Chapter 217 - 216: Looting the Deng Family
Chapter 217: Chapter 216: Looting the Deng Family
Midnight was approaching, and all was still.
Fang Han opened his eyes, his gaze clear and serene.
He changed into a set of pure black night travel clothes he had already prepared. He then carefully wrapped the hilt and sword scabbard of his "Flowing Wind" sword with black cloth to prevent it from being recognized later.
After confirming there were no other traces on his person that could reveal his identity, he pushed open the window and slipped out as silently as a falling leaf, melting into the deep night.
He pushed his Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique to its limit, completely retracting his aura and minimizing his presence.
He executed the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step, his figure like a phantom, quickly weaving between rooftops and alleys as he headed straight for the Deng Mansion in the west of the city.
Before long, the imposing Deng Mansion appeared before him.
Within the high walls, many areas were brightly lit. Vague figures could be seen moving about, and teams of patrolling guards came and went endlessly. The security was indeed extremely tight.
Clearly, Chu Feng had already informed his subordinate powers of the successive thefts at the Huang and Wu Family estates, and the Deng Family had raised its guard in response.
Fang Han hid in a dark corner outside the mansion and observed carefully for a moment.
He saw that hidden sentries were faintly visible atop the Deng Mansion’s walls.
Inside the mansion gates, both visible and hidden posts were scattered everywhere.
The patrolling guards all had strong auras; they were experts at the Bone Refining Realm at the very least. The team leader even had the cultivation of the Eighth Grade Internal Qi Realm.
This level of defense was enough to make most would-be intruders shrink back in fear.
In Fang Han’s eyes, however, these guards still had numerous gaps and blind spots that could be exploited.
His gaze locked onto a quieter, tree-shrouded corner at the back of the estate. With a light tap of his toes, his body soared silently over the high wall like a great roc, landing inside the mansion grounds.
He landed without a sound, his aura perfectly concealed.
Like a shadow in the dead of night, he used the cover of rockeries, trees, and corridors to perfectly evade the line of sight of all patrolling guards and fixed posts.
Occasionally, guards would pass by him, yet they remained completely oblivious to his presence, even when he was just a stone’s throw away.
The Deng Mansion was vast, filled with numerous pavilions and towers.
Fang Han’s target was clear. He headed straight for the most magnificent and heavily guarded courtyard at the center of the estate—the residence of the Patriarch, Deng Xiong.
Common sense dictated that the most important secret room would most likely be in the area where the Patriarch lived or handled his affairs.
The closer he got to the core courtyard, the denser the guards became, and the number of hidden sentries also noticeably increased.
He could even faintly sense a powerful aura, likely belonging to a Seventh Grade Martial Artist, lurking and moving around the courtyard.
Fang Han’s mind was calm. He pushed his Concealing Breath and Body Technique to the absolute limit he could currently sustain.
Like a slippery fish that couldn’t be caught, he weaved through the gaps in the tight security, finally sneaking into the core courtyard without a hitch.
The courtyard was quite elegant, with pavilions and waterside terraces. The main building was a delicate three-story pavilion, and at this moment, only the window of the second-floor study glowed with a dim, yellow light.
Fang Han held his breath and focused, silently scaling the pavilion like a gecko. He pressed himself close to the study window and peered inside through a crack in the window paper.
Inside the study, he saw a man of about fifty, dressed in a dark purple brocade robe, sitting upright behind a desk.
The man had a thin face with slightly high cheekbones. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as they opened and closed, and his temples bulged high. His aura was deep and powerful. This must be the Deng Family Patriarch, Deng Xiong, a Late Stage of Seventh Grade Martial Artist.
He was currently holding a scroll, his brow slightly furrowed as if deep in thought.
Fang Han observed for a moment, confirming that Deng Xiong was the only person in the study and that there was nothing else out of the ordinary.
Without further hesitation, he pushed open the window and slipped into the study like a wisp of green smoke, landing without a sound.
The effect of the Ten Thousand Transformations Concealing Breath Technique was truly perfect. Deng Xiong remained completely unaware, even when Fang Han was less than ten feet behind him.
Fang Han’s figure suddenly exploded into motion.
His speed was unimaginably fast—the ultimate velocity of the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step after reaching Minor Achievement.
A sense of alarm finally rose in Deng Xiong’s heart.
His expression changed drastically. He shot his head up, only to see a black shadow lunging at him like a phantom.
He had no time to see the intruder’s face, let alone cry out for help. He could only feel a sharp gust of wind rushing toward him.
Shocked and furious, he instinctively tried to circulate his Inner Qi and strike out with his palm.
SWOOSH—
However, Fang Han’s speed was simply too great. The gap between a Sixth Grade and a Seventh Grade was on full display at this moment.
He didn’t draw his sword. Instead, using the cloth-wrapped hilt as his weapon, he executed the widely-known Low Grade Xunfeng Swordsmanship—a technique he hadn’t used in a long time—and struck with pinpoint accuracy at the side of Deng Xiong’s neck.
This strike, whether in speed, power, or timing, had already reached the Mastery Realm.
Deng Xiong only had time to turn his head slightly before the cold hilt pressed heavily against the side of his neck.
THUD!
A muffled sound rang out.
Deng Xiong’s entire body trembled violently. His eyes shot wide open, and a choked "Urk!" escaped his throat.
Then his vision went black, and he collapsed limply into the Grandmaster’s Chair, unconscious.
From the moment Fang Han slipped into the study to when he subdued Deng Xiong, the entire process happened in the blink of an eye. It was clean and efficient, without making a single sound that could alert anyone outside.
Fang Han let out a slow breath and glanced at the unconscious Deng Xiong.
Just as he had expected, after breaking through to the Sixth Grade, dealing with a Seventh Grade Martial Artist—even one at the Late Stage of Seventh Grade—was easy.
He wasted no more time and immediately began searching the study for clues to a secret room.
The study was elegantly furnished, with bookshelves, curio shelves, a desk, and chairs... He didn’t miss a single spot that might hide a mechanism.
He channeled Inner Qi into his fingertips, tapping the walls and floor with extreme lightness and speed, his ear cocked to listen for the echo.
His gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, swept over every subtle bump and pattern.
However, after a thorough search, the walls and floor all proved to be solid, showing no signs of hidden compartments or secret panels.
’It’s not here!’
Fang Han left the study and slipped into the adjoining room, which was clearly Deng Xiong’s bedroom. His search there also turned up nothing.
’It’s not in the study or the bedroom. Could it not be in this courtyard at all?’
Fang Han’s brow furrowed slightly. The study and bedroom were the places a Patriarch frequented the most, places he could always keep an eye on. Therefore, they were the most likely locations for a secret room.
Not finding it in either place made him suspect the secret room wasn’t in Deng Xiong’s courtyard, but he immediately dismissed the thought.
If the secret room weren’t in this core courtyard, the security here would never be this tight.
’The secret room must be in another room within this courtyard.’
Fang Han’s thoughts raced. If he was right, the secret room had to be in one of the other rooms in the courtyard.
Searching them one by one would be time-consuming and would greatly increase the risk of encountering someone else in the courtyard and being exposed.
There had to be a more efficient way.
Suddenly, an idea struck him.
After the thefts at the Huang and Wu Family estates, Deng Xiong would surely be worried about the safety of his wealth and would frequently check on the secret room.
As long as he visited the secret room often, he would inevitably leave behind a stronger and more recent personal scent along his path, especially near the entrance.
And scent was precisely the domain of Tracking Secret Techniques.
’Spirit Nose Technique!’
Fang Han silently activated the Spirit Nose Technique.
Nearly a month had passed, and although he hadn’t focused his main efforts on this Secret Technique, thanks to the terrifying thirty-two-fold amplification from his Secret Technique Talent, his occasional practice had allowed this Low Grade Tracking Secret Technique to naturally reach the Great Success Realm.
At the Great Success Level, his olfactory perception had made another qualitative leap compared to the Mastery stage!
In an instant, a flood of olfactory information from the surrounding world surged into his senses.
Dust, wood, incense, the faint scent of tea and body odor lingering on Deng Xiong... Countless scent molecules became distinct and clearly identifiable.
He focused his mind, concentrating all his effort on capturing and distinguishing Deng Xiong’s unique scent. He then began to move through the courtyard, following the scent’s concentration.
Soon, he noticed that besides being strongest in the study and bedroom, Deng Xiong’s scent trail also formed a relatively clear and frequently used path leading to a side room on the west side of the courtyard, one that appeared to be used for storing junk.
This side room was in a remote location, its door padlocked, and it looked completely unremarkable.
But Fang Han’s keen senses told him that although Deng Xiong’s scent here wasn’t as strong as in the study or bedroom, it carried the signature of "recent, frequent lingering."
’This is it!’
A sharp glint flashed in Fang Han’s eyes as he arrived before the side room’s door.
The lock was an ordinary bronze one. With a slight exertion of force from his fingertips, he crushed it.
Pushing the door open, he entered a room piled with old furniture and miscellaneous items, all covered in dust.
Fang Han held his breath, focused, and activated the Spirit Nose Technique once more, carefully sensing his surroundings.
Soon, he pinpointed the spot where Deng Xiong’s scent was most concentrated—behind a dilapidated wardrobe against the wall.
He went forward and moved the wardrobe aside, revealing a bare wall behind it.
But when Fang Han tapped it with his finger, the resulting echo sounded slightly hollow and muffled.
He carefully felt along the wall’s surface and soon discovered an extremely subtle protrusion in an inconspicuous crack between the bricks in a corner.
He pressed it lightly.
CLICK.
With the soft sound of a mechanism, the wall slid silently open, revealing a descending staircase.
Elated, Fang Han ducked inside without hesitation.
The secret room was not large, but the sight inside made Fang Han’s breath catch.
Inside, neatly stacked, were no fewer than twenty or thirty mahogany chests of various sizes!
The lids of the chests were ajar, revealing gleaming gold ingots, shining silver ingots, and a dazzling array of precious jewels like pearls, agates, and jadeite.
The glittering treasure practically illuminated the entire secret room with a magnificent radiance!
The Deng Family had multiple Seventh Grade Martial Artists and was more powerful than the Huang and Wu Families. As expected, its accumulated wealth was also far greater.
’System Panel!’
Fang Han suppressed the excitement in his heart and summoned the system panel with a thought.
A translucent screen of light quietly unfolded.
[Host: Fang Han]
[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 64x (Level 7 Amplification requires 10,000,000 silver)]
[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 64x (Level 7 Amplification requires 10,000,000 silver)]
[Stepping Talent Amplification: 32x (Level 6 Amplification requires 1,000,000 silver)]
[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 32x (Level 6 Amplification requires 1,000,000 silver)]
[Current Wealth: 123,000 silver]
’Recharge!’
He focused his mind on the mountain of chests.