Chapter 8

Nicholas gently tapped on the attic window frame.

No one responded.

He pushed the window lightly, but it was locked. How could this be a problem for a seasoned thief? Nicholas took out a piece of wire, fiddled with it a few times, and the window opened. He silently jumped in.

The attic was no more than fifteen feet in size, simply furnished with a bed, a table, and a chair. Under the bed was a small box, and the ceiling was right above his head. Nicholas had already searched these places countless times.

He swore that if there were any magic potions or gold coins hidden in this room, he would have found them long ago! But every time, he watched helplessly as Lu Yuan took out the hidden items from places he never thought of, which made him grind his teeth in frustration.

He picked up the pillow and opened it. Sure enough, there was only a piece of paper inside: "Would I be foolish enough to leave it here?!"

"Damn it!"

He threw the pillow on the bed, immediately picked it up, patted it down, and put it back in its original place. Sure enough, there was another piece of paper: "There were originally twelve hairs arranged in a pentagram here. Are you sure you can restore it?"

"I'll kill you!" He pulled out twelve hairs in pain, arranged them in a pentagram, and placed them there. "A professional thief must never tamper with the scene; that's the principle!" he encouraged himself.

He crawled under the bed, pulled out the box, and carefully searched under the bed. Nothing! He tapped each board of the bed, still nothing! He opened the box, and inside were only a few books, still nothing! Where could it be? He looked around.

"Hey, Nicholas, haven't found it yet?!" A sudden voice made him jump, and he took a big step back, hitting the wall hard. Lu Yuan was sitting on the edge of the bed with a smile, holding the hair he had pulled out.

His face turned red as he said, "Lu Yuan, when did you come back? I was just helping you tidy up the room."

Before Lu Yuan could speak, he quickly changed the subject, "You came back early today. I've already arranged the guild meeting for you, so I came to find you in advance. If you're free, shall we go now?"

"Let's go," Lu Yuan jumped off the bed and pulled out the box under it. Nicholas watched him open the box, take out a book, and then a piece of paper from inside. "A guild voucher, redeemable on arrival."

Nicholas was speechless. The Merchant Guild did indeed offer a gold deposit and withdrawal service, but very few people used it, as most found it extremely inconvenient and had to pay a fee.

The two walked to a guild shop, where Lu Yuan exchanged over a thousand gold coins, filling a large bag that jingled as it was put in his backpack, making Nicholas feel as if fifty cats were scratching his heart. However, Nicholas was principled and not only did he not try to take the gold himself, but he also slapped away several pickpockets' hands along the way.

When they reached a small alley, Nicholas opened a door somewhere and they walked through a narrow, dark corridor for a while. Nicholas pushed open a room. Lu Yuan walked in and saw a woman in black leather armor lying lazily in a chair, trimming her nails with a small knife. Her plump thighs, tightly wrapped, were resting on the table, swaying and instantly capturing Lu Yuan's attention.

"I am Black Lily. As long as you have the money, I will have what you want. Remember, I never give credit."

After saying this, she seemed to press something, and another room opened. Black Lily continued to trim her nails, ignoring the two of them.

"Is this the Thieves' Guild?" Lu Yuan asked with a face full of distrust, "You're not setting me up, are you?!"

"How could I!" Nicholas said with a face full of frustration, "We came through the back door to Leader Lily's place. The front door has too many secrets, and I can't let you see them."

"Let me take a look first," Lu Yuan said indifferently and walked into the room.

In a moment, he came out with a mocking smile, which to those unfamiliar with him looked like a smile, but those who knew him well knew he was being sarcastic.

"How was it? Did you find anything you want?" Nicholas asked.

"Good stuff! I want it all!"

"You can't afford it. If you only choose one or two items, I can let you buy them. But if you want to buy more, even if you have the money, I don't have that much influence!"

"Can't do it? Looks like the dye is valuable!" Lu Yuan pretended to be puzzled, then chuckled, "How about I remove the dye and buy everything for a copper coin? What do you think?"

Black Lily fell off her chair with a thud, the knife dropping to the side.

Nicholas was speechless, not knowing what to say. Lu Yuan just sneered, saying nothing. If it were a day earlier, he would have been deceived, as most of the items were made to look real. But now, with his appraisal skill at level 8 and his forging skill at level 14, he could clearly see the materials and craftsmanship of the items, and they couldn't fool him anymore.

Black Lily stood up and kicked Nicholas, "Shit! Is this the fat sheep you brought? You've disgraced me!"

"This," Nicholas, not caring that Lu Yuan was right there, dodged her punches and kicks, "I didn't know Brother Lu Yuan was so sharp. Besides, would I dare bring an unqualified fat sheep to you?"

Lu Yuan watched for a while, then said impatiently, "Enough, you're not hitting any vital spots! Stop acting, show me the real stuff."

The two reluctantly separated.

Black Lily cleared her throat and said, "Let me introduce you again. This is my brother Nicholas, and I am Black Lily."

"I am Lu Yuan."

Black Lily led the two through another hidden door, going up and down several flights of stairs in the dark, then opened a door to a small room. The main door was locked, and inside were several rows of shelves and barrels.

"Everything is here. Tell me the price," Black Lily pointed and then grabbed Nicholas's ear, opened another hidden door, and left.

Lu Yuan marveled, this place was indeed the Thieves' Guild, with hidden doors everywhere and no main entrance. He wondered if the building structure was stable and what would happen in an earthquake.

He looked through the shelves, and this time he was truly impressed. There were many common items, but there were also many good ones. Enchanted leather armor, short swords, crossbows, and daggers, all of which were high-quality items for thieves. Additionally, items like dispelling arrows, which were rare even in magic shops and impossible to find on the market, were also available here.

As for potions, most were ones he could make himself, and some were even his own creations. He picked a bottle of the Thieves' Guild's special "King of Thieves" potion, which made a person extremely agile and alert, specifically for breaking complex traps and locks. This potion could only be found in the Thieves' Guild.

He carefully searched through all the barrels, which mostly contained weapons or ammunition, until he casually looked up and saw a book under one of the barrels! What the heck, how did it end up here?!

He struggled to take it out, dusted it off, and sure enough, it was the "Manual of Swift Action."

This book contained training methods for thieves, a common reference for them. However, as wars became more brutal, the Thieves' Guild and others improved their training methods, making them more formal and better suited for combat, and these books were phased out.

But unknown to many, some books published in the prosperous years contained a small secret. Among the thousands of copies printed, one truly magical book was hidden. When activated with the correct passphrase, this book would permanently increase a person's agility!

Seeing Black Lily come out, Nicholas followed behind with his head down.

Lu Yuan waved the book, "I'll buy this!"

He handed over the potion and the book. Black Lily casually put the potion aside and carefully examined the book twice. Finding nothing, she said, "The potion is 1500 gold, and the book is... our guild's secret training method, 3500 gold!"

"5000 gold in total? Ha ha." Lu Yuan smiled sarcastically and patted Nicholas on the shoulder, "Your math is good, very accurate."

Then he straightened his face and said, "I don't want to haggle. To be honest, I'm buying this potion to study its components. If I can make it, selling it to you would be a good business opportunity for both of us. If it's more than 800 gold, you can keep it and let it rot. As for the book? 1 gold! That's the highest price!"

Black Lily had never dealt with someone like Lu Yuan before. He could be friendly one moment and hostile the next, and it was hard to predict. If he turned hostile, he was a valuable supplier, bringing in more than 5000 gold! Besides, he only had 1000 gold, and even if he had the guild voucher, he couldn't withdraw it without being the owner.

She turned to Nicholas, who thought, "Why are you looking at me? I'm always played like a dog by him." He could only nod helplessly.

Black Lily slapped the table, "I see you have no weapons for protection! Take a regular weapon, and I'll count it as 1000 gold!"

Lu Yuan didn't haggle further, took out 20 gold coins from the bag, and threw the rest on the table. He put the potion and the book in his bag, turned to the shelf, and picked up a rapier, waving it, "This one will do."

Black Lily checked it thoroughly, confirmed it was a regular weapon, and handed it to him, telling Nicholas to take him out.

Though they made a few hundred gold, she felt uneasy, like a stone in her heart, and hurriedly shooed them out.

After returning, Lu Yuan threw the items and headed straight to the laboratory. He wandered around the apprentice laboratory, and the others, seeing his promotion, naturally tried to curry favor. He smoothly obtained the developing potion and the analysis lens, and spent the whole night working to finally identify the book.

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"Manual of Swift Action"

This book provides readers with many small techniques for movement and methods to coordinate the muscles of the limbs. It is very popular, with thieves using it to train their dexterity and warriors wanting to improve their weapon thrusting and blocking skills. However, this book has a secret: it can permanently increase a person's agility by 1 point. Unfortunately, after such use, the manual will disappear.

Data:

Agility: Permanently increase by 1 point.

Special: The book disappears after use.

Usage: Speak the activation passphrase.

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Lu Yuan whispered to the book, "Swift action, first come, first served!"

The book turned into a beam of light, flying and merging into his body.

Lu Yuan felt a warm sensation all over, his muscles contracting and stretching slightly, as if countless small hands were massaging him, making him feel incredibly comfortable. He couldn't help but shout.

"Wow! Ascended to heaven!"