CHAPTER 1 : The Little Thief of Heiyang

Heiyang City was one of the trading centers of the Longyuan Empire. Merchants would pass through this city before entering the capital of Yunzhou. It was no wonder that Heiyang City seemed to never sleep.

Among the hustle and bustle of the night merchants and carts carrying goods, a ten-year-old girl was seen moving through the crowd. Her dirty face, His dirty face and tattered clothes showed that he was a vagrant. However, she had intelligent and spirited eyes.

The little girl's tiny hands swiftly grabbed some buns that had just come out of the steamer in one of the food stalls. She then ran away, followed by screams of anger from the pot-bellied man who owned the food stall.

"Don't run, you little thief!" he shouted angrily. "Chase that stinky brat!"

Several of the shop employees chased the little girl while shouting and cursing at her. Strangely, this girl was not afraid, she ran quickly and happily—as if she was enjoying the situation.

Her thin legs were agile through the narrow alleys. Occasionally she jumped over objects that blocked the road. The girl ran while laughing, until she found an abandoned building that was used as a storage place for wooden boxes and straw.

As fast as lightning she went inside to hide. Her breath was short, but the girl's smile grew wider. Especially when she heard the desperate tone of her pursuers.

"Come on, quickly find that brat! She can't have gone far."

The girl held back her laughter. While waiting for the atmosphere to calm down, she started eating the bread she had stolen earlier. She shouldn't be outside the house for too long, or her aunt would realize that she was not there.

After she was sure that her pursuers had left and the bread was finished, the little girl came out of hiding and ran happily home. Her footsteps stopped in front of a fairly magnificent house. Slowly she opened the gate of the house and tiptoed inside. However, before she could enter the yard, a loud voice from behind stopped her in her tracks.

"Bai Lianhua! Where have you been?" shouted a round middle-aged woman.

Her name was Bai Lianhua, she was the first granddaughter of the Bai family. Her mother was named Lian Yuxue, a mysterious woman who was married to her father, Bai Yunsheng, and the woman staring at her was Bai Ruolan, her father's half-sister.

Bai Lianhua lowered her head, she did not dare to look at her aunt who was holding a rattan in her hand.

"You stinky brat! How much are you going to disgrace the Bai family's reputation, huh?" Bai Ruolan gritted her teeth in annoyance.

"Aunt Ru, I—"

Before the girl could continue her words, the rattan had already flown across her small calf and left a red mark. It hurt. Bai Lianhua winced in pain.

"You are truly a disgrace to the Bai family... you unlucky brat!" Bai Ruolan cursed.

The Bai family, especially the head of this family—Bai Zhentian did not like girls. That was why Bai Lianhua's birth was unexpected. Moreover, the marriage of this girl's parents was opposed by Bai Zhentian.

Bai Lianhua was then considered unlucky, because bad things happened to the Bai family after her birth. The mother died, the father left the Bai's residence not long after Lian Yuxue died. Bai Lianhua's grandfather fell ill and died when he found out that his only son had left without saying goodbye.

Bai Ruolan's hatred for her half-brother was vented on Bai Lianhua. Since Bai Yunsheng was born, Bai Ruolan's position as the main heir to the Bai family business had shifted to Bai Yunsheng. That was where this woman's hatred began.

"Servants! Pack this brat's things and throw him out on the street!"

"B-but, Auntie... it's already night. Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Bai Lianhua whined softly.

Bai Ruolan grabbed her half-niece's chin. "You should have thought clearly before causing trouble with Mr. Gong for the umpteenth time!"

It turned out that the shop owner had met her aunt and complained about her actions earlier.

"Is the food I gave you still not enough to fill you up?" Bai Ruolan asked.

This time Bai Lianhua looked at her aunt and smiled sarcastically. Food? All you give me is leftovers, even dogs are reluctant to eat them. The girl grumbled angrily.

A bundle landed smoothly in front of Bai Lianhua's feet.

"Take it and leave this house quickly!" Bai Ruolan chased Bai Lianhua away.

This opportunity had been awaited by Bai Ruolan for a long time. She had always been looking for a way to chase Bai Lianhua away from here without being judged cruel by people. Even though her treatment of this little girl had become the talk of the Heiyang people.

One of the servants forced Bai Lianhua to take the bundle containing her clothes and roughly pushed the boy out of the Bai residence. The gate was heard being locked from the inside. Bai Lianhua sighed resignedly.

She began to walk aimlessly, penetrating the cold night towards the outskirts of Heiyang city and Yunzhou city. Until she found an empty hut and decided to live there.

*

Bai Lianhua grew into a beautiful teenage girl. Her skills in stealing were also increasingly honed. Because, since being expelled from the Bai residence, this girl survived by stealing food and fruits from merchants and residents' houses.

There were also some residents who deliberately let their food be stolen by Bai Lianhua. Because, this girl did not like to eat food given by people. She always said that she was not a beggar.

As time went by, Bai Lianhua heard news of her father's whereabouts. Lianxin Sect, that's where Bai Yunsheng was reportedly. Since then, she was determined to enter the great academy. Even though she had to desperately collect two thousand lingjing or the equivalent of two hundred thousand longwen pieces to register as a student.

"Hey, Bai Lianhua." A young man greeted her as she was sitting in the East Wind Tavern enjoying a portion of dumplings and green tea.

The girl turned her head and found Xiao Rui smiling slyly while showing off a velvet pouch containing a thousand yuanzhu. He was the boy that Bai Lianhua had accidentally met a year ago and had taught her many stealing tricks. Xiao Rui was two years older than Bai Lianhua.

"I'll treat you this time." Xiao Rui patted his chest, bragging to the girl in front of him.

Bai Lianhua smiled mockingly. "Okay. Since you're treating… I'll order more food."

"Sir!" Bai Lianhua called out to the shopkeeper and began to order some more food.

"You greedy girl," Xiao Rui mocked, regretting his bragging.

They laughed together. These two teenagers were very famous among the merchants. Xiao Rui was known as the Lightning Hand. While Bai Lianhua was known as the Little Thief of Heiyang.

Xiao Rui stared at Bai Lianhua for a moment with a questioning look in his eyes. There was something that had made him curious all this time.

"In the past, you only wanted to steal food. So why did you end up picking pockets and stealing money with me?" Xiao Rui asked, pointing at the girl with his chopsticks.

Bai Lianhua was silent for a moment, indifferently putting a large dumpling into his mouth. "Lianxin…," she muttered softly.

Xiao Rui's eyebrows rose. "What's wrong with Lianxin Sect?"

Bai Lianhua was silent again. Her expression was a little hesitant to answer the question. Xiao Rui took a sip of his tea.

"I want to register as a disciple at Lianxin academy."

Hearing Bai Lianhua's answer, Xiao Rui reflexively spat out the tea in his mouth and almost hit Bai Lianhua's face. The girl frowned in annoyance, while Xiao Rui laughed out loud.

After laughing to her heart's content, he held his friend's forehead and asked mockingly, "Are you out of your mind? Or did you just hit something?"

Bai Lianhua's hand brushed Xiao Rui's hand away. "Laugh as much as you want! I will still try to raise money to become Lianxin's disciple!"

"Why Lianxin?" Xiao Rui was still curious again. "Xuanjian. Isn't that sect also a good place to gain knowledge? Moreover, Xuanjian's sword technique is already very famous worldwide."

Bai Lianhua exhaled softly. "There is someone I must find there."

Seeing Bai Lianhua's determination, the young man felt guilty. He knew that Bai Lianhua was a smart girl. If she received a proper education, she would definitely become a great figure. Besides, the Bai family's blood flowed in the girl's veins. However, Xiao Rui understood very well that Bai Lianhua's main goal was to find her father who was rumored to be in Lianxin academy.

"Okay! I will help you." Xiao Rui decided to help Bai Lianhua.

Bai Lianhua stared at Xiao Rui in disbelief. She was so happy when this young man said he would help her.

"But… when you become a big person later, you must not forget me."

The girl nodded firmly.

Since then, the stolen goods from both of them were stored in a wooden box and buried behind Bai Lianhua's hut.

Slowly, the money they collected was almost close to the amount needed. However, Bai Lianhua was not aware of the fate she would face later. The long road in the future would change this girl's entire life. It all started from Yunzhou City.

***