Young Master System: My Mother Is the Matriarch-Chapter 199 - 198: Heist Part 2

Li Wei did not linger long after leaving Lady Wu's quarters, the descended the stairs at an unhurried pace, his steps steady despite the weight of what had just been set into motion. The murmurs behind the closed doors felt louder now, as though the building itself had taken note of his movements.

A curtain brushed his shoulder as he passed, its silk cool against his sleeve. ~rustle~

By the time he stepped back onto the street, the district had grown denser and more ambient

Lantern light reflected off polished wood and lacquered railings, casting uneven shapes across the stone road. Open air carried layered scents of incense, wine, warm oil.

Beneath them all, the faint tang of old smoke that never truly left the capital. The young master adjusted the fall of his cloak and moved on. An antique shop lay several streets away, far enough from the main thoroughfares that casual patrons rarely wandered in by accident.

Li Wei utilized a longer route, doubling back once, then crossing through a narrow alley. Rain water could be heard dripping steadily from a broken gutter. ~drip~

Once he was certain that no one followed him, the young lord turned onto a quiet street lined with closed storefronts. Much of the shop announced itself without spectacle, while a single wooden sign hung above the entrance.

The characters were faded but still legible, while no lanterns burned outside.

A flicker of light leaked faintly through the seams of the shutters, as its door was unlocked.

Li Wei pushed it open and stepped inside. ~creak~

The smell of dust and aged paper greeted him at once. Shelves crowded the walls from floor to ceiling, burdened with objects of illegible value like bronze mirrors clouded with age, cracked jade pendants, scroll cases bound in worn leather.

A glass cabinet nearby the counter displayed smaller items arranged with careful spacing, each tagged with a hand-written note. Behind the counter sat a man with greying hair pulled back into a loose knot. He was bent over a ledger, brush moving slowly as he filled in a column.

An abacus rested nearby, untouched for the moment. "Young man, you're rather late," the man said without looking up. Li Wei closed the door behind him and slid the bolt into place. ~clack~ "Your shop operates through the night," he replied. "Time is a negligible asset..."

The man snorted softly and set the brush aside. He looked up then, his eyes sharp in a way that did not match his relaxed posture. "Only for people who know their routine..."

Li Wei approached the counter and rested a hand upon its surface. The wood was scarred and uneven, marked by years of heavy objects being set down without care. "I was told you could help me find a…. Labor force."

The man leaned back in his chair, folding his arms. "People come here to sell heirlooms or recover losses. You're neither."

"No," Li Wei agreed. "I'm here to prevent a grave calamity." This statement earned a brief pause. The man's gaze drifted briefly toward the shelves, before lingering on a narrow box sealed with red twine.

The man's gaze wandered further before returning to Li Wei. "You've been rather busy tonight," he said. "Lady Wu doesn't entertain foreigners often."

"So I've heard," Li Wei replied. 'Word travels faster than footsteps in this city', he noted silently. 'This could work in our favor…' The man stood and circled the counter, stopping an arm's length away.

The elderly shopkeeper was taller than expected, while his movements were measured and unforced. "Lei Tao," he said. "That is my name… Let us not delay any further."

Li Wei inclined his head. "I concur, am eager to begin discussions.."

Lei Tao studied him for a moment, then reached up and lifted a small bell hanging from a shelf bracket. He rang it once, softly. ~ting~

Like clockwork a panel near the back of the shop slid open, revealing a short hallway beyond. "Walk through that passage," Lei Tao said. "If you're intentions are deceitful, you won't get far."

Li Wei strode forward without comment.

The narrow hallway opened into a storage room larger than the shop itself, while a vast number of crates were stacked neatly along the walls. A large majority of the inventory was marked with shipping sigils, others were left deliberately blank.

Large tables occupied the center, one of them bearing a map weighed down by metal tokens and knife hilts. Whereas, the other table was cluttered by boxes and trinkets.

Lei Tao moved to the table and nudged one of the tokens aside. "You're looking for people who don't ask questions," he said. "And who won't be missed."

"I'm looking for people that understand the risk an occupation brings," Li Wei corrected him and glanced at the map, noting how certain districts were marked more intricately than others. "And who know that the value of silence is worth more than any coin."

Lei Tao smiled faintly, though it did not reach his eyes. "Your preferences certainly narrows the list greatly..." The antique keeper reached beneath the table and produced a small bundle wrapped in cloth, setting it down with a muted sound. ~thump~

"If you are truly serious about this escapde," he continued, "we'll start with introductions. For now, names and histories will be left out."

Li Wei's gaze remained on the bundle. He did not reach for it yet. "I won't need any of that to begin with," he said. "I will only need them to follow instructions without question."

Lei Tao nodded once. "Good," he replied. "The ones that take too long responding tend to hesitate when it matters." The lamp overhead flickered as a draft passed through the room, shadows shifting across the stacked crates. ~flicker~

Li Wei felt the familiar sense of narrowing paths settle in his chest.

Lei Tao did not hesitate as he circled the table once more, fingertips brushing the edge of a crate as if counting steps rather than distance. The wood creaked faintly under the shift of his weight. ~creak~

His eyes lingered on the map again, then moved to Li Wei before pondering something better left unspoken. "You speak as though obedience is easy to purchase," Lei Tao said at last. "It isn't as even desperation has its limits."

Li Wei stepped closer to the table, close enough now to see faint ink corrections beneath the markings on the map. A sharp eye could notice that some routes had been traced twice, others crossed out and redrawn. "I am not purchasing loyalty," he replied. "Only compliance for the time being….. those are very different things."

Lei Tao reached for one of the knife hilts weighing down the parchment and lifted it, turning it slowly in his palm. The blade was rather dull, and its edge was nicked and uneven. "Men who agree too easily are often the first to falter," he said. He set the knife back down. ~tap~

Li Wei's gaze followed the motion, then drifted toward the stacked crates. He noted that several bore dates instead of destinations. A few others carried symbols that did not correspond to any sect or clan markings he recognized. 'Smugglers most likely', he concluded.

"Show me what you're actually offering," Li Wei said.

Lei Tao inclined his head and untied the cloth bundle with deliberate care. Inside the folded article lay several small tokens carved from bone and horn, each etched with a different mark. None were ornate and all were worn smooth from handling.

"These are not men," Lei Tao said. "They are indicators that each corresponds to a group that owes me favors. Think of them as Old debts that understand the value of discretion."

He slid one token across the table toward Li Wei. It came to a stop near the edge of the map. ~slide~

Li Wei picked it up, rolling it between his fingers. The carving was shallow, clearly meant to fade with time. "And if one of them decides not to answer?"

Lei Tao shrugged. "Then they were never suitable."

Li Wei set the token down and pushed it back. "I will need three groups," he said. "One to move unnoticed and another to cause a large ruckus with minimal bloodshed. And one to vanish once the work is done."

Lei Tao's brow creased slightly. He moved to the shelf and retrieved a narrow ledger, flipping it open to a marked page. "You're not planning a spectacle," he observed. "Yet you're accounting for noise."

"I am accounting for human behavior," Li Wei replied. "People look where they are told to look."

Lei Tao closed the ledger and returned it to its place. He reached up and adjusted the hanging lamp, raising it slightly. The light shifted, revealing more of the room's depth. ~chain rattle~

"You will not receive assurances," Lei Tao said. "Only access to locations of your choosing after tonight, I will not involve myself further."

"That is acceptable," Li Wei said. "Once this begins, fewer hands are better."

Lei Tao studied him again, longer this time. "You do not speak like a man expecting to escape consequences."

Li Wei's eyes flicked briefly to the crates stacked near the far wall. "I expect them," he said. "I simply intend to choose which ones arrive first."

Silence followed. Somewhere above them, the floorboards creaked as someone crossed the shop proper. ~thud~ Lei Tao moved back to the table and selected two more tokens, placing them beside the first.

"These three," he said. "No questions. No follow-up. They will act once, then scatter."

Li Wei nodded. "That will suffice."

Lei Tao gathered the remaining tokens and wrapped them once more, tying the cloth with a firm pull. "Then your next step is timing," he said. "And timing in this city is a dangerous thing."

Li Wei turned his attention back to the map. He traced a route with his eyes, following it from the outer districts toward the inner wards. The path ended near a cluster of markings he recognized from Tang Shu's warnings.

"Dangerous," Li Wei agreed. "But necessary."

The lamp flickered again as the draft returned, shadows stretching across the floor before settling. ~flicker~ Li Wei felt the sense of narrowing paths deepen, not as pressure, but as clarity.

This was no longer about preparation alone.

The city had already begun to move.