Ace stepped outside the shop's main door when his stealth suddenly wore off, like a curtain dropping. His figure was revealed — now anyone could see him.
'I knew it. My Qi ran out, damn it!' Ace cursed his rotten luck, just as Fatty Billy's eyes snapped open, startled by the sudden sound of the door.
'RUN!'
That was the only thought in Ace's mind, and he sprinted like mad.
He was just rounding the corner of the street when he heard Billy's shrill, terrified scream from behind.
"Ghossssssssssssssssttttttttttttttttt!"
'What — where?!' Ace was startled and looked around, but there was no ghost in sight. He was terrified of ghosts himself.
'Oh — he means me.' Ace glanced down at his full black getup. He did look like a ghost.
His face went ashen, but he only sprinted faster. Other shop owners had come out by the time he cleared the pill market, and some spotted him.
They began screaming too, like fools.
Ace ran toward the inner region, hoping to mislead anyone who might otherwise assume he'd come from the outer region.
After five minutes of running, he glanced back and saw no one following. He quickly changed direction, circling the area before heading toward the slums.
On the way back, he first went to the same rundown park and slipped into a spot hidden from view.
No one ever found this spot, and even the local kids never played there. He searched the ground for a mark he'd left that morning and began digging at the marked spot.
After a while, he'd dug a hole about a foot deep. Inside was a small string bag. He opened it, took out a fresh set of clothes he'd bought earlier that day, and quickly changed.
This hole wasn't random. It was his escape plan.
If he'd completed the mission, he'd meant to come here and stash the loot until things cooled down. If he'd failed, he'd planned to come here anyway, to destroy any evidence.
Thankfully, he'd succeeded, though he'd been spotted in the end. Still, he'd gotten away clean.
After changing, he buried the bag of pills and coins along with his black clothes, and carefully filled the hole back in. He checked the area to make sure no trace of digging remained, nodded in satisfaction, and left.
No one would ever guess that this barren patch of ground hid a bag worth over 24,000 Ruby Coins.
With the deed done and everything gone according to plan, relief washed over him, followed immediately by overwhelming exhaustion. He'd been under crushing pressure the whole time. Now he just wanted to get home and cure Alina as soon as possible.
'It's finally over,' Ace thought, exhaling softly as he made his way home.
He was just entering the slum area when he heard quick footsteps approaching. He didn't panic, and just kept his head down and kept walking.
"Hey, brat! Stop right there!"
Ace froze at the shout and turned to see two burly men approaching: one tall, one short.
'It's those two idiots,' he thought, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.
They were Billy's guards. After being beaten and cursed out by Billy, they'd been hunting for the Black Ghost like madmen, without finding so much as a shadow of him.
"Brat, tell us quick, did you see a black-clad person pass through here or not?" the short one demanded, his expression dangerous.
"No, sir, I didn't see anyone. I'm just coming from work, and I didn't pass anyone in black on my way here." Ace answered calmly and politely, knowing better than to give them any trouble.
"Useless trash! Get out of my sight!"
The tall one, still furious from his earlier beating and irritated by the unhelpful answer, kicked Ace hard in the stomach.
Bang.
The kick landed square on his abdomen. Already weak, Ace was sent flying; he couldn't block it, and even if he could have, he didn't dare reveal his skills.
Thud.
He hit the ground a few meters away.
Cough, cough.
Ace coughed up blood, nearly fainting from the impact, but he held on to consciousness, keeping his head down as he trembled.
"Let's go. There's no point wasting time on this trash. If we don't find the ghost soon, Fatty will kill both of us." The short one grabbed the tall one and pulled him away.
'Well, you two are dead for sure,' Ace sneered once they'd left, his shaking finally stopping, though he still struggled to stand.
'Something's broken inside,' he thought, smiling bitterly.
Once up, he limped like a cripple, and after half an hour of painful walking, finally reached his hut.
A faint smile crossed his worn face as he reached for the door; then he noticed something wrong. It was already open a crack.
"Alina!!"
Forgetting his injuries and exhaustion entirely, Ace shrieked in panic and threw the door open. The hut was empty. The two blankets that should have covered Alina sat neatly folded in the corner.
The shock hit him like a physical blow; already injured and drained, her disappearance was more than he could bear.
Thud.
Ace collapsed face-first onto the floor, his eyes rolling back as he fainted.
---
Outside River-Flower City.
Two silhouettes moved swiftly through the dim moonlight, like the wind: one small, the other tall and sturdy.
They moved through the forest, heading toward the upper-level regions of the Azure Wind Continent.
Suddenly, the smaller figure stopped, revealing a beautiful little girl in the moonlight.
Her face was flawless, as if carved from white jade like a divine doll. But her lovely eyes were reddened now, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was crying.
"Grandpa, can't we stay a little longer? Big brother will be worried sick when he can't find me; he'll search everywhere," the little girl said, her gentle voice thick with grief and longing.
This girl was, of course, Alina.
After Ace left that evening for his mission, she'd still been hovering between life and death from her bloodline awakening. But her long-lost grandfather had returned to find her that same day. He'd given her a shining white pill, patterned in beautiful designs, and her condition shifted instantly; her bloodline awakening had succeeded.
Her black hair had turned silver, her blue eyes now a pale silver as well, which was the mark of an Ice Elemental Hunter's awakened bloodline. The change left her looking even more graceful and delicate.
"Princess, I've finally reached your parents. They've been anxious about you. We must leave human territory as quickly as possible. You left the boy a note and money. He'll live comfortably for the rest of his life with Princess's grace." The old man beside her spoke with the deference of a servant, addressing her as "princess."
"B-but he's my big brother! He's cared for me all this time. I can't even say goodbye. We might never see each other again," Alina said, crying in grief and helplessness.
She'd wanted to tell Ace everything-who she really was, why she'd been there-but her grandfather had refused to allow it. All she could do was leave a brief note and depart hastily with him. Her heart ached with bitterness and sorrow.
"Mortals and immortals can never live together," the old man said sternly, his voice cold, his eyes contemptuous as he glanced back toward River-Flower City.
Had it not been for a mysterious enemy he'd encountered that day, and had been forced to go into hiding. he would never have allowed the princess to be "tainted" by some lowly vagrant.
Alina looked back at the city, or rather, at the boy who had always cared for her like a princess. Poor as he was, he'd never once let her feel it, always calling her "little sis" with warmth and love.
'Thank you for everything, and I'm sorry, Big Brother Ace,' she thought, tears sliding down her pale face as she turned and disappeared into the forest.
Then the two of them drifted away like silver smoke.
---
While Ace lay unconscious, the outer region of River-Flower City was in an uproar.
News that someone had stolen Pill Shop Owner Billy Bill's entire fortune right under his nose spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the district.
A story of this magnitude was bound to travel fast, and even the inner region caught wind of it.
"Hey, did you hear? Someone disabled the illusion array without a sound and no key card, then cracked a 1-star treasury in minutes! They're calling him a Black Ghost as he vanished like smoke. No one's caught so much as a glimpse of him."
Talk like this filled every corner of the city.
People began calling the thief the "Black Ghost Thief," and every shop owner in the district lived in fear of him.
Worried he'd strike their shop next, everyone scrambled to tighten security around their treasuries, and some even hired extra guards.
Meanwhile, Billy continued hunting for the Black Ghost like a rabid dog.
Even the outer city's guard post got involved, given Billy's long-standing relationships there, built entirely on his wealth. But even they came up empty as the Black Ghost seemed to have vanished without a trace.
Fatty Billy nearly lost his mind over it. He even killed the two guards after they failed to turn up any leads.
He'd also heard from nearby shop owners that the Black Ghost had fled toward the inner region that night.
That only enraged him further, since there was nothing he could do about the inner region. He tried reporting it to the inner-city guards, but they chased him off like a stray dog.
Now all he could do was vent his fury on everyone around him.
---
The inner region of River-Flower City was twice the size of the outer region.
Inside a luxurious fifteen-story building, on the top floor, a young, handsome man in clothes finer than anything seen in the outer city stood by the window, reading a sheet of paper.
"Black Ghost, huh? Disabled a half-star illusion and lock array without a sound, no crystal card required, and cracked a 1-star treasury in minutes, presumably. Interesting...very interesting. Find him. He might make a useful pawn for us," the young man said, a warm smile on his face.
No one was there to hear him. And yet, the paper in his hand had already vanished.
His warm smile turned dark, greed glinting in his cold eyes as he sipped his wine and gazed out over the city from the top floor.
"A thief, is it? Well, good, I won't be bored anymore." He chuckled and closed his eyes, savoring the taste of the wine!