So everyone rushed toward the tree trunk, eagerly reaching out to touch it. Even Governor Duan rolled up his sleeves. He rubbed all the bark he could see, but he didn’t find any fake bark.

Manbao and the others carefully scratched at it, searching for a long time without success.

Governor Duan couldn’t help but doubt, "Is it really inside the tree?"

Could Zhou Man have made a wrong judgment this time and it’s just not here?

Just as Manbao was about to ask Keke, Bai Shan suddenly felt something, and everyone heard a soft click.

This sound was particularly unusual, not the typical sound of peeling off bark, more like... the sound of a mechanism.

Everyone looked up at Bai Shan.

Under their gaze, Bai Shan pulled on the piece of bark that sounded like a live latch, and then, a giant piece of bark, from top to bottom, irregular and nearly as big as Manbao’s body, was peeled away.

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Manbao and Bai Erlang reacted the fastest, rushing over to look inside the hole, but before they could stick their heads in, Bai Shan pressed a hand on each of their heads and pushed them apart forcefully, shouting, "I’ll go!"

He found the entrance!

Governor Duan squeezed in too, enthusiastically saying, "Let me, let me, there might be danger inside the tree. I’m the adult, you’re still young, let me..."

But he didn’t succeed either. The soldiers and guards quickly pulled them away, and then the smallest of them tried to squirm inside. But he could only fit one shoulder before retreating, eyes shining, "Sir, it’s full of money inside."

A lot, so much that he didn’t need to go all the way inside to see it.

So he started tossing out money, silver ingots one after another, with an occasional gold bar, gold nugget, and gold chip mixed in...

Manbao and the others sat on the ground outside, counting money. Some soldiers moved in a few empty big boxes from somewhere, where they could directly stash the counted money.

Governor Duan counted the gold ingots into the boxes and sighed, "This is the real loot."

What did we dig up yesterday going up the mountain?

The skinny soldier finally managed to squeeze into the tree’s belly, and after pulling out more gold and silver, he started handing out pearls and gemstones. These items were packed in boxes, not just thrown in together, which slightly relieved Governor Duan. Even after so long, the lustre of the gems and pearls was still pretty good.

They should fetch a good price.

When they had emptied the tree hollow, Governor Duan couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief. He stood up and twisted his slightly sore waist, asking his aide, "How about the others’ search?"

"Sir, they knocked down the walls and dismantled the beds, finding quite a bit of hidden gold and silver." The gains weren’t small, anyway.

Governor Duan was very pleased.

Bai Shan wasn’t quite as satisfied. He looked at Manbao and hesitated, "The bandits have been robbing for so many years, and this is all they have?"

Manbao confidently said, "Definitely not. Let’s keep looking."

Governor Duan immediately nodded upon hearing this, "Yes, let’s keep searching, search more."

So everyone searched the adjacent area again, but found only scattered items, clearly not communal treasures. Unexpectedly, even bandit leaders would hide personal belongings, and so secretly at that.

Having indulged in the treasure hunt, Manbao said to Governor Duan, "I suspect this is the only stash in the stronghold, the rest might be outside."

"Where could that be?"

Manbao thought for a moment, "There would be traces, but not heavy ones. The treasures hidden outside might only be moved occasionally."

Bai Shan speculated, "There might be more than one spot, but definitely not too many, as scattering them too much would arouse suspicion. Do not look down on them being a gang—most bandits genuinely don’t know about these treasures."

Governor Duan nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, we’ve interrogated quite a few, and the leaders are really tight-lipped. Common bandits want to confess but don’t know anything to tell."

Bai Shan: "So I guess the outside hiding spots are probably between two or three."

Manbao looked up at Bai Shan in awe, and when Bai Shan noticed, he hesitated a second, realizing he was probably right.

Governor Duan also felt Bai Shan made sense, so they took some people to continue searching.

But upon leaving the stronghold, trees were all they saw everywhere, which prompted Governor Duan to ask, "Where do we even begin?"

Bai Shan thought for a bit and said, "The spot wouldn’t be too hidden. At least, he should be able to go there openly to check without arousing suspicion, but not many people would go there daily, so it wouldn’t be easily discovered."

Governor Duan: "What kind of place is that?"

Manbao said, "A latrine, or maybe a water-fetching spot?"

Governor Duan honestly didn’t understand how these two places related.

Bai Erlang thought the same, "Or perhaps a place with a view."

Bai Shan: "Or rather, a vantage point."

Governor Duan’s eyes gleamed. He turned and said, "I know a place."

With that, he began to lead them in the opposite direction.

Manbao hesitated for a moment, resisting the urge to look back at the spot Keke mentioned, and went along with Governor Duan.

The more they walked, the closer they got to the other place Keke mentioned.

Manbao raised an eyebrow and asked Keke, "Could it really be a latrine or water-fetching spot?"

Keke: "...Not this one."

They soon arrived at a rocky area, where one could see a major portion of the official road below by looking forward and down.

Governor Duan said, "No caravan entering this main road can escape their eyes because of this."

Governor Duan waved a hand, "Search!"

So the soldiers descended like wolves on prey, rummaging around the platform.

Manbao stood on the platform, leaning forward to look down. Keke said, "No, a bit more to the right..."

Manbao moved slightly.

Keke: "Stop, it’s twenty-eight meters directly down from you."

Manbao roughly estimated the distance and looked below, seeing dense trees clinging tightly to the rock mountain. From here, only green leaves were visible, with occasional glimpses of space beneath the trees.

The soldiers turned over whatever they could, even dug three feet deep, but found nothing.

Everyone couldn’t help but look at the three teenagers.

Manbao pointed downwards, "You need someone to watch over this place. Even if there are few people, taking or placing things wouldn’t be convenient, so I suspect things are hidden below, in plain view. That way they can pretend to patrol while actually observing the cache site, and with some effort, they can avoid being seen by the guards above."

Bai Shan listened and immediately looked down where she pointed, "That’s the best vantage point, let’s go down and check."

Governor Duan intuitively felt they were right, looked back at his soldiers, and got up to go with them.