Su Muqing initiated a remote scan, looking for where the corrupt official had hidden his wealth. As expected, it was similar to what was shown on television, in a secret room behind his study.
She figured that Chen Dahe, having held power for so long, was overly confident in his security. There wasn't even a guard posted at the study door. It seemed she wouldn't have to wait until nightfall to make her move.
Following the scanner's guidance, Su Muqing exited the backyard. The scanner would issue a warning when it detected life signs, and upon receiving a warning, she would immediately retreat into her space and emerge after the person had left. This greatly enhanced her safety; it truly lived up to being an intelligent system.
In this manner, she reached the study door of Chen Dahe almost entirely unimpeded. Su Muqing found it somewhat unbelievable; it was too smooth!
The study door wasn't locked either, and Su Muqing pushed it open directly. The interior decoration of the study was somewhat unexpected; people really can't be judged by their appearance. Such a strong scholarly atmosphere, a refined and comfortable environment. A corrupt official could be so tasteful?
Su Muqing searched the study for a while, looking for switches for a secret room. Then she tried rotating the furnishings left and right, but she couldn't find anything.
She searched until she was almost dead tired, but couldn't find the switch. Finally, she plopped down into the grand chair in front of the desk. Her hand landed on the armrest, and she inadvertently felt a small protrusion. Su Muqing pressed the raised point firmly.
"Huala..." The secret room beside her actually opened! It was truly heaven-sent, a stroke of luck!
Seeing the secret room door open, she cautiously stepped sideways into it. The light inside was too poor; it was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything. She also felt a gust of damp, cold wind blowing towards her. Why was it so much like a dungeon in here? Could there be any mechanisms?
Su Muqing felt a bit panicked. She took out a military-grade flashlight and shone it in. She was immediately so scared that cold sweat broke out. Fortunately, she hadn't rushed forward! In front of her, there was a deep pit? Its depth was enough to have dug through all of Shiqiao County!
On the walls of the deep pit, at intervals, there were protruding sharp steel blades. If someone fell in accidentally without any place to grip, they would immediately be torn to shreds.
Directly above the deep pit was an iron cage, suspended by four thick iron chains. Many copper wires were threaded through the chains, and bells were hung all over them. If the iron cage exceeded its current weight, the bells would ring.
Indeed, one could not underestimate people in ancient times! Unless one was a peerless master with the agility of a swallow, or someone familiar with this secret room. Once they entered, they likely wouldn't be able to leave unscathed.
However, these were no match for Su "Cat" Muqing. She took out a five-meter-long folding ladder from her space, then slowly extended the other half to the ground. She hung upside down and climbed down the ladder.
When she successfully reached the ground, she was so astonished that she could hardly speak. What a great corrupt official indeed! The space below was at least three to four hundred square meters, divided into two sections. Not far away, there were over a dozen open chests filled with gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, paintings, and silver notes, along with copper coins.
Nearby, precious treasures that looked very expensive were casually placed around: a jade Guanyin half her height, large landscape carvings made of jade, pavilions and towers, dense red coral clusters, egg-sized luminous pearls, and several exquisite multi-panel screens with lifelike embroidery. Any item here, in later generations, would be a priceless treasure!
Su Muqing couldn't help but wonder, even if Shiqiao County was wealthy, it was just a small county. Where did this Magistrate Chen find so many treasures?
And those chests leaning against the wall, piled up half the wall, she had just seen that they were filled with gold. With so much gold, even supporting an army would be enough for many years of provisions, wouldn't it?
On the other side of the underground vault, there were large quantities of sabers, spears, bows, arrows, and various weapons. There were also tall stacks of armor and shields.
What was Chen Dahe planning by hiding so much gold and weaponry? Had he been a local emperor for too long and found it unfulfilling, wanting to rebel for real? But this scale wasn't quite enough!
However, these were not what Su Muqing cared about. No matter what Chen Dahe intended, it wouldn't succeed if he encountered her.
Because at this moment, she, the unexpected guest, was constantly touching these treasures. As Su Muqing finished touching them, those chests and treasures all disappeared into thin air.
After Su Muqing collected all the treasures into her space, she specifically divided two areas, one for valuables and the other for weapons. Then, she carefully scanned the magistrate's mansion again to see if there were any other valuable items.
The result was very disappointing for Su Muqing! She didn't expect Chen Dahe to be such a miser. All the good things were hoarded by himself, and what he gave to his concubines were just cheap silver-plated or gilded jewelry.
He was ugly, and so stingy with women, where did he get the thick skin to marry so many wives? And he still dreamed of usurping the throne to become emperor?
After clearing out the entire underground vault, Su Muqing looked up at the iron cage. She seemed to faintly see someone imprisoned inside. She folded the ladder into an A-frame and climbed up.
When she climbed to the very top, she could only barely reach the cage by stretching her hand to its maximum extent. But the person inside seemed to be asleep? Otherwise, with her making such a racket, why wouldn't that person react at all?
Someone imprisoned by a major corrupt official was likely not a bad person. So, Su Muqing took him into her space. The moment the person disappeared from the area, steel blades shot out from all directions, instantly turning the iron cage into a hedgehog.
The sudden change startled Su Muqing greatly. She quickly slid down the ladder and also entered her space. She took a look at the man. He also had white hair, but this was a genuine elder. His beard was almost as long as his hair, giving him an immortal appearance.
Su Muqing worried about being out for too long and prepared to return. She was also concerned that this person might wake up suddenly. For safety's sake, she threw the elder into an empty area within her space.
That was a place she had specifically designated for holding bad guys. The walls on all sides were made of transparent jelly, and unless she personally released someone, they could only be imprisoned until death!
After leaving her space, she leaned the ladder against the sharp blades and carefully climbed up. Strangely, she had encountered quite a few people on the way in, but on the way back, there wasn't a single person?
Upon returning to the original room, Su Muqing looked at the display on her scanner and found that most of the people in the magistrate's mansion were gathered in one place. Was there another major event being plotted?
Su Muqing's curiosity was piqued, and she really wanted to go and eavesdrop. However, her space alerted her to the presence of individuals with very strong energy signatures, so-called martial arts masters.
To avoid a one-way trip, Su Muqing decided not to take such a risk for now. She would focus on developing her own strength first. Once she learned a few more life-saving skills, she would engage in such dangerous activities.