Liam walked past the white-robed young man and noticed something golden suddenly slipping out of the young man’s money pouch. It landed precisely in front of his shoe.


    Was this… a coincidence?


    Could it be that this blue money pouch somehow sensed his desire for wealth and willingly offered him a gift?


    Liam lifted his foot, discreetly pressing the golden object beneath it, then bent down to pick it up.


    Gold! The moment it lay in his palm, he could feel sweat pooling in his hand.


    He walked over to a nearby wall, loosened his fingers, and saw that what he had picked up was a golden leaf. The craftsmanship was exquisite—this piece would likely hold significant collectible value in the modern world.


    The sunlight was dazzling, and this unexpectedly acquired golden leaf nearly blinded him.


    Liam wrestled with his thoughts. He had always been a man of integrity, not one to engage in petty thievery. He couldn''t let a mere golden leaf tarnish his reputation.


    To be fair, this wasn’t a case of him taking something unrightfully—the object had practically leaped out at him! The moment he neared the money pouch, a golden leaf had willingly jumped out. How bizarre.


    Liam glanced toward the painting stall. The white-robed young man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, still engrossed in admiring the artwork before him.


    The vendor was enthusiastically promoting his wares: “Sir, you have an excellent eye. This painting is the finest in my collection—a genuine antique with immense collectible value.”


    Liam stepped forward lightly, wiped his hand on his ragged clothes, and used his left hand to tap the young man’s arm.


    “Young master, you dropped this golden leaf.”


    Under the white-robed young man’s gaze, Liam opened his right palm, revealing the golden leaf.


    The young man turned to face him, and upon seeing Liam’s tattered clothing, he showed no sign of disdain. Instead, admiration flashed in his eyes.


    “I never expected a poor beggar to resist the temptation of wealth. Impressive. Very impressive. I have high hopes for you, my friend.”


    With a dramatic flourish, the young man snapped open his ink-painted folding fan, exuding an air of effortless elegance.


    Liam, however, felt a pang of disappointment. This white-robed young man had everything—looks, charm—but the moment he spoke, his voice was rather… delicate. So much for perfection.


    The young man retrieved another golden leaf from his pouch and placed both in Liam’s palm.


    “Good deeds deserve rewards. This one is a gift, and the one you’re holding is also yours to keep.”


    Liam did not refuse. This time, he wasn’t taking what wasn’t his—it was freely given.


    A delicate voice, an odd personality, and an inclination to hand out gold at a whim… What a peculiar young man.


    What luck. Just when he was short on money, he stumbled upon someone rich and generous.


    Liam clutched the two golden leaves tightly. If worst came to worst, he could always return them later. But first, he had to find out this young master’s name—so he could repay him in the future.


    “May I ask, young master, what your name is?”


    The surrounding crowd erupted into murmurs—


    “Someone in Boundless City doesn’t recognize Young Master Yun?”


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    “Young Master Yun is the son of our city lord.”


    “He’s the future city lord himself!”


    Liam absorbed the information. So this rich and naive young master was none other than the future lord of Boundless City.


    Yun, the young master, patted Liam’s shoulder, his eyes full of admiration.


    “They’re right. I am the young lord, Situ Yun.”


    “My friend, I have high hopes for you. One day, you will rise above a beggar’s life.”


    Liam was speechless. Which of this young lord’s eyes saw him as a beggar?


    I am NOT a beggar!


    Clenching the two golden leaves in his fist, Liam thanked Situ Yun.


    “Many thanks, young master. I, Liam, will be sure to return these two golden leaves in the future. Farewell.”


    “Farewell, Brother Liam.” Situ Yun kept his hand on Liam’s for an extra beat, as if reluctant to part.


    A shiver ran down Liam’s spine. Having his hand held by someone with such a delicate voice felt… unsettling. He quickly pulled his hand away and strode forward.


    After a few steps, the enticing aroma of freshly baked pancakes filled his nose. Liam spotted a stall selling them and immediately handed over a golden leaf.


    “I’d like to buy a pancake.”


    The vendor, who had initially been smiling, suddenly looked troubled.


    “Apologies, sir. You might want to try elsewhere. I can’t make change for that.”


    Liam sighed, staring at the golden leaf in his hand. It seemed that spending these wasn’t as easy as he thought. He would have to buy something expensive to exchange it for smaller denominations.


    As he walked away, a sharp cry rang out behind him.


    “Thief!”


    The voice sounded familiar—almost identical to Situ Yun’s delicate tone.


    Liam heard hurried footsteps approaching and instinctively stepped aside to avoid trouble.


    But as he moved backward, his foot slipped, and he fell flat on his back—right as a masked man in black came barreling forward.


    Liam’s outstretched leg struck the man squarely in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. A sickening crack echoed through the air, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.


    The hair on Liam’s neck stood on end.


    The watching crowd erupted into cheers.


    “Well done!”


    Liam scoffed. Well done?


    Where were these people when the thief was charging through? Not one of them had tried to stop him!


    An elderly woman, her hair silver with age, was so moved that she lifted her cane above her head, tears streaming down her face as she laughed.


    “The heavens have smiled upon us! Boundless City finally has a true hero!”


    “Yes! A true champion of justice!”


    …What?


    All he had done was accidentally trip a thief, and yet the people were acting as if he were some legendary warrior.


    This city was truly a strange place.


    Wait a minute—why did the pouch in the thief’s hand look so familiar? A blue silk pouch… it bore a striking resemblance to the one the young lord, Situ Yun, had tied to his waist—the very one that held those golden leaves.


    Liam snatched the pouch from the thief’s hand and stood up, nudging aside the banana peel on the ground before bending down to pick it up.


    Who the hell had such little regard for public hygiene? Carelessly tossing a banana peel in the middle of the street like this.


    Good thing it was him who slipped on it. If it had been an elderly person, they might have suffered a serious injury.


    Liam glanced into the distance and saw Situ Yun making his way over, raising a hand and shouting, “Catch the thief!” Well, that settled it—this pouch did belong to him.


    Fine. He’d wait for Situ Yun to arrive, then.


    Liam weighed the pouch in his hand and mused that if Situ Yun couldn’t even be bothered to run after his stolen belongings, the contents of this pouch probably didn’t mean much to him.


    At that moment, another man in black approached. He had a deep, menacing scar running down his face. Liam immediately gave him a nickname in his mind—Scarface.


    Scarface twirled a dagger between his fingers, the blade spinning rapidly in his right hand, glinting under the sunlight in an almost mesmerizing display.


    If this were modern times, a livestream of that dagger stunt would probably rake in a ton of tips.


    It was obvious to Liam that Scarface was coming straight for him. Just as he had taken down one thief, a second one appeared right after.


    So these thieves did work in groups after all. No wonder no one dared to step up when the young lord’s pouch was stolen.


    But what were these two idiots thinking?


    It wasn’t even nighttime!


    Dressed head to toe in black, they stood out like sore thumbs among the crowd of commoners in their dull gray garments. These two weren’t just criminals—they were stupid criminals.


    The gathered townsfolk, who had earlier cheered Liam on as a hero, now quickly scattered in fear, retreating to a safe distance.


    The old lady who had been waving her cane in excitement just moments ago now hunched over, her eyes dull and lifeless.


    Liam sighed. People…


    Scarface helped the fallen thief up and pointed his dagger at Liam.


    “You little punk, you’ve got some nerve meddling in things that don’t concern you. Hand over the pouch, and I might just let you live.”


    Hearing this, Liam’s hand trembled, and the banana peel he had just picked up slipped from his grasp, falling back to the ground.


    His life was more important, after all.


    He hesitated, taking two steps back, quickly assessing whether he should just hand over the pouch and be done with it.


    Scarface was growing impatient. Seeing that Liam hadn’t responded, he took two steps forward.


    Big mistake.


    His foot landed squarely on the banana peel.


    With a loud “thud,” Scarface fell flat on his back.


    The unexpected turn of events completely flipped the situation.


    Liam had to suppress the urge to burst into laughter.


    Even the heavens were on his side today.