The cave entrance was only wide enough for one person. An Ning cautiously approached and peered inside. It was pitch black—she couldn’t see a thing.
She pulled out a flashlight from her space, a high-powered one that could illuminate up to 5,000 meters. Turning it on, the passage was lit as bright as day.
The cave wasn’t deep, only about four or five meters. From the pile of firewood, An Ning carefully picked up a log thicker than her arm. She weighed it in her hands—it was heavy but still somewhat dry. Satisfied, she tossed it into the cave. The log rolled a few times before stopping. Waiting five more minutes, she saw nothing had happened.
Cautiously, she stepped inside, eyes alert, ready to retreat into her space at the first sign of danger.
Just a few meters in, she saw that the cave bent downward at the end, with what looked like a set of steps. The stairs were coated in dust, clearly unused for a long time.
Wait… that wasn’t dust. It was a powdery residue from tree leaves, like wood ash. Anyone touching it would immediately turn blue on any exposed skin—a mark that would last at least a month.
Damn, the Jiang family was really cautious. This powder could be dangerous for others, but to her, someone who could manipulate her storage space, it was completely useless.
She immediately sent herself into the space. With a wave of her hand, a screen appeared in front of her, showing the stairway outside.
She stepped onto the stairs via the screen, just like driving the Land Rover earlier. A few steps in, she was already familiar with the terrain.
A few more steps, turning a corner… and she noticed a light. Initially thinking to leave the space, An Ning hesitated.
What was this? Was someone else after the treasure? Impossible! According to the book, the treasure wasn’t taken out until after the Reform and Opening period.
Jiang Chenggong had two sons and a daughter. The daughter got lost during their escape, leaving only the two sons by his side.
An Ning waited inside the space for a while, seeing no movement outside. The cave was silent.
Carefully exiting the space, she approached the light. Up close, she realized it came from a fist-sized luminous pearl.
A luminous pearl of this size was extremely rare. She had never even heard of one being auctioned before—it must be priceless. Maybe it had been passed as a gift among influential families.
The cave itself was large, roughly 200 square meters, lined with rows of boxes.
A rough count: over 100 boxes. An Ning opened one nearby—it was a box of gold bricks.
Not just any gold—the bricks were neatly stacked, each about the size of a red construction brick and weighing around 1,000 grams. Two rows of ten per layer, five layers per box—100 bricks per box. She was rich, she was rich!
She opened a few more boxes: gold, jade, or other treasures. She decided not to open them all now and stored them in her space for later organization.
With a wave of her hand, the front few boxes disappeared into the space. She continued forward, now only able to collect objects within two meters of her—anything further required touch.
She methodically stored all 100-plus boxes in her space, then moved the space, stepping up the stairs.
Soon, she exited the cave and restored the firewood area and the hidden switch, carefully erasing any traces of her presence.
Treasure secured, An Ning felt elated. She wanted to hum a tune but reminded herself she was here to collect, not celebrate.
In high spirits, she walked toward the yard, passing the two sleeping dogs.
Suddenly, she thought of a monk from a TV show, eating dog meat with wine. Right, dog meat is meat! There’s a saying: “Dog meat cooked thrice, even immortals can’t stand steady.”
Meat so good it could unsteady immortals—definitely delicious. In her previous life, she had loved eating dog meat, especially in winter.
These two dogs were Jiang family guard dogs. Dog meat like theirs would be flavorful, and if you didn’t eat it, it was a waste.
She sent the two dogs into the space. In winter, the whole family could enjoy a stew while watching snow—pure bliss. The two dogs in the yard instantly vanished.
After this, An Ning thought of the book: the Jiang family had once “given” the original An Ning to that old dog, Ge. Because of her beauty and figure, she was sent to curry favor with Ge, who passed her to several high-ranking city officials. The Jiang family and Ge profited, while An Ning, unable to endure the humiliation, jumped into a river and ended her young life.
Though she was no longer the original An Ning, she now occupied her body. Any debts of revenge owed, she intended to settle.
With time to spare, she drove toward Ge’s house, storing the Land Rover in her space. The small Western-style house stood silently, seemingly peaceful.
Outside, red slogans read:
“Carry out revolution, boost production!”
“Serve the people wholeheartedly!”
It looked like the residence of an upright official, but inside, it was corrupt to the core.
The book mentioned a secret room under the kitchen firewood storage—Ge had stored over the years countless things plundered from others. Most were in the basement, some in the courtyard for his mistress and her child. Ge’s wife, Xu Hongli, had no idea her husband had a mistress. She assumed the basement contained all their wealth and took charge of cooking daily.
An Ning’s target now was the basement under the firewood pile.
It was past 1 a.m., dark and silent, with only occasional distant dog barks breaking the stillness.