176: Chapter 176 Going Back to Find Cui'er

Fang Hansu's voice became hurried, and her eyes turned red again.

"On the day the Fang Family was exterminated, it was Cuier who risked her life to protect me as we escaped. Later, we were captured and brought back to the Wu Residence. She was locked in the woodshed, and I... I don't know how she is doing now."

"Young Master, I beg you, please save Cuier."

The fingers she used to grip Ye Yun's sleeve turned white from the force.

Ye Yun furrowed his brows slightly.

It wasn't the middle-aged man he had seen in the Fengyun Mountains; it was someone else.

He nodded.

"I understand."

He gently patted the back of Fang Hansu's hand as she gripped his sleeve, signaling her to let go.

"You wait here for now; I will go bring her back."

Fang Hansu's fingers slowly loosened, but the worry in her eyes remained undispelled.

Ye Yun turned and walked toward the door, pausing when he reached the threshold.

"I will have the innkeeper bring up a bucket of hot water for you. Go take a bath and change your clothes first."

He glanced at her sideways.

"Don't run around."

Fang Hansu stood in the room, watched his back, and nodded vigorously.

Then, remembering that his back was turned and he couldn't see her, she quickly added a soft "Mn," her voice light and tinged with a slight nasal tone.

Ye Yun pushed the door open and left.

The door closed softly, and his footsteps gradually faded down the stairs.

Fang Hansu stood where she was, staring blankly at the closed door.

After a long while, she raised her hand and wiped the tear stains from her face with the back of her hand.

She looked down at her disheveled appearance.

Recalling the glance Ye Yun had given her earlier and his words, "How can you go out and meet people looking like that?"

Her cheeks burned again.

Fang Hansu walked to the bedside, sat down cautiously, and folded her hands on her knees, like an obedient cat.

...

When Ye Yun stood before the Wu Residence again, the sun had already slanted to the west.

The setting sun hung on the horizon, dyeing the entire street a dim yellow.

The plaque reading "Wu Residence" was still hanging above the lintel.

Only, it was splattered with several streaks of dark red blood, which had dried completely and turned a deep brown.

Bright red silk still hung on the door frame, blown into a mess by the wind; a section dangled down, dragging on the ground and stained with mud.

Most of the two rows of red lanterns had been blown out by the wind, with only a few still lit.

They swayed in the wind, like a few half-dead eyes.

The door was wide open.

No one was guarding it.

Ye Yun lifted his foot and walked in.

The scene in the courtyard was no different from when he had left.

It was just quieter.

So quiet that one could hear the rustling sound of the wind blowing past the row of red lanterns under the eaves.

One could hear his own footsteps ringing out one by one on the blue brick floor.

The blood on the ground had dried.

Dark red blood clots had solidified in the cracks of the blue bricks, feeling slightly sticky when stepped on.

Those corpses strewn about still maintained their postures from before death.

Ye Yun's gaze swept over those corpses without lingering.

He began to walk toward the backyard.

He passed through the hanging flower gate, walked along a long covered walkway, and traversed a desolate small garden.

The Wu Family was huge, much larger than it appeared from the outside.

He searched room by room; if he encountered a locked door, he would kick it open, and if he encountered obstacles blocking his way, he would casually push them aside.

He was not in a hurry to find Cuier.

If the person was already dead, being in a hurry was useless.

If she wasn't dead yet, waiting a little longer wouldn't kill her.

What he found first was the Wu Family's treasury.

To be precise, it was a wall in Wu Zhen's study.

A landscape painting hung on the wall; the painting itself was mediocre, but the mounting was quite exquisite.

When Ye Yun passed by that painting, his footsteps paused.

It wasn't because of the painting, but because the wall behind the painting sounded wrong when tapped.

He tore the painting down, revealing a secret door behind it.

The secret door had no lock, probably because Wu Zhen felt that anyone capable of entering his study was a lock in themselves.

Ye Yun pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside was a small secret chamber, with all four walls built of blue stone, airtight and sealed.

Several rows of wooden shelves were placed against the walls, with items neatly stacked on them.

Ye Yun's gaze swept across those wooden shelves.

Silver.

Neatly stacked silver ingots were packed into three large chests, each half a person's height; opening the lids, the silver light was dazzling.

Gold.

Less than the silver, there was only one small chest, but the gold bars were substantial, feeling heavy in the hand, and of excellent purity.

There were also several pieces of jade, porcelain, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings, which must have been extorted by the Wu Family over these years.

They were carefully stored in brocade boxes, with labels attached, writing down which year and from whom they were obtained.

Ye Yun casually opened a brocade box; inside was a green jade thumb ring, the jade warm and moist, with exquisite carving.

He looked at it, put it back, and opened another one.

It was a piece of calligraphy and painting, signed with a name he hadn't heard of, probably some local famous artist from Qingzhou City.

He rolled up the calligraphy and painting and casually tossed it into the System space.

On the other wall were Cultivation resources.

Several rows of low-grade mysterious stones, roughly counted, were about two hundred pieces, emitting faint fluctuations of Mystic Power.

There were also several Spiritual Plants, sealed in jade boxes, preserved quite well.

Opening one, inside was a hundred-year-old Red Sun Grass, of good quality.

Several bottles of Medicinal Pills, mostly Yellow-grade pills for healing and recovering Mystic Power.

There were two bottles of Xuan-grade Low Grade Qi Gathering Pills, which could be considered the most valuable items in there.

On the innermost shelf were the Wu Family's Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills.

Ye Yun picked one up and flipped through it.

"Stone-Splitting Fist," Yellow-grade Medium Grade.

He picked up another one.

"Gale Blade Technique," Yellow-grade High Grade.

He took another one.

"Azure Wood Art," Yellow-grade High Grade Cultivation Technique.

He flipped through all of them and then casually tossed them back onto the shelf.

The strongest Cultivation Technique in the entire Wu Family was just one Xuan-grade Low Grade "Mountain-Suppressing Art," which was the one Wu Zhen Cultivated.

Ye Yun took that "Mountain-Suppressing Art" in his hand, flipped through it, read a few pages, and then also tossed it back onto the shelf.

"Just this?"

He looked at the shelves full of Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills and shook his head.

"No wonder the entire Wu Family only produced one Half-step Martial Spirit."

While his mouth expressed disdain, his hands were not idle.

Silver, gold, jade, antiques, xuan stones, Spiritual Plants, Medicinal Pills, Cultivation Techniques, and Secret Manuals—he swept them all into his System space.

He had no use for these things, but whether selling them for money or exchanging them for Contribution Points, it was better than leaving them here to gather dust.

The Wu Family had extorted Qingzhou City for so many years, and the family fortune they had accumulated was not thin.

Just those three chests of silver and over two hundred low-grade mysterious stones were a significant fortune if taken outside.

After confirming there was nothing left in the secret chamber, Ye Yun turned and walked out.

Continuing to look for the person.

...

Finally, in Wu Hao's courtyard, he found Cuier.

Wu Hao's courtyard was in the deepest part of the entire Wu Residence, built quite impressively, with three main rooms and wing rooms on both sides.

In the courtyard, there was also a pomegranate tree planted, with a stone table and stone stools placed beneath it.

The door to the main room was ajar; Ye Yun pushed the door open, and a scent mixed with the smell of blood and something else rushed toward his face.

He walked in.

Then he saw Cuier.

She was curled up in the corner of the room, not wearing any clothes.