Fu Dongshou’s eyes shifted slightly before he put on a show of helping Zong Sisi to her feet.
“Your father, Zong Huaiyu, is the head of the Shen family. In Yangcheng, he’s considered a man of status and reputation.
And yet he carried on an immoral affair with your family’s maid and engaged in such disgraceful behavior. Such depravity is truly contemptible.
While he deserves severe punishment, he’s already been shown leniency. Considering the Shen family’s standing in Yangcheng, the fact that your entire family wasn’t publicly denounced and classified as enemies is already a stroke of incredible luck.”
As Fu Dongshou said those last words, his tone grew noticeably heavier. He cast a meaningful glance at the silent Zong Huaiyu.
Not once did he mention the name “Fu Boda.” Instead, he conveniently dumped the entire blame onto Zong Huaiyu.
Zong Huaiyu, whose face already looked as if he’d swallowed poison, darkened even further.
Though he dared not show it outwardly, he cursed furiously inside:
Damn it. Getting my ass blasted by your nephew was humiliating enough. As the uncle, you won’t even offer compensation? Now you’re trying to shake me down too?
His backside was already burning with pain, and now his anger made it feel even worse.
Shen Youchu took in the entire scene.
Something felt off.
Without drawing attention to herself, she quietly turned and left.
She had never actually entered the office, keeping herself in a position where she could easily go unnoticed.
So unnoticed, in fact, that even Zong Sisi and Zong Xiaxia—who had come with her—failed to realize she was gone.
After leaving the Revolutionary Committee office, Shen Youchu didn’t head home immediately.
Instead, she found a large tree nearby and crouched beneath it.
Her mind raced.
Fu Dongshou’s intentions had been obvious enough.
He was planning to use this incident to take a huge bite out of the Shen family.
She had already cleaned out the little western-style villa, but she still hadn’t figured out where Zong Huaiyu had hidden the assets he’d secretly transferred away. Would those be affected too?
The man was a coward through and through. If he discovered the villa’s wealth had vanished, there was a good chance he’d tap into those hidden assets to save himself.
The thought made Shen Youchu spring to her feet.
“No. I can’t just sit around and wait.”
With Zong Huaiyu under arrest, there was no way to get information from him.
And going head-to-head with Fu Dongshou was even less realistic.
She might have amassed a considerable fortune since arriving here, but in the face of true political power, she was still helpless.
That was why she’d chosen to remain a bystander just now.
Even though the situation involved the Shen family and threatened her own interests, she had kept silent.
Shen Youchu understood a timeless truth:
Commoners do not fight officials.
When brute force is useless, knowing when to hide your claws is the wiser choice.
Then a memory surfaced.
The original owner’s memories contained an address connected to Fu Dongshou.
Right now, recovering at least part of her potential losses was the smartest move.
Whether Zong Huaiyu intended to use those hidden assets or not, there was nothing wrong with taking precautions.
The memory had only resurfaced tonight upon seeing Fu Dongshou in person.
Every holiday and festival, Zong Huaiyu had ordered the original owner to prepare gifts for the notoriously corrupt official.
Since she had always been responsible for purchasing and delivering those gifts, the address was deeply engraved in her memory.
She couldn’t be certain it was Fu Dongshou’s main stash house.
But one thing was certain:
There would be treasures there.
The location was astonishingly remote.
Shen Youchu left town and passed through several villages before finally arriving.
Staring at the five- to six-meter-high wall before her, she was dumbfounded.
“Holy crap. This old bastard hid himself all the way out in the wilderness and still built walls this high? Was that really necessary?”
She had no choice but to adapt.
Slowly, she approached.
The closer she got, the more dead branches and dry leaves she noticed scattered around the outer perimeter.
They looked deliberately placed, designed to make noise if anyone stepped on them.
Fortunately, Shen Youchu’s years of military service had given her extensive fieldcraft experience.
In just a few movements, she silently reached the wall.
Pressing herself against the stone, she listened carefully.
The clinking of chains echoed from inside.
There was probably a guard dog.
Running her fingers over the rough stone surface, she silently thanked her luck.
At least it wasn’t polished smooth.
Otherwise, climbing it would have been a real problem.
With a slight crouch, she launched herself upward.
Her feet kicked off the wall three times in rapid succession.
Her hands caught the top.
Then, with a sideways twist, she vaulted cleanly over the five- to six-meter wall.
The entire sequence flowed smoothly as one continuous motion.
As for the guard dog?
Before she even landed, she’d already stored it inside her spatial pocket.
Shen Youchu concealed herself in the shadows of the courtyard and glanced at the sky.
“Damn, this place is huge. If I search manually, it’ll be daylight before I find anything.”
Without hesitation, she silently recited an incantation and summoned her overpowered helper:
Master Niu Bi.
She never imagined she’d use two of her three monthly summons in a single night.
Master Niu Bi didn’t even need instructions.
He simply sniffed the air and began scanning in every direction.
Less than three seconds later, he pointed.
“Master, there’s an extremely dense concentration of wealth over there.”
Following his finger, Shen Youchu spotted—
another well.
She couldn’t help but sneer.
“Hah. Looks like this old geezer really has a thing for wells.”
Then she gave Master Niu Bi a thumbs-up.
“Honestly, compared to that nose of yours, metal detectors are completely worthless.”
“You flatter me, Master.”
The spirit scratched the back of his head bashfully.
With the guard dog gone, Shen Youchu strode forward confidently.
“Come on. Let’s go collect some treasure.”
She expected to find the same setup as before.
But after jumping into the dry well and searching around, she found no sign of a hidden entrance.
“Hey, are you sure you’ve got the right spot?”
She looked back suspiciously.
Master Niu Bi pressed a hand against the well wall.
“No mistake. It’s here. The entrance was probably sealed with bricks and cement.”
Shen Youchu felt along the wall herself.
“Damn. If we have to break through this, it’ll be sunrise before we’re done.”
Master Niu Bi grinned.
“Don’t worry, Master. As long as I’m here, nothing can stand between you and treasure.
I’ll loosen the section. Use your spatial ability to absorb the debris.”
Shen Youchu nodded.
The moment Master Niu Bi exerted force, she waved her hand and instantly sucked the loosened bricks and mortar into her storage space.
The next second, a familiar tunnel entrance appeared.
Just as she was about to crawl inside, the beam of her flashlight swept across the opening—
and she froze.
Neatly wrapped oil-paper bundles were stacked like bricks, completely blocking the passage.
She pulled one out and opened it.
Ten-yuan banknotes.
Nothing but ten-yuan banknotes.
“Holy hell. Don’t tell me this old bastard filled the whole place with cash?”
Master Niu Bi nodded.
Then shook his head.
Shen Youchu stared.
“What kind of answer is that?”
The spirit floated deeper into the tunnel.
“Gold. Ancient coins. And…”
As he spoke, Shen Youchu collected everything in sight.
After advancing more than ten meters, the tunnel suddenly opened into a vast chamber.
She swept her flashlight around.
Golden reflections exploded in every direction, nearly blinding her.
“Holy… crap.”
Her eyes widened.
Before her stood mountains of gold.
The gold bars varied in size.
Some were as large as washbasins.
Others were only the size of fists.
They looked like fragments broken off from something much larger.
Everywhere she looked—gold.
An endless sea of gold.
And the ancient coins?
They weren’t counted by the piece.
They were stored by the vatful.