Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Action II
âIâm looking for it. Liâer, you help me look too,â Xiao Yunjing whispered softly.
With such formidable defenses here, he didnât believe the study was merely a room full of books.
âAlright.â Gu Qingli smiled happily.
It seems I wasnât the only one who had this idea.
They searched around but found nothing.
âThe bedroom,â they both said in unison.
âLetâs go.â Xiao Yunjing picked up Gu Qingli and flew towards Qingchenâs bedroom.
Upon reaching the door, Xiao Yunjing pushed it gently, and it swung open.
âLiâer, stay here and donât come in. Iâll go,â Xiao Yunjing said, putting Gu Qingli down. He didnât want Liâer to be the one collecting things from Qingchenâs bedroom, even though the items here were more valuable.
âFine.â Gu Qingli glanced at him.
What a cheapskate,
she fumed internally.
Everything inside was an exquisite item; some were priceless treasures.
Seeing all the valuables made Gu Qingliâs heart pound with anticipation.
If I donât take these things, Iâll definitely lose sleep over it!
Xiao Yunjing rummaged around inside and, sure enough, found a Secret Sect, which he opened.
The moment the Secret Sect was opened, a foul odor rushed out.
Xiao Yunjing swiftly moved, pulling Gu Qingli away from the opening.
âWhy does it stink so badly? Is that the stench of a corpse?â Gu Qingli said, pinching her nose.
âThere must be dead people down there,â Xiao Yunjing stated.
He figured that once Qingchen had left, no one would have bothered with whoever was locked up below.
After nearly a year, it was a certainty that the person imprisoned there was dead; anything else would be unnatural.
Only when the smell had mostly dissipated did they enter the Secret Sect.
Inside, a staircase led downward. Xiao Yunjing walked in front, holding a Night Pearl to light the way for Gu Qingli. She, in turn, sprinkled medicinal powder as they went to disperse the remaining odor.
After descending about five feet, they reached a horizontal passage.
This passage wasnât long, also only about five feet. Exiting it, they found another perpendicular corridor lined with stone rooms on the opposite side, all with their doors shut and locked.
Xiao Yunjing walked up to one of the stone rooms, shattered the lock with his internal energy, and pushed the door open.
It was an iron door.
Gu Qingli followed him inside.
âOh my heavens! Yun-Yunjing, thereâs so muchâŠâ Gu Qingli stammered, her voice filled with awed disbelief, followed by a breathless laugh. She was stunned by the sight of the roomâs contents. It wasnât wide, but it was very longâat least a hundred square meters. The entire space was filled with gold, silver, and all sorts of treasures, casually thrown on the ground or piled in wooden boxes.
Qingchen clearly didnât care much for these mundane things,
she thought.
But I like them!
She had Xiao Yunjing light the way while she collected all these items into her Space.
âTired?â After she finished, Xiao Yunjing lovingly patted her head and asked.
âHehe⊠not tired at all! I wouldnât get tired even if there were several more rooms like this,â Gu Qingli replied, grinning from ear to ear.
âGood. Letâs check the other rooms,â Xiao Yunjing said, leading her to the adjacent stone room. As before, he broke the lock, and they went in.
This room was also primarily filled with gold and silver treasures. Without a second thought, Gu Qingli collected everything.
The third room was different; it was filled with weapons.
This time, it was Xiao Yunjingâs turn to be excited. His army was in dire need of weapons, and here was a collection that seemed to cover nearly every form of martial weaponry.
The couple happily cleared out room after room until only the last stone chamber remained.
This room had a window. As they approached, they could already smell the foul odor emanating from within.
Xiao Yunjing opened the door and slowly led Gu Qingli inside.
When Gu Qingli saw the various torture instruments in the room, her skin crawled.
There was even a skeleton strapped to an iron frame, the source of the putrid smell.
Gu Qingli quickly scattered some medicinal powder, and the odor in the room gradually dissipated.
Only then did she begin to examine the various torture devices, many of which still bore dried bloodstains. It was clear that many people had perished here.
I never imagined Qingchen could be so vicious,
she thought. The torture devices here rivaled those in the imperial dungeons, perhaps even surpassed them in cruelty.
âArenât you scared?â Xiao Yunjing asked Gu Qingli, who was looking around with an expression of disgust.
âWhatâs there to be scared of?â She had seen plenty of dead bodies. As for skeletons, she had seen many anatomical models during her time in medical school; though made of plastic, they were quite realistic.
âLetâs go. We should check other places.â
âAlright.â There truly wasnât anything else worth seeing here.
They left the underground secret chamber and returned to Qingchenâs room.
âYunjing,â Gu Qingli called out softly, pointing at the decorative ornaments on the table and a magnificent double-sided embroidered screen.
âYou little money-grubber,â Xiao Yunjing gently poked her forehead.
Gu Qingli stuck her tongue out at him and quickly stored everything valuable into her Space, intending to sort through it all when she had free time.
In the end, apart from Qingchenâs clothes scattered across the floor, everything else went into Gu Qingliâs Space.
Xiao Yunjing smiled indulgently.
I canât believe my Liâer is such a money-grubber!
The two continued their looting spree until dawn. By the time Gu Qingli finally stopped, the entire courtyard was in a state of utter disarray.
âMaster.â Just then, Yun No. 20 rushed towards them.
âWhat is it?â Xiao Yunjing asked.
âMaster, weâve discovered an underground weapon factory and a soldier base!â
âOh? Where?â Xiao Yunjingâs eyes lit up. He had been searching for days without success, yet Yun No. 20 and his team had found them.
âAt the foot of the mountain behind the estate,â Yun No. 20 said, pointing to the large mountain backing Red Leaf Villa.
âExcellent, letâs go.â
âMaster.â Just as they were about to leave, Yun No. 4 arrived.
âHow are things on your end?â Xiao Yunjing stopped immediately and inquired.
âMaster, weâve captured everyone we needed to. What are your orders now?â Yun No. 4 reported excitedly.
âCollect all the valuables and then secure this place. From now on, this territory is ours,â Xiao Yunjing declared, glancing at the still energetic Gu Qingli. Liâer loved treasure, and he suspected the old Villa Masterâs residence would have plenty.
âYes, Master!â Yun No. 4 replied cheerfully and hurried off.
Looting treasure was a favorite activity for them all; they would get a share later. Their marriage funds would get a nice little boost.
Once Yun No. 4 had departed, Xiao Yunjing picked up Gu Qingli and followed Yun No. 20, flying towards the back mountain.
ăIn Capital City.ă
Qingchen woke early, an inexplicable sense of panic gripping him, as if he had lost something vital.
He summoned his Secret Guards and inquired about the recent situation across various fronts. Despite learning that all was well, he remained restless.
Could this unease be related to Chu Xiong?
he wondered.
If so, I must accelerate my plans.
âSecret Guard No.1, send a message to the AlchemistâŠâ Qingchen said to the empty room. A faint sound indicated his order was received, and then silence returned.
It turned out the Daoist priest from the Qin Tianjian was an agent Qingchen had planted many years ago. The goal was to get Chu Xiong addicted to medicinal elixirs, thereby controlling him.
The so-called Longevity Pill was, in reality, a type of addictive drug. Its main ingredient was the poppy flower.
If Gu Qingli were to see the primary ingredient of that medicine, she would undoubtedly recognize it.
However, no matter how adept Qingchen was at scheming and predicting, no matter how many calculations he made, he could never have foreseen this. His Red Leaf Villa had already been raided. He would never have anticipated that within just a month, the villa he prided himself onâbelieving it impenetrableâwould fall into someone elseâs hands.
The villa was his main base, and almost all his possessions were stored there. If he discovered it had been ransacked, he would surely be enraged to death.
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