Rin just stared at the white haired guy in front of her with a face that said , 'Dude , you can't be serious' . ' Are you sure? My dad told me people don't just come to you to become friends unless they need something from you. So what is it that you want ' , Rin asked. 'I want you to stop stealing ', replied Silver without thinking twice. 'It is not that I want to steal. But I was kicked out by people anytime I went to look for one' , Rin pouted. 'Fine' , Rin agreed because it seemed he was not changing his mind anytime soon. 'How do we know you are not going to rat us out?' , Bokie said looking at him suspiciously. 'Yeah , how do we know' , Rin joined. 'I am loyal to my friends and I do hope you would stop stealing. I will cater for all you needs' , Silver bowed slightly. After looking at Silver , trying to find anything but she eventually agreed.
Silver realized it was almost evening so he set off to the palace, his home. He was not stupid , he had other motives for befriending Rin. Of course , making her quit stealing was one of them but not the main one. As the time went by , Silver was going out frequently to meet Rin and Bokie. Gradually, the theft cases in River Jade became lesser and lesser. Silver taught Rin many things about alchemy since Rin was interested in it. Rin began enjoying Silver's company and even Bokie too.
'You would have to focus on your cultivation' , Silver said on sunny day. 'My cultivation is useless' , Rin grunted . 'Cultivation takes time and effort' , Silver tried to convince her. 'Dude , if she finally agrees that her cultivation is useless , then it is really useless' , Bokie chipped in. Rin side eyed him from where she was sitting. Bokie chuckled at her behavior. Rin noticed Silver pull something from a storage ring. Personally, she has never seen a storage ring before . This was her first. She just stared at it . Storage rings were very expensive . The cheapest one could get would be sold for a hundred gold coins. He took out a small box that was bronze in color. Silver handed it to her. 'What is in it?' , Rin queried. 'Open it and you would find out' , Bokie retorted. He was also eager to know what was in the box. Rin saw three pills in the box. She identified them quickly. 'Foundation Establishment pills and Qi boosting pill!' , Rin exclaimed . 'Oh , just look at how it glints faintly. It is of high quality' , she continued. 'Man, just how rich are you?' , Bokie looked at Silver in disbelief. He is giving Foundation Establishment pills out like presents and he is not even bothered about it. No one realized Rin had swallowed the three pills down her throat. 'Are you crazy? ' , Bokie blurted out. 'I did not expect this from someone who's well versed in alchemy' , Bokie sighed. 'Don't worry , My cultivation is useless. These pills will help me level up fast. I will.. ' , before Rin could finish her statement, she felt a restless current of qi stirring under her skin, sending sharp , needling jolts. She convulsed on the ground, rolling helplessly at the pain in her body surged. Bokie sighed and looked at Silver for help. Silver understood the gesture and knelt down before Rin. He managed to remove the excess qi flowing in her body. Then he sensed it , something was wrong. He took her wrists and checked a few things to prove what he was thinking . He was right . Something was preventing her from cultivating properly and he could use this. Immediately he was done , Rin calmed down but fainted anyway. Silver looked out of the window. It was almost evening, he had to head out.
Back in the palace, the King was worried. His son had been going out frequently. He did not want to think about it. His son was just 15 but he thought like a matured person , someone who had gone through a lot of experience. He made guards follow Silver but he just vanishes into thin air leaving the guards clueless. Eventually , he did not want to think much about it. The King also noticed the theft cases had reduced but the thief should be caught , he insisted.
Rin felt better after a few days of rest. She had never experienced that kind of pain before. During those few days of rest, Silver was absent. This made Rin worried and sad. Everyone that came in her life were gone. After a few weeks, they went back to their old habits. Silver was not coming around and they needed to survive. Today was a new day and Rin just felt happy as they went about their rounds, stealing whatever their eyes set upon. 'See what I stole' , Bokie raised a pair of shining ear rings while they were at the market square, the busiest place in River Jade. 'Ear rings, why do you want to wear them?' , Rin said teasing him. Before Bokie could do anything, they were surrounded by guards. Their auras were incredibly strong and suffocating. 'You must be the thieves disturbing the people of River Jade' , one guard said smugly. Rin gulped down saliva down her throat. They had been discreet , so what had happened. Why have they found them?. One thing was for sure. They were doomed. They could not fight back so they allowed themselves to be taken.
In the filthy dark dungeon , Rin and Bokie just sat there with solemn expressions. Were they going to be stuck in there forever living with the rats whose bones were vividly seen. 'We are going to die Bokie' , Rin said almost in tears. 'Let us say our last words' , Bokie added. 'You are the dumbest human I have ever come across in life with profound knowledge in alchemy' , Bokie said tearfully. 'Wait , what!' , Rin just realized what he had just said. 'Should I take that as an insult or a compliment' , Rin scoffed. 'Shouldn't your last words be something sad and moving . You are heartless' , Rin hissed. Even in perilous times , these two always found ways to argue unnecessarily. Just before Bokie could reply to Rin's comment, the dungeon's main gate was opened by the guard who bowed slightly as the figure entered. One thing Bokie and Rin did know was that they were finished. As the figure came to light, Rin opened her mouth in shock and Bokie stared at the person in disbelief.