Chapter 8: The Discovery of Treasure

As soon as Zhong Xiao spoke, Zhou Yongxin immediately averted his gaze and walked over to her.
"Xiaoxiao, what are you saying? I'm just worried about your sister."
Zhong Xiao felt nauseated. She glanced at Du Ying'er and sneered, "Are you just going to let her lie there? This mass of blood may not have taken human shape, but it's a life all the same. Aren't you going to help it move on? Aren't you afraid of vengeful spirits coming for you? Haven't you heard? The resentment of a stillborn child is the strongest of all."
Du Huacheng was a firm believer in such things; he even dedicated a temple for it.
It stood on a mountain near the border of Yuecheng and Port City.
That temple later became the key location where Du Huacheng transferred assets belonging to the Zhong family.
In the Zhong family courtyard, between the main building and the warehouse, there was a massive Buddha statue, nearly four stories tall, which had stood there for many years. It was specially commissioned by Du Huacheng when Zhong Xiao was seven or eight.
This showed just how deeply Du Huacheng revered the gods.
So, upon hearing Zhong Xiao's words, Du Huacheng immediately decided to visit the temple.
He then said, "Bring Ying'er with us. There's a skilled doctor at Thousand Gods Temple. He was ousted last year, but now practices near the temple. It’s perfect—he can take a look at Ying’er!"
Yang Yuehe had no other options; she could only agree.
Du Huacheng prepared to take Yang Yuehe and Du Ying’er with him. This suited Zhong Xiao perfectly. She was just thinking of a way to get rid of Zhou Yongxin when she heard him say:
"Xiaoxiao, I suddenly remembered something I need to do at home, so I won’t stay here with you. I’ll head back."
But Zhong Xiao knew Zhou Yongxin was merely using an excuse to follow Du Huacheng and the others to the temple with Du Ying’er.
After all, Du Ying’er was now his lover.
In truth, Zhou Yongxin didn’t truly care for Du Ying’er. He was swayed by the grand promises Yang Yuehe and Du Ying’er painted for him. He chose the side that seemed to offer him more, hoping to ride on the Zhong family’s wealth and achieve greatness.
Zhong Xiao remembered that in her previous life, after Zhou Yongxin accompanied Du Ying’er to Port City, he used the jade pendant to climb into the ranks of the powerful, then promptly kicked Du Ying’er aside and married a beauty pageant winner from Port City.
This was spoken of by the villagers who had once bullied Zhong Xiao.
They said Du Ying’er, betrayed and abandoned by her husband, took it out on Zhong Xiao, paying enough to ensure she suffered.
People like Zhou Yongxin, love no one but themselves.
Zhong Xiao watched coldly as the three carried Du Ying’er away, their figures disappearing around the corner. Only then did she turn and leave the main building, heading for the warehouse.
Now that she knew the true faces of these people, her most urgent task was to empty the assets that rightfully belonged to the Zhong family.
The space she now possessed was the perfect place to hide the family’s wealth.
She started on the third floor, storing all the medicines Yang Yuehe had accumulated into her space.
As she worked, Zhong Xiao marveled.
Yang Yuehe may have lacked education, but her instincts were sharp.
She had managed to stockpile an astonishing quantity of Western pharmaceuticals and countless rare Chinese medicinal herbs.

Deer antler, reishi mushrooms, gastrodia, cordyceps, musk, ginseng...
There were even items long banned: wild rhinoceros horn, bezoar, bear bile.
Zhong Xiao stored them all in her space, then suddenly noticed the box of reishi mushrooms glowing as it entered.
Looking closer, the box opened on its own, and several wild reishi mushrooms slowly floated up, rising into the air and drifting forward.
Zhong Xiao followed them, seeing them reach a corner where a clear spring bubbled, and gently sink to take root.
Amazed, she tried to approach, but was stopped by a barrier.
Stepping back, she saw the spring surrounded by a transparent shield she couldn’t breach.
She poked at it, and a line of words shimmered across the barrier:
[Sorry, the spiritual spring is nourishing and cannot be used right now.]
Spiritual spring?
Zhong Xiao didn’t know what it was, but the name alone told her it must be something extraordinary.
Since it was still nurturing, there was no need to worry now. It wasn’t immediately useful, so she let it be.
Leaving her space, Zhong Xiao surveyed the now-empty third floor.
There was nothing left to take here.
The third floor was only so large, and the rooftop had no room for a separate chamber.
She descended, bypassing the second floor’s cloth stockpiles, which she’d originally thought worthless.
But on second thought—
Why not take them?
Even if they were given freely to disaster victims, it would be worthwhile.
With this in mind, Zhong Xiao emptied the second floor of all the fine silks.
They were all premium fabrics bought by Yang Yuehe: cloud brocade, Shu brocade, Song brocade, and even many bolts of Nara linen imported from the island nation.
Cashmere, Harris tweed, leather, velvet—everything imaginable.
Yang Yuehe used to love making clothes in every conceivable style. Later, when inspections grew strict, she became discreet, but she still bought in bulk and piled it all in the warehouse.
Zhong Xiao stored it all in her space, then moved to the ground floor.
Medicines and fabrics weren’t real assets; the Zhong family’s true wealth was still hidden.
The first floor was packed with miscellaneous items.

Pots and pans, stools and chairs, tables, redwood furniture.
Zhong Xiao looked around, frowning as she paced. Something felt off.
After several rounds, she bowed her head to listen.
The sound was wrong.
Each step sounded strange.
That meant—
There was empty space beneath.
Zhong Xiao crouched carefully, testing the floor here and there to find the emptiest spot, then examined the surrounding items.
This area was hemmed in by old pots and pans and two porcelain vases. Zhong Xiao noticed the vases seemed oddly out of place.
The pots and pans were battered and worn, yet the porcelain glowed with rich color and crisp patterns—not cheap by any means.
She reached out to lift a vase, but it was impossibly heavy.
Frowning, she peered into its mouth—
Sure enough, there was a switch inside!
She twisted it, and the old floor creaked open just a little!
Thrilled, Zhong Xiao reached into the other vase and unlocked the second switch.
The floor split further!
Combined, the two openings were large enough for an adult to slip through.
A staircase, two or three meters long, appeared before her. Zhong Xiao steadied herself and descended slowly.
—What met her eyes was a mountain of boxes, piled high. The basement was enormous, far bigger than the warehouse itself, stretching from the warehouse’s side all the way to the main building.
It spanned almost the entire Zhong family compound!
Which meant—
In the place where Zhong Xiao had lived for twenty years,
there had always been a second Zhong family she never knew about!
An entire treasure trove beneath her feet!