Eternal Thief

After resting for the night, Ace was feeling refreshed. All his fatigue from the journey has vanished.

Now he was ready to explore the city. He goes towards Eva's room and knocks on her door since they were together and she was also a member of his team, it would be rude for him to not take her with him.

Eva comes out wearing a white dress with a beautiful flower pattern on it. She was still in her disguise but no matter how much she hides her true appearance she can't hide her nation toppling figure.

She smiled seeing Ace and said charmingly, "I was just about to look for you but you come for me instead."

"I wanted to explore the city and find some information so I thought it would be more convenient to take you with me since you were an expert on gathering information back home." He spouts some random nonsense while his eyes were unknowingly wandering around Eva's sexy body.

Eva didn't mind his impolite gaze and said while beginning to walk. "Let's go! We should take a stroll around this city marketplace. I also wanted to see this city's customs and other interesting things."

Ace didn't say anymore and walk beside her. He was also planning to go to the market and see if he can find what he was looking for.

They both exit the inn and go in the direction of the city market.

After walking for some time, they finally reached a crowded place. It was the biggest market of Red-Mountain City. They were numerous shops of weapons, herbs, medicine pills, clothes shops….

Eva's eyes were shining brightly after seeing all those beautiful clothing especially armors for females. She loved wearing light armor because she was used to them from a young age and now she felt uncomfortable if she didn't wear one. Ace has already given her a 2-Star weapon so she only wanted a new set of full-body armor.

While Eva was checking all those clothes and armor shops, Ace has noticed something strange. He saw in this big market more than 80% of people didn't have any big bag or other stuff for holding things. He only saw little palm-size colorful bags were hanging around their waist and all those who had them were also all cultivators.

Ace finally couldn't hold his curiosity and stop moving in front of a small bookstall. Eva saw him going to the small bookstall and also followed in confusion.

A middle-aged woman was standing in this stall, she was the owner. When she saw Ace and Eva were stop in front of her small stall she smiled kindly and asked, "Young lad, what kind of book do you need?"

After seeing that woman smiled kindly Ace nostalgically remembers an old aunty that was his neighbor in slums.

She was poor just like him and had a little kid but her husband was killed by someone from the inner region because he accidentally touched that nobleman's clothes. She was just a powerless lowly woman so she didn't get justice all at. On the contrary, she got beaten because she wanted to get revenge on someone from the inner city. After making peace with the fact that she can't avenge her husband she gave up and starts to work just to raised her little kid.

Ace was just shifted from his old parent's house in the slums at that time. That lady often gives him and Alina some food after she heard about they were orphans. She was feeble but was very kind-hearted. When Ace left that hut in the slums he leaves behind 300 Ruby Coins for that old aunty.

Ace has nostalgic look in his eyes after seeing his lady and said politely, "I wanted to buy some books on the information of Cities, like which is the strongest city in the entire land of cities."

He didn't want to buy anything first but after seeing her resembling that old aunty, he didn't want to disappoint her for some reason.

That mid-age woman smiled wide hearing Ace talk to her politely. He was her first customer and it was her first time that someone has talked to her this respectfully here. "I have three books of this kind and one of them even has a rough map of the land of cities. If you want to buy a more detailed map you should go towards the 'City Herbs & Weapons' Shop it is the biggest shop in the market and controlled by the city lord's family." Since he was respectful towards her, she gave him a suggestion kindly.

Ace nodded his and said while smiling, "I want to buy these three books and I'll go to that shop because aunty suggests it to me."

She felt a little warm in her heart after he said that, "You can have these books, they're not that expensive just consider it a gift from your aunt." She wraps those books and gives them to Ace.

Ace was going to decline her offer but seeing her gentle smile and sincerity from her voice and soul he can't make himself hurt her kind feeling. After he thought of something he accepts the books politely.

That lady smiled broadly after seeing him accepting her precious books, if not for her difficulty she would've never sold them. But giving them to Ace for free she was happy about it.

Ace asked her about something that was the main point of him stopping at this small stall, "Aunty I was curious about something, why do most of the people have those small colorful bags hung on their waist?"

She didn't mind his question after all this was the question that most of the people usually asked who were not from a 1-star city. She said while smiling, "Those bags are storage bags that can store objects without Qi in them, they are common in 1-star cities and quite expensive. You can also buy them in that shop I mention before, I only know this much about them."

Ace becomes astonished by this new information. He didn't think he could find something like this here. He thought that only space storage treasures can store objects inside them and they were all controlled by a Kingdom level power, but he didn't expect that there're also these storage bags.

'Since they can't store objects with Qi in them it must be the reason that they can be bought by ruby coins in 1-Star Cities. I have to get one it will be perfect camouflage for my thief's space. I don't have to carry this useless bag and pretend all the time.' He thinks.

"Thank you, aunty! I'll be going now you take care of yourself if I was still around the area I'll visit you again. Farewell." He doesn't want to delay her business anymore and head in the direction of the shop that she suggests. He wanted to buy this storage bag as soon as possible.

Eva didn't say anything when he was having a conversation with that lady but when she heard about storage bags she also becomes excited and said to Ace cutely, "Hey! I want one too!"

Ace couldn't resist her eager beautiful eyes and nodded helplessly. 'You're the old one here!'

________________________________________

That lady saw both of them leave her little stall and sight. 'Looks like I still won't be able to make any money today. And Mloi illness is getting worse day by day. But I can't make myself take money from that little lad he was the same age as my Mloi and he was so polite. Did I have to sell my body after all just like that bastard said?'

'Sighs'

She was just thinking about a bastard when she saw there was a small bag under the other side of the stall that was no far away from her feet. She becomes astounded by it because it was the bag that Ace was caring with him. 'How does it appear here from that lad's hands?'

She didn't think much about it and wanted to grab that bag and look for Ace to give it back to him. But before she could grab it and look for him she saw a note that was written on the back of the bag.

'Aunty this is also a small gift from nephew don't reject it!'

She smiled after reading this note and mutter softly, "That brat! He must be a legendary cultivator since he was able to leave this bag and note without me noticing it."

She didn't expect that a boy she was calling 'lad' was a cultivator and he even wants to buy those old books from her. 'But why?'

She grabs the bag and felt it was quite heavy. She opens it to check just what was inside it and saw that bag was filled with glittering ruby coins. 'OH LORD HEAVENS!!' she exclaims in shock.

She wasn't that poor after all she lives in a 1-Star city but she was selling all her husband's old collection of books because her daughter has become ill and her husband suddenly went missing some years ago. She spends almost all of her husband saving to search for him but it was all in vain.

These books were his only memories left now but she was forced to sell them because of her ill daughter. These books were old and till now no one has bought even one. Ace was first to come to her small stall and wanted to buy these old books. But after seeing him this polite to her and called her 'aunty' she felt close to him and decided to give him these books for free. It was an unknown act of kindness from her heart.

But she didn't expect him to return her kindness by giving her thousands of ruby coins that she needed desperately and she can't even thank him in person. Tears start to fell from her eyes as said towards the direction where Ace has vanished, "Thank you for showing this kindness to me and my daughter we'll never forget about it ever!"