"What do we do now?"
"Wait for news." Ning Wei's voice was strained.
"Then we..."
"You all go back to your rooms and sleep." Ning Wei wanted everyone to disappear quickly; she had a score to settle with Li Ye.
Everyone vanished with remarkable speed, even thoughtfully closing the door, signaling they wouldn't eavesdrop.
Ning Wei, holding her neck, approached Li Ye. "So you're playing games with me, huh?"
Li Ye didn't understand what she meant.
"Didn't we agree you'd handle Young Master Zhou today, but I almost got strangled to death!" Ning Wei exposed her neck.
On her slender, fair neck were clear black finger marks, looking quite grim.
Li Ye remained silent, reaching out and touching Ning Wei's neck.
The after-effects of being choked – difficulty breathing, pain when swallowing – all vanished.
Ning Wei was somewhat surprised. "So you can't fight, you can only be a healer?"
Li Ye didn't understand these words, only finding Ning Wei strange. Since her neck was fine and he didn't owe her anything, he turned and climbed up a tree.
After all this fuss, Ning Wei was tired too. "Since you're not sleeping, keep a close eye on Young Master Zhou. We have things to do tomorrow morning."
Without waiting for Li Ye's reply, Ning Wei returned to the room, took off her clothes, and squeezed in between Tang Tang and Yuan Yuan to sleep.
The next morning, Zhou Wei arrived early.
It was his first time here, but Ning Wei was still asleep.
Everyone wanted him to come in, but he refused, stubbornly waiting outside the courtyard for Ning Wei.
Tang Tang had no choice but to steel herself and go wake Ning Wei.
She expected Ning Wei to be grumpy about being woken up, but she was surprisingly amenable.
Upon hearing that Zhou Wei was looking for her, she quickly got up and walked out while getting dressed.
The first thing Zhou Wei said upon seeing Ning Wei was, "He's dead."
The "he" Zhou Wei referred to was the village chief, with whom they had agreed to find the whereabouts of the treasure.
"Did you kill him?"
Zhou Wei quickly shook his head.
"Did you anger him to death?"
Zhou Wei shook his head desperately.
"If you didn't do it, then why are you looking for me?" At this point, Ning Wei showed a hint of her morning grumpiness from lack of sleep.
"The village chief is dead. What should we do next?" It turned out Zhou Wei had come for advice.
"Did you find the treasure?" Ning Wei suddenly asked, her gaze fixed on Zhou Wei's face, not wanting to miss any subtle expression.
Zhou Wei still shook his head. "He died this morning after a coughing fit, spitting up a mouthful of blood. I didn't have time to ask before he passed. I just wanted to tell you, so I didn't have time to look."
Ning Wei nodded, then turned and called for everyone to join her in searching for the treasure.
Even though they had been as secretive and divided as possible, they were still spotted by the villagers.
Fortunately, the shadow of the Zhou family had loomed over them for too many years, and with Zhou Wei present, and news of the village chief's death not having spread, the villagers were still in a state of restless anticipation but not yet daring to act.
Seeing Ning Wei and her group of outsiders entering the Zhou residence one after another, the villagers weren't fools.
"Has anyone noticed that the village chief hasn't come out for his sunbathing today?" a villager suddenly asked another.
The village chief had a habit of sunbathing, or rather, it was a longing deep within his heart.
Living under Young Master Zhou's shadow, everyone had a rebellious side, but the village chief's was too weak, only manifesting in sunbathing.
Someone pondered, "Isn't the village chief been sick? If he was very ill, and that little Zhou Wei couldn't handle him, then even if he wanted to sunbathe, he couldn't."
"But, I haven't heard the village chief cough either," someone said out of the blue.
All the passing villagers suddenly gave the Zhou residence a deep look and then hurried back to their homes.
Meanwhile, Ning Wei's group, being numerous, had searched the entire Zhou residence but couldn't find the so-called treasure.
Although none of them knew what the treasure looked like, Li Ye had not given any sign of recognition.
"How can he be so sure he'll recognize the treasure at a glance?" Zhu Yulian whispered to Song Zhi.
Song Zhi glanced at Li Ye, who was leaning against the doorframe. "He can deal with Young Master Zhou so easily, just like Ning Wei. He must have some special abilities. We should trust our teammates."
Zhu Yulian nodded and moved to the next room to continue searching.
Li Ye overheard their conversation and sneered inwardly: Who wants to be teammates with you bunch of ants?
While everyone else was busy searching for the treasure, Ning Wei quietly went to the small garden, her eyes lighting up as she saw the garden full of 'Soul Returning Flowers'. She rubbed her hands excitedly.
When she left, the entire garden was ruined.
The Soul Returning Flowers were gone, but their roots were all uprooted, and herbicide, stolen from other houses, had been poured on them.
With no treasure found, everyone sat in the courtyard, exhausted.
Just then, a familiar voice reached Ning Wei's ears: "In the coffin, inside his mouth."
Ning Wei suddenly looked around. Everyone else looked surprised.
"What are you looking at?" Tang Tang asked Ning Wei.
From the reactions of the others, Ning Wei could tell they hadn't heard the voice.
The one who spoke must have been Yin Yin, Young Master Zhou's first bride.
"The treasure isn't here. Let's go to the burial grounds!" Ning Wei suddenly stood up and announced.
Everyone trusted her implicitly.
Mei Nan also said, "Some high-ranking officials and nobles used to place many treasures in their coffins after death. Perhaps the treasure is in there too. Let's go take a look."
"Looking doesn't hurt, anyway. We've turned this Zhou residence inside and out, and truly found nothing," Wang Jing said.
They all picked up their hoes and other tools and walked out.
"Strange, why aren't any villagers around?" They would usually encounter at least a couple on the road. Now, not a single one was visible.
"Have you forgotten what you said last night when you went out?" Ning Wei looked at Zhu Yulian.
Zhu Yulian suddenly realized. So, spreading rumors about their search for the treasure throughout the village yesterday was meant to set the stage for today.
Seeing them all head towards the Zhou residence, the villagers must have felt a mix of fear and envy.
They reached the burial grounds. Young Master Zhou's grave was easy to find; it was the one in the very center.
"Shall we start digging?" Zhou Wei was eager to break free from the Zhou family's restraints. Once the treasure was found and Young Master Zhou was completely dealt with, he would gain his freedom.
"You're a Zhou family member, you go first," Ning Wei looked at Zhou Wei, her eyes unwavering.
Zhou Wei nodded, then picked up the hoe he always used for labor and dug the first handful of soil.
Everyone looked at Ning Wei. Ning Wei nodded, and then they too began to work.
With many hands, the coffin was soon in sight.
"Stop!" A group of people ran over from not far away.