Chapter 910: Striking it Rich

Wang Chen had just slipped back into his inn room, still clad in his stealth suit, when a sudden pang of unease gripped his heart.

He turned his gaze toward the window and saw flames and thick smoke billowing from the Ling family ancestral hall!

The inn where Wang Chen was staying was not far from the Ling family residence, and since he had booked a room on the third floor with an unobstructed view, he could see everything with stark clarity.

“Fire!”

At that very moment, someone struck the alarm gong, shouting loudly to rally help.

Wang Chen watched as the ancestral hall was consumed by roaring flames, his heart sinking deeper with each passing second.

He had left the place not long ago, and it was impossible for the fire to have started on its own—the only explanation was that the Third Uncle, the guardian of the ancestral hall, had set it ablaze himself.

As for why the elder had done such a thing…

Wang Chen wanted to cry out, “Old man, you truly didn’t need to go this far!”

Though he had revealed his current identity to the Third Uncle, Wang Chen had never intended to keep it a secret—Blood Guards never recruited individuals of dubious origins.

It was only a matter of time before the Ling family learned the truth.

Even if the Third Uncle had spoken of it, it wouldn’t have mattered.

Yet, the old man chose to perish alongside the ancestral hall he had devoted half his life to protecting!

Could it be that he feared the secret of the final two layers of the Bloodshed Wheel technique would be extracted from him by force?

After all, this was a secret the Third Uncle had not even shared with Ling Hongyun.

Or perhaps the Third Uncle knew of the hidden chamber beneath the ancestral hall?

To safeguard the secret, he chose to end his own life?

The truth, whatever it may be, would now be lost forever, consumed by the flames of the burning hall.

Wang Chen stood by the window, his heart heavy and unsettled.

It was as if a faint trace of Ling Zhiyuan’s residual spirit lingered in the depths of his memory, making the scene resonate deeply within him.

The fire at the Ling family ancestral hall was eventually extinguished, sparing the neighboring Ling family from further damage.

But the ripple effects of the incident were only beginning. The next morning, while having breakfast at a nearby eatery, Wang Chen overheard the chatter of other patrons.

Some reveled in the misfortune, others lamented with dramatic sighs, and a few whispered mysteriously about the Ling family’s streak of bad luck—first the death of the family head, and now the burning of their ancestral hall. They speculated that the Ling family would soon be erased from Anyang City!

One man, with a sly and shifty demeanor, spoke with fervor, his face flushed with excitement as he spun his tale, as though he held insider knowledge of the Ling family’s affairs. His words drew a crowd of curious onlookers, who listened intently and joined in with laughter and agreement.

The more attention he garnered, the more animated he became, his words growing increasingly venomous.

Suddenly!

A stone flew out of nowhere, striking the gossiper’s throat with precision.

“Ah!”

He let out a guttural, agonized cry, clutching his neck as he collapsed to the ground.

His limbs twitched violently, foam bubbling at his lips—he was rendered speechless!

The commotion left everyone around terrified, causing them to scream and flee in all directions, fearing they would suffer from collateral damage.

The owner of the eatery stomped his feet anxiously, shouting, “Don’t run! You haven’t paid yet!”

At that moment, Wang Chen rode past on his fine horse.

He glanced lightly at the chaotic eatery before raising his whip and galloping away.

Before long, Wang Chen left Anyang City far behind.

He steered his horse off the official road and continued along a small path into a desolate wilderness, finally finding a cave to shelter in.

When night fell again, Wang Chen blocked the entrance of the cave with stones and began to tally the spoils he had collected in the ancestral hall the previous night.

By the light of the campfire, he opened box after box.

From the first box, Wang Chen extracted a whole container filled with gold bricks, stacked neatly and shining brightly.

The box might not have been large, but Wang Chen estimated there were at least ten thousand taels of gold inside.

This was an astonishing fortune.

Then, from the second and third large boxes, he found them filled with government silver. Yet even combined, their total value was no match for the first box of gold.

Next, Wang Chen opened boxes containing swords, blades, armor, and sealed jade bottles filled with spirit pills.

These weapons were top-quality items, perfectly preserved, while the spirit pills covered various types, including healing, detoxifying, strength-enhancing, blood replenishing, and energy replenishing.

The quantity was enough to satisfy a small family’s needs for decades.

But the surprises continued!

In three more boxes, he discovered precious medicinal materials like ginseng, reishi, yellow essence, tianma, and golden thread lily.

One ginseng root was at least five hundred years old—a rare and sought-after heavenly material!

Wang Chen felt extremely satisfied.

The potential points he needed came from eating, and the higher the quality of the food ingredients, the more points he could gain.

If he made a soup with slices of this five-hundred-year-old ginseng, the potential points he would absorb would surely be remarkable!

With all the other medicinal materials, as long as he concocted a health-boosting recipe, he wouldn’t have to worry about potential points for a long time.

Even if he finished the medicinal materials, he had enough gold and silver to buy more!

The last box was particularly special; it contained a large box that held three smaller boxes, all intricately designed with gold-edged sandalwood.

When he opened the innermost small box, the first thing to catch Wang Chen’s eye was a book.

Bloodshed Wheel!

The five bold characters on the cover stood out prominently.

Wang Chen eagerly picked up the book and flipped through it, feeling a great weight lift from his heart.

His main goal in coming to Anyang City had been to find the fourth and fifth layers of the Bloodshed Wheel technique.

This manual contained the overview of the Bloodshed Wheel and all the techniques from the first to the fifth layer!

Not only that, but Wang Chen also found a thick stack of silver notes and more than a dozen land deeds and house contracts at the bottom of the box.

The total value of the silver notes alone amounted to over five hundred thousand taels, and what surprised Wang Chen even more was that these deeds and contracts were for properties located in the imperial capital of Daliang—Daye City!

All the contracts looked brand new, undoubtedly penned by Ling Hongyun.

Wang Chen didn’t know the exact prices, but he understood that properties in Daye City were quite valuable.

These deeds and contracts alone could serve as the foundation for a family’s resurgence!

Most importantly, they were unlikely to devalue.

Wang Chen felt a deep admiration for his original father’s foresight.

He roughly calculated that the total value of everything combined should be between one and two million taels, with most of it being hard currency.

It seemed that much of the Ling family’s wealth accumulated over centuries was stored here!

To be honest, Wang Chen even wondered if Ling Hongyun had predicted today’s events long ago and made various arrangements, allowing this outsider to seize the fortune.

He shook his head and put all the items back into his storage space.

He only kept the Bloodshed Wheel manual.