Chapter 53: The Member of the Swift Wind Thieves: Qin

The route in the sewer was very complex, almost like a maze. Carol ran forward quickly and finally arrived at the last fence that Jilijil had mentioned. Beyond this point was the territory of the Great Blue Crystal Tower. Carol slashed at the thumb-thick bars with her knife, but after a series of clinks, the metal bars remained completely undamaged.

"How could this be..." Carol was shocked. This knife was definitely a precious blade that could cut through iron like butter, yet it couldn't even scratch this gate. She tried again, but the result was the same.

"Don't bother trying." A voice sounded behind her, echoing in the empty sewer.

Carol shivered all over, too afraid to turn around. She recognized the voice all too well.

Sophina stepped into the light of Carol's torch and said, "Turn around, Jo Carol. No, that's not your real name, is it?"

Carol was drenched in cold sweat. She slowly turned around, looking at Sophina and her teacher, Dafink, with fear.

Dafink laughed, "Do you think the Great Blue Crystal Tower has no defenses? That's a child's idea, and it's ridiculous. The metal bars behind you are made of stone-sun gold, a metal forged by the alchemists of the academy. You should know that the alchemists trained here are very powerful. Many of the top alchemists in the Alchemists' Guild are from Bluekandin. Hmph, do you really think a child's toy knife can cut through it?"

An alchemist is a secondary profession, similar to thieves in the Thieves' Guild and assassins in the Assassins' Guild.

Carol had heard of stone-sun gold, a metal ore that was dozens of times harder than diamonds. Her heart sank. All her carefully planned theft had been so easily foiled.

"The Swift Wind Thieves, though not part of the Thieves' Guild, can rival the top theft groups in the guild," Sophina said. "I never expected you to be a thief. Your performance in the academy was neither outstanding nor poor, and you were not mediocre. You concealed yourself very well, but unfortunately, you shouldn't have stolen here."

Carol said, "I know what you want to ask me, but I won't say anything!"

"Is that so? It's not up to you," Dafink said. "You used mind control magic to control some of the teachers, which is why you could easily get this far. With such skilled mind control, you should know how powerful it is. If Night used mind control on you, who do you think would win?"

Carol's pupils dilated, her fear clearly reflected in her eyes. She knew all too well how terrifying and evil mind control was, a fear that was even more terrifying than death. Just as she was about to lose all hope, something fell into the sewer, the sound clear in the silence.

Sophina and Dafink tensed up. They were all here, and the sound definitely wasn't made by Carol. It came from behind them, indicating that there was a fourth person in the sewer, and this person was definitely not the defeated Jilijil.

Another splash of water, the sound of something hitting the water and splashing was heard. Dafink immediately turned around but saw nothing, wondering if it was another member of the Swift Wind Thieves protecting her.

Just as they were focused on the tense atmosphere, a loud splash made Sophina turn around as well. In that instant, a figure flashed and appeared beside Carol.

"Teleportation!!" Sophina and Dafink exclaimed in unison. The residual magic in the air confirmed it, and Carol vanished in the blink of an eye. They were shocked that someone had managed to snatch her right under their noses.

After a few quick steps, they reached the balcony of the dormitory. Only then did Carol see that her rescuer was Bing Zhiye.

Bing Zhiye put her down. In the situation, he couldn't let Sophina see his face, so he used the water sound to distract them and then rescued Carol.

Carol was the most surprised: "You... you... you..." For a moment, she didn't know where to start. After a long pause, she asked, "Why did you save me?"

Bing Zhiye didn't answer her question but walked into the room.

Carol followed him inside. Vain and Luo had lost their hearing due to her mind control and wouldn't recover until they woke up. She asked again, "When did you find out?"

"Two days ago," Bing Zhiye said as he searched through his cabinet.

"Then... did you find out anything else?"

Bing Zhiye turned around and said, "Your identity card is fake, and you're a girl."

Carol quickly hugged her chest, looking at him with surprise and fear.

Bing Zhiye smiled and walked over to her, removing her earring. "This has the mark of the Swift Wind Thieves. How could I not recognize it?"

Carol was truly shocked. "You recognize this symbol?" Her teardrop earring indeed had a symbol, a wavy shape that looked like wind but wasn't quite. This symbol wasn't used by ordinary members but only by the leaders, and it was completely different from the symbols used by regular members. Even ordinary members didn't know about it.

Bing Zhiye showed her something.

Seeing it, Carol's expression changed from surprise to joy and a radiant smile. She happily hugged him, jumping up and down, completely forgetting that they were a man and a woman, making Bing Zhiye feel embarrassed.

Seeing Bing Zhiye blush, she realized her actions and let go, saying, "My real name is Qin."

"Oh, so it's you," Bing Zhiye said.

Qin was taken aback. "You know me?"

Bing Zhiye said, "Yeah, sort of. How is Swift?"

"My brother," Qin huffed. "He's still the same, drinking and eating with his brothers, and getting drunk every day."

Bing Zhiye smiled.

Qin asked, "What should I do now? I've been discovered. How can I escape from here?"

Bing Zhiye looked at her. "When you came to steal, did you think about what to do if you were caught?"

Qin stood there for a long time, then shook her head. "My brother always helped me escape."

"Tsk, that guy, he let you come alone," Bing Zhiye said. "Anyway, just stay here. Don't try to escape."

"No, not escape?" Qin rubbed her ears. "Did I hear that right? If I don't escape now, they'll come and catch me?"

Bing Zhiye smiled faintly. "You're exposed. Where can you run? Not to Celeste, not even out of Bluekandin."

"Then, what should I do? I'm so worried." Qin was extremely anxious, pacing back and forth.

Bing Zhiye said, "Do as I say. Act like nothing happened, as if you've been sleeping in your room all night. They'll be very curious about who saved you from the sewer. If you return to the dorm and act like you know nothing, they'll be even more suspicious and cautious, which will keep you safe, at least for now."

"What if they take me away?"

Bing Zhiye said, "Just tell them the truth, but don't mention me. Oh, and take the blame for the theft at the beginning of the semester."

"The theft at the beginning of the semester... Ah! The thief who broke into the Great Blue Crystal Tower was you!" Qin thought. "Yes, yes, it must have been you. Who else could have done it? How should I confess? They won't believe it was me; I don't have that kind of skill."

Bing Zhiye said, "Just say it was your brother. They've seen what Swift looks like."

"Okay, I'll do that. I'll listen to you."

Seeing her agree so readily, Bing Zhiye thought she was being a bit rash. "Aren't you afraid I might betray you and use you as a scapegoat?"

Qin smiled. "No, I trust you. Besides, if you betray me, my brother won't let you off."

"True, if that happens, he would definitely kill me. But in the future, don't trust people so easily, even those you know," Bing Zhiye said. "They'll search everywhere and will definitely send someone here. Let's go to sleep."

"Okay." Qin jumped onto the bed, ready to sleep, but noticed Bing Zhiye looking at her. "What's wrong?"

Bing Zhiye pointed to the two people under the bed. "Aren't you going to remove their magic?"

Qin playfully stuck out her tongue. "I forgot."

Just as Bing Zhiye said, Sophina came to the dormitory to investigate. She found Qin sleeping in bed as if nothing had happened, which left her puzzled and incredulous. After a brief conversation, she took Qin away, saying she needed to talk to her, without disturbing Bing Zhiye and Vain.