A full moon hung in the sky and clouds drifted by aimlessly.

  Swishh.

  A shadow darted through some grass and into a tree line.

  Earlier, Orien had carefully crept out of his window, leaving it slightly ajar so that he could quietly return later. He was making his way to the Farina Manor, in other words, Geno’s family manor. He was unfamiliar with the way, but thanks to his second pair of eyes, Wisp, he was like a shadow, unseen and well hidden.

  As he got further into the tree line, his heart rate was elevated. He could not see very well in the dark, and it was quite dark. It almost seemed foolish to be afraid of ghosts or spirits considering his friend Wisp was in fact a ghost. What he truly feared was being caught.

  Swish, swish.

  Orien’s clothes brushed past the tall grass, and every noise seemed to be too loud right now as he tried to be quiet.

  However, he had a mission, and his mission involved him running as fast as his legs would allow. He would have to save his paranoia for later. His mouth felt dry, and his focus was pushed to the limit.

  In the distance, he could see a worn, white high wall. The closer he got, the more he started to wonder how he would vault over a wall like this, until his eyes wandered up to a branch from a tree that extended beyond the top of the wall. This was definitely going to be his way in.

  He hung the coiled rope around his shoulder and started making his way up the tree. He tied the rope around a tough branch, ensured it was tight, and made his way down the other side of the wall, falling flat on the ground and allowing Wisp to survey the area.

  While Orien waited, his mind raced with all sorts of terrible outcomes such as the guard finding him and capturing him.

  ‘Or maybe he would just directly kill me for trespassing? Nobody knows I am out here after all,’ He thought.

  As sweat began to drip down his neck and he wiped the damp hair from his forehead, he heard a voice.

  "You there! Intruder! What are you doing here?"

  His heart nearly leapt out of his chest until he realized it was Wisp, messing with him.

  "Have you lost your mind, Wisp?? What would you do if I just bolted after hearing that!" He whispered with rage.

  "Take it easy kiddo, I can see that you are overthinking, lighten up, will ya?. The coast is clear, let's go,” Wisp chuckled.

  “Lighten up? You sound like one of my classmates, not an old fart. Hmph,” Orien glared at him.

  With a scowl on his face, he got up, lightly dusted himself off and headed towards the building where he could see some foot holds that roughly led up to the second floor. He was being very careful and realized that he was leaving some mud prints on the wall, but that was something he hadn’t considered, and it was too late now.

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  As quietly as possible, he scaled the wall and eventually got just below the window. Wisp had already gone up to check beforehand, and the old man was currently on the first floor, inside the kitchen. It seemed like he was cooking, which was a little strange considering the time, but not uncommon at all.

  Orien struggled with the window for a bit, eventually getting it open quietly. He locked eyes with the nightstand and immediately went for it while minimizing his sound. Upon opening the drawer and finding the delicate box, he did not hesitate to stuff it into his robes and immediately turned to leave before pausing.

  "Hey Wisp, would it be crazy to steal anything else? I mean, we are here, right?" Orien asked with a curious expression.

  "That is the spirit. Although we do not want them to notice anything amiss right away, who knows when that old man will check for his box? If he will notice it soon regardless, we may as well try something. There is a gold brooch inside that closet. That is all that I can see is worth something in here. Grab it and let us go."

  Orien went into the closet, took the gold brooch, and stuffed it into his robes as well. He seemed to hesitate for a long time before Wisp asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “Look away for a second,” Orien said mysteriously.

  Shockingly, Orien returned to the closet and found a shoe. He then undid his robes and pissed into the shoe before closing the closet.

  He then opened the window and, as quietly as possible, stepped down and landed below.

  “Kid, you’re fucking nuts! What made you think to do that?” Wisp said as they prepared to escape together.

  “Hey, he probably won’t find the source of that smell right away. I’m just letting him pay some of his grandson’s debt,” Orien said mischievously.

  Together, the two swiftly reached the wall, zoomed up the rope, and did not forget to take the rope with them once they reached the other side.

  Through the darkness of the night, the cover of the trees, and the camouflage of the shadows, Orien eventually got back home without raising any alarms.

  Excitedly checking his spoils, he felt euphoric. This was something his family could not afford even with a year of savings, and that was only talking about one pill... he had two.

  He did feel bad for a moment, not for Geno’s dog shit grandfather, but for his own family.

  He would be able to help them a lot if he were to somehow sell these items, but he quickly shook his head. Not only was it not possible to sell such hot items in such a modest village, but his family’s financial issues were another problem altogether.

  He put his spoils underneath a floorboard that he had previously loosened in preparation for this.

  "Wisp, we have hit it rich! I don't know how I could repay you... who knew being a thief felt this great?" Orien exclaimed.

  "Couldn’t have said it better myself, lad. Few things compare to a good ole robbery! Such is the way of cultivation,” Wisp said, seemingly reminiscing on the good days of his youth.

  Orien was a bit skeptical about what Wisp had just said, thinking, ‘Something tells me that this was more like Wisp's idea of a good time rather than all cultivators being thieves, but I won't say anything.’

  He was far too happy to discuss something like morals with Wisp right now.

  All of the built-up anxiety, sprinting, and focus came crashing down.

  "I will talk to you in the morning, Wisp. Night night."

  Poof.

  His head hit the pillow.

  Wisp chuckled, "Does this brat think that I sleep? Meditation is all a cultivator of my caliber needs, although I probably can’t be considered a cultivator anymore. I’ve had enough sleep, I’ve been dead for too long.”

  With that, Wisp began to meditate, letting out a low hum for only Orien to hear.

  Through Orien’s window, atop a tall tree a great distance away, the headmaster for his school lay along a cushiony branch, grinning to himself. He had witnessed the whole thing from start to finish.

  “Thieving little rascal,” he said with a kind smile.

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