Chapter 343: Ransacking the House
Old Madam Wu was not so easily persuaded. Instead, she said, “This grandnephew of mine has been rotten to the core from the start. He was disobedient as a child and didn’t put effort into studying. Back then, I pitied him because he lost his parents young, and the old master was too aged to discipline him. I worried so much that my hair turned white, but still couldn’t correct his nature.”
Xu Youyou listened carefully. The old lady, obviously a strong-willed and educated woman, was now showing rare traces of vulnerability.
“I hardly ever worried about my own sons and grandsons — they were obedient and didn’t need much supervision. But this grandnephew, no matter how we tried, we couldn’t control him. As soon as he became an adult, he gave up on school and started learning bad habits from shady people — gambling, whoring… He squandered all the money his parents and grandparents had worked their whole lives to save. A few years ago, he even stole money from the old master and sold several of his treasured possessions to outsiders. It almost made the old man sick with anger…”
Xu Youyou’s eyes lit up. “He once stole from the old master?”
Old Madam Wu’s face was full of pain. “He’s shallow and full of bad habits… We’ve beaten him, scolded him, tried everything, but he just won’t change.”
Xu Youyou quickly waved over two bodyguards and instructed, “Go stand guard outside the old master’s courtyard. I’m worried Wu Xiaoguang might do something stupid.”
Old Madam Wu didn’t get angry hearing this. Instead, she nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. If I were you, I’d guard against that brat too.”
Xu Youyou said, “I’m glad you’re not upset about this. I already gave the old master the token. He promised he’d take me to retrieve the item this morning.”
Old Madam Wu immediately said, “Miss Xu, since my father already promised you, then that thing belongs to you now. You’re right to guard against my grandnephew acting foolish.”
Wu Xiaoguang, after leaving the hospital, quickly hired a car back to the village. From afar, he spotted a black Maybach parked at his doorstep and his eyes lit up.
Getting out of the car, he plastered a wide smile on his face and squeezed over to stand in front of the Red Dragon King and his advisor. “Nice car! Must cost at least a few million, huh?”
The advisor flashed a look of disdain but didn’t respond. Instead, he asked, “You’re Wu Xiaoguang?”
Wu Xiaoguang didn’t care about their judgmental looks. Rubbing his hands together, he said, “Yeah, that’s me. You guys need my help now, don’t you? I’ve been thinking… Fifty thousand isn’t enough. I want a million — and that car too!”
He thought his outrageous demand would make them scold him.
Unexpectedly, the advisor only frowned slightly and said, “Fine, but you must hand over the item today.”
Wu Xiaoguang’s heart sank. He immediately realized he had undervalued himself and quickly said, “No way! That’s too cheap. At least two million… no, five million!”
The advisor sneered coldly. “If you don’t want to do this deal, forget it.”
Wu Xiaoguang, being just in his twenties and no match for these seasoned veterans, panicked at once. “Alright, alright! A million it is! And a luxury car as a bonus isn’t bad either!”
The Red Dragon King waved his hand. “Since you’ve settled it, let’s go inside and find the item.”
Wu Xiaoguang quickly said, “Wait, there are so many of you. What if you just grab my stuff and leave?”
“How do you want to handle it then?” the advisor asked.
Wu Xiaoguang said, “You tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll go in and find it.”
The Red Dragon King shook his head. “We don’t know exactly what it looks like. We have to see it to confirm.”
Wu Xiaoguang’s expression kept changing. He didn’t want them rummaging through his house, afraid they’d pocket his valuables. But he also didn’t want to lose the deal.
“If you can’t make up your mind, then forget it,” said the advisor, who had already checked Wu Xiaoguang’s financial situation and knew he wouldn’t easily let go of this money.
Sure enough, Wu Xiaoguang couldn’t bear it. After racking his not-so-bright brain for a long time, he finally said, “How do I know you’ll really pay? Give me 200,000 as a deposit first. Then I’ll let one of you in, but I’ll follow him.”
The advisor didn’t want to pay first. “No way…”
But the Red Dragon King, clearly anxious to get the item and worried it might fall into Xu Youyou’s hands, interrupted impatiently, “Give him the money.”
Though reluctant, the advisor didn’t dare disobey the Red Dragon King and instructed a subordinate, “Pay him 200,000.”
Seeing the huge sum arrive in his account, Wu Xiaoguang’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He hadn’t expected these people to be serious and quickly realized the real boss was the Red Dragon King, not the advisor. He immediately bowed and ushered them in.
“This way, sir!”
When the Red Dragon King heard Wu Xiaoguang call him “sir,” his face immediately darkened.
The advisor hurriedly scolded, “Address him as Mr. Red. Don’t call him anything else!”
Wu Xiaoguang glanced at the Red Dragon King’s face and couldn’t help muttering inwardly, Why’s this old guy so sensitive about his age?
“Okay, okay! Mr. Red, please follow me.”
The Red Dragon King followed Wu Xiaoguang and thoroughly searched the two-story house, even tapping on every wall to check for hidden compartments, but still didn’t find the item he was looking for.
Seeing this, Wu Xiaoguang grew anxious. “Sir — no, Mr. Red, should we search again? Maybe we missed something!”
He was terrified of losing the million right at his fingertips.
The Red Dragon King said, “I heard from the villagers that a film crew wanted to rent your cellar.”
Wu Xiaoguang slapped his forehead. “Right! There’s also the cellar. But it’s empty, so you probably won’t find anything.”
The Red Dragon King didn’t take his words seriously. “Let’s check it anyway.”
“The cellar’s in the backyard. I’ll take you.”
Wu Xiaoguang led the group to the cellar in the backyard and bragged, “Mr. Red, I’m not bragging, but our cellar — not just in this village, probably the whole county or even the whole country — you won’t find a second one as neatly built as ours!”
The Red Dragon King entered the “three-room, one-living-room” cellar behind Wu Xiaoguang and immediately frowned.
“This place…”
He sensed something was unusual, but since his compass had been destroyed, he couldn’t detect where the strongest aura of treasure was anymore.
Meanwhile, Wu Xiaoguang looked around the empty “three-room one-hall” cellar and said, “There’s nothing here, Mr. Red. Maybe we should go back and search the house again?”
