Chapter 48 - 48 48 The Imaginary Treasure Hunter

Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Imaginary Treasure Hunter Chapter 48: Chapter 48: The Imaginary Treasure Hunter In the morning, the meal was simple: sorghum rice porridge and pickled wild vegetables.

Ruirui held her bowl and shoveled porridge into her mouth, her two little eyes darting toward the two grown-ups exchanging fond glances across the table.

*Something’s off. These two are acting very strange!*

“Sis.”

“Sis.”

“Huh?”

Su Yunjin turned her head to look at Ruirui.

“Where did you go last night? I got up in the middle of the night to pee, but you weren’t there.”

Su Yunjin’s face turned bright red upon hearing this. She glanced at Chen Jie, then quickly picked up her bowl to cover her embarrassment.

“Why are you looking at brother-in-law? Brother-in-law, do you know?”

Ruirui turned her head toward Chen Jie.

Chen Jie remained calm. He took a sip of porridge and said, “Oh, Ruirui’s so impressive now, huh? Already not wetting the bed anymore? Your sister told me that when you were four, you still wet the bed!”

“Mm, brother-in-law, I haven’t wet the bed in forever! Ruirui is already a big kid!”

Ruirui bristled immediately.

Seeing this, Chen Jie chuckled. A little kid is just a little kid. He followed up by saying, “Is that so? But Ruirui still looks pretty little to me.”

“Brother-in-law, I’ll have you know, Ruirui is already five years old! Five-year-olds don’t wet the bed anymore.”

“Really? Ruirui is already that impressive now?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Good, that’s very good. Since Ruirui has been behaving so well, your brother-in-law will buy you a treat today. How does that sound?”

“Great!”

Ruirui shouted excitedly, completely forgetting about her sister’s disappearance the night before.

Su Yunjin glanced at Chen Jie, her eyes filled with gratitude.

Chen Jie replied with an “it’s nothing” expression.

*Dealing with a little kid like Ruirui is nothing.* Back in his business days, even his partners rarely found a chance to corner him, so how could he be stumped by a child?

After finishing the meal, Chen Jie said goodbye to Su Yunjin.

He originally intended to give her the silver coins he had earned yesterday, but then decided that suddenly handing over a large amount of money might not be wise—it could end up worrying her.

So, Chen Jie held off on giving her the money, thinking he could buy some things for her and Ruirui later.

Now that financial times were good, he planned to buy new outfits for the sisters.

Su Yunjin’s current clothes still had patches. Although her natural beauty wasn’t diminished in patched attire, life had improved. Why let her continue living so frugally?

As he walked out of the house, he noticed several men dressed like house servants in black talking to a few village women on the street.

The women were gesturing dramatically as they spoke, while the servants looked completely puzzled.

As Chen Jie approached, he overheard one of the women say, “I’m telling you, that Golden Chicken you’re investigating must’ve been taken by that out-of-town treasure hunter.”

“Out-of-town treasure hunter?”

“Exactly! We saw it with our own eyes.”

“Wait, you actually saw it happen?”

The servants looked skeptically at the village women. One woman said, “No doubt about it. Just climbed down from the beam up ahead. We were washing clothes and saw it clearly.”

“What time did this happen?”

“Must’ve been during the hour of Mao.”

“Yeah, when I left my house, it was around three quarters past the hour of Mao, but still within Mao hour...”

“What does that treasure hunter look like?”

The servants asked. Another woman replied, “About this tall. Based on his build—he wasn’t thin—he probably wasn’t a farmer.”

She gestured with her hand. “Wearing a conical hat; couldn’t make out his face clearly. Looked to be around thirty, right, Second Sister?”

“About that. All that wind and sun made him seem older. Might actually be twenty-eight or twenty-nine.”

The women chatted back and forth, cobbling together the image of a River Hero.

A seven-foot-tall man, broad and strong, dressed in a black short outfit, wearing a conical hat, and carrying a burlap sack on his back...

A sketch artist accompanying the servants listened to their descriptions, drawing as he went and asking follow-up questions.

The women continued babbling, offering more details.

“Second Sister, anything else you’d add?”

“This face needs to look more rugged. Oh! And there was a scar on his left cheek.”

“Uh, Second Sister, are you sure?”

“Yes, didn’t you notice?”

“Uh, so was there a scar or not?” A servant asked.

“There was! Absolutely!”

The sketch artist finally produced an image resembling a River Hero. The servants looked at the picture, thinking, “Well, this should be good enough to report back.”

It was then that Chen Jie walked up.

“Stop right there! Where are you heading?”

Chen Jie glanced at the servants and said, “Who are you people? Why are you blocking my way?”

“Quit wasting time—just answer the question!”

A nearby aunt chimed in, “Jiu Si, they’re from Master Yu’s household in town.”

“Oh, oh, fine. Go ahead and ask.”

Chen Jie nodded as if he had just realized who they were. The servants turned to Chen Jie and asked, “Did you see anyone carrying a burlap sack come down the mountain the day before yesterday?”

“Huh, I don’t know anything about that.”

“Hmm?”

The servants turned suspicious eyes toward the village women. The women grew anxious and looked at Chen Jie, saying, “Jiu Si, think carefully! Didn’t you see someone wearing a conical hat?”

Chen Jie gave them an innocent look and said, “Ladies, I’ve been busy studying medicine with Doctor Bai lately, constantly poring over the medicine classics. My head feels like mush—I really don’t remember.”

Hearing this, the women said, “True, Jiu Si has been busy studying every day. How would he have time to pay attention to such things?”

Chen Jie looked up at the servants and said, “Gentlemen, I truly didn’t see anything. How about this: why don’t you come with me to my master’s house? My Uncle Wu Zhong often goes out, so why not ask him instead?”

“How about it?”

Chen Jie looked at the servants, who instantly became flustered.

*Who were they to confront Wu Zhong?* They’d have to be courting death.

*Uncle Wu Zhong wasn’t just anyone; he was the Fishery Manager of the Fishing Guild—even with their master, he was on equal footing.* Asking him anything would undoubtedly backfire.

*Plus, this teenager wasn’t ordinary either; he was Doctor Bai’s apprentice. Everyone knew Doctor Bai was fiercely protective of his students, and Wu Zhong listened to Doctor Bai the most.*

Thinking of this, the servants instantly assumed a new attitude, smiling at Chen Jie and saying, “Haha, little brother, just teasing! You’re Doctor Bai’s prized pupil; of course, you wouldn’t have time to notice such things. We won’t hold you up anymore; you go ahead and continue your studies.”

Chen Jie chuckled and said, “Alright, I’m leaving now. By the way, why are you asking about this anyway?”

The servants immediately shook their heads. “No reason, no reason.”

Chen Jie scoffed, “Mysterious.”

Then he headed toward Doctor Bai’s house, leaving the servants behind to continue their questioning. “Two days ago, did you see anyone...”

The whole village of Xiantao was searched, and ultimately, the conclusion was clear: there had indeed been an out-of-town man wearing a conical hat passing through here on that day.

How do we know?

*Three people spread the tale, and soon everyone believed it. When a rumor circulates through the entire village, it stops being a rumor.*

Chen Jie understood the danger of such rumors all too well. So, Yu Biao, why don’t you go ahead and search for this conical-hat-wearing, scar-faced River Hero yourself?

*Meanwhile, I’m going to lay low and power up!*