bird that rested on his shoulder.

He looked around, scanning his surroundings.

Even though it was now noon, the alley appeared somewhat deserted and dimly lit. The exit of the alley was connected to the main street, where a consistent flow of people could be vaguely seen.

The contrast between the quiet alley and bustling street was striking, like two separate worlds.

Even in a place like this, without a certain level of seniority within the Qifu Faction’s East District, no one could own a courtyard.

Wang Zijia casually surveyed his surroundings, his glance halted momentarily on a courtyard gate at the right corner of the alley.

Upon confirming that there was no one in the courtyard, he nonchalantly walked past its gate. A speck of mud fell from him, squeezing into the courtyard through a gap in the gate.

After infiltrating the courtyard, the speck of mud slowly coalesced into a palm-sized mud figure.

The little mud figure carefully looked around, only venturing into the courtyard once it determined that its owner had indeed gone to work.

After carefully distinguishing the living quarters, the mud figure transformed into quicksand, cautiously burrowing into the bedroom.

After a thorough search of the bedroom, it located four strands of black hair.

Estimating that it had found what it needed, the mud figure, without disturbing anything else in the bedroom, placed the hair into its body, and quietly burrowed out of the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, Wang Zijia continued his mechanical stroll down the alley, his mind elsewhere as he walked toward the outer area of the alley.

Upon the hasty arrival of a mud figure, Wang Zijia immediately returned to reality.

With a wave of his hand, the little figure disintegrated in front of him.

’Spell: Sealing the Spirit!’

Amid the flickering spiritual light and faint fluctuations in magical power, Wang Zijia sealed the few strands of black hair, then slipped them into his Storage Bag.

After completing all of this, Wang Zijia looked around. When he was sure no one had noticed, he hurriedly left the alley.

Upon reaching the main street, he aimlessly strolled for a while before summoning his Paper Kite, leaping onto it, and heading in another direction.

······

Throughout the day, Wang Zijia rode his Paper Kite, constantly weaving through the streets and alleys within the Qifu Faction’s complex of buildings, searching for the residences of the individuals from his material.

First, he would confirm that no one was inside the house, then carefully operate the mud figure to infiltrate the courtyard.

Sometimes, he would search for strands of hair. Other times, he would use absorptive spiritual objects to search for various residual substances on everyday items.

Monks in the Child Stage hadn’t even condensed a transcendent Dao foundation and couldn’t fast, therefore, metabolic cycles were unavoidable.

Therefore, collecting these substances wasn’t too difficult. If they were in the Perfected Realm and at the early stage of body purification, it would be a different story.

By the afternoon, Wang Zijia had already collected a few samples of hair and similar items based on his material.

When he arrived at a vast area of disciple living quarters in the West District and found another target’s residence, proficiently infiltrated their courtyard, confirmed their bedroom, and burrowed in, he suddenly froze.

A youth was lying on the bed in the room, watching in disbelief as a little figure had just crawled in through a crack in the door. His face was a picture of shock, clearly terrified.

The mud figure carried on expertly. Upon entering through the door gap, it attempted to begin a search.

But then it halted abruptly and slowly raised its head. As they stared at each other in stunned silence, both were utterly bewildered.

’Damn, he’s not at work in broad daylight and that’s fine. But to lock himself up quietly in his bedroom—he’s not doing something that can’t be seen in public, is he?’

’Like practicing his speed? I mean, with swords—the kind you use in fights!’

Wang Zijia cursed silently as his body became rigid.

"May I ask what Brother is doing in my place, is there something... "

"Poof!"

Before the youth could finish speaking, the mud figure at the door disintegrated into a speck of spiritual light without another moment’s pause.

The swift, clean manner left the youth dumbfounded once again. But he didn’t dare to make any other move. His face continued to change, showing a mix of emotions. It was a long while before he cautiously got up to inspect the room.

······

Meanwhile, a short distance away outside the courtyard, the mechanically pacing Wang Zijia suddenly came back to attention. Following that, he quickly retreated from the area with a few flickers of his figure.

Only when he was sure nobody was following him, did Wang Zijia finally let out a breath of relief.

"I was a bit reckless. Next time, after confirming that no one’s there, I should move a safe distance away to complete the concealment before sneaking in, to avoid any unforeseen situations that could reveal my trail," he said to himself.

While speaking, Wang Zijia looked up at the sky; it was already in the afternoon.

In another hour, it would be off-duty time.

Wang Zijia glanced at his Storage Bag, where he had already sealed away six mediums. To avoid bumping into some early-off-duty worker, he decided against proceeding to the next target.

He turned to the South District, on Southward Street Market, and bought over a hundred Magic Money’s worth of high-grade spiritual materials, then returned to Biyi Court.

······

"You didn’t go to Fu Tower today?" Xiang Feifei asked during dinner.

Caught mid-chew, Wang Zijia paused. "Hmm, I’ve been a bit busy these past few days."

"You should take it more seriously," urged Xiang Feifei hesitatingly, before finally adding, "There are only three to four months left until your first performance evaluation. That’s a very crucial event."

"Getting a good score in the first performance evaluation will catch the attention of some of the senior monks in the Fu Tower and can be very beneficial for your future path."

Wang Zijia smirked, not at all perturbed. "I know what’s important. But, I don’t really need to go every day for this education symbol system, do I?"

"That’s also true!" Xiang Feifei agreed, nodding her head. "Some junior brothers don’t appreciate what they have when they get too much of it."

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. At the very least, I can’t let the clan’s efforts go to waste," returned Wang Zijia with a smile.

"No need to feel pressured about that. The clan arranged this job for you for your future development. They aren’t expecting any benefits from it," clarified Xiang Feifei.

Wang Zijia resumed eating, picking up a few chopsticks-full of food for Xiang Feifei., before smiling and saying, "Alright, I understand."

Xiang Feifei also resumed eating. The two continued chatting merrily about various trivialities of life.

Wang Zijia was most often the one to initiate the conversation. When Xiang Feifei added anything, he’d say more, otherwise, he’d let the topic die down. Their manner of getting along had already become familiar.

······

After dinner, Wang Zijia once again did not enter the Cultivation Room but retreated into the basement.

He flipped his hands to reveal the spiritual materials he had bought in the afternoon.

Although almost all the spiritual materials were high-grade goods of the first tier with strong spiritual light, most of them had a nature that leaned towards the underworld, such as various beast bones, blood water, and poisons.