Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Lost Treasure of the Yang Family

Yang Fan made his way to the eastern part of the city. Using his sense of the earth, he scouted the area and, finding a spot beneath the city wall where no one was paying attention, leaped up with a quick push, vaulted over the wall, and disappeared into the bustling crowd below.

He wore a gray robe, carried no bundle, and even the waterskin at his waist was hidden from sight. The Black Cloud Blade was concealed beneath his robe, giving nothing away; he neither glanced about nor behaved suspiciously, simply wandering as if he were a local. He found a small tavern, ate his fill, then bought some clothes and casually selected an abandoned old courtyard, vaulting over the wall to enter.

Changing into new garments, he applied a simple disguise, altering his features with a few strokes and manipulating his muscles until his appearance was wholly transformed. He now looked like a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six. Even Da Hu, if he didn’t see him face to face, might not recognize him.

He returned to the street once more, strolling about at leisure, bought some sugar-roasted chestnuts, and inquired about the location of the county yamen. What a spectacle it was! The main gates were painted a brilliant red, as if freshly stained with blood. Two stone lions, each nearly two meters tall, stood guard before the door, imposing and majestic, warning strangers to keep away.

After making a circuit of the place, he left.

“There are two eighth-rank martial artists in the yamen,” he noted to himself. “And three spirit items!”

Yang Fan quelled his restive excitement.

He passed the home of the chief constable, the residence of the city’s defense commander, and the vast manor of the county captain. He also walked past the Yang family’s estate, which had been sealed off, the interior smashed and ruined.

As he was about to leave, he stopped in his tracks, eyes suddenly brightening.

“Incredible, it hasn’t been completely ransacked yet!”

Slipping into a corner, he leaped over the wall of the Yang estate.

The Yang estate? Wasn’t that his own home!

At that very moment, in the Liu residence—

Crash!

A teacup was smashed to pieces.

“What did you say? Say it again!” Liu Kaizong, imposing even when calm, now erupted in fury, his beard and hair bristling like a tiger ready to devour. His aura was wild and fierce.

“Master, the young master—he’s truly been killed!” The young messenger’s legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

“A mere small town—what experts could it possibly have? The Yang family has been destroyed, the Hall of Universal Benevolence concerns itself only with business and nothing else—who could possibly have killed my son Yuan Ying? And besides, Xiao Hei was with him!” Liu Kaizong’s eyes were bloodshot. In truth, he already believed it, but he could not bring himself to accept it.

“And you say it was done by a youth—a boy of fifteen or sixteen, no less. Ha…” Liu Kaizong felt he was losing his mind. “A boy of that age capable of killing Yuan Ying? Capable of dealing with Xiao Hei?”

The kneeling youth repeated the circumstances.

“Yang Fan? Tell me about him!” Liu Kaizong seated himself, eyes closed, his voice low and rumbling, like a volcano about to erupt.

Just then, another man hurried in from outside, bringing further news from Nanshan Town.

This time, Liu Kaizong was convinced. As he listened, he formed a clear image of Yang Fan.

“Fifteen years old, orphaned, a herb-gatherer, apprentice at the Hall of Universal Benevolence, displayed astonishing talent, completed the apprentice’s test and was given special attention, taught martial arts. This morning he went into the mountains but returned suddenly, saw his home destroyed, his neighbors killed, and in his rage unleashed unimaginable power.” Liu Kaizong recited the facts, forcing himself to calm down and analyze.

His eyes shot open, cold light flashing, then narrowed, sharp as blades.

“He must have risen after his father died in the mountains, compelled to become a herb-gatherer to survive, and by chance obtained a great opportunity.”

“He definitely acquired a martial cultivation art; otherwise, merely practicing what the Hall of Universal Benevolence bestowed, no matter how great his talent, he could never have advanced so quickly. Moreover, his blade technique is accomplished.”

“In just over a year, he reached the eighth rank—a feat utterly impossible for an ordinary youth in a small town.”

“Therefore, he must have acquired a treasure from the mountains or a precious elixir, which transformed him.”

“He’s powerful, yet the Hall never discovered him beforehand; it seems the whole town was unaware of such a master.”

“He must know techniques to conceal his presence, able to suppress the fluctuations of his vital energy!”

“So young, inheriting a legacy, possessing great power, yet kept it hidden and lived humbly, only displaying his talent in medicine.”

“Such depth of character!”

“With such depth, even with his family destroyed, he wouldn’t act rashly. At his level, obtaining money would be trivial.”

“The only reason he exposed himself, killed, and stood against me, was because he saw his neighbors slaughtered!”

“He is passionate and loyal!”

“To possess both depth and loyalty, with such remarkable talent—were it not for today’s events, I would surely have recruited him, perhaps even made him my adopted son.”

“What a pity that he has become my enemy. He must die, to accompany my son in death!”

“And the whole of Nanshan Town!”

“A rabble of lowborns!”

“Sooner or later, I will slaughter every last one of you!”

Liu Kaizong exhaled a heavy breath.

“He left Nanshan Town in the end—come to clear away future threats? What a decisive and ruthless youth!”

“Send out the word!”

“The constables!”

“The city’s gangs!”

“All our informants!”

“Find him—search everywhere!”

“And send men to Nanshan Town disguised as bandits. If we can’t find him, slaughter the townsfolk and force him out!”

A ferocious light glinted in Liu Kaizong’s eyes, cold and merciless, pupils narrowed to slits like those of a beast.

Back at the Yang estate.

Yang Fan came to the well in the rear courtyard. The stone slab covering it had long since been moved. Looking down, he saw the deep, rippling water. With his earth sense, he detected a sizeable secret chamber below, one entrance hidden in the well’s side wall, blocked by a brick door—impossible to spot from above. The other exit, curiously, lay outside the estate but was blocked off.

Wait—no, the soil in the passage was very loose; following the route, one could easily dig into the secret room.

“Something’s odd here,” Yang Fan muttered with a shake of his head.

He measured the distance, then pointed with a finger and invoked the “Surging Earth” technique. The earth seemed to come alive, rolling aside to open a passage.

The process was not quick.

In short order, a tunnel led him straight to the secret chamber.

“So exhausting!” Yang Fan realized the flaw in this technique: moving the earth was slow and drained his strength. In just a short while, he felt as tired as if he’d fought a fierce battle. Sweat beaded on his brow.

He leapt down.

The chamber was not small—about twenty square meters. Rows of iron-bound chests lined the floor. He tried to lift one—heavy. With a heave, he snapped the lock and opened it.

A dazzling sight: a chest full of gold ingots.

One chest after another, three chests in total, all filled with gold.

Other chests contained pearls, necklaces, antiques, and paintings.

Along the wall stood shelves laden with silver ingots, a pleasing sight even to Yang Fan himself.

“Pity there are no banknotes,” he sighed.

He turned to the items he had been searching for: small, tightly sealed boxes. He opened three of them in turn.

[Clam Pearl]: In the depths of the sea, a clam, by chance, gained the power to absorb the essence of the ocean by day and the moon’s radiance by night. After a hundred years, it gained sentience and condensed its essence into this pearl, only to fall into a fisherman’s hands and pass through many owners to arrive here. Worn long-term, it refines the body; ground into powder and consumed, it beautifies the complexion; it can also be used in medicine or for refining health elixirs. If nurtured for a thousand years, it becomes a Water-Avoiding Pearl, able to part water as a membrane. Contains 6.6 units of spiritual energy.

This pearl was the size of a pigeon’s egg, radiant and shimmering—its value beyond question.

Yang Fan was astonished that his family had ever acquired such a thing.

[Blue-Gold Essence]: Deep beneath the earth, blue-gold ore veins are compressed and tempered by the earth for a million years, eventually yielding the essence of blue-gold—an unparalleled metal, perfect for forging weapons, sharp and unbreakable. Contains 1.5 units of spiritual energy.

This lump of blue metal was only palm-sized, yet extremely heavy.

The last item was the “Crimson Spirit Blood Fruit,” something he had encountered before, containing 4.3 units of spiritual energy—priceless, and capable of giving an apprentice an excellent chance of becoming a martial artist.

“How did my family come by so many treasures?” Yang Fan frowned. As mere wealthy merchants in a county town, they should not have such riches. It defied all reason.

He searched further and in a small box at the bottom found a thick letter. Leafing through it, he was visibly shocked by its contents.