Chapter 66 The Old Man's Intention

With these thoughts, Chen Mu quickly returned to his small courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet; the stack of firewood in the corner was empty, and the dim candlelight shone through the paper window of the bedroom.

It was already so late, and she hadn't slept yet?

Chen Mu frowned, slowed his pace, and instead of going straight in, he walked to the side of the window and listened intently.

From inside the room came Jiang Huoyu's slightly annoyed muttering, mixed with the clinking and clattering of objects colliding.

"This isn't right... An exquisite casket cast from millennium-old dark iron, plus three hundred and sixty Seal runes—is it really just to hold a piece of trash painting like this?"

Jiang Huoyu's voice was intermittent, as if she were fiddling with something.

"Clearly, when I used the tiger tooth to break the Seal, there was a very strong fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, but now..."

"The mountains aren't mountains, the water isn't water; the trees are crooked and the houses slanted, completely devoid of charm. It's not even as good as the drawings by Wang Er Mazi on the street."

"Could the ancestor who hid this treasure have had their head caught in a door? To actually use such a brilliant Seal to protect a scrap of waste paper?"

Chen Mu heard every word, his heart secretly surprised, yet his face remained indifferent.

After a light cough, he pushed the door open and walked in.

Jiang Huoyu was startled by the cough and quickly turned around; only when she saw it was Chen Mu did she let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me to death! Are you part cat? You walk without making a sound?"

"Where did you go in the middle of the night? You're in such a sorry state."

Jiang Huoyu rolled her eyes, her hands not stopping their movements.

Chen Mu did not answer her question but instead fixed his gaze on that exquisite casket.

The casket was unusual; it was dark silver overall, carved with fine and complex patterns all around, shimmering with a faint, eerie light under the candlelight. It was indeed extraordinary.

It couldn't help but remind him of what Jiang Huoyu had just said.

Cast from millennium-old dark iron, with three hundred and sixty Seal runes.

If what Jiang Huoyu said was true, then this casket was by no means an ordinary item, and the treasure sealed inside...

Immediately, his gaze fell back onto that seemingly unremarkable scroll.

He recalled the abnormal fluctuation that had flashed for an instant when he received the scroll.

At the time, he thought it was an illusion, but now, combined with Jiang Huoyu's words, could it be... that this scroll was unusual?

Or perhaps it required a special method to reveal its true appearance!

He thought of the Flying Bear gloves and the Flying Bear Dream-Entering Technique he had comprehended after infusing it with Lifespan.

His mysterious System could infuse martial arts, and it could also infuse special items to stimulate their potential; so, this scroll... was it the same?

The thought grew wildly like weeds.

Originally, he had wanted to probe whether he could get Jiang Huoyu to deal with the Ghostly Creature at the Zhao residence, or to help him make a trip to the Prefecture.

But as it stood now, a temporary helper with an unknown background and inscrutable motives was far less valuable than a treasure that might contain immense potential to improve his own strength.

Chen Mu walked slowly to the table, his gaze sweeping lightly over the scroll, then he looked at Jiang Huoyu, his tone calm but with a touch of well-placed mockery.

"Just this thing?"

He picked up the scroll seemingly casually; it still felt like the rough texture of ordinary paper.

With a thought, he tried the method of guiding Lifespan to infuse martial arts, projecting his consciousness onto the scroll.

Sure enough.

Just as his consciousness touched the scroll, the long-absent System notification sound echoed in his mind.

[Special unknown item detected, containing hidden Dao rhyme; can attempt to infuse Lifespan to investigate or activate.]

There was a reaction!

Chen Mu was greatly shaken; wild joy surged like a tide, almost breaking through the calm on his face.

This scroll was indeed a treasure; similar to the Flying Bear gloves, it was a special item that the System could recognize.

He suppressed the excitement in his heart, his face appearing even more indifferent, even a little impatient.

He casually threw the scroll back into Jiang Huoyu's arms, as if it were worthless trash.

Jiang Huoyu hurriedly caught it in a panic, hugging it to her chest, and glared at him angrily.

"What are you doing? If you break it, will you pay for it?"

Chen Mu scoffed, shook his head, his gaze sweeping over the exquisite casket, his tone full of mockery.

"Can such a lousy thing be worthy of being kept in such a good casket?"

Then he walked slowly to the side of the table and poured a cup of tea that had already gone cold. After taking a sip, he continued.

"Spending a hundred-year tiger tooth just to get a piece of trash not worth three copper coins on the street?"

"Are you afraid you've been played for a fool?"

He turned around, watching Jiang Huoyu's complexion turn from red to white, her eyes sharp as knives.

"The real treasure, I'm afraid, was swapped out long ago, wasn't it?"

"Trading these scraps of paper for a hundred-year tiger tooth—the deal you made is truly shrewd."

The unwillingness and doubt that had originally existed in her heart were completely ignited by Chen Mu's few words, and she couldn't help but doubt herself.

She had indeed thought about the scroll being swapped, but this exquisite casket was a precious item of her Family, kept under layers of security, and it was almost impossible for outsiders to come into contact with it, let alone open the complex Seal.

Could there be a problem within the Family? Or did this painting have other mysteries that she, with her poor judgment, simply hadn't discovered?

This thought coiled around her like a venomous snake; the exquisite casket, passed down for a hundred years, had only this thing sealed inside.

To open it, she had gone to great lengths to obtain the hundred-year tiger tooth, even risking quite a few favors and dangers.

And the result... just this?

She was obsessing over it in frustration when she saw Chen Mu's gaze sweep back, this time landing on the open casket beside her.

His gaze was no longer the disdain he had shown when looking at the scroll; instead, it carried a bit of scrutiny, as if he were evaluating the value of the casket.

"This casket..."

Chen Mu's tone remained calm, but it held a trace of ambiguity.

"The craftsmanship is decent; it looks like an old object."

As he spoke, he took two steps forward, and before Jiang Huoyu could react, he reached out and picked up the casket, weighing it in his hand, a hint of calculation flashing across his face.

"The tiger tooth is gone, and the Cultivation Technique hasn't been given; do you intend to just live here for free?"

As he said this, he tugged at the blood-stained corner of his robe, his voice filled with justification.

"Which part of food and living expenses doesn't cost money? Young Miss Jiang comes from a large Family with great wealth; you surely aren't really planning to eat and live for free, and try to get something for nothing, right?"

As he said this, he shook the casket in his hand.

"I think this casket is worth a bit of money; how about it covers your rent and food expenses?"

"You keep the painting and study it slowly yourself."

After speaking, without waiting for Jiang Huoyu to respond, he took the casket and left.

His steps were firm, acting as if the matter was decided.

Jiang Huoyu was stunned at first, then reacted, lunging forward in a single stride to reach out and snatch the casket.

But Chen Mu had long been prepared; he sidestepped, and Jiang Huoyu lunged at empty air, almost crashing into the door frame.

At this moment, she couldn't care about the demeanor of a Young Miss; pointing at the casket in Chen Mu's hand, she was both anxious and angry.

"Chen Mu, do you have any shame?"

"The casket is our Family heirloom! The millennium-old dark iron alone is worth a fortune! You're using it to offset the tiger tooth and rent?"

"You have me living in a woodpile, eating noodles in clear, thin soup, and you still dare to charge me?"