Chapter 250

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Zhang Xiaohua sensed fluctuations of Yuan Qi beneath the ground with his divine sense. His heart stirred as he recalled the underground chamber in Zhang Chengyue’s study at Piaomiao Sect. He guessed that this must be the secret chamber of the West Cui Mountain stronghold’s chief.

Excited, Zhang Xiaohua began searching for the entrance. If it were anyone else, finding it wouldn’t be easy. But under his divine sense, nothing could escape his detection. After several scans, he noticed an anomaly at the corner of the wall near the bed.

When he found the mechanism at the bed’s corner, he couldn’t help but inwardly praise it. If he had relied on his eyes alone, he might not have spotted it. It seemed that whatever was hidden in this secret chamber was truly worth looking forward to.

Lifting the bed aside, Zhang Xiaohua entered the chamber from beneath the bed. Before he could descend the steps, he saw a faintly glowing layer of light ahead. He was taken aback—could this be the legendary luminous pearls recorded in books?

Striking a fire stick to illuminate his surroundings, what he saw left him dumbfounded. The chamber was a square space, about one zhang in radius. On the right side stood a weapons rack filled with all sorts of strange weapons. On the left were several large chests. Looking further ahead, in the faint glow, he saw several tables covered with an array of jewelry and jade artifacts. What intrigued him the most, however, was an incense burner placed beside the tables. It resembled the kind used in temples, with three legs supporting a spherical body, and it even had a lid.

A sweep of his divine sense confirmed that the fluctuations of Yuan Qi were coming from this incense burner. Cautiously, he stepped forward, touched it with his hand, and then lifted the lid to take a look inside. As expected, there were remnants of burnt incense ashes. He couldn’t fathom why the bandits had brought an incense burner here. Suddenly, he recalled the conversation he had overheard earlier between the envoy and the stronghold chief. Could this be the item the envoy was looking for?

“Hehe.” Zhang Xiaohua let out a cold chuckle. Whatever it was, as long as it was a treasure, why should he hesitate? Without another thought, he retrieved his money pouch and stored the incense burner inside. Not stopping there, he turned to the large chests. Casually opening one, the lid swung open, revealing a dazzling pile of gold. Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes widened. To be honest, he had never seen gold in his life. Even the word itself, he had only just recently heard from Ou Peng. Now, seeing a full chest of it before him, how could he not be moved?

Brimming with delight, Zhang Xiaohua didn’t hesitate for a second. He simply stored the entire chest into his money pouch. After all, transferring it bit by bit would be too much effort for his divine sense. It would be more comfortable to put the whole box inside the pouch as well.

Zhang Xiaohua proceeded to open the remaining chests one by one, indulging his eyes before storing them all into his money pouch. These chests contained nothing but gold and jewels—not even a single piece of silver. He couldn’t help but shake his head vigorously. These bandits truly have no taste. Hoarding only hard currency—why not stockpile some silver notes instead? Gold and other things take up so much space in the money pouch… Silver notes would be far more convenient!

As for the luminous pearls and similar treasures scattered across the table, he had already found plenty of them inside the chests. However, following the philosophy of waste nothing, leave nothing, regret nothing, he collected them all without hesitation. As for the rare weapons on the rack—well, one couldn’t really blame Zhang Xiaohua. He had never seen any weapons before and had no concept of their value. Besides, no matter how he looked at them, they simply didn’t have the same allure as gold and jewels. Forget it, he thought. Might as well leave these for the West Cui Mountain bandits. After all, I’ve read books before. It wouldn’t hurt to leave them something to remember.

Of course, this decision only came after he swept the weapons rack with his divine sense. By now, Zhang Xiaohua had vaguely realized that only items emanating fluctuations of Yuan Qi were truly valuable to him. Suddenly, he remembered—he hadn’t yet scanned that small sword with his divine sense! Things right beside you are always the easiest to forget. He immediately prepared to extend a wisp of his divine sense toward it.

Just then, he heard a faint noise from above. His expression changed, and he swiftly released his divine sense outward.

Damn! The stronghold Chief Liu and Envoy Ying, were now standing right in front of the bed. There was no need to think—he was completely trapped!

What now?

Zhang Xiaohua quickly surveyed the now-empty secret chamber he had just looted. There wasn’t a single place to hide!

Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes flickered as an idea took shape. Without hesitation, he extinguished the fire stick, pulled a large handkerchief from his robe to cover his mouth and nose, and executed his Qinggong, floating upward. Since I’m already a trapped fish in a jar, I might as well shatter the net!

Outside the secret chamber, Chief Liu chuckled obsequiously. “Envoy, please wait a moment. I have already placed the item inside the chamber. Only I know of this chamber’s existence, and those who did know have already been dealt with. There is no chance of anything happening to it.”

Envoy Ying chuckled. “Honestly, if our Divine Cult wanted to retrieve this item ourselves, it would be a simple task. However, the matter is too entangled, and our Cult dislikes unnecessary trouble. The Evil Tiger Gang’s situation isn’t looking too good either, so we had to turn to West Cui Mountain instead. Heh, Chief Liu, I’ve said quite a lot already—surely you understand what this means for you?”

“I understand, I understand. Please rest assured, Envoy. I am well aware of what needs to be done. That gluttonous monk we set up has already been taken care of by my men. Even if the Shaolin Temple’s monks come looking, I can deny everything cleanly. There won’t be a single trace linking this matter to the Divine Cult. But, about my small request?”

“Relax, Chief. Haven’t I already told you? A highly esteemed figure from our Cult will be arriving soon. He is one of the eighteen disciples under Lord Garuda himself—his status is incredibly distinguished. Your little request? It’s nothing. The fact that he is personally coming here means this task is of great importance. If you handle it well, I’ll put in a few good words for you. Your future prospects will be set in stone.”

“That’s wonderful, Envoy! I must trouble you to take care of this matter. Oh, by the way, my secret chamber holds the accumulated treasures of West Cui Mountain over the years. There are still a few valuable things left. Please, allow me to present some of them as a token of my gratitude.”

“Haha, we’ll see, we’ll see. I’m quite curious what valuables this remote place could possibly offer.”

With that, Chief Liu activated the hidden mechanism, revealing a passage leading underground. He glanced at Envoy Ying and smiled. “I shall lead the way.”

As he spoke, he lifted his foot onto the bed, preparing to enter the passage.

But just as his foot was about to step inside—

Swoosh!

A thin, shadowy figure shot out from the depths of the passage, hurtling straight toward him.

Chief Liu had been preoccupied with scheming his own plans while also trying to please the envoy. The last thing he expected was for someone to emerge from the tunnel, so he had no time to react at all.

Even if he had been prepared, the distance was too short, and Zhang Xiaohua had used his full strength. There was simply no chance for him to defend himself. By the time Chief Liu realized what was happening, a chilling sensation spread across his throat. In an instant, he felt all the strength drain from his body, flowing away along with that icy touch. His grand visions of the future had barely begun to take shape in his mind before they were completely erased by this sudden, unexpected assassination.

In his final moments, the only thought in Chief Liu’s mind was—The world is full of surprises!

Seeing Chief Liu collapse, Zhang Xiaohua immediately shoved the corpse toward Envoy Ying without a moment’s hesitation. He pushed off the ground with all his strength, soaring straight toward the exit. He had bet everything on this brief window of time—his sudden appearance would undoubtedly catch them off guard. By taking out the weaker Chief Liu first, he ensured his plan’s success. As for Envoy Ying, even if he managed to react, he might not have time to intercept him. And if he could make it out of the room, the envoy likely wouldn’t give chase right away—he’d have to check the secret chamber first…

As expected, Envoy Ying pushed aside the corpse but was already too late to stop Zhang Xiaohua. He glanced between the rapidly disappearing figure and the dark entrance of the secret passage. Clicking his tongue, he swiftly leaped onto the bed, took a few hurried steps, and lit a firestarter. The moment the flames flickered to life, revealing an empty chamber, his heart sank.

The figure that had just darted out—he had seen it clearly. It was a slender silhouette, likely a young boy, holding what seemed to be a dagger. Other than that, he carried nothing else. But the censer he sought was massive—there was no way the boy could have taken it. Still uneasy, he scanned the chamber once more but saw no place where such an object could be hidden. Without wasting another moment, he dashed out of the secret room. His figure flickered as he executed Qinggong, his speed exceeding Zhang Xiaohua’s by a few degrees.

The censer was missing, which had to be connected to that boy. Even if he hadn’t taken it himself, he surely knew something. More importantly, if he failed to catch the boy, he would have no way to report back to the cult.

Upon exiting the house, he quickly climbed to a higher vantage point. The boy had already put a great distance between them, but instead of heading toward the stockade’s outer walls, he was running toward the back mountain. Could he have allies waiting there?

Envoy Ying gritted his teeth and gave chase. Even if it was an ambush, he had no choice but to charge ahead. There was no turning back now. At this moment, how could he care about so many things?

The rear of West Cui Mountain was a dense, verdant forest. However, its terrain was steep and treacherous, with no paths leading downward—something the bandits had always ignored. Before long, Zhang Xiaohua reached the edge of a cliff. He glanced back—Envoy Ying had already emerged from the house and was closing in fast.

With a sigh, Zhang Xiaohua patted the money pouch at his chest.

The ancients had said it well: A bird dies for food, a man dies for wealth. They did not deceive me.

He retrieved a Yuan Stone from his robes, clutching it in his right hand. Then, he cast a brief look at the landscape below, let out a light chuckle, and leaped into the abyss. His body plunged downward, but instead of free-falling, he landed precisely on the treetop of a towering pine. The branch bent beneath his weight before springing back up, sending him soaring once more. Using this momentum, Zhang Xiaohua propelled himself toward another location in the distance.
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