Chapter 255: The Treasure Box

Sunlight, laden with dust, shone obliquely onto one side of Xu Damao's face, dividing his entire face into two distinct halves—one half submerged in shadow, the other exposed to the light.

Hearing his Siqiang call, Xu Damao scrambled to the newly dug hole in a few quick steps.

The hole was pitch-black, exuding a sinister chill.

Hu Yunbin pointed into the hole with his hand and said, "It should connect to the kang tunnel inside. It's narrow in there, so be careful when you go in."

"I certainly need to be careful!" The threat from that weasel last night echoed in his mind again: "You won't make it out of this forest!"

Xu Damao shuddered violently, turned his head, and said, "Siqiang, give me the gun! I'm afraid there are weasels making trouble inside!"

Hu Yunbin drew his Japanese Nambu Pistol and handed it over: "Stay alert. If things look bad, just fire, and if it really comes to it, just retreat!"

Xu Damao took a deep breath, hunched over, and crawled into the hole.

His left hand gripped the flashlight tightly, his right hand clutched the gun firmly, and he crawled forward like a snake.

Having crawled about five meters, a black shadow lunged at him!

Two greenish eyes flashed with murderous intent in the darkness, and a sharp claw swiped directly at the hand holding the flashlight!

Xu Damao was so scared his soul nearly flew out, and his finger pulled the trigger involuntarily.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three gunshots exploded in the narrow space, deafening.

The bullets didn't harm the weasel in the slightest; it dodged to the side and vanished into the darkness with a "whoosh."

At this moment, Xu Damao was soaked through with cold sweat.

"Damao, what's going on?" Hu Yunbin asked urgently from outside.

"That, that weasel, it tried to scratch my face!"

"Watch out!" Hu Yunbin raised his voice and shouted.

"Got it!"

Xu Damao steadied himself, crawled another five meters forward, and finally entered the kang tunnel.

He raised the flashlight to illuminate the area—a Bronze Box sat quietly in the very center, its surface covered in mottled green rust, with inlaid gemstones faintly visible; it was clearly quite old.

Scattered around the box were many gold nuggets, shimmering under the flashlight beam like a sea of stars.

Xu Damao desperately raked the scattered gold nuggets into his arms, only stopping when his lapels were weighed down heavily.

He carefully lifted the lid of the Bronze Box, and in an instant, treasure light radiated, nearly dazzling his eyes—

The box had two layers: the top layer was filled with various jade items, intricately carved Jade Pendants and jade plaques, warm and grease-like jade bracelets, and several jade-carved mythical beasts of different shapes.

Xu Damao's heart beat like a drum; every one of these items was worth a fortune!

"Damao, did you find the treasure box?" Hu Yunbin shouted from outside.

"Siqiang, there is a box, but it's too big to move out, what should I do?"

"Hurry up! I don't think these weasels will give up, pack it up and get out quickly!" Hu Yunbin yelled.

"Got it!"

Xu Damao first picked out the two most valuable Jade Pendants and stuffed them into his inner pocket, then packed all the other jade items into the sheepskin bag he had brought with him.

When he lifted the next layer, his eyes went wide—a Phoenix Coronet inlaid with various gemstones lay quietly inside, and next to it were exquisite gold bracelets, gold necklaces, a Gold Toad... each piece was meticulously crafted and extraordinarily magnificent.

He took out his second sheepskin bag and loaded the smaller gold items into it, but the larger items like the Phoenix Coronet wouldn't fit, so he had to wait until the second trip to retrieve them.

Just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the walls, growing louder and louder, like a thousand troops charging forward.

Hu Yunbin also heard the commotion and shouted urgently: "Damao, get out fast! The weasel army is coming!"

Xu Damao scrambled to crawl out, handing the two bags out first, but when he turned back, the kang tunnel was already packed with weasels!

He raised his gun and fired.

"Bang! Bang! Bang..."

These weasels showed no fear of death; as the ones in front fell, the ones behind lunged forward to scratch and claw.

The flashlight was instantly knocked to the ground.

Xu Damao turned quickly and crawled outward desperately, when suddenly he felt a piercing pain in his buttocks—he had been firmly scratched by sharp claws. He kicked a weasel away with one foot. Then he fired wildly behind him.

After a burst of gunfire, the weasels finally stopped chasing him.

Dozens of weasels simultaneously let out farts, and in an instant, a suffocating stench filled the kang tunnel.

Xu Damao was choked to tears, hurriedly covered his mouth and nose, and no longer caring about grabbing the remaining treasures, he scrambled and crawled his way out.

Hu Yunbin outside was also nearly suffocated by the stench and shouted: "Damao, run!"

The two of them rushed out of the cave, and Hu Yunbin immediately ordered: "Quick, fill in the hole!"

The three sturdy men heard this and got to work, their picks and shovels flying.

In less than an hour, the newly dug hole was buried tightly once again.

Hu Yunbin gave the three hired men a gold nugget as agreed, and specifically took out two heavy gold ornaments and stuffed them into Zhao Laosi's hands: "Brother, this time it's all thanks to you."

Zhao Laosi waved his hands repeatedly: "How can I accept this..."

"Take it." Hu Yunbin's tone was firm, "Without you bringing people to help, we wouldn't even have been able to dig open the hole."

Seeing he couldn't refuse, Zhao Laosi carefully tucked the gold ornaments into his bosom, a satisfied look appearing on his face.

Returning to the Po Miao, Hu Yunbin gathered the survivors Cui Dazhi, Xu Damao, Hei San, and Wang Laoqi in one place.

He looked around at everyone and said sternly: "Our trade has had a rule since ancient times—the Siqiang takes sixty percent, and the Apprentices split forty percent. But this time Damao made a great contribution, not only saving my life but also risking his own to enter the hole to retrieve the treasure. I will take ten percent less, and you three will each get ten percent."

Cui Dazhi nodded silently. Xu Damao's contribution this time was indeed significant; even giving him thirty percent wouldn't be too much.

Xu Damao, however, was still thinking about the Phoenix Coronet that hadn't been retrieved, and said regretfully: "That Phoenix Coronet was truly too exquisite, it's a pity we didn't get it out."

"Be content." Hu Yunbin patted him on the shoulder, "Remember, in this trade, greedy people often don't live long."

Xu Damao leaned in and asked: "Siqiang, we have enough travel money now, when are we heading back to Si Jiu Cheng?"

Hu Yunbin pondered for a moment: "Hei San's foot injury is quite serious; he won't be able to walk for a while. I have an idea: Zhao Laosi is a reliable man. Hei San, give him some more money and let him recover at his place. When you're healed, if you're willing to come find us, go to the Siheyuan at number 95 and look for Xu Damao; you'll definitely find us."

Hei San thought for a moment and nodded: "Fourth Boss, I'll listen to you."

Hu Yunbin looked at Wang Laoqi again: "Lao Qi, what are your plans?"

Wang Laoqi hesitated for a long time before finally speaking: "I want to stay here with Lao San for a few months and see what happens after this battle is over. If I can't make a living, I'll go to Si Jiu Cheng to find the Fourth Master."

Hu Yunbin nodded: "That works too."

At dusk, Hu Yunbin led a group including Xu Damao, Wang Laoqi, Hei San, and Cui Dazhi, and after much difficulty, they found the place according to the address Zhao Si had given.

Seeing the group arrive, Zhao Si was very hospitable and immediately slaughtered two chickens to entertain them.

As the sky grew dark, the group sat together, drinking, eating, and chatting about everyday matters.

Wang Laoqi took the opportunity to suggest that he and Hei San stay at his house for a while.

Zhao Laosi readily agreed: "I have plenty of rooms; if you two brothers don't mind, you can just stay in the East Wing."

Hei San continued: "Brother Laosi, my foot injury is quite serious, so I'll have to trouble you to help me invite a physician to take a look." As he spoke, he took out a pair of gold bracelets and handed them to Zhao Laosi: "I don't have any other good things, please accept this small token of my appreciation."

Zhao Laosi hurriedly declined: "Brother, you are being too polite! I will go to town first thing tomorrow morning to fetch a physician. If Brother Wang Laoqi is willing, he can join our father and daughter in hunting from now on."

"That would be wonderful, at least we'll be able to eat meat often," said Wang Laoqi.

The group chatted and found they had much in common; Hu Yunbin also drank a few extra cups and began to talk about his past life as a Gold-Touching Captain, even revealing that he was a member of the Mud Society.

Zhao Laosi did not care about Hu Yunbin's past experiences, only sighing that it was not easy to survive in these chaotic times.

The group became happier as they talked, and the two bottles of wine were soon empty.

Zhao Si said: "Yingzi, go to your uncle's house and borrow a bottle of wine."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao hurriedly ran out: "Sister Yingzi, it's dark, let me go with you!"

Zhao Yingzi looked down on him and curled her lip: "My second uncle is at the edge of the village, it's a long way, are you really willing to go?"

"Don't underestimate me, I killed the human trafficker who kidnapped me when I was nine!"

Zhao Yingzi scoffed: "All you do is brag! With that small frame of yours, I bet you couldn't even kill a sheep!"

Xu Damao was not annoyed; he just smiled and did not argue back.

Just as the two reached the entrance of the village, Xu Damao suddenly sensed something was wrong—in the night, the sound of horses neighing could be vaguely heard from the woods at the edge of the village.