Chapter 210: Yu Xiazi's Treasure

In the dead of night, Que Wei Shan.

A round bright moon hung high in the cool, cool night sky, causing all the myriad stars to lose their color.

Although it was the first day of the lunar month, the moon was overly bright.

The moonlight, white as frost, poured over the land; in places without obstruction, even the road could be faintly seen.

Chen Wuji crouched in a mountain hollow, turning his head to look at the few thatched huts not far away where a bonfire burned.

The Chen family's main vein gathered its young strongmen, all present, none missing.

Tonight is not an individual fight, but a group battle.

"I remember Yu Xiazi doesn't have many followers; why go to such trouble?" Chen Wuji wondered aloud, lowering his voice to ask Chen Bushi beside him.

He always felt that tonight's battle had been specially prepared for him by Chen Bushi.

"The day after tomorrow is the day you inherit the family headship; our main vein's caliber you should already know. Tonight I'll give you, as the future family head, lasting confidence." Chen Bushi said softly, "From now on, you don't need to do anything; just watch."

Chen Wuji silently thought, "As expected," feeling that he had come aiming straight at him.

"Alright, then I'll just watch." He replied.

These matters, Chen Bushi and his people have surely long been practiced to perfection; there's no room for him to micromanage, and he indeed needs to watch closely.

Chen Bushi nodded slightly, gave a low shout, "Move out!"

At his command, the usually honest and simple farmers suddenly turned into the most agile warriors; under only moonlight, they darted through the woods like leopards, splitting into two groups and racing straight for the distant thatched huts.

Suddenly, fierce barking rang out.

The mountains and wilderness were silent; those fierce, tearing barks were extraordinarily loud, as if exploding beside the ear. A dog's ability to hold the guardhouse seat through countless ages corresponds to genuine strength.

Voices rose from the thatched huts—some cursing, some shouting about an enemy attack.

The Chen family clan's advance was discovered.

The people following Yu Xiazi were all deserters from the border army; these shouts still carried the military's manner.

Chen Wuji walked out of the woods and also sneaked up.

Chen Luozi and the others had scouted Que Wei Shan many times; logically they should have long known Yu Xiazi's situation and prepared a counter for being discovered by the dogs.

But Chen Wuji still had to prepare for the possibility of having no countermeasure, ready to lend support at any moment.

As Chen Wuji approached the mountain, the battle broke out.

Scattered torches flickered in and out of sight in the dense forest, chasing each other.

Soon after, those torches all went out, and the barking and shouting ceased.

It was very abrupt, as if someone had hit the pause button.

After about a quarter of an hour, the area around the thatched huts lit up with rows of torches.

At that moment, Chen Wuji had also reached the side of the thatched huts.

He also clearly saw the cold faces of the Chen clan members beneath the torches.

They settled the fight in less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick.

No surprise; it was likely one side as bait to deliberately lure Yu Xiazi, while the other side ambushed halfway, catching Yu Xiazi and his pack of dogs off guard.

Chen Wuji stepped out of the shadows, "Indeed, there was no place for me to fight; it truly gave me a huge boost of confidence."

"This is our secret." Chen Bushi gave a faint smile and said, "We have never forgotten our ancestors' teachings; when there's no opportunity, we seek chances to train—martial arts must not be abandoned."

Chen Wuji was deeply moved; this is what a clan with strong faith looks like.

Fortunately, these are our own people, not enemies.

If we ever met such an enemy, we would surely be vexed to death.

Chen Luozi led a few people out from the thatched huts, saying, "What bad luck—we found eighty taels of silver and a big living person, and nothing else. These bastards, however, hid a pile of women's clothing with names written on them, likely looted."

"Only eighty taels?" Chen Bushi's mouth twitched; "That's far from the rumors—let's search more carefully; there might be a cellar nearby."

"Yes."

"Uncle Luozi," Chen Wuji asked thoughtfully, "What kind of women's clothing?"

"Almost all are undergarments and similar items, placed in several chests." Chen Luozi cursed, "I rushed in and saw all those chests, got excited, thinking they were full of gold and silver treasure, but when I opened them, a rush of rouge and powder scent hit me—damn it."

"Stop looking; I doubt there's any gold and silver treasure left." Chen Wuji said.

"Why?" Chen Luozi asked doubtfully, "We've learned a lot lately—Yu Xiazi really should have hidden a cache of treasure; the rumors aren't false."

Chen Wuji rubbed his face, feeling somewhat vexed, and said, "Yu Xiazi's gold and silver treasure is probably just those few chests of women's clothing. No doubt, it's likely the women they've sought out—each one they kept a piece of, with a name written on it; if the handwriting differs, it's certainly not looted but bought with money."

"And the women whose clothes they keep to savor later are likely from the brothels—those with looks and some fame, like head courtesans or top beauties. Moreover, they wouldn't stay just a short time; merely playing around, with many women they'd surely forget, so at least they'd have to stay one or two days in the woman's room."

Chen Luozi's expression went blank; "What the hell kind of dog's behavior is this bastard's? Collecting women's clothes—what's there to reminisce about? If you feel like it, just go find them!"

"However, the writing on those clothes is indeed different; some are even drawn as symbols."

Chen Bushi and the others were also somewhat startled; they clearly hadn't expected there to be such a hidden story behind this.

"A fetish." Chen Wuji said.

"If anyone among you has been to the brothels, you can roughly estimate how much silver it would cost to stay two days there, then count the clothing inside—you'll get a rough idea of how much money Yu Xiazi has hidden."

Nobody spoke.

What scholars and refined gentlemen consider an elegant affair is, for these honest farmers, actually a disgraceful thing; even if they've gone, obviously no one wants to admit it.

Chen Wuji chuckled, "Is ten taels enough?"

Chen Luozi looked at the people on either side, shook his head, "I think it might be a bit short."

"Twenty taels?"

"Should be about right, though getting a top courtesan might be a bit iffy; let's go with twenty taels—I'll go count." Chen Luozi turned and slipped into the left-side thatched hut.

Soon after, a wail suddenly came from inside—Chen Luozi's lament.

"Damn dog bastard, this son of a bitch actually spent nearly ten thousand taels in the brothels! Damn dog bastard, damn dog bastard—ten thousand taels, how many women could you buy? You go splurge in the blue‑light districts! Damn it, laborers will chop you into a thousand pieces, you infuriate me to death!"