The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 14: The Flower Thief and the Flower Thief

Who could it be? Could it be Shi Jingyu? The moment Nameless thought of Shi Jingyu, he sat up with a start. He was about to get up to open the door, but then he thought better of it. That didn’t make sense—Shi Jingyu had been so reserved the entire journey; why would she suddenly be in the mood tonight? Besides, this was a notorious area—a notorious flower thief had just struck here. Tonight would surely be anything but ordinary. With that in mind, Nameless took two Mingyu Bullets—a gift from his master—out of his bag, holding one in each hand. He thought to himself, “If this person means me harm, I’ll fire these two Mingyu Bullets first and see who’s stronger.” At the same time, he opened the second-floor window; if things went wrong, he’d throw the bullets and jump out the window—as long as the fall didn’t kill him. With everything ready, Nameless feigned laziness and called out, “Who’s there? Is that Miss Shi? What brings you here so late?” “Young Master, don’t be nervous. My name is Xiaoyue, and I have a favor to ask of you.” Who is Xiao Yue? Nameless’s mind was filled with questions. What could she possibly want at this hour? “Let’s talk about it during the day. It’s too late now.” Nameless knew full well that his martial arts skills were lacking, so he still didn’t dare to open the door rashly. “Young Master, please open the door. Xiao Yue truly has a favor to ask of you.” The woman’s voice from outside sounded somewhat anxious. Who on earth could it be? Nameless was still undecided. Just as he was hesitating, everything suddenly went blurry before his eyes—it seemed as if a figure had drifted in through the window, a shadowy figure clad in black standing right in front of him. Nameless was startled and blurted out without thinking, “A ghost!” Just as he was about to shout, he felt several quick jabs on his body and found himself unable to move at all. The intruder, having subdued Nameless, didn’t hesitate. Pulling a sack from who-knows-where, they stuffed Nameless inside headfirst, hoisted him onto their shoulders, and leaped back out the window. It all happened in the blink of an eye. Before Nameless could even figure out what was going on, he found himself inside the sack, feeling the figure running at full speed with him slung over their shoulder. Nameless was extremely frustrated at that moment. Wasn’t this supposed to be the “Flower Thief”? Wasn’t he supposed to be kidnapping girls? Why was he kidnapping me? I’m a guy—does that mean he’s into both men and women? If so, I’m completely screwed. Nameless kept running wild with his imagination the whole way, while the shadowy figure didn’t stop for a moment, running on and on. He didn’t know how long they’d been running, but it seemed they’d finally arrived. The person in black tossed the sack onto the ground, spilling Nameless out. Nameless had already passed out. Where is this? Who am I? Where am I? He looked up and saw the figure in black across from him—through the shadows, he could make out a faintly rounded chest. It was a woman. Nameless let out a slight sigh of relief. Well, I’ll just have to leave it to fate. While Nameless was still lost in thought, the woman in black quickly tapped him a few times, unblocking his acupoints. “Hurry up and thank me,” came a melodious, silvery voice from the figure in black. It was indeed a woman, and judging by her voice, she didn’t sound very old. “Thank you?” Nameless was completely baffled. She’d dragged him out of the inn in the middle of the night, brought him all this way, and now, out here in the middle of nowhere, he was supposed to thank her? Why? “Who are you, miss?” Nameless gathered his wits and managed to squeeze out a question. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that I just saved your life.” The girl in black was, in fact, quite straightforward. “I’m not sure what you mean by that,” Nameless thought to himself. Is she trying to fool a fool? “Hmph. Do you know who that ‘Xiaoyue’ was who was calling your name at your door just now?” Nameless was at a loss for words; he had no idea. “The one outside is the ‘Flower Thief’ who’s been on the loose these past few days. Anyone she’s called to their door has vanished without a trace the very next day,” the woman in black said impatiently. “Oh, thank you, Lady Knight, for saving me.” Nameless began to understand—it turned out the person standing before him wasn’t the “Flower Thief”; the one who’d just called at the door was. These two weren’t the same person. But wait—the “Flower Thief” targets women. Why would she be after me? Nameless wondered to himself. “I’ve heard that the ‘Flower Thief’ is always on the hunt for young girls,” Nameless said tactfully, though his meaning was clear: it would be pointless for the Flower Thief to kidnap him. “I’m not really sure. I’m not exactly handsome, am I? I’m not much to look at,” the woman in black said as she pondered, eyeing Nameless up and down—and in the process, inflicting ten thousand points of emotional damage on him. Just as the two were chatting, they suddenly spotted a white figure in the distance charging toward them at breakneck speed. As she ran, the white figure shouted from afar, “Young Master, be careful! She’s the Flower Thief!” The voice belonged to the woman who had been knocking on the door earlier. “Oh no!” the woman in black muttered under her breath. She spun around, hoisted Nameless onto her shoulders, and took off running. Nameless watched as the white figure behind them closed in; from the silhouette, he could vaguely make out that it was also a girl. So the “Flower Thief” is a woman now? Who on earth is the real Flower Thief? Nameless pondered helplessly as he was carried away. With Nameless on her back, the woman in black couldn’t move as quickly, while the woman in white was gaining speed. As she was about to be caught, the woman in black pulled something out of her bosom and threw it backward, hoping to slow the woman in white down. But the woman in white was agile; with a few deft dodges, she evaded the attack and closed in even further. In the blink of an eye, the woman in white had closed in right in front of Nameless’s face. She suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him backward, but the woman in black wouldn’t let go either; she kept running forward, yanking Nameless upward in the process. Nameless was in excruciating pain caught between them. He thought to himself, If these two women don’t stop, I’ll be torn in two. What should I do? He couldn’t just sit there and wait to die. Suddenly, he noticed he was still clutching two Mingyu Bullets in his hands. Who cares which one of you is the flower thief? One Mingyu Bullet for each of you. By this point, Nameless had already learned how to use the Mingyu pellets before heading down the mountain—just in case. He opened his left hand,and flicked his right hand. Both women were focused on each other and hadn’t expected Nameless to still be able to move. All they saw was a dark shape approaching—it was too dark to make out clearly—but then they heard two “bang” sounds. Both female thieves were hit simultaneously and released their grip on Nameless, who crashed heavily to the ground. A cloud of gunpowder smoke filled the air. Nameless slowly crawled to his feet and looked to either side. Lying there, one on each side, were two “flower thieves.” The woman in black on the left had been blown so badly that her clothes barely covered her. In the moonlight, one could see she had a lovely face, typical of a girl from the water towns. She was petite, with short hair falling loosely around her face and a pair of long legs that gave her an athletic, agile appearance. She was panting heavily, glaring angrily at Nameless. The woman in white on the right was in the same state; her white clothes had been torn to shreds by the blast. She was alluring and captivating, yet looked pitiful and vulnerable. Her ample bosom was impossible to conceal; she was clearly seriously injured as well, and she too was glaring at Nameless with wide, furious eyes. Nameless thought to himself, “Well, there’s no need to fight over her now. Let’s see if I can solve this ‘Flower Thief’ case.”