Chapter 94: Thanks a Lot for Your Grand Gift

The night was as black as ink!

A black Audi Q7 moved quickly through the night.

An ordinary person couldn’t dream of tailing a car. Even at a full sprint, it would be impossible to keep up with an Audi going sixty or seventy kilometers per hour.

But Yang Xun was no ordinary person!

His cultivation at the Third Layer of the Qi Refining Realm granted him speed and stamina several times greater than a normal person’s.

Worried about being spotted, Yang Xun maintained a distance of one hundred meters from the Audi.

About five minutes later, the black Audi left Xiaoxie Village and turned into a rundown, old residential complex next door called "Jinhu Garden."

The complex wasn’t large. A few scattered six-story residential buildings stood there. The white paint on their exteriors was mottled and peeling, revealing the dusty gray concrete underneath. The hallway lights were dim and yellow, swaying in the night wind.

This kind of place was mostly inhabited by the elderly. It was usually quiet and rarely drew any attention.

It was the perfect place to hide things.

Yang Xun didn’t hesitate, using the cover of night to follow closely.

He saw Xie Haitao park in front of Building Three. His portly figure squeezed out of the driver’s seat with difficulty. After glancing around to make sure no one was there, he quickly walked into the building’s entrance.

DING!

The elevator arrived.

Hiding in the shadows outside the entrance, Yang Xun stared intently through the grimy glass door at the changing floor numbers above the elevator.

The elevator finally stopped on the fifth floor!

After confirming that Xie Haitao had gone to the fifth floor, Yang Xun didn’t take the elevator. Instead, he pulled open the rusty iron door to the fire escape and bounded up the stairs as silently as a civet cat.

With the physical conditioning from the Third Layer of the Qi Refining Realm, climbing five floors was as easy as walking on level ground for him.

Once on the fifth floor, he ducked into a dark corner of the fire escape landing, held his breath, and listened.

The sound of a key turning in a lock came from the hallway, followed by the muffled thud of a door opening and closing.

Yang Xun held his breath and waited, completely still.

Time ticked by, second by second.

About three or four minutes later, the door opened again.

Heavy footsteps emerged, accompanied by faint panting.

Yang Xun peered through a gap in the fire escape door. He saw Xie Haitao coming out of apartment 502, a black canvas bag in his large, greasy hand.

’Those must be the two gold bars he mentioned on the phone!’

Xie Haitao locked the door behind him, pocketed the key, and hurried toward the elevator with the bag.

Yang Xun wasn’t in a rush. He watched through the fire escape window until he saw Xie Haitao’s black Audi drive away before stepping out of the shadows and walking up to the door of apartment 502.

He first scanned the hallway left and right, confirming there was no one around, and more importantly, no security cameras.

’In a rundown complex like this, the property management is a joke. Of course there are no cameras.’

Then, Yang Xun placed his right hand on the lock cylinder. A wisp of True Qi silently seeped in from his fingertips.

CLICK!

The lock opened.

Yang Xun took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

However, when he saw the scene inside, he froze on the spot, as if his pressure points had been struck.

His pupils contracted, and his jaw dropped.

"Holy shit!!"

The apartment was about 120 square meters, a standard three-bedroom, one-living-room layout.

But its contents were worlds apart from a normal residence!

The coffee table, the sofa, the floor—the living room was covered with all sorts of antique porcelain.

The walls were covered with famous calligraphy and paintings. Although Yang Xun was no expert in art appraisal, a single look at the quality of the frames and mounting told him they were no ordinary items.

But what left Yang Xun utterly dumbfounded was what was piled up in the two bedrooms.

In one bedroom, dozens of gleaming gold bars were stacked neatly on the bed and the floor, emitting a dazzling glow in the dim light. It was like a miniature vault!

The other bedroom was filled with silver aluminum briefcases. Yang Xun casually opened one. It was densely packed with thick stacks of cash bound by rubber bands, all 100-yuan bills. The sea of red was so vast it made his scalp tingle.

’A single case must hold at least several hundred thousand!’

And there were over a dozen such cases!

On top of that, the kitchen, the balcony, and even the corners of the bathroom were piled high with various expensive cigarettes and liquors.

Maotai, Wuliangye, Chunghwa, He Tianxia... Cases were stacked upon cases, forming small mountains.

HISS!!

Yang Xun sucked in a sharp breath, his face a mask of shock.

He knew the Xie Family was wealthy, but he never imagined they were *this* insanely rich!

How could a village chief’s family possibly amass this kind of fortune?

This was clearly a treasure trove!

’Wait... no!!’

But he quickly calmed down.

His gaze slowly swept over the room full of treasure, and his brow furrowed slightly.

’Given the Xie Family’s means, even with Xie Haitao’s father as village chief for over a decade and Xie Haitao’s own massage parlor, it’s impossible for them to have accumulated this much wealth.’

’Unless... this stuff doesn’t belong to the Xie Family at all!’

Recalling Xie Haitao’s deferential attitude toward that "Hall Master" on the phone, Yang Xun instantly understood everything.

’This stuff probably belongs to that Hall Master!’

’And Xie Haitao is just a lackey guarding the warehouse!’

And there was only one reason for hiding these things in such an inconspicuous, old complex... they were dirty!

’These gold bars, cash, antiques, and paintings are most likely illicit goods that can’t see the light of day!’

"Hehehe..."

After figuring it all out, the corners of Yang Xun’s mouth turned up slightly, and his eyes glinted with excitement.

’Dirty money... that’s fantastic!’

He had been worrying about where to get money for medicinal herbs. Talk about a timely gift!

This room full of treasure was practically a gift from the heavens!

At that moment, Yang Xun wished he could haul everything away right then and there, but he quickly calmed himself down.

’I came here in too much of a hurry tonight. I’m completely unprepared—no car, no help.’

’There’s no way I can move all this stuff with just my two hands.’

’Besides, if I empty the place out all at once, Xie Haitao will immediately notice something’s wrong. That would just stir up trouble.’

’I’ll just take a little today. When I get another chance, I’ll come back for the rest!’

With that thought, Yang Xun strode into the bedroom filled with gold bars. His eyes swept over the gleaming ingots, and he casually picked up two of them.

The moment the bars settled into his hand, their heavy weight made Yang Xun’s heart involuntarily beat a little faster.

One gold bar was worth at least four or five hundred thousand, so two were worth nearly a million!

This was a much faster way to make money than providing "services" for Huang Qi!

Yang Xun tucked the two gold bars inside his shirt, then took one last look around the apartment, searing every corner into his memory.

Then, he turned and left the room, carefully closing the door behind him. After confirming he hadn’t left any trace, he quickly descended the stairs.

Standing below Building Three, Yang Xun glanced at the two gleaming gold bars in his shirt. He then slowly raised his head to look at the dark window on the fifth floor.

’Xie Haitao... thanks for the generous gift. I won’t be shy about accepting it!!’