Chapter 125: Catching A Thief

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Catching A Thief

The following morning, just as Elder Shan Li had mentioned the day before, he left his residence to attend to other matters. Sui Sui arrived early as usual, finished his assigned work, and made sure the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree was in good condition before preparing to leave for the herb garden. Elder Jingyan had asked him to lend a hand that afternoon, and since he had already completed his own duties, there was no reason to delay.

With Sui Sui gone, only three disciples remained to finish the work Elder Shan Li had assigned them: Disciple Tang, Disciple Leng, and Chu Ran.

Of the three, Disciple Tang was the first to finish. He inspected his work one last time, making sure there was nothing left undone, before straightening up and wiping the sweat from his forehead. Seeing that the other two were still busy, he hesitated. Although their temporary assignment was almost over, he didn’t feel comfortable leaving his fellow disciples behind while they were still working.

He had originally intended to wait until everyone had finished so they could return together, however, Disciple Leng soon noticed him lingering nearby and immediately called out, "Senior Brother Tang, you can head back first. Junior Sister Chu and I can handle the rest. There’s not much left to do, and today is our last day here anyway. You don’t need to stay just for our sake."

Chu Ran also looked up from her work and nodded in agreement, putting on a cooperative smile, no longer disdainful like the last time she spoke with him which was weird. "That’s right, Senior Brother. We can manage on our own. You’ve already finished your part, so there’s no need for you to stay any longer. Please go back and rest. We’ll finish everything here before leaving."

Disciple Tang looked between the two of them, still somewhat reluctant. He felt that leaving them behind didn’t feel entirely right. Nevertheless, the two had insisted that they could manage, and there was no particular reason for him to remain once his own work was finished.

"Alright, then" he reminded them.

"Don’t worry, Senior Brother. Leave it to us," Disciple Leng assured him readily.

Only after hearing their repeated assurances did Disciple Tang finally agree to leave. He gathered his belongings, gave the two one last reminder to be quick and walked away from Elder Shan Li’s residence.

Chu Ran watched him depart with a perfectly composed expression, maintaining her usual appearance until his figure had disappeared from sight. Even then, neither she nor Disciple Leng moved immediately. They continued with their work for a while longer, pretending to be occupied with the remaining tasks as they waited to make certain that Disciple Tang would not suddenly return.

Time passed slowly.

Only when they were confident that the surrounding area had become quiet did Disciple Leng finally lift his head and exchange a glance with Chu Ran. Neither needed to say anything. The moment their eyes met, they seemed to reach the same understanding, and both gradually stopped what they were doing.

Without drawing attention to themselves, they set aside their tools and made their way toward the back of Elder Shan Li’s residence.

The rear courtyard was unusually quiet. Unlike the main areas, where barriers and protective formations were often used to prevent unauthorized entry, there appeared to be no such restrictions around this particular section. With Elder Shan Li away and no one else keeping watch, the path ahead was unexpectedly clear.

Disciple Leng glanced around before turning toward Chu Ran. She returned his look with a small, knowing smile, then continued forward without hesitation.

Neither of them spoke as they slipped into the back courtyard, their intentions hidden beneath an outward appearance of calm.

They had finally found their opportunity.

When they finally reached the rear courtyard, both of them stopped to admire the enormous green tree standing before them. Its lush leaves shimmered faintly beneath the light, while clusters of unopened flowers hung among the branches. In time, those flowers would bloom into precious Spirit Jade Fruits, treasures that countless cultivators would covet.

The two disciples gazed at the tree with undisguised greed. In their eyes, it was practically a waste for someone like Sui Sui to be entrusted with such a precious treasure. If only they had been the ones chosen to care for it instead!

"Are you sure about this, Junior Sister?" Disciple Leng asked, glancing toward Chu Ran.

"Of course," Chu Ran replied, her gaze fixed on the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree as the plan in her mind gradually took shape.

As the young mistress of the Chu Family, she was naturally familiar with such a precious treasure. She had learned quite a bit about the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree, including its notoriously delicate nature and the many restrictions involved in cultivating it. After all, a tree capable of producing fruits that could help cultivators break through their cultivation bottlenecks was no ordinary spiritual plant. Even the slightest mistake in its care could affect its growth, and if neglected for too long, it could take years to recover.

Among the many things Chu Ran knew about the tree, there was one detail that was particularly useful for her current plan.

The Spirit Jade Fruit Tree was extremely sensitive to impurities.

To cultivate a spiritual tree capable of producing such precious fruits, its environment had to remain as pure as possible. This was why high-grade Spirit Stones were generally used to nourish it. Compared with their lower-grade counterparts, high-grade Spirit Stones contained far fewer impurities, reducing the amount that seeped into the soil and was eventually absorbed by the tree. This also meant that whoever cared for it would not need to spend as much time purifying the accumulated impurities.

Of course, medium-grade and low-grade Spirit Stones could still be used. However, they contained considerably more impurities, which accumulated much faster and placed a greater burden on the person responsible for maintaining the tree. If left unchecked, the impurities could gradually interfere with the trees growth and damage its condition.

And that was precisely the weakness Chu Ran intended to exploit.

Her plan was simple: secretly bury several low-grade Spirit Stones around the tree’s roots and let the impurities accumulate naturally.

Yesterday, she had clearly seen Sui Sui finishing the purification process. Although she still had no idea how he had managed to accomplish it, but that was beside the point. What mattered was that he had only just finished, meaning it would likely be several days before he needed to inspect and purify the tree again.

By then, the low-grade Spirit Stones would have already begun contaminating the surrounding soil, accelerating the accumulation of impurities far beyond the tree’s usual rate. The damage would not be immediately fatal, but its condition would undoubtedly deteriorate. Once Elder Shan Li discovered the problem, he would naturally demand an explanation from the person entrusted with its care.

Sui Sui would have a difficult time defending himself.

And Chu Ran had an even better idea.

She could make the entire incident look like an act of embezzlement.

After all, she had personally seen Elder Shan Li provide Sui Sui with high-grade Spirit Stones for the tree’s cultivation. If she arranged things properly, she could spread the suspicion that Sui Sui had secretly kept those high-grade Spirit Stones for himself and replaced them with low-grade ones to pocket the difference.

A probationary disciple who had only recently begun cultivating, entrusted with a precious spiritual tree and caught tampering with its resources—what would Elder Shan Li think of him then?

Chu Ran’s lips curled into a faint, satisfied smile.

She was certain that the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree held far greater importance in Elder Shan Li’s eyes than Bai Sui Sui ever could. After all, the tree was an invaluable treasure, and its fruits could help cultivators achieve breakthroughs that might otherwise take years of painstaking cultivation.

Once Elder Shan Li lost faith in Sui Sui, there was no way the latter could continue enjoying his favor.

Let him see how long that foolish Bai Sui Sui could hold on to his privileged position!

After confirming that no one else was around, the two immediately got to work. Well, to be precise, only Disciple Leng did the work. Chu Ran, as the young mistress of the Chu Family, naturally wouldn’t lower herself to digging around in the dirt. She simply stood to the side, keeping watch while leaving all the dirty work to her accomplice.

What neither of them noticed though, was that, high above their heads, a pair of large golden eyes was peeking through the dense foliage.

Hidden among the lush leaves, MuMu sat comfortably on a branch, his soft paws holding a green Spirit Jade Fruit as he happily munched away. His round body was almost completely concealed by the foliage, and with his attention fixed on the two figures below, he watched their every move with undisguised curiosity.

MuMu was here because Sui Sui had specifically asked him to guard the tree for the day. After noticing the strange gaze directed at him the previous afternoon, Sui Sui had developed a faint sense of unease. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what was wrong, but his instincts told him that someone might try something while he was away. Rather than leave the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree completely unattended, he had decided to let MuMu keep watch.

And sure enough, someone had indeed come to cause trouble.

High above the ground, MuMu’s golden eyes followed Disciple Leng’s every movement. The little beast had originally been happily munching on his Spirit Jade Fruit while keeping watch over the courtyard, but the moment he noticed the man taking out several Spirit Stones and burying them around the roots of the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree, his attention was immediately drawn to what he was doing.

At first, MuMu wasn’t particularly concerned. After all, Sui Sui had also used Spirit Stones to nourish the tree before. He remembered seeing his little Sui Sui carefully arranging the stones around the roots and guiding their spiritual energy into the soil.

However, as MuMu continued watching, he gradually noticed something strange about the stones Disciple Leng was using.

They looked similar to the ones Sui Sui usually used, but something about them felt different. Even from his hiding place among the branches, MuMu could sense that their spiritual energy was much murkier and less pure. There seemed to be all sorts of dirty things mixed into them, making their energy feel unpleasant compared with the clean, refreshing spiritual energy Sui Sui usually used to nourish the tree.

MuMu tilted his little head, staring at the stones with growing suspicion. Why were these people using such dirty things? Didn’t they know that the stones Sui Sui used were much better? Why were they replacing it then? These ones didn’t even look particularly delicious!

He lowered his gaze to the half-eaten Spirit Jade Fruit held between his soft paws and took another happy bite. The fruit was wonderfully sweet, with a rich spiritual fragrance that lingered in his mouth. Ever since Sui Sui had brought him here, MuMu had decided that the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree was one of his favorite places in the entire world. It provided him with delicious fruits, and the man with the poker face had even agreed that he could eat them. As far as MuMu was concerned, this tree was practically a treasure that belonged to him!

Then, as he watched Disciple Leng bury another dirty Spirit Stone near the roots, a memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Before leaving that morning, Sui Sui had specifically told him to guard the tree because he suspected that someone might try to sabotage it. At the time, MuMu hadn’t paid much attention to the warning. He had simply agreed, thinking that watching over the tree would be easy enough, especially since he could snack on the fruits while doing so.

But now, seeing these suspicious stones being planted around the roots, MuMu finally understood what Sui Sui had meant.

These people were trying to harm his tree!

MuMu’s eyes widened as he looked from the stones to the Spirit Jade Fruit in his paws. Then he glanced back at the two intruders, his little face gradually scrunching up with indignation. They were deliberately putting dirty things into the soil, trying to ruin the tree that produced his precious fruits!

No way!

Absolutely not!

If the tree became sick, what would happen to all his delicious fruits? What if it stopped growing them altogether?

The more MuMu thought about it, the angrier he became. His fluffy body puffed up, his little paws tightened around the fruit, and his large golden eyes narrowed into an indignant glare. He was no longer interested in quietly observing what the intruders were doing. If they wanted to bully his tree and steal his future snacks, then they would have to get past him first!

With that thought, MuMu finally emerged from his hiding place among the branches. He fluttered down through the leaves, still clutching his half-eaten fruit, before hovering directly in front of the two startled disciples. His round little body was practically trembling with anger as he glared at them, making absolutely no effort to hide his displeasure.

"Stop! What do you think you’re doing?" MuMu demanded, his childish voice ringing through the quiet courtyard.