The houses where the bandits lived were mostly made of mud plastered with dry grass. Just a few strong hits with wood could bring them down. Indeed, they discovered quite a few interlayers. But similarly, focusing on one thing made them lose another; searching the ground, they forgot the roof, and after examining the walls, they couldn’t handle the ground and the roof.

Some clever people realized this, and they searched thoroughly before tearing down the houses, but it was already late.

Individually smart ones searched haphazardly among the crowd.

Zhou Liru carefully avoided the houses with half-collapsed walls. After wandering around for a bit, she said, "It’s all a mess here. How can we find anything?"

Liu Huan opened his mouth wide and asked, "Isn’t there anywhere else that hasn’t been searched?"

Governor Duan glanced at his personal guards, who pointed to a few straw houses in a remote corner and said, "Yes, over there."

"What’s that place?"

The guards said, "That’s where they held hostages. Well-behaved ones like Old Master You could stay there for a few months before joining them, but those who weren’t obedient would be killed."

Everyone: ...

Bai Shan suddenly remembered something and became enthusiastic, "Let’s go and have a look."

Since other places had been mostly searched, we might as well check it out.

Governor Duan perked up and asked, "Could the treasure be hidden there? Brilliant, hiding stuff where the hostages are kept. No one would suspect it."

Bai Shan: ... How foolish must one be to hide treasure in the hostage holding place?

Governor Duan sighed, "The most dangerous place is the safest one."

Bai Shan: "Isn’t the most dangerous place Lord Duan’s governor manor?"

Besides, they didn’t hide things in the governor manor.

Governor Duan: "They had the guts!"

The place where hostages were kept was in a remote corner, with six straw houses lined up. Unlike the areas where bandits didn’t live, this place had no yards. In front of the straw houses was a vegetable garden, presumably for them to cultivate.

Governor Duan said, "When we attacked, there was no one inside, just three dead bodies. They had been deceased for quite some time, probably killed earlier without being buried."

He said, "They were taken away and handed to Old Master You. Old Master You said two of them were his partners, and the remaining one was a merchant captured long ago. He wrote a letter to the bandit leaders, asking their families to bring money for ransom. But until now, no one has come to redeem them, alas..."

Manbao pushed open the door, and an unpleasant smell gushed out, causing her to cover her nose as she entered.

The room contained only a brick bed against the wall and nothing else. In the corner lay some tattered clothes, probably used for warmth at night, as there were no beds or quilts inside.

Could Old Master You survive in such uncertain conditions in a place like this, living neither dead nor alive?

Governor Duan stood outside and said, "There’s nothing here, so the soldiers only moved the bodies out at that time..."

Because inside, besides some tattered clothes, there was only a table and chair in the center.

The room wasn’t made of beds; a stone platform was directly built, covered with dry straw.

The young elder brother rolled up his sleeves and started searching around, only to find that the room was really very clean—so clean it was clear at a glance. Manbao poked a couple of mouse holes, discovering they were purely mouse holes with only some bean dregs inside.

Zhou Liru disdainfully picked up a piece of tattered clothing from the ground, examined it on the brick bed, and stretched out her hand to feel it.

Valuables are, of course, placed in luggage, but some emergency items are also sewn into clothing.

Certainly, she and her aunt would have sewn some gold pieces into their clothes, shoes, or even socks. If only... with these gold pieces in desperate times when there’s no way out.

Zhou Liru carefully felt around, but the clothes were so tattered and had not been cleaned for a long time, making them stiff and affecting her judgment significantly.

Liu Huan stood on Bai Erlang’s shoulder to examine the beam and jumped down having found nothing, seeing Zhou Liru feel a piece of clothing for a long time. His eyes lit up, he stepped forward to pick a piece of clothing and started feeling it, asking, "Are there hidden things inside?"

Zhou Liru: "Possibly."

Liu Huan said, "Just tear the clothes apart, why feel bit by bit?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Tearing it apart takes more time."

Liu Huan thought it made sense, as checking for interlayers required separating and cutting bit by bit, which took even more time.

The two lowered their heads and searched carefully. Liu Huan grasped a corner of a garment somewhat disgusted, but the events of the past two days had been more revolting, with yesterday involving cutting clothes and pants of the soldiers and even washing undisputed dirt.

He felt something unusual under his hands, becoming excited, thinking there might be something inside.

Zhou Liru had already felt around the collar several times and also suspected something was there, but searching back and forth, didn’t find scissors.

So Manbao went out and took a knife from Governor Duan’s guards for them.

However...

Liu Huan sliced twice only to find it wasn’t very effective. His garment corner was already difficult enough, not to mention Zhou Liru’s collar.

The two stuck their heads together to study and eventually Liu Huan placed the clothes on the brick bed, asking Zhou Liru to step back, lifted the knife and chopped down...

The guards watched with heart palpitations wanting to stop them, as that was their life-preserving equipment.

Zhou Liru scorned him, "Can’t you be more accurate? Let me do it if you can’t."

Liu Huan made several cuts yet missed the corner and cut a large section outside, while the corner remained intact.

Liu Huan considered the corner too small for decent aiming, doubted that Zhou Liru could do better, and thus handed the knife, saying, "I don’t believe you can do better."

With that said, Zhou Liru had swiftly brought the knife down, accurately chopping at the point on the garment corner...

Liu Huan fell silent.

Zhou Liru tilted her head for a look and with a raised hand, cut again, this time much more accurately, making a cut inside the seam of the corner.

Silently, Liu Huan stepped forward to tear open the seam, suddenly revealing several gold beads slightly larger than millet. Liu Huan immediately forgot his embarrassment and yelled excitedly.

Governor Duan, standing at the door, couldn’t help but take a few steps forward, "How about it, how about it, what did you find?"

Seeing more than ten small gold beads, he instantly lost interest, "Just this little stuff?"

What’s so special about these few little gold beads?

Manbao became intrigued, "How were such small gold beads made?"

Governor Duan said, "Gold is melted and cast using molds. Occasionally some molten gold splatters, resulting in smaller beads, but such tiny ones are indeed rare, likely carried for emergency survival; not worth mentioning."

Bai Shan observed them and thought the color looked fine and they were quite clean, so he said, "They must have been mold-cast."

Manbao urged Zhou Liru, "Liru, chop at yours."