Chapter 1226: Gold Silk Armor Disappears
Handsome Fatty Wang slept until evening before waking up. This guy, after getting up, started complaining about being hungry again, and ate another basin of rice, just like a rice tub.
After dinner, Ye Qing also happened to have packed everything. The bag with the Gold Silk Armor and the box with Ye Qing's clothes were all tidied up.
"Let's go," Ye Qing said to Handsome Fatty Wang, carrying the bag and the box.
"Wait a minute," Handsome Fatty Wang said, "Let me digest first. Doing intense exercise right after eating is a good way to get appendicitis."
Ye Qing looked at Handsome Fatty Wang helplessly; this guy is really like a lazy donkey. Finally waiting for Handsome Fatty Wang to be rested, Ye Qing took the box and bag and quietly slipped out of the room under the cover of darkness.
The matchmaking event had ended, so it was a bit quieter at the Shen Family Manor that night. Ye Qing was extremely familiar with Shen Family Manor, so he easily led Handsome Fatty Wang past the patrolling guards and quietly slipped out of the manor.
The two did not take the main road; instead, they jogged along the mountain path, stopping for a break halfway up the mountain.
"Oh no, oh no, I can't go on, I can't go on, let's rest a bit," Handsome Fatty Wang gasped, wiping his sweat, "Why are you rushing so much, why run so fast? Prince Wan Yan is still drinking over at the Shen Family, he doesn't have time to care about you. Don't worry, take it slow, it's fine."
"I'm in a hurry," Ye Qing said in a low voice, "I must get to the Northern Desert as soon as possible, or it'll be hard to find Zi Yu if I'm late."
"That's true," Handsome Fatty Wang nodded, taking a few deep breaths to calm his breathing, "Let's keep going then."
Ye Qing and Handsome Fatty Wang, together, followed the mountain path, crossed this mountaintop, and reached the other side. Here, the Shen Family Manor was completely hidden by the mountain, so the two of them didn't have to worry anymore, as the people from Shen Family Manor couldn't see what was happening on this side.
"Damn it, finally got past this place," Handsome Fatty Wang muttered as he walked with Ye Qing, "What a dump, I don't want to come here again."
"You're really talkative," Ye Qing replied in an irritable tone, keeping his head down as they walked about two miles. Suddenly, Ye Qing frowned and said in a low voice, "No good, I... I have a stomachache."
"Stomachache?" Handsome Fatty Wang blinked, "What do you mean?"
"It means I need to relieve myself," Ye Qing glanced at him, "You wait here for a bit."
After saying that, Ye Qing walked straight to a nearby bush and squatted down. Perhaps in his hurry, he forgot to take the bag and the box he had put on the ground, going with empty hands.
Handsome Fatty Wang stood at a distance, watching Ye Qing squatting by the bushes, then quietly took a few steps towards him, looking around with a crafty expression. Seeing that there was truly no one else around, he quietly turned around, picked up the bag on the ground, and opened it for a glance, his face changing immediately.
The bag, which was supposed to contain the Gold Silk Armor and the wooden box, only had an ordinary wooden box inside now, not the Gold Silk Armor.
Handsome Fatty Wang's eyes widened; he had touched it himself at noon, clearly seeing that the Gold Silk Armor was inside. But why had it changed suddenly? Could it be that Ye Qing swapped the Gold Silk Armor? Impossible, why would he suddenly switch it? Did he notice something suspicious?
Just as Handsome Fatty Wang was bewildered, Ye Qing's voice suddenly came from over there, "Hey, right, fatty, hand me that bag, the Gold Silk Armor is still inside, right?"
"You're fart…" Handsome Fatty Wang almost blurted out, but stopped suddenly. He couldn't let Ye Qing know what his goal was; if he said it out loud, Ye Qing would immediately suspect that he was snooping through the bag.
"Oh, yes, yes," Handsome Fatty Wang changed his words, taking the bag over to Ye Qing.
Not long after, Ye Qing finished tidying up and came out, "Alright, let's go."
"Okay, okay," Handsome Fatty Wang nodded, following behind Ye Qing, but his eyes were more focused on the box in Ye Qing's hands.
If the Gold Silk Armor wasn't in the bag, it must be in that box. Looks like Ye Qing almost certainly swapped the Gold Silk Armor. But why did he do it? Could he see that my target was the Gold Silk Armor, so he guarded against me on purpose?
Thinking of this, a slight smile crossed Handsome Fatty Wang's face. He thought to himself, "Young Ye, you're quite clever. But no matter how clever you are, what can you do? When you meet Prince Wan Yan's people later, you'll still have to behave. The Gold Silk Armor will ultimately fall into Fat Lord's hands! Damn, I wonder how much this thing can sell for?"
Handsome Fatty Wang indeed had quite the nerve, already calculating how much the Gold Silk Armor was worth. The two continued along the mountain path until they reached a wooded area on the side of the highway outside Shen Family's boundaries. Before they could go any further, they were suddenly blocked by a group of uninvited guests.
"Hey, fatty, you're quite on time, bringing this guy out so soon," the leader said with a smug smile, "So, did you bring out the Gold Silk Armor?"
"Of course!" Handsome Fatty Wang pointed at the bag in Ye Qing's hand and said, "The Gold Silk Armor is in this bag."
"You damn fatty, you..." Ye Qing glared at Handsome Fatty Wang, angrily saying, "Are you tricking me again?"
"You can't put it that way. How is this tricking you?" Handsome Fatty Wang said, "I call this revenge, got it? You had me locked up in the police station for days, and you won't let Fat Lord have some payback."
"Screw you, if there's revenge to be had, I'm first in line!" Ye Qing retorted furiously, "Including this time, you've tricked me three times. Fatty, I'm not done with you!"
Handsome Fatty Wang waved his hand and said, "Enough with the nonsense, everyone, the Gold Silk Armor is in that bag. Why are you still being polite with him?"
Over twenty people on the scene slowly surrounded Ye Qing, all looking aggressive, trapping him in the middle.
Ye Qing frowned deeply at these people and said in a low voice, "Are you people under Prince Wan Yan?"
"You're pretty sharp!" The leader sneered, "Prince Wan Yan said, leave the Gold Silk Armor, and you can have a way out!"
"No way!" Ye Qing replied decisively.
"Then there's nothing more to say, everybody, attack together!" At the leader's signal, the group of over twenty rushed forward, fully encircling Ye Qing.
Handsome Fatty Wang immediately backed away, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.
The strength of these twenty-plus people was quite formidable, and Ye Qing found it a bit overwhelming to take them all on alone. At first, he used the box and bag he was holding to fend them off, but soon found them too cumbersome and tossed them aside, freeing up his hands to battle.
Handsome Fatty Wang watched clearly from the sidelines, his eyes widening. Seeing the fight in full swing, he quietly crept over, picked up the box and bag, and turned to run.
"Hey, Fatty, where are you going?" one of Prince Wan Yan's men noticed Handsome Fatty Wang trying to flee and immediately shouted, with a few others chasing after him.
Handsome Fatty Wang didn't turn back, quickly running to the edge of a nearby hillside. He pulled a rope from behind a boulder, seemingly ready to use it to jump off the cliff.
"How dare you take Prince Wan Yan's belongings!" someone shouted loudly.
"You can have the Gold Silk Armor; I'll take the other stuff!" Handsome Fatty Wang shouted back, tossing the bag in another direction.
"Gold Silk Armor!" The pursuers immediately turned and ran towards the Gold Silk Armor, giving Handsome Fatty Wang the chance to leap off the cliff.
With the rope holding him, Handsome Fatty Wang easily reached the bottom. Without hesitation, he took out a lighter and set the rope on fire. Surprisingly, the rope burned up completely in no time. The two above who had just reached the cliff's edge saw this and dared not use the rope. The cliff was about twenty meters high, far too high for them to jump down, leaving them to watch as Handsome Fatty Wang ran off with the box.
Meanwhile, the three who had grabbed the bag rushed over and opened it, their faces changing instantly.
"This isn't the Gold Silk Armor!" one shouted loudly, "The contents of this bag are not the Gold Silk Armor!"
"Not the Gold Silk Armor?" The leader's face changed, and he said gravely, "How is that possible? The bag was supposed to contain the Gold Silk Armor; how could it not be?"
"There's really no Gold Silk Armor in here." A person ran over with the bag, and the leader glanced inside, his expression changing once more as he said in a deep voice, "What's going on? Where's the Gold Silk Armor? Ye, where did you hide it?"
Ye Qing was equally dumbfounded, staring in shock at the bag, "How...how could it not be the Gold Silk Armor? It was supposed to be in this bag!"
"What about now?" the leader glared, "Ye, don't play dumb with me. Where did you really hide the Gold Silk Armor?"
"I put the Gold Silk Armor in the bag!" Ye Qing frowned, then suddenly said, "Wait, how did you know the Gold Silk Armor was in the bag?"
"Nonsense, we planted a listening device on that fatty. We heard everything you two discussed loud and clear!" the leader replied coldly, "We knew the Gold Silk Armor was in the bag since this afternoon. But why isn't it there now?"
"I was just about to ask you!" Ye Qing replied harshly, "I clearly put the Gold Silk Armor in this bag, so why is it missing now?"