Chapter 30 — So Many Visitors Tonight...

He did not bother pondering questions like "changes in the subconscious cannot be perceived, just as the brain cannot sense that it is thinking, and a person whose thoughts have been influenced does not realize his thoughts have been influenced"—such overly complicated and utterly meaningless matters—because he felt that suffocating himself in the domain of philosophy right now was a pure waste of time.

It was enough to confirm that his own thoughts remained free, because only by keeping his mind clear could he go on doing what he had to do.

Footsteps from outside the study interrupted Gao Yang's thoughts, and he heard Amber's chattering voice sound outside the door: "I'm telling you, you Xuanmai Sect people are so mysterious—he meets an agent of the Mithril Treasury in the middle of the night, and then suddenly asks to see you by name. I think ten to one he's about to set out his legacy... Also, I'm telling you, that Mithril Treasury agent punched me! You have to count that as on-the-job injury..."

The crackling of a forming fireball carried through the air.

Amber's voice: "...Of course, I'm not asking you to pay right now..."

The door swung open, and Rebecca appeared in the doorway, with Amber peeking around from beside her.

"Patriarch of the Ancestral Ink Sect, you wished to see me?"

As Rebecca asked, she sized Gao Yang up. That half-elf thief who spouted nonsense was basically never worth believing, but the honest young lady lord still instinctively studied the complexion of the Xuanmai Sect's leader, just to make sure he truly was about to hand over his inheritance...

Gao Yang looked at Amber: "Guard the outside. Make sure no one gets close. If someone slips in again this time, forget work injury compensation—you won't even get your wages."

Amber pursed her lips and muttered as she headed for the window: "As if you've ever paid me wages..."

Gao Yang: "Hey, do you have to go out through the window?!"

With admirable professionalism, Miss Amber returned to her post via the window once again.

Gao Yang sighed, feeling there was no reasoning with such a disgrace to all living things, so he turned to the desk. First he put away those crystals whose purpose he still could not figure out, then drew from his robe the platinum disc he had earlier taken from the safe.

"Amber wasn't entirely wrong—I do have something to hand over to you," Gao Yang said, and hastily added, "But it is definitely not about dividing up an inheritance."

Rebecca looked curiously at the platinum disc in Gao Yang's hand: "What is this?"

"A key. It can be used to open..."

Gao Yang was only halfway through when he suddenly heard a shout from the roof: "Little thief! I've caught you again!!"

What followed was a flurry of running footsteps across the rooftop—and strangely, no "Aiya!" of Amber being sent flying. This startled Gao Yang greatly.

Could there be a shadow-stealth-proficient goose climbing around on the roof? (Heavy fog)

He immediately reached for the weapon beside the desk, intending to go up with Rebecca to check the situation—but before he could move, a mass of shadow suddenly surged into the study, and out of the dark mist sprang Amber, carrying in her hand a black-haired young man in black leather armor who appeared to have already lost consciousness.

Gao Yang glanced at the fellow and could not help but sigh: tonight... there certainly were a lot of visitors.