Chapter 2442: You don't have this chance anymore!

At this time, there was still a little over an hour until dawn.

The old man glanced at the time, anxious, and returned to the villa, gently knocking on the door of the study on the first floor and respectfully saying: "Young Lady."

From inside came a very young voice, even a bit childish: "Come in."

The old man respectfully said: "Yes, Young Lady!"

After saying that, he gently pushed open the door.

Although this villa overall looked like a Western detached house, the interior decoration was thoroughly Chinese in its antique charm.

In the study, a girl with exceptionally delicate and lovely features and skin that could be broken by a blow sat before a top-tier Hainan Huang Huali desk, engrossed in a yellowed ancient book.

The girl was exquisitely beautiful—no flaw could be found in her five features, and even her long, upward-curving eyelashes were perfect beyond words.

She wore a Chinese-style embroidered silk dress paired with a beautiful cloud shoulder embroidered with four-corner auspicious clouds, exuding strong classical charm; it was clear she was a fervent lover of Hanfu culture.

As the old man entered, the girl put down her book and looked at him, asking: "Is everything packed?"

"Replying to Young Lady, not yet," the old man said: "Your collection of blue-and-white porcelain is simply too vast; the servants are packing them one by one, but departing before dawn should be no problem."

The girl's expression grew somewhat gloomy as she sighed: "Perhaps we shouldn't bring those blue-and-white porcelains after all—how embarrassing. If it weren't for my obsession with these things, we wouldn't be in danger of leaking our whereabouts..."

The old man smiled slightly and said: "Young Lady, these are your treasured possessions; packing them won't take long and won't delay your scheduled time."

"Well..." the girl lightly nodded, speaking with a touch of regret: "I really am reluctant to leave this place; once I go, I fear I may never have the chance to return."

The old man quickly comforted her: "Young Lady, once we settle in the new place, I will surely help you build a new farm; if you like, I can even replicate this place exactly one-to-one."

"Good," the girl smiled faintly, saying: "Then next time I want to try raising a few Jersey cows—I feel they're small, chubby, and very cute."

The old man nodded and laughed: "Sure! When we reach Russia's Far East, I will certainly raise for you the finest Jersey cows!"

The girl laughed: "I just don't know if the climate there is suitable."

The old man laughed: "It should be fine—when winter comes, we'll keep the cows indoors, as long as we prepare enough fodder."

"Good," the girl nodded, saying: "These past two days I've felt restless; I'll cast another divination."

Speaking, she pulled open the desk drawer and took out nine different copper coins from inside.

Then she arranged the nine copper coins on the desk surface into three rows, and with her delicate jade-like hand picked up the first coin of the first row, the second of the second row, and the third of the third row.

Next, she closed her eyes, silently murmuring something, and tossed these three copper coins onto the desk.

The girl opened her eyes, saw the three copper coins, and exclaimed in alarm: "The calamity I divined the day before yesterday has already arrived..."

The old man exclaimed in shock: "So soon?!"

The girl nodded without speaking, her brows furrowed solemnly as she looked at the remaining six copper coins.

At this moment, the previous nine copper coins, having just been taken by the girl along the diagonal from upper left to lower right, left the remaining six coins forming two triangles in the lower left and upper right.

She grabbed the three copper coins in the lower left, hastily threw them onto the desk, and with an even more horrified expression said: "The divination shows extreme bloodshed—there will surely be slaughter today..."

As she said this, she couldn't help muttering: "That's not right... I divined last night, and though the omen showed I would face a calamity, it was supposed to be a peril overcome safely..."

Having said that, she quickly grabbed the remaining three copper coins and threw them all onto the desk.

But due to her nervousness, one of the three coins, having been thrown with too much force, slid off the desk and fell to the floor. Seeing the two coins left on the desk, the girl was about to rise to examine the one on the floor clearly when suddenly, from outside, someone let out a miserable cry and shouted: "Quick! Assassins!"

Immediately after, the sound of bullets spraying and objects being hit by gunfire could be heard from all directions.

The old man's expression instantly tightened as he blurted: "Young Lady... they've come for us..."

The girl's expression also turned to utter shock; she was about to look at the last copper coin clearly, but the old man had already drawn a pistol from his waist, stepped back to shield her, and said with a stern expression: "Young Lady, rest assured—so long as I live, I will lay down my life to protect you completely!"

Hardly had he finished speaking when footsteps approached gradually, and many bullets even struck the study's walls.

Immediately after, the study's door was suddenly kicked open, and several black-clad men wielding carbines rushed in swiftly.

The old man hesitated not, immediately firing at the leader, but the leader easily dodged the bullets from the gun's muzzle, then rushed forward, seized the old man's gun-wielding wrist, and rendered him immobile.

Immediately after, the leader's face showed a hint of a cruel smile; his other hand suddenly produced a dagger from somewhere, raised it, and prepared to chop off the old man's arm at the root.

The girl quickly shouted loudly: "Take whatever you want, just don't move my grandfather!"

The leader looked at the girl and coldly snorted, then said: "Sorry, little miss, we're not here to rob you—we're here to take you two away."

The girl's expression flickered with panic, yet she forced composure and said: "We're just ordinary people, with little money and little family wealth; kidnapping us won't bring you any benefit..."

The leader laughed and said: "Little brat, when I came in just now, I saw your cat's feeding bowl is official kiln Yuan blue-and-white; just this set of blue-and-white porcelain in this house alone is worth at least several hundred million US dollars—do you really think I know nothing and can be toyed with by a country girl like you?"

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately said: "Since you recognize their value, then take all those blue-and-white porcelains—just let me and my grandfather go free!"

The leader said coldly: "Don't worry, I won't kill you, for the order I received is to bring you two back alive!"

Upon hearing this, the old man quickly said: "Good! Let me go with you—my granddaughter is still young; please show mercy and spare her!"

The leader sneered contemptuously: "Old fool, your people outside are all dead—what right do you have to negotiate with me?"

Having said that, his expression instantly shifted to one of solemn reverence as he said: "The Ying Lord has commanded: you two must go alive to see him! Remember, this is your honor! Even I have never had the chance to see the Ying Lord's true face!"

Saying this, he suddenly couldn't suppress his excitement and laughed, saying: "But this time, thanks to you two, if I achieve great merit afterward, I might also get the chance to meet the Ying Lord!"

Just then, a cold voice came from outside the door: "Sorry, you don't have this chance!"