Before we dive back into the plot, let’s quickly introduce Archie and Amos.
If you’re seeing these names and thinking, “Wait, who are these guys? When did we pick up two more?”—don’t worry, you’re not alone. Let’s jog your memory: back in the first arc of No One Under Heaven, there were four dudes in the squad (and since there were only four, Softie here finally decided to give them names…). Amos is the tough guy from a nomadic tribe, and Archie is the gentle one who’s a whiz at weaving.
Okay, calling two grown men 'Ah-Whatever' is a little shameless, but hey, they’re special cases. Amos actually had a super long, tongue-twisting name in some language—something like “Oyster Watermelon-Seaweed Clam” or whatever, impossible to remember. Since his name starts with 'Amos,' we just call him that. Makes life easier.
Archie’s story is rougher—he was abandoned as a kid, doesn’t know his parents, has no surname, no clue about his ethnicity. But since he can do magic like weaving hair into flags, he got the nickname Archie. Sure, it sounds a bit soft, but hey, it’s better than naming him something like 'Red Something,' 'Flower Something,' or 'Grass Something' like those old martial arts sects. Archie’s way less cringe.
We’ll skip the other two for now—they’ll show up later. Right now, let’s talk hair loss. Ever since Archie got his 'historic mission,' he’s been treating those strands of hair like treasure, carrying them everywhere and weaving whenever he gets a chance. Especially Jill Young’s platinum locks—those get their own special bundle. Until the flag is finished, Archie’s keeping that hair glued to his side.
But, as the saying goes, if you hike enough mountains, you’ll eventually run into a ghost. He got robbed.
“Someone… stole… hair?” Jill Young’s eyes went wide, repeating every word like she’d just heard the punchline to a joke: “No money missing, nothing else gone, just… a bundle of hair?”
“Chief, I—I—I deserve to be strung up!” “Boss, it’s not just his fault—I was there too, so I’m just as guilty!” The gentle Archie and the tough Amos stood side by side, heads hung low, looking more pathetic than a pair of interns who lost the company’s petty cash. Talk about demoralizing.
It wasn’t just those two—everyone who heard about it was in an uproar, jaws clenched so hard you could hear the grinding. The sacred relic we tied with the Young Palace Lord—stolen by some crook? Unbelievable!
But Jill Young wasn’t mad—she was just amused: “Honestly, this world has gotten so weird. Who steals hair, of all things?” I mean, what’s the point? Nobody’s making wigs, hair’s not even worth anything! Wait—maybe it’s the rare color? What is this, like the Queen of England wearing an aluminum crown and calling it the royal jewels? Talk about low standards.
“Boss, I lost everyone’s precious stuff. Go ahead, punish me!”
“Forget it, it’s just a little thing—live and learn. But, now that I think about it…” Jill Young’s eyes narrowed: If you really think about it, there might be a gang somewhere right now, giggling over my hair, drooling all over it, their filthy hands pawing it up and down… Maybe even sniffing it, licking it. If it gets any grosser, they might even weave it into underwear, like those creepy anime fans… Ugh, I swear, I’m scaring myself with my own low expectations, but suddenly I’m too grossed out to let this go!
“Suddenly, I’m really creeped out!” Jill Young’s face darkened, her eyes flashing red as she snapped, “No way—everyone, grab your gear! We’re going to beat whoever stole my hair into a pulp and tie them to a rock at the bottom of the lake!”
“Yes, ma’am!” Swords and knives clanged as everyone armed up, scaring the hostel owner so badly he dove under the table.
Jill Young sniffed the air—hiss, hiss—yep, got a whiff. This way!
“Follow me!” Jill Young charged out of the hostel, leading a swarm of underlings down alleys and side streets. They ended up right at the gates of the Weston Kingdom’s palace. That’s right—the scent led straight here. Figures, if you’re looking to fence stolen goods, this is the go-to spot.
Jill Young stormed up to the door, scaring the palace butler with the curly mustache so badly he bolted to sound the alarm. The head thief, who’d just been released and was trying to sneak out, nearly got caught—he stumbled, twisted his ankle, and barely managed to dodge behind a wall.
“Uh, h-h-heroes, what brings you here…” King Weston waddled out, sweating buckets. The whole mob looked like they were about to start a brawl, each one giving him the evil eye—did they find out? If they did, he was toast. He didn’t have nearly enough backup!
But Jill Young stood at the door, sniffed left and right—nope, the trail didn’t go inside. The thieves had come straight here, hesitated a second, then bolted. The new direction? West!
“This way!” With a wave, Jill Young led the whole crew charging straight for the west gate. Over a hundred people stampeded through the streets—way scarier than any mob in a gangster movie. Even though it was an all-women squad, every street vendor dove for cover, gawking like, “What the heck happened now?”
Jill Young strode confidently out the west gate. Outside, the sky was vast and wild; the trail led straight west.
"Did anyone just leave through here?" Jill turned to the gate guard, her eyes glowing red and sending chills down his spine. He snapped to attention, sweating: "Y-yes, ma'am! Someone did!" As dusk fell, few left the city, so he knew exactly what she meant. "Three local troublemakers just galloped out of here like they struck gold!"
Damn, this wind… The breeze is coming from the east, putting Weston upwind. Out here in the West, the wind never stops, and hair scent just scatters. As for the smell of people and horses—there are thousands mingling at the gate, impossible to tell one from another.
Boss, don’t worry—I’ll catch them." A lean man stepped forward, a Khitan hunter with rugged skin and hawk-like eyes. "I grew up tracking game. I’ll go after them and bring the hair back!"
Oh? You’re that skilled? Fine, from now on, we’ll call you Hunter.
Chief, we lost the stuff. Let us go too, let us make up for it! Archie and Amos volunteered right away.
Hannah Frost also stepped up and said seriously, "The thieves may be small-time, but border folk are tough. For safety, I’ll come along." The men were all ex-disciples of Cold Frost Cave, and though the organization was gone, Hannah still watched over them.
Me too!" "Sister Jill, I want to go!" The group of girls got fired up.
Jill looked up at the sky—getting dark. But since when did a gang fear the dark?
Alright, let’s treat this as a drill. Grab the horses, pack up, let’s go! They quickly packed up, now traveling light after selling the loot. Everyone moved faster than before, and within a quarter hour, they were ready. Soon, thunderous hoofbeats echoed as No One Under Heaven galloped out of the city.
The fat king, restless, sighed in relief after hearing Ramsey's report and wiped his sweat. If those women started trouble inside the city, his guards might not be able to handle it. But as long as they left, he could just sit back and profit from the chaos.
"What’s going on?" the fat king asked in Persian. (For convenience, the following dialogue is automatically translated to Chinese.)
"Your Majesty, it seems something was stolen."
"Oh, so that’s all? You scared me for nothing…" The fat king had a maid fan him while he slapped his thigh. "Right, tell Gavin to get out of the city and get to work! If those women come back, we might not get away so easily."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Gavin is already preparing." Ramsey hesitated, then added, "These women are mysterious. I’m still suspicious. They showed up out of nowhere, and that white-haired one acts nothing like a typical woman from the Central Plains. Maybe they’re from a martial arts clan."
"Who cares? The Central Plains folks are getting beaten like dogs by the Mongols—nothing to fear." The fat king shrugged. "A bunch of unknown horse thieves getting robbed by other thieves? Happens all the time, no one cares."
Ramsey thought it over—true, no matter what martial arts clan you’re from, out here you play by our rules! At the foot of the Tianshan mountains, Central Plains tricks don’t work! Hahaha!
Full of local pride, neither man realized they’d just crossed the ultimate boss of the Tianshan region.
Meanwhile, Gavin was lazily organizing his gang. Rabble is rabble—he’d told Ramsey he’d leave “right away,” but his efficiency was as bad as a government office. Gavin decided to eat some meat, drink some wine, watch the Houri Maidens dance, and finally, after a night of fun, comfort his wounded ego.
A more careful henchman tried to warn him: "Boss, those women are chasing us. What if we get caught?"
"Don’t worry~" Gavin slurred, tongue thick with booze. "Three small-timers—where could they go? I guarantee they’ll be back soon!"
Boss, what if they come back and catch us? Honestly, some of those women are pretty tough—the guys are all a bit freaked out.
Look at you, scaredy-cats! A bunch of women—what could they do if they come back? They’ll just go shopping! Clothing stores never close; you think they’ll even come here? Gavin threw an arm around his henchman. "Let’s just have fun here! Those women won’t come to this kind of place. Come on, drink up!"
Everyone thought chasing three small-timers with over a hundred people and horses would be a breeze. With so many experts, it should be quick and easy, right?
But against all expectations—even Jill Young, Wu Zhenfeng, and Lady Sanmiao were surprised—the pursuit lasted the whole night.
For one, everyone’s horses were lousy—short legs, poor stamina. They had to stop and rest often, or the horses would collapse. But those three small-timers knew how to run from trouble, and though their clothes were ragged, their horses were top-notch.
Second, heading west from Weston City, the terrain got tougher. After a hundred miles and several valleys, they hit the desert. Nature showed its power—there’s nowhere harder for a tracker than the desert. Hunter did his best and managed to find a few clues, which was impressive.
Plus, the desert was freezing at night. Even though it was a tough training run, Jill Young still had to look after her crew.
And finally, nothing boosts your spirits like a windfall—not for the losers, but for the thieves.
The three small-timers, clutching “Millennium Silkworm Silk,” were grinning ear to ear. Such a huge bundle—just look at that sheen! How much could it be worth? They were sure they’d struck it rich!
Sleep? Who could sleep now? Worried their luck might run out, the three pressed on, laughing like maniacs and racing west. They were looking for Buddha, for a big shot, for a bright future—run, brothers, run!
They ignored the cold and the distance, traveling all night under the stars.
A whole night passed, a hundred miles covered, and still they hadn’t caught up.
The next day, at ten in the morning, the desert heated up.
Damn, how can they run so fast? Jill Young stood at a cliff’s edge, shading her eyes against the blinding sun and heat—no sign of anyone. The desert here wasn’t endless sand, but rocky badlands, like the canyons in Indiana Jones 3—once shaped by water, now wind-carved into gorges.
The crew rested in the shade of the canyon while Jill climbed a twenty-story rock wall to scout ahead.
These guys are real pros—even Pierce couldn’t outrun them! Jill scanned the area, found nothing, then called across the canyon: "Jiao Niang, see anything?"
Jiao Niang was scouting the other side.
"I did find something—come over here."
Really? Jill perked up and leapt across the gorge. The crew watched her fly over a hundred-meter canyon in awe—now that’s real power. Someday, they hoped to have skills like hers. Lady Sanmiao looked distracted, lost in thought. Jill landed next to Wu Zhenfeng: "Found them? Where?"
If I spot them, I’ll go punch them out—well, my arm’s not great, so maybe I’ll kick them into shape!
Didn’t see any scattered small-timers, but I did spot a big group. Funny how enemies always gather together—we’ve hit the jackpot. Wu Zhenfeng pointed: "Isn’t that the bandit camp from the wanted posters?"
Jill looked up and sure enough, a large bandit camp appeared at the end of the canyon.
Great! A respawn point to clear all quest mobs—love this advanced MMO logic! Jill swung her arms, pumped up: "Let’s go!"