Book 20 Chapter 16

The full story of the raid on the China Coast Guard Station

-The Stolen Scroll

Strewn here and there, tilted end tables and overturned chairs, drawers and drawers that had been neatly organized and tucked away until the early morning hours, all of them open and wet, and clothes and other items that should have been tucked neatly inside had been relegated to the floor.

Walking through the door of his dormitory after his routine dawn training, Jasper Peak Namgung San San's eyes widened at the sight through the half-open door. It had been less than an hour since he'd gotten out of bed at dawn to breathe in the cold, crisp early morning air and practice his swordsmanship.

"Are you a thief?!"

"Who dares in this place!

Namgung Sansan was just about to draw his sword, tensing his body for any eventuality that might arise, when a familiar voice called out from beyond the chaos.

"No! No! No! No!"

The hand that occasionally rose from the chaos, accompanied by an urgent voice, was well known to Nan Gongshan Mountain. Every time the hand rose, an object always flew into the air. That hand seemed to be the culprit.

Wham!

Her hand shot up again, and something else flew out. It was tossed backward with a haphazard thud and rolled to her feet. It was a Buddha statue.

'And this…….'

I figured if I didn't want to wake up to dew tonight, I might as well dry it out and calm it down a bit.

'Ehh…….'

Nan Gongshan sighed heavily, then shouted a little louder.

"What do you mean there's nothing, spirit?"

The busy hands paused for a moment. Nangong Shanshan took the opportunity to continue.

"What the hell does the room look like? This isn't your room, you didn't forget that, did you?"

"……."

A head popped up out of nowhere in the midst of the chaos, which was reminiscent of a battlefield and could only be described as horrific. As expected, it was his housemate and fellow workshop member, Jinling.

"Sansan∼"

Only the spirit sakka calling to her had tears in her eyes that looked like they might fall at any moment. She flinched back in horror.

"Why… why? What's going on? What's going on? If there's anything I can do to help, I'll help."

Qin Ling looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

"I mean… it's… it's gone!"

"So what, I know it's gone, but I don't know what's gone unless you tell me?"

I'm getting a little frustrated that the conversation isn't flowing smoothly because I'm so emotional.

"That's right, the hairpin I put in my jewelry box is missing!"

Then Namgungsansan asked.

"In that pretty jasper color?"

"Yes!"

Qin Ling nodded once.

"With flowers and phoenixes carved into it?"

"Yes!"

Jinling nodded twice, slightly excited.

"That thing you always wear in your hair?"

"Yay!"

An even more excited Jinling nodded three times in rapid succession.

"The same one I asked to borrow once and was flatly refused?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's it, it's gone, I got it from my aunt for my twelfth birthday!"

"Jin Yeohyeop?"

It was a mountain I always knew I treasured, but never knew it had a story.

"Yeah, it was pretty much the only feminine thing I got from my aunt, who usually only wore swords, and I loved it."

But that's exactly what's missing.

"Did you drop it during your dawn training?"

Like Nan Gongshan, Qin Lie had never practiced dawn cultivation before. Today, when he saw that she was preparing a little later than he was, he wanted to go first, but she shook her head.

"No, that's not possible, it's not suitable for early morning training, and the movements are strenuous, and I don't want to damage or lose it if I do something wrong, so I don't wear it during training, and I put it in a box, and I made sure to check it when I took out my hair tie today, but… but……."

Whatever harmony the ghost sang, it faded into the background.

"Anything else missing? Besides that jadeite, you had quite a few trinkets that could be sold for money?"

Although they were unattended, they were mature women and had some jewelry that was somewhat essential.

"No, that's the only thing that's gone, and even the anterior sac I left behind is still there."

"That's weird… you didn't even take the money, just that."

It just didn't make sense to me.

"Think about it. Are we missing something else important?"

"Uhm… come to think of it, I'm also missing a letter."

"Letters?"

"Yes."

"A letter from a man other than 'Mr. Gung-Sang,' with the details of your affair written all over it?"

If so, it's no wonder Jinryung was so flustered.

"No!"

The crimson-faced djinn shouted.

"Or no, then why are you so upset? I wrote that letter because you were panicking, so whose letter was it?"

Namgung Shanshan asked in a disdainful tone.

"From my aunt."

"From Jin Yeohyeop?"

"Yes."

"That's weird. So the only thing that's gone is the one that had to do with the Qin Family?"

"Come to think of it."

Both items that were definitely missing were related to my aunt.

"Why did they take it?"

"Well……."

That was the biggest mystery.

"Is it… is it some kind of pervert who's in love with Jin Yeohyeop, or someone in the Asociation, or……."

"That's surprisingly convincing."

I didn't know if they would actually do it.

"But this is a no-man's-land, not a place where men can come in easily, and even if they did, it wouldn't be their big brother, and he's in jail right now."

Jinling said.

"I see that, too. Then who the hell are you?"

I had no idea.