“Haha, boss, we’ve caught a fat sheep this time!”
“Whoa—incredible! There are so many treasures in this collection! As expected of a century-old scholarly family!”
“We’ve struck gold with this haul!”
Jubilant cries echoed through the quiet collection room. Two men and two women, recognized as martial arts experts, stood guard at the door without moving. The rest of the accomplices, acting on instinct, rushed into the collection room at the command.
The only female among them, who appeared to be of school age, walked slowly at the back, clutching a thick book tightly to her chest. She came to a stop in the collection room, carefully laying the book flat to reveal the title “Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts” on its cover. Xue Hao and the others noticed that as soon as she produced this book, everyone’s eyes focused on it.
“Is this… porcelain from the Yong Dynasty?” The black-haired girl with a scholarly air examined the antiques on the nearest shelf while flipping through the catalog in her hands.
Rustle, rustle.
From the perspective of those by the wall, they could only vaguely see a corner of an exquisite illustration on the page she had turned to—was it a porcelain vase?
Before they could figure out what she was doing, an astonishing scene unfolded—
The yellow-haired youth beside her immediately stepped forward, lifting the porcelain piece from the shelf with both hands. He eagerly placed it over the open book in the girl’s hands, saying, “Let me! I’ll handle the first one!”As the base of the porcelain touched the page, the youth let go.
The onlookers thought they would hear the sound of shattering porcelain in the next second, but instead, the moment it touched the page, the piece vanished as if it had fallen into an invisible black hole.
—Had it been stored within that page?!
The observers’ eyes widened as they belatedly understood.
Suddenly, a term flashed through their minds like lightning.
Extraordinary artifact!!!
That Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts was clearly an extraordinary item. And a most practical one at that—capable of storing objects.
Soon, the black-haired girl moved to the next antique, examining it while flipping through her catalog. The observers watched as they repeated the process, storing one antique after another into the “Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts.”
The collection room continuously echoed with the sound of the girl appraising antiques, occasionally interspersed with laughter and the sycophantic praise of the followers for the girl and their leaders.
A nameless fire burned fiercely in the hearts of Xue Hao and the others.
Even though they weren’t the owners of this collection room, watching these robbers freely plunder treasures and chat casually as if in their own home made their blood boil.
As for An Xiaoxi, who was half an owner, her feelings were imaginable.
The antiques and treasures in this collection room, apart from those inherited from ancestors, were all her grandfather’s prized possessions. She often helped her grandfather clean the collection room, and as a child, she would rest her head on his knee and listen to him recount the stories behind each piece. It could be said that every antique here was imbued with the emotions of their grandparent-grandchild relationship. How could she bear to watch them being ruthlessly pillaged?
Surely her grandfather would fall ill with anger if he knew about this?
However, the situation was beyond their control. An Xiaoxi couldn’t discern the martial prowess of these leaders, but seeing the Ji siblings’ temporary silence and lack of resistance, she knew their opponents must be formidable.
Thinking of her grandfather resting upstairs and the four guests inadvertently involved, An Xiaoxi chose to remain silent. Her hand at her side repeatedly clenched and relaxed, while her downcast eyes shifted from panic and anger to quiet contemplation.
…When outmatched, playing meek was natural. Even if all the collections were taken, as long as they survived, there was hope to recover what was lost.
But would these people really keep their promise not to kill them?
Recalling the “Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts,” clearly an extraordinary item that these intruders openly used in front of them, seemingly unconcerned about potential leaks… An Xiaoxi’s heart sank.
…The likelihood of them keeping their word was low.
…Silencing them permanently seemed more probable.
They couldn’t just wait for death.
Some people become calmer in dire situations. Facing possible death, An Xiaoxi found a strange tranquility.
Past repressions, concerns, and constraints became insignificant in the face of death. Her mind broke free from its shackles, her heart beating more fiercely than ever before.
For years, her life had followed a path laid out by her elders. But now… she would decide her own fate.
Her mind raced, and in a moment of reflection, An Xiaoxi suddenly realized the key to their predicament.
Of course, the Special Case Investigation Team!
Just before these people broke in, Ji Heng had called his contact at the Investigation Team. Was the call still connected?
She discreetly wrote a few strokes on Ji Heng’s palm that held her, and received a slight movement in response.
—The answer was affirmative.
So the Investigation Team knew about their situation. Help must be on the way… Was this why Ji Heng and the others hadn’t rashly resisted?
The only variable now was when the rescue team would arrive.
—The “Encyclopedia of Ancient Artifacts” greatly increased the efficiency of the intruders’ looting, something the Investigation Team likely hadn’t anticipated. As she watched nearly 80% of the collection being stored in that book, with no sign of rescue, An Xiaoxi reasonably feared they might be silenced before help arrived.
She had to find a way to buy time, to make the person on the other end of the line realize the urgency was far greater than expected.
Having made her decision, she hesitated no longer.
A moment later, a trembling female voice broke the silence in the collection room. “Who… who are you people?”
The four guarding the door immediately shifted their gaze towards her.
Seeing it was the girl with the weakest aura and most delicate demeanor among the five, two quickly lost interest and looked away, while the other two regarded her with amusement.
—When they had first burst in, they had immediately noticed that two of the five had considerable martial skill, far superior to the guards outside, but lacked any imposing aura, clearly inexperienced sheltered youths who had never seen real combat.
However, even inexperienced youths could be troublesome. If these two recklessly decided to fight, it could complicate matters and potentially damage the surrounding antiques. So, they had initially released their thick internal energy and the bloodthirsty aura of killers, which had successfully intimidated them.
As for the girl who clearly lacked any cultivation, they paid her no mind. When she asked such a naive question, the woman with a high ponytail among the four was first surprised, then laughed. “Of course we’re robbing the place, little sister. Isn’t it obvious? Don’t you understand?”
She winked flirtatiously, clearly seeing the fear and anger the girl tried to conceal, hearing her voice tremble despite attempts to stay calm. “Are you looking for extraordinary artifacts? These are just ordinary antiques, there’s nothing here you’re seeking…” As she spoke, the girl’s gaze flickered almost imperceptibly towards her companions.
The others stiffened, lowering their heads even further.
“No, no, no, we’re not greedy,” the woman’s smile grew more alluring as she raised a finger. “Extraordinary artifacts are rare finds, we wouldn’t dare hope for such. Little sister, you’re sitting on a gold mine without realizing it. Antique prices have skyrocketed outside. Ah, I envy you, born into such wealth. Unlike us, who have to work hard for everything.”
The girl let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. “I… you can take all these antiques, just leave one or two—they’re family heirlooms, absolutely irreplaceable. If they’re lost, my grandfather couldn’t go on living. You can take everything else, I promise I won’t report to the police! You said earlier, if we cooperate, you won’t kill us, right?”
She was referring to what the lead man had said earlier.
“Little sister, you’re so adorable,” the ponytailed woman seemed amused, her laughter shaking her whole body. She slowly approached, patting the girl’s head. Feeling the fearful trembling under her palm, her tone grew even gentler. “Don’t worry, even if these smelly men break their promise, big sister here will stop them. We’re just after money, not bloodthirsty demons. If you cooperate, leaving you a couple of mementos isn’t impossible.”
Receiving this promise, the girl visibly relaxed, even managing a forced smile. “That’s good…”
The next second, the pressure on her head increased, and the woman’s gentle tone suddenly changed. “But only if you cooperate properly—” The hand on her head swiftly moved to the girl’s chin, gripping it as the woman stared directly into her eyes. “Little sister, you’re not being good. Tell me, where are the extraordinary artifacts?”
By the end, the woman’s tone had turned utterly cold.
The girl, her chin gripped, widened her eyes in terror.
The others couldn’t help but cry out. “Hey—”
The lead man let out a cold snort, unleashing a bloodthirsty killing intent that swept through the collection room, causing the angry faces of the others to turn pale. Ji Heng cooperatively raised his hands. “Don’t, don’t be rash! We don’t know anything, we’re innocent!” The others quickly chimed in as well.
“Yes, yes, we didn’t even know her before this. What extraordinary artifacts? We have no idea!”
“Your acting is too amateurish, think you can fool us? You think no one noticed your little signals to each other?” Not far away, another man sneered, speaking impatiently, “Out with it. Where’s the extraordinary artifact you’re so afraid we’ll find? What are its properties?” As the man spoke, the ponytailed woman shoved the trembling girl towards the center of the collection room.
The man stood up and walked to her side, lifting her like a chicken and stumbling through the remaining antiques in the collection room. His finger pointed at them one by one in the air, “Is it this one, this one, this one… or this one?”
The girl’s gaze shifted with the movement of his finger, and though the changes were subtle, the man caught them.
Until the man pointed to one of the four square display stands in the collection room, he keenly noticed the girl’s suddenly constricted pupils and the agitation she couldn’t hide no matter what.
The man smiled confidently. “So it’s this one?”
On the square platform, a bronze short sword lay quietly in deep red velvet. At this moment, it seemed to have retracted all its brilliance, completely lacking the sharp edge that Xue Hao and the others had seen before.
—This actually made it more convenient for An Xiaoxi’s plan.
—She wondered if this sword was somehow in tune with her heart.
Everyone’s gaze fell on the ancient bronze sword on the square display stand. The man had already revealed a satisfied smile. “You went so far as to fabricate such a clumsy lie, which means this extraordinary item must be among the remaining antiques. If you hadn’t lied to stay behind, it would eventually be packed away with the other antiques. But you’re not worried about us exposing your lie, which indicates this item’s special properties are very subtle, at least not immediately detectable by us… In other words, under normal circumstances, it’s almost indistinguishable from ordinary antiques…”
As he spoke, he had already reached out his hand.
At the same moment, the girl’s voice rang out. She called softly. “Chengyuan…”
“Ah—”
A brilliant sword aura suddenly lit up in the collection room, stinging everyone’s eyes. The unprepared thieves instinctively squinted, momentarily dazed.
Amidst the explosively unleashed sword energy, the man’s miserable screams could be heard. Blood blossomed in everyone’s vision, splashing everywhere like fireworks exploding in the night sky. Several bloody fingers mixed with the spraying blood flew out, splattering onto the faces of the others.
But they had no time to grieve for their unfortunate comrade. The moment the sword energy erupted, someone moved!
Two figures pounced out in perfect coordination. Taking advantage of the thieves being caught off guard by the sudden burst of sword energy, the siblings simultaneously attacked the ponytailed woman closest to them. One aimed for her face with an eye-gouging attack, while the other went for her lower body with a leg sweep. Their movements were practiced and skillful, displaying a synergy greater than the sum of its parts. There was none of the inexperience the thieves had assumed; instead, they gave off the impression of being battle-hardened veterans.
At the very least, it was enough to deal with that ponytailed woman.
Meanwhile, Shi Cheng and Xue Hao seized the opportunity to roll behind the siblings, avoiding being taken as hostages.
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
When the others came to their senses, they saw the ponytailed woman groan, blood trickling from her eyes, her dislocated arm hanging limply at her side – she had clearly been subdued. The siblings restrained her shoulders from both sides, blocking the other two who rushed over. They spoke in unison. “Stay back, don’t come any closer, we have a hostage-”
At the same time, the sound of a sword rang out.
In the center of the collection room, the man was rolling on the ground, clutching his bloody right hand. A bronze short sword had grazed his neck and pinned him to the floor. At the sword’s hilt was a slender, delicate hand.
While pinning down the man’s abdomen with her knee, the girl knelt on one leg, pressing the sword hilt against his throat. Her beautiful face was still pale from the lingering shock, but her downcast eyes revealed an astonishing delight. She looked like a child who had been confined at home for a long time and was experiencing the outside world for the first time, suddenly discovering beautiful sceneries never seen before, genuinely awestruck by it all.
—The moment she gripped the sword, she felt as if she could do anything, kill anyone.
…Far more than she had initially planned to buy time for.
An Xiaoxi’s hand holding the sword hilt was trembling.
But it wasn’t out of fear, it was excitement.
“Don’t move,” she said softly.
“Otherwise, you might die.”
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