On a November night, even in Lingnan, this part of the South without winter, there were few people near the haunted house where many were said to have died.

After the last "guest" left the public restroom, Zhou Jiao quickly walked around to the back of the tree, placing the circular Mutton Fat Jade Pendant she wore around her neck in the hollow at the base of the ancient tree.

As with the previous secret chamber mechanism, soon a hole appeared on the ground between the two adjacent lush ancient trees, just big enough for one person to fall through. In the pitch-dark night, she didn’t dare use a flashlight; after retrieving the jade pendant, she poured a large bag of medicinal powder down the hole, and after a while, with the determination of daring the tiger’s den, she jumped in.

Truly having jumped in, Zhou Jiao felt the soft sand at the bottom of the cave. Standing up straight, the pathway above immediately closed. It was really pitch-black, except she could sense the wind, but she couldn’t see her hand before her face.

Turning on the flashlight, she found a depression on the wall and fastened the circular Mutton Fat Jade Pendant on it again. This time a narrow passageway opened. Zhou Jiao retrieved the jade pendant, but instead of going directly inside, she sprinkled a lot of medicinal powder at the entrance and then sealed a crucial trap.

According to the acrostic poem and ornate French script caution in her grandmother’s last words, to open this secret chamber, besides the ancestral jade pendant, a decryption method for the formations was needed. If either was missing, someone entering rashly could find nothing at all, or even trigger the destruction of the secret chamber.

This formation was even more complex than the Gu Family’s old residence, even without the acrostic poem. Fortunately, she had these tips; otherwise, Zhou Jiao would not have had the confidence to open it. Even though she and her father had calculated this multiple times, she was sweating underground, and could not afford to be careless for a moment.

It took her a full half hour, after the first mistake, for Zhou Jiao to confirm everything was correct and begin unraveling the formation layer by layer. Not until she heard the familiar clicking sound revealing another passage did she wipe her brow and proceed down the passage. As she entered, the original doorway slowly closed.

Standing in the passage, after a while, both ends closed. She aimed her flashlight at the tightly shut stone door behind her, its surface carved with Han Stone Jade.

Seeing this, coupled with the jade pendant around her neck, Zhou Jiao was now sure this was indeed the Gu Family’s secret chamber. Among the three secret chambers, besides Jiang City being the primary one, these two truly belonged to the Jiangnan Gu Family’s ancestral legacy.

Zhou Jiao shook her head speechlessly. No wonder the Gu Family was seen as a juicy target, with everyone wanting a bite. She could imagine how lavish her grandmother’s childhood must have been as the only heir of the rightful wife of the Gu Family.

No wonder their own life was better than anyone else’s now, and Old Mrs. Cheng was always talking about self-sacrifice. Thinking of this, Zhou Jiao couldn’t help but smile. Only those dearest to you are so considerate!

Collecting herself, Zhou Jiao started following her grandmother’s directions, moving step by step closer to a large stone. Speaking of this round stone, it really was quite an honor. It witnessed the opening of the three secret rooms. If it had a spirit, Zhou Jiao would truly want to erect a monument for it with offerings.

The following journey was no longer dangerous, but the route was not short. If Zhou Jiao’s sense of direction was correct, she had long since left the confines of the other courtyard. She was not in any rush.

It was said that the other exit was not far from a pier. Although she had not experienced it personally, she had a feeling the predecessor who created the secret chamber was an expert and must have left a backup plan.

After several twists and turns, she didn’t know how far she had walked. The last time she checked her watch, it was nearly nine o’clock. Zhou Jiao hurried up her pace, for if she wasn’t back before the cinema closed, her lie would be exposed. Besides, she also planned to visit the black market to acquire some good items.

Filled with urgency, after reaching the mouth of the secret chamber, Zhou Jiao once again opened the stone door according to the instructions. With the experience of the previous two secret chambers, she was not at all surprised to see the wooden crates again.

The secret chamber, which her grandmother mentioned last, just in a coastal city alone, this sensitive location, she could already imagine it contained nothing but gold and overseas jewelry.

And indeed, it was so.

Hundreds of wooden crates stacked together. Except for the crates made of rare wood, all others toppled at a touch—they had already weathered away. Inside a few crates, the tribute silk, even though wrapped layer upon layer, could not withstand the passage of time.

However, there were several sets of red wedding dresses from the Qing Dynasty, headgear, embroidered shoes, and other items preserved intact in a large crate. Considering the large pearls and exquisite embroidery on those embroidered shoes, it was not hard to imagine their immense value.

After opening a further ten or so undamaged crates, besides the handmade jewelry inside, everything else was overseas ivory carvings and some precious gemstones and jewelry, along with goods from the weathered crates.

This approach was surely the epitome of the Gu Family style.

Zhou Jiao didn’t bother to look closely, using burlap sacks to pack up the scattered gold bars, ingots, and gold leaves, and she also collected all the undamaged wooden crates into her storage space.

After the chaos, what remained in the secret room were several large black-silver watermelons. Faced with so much silver, Zhou Jiao truly didn’t know what it could be used for.

So, she again used burlap sacks to load them up. Compared to the gold items, at least the Gu Family ancestors didn’t add too much silver. Perhaps at the time, they whimsically stashed some silver.

After tidying up all the useful items, Zhou Jiao didn’t bother with the weathered ones, erasing her footprints inside the secret room and opening the exit passage once more.

With the mechanism activating, the secret room’s door slowly closed. Finally, Zhou Jiao made a ruthless decision and destroyed the mechanism. She didn’t want anyone to accidentally intrude here one day. Should someone persist, investigating history, they might very well conclude that this was indeed the Jiangnan Gu Family’s other courtyard, which could stir upheaval. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Following the exit passage, after sealing two trap mechanisms, Zhou Jiao finally stood safely at an opening. Without the flashlight, through the dim night, she could see a large pier in the distance.

Aligning with the bus route she took that afternoon, Zhou Jiao found they were now not far from the city, far from the other courtyard, but getting farther from the guesthouse.

In this city, Zhou Jiao was unfamiliar with her surroundings; she didn’t dare risk taking out her car for a spin. She had been here almost a month and often heard about smuggling, so she assumed that areas near the pier would be more strictly managed than the bustling city districts.

Walking briskly toward the city under the night sky, she squeezed onto a bus and returned to the cinema just as it was closing.

Watching wave after wave of people exit, Zhou Jiao gave up the thought of going back inside, finding a secluded spot to remove her disguise, changing back into the clothes she wore when she left, blending into the crowd, and following the route back to the Commercial Bureau Guesthouse.

The receptionist greeted her warmly, asking what movies were playing tonight at the cinema and how the plots were.

One asked enthusiastically, the other answered diligently. It wasn’t until the guesthouse closed that Zhou Jiao breathed a sigh of relief, bid farewell, and returned to her room to rest.