Chang'an City, Duke Jin's Mansion, outside a room in the inner residence, many maids were waiting outside the door. Suddenly, a clear and cold voice came from inside: "Wuqiu, Shidong, come in, only the two of you."
The two maids closest to the room first signaled the others to move away, then quickly entered the room and closed the door. When they saw the person inside the room, they couldn't help but show surprised expressions and suppressed their voices, laughing: "Miss, where did you get the wolf hat? It's so cute!"
The person in the room was none other than the Black Wolf who had appeared in the Thief's House.
Black Wolf glanced at the two maids, let out an 'aww' and posed as if to grab them: "Dare to make fun of me, believe it or not, I'll bite you!"
After some playful banter, the two maids helped Black Wolf remove the hood, coat, chain armor, inner armor, skirt armor, shoulder guards, and other protective gear. Even though they were quite skilled, undoing the armor still took them considerable effort, especially since some of the armor was mixed with Mountain Copper and Refined Gold, thin yet heavy, just taking it off made the maids sweat.
After removing the armor, the seemingly burly Black Wolf had already transformed into a tall and slender young lady. She instructed Wuqiu and Shidong to maintain the armor, then walked out the door and asked the guards outside: "Yu Fei, where is the Duke now?"
The Captain of the Guards responded: "Currently meeting his ministers at Changqiu Studio."
"Inform the Duke, I have important matters to report."
"Yes."
Black Wolf quickly arrived at the courtyard of Changqiu Studio to wait, and soon a middle-aged official came out from the studio. Black Wolf took the initiative to greet him: "Lord Yang, you've worked hard for national affairs."
"It's not hard, if this body does not labor for the country, how could it repay the Grand Minister of the Imperial Secretariat's grace?" The middle-aged official hurriedly replied, "Please persuade the Grand Minister to take care of his health. I see the Grand Minister working tirelessly for national affairs and am truly worried—a day without the Grand Minister would be impossible for Great Zhou."
"I understand, Lord Yang truly is a faithful man whom my father relies on."
After entering Changqiu Studio, once the guards outside closed the door, Black Wolf immediately said to the middle-aged man behind the desk: "Father, Yangxing is a great pretender disloyal on the inside and deceitful on the outside. You must not entrust important matters to him."
In front of Black Wolf was none other than the master of Changqiu Studio, Duke Jin, Commander-in-Chief of All Military Affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Grandmaster, Grand Commandant, Grand Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Pharmacist Moke. Pharmacist Moke laughed: "Of course I know, these people like Yangxing are trying every trick to meddle with the Secret Realm controlled by the Yao Family, but aren't we trying to take away the Secret Realms they control too? Rest assured, I know what's in my heart. By the way, do you have business with me?"
"Yes."
Black Wolf, Pharmacist Moke's daughter, Pharmacist's Wish, said: "I've been summoned into the Secret Realm of the Thief's House and accepted a theft mission; the target is Bingzi Pepper Forest kept in An Guo Temple."
"Thief's House?!"
Pharmacist Moke suddenly stood up and hurriedly walked over to Pharmacist's Wish.
"You didn't encounter any danger, did you?"
"No, just like the rumors say, the Thief's House is merely a safe haven for thieves, with no Secret Realm Demon Fiends." Pharmacist's Wish said: "Moreover, the Thief's House has Teleportation Authority. I can now travel to and from the Thief's House at any time... Father, if the Thief's House can silently teleport me to the Duke's Mansion, it can undoubtedly teleport me to anywhere in the world!"
"Once we master the Thief's House, our Great Zhou's forces could descend upon the Jiangnan of Liang Kingdom, the Nocturnal Heaven of Qi Kingdom, everything under heaven would be within our grasp!"
Although his daughter was painting a grand picture, Pharmacist Moke wasn't overly excited, instead asking: "I remember the Thief's House only summons experienced thieves; why were you invited? Come to think of it, last year the great thief 'Ye Lang' appeared in Chang'an City, and back then you took it upon yourself to delegate the Ye Lang case to your Brocade Guard, but the number of affected noble families only increased, and many people have been complaining to me about it."
Pharmacist's Wish snorted coldly: "Those people are bloated with riches, seeking only pleasure every day. What's wrong with using their money to strengthen the Brocade Guard?"
"You, oh you." Pharmacist Moke shook his head, "If you accidentally revealed your identity, do you know what others would say?"
"If they know the great thief of Chang'an is the daughter of Duke Jin, they'd certainly place their treasures in the most conspicuous places." Pharmacist's Wish said carelessly, "Father, why do you align with the Yu Wen Family and Helan Family, those useless ones? Whereas able ministers and generals like Duke Ancheng and Duke Wei, you instead marginalize to other places?"
Pharmacist Moke raised his eyebrows: "National affairs are not within your purview. Who told you to speak up for Yao Shixian and Du Shuyu?"
"No one told me. In these two years, my Brocade Guard's network has spread throughout Chang'an, besides seeking out which noble has money, we have acquired much genuine intelligence." Pharmacist's Wish said: "Father, I've been holding back from telling you, but the ones you trust are all useless, while those with ability are being treated as adversaries. If this continues—"
"Enough!"
Pharmacist Moke shouted loudly, and Pharmacist's Wish immediately became silent. After a while, Pharmacist Moke exhaled a breath and said in a calming tone: "The Yuwen Family and Helan Family are major clans of the Pillar of the Country, holding military authority within the Secret Realm. Without uniting them, the court would be chaotic. If the court becomes chaotic, the regions will follow; do you know how many spies from Qi Kingdom and Liang Kingdom are waiting for us to show a flaw? The bigger picture is paramount, you mustn't say such things in the future."
"Wish understands."
"Continue talking about the Thief's House." Pharmacist Moke also didn't want to argue with his daughter: "You've always acted with a plan since childhood, surely you already have a strategy in mind if you've come to me."
"Since the existence of the Thief's House is confirmed, naturally we must seize control over it." Pharmacist's Wish said: "The Thief's House will summon a total of four thieves, and in five days, it will teleport us to Vermilion Bird Avenue. Father can then have people ambush at An Guo Temple and capture the other three, leaving only me to complete the theft mission, making me the sole master of the Thief's House."