Ace exited the Kelby shop quickly and headed straight to the clothing shop nearby. He knew these pills were not usual and that old man wanted them badly.
However, after finding out Ace was not easy to deal with, he would definitely report this to his superiors and take revenge on Ace for getting in his way. If he couldn't have those pills, he would not let Ace have them either.
Ace's conjecture was absolutely correct; if Matthew were to succeed, he would've escaped the city. Because these two pills were worth almost 100,000 ruby coins, he could get a high price in any auction of 1-Star City and live a happy life with this much wealth.
But Ace got in Matthew's way and wasn't a cultivator either. Hence, he could only screw Ace over by telling Asher about those pills to get his revenge.
Ace bought new attire from a clothing shop and changed into them. But he had just exited the shop when he spotted Old Man Matthew with three other persons beside him.
They were clearly looking for Ace. Those two tall and muscular men were Asher's security guards, and Caleb was also sulking between them.
Ace got a scary feeling from those two men and hurriedly turned around to escape quietly. But Matthew's old eyes were like a hawk, and he recognized Ace even in his new attire. How could he forget this rascal who 'steals his pills'?
"Look, that guy is wearing blue attire and a long mat hat! He's the one! Quick chase, he started to run!" Matthew cried in alarm.
'This Old Goat!' Ace vituperated Old Matthew while running between the masses,
Ace has no choice but to use silent steps now. This was daytime, and his stealth would not work like nighttime. Therefore, he could only depend on silent steps. After using silent steps, he became like a breeze and vanished into the mob.
"Where did that brat go?" Caleb shouted in exasperation while looking around, searching for Ace's tracks.
"I don't know that he was so fast." One of Asher's guards exclaimed. He was a 2nd Gate cultivator and the most powerful in this group.
"What do you mean so fast? Are you telling me that brat is stronger than you?!" Caleb barked in rage. His life was on the line here, after all. If they fail to find Ace, he doesn't dare to think about the consequences of displeasing Asher.
"I'm afraid he is stronger than us, at least in speed." The second guard answered in frustration. They also didn't want to upset Asher.
"What do we do then?!" Matthew was most afraid of them all.
He wanted to see Ace in despair the most. But now, after seeing him escape like the wind, Matthew began to regret his decision to reveal it to Asher and bring calamity upon himself.
"Let's search the whole place. If we can't find him, we're dead!" Snapped Caleb in a panic, and they all started to search like mad dogs.
Ace stopped running in an alleyway. He was panting wildly. He had used the silent steps for a long time to escape the old man's party.
'I'm not done with you, old goat! Just wait. I'll show you just how deep a grave truly is!' Ace was busy cursing Old Man Matthew when suddenly, a transparent Black Panel emerged and shone in front of his eyes.
Ace heard the System's sweet voice before understanding what had happened.
=====
[A new mission has been issued!]
[Mission Panel]
[Honorable Thief's Dignity: Someone is trying to steal from a thief, which is unacceptable. Consequently, the Host has to show the despicable stealer who the real thief is! The Host has to empty the whole Kelby Family Treasury! The honor of a thief is in your hand, Host!]
{Rewards based on Host Performance}
{Job mission will be granted right after the Host completes this mission.}
{Time Left: 2 years}
{Mission Failure Punishment: System will find another host with thief's dignity!}
=====
"What?!? Another mission, and who is this Kelby family? Aren't these people from that Kelby shop as well?" Ace grumbled and had a grave expression on his face.
Ace didn't imagine that he would get a mission like this, and this mission didn't seem as simple as the last one. He could tell just by the time limit of 2 whole years. Even the mission to rob Billy's shop only gave him seven days.
'Thief's dignity, huh? I guess you are right. I'm the thief here, yet they want to rob me.' Ace pondered as he laughed bitterly.
'Well, first I have to escape this market from those four goons, then I can find out about this Kelby family. I have two years, and I hope it won't be too hard.' Ace encouraged himself.
As Ace waits to restore his depleted Qi, he quickly removes a red pill bottle from his pocket. These pill bottles were the main reason for all these events. He opened the lid of the red bottle and sniffed it just like Matthew.
The moment the pill aroma entered Ace's nostrils, he heard the System's voice in his head again,
=====
[Lowest Grade Pill Detected: Can be converted into 10 EXP]
=====
A little black label emerges on top of the pill in the bottle.
"What?!!" Ace wasn't even surprised by the second mission, but this really shocked him.
Ace was always worried about how he could get EXP and SP without doing a mission, but he couldn't find a way. No matter how much he asked, the System won't tell him.
Now, all of a sudden, Ace saw this sudden notification, and he became speechless.
"System, why didn't you tell me I can covert pills into experience points before??! I could've converted those pills I sold into experience points!??" Ace was pretty annoyed with this black-hearted System.
"[Those pills were trash pills they can't be converted into EXP.]"
System emotionlessly answered as if it didn't care about Ace's anger.
"What do you mean by trash pills?! They were half-white-grade pills, for hell's sake!! And this pill is a White Grade Pill!! Are you crazy calling it the lowest-grade pill??" Ace wanted to swear at the System right now but held himself back.
It was his fault for not checking everything thoroughly.
Ace ate a random pill before, but it didn't work on him, and after simply thought that since he cultivated with Heavenly Qi, he couldn't use these usual pills.
But he never would've thought that there were white-grade pills in his loot, much less he could convert them into experience points (EXP).
'Where did that Fatty get his hands on these pills?' Ace was extremely puzzled by this.
Even in the inner region, these pills can bring calamity to anyone who possesses them if they don't have the background, just like Ace.
Yet, an ordinary shop owner in the outer region had two, which was shocking.
Little did Ace know that Billy found these pills buried in his house wall. Even he was shocked about this, and in his excitement, he turned the whole house into rubble but didn't find any more such pill bottles.
As for how they got there, even Billy didn't know. He was planning to use these pills as a bribe to some inner region family and enter the inner region, but alas, it profited Ace in the end.
'If white-grade pills can convert into EXP, then doesn't this mean upper-grade pills can be converted into EXP, too?' Ace mused and became quite excited. He has finally found a way to earn EXP without doing missions.
"Since these two pills can be converted into 20 EXP, then just convert them! Since that greedy old bastard wants them so bad, then let's give him 'white-grade pills.'" Ace sinisterly muttered and created an evil plan to teach that old clown a small lesson.
=====
[Conversion is complete!]
[20 EXP has been added to your status.]
[EXP: 70/1000]
=====
As Ace EXP increased, he could feel his Heavenly Qi restoring at a fast pace. Those two red pill bottles were empty, and the pills inside turned to dust. They were converted into EXP.
'Now, it's time to teach that old fool a lesson.' Ace grinned evilly.
After being done with his 'surprise preparation,' Ace went back in Matthew's direction and quickly spotted them. The four of them were still desperately searching for him like mad dogs.
Ace carefully placed those two red bottles in the middle of the street.
Afterward, Ace yelled at the top of his lungs, "OH MY GOD, SOMEONE HAS LEFT WHITE GRADE PILLS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET!"
After screaming, he activated his silent steps and ran towards the hotel where he was staying. He had to escape now, or he wouldn't get any more chances to escape unnoticed.
Ace's voice rang like a thunderclap. Even from a mile away, people heard him clearly.
The entire market became deathly silent when the word 'white-grade pill' rang.
Old man Matthew also heard Ace's voice, and his eyes landed on two red bottles in the middle of the street. Just Like him, Caleb and all the other people present eyes also settled on two Red bottles.
Caleb loudly roared before anyone could grab those bottles, "Everyone, those two White Grade Pills belonged to my Kelby Family. A little thief stole them this morning, and we have been searching for him all day. If anyone didn't believe me, you all are welcome to confirm from young master Asher since those are his pills."
As expected, when everyone heard Kelby's Family name, they stopped moving, but when they heard 'Young Master Asher,' their faces became pale.
They know what kind of person this Asher was: extremely ruthless. If those Pills were really his, it's not worth risking their lives!