Chapter 25 - Murong Yu (1)

A long long time ago, when she was barely an a.d.u.l.t, in order for Xiao Yunjie to be able to leave his gang, the then 18-year-old Xiao Lei made a deal with the leader of his gang behind his back.

Having spent 6 years with him, she could no longer bear it when he kept returning with scars upon scars on his body.

At the same time, Xiao Lei was also afraid that if anything happened to him, she would be left all alone again. Thus, she braced herself and went to the gang leader's place to discuss with him.

Having watched the girl grew up from a tiny, scrawny kid, the gang leader had a soft spot for her. Especially since she always brought him the best stolen goods behind Xiao Yunjie's back.

Xiao Yunjie did not want Xiao Lei to join the gang, and he had made a request for his boss to not accept Xiao Lei should she ever ask for it.

However, Xiao Lei wanted to make Xiao Yunjie's life easier. Hence, she would always secretly pass some of the stuff she stole to his boss.

Even though Xiao Yunjie's boss was unwilling to lose such a capable man, he agreed to let the young man leave the gang unharmed if Xiao Lei would infiltrate a rival gang and bring back a prized necklace that was in the hands of one of the gang leaders, Murong Yu.

Without even a moment of hesitation, Xiao Lei agreed to it.

Since it might take a long time and he really wanted the necklace, Xiao Yunjie's boss even covered for her by sending him to another city under the pretense that he was to observe the situation of the gangs there and see if it was suitable for them to move in.

He even warned Xiao Yunjie against making any unnecessary contacts with them during this period of time.

From the moment he took her in, Xiao Yunjie was protective of Xiao Lei, and thus he chose to leave her in the care of one of his female friends instead of placing her under the care of his boss for fear that his boss might corrupt his "sister".

Unknown to him, not long after he left, Xiao Lei told the woman that she wanted to learn more about the world. She pouted and complained about how her "brother" never allowed her to go anywhere by herself even though she was already almost a woman.

After much begging, the older woman finally promised that she would help cover for her if Xiao Yunjie called.

When the older woman sent her off at the bus station, she had hugged Xiao Lei and said, "Look at me. I'm like a mother who is about to send her daughter off to the world. Promise me you'll stay out of trouble, Ah Qing."

"I promise."

At that time, the name that Xiao Lei was using was Ah Qing. It was a name she created out of necessity. Ever since she stayed with Xiao Yunjie, he warned her against using her real name.

He had told her that if they ever wanted to live a normal life, they must never reveal their real names to anyone from the underground.

Thus, outside of the house, Xiao Yunjie was only known as Ah Jie, while she was known as his younger sister, Ah Qing.

When she moved to the other city for her mission, Xiao Lei adopted the moniker "Fei Yanqing". Xiao Yunjie told her before, that in order for her to easily adopt a name, it would be best if the name was somewhat similar to her previous name.

Since she was known as Ah Qing for a long time, she decided to go with "Yanqing" this time. Then she chose the surname "Fei" cause it was kind of cool.

Since she was young, Xiao Yunjie had taught her how to steal in case she would ever need it one day. In addition, she had also learned by watching the members of his gang. To be a better pickpocket, she also learned illusion under one of the amateur magicians in the gang.

Once she learned the basics, she did not stop to learn more about it. She kept practicing her illusions on the members of the gang as well as the clients of Xiao Yunjie's female friends.

When she was with them, instead of using her skills to steal from them, she would charge them a fee for her "magic show" which basically meant that she would steal from them during the show and return it back afterward.

Xiao Yunjie did not mind her doing it since anything would be better than her going out and messing around or getting into fights.

When she went to the city where Murong Yu's gang was based, she lured him out by using her pickpocketing skills at the tourist area when she knew that members of his gang would frequent.

She knew that someone like him would never allow another person in his turf, especially when she was not paying him any "taxes". And she was right. Before long, Murong Yu sent someone to kidnap Xiao Lei in broad daylight and brought her over to him.

When the man held a gun against her head and threatened to kill her to release his pent-up anger, Xiao Lei offered to work for his gang if he could offer her protection and a place to stay.

"Think about it. What have you got to lose?" Xiao Lei asked as she was forced to kneel in front of him with her hands cuffed behind her.

"A thief in my house… I'd say a lot," Murong Yu replied. However, he was interested in this young woman who dared to negotiate with him instead of begging for her life like the others.

"I won't steal from your house, you have my word," Xiao Lei had added as she stared right in the man's eyes.

"Your word means nothing to me." Murong Yu said that but he was actually considering it. Even though he was suspicious at first, but as he looked at Xiao Lei's thin face and those bright innocent eyes, he agreed to place her under probation.

"If you fail, I'll sell you to a brothel. A face like yours can easily earn thousands per night…" Murong Yu warned in a low tone as he cupped her chin in his hand.

Instead of being afraid, Xiao Lei had smirked at him. "No one can beat me in pickpocketing…"

She did not see Murong Yu again for the next three months. During the next three months, Xiao Lei proved herself by stealing multiple high-end pieces of jewelry. What shocked Murong Yu and his gang members was that all the jewelry that Xiao Lei stole was the real stuff.

Her swift and nimble hands coupled with her ability to see through the fake goods allowed her to infiltrate Murong Yu's gang easily.

She even created a background for herself. "Fei Yanqing" was a name given to her by a man who kidnapped her from her house at a rural village located near a mountain somewhere. She told the others that she was too young at that time, and she could not remember anything about her real family.

In order to gain their sympathy, she claimed that her kidnapper had sold her off to other men and whenever she's with him, he would make her steal and she failed to steal anything, he would beat her up. However, she never elaborated on the details and no one asked either.

After all, who would want to live as a gang member if they could have another way out.

At first, Murong Yu had ignored her and kept a distance away. His men would gather the information about her and report back to him. Even though he found her background to be quite pitiful, he did not overtly care for her.

To him, they were living in a dog eat dog world, and he did not have time to care for someone unrelated to him.

However, her bright disposition and intelligence soon caught his attention… He started to talk more to her, especially after he found out from one of his men that she shared his aversion for needles.