Chapter 391: Stealing Celestial Secret: Soaring Divine Fire

The Jade Pendant spun a half-turn in his palm, the Chi Hu’s face pointing up, then it spun another half-turn, revealing the back.

The carving on the back was simpler, decorated only with cloud patterns. The lines of the clouds were smooth and natural, perfectly complementing the Chi Hu on the front.

Unlike the talkative Zhai Jia, Zhai Yu wasted no words. He examined the Jade Pendant carefully, his gaze tracing the Chi Hu from head to tail, observing the texture of the jade.

“This thing feels ancient,” Zhai Yu couldn’t help but remark. “The jade is high quality, and the craftsmanship is superb… It’s hard to believe this has anything to do with Qi Refiners.”

He handed the Jade Pendant back to Wan Ze.

But Wan Ze didn’t take it.

“Brother Yu, you keep it,” Wan Ze said casually, then added thoughtfully, “We can try to figure out its origins later.”

Zhai Yu froze.

He instinctively looked at Wan Ze.

Wan Ze’s eyes were calm, confirming that this wasn’t just a polite gesture.

Seeing this, Zhai Yu said no more and carefully put the Jade Pendant away.

He placed it in the inner pocket of his jacket and pressed the pocket’s button shut, making sure it was secure.

Wan Ze’s voice dropped, his tone growing much more serious. “We need an expert for this. But we have to be careful about involving a third party. We need to avoid alerting anyone from Huangliang. By the way, Brother Yu, it’s best if you have a trustworthy expert. If not, I recommend Professor Song. The one from the archaeology department at National University. I’ve dealt with him a few times. He’s reliable and tight-lipped.”

Zhai Yu nodded. “Got it.”

Wan Ze turned, and a smile he hadn’t shown in a long time finally broke across his face as he looked at the open safe. He bent down, reached both hands into the bottom shelf, grabbed two stacks of cash, and stuffed them into a burlap sack.

THWAP. It was a beautiful sound.

Wan Ze reached in again, grabbed two more stacks, and stuffed them in. He grabbed more, then stuffed again.

He glanced back. “Brother Yu, what are you standing there for? Let’s get this money!”

Zhai Yu snapped out of it, walked over to the safe, squatted down, and also reached in to grab two stacks of cash, stuffing them into his own burlap sack.

Wan Ze reached for the gold bars next.

The gold bars were much heavier than the cash.

He took the gold bars one by one from their velvet-lined tray and tossed them into the sack. The bars mixed with the cash, making a metallic CLANK CLANK—an even more beautiful sound, goddammit.

Zhai Yu gave Wan Ze an exasperated look but didn’t say anything.

He went back to filling his own sack, stuffing the gold bars from the second shelf in one by one.

But suddenly, Wan Ze stopped.

A slip of paper was pinned beneath the gold bar tray, just a white corner showing.

Wan Ze lifted the tray and plucked the note out with two fingers.

The note wasn’t large, about as long as his palm and two fingers wide, and it had been folded three times.

He and Zhai Yu exchanged a look.

Then, Wan Ze unfolded the note.

Zhai Yu leaned in, his body tilting forward.

The two of them looked at the note together.

Whatever he saw, Zhai Yu’s expression changed in an instant.

After reading it, Wan Ze also took a deep breath.

He looked up from the note to stare at the basement wall, silent for a moment before letting out a self-deprecating laugh. “This woman is really something else.”

The note was from Xiao Ya.

Judging by the handwriting, the note hadn’t been written long ago—probably within the last twelve hours.

Of course, it hadn’t just been left there, either.

Right now, Xiao Ya was still at Lingyun Manor under the protection of Zhai Yu’s men. Even if she had wings, she couldn’t have flown over.

That meant there was only one possibility.

After learning of Zhao Henian’s entire plan, Xiao Ya had set all of this in motion.

But this woman was incredibly bold.

A plan like this could only go one of two ways.

If she had been killed by Wan Ze at Hengjiang Bridge a few hours ago, then the contents of this safe would never have been revealed, and this note would never have been seen.

But if she survived, she was confident she could strike a deal with Wan Ze’s side.

Then this note would be found, and its contents would be her true bargaining chip.

Wan Ze and Zhai Yu exchanged another look.

In that single second, they exchanged far more information than words ever could.

Wan Ze sighed. “Brother Yu, this woman is going to be a handful… How about we just kill her?”

Zhai Yu paused.

He stared at Wan Ze for about two seconds, then spoke. His voice was dead serious, without a trace of hesitation. “Then I’ll kill her when we get back.”

Wan Ze was left speechless.

He turned his head to look at Zhai Yu.

‘I was just running my mouth, and you actually took me seriously?’

He immediately backtracked. He knew that Zhai Yu would actually do it when they got back tonight, without a moment’s hesitation or a shred of remorse.

In Zhai Yu’s worldview, mercy toward an enemy was cruelty to oneself. The best way to deal with a difficult opponent was to make sure she was no longer an opponent at all.

“Let’s focus on the bigger picture. Brother Yu, let’s get the money first,” Wan Ze said, shaking his head. He refolded the note and stuffed it into his own pocket.

Zhai Yu understood what he meant and resigned himself to it.

Besides, he knew this was the more practical choice.

Without another word, he turned, bent down, and continued stuffing gold bars into his sack.

The two burlap sacks were quickly filled.

Wan Ze picked up his sack and tested its weight. It was a hefty haul.

Zhai Yu picked up his own sack, which was about the same weight.

They both tied their sacks shut, and each hoisted one onto his shoulder.

With Wan Ze in the lead and Zhai Yu following, they walked up the steps, crossed the warehouse hall, and stepped back out into the night.

The night air had grown cooler, feeling as if it was about to rain.

Before long, a low, deep rumble of thunder rolled across the distant horizon, then faded.