Ah Da peered through the openwork gap and saw a large room bathed in light, which she remembered as that man's bedroom where she had stayed one night before.
She had actually made it out!
The method described by the Bronze Sword elder sister had indeed worked, and Ah Da couldn't hide her inner joy.
Although that man had seemed grumpy in the dream, he had after all saved her, and she felt that such a lifesaving grace should be reciprocated as spring gushes in response to a favor; Ah Da thought she should show her appreciation.
She just didn't know whether he preferred pearls or antiques, or perhaps something else. She had saved many pearls; Ah Da hoped that he would like pearls because if she didn't have enough, she could always cry a few more times. Other items would be more troublesome.
"Never mind, let's not get mired in this. After expressing my gratitude, I'll go look for the Bronze Sword, Little Pink Bottle, Jade Pot, and the others."
Ah Da didn't like being alone; back when she was in the underground palace, she thought solitude was nothing, but after meeting Little Pink Bottle and the others, she enjoyed their company.
After making sure no one was around, Ah Da placed her hands on the lid of the burner and gradually pushed it aside with effort; she then hung her feet in the air and peered over the edge to gauge the distance to the ground.
It was a bit high; she should be fine if she jumped down, right?
The main concern was that she could feel her Spiritual Power was insufficient; she wondered if this was because she had forced her way into the dream last time. Recalling what Bronze Sword had said, they were not supposed to intervene in the affairs of humans carelessly or else they would be punished by heaven with thunderbolts, which might result in injury or even complete annihilation.
This was terrifying, and Ah Da was anxious at heart.
Last time, she had been too hasty and impulsively forced her way into the dream. Moreover, this man seemed somewhat unique, which caused her to suffer a much harsher backlash than ever before.
"It seems I won't be able to use my Spiritual Power for a while, and I can't morph back to my normal size either."
Ah Da's current body was only the size of a palm; she sat on the edge of the incense burner, legs dangling, what would've been a short distance to the tabletop dizzying by her perspective. After much hesitation, Ah Da closed her eyes and jumped down.
Gamble it is!
With a "plop", she rolled onto the tablecloth, looking like a fluffy little cotton ball.
Fortunately, her body was quite sturdy; she was just a bit sore from the fall. Ah Da straightened her hair buns on both sides and got up, lifted the hem of her dress, and leaped to the ground. This time, with experience, she managed a smooth landing.
She was so small; everything she saw seemed gigantic.
Ah Da looked up at the furniture in the bedroom—it was like towering mountains, the sense of oppression strong, making her head spin.
Just as she was about to take a look around, she suddenly heard a "click," and alarms went off in her head. She quickly turned around and darted beneath the sofa.
Two housemaids in uniforms walked in, carrying tools and carefully began cleaning the room. Ah Da lay beneath the sofa, only able to see four shoes moving back and forth.
"Hey, there's a burner here. Oh my, it's made of jade? It looks so expensive! This must be worth a lot, huh?"
The other housemaid laughed, "What isn't expensive here? Stop making such a fuss."
"I have to say, the craftsmanship is truly exquisite, even more beautiful than those in the museums."
"Hey hey hey, don't pick it up. Be careful not to drop it. If it gets even a little dented, we couldn't afford it working for eight generations. Didn't Housekeeper Wen say so? We need to be extremely careful when cleaning the master's bedroom. Did you leave your brains at home?"
"I know, I know," the tone was slightly impatient.
Seeing her attitude, the other housemaid got a bit angry, "If it wasn't because you're new here, I couldn't care less to tell you. You must not understand the master's temperament yet."
The maid who picked up the incense burner said indifferently, "The master is just a man of few words, I find it quite nice. He's so handsome and rich, it's a pity we hardly ever see him."
"Are you insane? I think you're courting death. Don't tell me you're harboring fantasies. I remember now, today isn't your turn to clean the bedroom, is it?"
"What's wrong with liking someone? Who says I can't like?"
Seeing her stubbornness, the maid who had tried to advise her against being foolish gave up, "Fine, do whatever you want, just don't make any mistakes when you're working with me. I don't want to lose this job because of you."
Moreover, if something were to happen, it would probably be more than just losing a job—the maids who had made mistakes in the past didn't even wait for the master to say anything; Uncle Wen had already dealt with them.
The two seemed to be annoyed, shut their mouths, and started cleaning swiftly. They emptied the ashes from the incense burner and meticulously wiped it clean with a fresh cloth.
Ah Da lay in the corner, holding her breath in nervousness, afraid of being discovered and crushed like a bug.
She seemed to have accidentally overheard.
The master they mentioned must be that man—the owner of this large house. It seemed he must be very wealthy, and Ah Da began to worry about her own inadequate savings.
Once the cleaning staff had left and the room had regained its quiet, Ah Da crawled out to straighten her skirt and hair. The floor was a bit damp, making it slippery to walk on.
It took her over ten minutes to make her way around the entire room, which, aside from being large, was just large. She knew where the door was, but given her current condition, she had no chance of getting out.
Perhaps due to a lack of Spiritual Power, Ah Da felt both tired and sleepy, with no energy to climb back into the incense burner. Instead, she crawled onto the low, enormous bed and nestled inside, leaving only her head exposed, her little hand clutching at the edge of the bedding. She fell asleep in no time.
Downstairs in the hall.
Qin Yu sat on the sofa like an emperor, with his legs crossed. A cigarette was tucked between his long fingers resting on the arm of the sofa, which he tapped rhythmically, creating a beat.
In front of him, a middle-aged man with a bruised face knelt in disarray, his head bowed and body shaking uncontrollably. On either side behind him stood tall men in black suits—one named Long Qi on the right and Long Jiu on the left.
Qin Yu took a drag from his cigarette, his cool gaze shifting slightly, prompting Long Jiu to kick the middle-aged man.
He walked over, grabbed the man's hair, and yanked him up. "Speak!"
The man's scalp felt as if it were being torn off, his pain reflected in his whitened eyeballs. He trembled as he said, "I'll talk... I'll talk..."
"It was the Second Young Master. All of Mingyang's troubles were caused by the Second Young Master... The aim was to create problems for the Qin family..."
Long Jiu scoffed, gently patting the man's face, "Wang Dequan, since he made you do it, why did you run away? And what's with the thirty million in cash in your car?"
"You're quite clever, using someone else's name to get a truck, knowing they'd freeze your account and saving some cash in advance. If we hadn't planned ahead, you old thing would've really gotten away. You really value money over your life," said Long Jiu as he punched the man in the face, harboring a deep hatred for betrayers.
Wang Dequan, his face swollen and bruised, paid no mind to the blood oozing from his nose as he wailed and looked toward the man on the sofa, "Please, Third Young Master, spare me this once... I had no choice..."
Long Jiu released him, and Wang Dequan prostrated on the ground like a dog, kowtowing desperately, "Third Young Master, I have elderly parents and young children at home... I really had no choice... I didn't dare to offend the Second Young Master..."
Qin Yu let out a light snort, his cool dark eyes narrowing slightly as he sat up and flicked the ash from the cigarette in his hand. His words fell like whispers from a hellish Asura.
"You didn't dare to offend Qin Xiu, so you chose to offend me?"
"Wang Dequan, you should know how I usually deal with traitors."
His voice was low yet piercingly cold. Wang Dequan felt a chill suffuse every bone and vein in his body, despair filling his eyes.