As he held the empty storage ring wrapped in a handkerchief, Wei Yang threw it back onto the table, not wanting to take it with him.
Though it was a mid-tier storage ring worth at least 200,000 gold coins, it still felt repulsive to him.
«Brother Yang, this storage ring seems quite high-end. It doesn't look like a low-tier ring. Are we really not taking it?» Xian'er asked, a bit concerned.
«It's a mid-tier storage ring with about 100 square meters of internal space,» Wei Yang shook his head. «I don't want to take it. Let Gutte have it.»
«Mid-tier storage ring?» Xian'er's eyes widened as she looked down at the low-tier ring on her own hand.
«Well, I've already taken one mid-tier ring from him. Once we get back and I've sorted through its contents, I'll give it to you,» Wei Yang said with a light cough. «As for this one, let's leave it for him. We've taken enough from him; it's only fair to leave something behind.»
Wei Yang couldn't possibly explain that this storage ring had been on that lecherous old man's private parts.
«Oh, okay.» Xian'er nodded, accepting this reasoning. «We've taken so many valuable things from him; leaving one storage ring is reasonable.»
«Yes, it's always good to leave a line for others. We have no personal grudge against him, so there's no need to go to extremes,» Wei Yang agreed.
«Should we leave now?» Xian'er asked.
«We haven't explored everything here yet.» Wei Yang pulled Xian'er to a wall. «Once we finish here, we can go.»
Xian'er looked at the smooth wall in front of her and blinked. «Is there a secret room behind this wall?»
«Yes.» Wei Yang nodded, his powerful soul force surging out to cover the entire wall.
Moments later, with a soft rumbling sound, the wall slowly split open, revealing an entrance behind it.
«There really is one.» Xian'er's eyes lit up. «I wonder if there are any valuable herbs inside.»
Wei Yang glanced at her. All she thinks about are herbs.
His soul force extended into the entrance, scanning the area.
Inside was a secret room about twenty square meters in size, seemingly used for seclusion or alchemy.
But it was empty, save for a few tables, chairs, cushions, and a small desk.
Wei Yang remembered in the original story, Gutte had specifically opened this wall in front of Xiao Yan and retrieved the Ice Spirit Cold Spring from inside. He thought it was a treasure room filled with valuable items.
Turns out, when Gutte did that, he was just taking something out from his crotch…
This old man, seriously.
Wei Yang was speechless.
It made sense, though. Valuable items are safest when carried in a storage ring.
Unlike the treasure vaults of large families or sects that have dedicated guards around the clock.
And Gutte's storage ring was hidden in such a concealed place on his body.
«Brother Yang, what's wrong? Is there something inside?» Xian'er couldn't help but ask when she saw Wei Yang standing there motionless.
«Yes, there are good things inside. Go ahead and take them,» Wei Yang teased her.
«Oh.» Xian'er didn't suspect anything and obediently crawled inside.
Wei Yang chuckled, turned around, and slowly walked to the door, waiting.
Soon, Xian'er came out pouting, ran up to him, and pinched his waist, complaining, «You big meanie, you tricked me!»
«Haha, I was wrong…» Wei Yang laughed, pleading for mercy.
Then he took her out of the room. Standing in the corridor, he looked back at the still sleeping Gutte and asked, «Xian'er, how long until he wakes up?»
«Um…» Xian'er tilted her head, thinking, and said, «About twelve hours or more.»
«As long as he wakes up. We just wanted the loot, not his life. Plus, he's Alchemist King Gu He's brother. If he dies, Gu He would probably go mad,» Wei Yang nodded.
«Yes, I know. Don't worry, I controlled the dosage when making the sleeping potion. With his Dou Master level, he should wake up in about twelve hours,» Xian'er explained.
«By then, we'll be far from Black Rock City,» Wei Yang smiled, taking Xianer's hand as they left.
They closed the door behind them as they exited the building.
Both cloaked in wide black robes, they blended into the darkness and disappeared.
…
Early the next morning, Wei Yang and Xian'er left the city.
Once out of Black Rock City, they flew nonstop.
After five days, almost crossing half of the Jia Ma Empire, they finally returned to Wu Tan City.
That night, they cleaned the house a bit and rested.
The next morning, they began sorting through their loot.
Xian'er had forty-eight types of rare herbs, ranging from fourth to fifth grade.
Among them were three fourth-grade herbs beneficial for soul restoration, called Soul Nurturing Lotus.
Wei Yang had the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, Dou Spirit Pills, the formula for the Royal Extreme Pill, and two pills: Three-Patterned Green Spirit Pill and Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill.
He also had four thick, ancient books.
After sorting these out, they turned to the storage ring taken from Gutte. Its internal space was nearly twenty square meters, with a height of about five meters.
It was quite a good storage ring.
With a thought, Wei Yang emptied the contents of the ring, spilling them onto the floor of the hall.
«This ring is for you,» Wei Yang said, tossing the empty ring to Xian'er.
Xian'er examined it and exclaimed, «The internal space is so large! It's like a room. Aren't you going to use it, Brother Yang?»
Wei Yang raised his hand, showing the ring he had found in the cliff cave, and smiled, «I have a bigger one.»
This ring had an internal space of about three hundred square meters and a height of three stories, a very rare high-tier storage ring.
«Oh.» Xian'er happily accepted the ring.
She was still using the low-tier ring taken from Mu She, with only five square meters of internal space.
Then, they cheerfully began sorting through the pile of items before them.
First, they picked out various bottles and jars.
Inside were some commonly used third-grade pills, like Qi Restoration Pills, Healing Pills, and Antidote Pills.
Next were some more common second- and third-grade spirit herbs, presumably for Gutte's daily use.
Then came numerous books and notes, mostly basic alchemy knowledge. Wei Yang carefully sorted and set these aside.
These alchemy basics were crucial.
Some notes belonged to several third- and fourth-grade alchemists, including Gutte, detailing their alchemical experiences and insights.
Next were various pill formulas and scrolls, from first to ordinary fourth-grade, mostly common formulas.
They weren't particularly valuable but were comprehensive in variety.
They also found a few books on profound-level techniques and martial skills, as well as a fire control technique.
One was a mid-level fire attribute technique, Blazing Flame Art.
Another was a mid-level fire attribute martial skill, Blazing Flame Palm.
Yet another was a basic fire attribute martial skill, Blazing Flame Finger.
There was also an ancient fire control technique from the Gu family, with annotations from two different people.
One set of annotations was methodical and polite.
The other was arrogant and seemed to deliberately contradict the former.
It was clear these annotations belonged to Alchemist King Gu He and his brother Gutte.
(End of Chapter)