Lin Hao, along with his junior sister Lin Qingxin and Xiao Hei, entered the room and closed the door, beginning their search.
The Lin family servants arrived at the door, instinctively wanting to push it open and look inside. However, remembering Lin Hao's methods, they reluctantly gave up.
They pressed their ears against the door, trying to hear what Lin Hao, Lin Qingxin, and Lin Qingshan were doing. But after listening for a long time, they heard nothing.
Inside the room, Lin Hao, his junior sister Lin Qingxin, and Xiao Hei searched the room meticulously. After ten minutes of searching, they found nothing.
Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin looked at Lin Hao. Xiao Hei asked with some confusion, "Senior Brother, did the old man leave anything behind?" He continued, "Even if he did, it would have been taken by them, and we definitely wouldn't find it."
Hearing Xiao Hei's words, Lin Qingxin nodded in agreement.
However, Lin Hao shook his head and said, "No." He added, "If Grandpa didn't leave anything, that's fine. But if he did, they definitely wouldn't find it." Lin Hao wasn't speaking nonsense or joking. He dared to say this based on his understanding of his grandfather.
Upon hearing Lin Hao's words, Xiao Hei looked at him and asked, "Then shall we keep searching?"
Lin Hao nodded and continued his search. Xiao Hei, looking at the room they had already turned upside down, reluctantly joined the search. Lin Qingxin also followed Lin Hao.
After another ten minutes or so, Lin Hao stopped by the corner of the right wall. The floor of his grandfather's room was paved with bluestone bricks. Lin Hao stared at a bluestone brick in the corner, his gaze lingering for a moment. This brick looked no different from the others. In fact, it was laid more neatly, and even the gaps between the bricks were filled with grayish-blue mortar.
However, to Lin Hao, this seemingly ordinary bluestone brick seemed slightly off. The room his grandfather lived in was quite old. Although the bluestone bricks on the floor were still neat, the grayish-blue mortar filling the gaps had mostly worn away. Yet, the brick in front of him was different. The mortar filling the gaps was intact, as if it had just been refilled.
Lin Hao crouched down and pried out the bluestone brick. Beneath it, as expected, was a small black wooden box. The small black wooden box was rectangular. When he held it, a faint scent of sandalwood emanated from it.
"Senior Brother, you found it?"
"Brother Lin Hao, what is this?"
Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin, noticing the commotion, hurried over.
"I don't know what it is. Let's open it and see," Lin Hao said, then opened the rectangular sandalwood box. Inside, the first thing that met his eyes was a letter.
As Lin Hao picked up the letter, about to read its contents, he noticed something else beneath the letter: an object resembling a ruler. This ruler-like object was the same length as the sandalwood box, about twenty centimeters long.
"What is this?" Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin looked at the ruler-like object in the box with confusion.
Lin Hao picked up the box, inverted it, and examined the object in his hand. It felt cold to the touch, with a dark, somber texture, entirely black. One side was inscribed with rows of tadpole script. Lin Hao carefully tried to decipher it but couldn't recognize a single character. This made Lin Hao very puzzled. He even doubted if the inscriptions were indeed tadpole script, as he had studied tadpole script since childhood and recognized most of it. Yet, the script before him, after prolonged examination, remained utterly unrecognizable.
As Lin Hao pondered this, Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin also looked at the "ruler" in Lin Hao's hand and asked, "Senior Brother, what does it say?"
"I don't recognize it," Lin Hao replied bluntly.
"Ah? Even you don't recognize it?" Xiao Hei was stunned, completely surprised that even his Senior Brother Lin Hao couldn't recognize the script.
"Brother Lin Hao, why don't you read the letter? Perhaps it explains what this is," Lin Qingxin suggested.
Lin Hao nodded and unfolded the letter. The paper was yellowed, but the handwriting was undamaged. Fortunately, the writing on the letter was not the tadpole script from before, or Lin Hao would have been truly frustrated.
After reading the letter from beginning to end, Lin Hao confirmed that it was written by his grandfather. The content was as follows:
"Xiao Hao, Grandpa is gone. Grandpa has gone to handle an important matter, so don't look for me. By the time you read this letter, it should be three years later. By then, your seal should have been removed. Once the seal is broken, do whatever you wish. You are the dragon of our Lin family. Grandpa has delayed you for three years, and I am already indebted. If I delay you further, it will be difficult even for me to reincarnate. The sandalwood box contains an ancestral item of our Lin family, the Ma Yi Shen Chi (Magic Measuring Ruler). The Ma Yi Shen Chi is something only the head of the Lin family can possess. Your uncles are not capable of it, so Grandpa hopes you will take charge of the Lin family. If all goes well, I will return in ten years. If I do not return, do not look for me. If you must search for me, do so after you reach the Heavenly Master realm. Remember this. That's all Grandpa has to say. Grandpa hopes that in ten years, upon his return, he will see the Lin family, under your leadership, regain its former glory."
After reading the letter, Lin Hao's brow furrowed. The letter contained many words, but its sole purpose was to instruct him to take charge of the Lin family with the ancestral "Ma Yi Shen Chi."
Take charge of the Lin family... Lin Hao had never considered it. He felt no emotional attachment to the Lin family. If it weren't for his grandfather, Lin Hao might have left the Lin family long ago. He hadn't expected his grandfather to ask him to manage the Lin family, and even to leave him the most important "Ma Yi Shen Chi" of the Lin family.
As Lin Hao pondered these thoughts, Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin asked curiously, "Senior Brother, what did the letter say? Is it from the old man?"
Lin Hao remained silent and handed the letter to Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin to read. Within a few breaths, Xiao Hei and Lin Qingxin's eyes widened in astonishment.
"Senior Brother, the old man wants you to manage the Lin family. What should we do?" Xiao Hei looked at Lin Hao, already knowing that Lin Hao was unwilling to manage the Lin family.
At the same time, Lin Qingxin also looked at Lin Hao and asked, "Brother Lin Hao, do you want to manage the Lin family?" Lin Qingxin couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. While it would be good for Lin Hao to manage the Lin family, if he did, he would have to stay with the Lin family. If Lin Hao stayed, she would also have to remain. She no longer wished to stay in the current Lin family. She only wanted to follow Lin Hao and live a quiet life in a place no one knew.