“Lord Mo, what crime has my master committed this time to end up in jail? Was it soliciting prostitutes without paying, faking an accident to extort money, or secretly selling ‘Minor Major As You Wish (Localized Version)’ again?”

Yun Zhi was skeptical of her master’s claim of innocence.

Having spent nearly a thousand years with him, Yun Zhi knew when to believe her master’s words and when not to.

“Eldest Senior Sister, when can you believe Master’s words?” Lu Yang asked curiously.

“When Master isn’t talking.”

“Then when can’t you believe Master’s words?”

“When Master is talking.”

Lu Yang: “…”

The Minister of Justice, upon hearing this, excitedly slapped his thigh. Yun Zhi’s words instantly enlightened him.

No wonder her cultivation was so high. Her ability to summarize things was beyond him.

If he had learned not to trust Non-Speaker’s nonsense earlier, he wouldn’t be stuck in the same cell with him now.

Lord Mo shook his head, “None of those. According to our investigation, Daoist Non-Speaker has been in Great Yan County for over ten days. During this time, he has been quite well-behaved. By day, he tells the story of ‘The Legend of Dao Seeking Sect’ at a teahouse, drawing full houses every time, ending each session with ‘Stay tuned to listen to the next part,’ leaving countless people eagerly anticipating the next day. At night, he thinks about how to fabricate the story for the next day, living quite comfortably.”

Lu Yang was dumbfounded. So his master’s storytelling was made up on the spot?

Lu Yang considered himself good at improvising, no worse than Meng Jingzhou, but he couldn’t match Daoist Non-Speaker’s ability to make up a story one night and tell it the next day.

“So ‘The Legend of Dao Seeking Sect’ was your creation!” Lord Xu looked at Daoist Non-Speaker in surprise.

‘The Legend of Dao Seeking Sect’ was widely known, even the teahouses in the imperial city told the story. He had listened out of boredom once.

He heard the stories from the era of the Dao Seeking Sect’s Nine, with many embellishments glorifying Daoist Non-Speaker. Displeased with the exaggerations, he stopped listening.

Other officials in the capital had similar reactions. They listened out of curiosity but found the stories deviated greatly from their understanding and didn’t continue.

However, the common people were very entertained. Despite the exaggerations, it was still a story about cultivators from a top-tier sect, full of colorful and captivating deeds.

“Do you have any shame? The character in the story has nothing in common with you except the name!” Lord Xu gave Daoist Non-Speaker a disdainful look.

“It’s called appropriate embellishment,” Daoist Non-Speaker said without a trace of shame.

Lord Mo continued, “Just three days ago, the monthly cultivator market opened. Daoist Non-Speaker set up a small stall in the corner, selling a technique that supposedly increased movement speed, claiming it was the same technique practiced by the famed ‘Ancestor of the Thieves’ Sect.’”

“When people realized they’d been deceived, they confronted him for a refund. He denied the accusations, insisting the technique was genuine.”

“Unable to resolve the dispute, they reported it. After investigating, I found the technique to be fake and decided to detain him for ten days.”

The Everlasting Fairy, upon hearing an unfamiliar term, knocked on Lu Yang’s mental space for help. “Lu Yang, who is the Ancestor of the Thieves’ Sect?”

As the Everlasting Fairy’s reliable source of information, Lu Yang promptly explained, “Regarding the Ancestor of the Thieves’ Sect, I know a bit. Fairy should know that there are over three thousand unorthodox paths, and one of them is the Thieves’ Sect.”

The Everlasting Fairy nodded, signaling Lu Yang to continue.

“The Thieves’ Sect had a peerless thief whose speed was unparalleled, reaching heights never before achieved. His speed was unmatched, making the Thieves’ Sect before and after him two entirely different concepts. Members of the Thieves’ Sect honored him as the Ancestor of the Thieves’ Sect, commonly referred to as the Thief Ancestor.”

“The Thief Ancestor was so fast that he could come and go from the palace as he pleased, stealing numerous spirit stones and magical treasures. The most outrageous feat was stealing the palace gate. The court was furious but helpless against him.”

“What happened to the Thief Ancestor later?” the Everlasting Fairy asked excitedly. She had never encountered a speed-specialized cultivator, and if she met one, she would definitely want to compete.

Lu Yang shook his head, “It’s a mystery. No one knows what happened to the Thief Ancestor. Some say he died, some say he grew tired of worldly conflicts and secluded himself, and others say he failed to ascend to immortality and perished.”

Speaking of the Thief Ancestor, Lu Yang couldn’t help but think of another figure, the second fastest person after the Thief Ancestor—the King of Thieves.

The King of Thieves reached a level where he could go anywhere in the world. He violated the Thieves’ Sect’s ancestral teachings by stealing from the Land of Gold Commerce and then vanished without a trace, seemingly evaporating from the world.

Meanwhile, Daoist Non-Speaker was still insisting on his innocence, confidently proclaiming, “Really, if you practice the technique I sold, you can definitely become as fast as the Thief Ancestor!”

Yun Zhi was silent for a moment, as if recalling something, then asked, “Lord Mo, may I see the technique my master sold?”

“Of course,” Mo Danxin replied, summoning a subordinate to fetch the confiscated evidence from the yamen.

(TL Note: Yamen is somewhat of a combination of a police station and a court of law, as they arrest and judge. I translated it as Government Office previously but i think sticking to yamen is better. Copied my previous TL note lol)

Soon, the subordinate returned, panting, with a book in hand. The book was thin and very old, without a title or author’s name, looking like it had been stolen from a grave and brought back to daylight.

No wonder cultivators were deceived into buying it; the book indeed looked quite convincing.

Lord Mo added, “Daoist Non-Speaker sold ten copies of the technique, all identical. We confiscated all ten, and this is one of them.”

Yun Zhi opened the first page, and Lu Yang curiously peeked over.

The first page read: “To practice this technique, first break a leg.”

Daoist Non-Speaker spread his hands, “See, I told you, I didn’t deceive anyone. Practice this technique, and I guarantee you can be as fast as the Thief Ancestor!”

Lu Yang: “…”

Lord Mo, my master is not wronged at all!

With this, he’s still claiming to be wronged? Even a year’s imprisonment isn’t too much!

Lu Yang roughly understood why his master was the strongest below the Tribulation Crossing Stage.

If his cultivation were any weaker, he would have been beaten to death long ago.

Yun Zhi’s expression turned peculiar, “The Thief Ancestor indeed had only one leg, so he claimed his speed was unparalleled, and no one ever argued with him.”

“That’s true; I’ve heard of this as well,” the Minister of Justice nodded.

There was one more thing Yun Zhi didn’t mention. After flipping through the technique and making some calculations, she realized that practicing it could indeed make one the fastest in their rank.

So, could this really be the Thief Ancestor’s technique?