An Moxue left the house and walked a distance before taking out a car from her spatial storage and driving towards Popov's house.
Upon arriving at the destination, An Moxue parked the car, climbed over the wall, and entered Popov's house.
They found the study, put away the painting, went to Anthony's room, put him in the basement, then found old Popov's room, knocked him unconscious, and carried him to the basement.
First, they fed Anthony a Truth Pill, then took out a silver needle and pricked Anthony's philtrum.
Anthony slowly woke up, his eyes gradually becoming unfocused.
An Moxue looked at her and said softly, "Anthony, did you go to Jiduo's house to spy on her, and even send people to the school and her house to steal her hair?"
"yes."
"What are you going to do with her hair?"
"Divination".
"What do you want to divine?"
"Let's see if she's a descendant of the Nalan family."
"Why are you looking for the descendants of the Nalan family?"
"To break the curse."
"Why should the descendants of the Nalan family be allowed to break the curse?"
"Because my grandfather consulted the ancient books and suspected that our family had been cursed by the ancestors of the Nalan family, so we had to find them to break the curse."
"Then why would you suspect that the Nalan family cast a curse on your family?"
"Because our ancestors were servants of the Nalan family, and there was an ancestral saying that if you betrayed the Nalan family, you would be cursed."
"So how did you betray us?"
“Our ancestors lost contact with the Nalan family. Over time, they secretly used the Nalan family’s money and gradually discovered the strange illness. They consulted many people but could not cure it, and it became more and more serious with each generation. That’s when they suspected that they were cursed.”
Yes, for a period of time, after the last high priest ascended to heaven, the Nalan family moved several times, changed their names, and severed ties with many of their subordinates and servants.
An Moxue unfolded the portrait and asked, "Was this person the one who did this? Who is she?"
"She was the high priestess of the Nalan family, and she was the one who gave birth to him."
"Then how did you come to suspect that Jiduo is a member of the Nalan family?"
"Their eyes, they all have the same pair of eyes."
"What should we do after proving she's from the Nalan family?"
"Perform the ritual to break the curse."
How do I undo this?
"For her to forgive us willingly, we need to shed some of her heart's blood, perform a sacrificial ceremony, and pray to the gods."
What if she disagrees?
"We must find a way to get her to agree. We've been searching for a hundred years, and we've finally found someone who might be a descendant of the Nalan family. We absolutely cannot let her go."
An Moxue had asked enough questions, and the effects of the drug were wearing off, so she knocked Anthony unconscious again.
Yes, recalling the gems discovered at the Nalan family's ancestral home, An Moxue once suspected that the Nalan family's ancestors had been to Europe and were very powerful. Otherwise, they wouldn't have had so many kinds of gems, all of them top-quality. The sheer number and variety of these gems would have spanned many parts of the European continent. It wasn't just about having money; one also needed power. An Moxue couldn't imagine what the Nalan family must have been like at its most glorious.
An Moxue took some blood from him and old Popov, intending to study it when she got back.
She suspected that they weren't under any kind of curse, but rather poisoned, and that the poison must have been in the original treasures. If their ancestors hadn't been greedy and hadn't touched the treasures belonging to the Nalan family, they wouldn't have been poisoned.
It seems we still need to interrogate old Popov.
So, An Moxue fed old Popov another Truth Pill.
After the effects of the drug on Popov took hold, An Moxue began her questioning.
"Old man, I ask you, how much of the Nalan family's treasures and property did you take?"
"Less than half."
"What about the rest?"
"After discovering the curse, we didn't do anything else."
Where is that treasure?
"It's right below the treasure room. Inside the treasure room, there's a painting of a birthday celebration at the Jade Pool. There's a mechanism behind the painting; just open it."
"Then where did the treasures your Popov family accumulated go?"
"They're all in the treasure room."
Where is the treasure room?
"In the study on the first floor, there is an ornament on the table, that is the mechanism."
How do we open both treasure rooms?
"The ornament in the study on the first floor is a polar bear figurine with gems on its two feet. The gem on its left foot is the mechanism. The mechanisms behind the Yaochi Longevity Celebration painting are arranged according to the positions of the four divine beasts. Just open them in order."
"Aren't there any mechanisms inside?"
"Yes, if you open it in the correct order, there won't be any traps. You only encounter them if you open it incorrectly."
Is there a time limit for entering?
"The ones below have them, but the ones above don't."
"how long?"
"Half an hour."
An Moxue thought for a moment, then, having nothing else to ask, knocked old Popov unconscious, gave Anthony and old Popov each a pill in their mouths, and after they swallowed the pills, she also took an antidote pill, lit a sedative incense, and left the basement.
Then, she found the study on the first floor and saw the polar bear figurine on the table. An Moxue pressed the mechanism, and slowly an opening appeared on the ground with steps leading down. An Moxue climbed the steps.
Once downstairs, the walls were covered with masterpieces by famous artists, and there was a row of antique shelves on the floor filled with large ornaments that looked very valuable. There were also stacks of boxes on the floor, all made of camphor wood. An Moxue didn't have time to check them all and put them into her spatial storage first.
Finally, they went to the painting of the Jade Pool celebrating a birthday and began to move the mechanisms according to the positions of the four divine beasts.
An Moxue hadn't seen anyone come down there for a long time. After waiting for ten minutes, she found another set of protective clothing to put on, took a few steps inside, lit a match, and continued walking in.
The space here was larger than the previous one, but the number of boxes was about the same, over a hundred, all made of camphor wood. An Moxue put them into an empty storage bag. After collecting the items, she looked around again, found nothing, and left the treasure room.
An Moxue took off her protective suit, left the study, escorted Anthony and old Popov back to their room, then quickly ran outside and carefully jumped over the courtyard wall.
She had just stepped outside the courtyard wall when she was startled by a figure.
"Mo Xue." "Wu Sicheng."
The two spoke at the same time.
"Quick, let's get out of here first." An Moxue didn't give Wu Sicheng a chance to speak and pulled him away.
While running, I was also feeling fortunate that I had come out just in time; it must be thanks to the blessings of my ancestors.
Wu Sicheng found An Moxue and, seeing that she was safe and sound, felt a great weight lifted from his heart. He didn't ask any more questions.
The two arrived at the place where the motorcycle was hidden. Wu Sicheng rode the motorcycle away with An Moxue on the back.
Only after arriving home did An Moxue say to Wu Sicheng, "Thank you, Wu Sicheng. My danger is over. Don't come tomorrow night; work is more important."
Wu Sicheng glanced at her and said only one word: "Okay."
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