Ji Fengming quickly covered his mouth, and together with Hei Xiao, they carried him to the corner of the backyard wall.

Duke Chen and Chen Shiyu vaguely sensed something was wrong. They chased after the cat and saw it dart across the courtyard, which relieved them.

"Uncle, don't worry. This place contains important items. My men have surrounded it three layers deep, so even if a thief had wings, he couldn't fly in," Chen Yunli boasted confidently.

The Duke of Chen's expression darkened as he thought of Ji Chenhai and his son who were accompanying him.

"Father, don't worry, our men are keeping an eye on those two bandits at the inn. Just now someone reported that Ji Chenhai personally went downstairs to get wine and meat, and the father and sons were playing drinking games and making a lot of noise in the room," Chen Shiyu said with utter disdain.

"It's better to be cautious," Duke Chen nodded, offering this advice.

After Duke Chen and his entourage left.

Ji Fengming released Wang An and gave him a sharp rap on the forehead, then secretly cursed him, "You brat, are you looking for death? You dare to spout nonsense under any circumstances."

Wang An knew he had made a mistake, so he put his hands together in a pleading gesture, begging for forgiveness.

"The replacements will be here soon, we need to hurry," Black Owl warned.

"Wait here, we'll be right back," Ji Fengming said, leaving Wang An behind and making a move to leave.

Wang An quickly hugged their legs, looking pitiful: "Didn't you promise to take me with you?"

"Can you move it or carry it? Don't cause trouble. Stay here and keep watch." Ji Fengming kicked him away.

Wang An had no reply and could only obediently shrink back into the shadows of the corner.

Even just squatting in a corner was something Wang An had never done before, and he felt incredibly excited and thrilled.

Ji Fengming and Hei Xiao still sneaked into Chen Yunli's mansion from the roof.

The two had a clear division of labor: Hei Xiao took his three portions, and Ji Fengming took the remaining seven portions.

More than twenty boxes of gold ingots were all put into the two people's storage space in the blink of an eye.

Black Owl was about to leave.

Ji Fengming stopped him, saying, "Wait a minute, Chen Yunli is obviously a scoundrel. Don't be fooled by his respectful and obsequious attitude towards Duke Chen. I bet he's hiding something in secret."

"He would definitely have hidden something, but how could he possibly hide it here?" Black Owl wondered.

“You know better than I do about the mess in the Kyoto court; but when it comes to experience in the ways of the world, you are no match for me,” Ji Fengming said, praising his own wares while tapping and turning the items around. “As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest place. This mansion is only so big; he wouldn’t hide things in two separate places that would be conspicuous.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he spun a celadon bottle in his hand.

A faint rattling sound, like a mechanism turning, came from under the desk.

Ji Fengming smiled, her eyes crinkling, and smugly hooked her arm around Hei Xiao's shoulder: "See? I told you so!"

The cellar was not dug very deep.

The two men went down with tinderboxes and were astonished to see the chests of gold, silver and jewels, as well as paintings and other precious objects piled up in the cellar.

"Damn it, this Chen Yunli is absolutely insane! No wonder there are so many poor people and beggars in Hualiang City. It seems he's taken all the flesh from the common people and put it here!" Ji Fengming gritted his teeth as he watched.

"Take them all?" Black Owl looked up at Ji Fengming, his tone not one of seeking permission.

"Take it! Don't leave him a single copper coin!" Ji Fengming waved his hand repeatedly, instantly taking away 70% of the money.