Chapter 371: The Great Philanthropist

Chapter 371: Chapter 182: The Great Philanthropist

The atmosphere turned a bit awkward.

Yan Wushuang had been boasting, but it seemed her bubble had just burst.

Jiang Ran placed the teacup on the table and pushed it in front of Yan Wushuang.

Yan Wushuang gathered her sleeves, lifted the cup, and brought it to her nose for a sniff. Her expression froze.

Then, she forced a smile.

“Perhaps… perhaps I was too hasty.”

“A treasure may be wondrous, but it needs time. If we wait a little longer, perhaps we’ll see a change.”

Jiang Ran smiled.

“The lake is beautiful today. If I had nothing else to do, waiting a little longer wouldn’t be an issue.”

“But to be frank, I have other matters to attend to and cannot stay here much longer.”

Hearing this, Yan Wushuang nodded.

“If Young Hero Jiang has business to attend to, I certainly wouldn’t dare keep you.”

“Hm… I suppose this much time should have been enough.”

She casually tipped the teacup, pouring the lake water out, then opened the purple jade gourd and poured another cup.

This time, she didn’t give it to Jiang Ran. Instead, she picked it up herself and took a sniff.

The next moment, her face turned utterly grim.

“This is impossible… This isn’t the Purple Jade Gourd!!”

Jiang Ran and Tang Huayi exchanged a glance. ‘The Vice-Chief of the Hundred Treasures Association wouldn’t have called us here just to play a prank on us,’ they thought.

After a moment of thought, Jiang Ran said softly:

“Chief Yan, would you mind if I took a look at this gourd?”

Yan Wushuang nodded and pushed the gourd in front of Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran reached for it, running his fingers over it inch by inch, then looked up at Yan Wushuang.

“May I ask, Chief Yan, what material is the Purple Jade Gourd made of?”

Yan Wushuang replied in a grave voice:

“Although it’s called the Purple Jade Gourd, it isn’t actually made of purple jade.”

“When examined closely by firelight, it has the translucence of jade, but it is incredibly hard. It cannot be melted by fire, will not rot in water, and won’t shatter when struck.”

“It is not gold or iron, not jade or stone. It’s truly difficult to say what it is.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“Then this is definitely not the Purple Jade Gourd.”

As he said this, he raised his hand, gripped the gourd, and squeezed lightly. With a CRACK…

…the gourd instantly shattered, spilling fragments and lake water all over the ground.

Yan Wushuang took a deep breath.

“Something’s wrong… I personally inspected the Purple Jade Gourd just two days ago, and there was nothing wrong with it.”

“How did it suddenly turn into this?”

Tang Huayi, meanwhile, crouched down, picked up a ‘gourd fragment,’ and said to Jiang Ran:

“Look, there’s writing on the inside of the gourd.”

Stunned, Yan Wushuang immediately had her people collect all the gourd fragments to see what was written inside.

They were eventually pieced together to form a message:

[I have long heard that the Hundred Treasures Association possesses many rare and wondrous treasures. I presume you are far wealthier than most.]

[The world is in distress, and many common people cannot fill their bellies or clothe their backs. Therefore, I have come under the cover of night to “borrow” a treasure from the Hundred Treasures Association.]

[After this item is sold, the Silver Coins will be used for the common people.]

[The people of the realm will surely be moved to tears with gratitude for you. This act should also be considered a good deed, accumulating virtue for the Hundred Treasures Association.]

[This is a matter of multiple gains with a single stroke—truly a great act of charity!]

[A message left by the great benefactor, Ximen Feng!]

[You probably won’t even see this message!]

[Even if you see it, you won’t find me!]

[Even if you find me, you won’t catch me!]

[Eat your hearts out!]

[HAHAHAHAHAHA!]

PFFT!

Tang Huayi simply couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Jiang Ran, on the other hand, forced himself to recall every tragic event from this life. When that wasn’t enough, he recalled the tragic events of his past life as well, and only then did he manage to suppress his laughter.

Looking back at Yan Wushuang, her face was still a mask of fury.

She turned, whipped the other two red cloths away, and after inspecting the items beneath one by one, she erupted in fury:

“You bastard! This is outrageous!”

Her voice, amplified by her Inner Strength, caused the lake’s surface to ripple, sending several columns of water bursting into the air with a series of BOOMS.

Seeing this, Tang Huayi had to try even harder to stifle her laughter.

To see Yan Wushuang—who just moments ago had been so composed, hiding her emotions while boasting to Jiang Ran—lose her composure like this was utterly amusing.

“Chief Yan, please calm down.”

At this point, Jiang Ran couldn’t say much else, so he could only try to placate her in a low voice.

It seems Jiang Ran’s words reached Yan Wushuang. She finally took a deep breath and waved her hand gently.

“You are all dismissed.”

Turning back to Jiang Ran, she sighed again.

“I’ve made a fool of myself in front of Young Hero Jiang. How unfortunate that my house has been targeted by a thief.”

“The gifts I prepared for Young Master Jiang have all been swapped out by this thief.”

“I had originally intended to trade these items with Young Hero Jiang for the Jiaowei…”

“But now, it seems that’s no longer possible.”

“It’s no matter, no matter at all.”

Jiang Ran waved his hand. “Being targeted by a thief is something no one wants. But who is this Ximen Feng? I’ve never heard of him.”

If he were an ordinary person, it wouldn’t be a big deal.

But this person’s abilities are extraordinary. He managed to pull a switch right under the Hundred Treasures Association’s nose.

And he completely fooled someone like Yan Wushuang.

A person like that should have a record in the Sword Holding Department’s files.

Yan Wushuang was truly troubled now. She sighed and said:

“To be honest, this person… we are also investigating him.”

“This isn’t the first time he’s targeted my Hundred Treasures Association.”

“The first time was about two years ago.”

“It was during the Chief’s sixtieth birthday celebration. On the day of the banquet, a birthday gift—a piece of heirloom jade—vanished without a trace.”

“At that time, the culprit left no note, and despite a long investigation, we couldn’t find any trace of the thief.”

“Similar incidents have occurred several times since. But this person’s methods are incredible; no matter what precautions you take, he always succeeds.”

“And it seems this person is specifically targeting my Hundred Treasures Association.”

“He’s getting bolder and bolder, even daring to leave his name…”

“It’s embarrassing to admit, but if he hadn’t started leaving his name voluntarily, we wouldn’t even know the name Ximen Feng.”