Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 553: There Must Always Be Something Real at Home

The three sisters were currently chatting about the topic of hidden treasures in a secret room when Zheng Yanyan accidentally triggered a mechanism. A brick on the wall suddenly sank inward, causing the three girls to freeze and look at each other.To be honest, they were a bit frightened at first, thinking there was someone else in this castle. After a long while with no further movement, the three of them finally recovered. Zheng Yanyan stuttered slightly, "Could... could there really be some kind of treasure?"

"How is that possible? Even if there was a treasure, they wouldn't have left it for us, right?" Lu Lin said this without much confidence, because the reality was right before their eyes. Could Zheng Yanyan have actually guessed correctly?

Shen Yu suggested they go find Zhou Yuwen to come take a look. However, just as she turned around, Zheng Yanyan pulled her back. Zheng Yanyan argued that they had barely seen anything yet. It was just a single sunken brick; perhaps it was merely in disrepair after so many years? Calling her Hubby over for such a trivial matter would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Let's go take a closer look."

As Zheng Yanyan spoke, she reached out toward the sunken spot. Seeing this, Lu Lin and Shen Yu were startled and wanted to voice their objections, but Zheng Yanyan had already thrust her hand inside.

She felt that the brick could be pushed in a bit further, so without thinking, she gave it another shove. Suddenly, an eighty-by-eighty-centimeter section of marble flooring by the wall retracted inward, revealing the entrance to a cellar. Witnessing this scene, the three girls found it even more unbelievable.

There was actually a secret room?

The three girls gathered around, only to find the inside so dark they could not see their fingers in front of their faces. Everyone felt a bit afraid, but Zheng Yanyan was actually somewhat excited. She even swallowed nervously, convinced that there were definitely treasures inside.

Without a second thought, she prepared to head down the stairs.

However, after taking just two steps, Shen Yu and Lu Lin immediately blocked her path.

Lu Lin demanded to know what she was doing.

"Do you even know what is down there? You are just going to charge in? If there really are traps, you won't even know how you died!"

Zheng Yanyan countered, "That is impossible. I feel like this was probably left behind by the previous estate owner. Maybe there are antiques and treasures hidden inside. Won't we know if we just go down and take a look?"

"Are you crazy? At the very least, we need to tell Zhou Yuwen."

Lu Lin absolutely refused to let Zheng Yanyan go down, instructing Shen Yu to notify Zhou Yuwen and have him come take a look. Perhaps Zhou Yuwen already knew about this secret room.

Shen Yu was very obedient to Lu Lin. Upon receiving the instruction, she turned to walk outside without hesitation, but after just two steps, Zheng Yanyan stopped her again.

How could Zheng Yanyan give up such a perfect opportunity to claim credit? She had read too many novels and was completely certain, firmly believing that treasures were definitely hidden inside the secret room.

No matter what, she insisted on being the first one to tell Zhou Yuwen.

Shen Yu did not argue with Zheng Yanyan about this. She simply found it amusing and told Zheng Yanyan to go ahead.

Thus, Zheng Yanyan eagerly ran off to notify Zhou Yuwen.

At this moment, Zhou Yuwen and Hathaway were still at the newly built horse farm, bonding with the horses. He saw Zheng Yanyan running over, panting heavily. The more Zheng Yanyan thought about it, the more convinced she became that there was absolutely a massive hoard of treasures hidden inside the cellar. Perhaps it was the kind of endless wealth one could never exhaust. Her excitement surged with every thought, and her footsteps quickened.

By the time she reached Zhou Yuwen, she was heavily panting, her small face flushed red.

Before she could even finish her sentence, she bent over, resting her hands on her knees to catch her breath while wiping the fine beads of sweat from her face.

Seeing this, Zhou Yuwen was very confused and asked Zheng Yanyan what she was doing.

Zheng Yanyan initially wanted to blurt it out directly, but seeing Hathaway beside Zhou Yuwen staring at her with a suspicious gaze, she reconsidered. She thought, 'This Hathaway is not Hubby's woman yet. If there really are treasures hidden in the secret room, wouldn't she find out about everything?'

'I need to be careful.'

So, with a secretive air, Zheng Yanyan pulled Zhou Yuwen aside and whispered about her discovery of the secret room in the castle, adding that there might be a lot of treasures inside.

Zhou Yuwen was taken aback, feeling that Zheng Yanyan had a bit too much imagination. Just as he was about to say something, Zheng Yanyan quickly shushed him, whispering that he should not let this foreign beauty hear them.

Hearing this, Zhou Yuwen was left speechless. "Is your brain short-circuiting? Hathaway doesn't even understand Chinese."

"Ah?" Zheng Yanyan suddenly realized her mistake, but then immediately retorted, "What if she can understand it?"

"Alright..."

Zhou Yuwen remained utterly speechless.

He looked at Hathaway, who asked with a suspicious expression, "Did something happen?"

Zhou Yuwen told her it was nothing.

"The sisters seem to have run into a little problem that needs my attention. I'm afraid I can't keep you company here anymore," Zhou Yuwen said to Hathaway in English.

Hathaway did not quite understand, wondering what could possibly happen in broad daylight, but she did not press the issue. She simply smiled and nodded, signaling that Zhou Yuwen could go attend to his business.

With that, Zhou Yuwen left with Zheng Yanyan.

They arrived at the long-abandoned ancient castle. Fortunately, it was broad daylight, and sunlight streamed in through the windows from all directions, illuminating the entire castle.

The entrance to the secret room was in the southeast corner of the ancient castle. Lu Lin and Shen Yu had been standing guard there, and upon seeing Zhou Yuwen enter, they all crowded around him. Now that there was no outsider present, Zheng Yanyan's voice grew louder. She still insisted that there must be some treasure hidden inside.

Zhou Yuwen, however, stated that she was definitely overthinking it.

"This castle is at least a hundred years old. It is perfectly normal for it to have a secret room. When we renovate it later, the survey team will definitely inspect it thoroughly from the inside out."

Zhou Yuwen explained.

Zheng Yanyan argued, "But what if there really are treasures inside? If the survey team finds them, wouldn't we take a massive loss?"

Zhou Yuwen wanted to say that even if there were treasures, they would belong to him. What did it matter if the team found them? But thinking about it carefully, if there actually was a hoard, having others discover it might indeed cause unnecessary trouble.

Changing his mind, Zhou Yuwen looked back at the entrance of the secret room. By this time, Zheng Yanyan was already clutching a prepared flashlight. She asked nervously, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

Zhou Yuwen looked at Zheng Yanyan and saw her nervous expression, though she was nodding firmly.

To be honest, Zhou Yuwen found his own heart stirred by Zheng Yanyan's words.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally decided to follow along and check it out.

However, he was also wary of potential dangers, so proper preparations had to be made.

At the very least, they should bring two hunting dogs and maybe a couple of guns, right?

Zheng Yanyan had no objections to this. The group deliberated over the plan for a while, with Zheng Yanyan declaring that no outsider could know about this; it would be their family's shared secret.

Zhou Yuwen did not say much, so the matter was put on hold for a day. The following day, Zhou Yuwen took Lu Lin and Zheng Yanyan, leading two hunting dogs, into the secret room.

Lu Wanting and Shen Yu remained outside as backup. Just to be safe, the three of them even tied ropes around themselves.

After securing everything, they sent the dogs in first.

Only after confirming that the dogs were barking continuously inside without facing any immediate danger did the three of them venture in.

To be honest, Zhou Yuwen was not particularly scared, but after constantly hearing Zheng Yanyan chatter about secret room adventures, he could not help but feel a little anxious. He thought to himself, 'It would be a colossal waste if a dignified reborn person like me were to lose my life here.'

So, step by step, they made their way inside, guided by the dogs barking ahead.

After walking for a few minutes, they realized it was not some grand secret room adventure at all. It was just a small, pitch-black secret room beneath the castle with seemingly nothing in it. Even after shining three powerful flashlights around for a long time, they could not spot anything of note.

Turning on the lighting equipment, they discovered it was a small chamber of about forty square meters, filled with rows of stone tables. It seemed this place had not been visited in ages, as the tables were completely coated in dust. Seeing this scene, Zheng Yanyan was deeply disappointed. She had expected to find treasures, but after all that fuss, this was it?

Zhou Yuwen was also speechless, commenting on how much time they had spent preparing just for an ordinary secret room.

Zheng Yanyan was unwilling to give up. At that moment, the two hunting dogs they brought began barking relentlessly at a corner of the wall.

That corner was obscured by a stone table. Seeing such a strong reaction from the hunting dogs, Zheng Yanyan quickly ran over to investigate, even asking the barking dogs if they had found some treasure.

However, when she reached the corner, her face instantly turned deathly pale from fright.

"Ah!"

This sudden scream startled both Zhou Yuwen and Lu Lin. Zhou Yuwen walked over, and Zheng Yanyan immediately buried her face into his chest.

Zhou Yuwen took a look and saw two eerie skeletons lying silently in the corner. Their clothes were nearly entirely weathered away. One of them was clutching a metal vase that was covered in a thick layer of dust, emitting a faint, golden gleam when the light swept across it.

Zheng Yanyan kept her head buried tightly against Zhou Yuwen's chest, not daring to look up at all.

Zhou Yuwen, however, reached out to take the vase.

Frightened, Zheng Yanyan quickly tried to stop him. "Hubby, what are you doing?"

Zhou Yuwen was actually going to touch the skeletons? This was far too terrifying!

Without saying a word, Zhou Yuwen reached straight for the metal vase cradled in the skeleton's embrace.

These people had clearly been dead for quite some time, yet they held onto the vase with a death grip, refusing to let go. Zhou Yuwen had to exert a great deal of effort to pull the vase free. It was quite heavy, weighing at least a few kilograms.

As Zhou Yuwen picked it up, a shower of dust fell to the floor, revealing the golden radiance beneath.

But Zheng Yanyan was truly terrified at this point, burying her head even deeper, absolutely refusing to look up.

Lu Lin, however, noticed something and could not help but lean in closer.

She watched as Zhou Yuwen wiped away all the dust.

Sure enough, an exquisite golden vase was unveiled right before their eyes.

Holding her flashlight to illuminate it for Zhou Yuwen, Lu Lin could not resist asking, "Is it gold?"

"?" Hearing this, Zheng Yanyan froze and slightly turned her head.

Zhou Yuwen tapped the vase against the stone table and replied, "Not necessarily, but there is a high probability it is gold. I see there are a lot of bottles and jars in the corner. You two gather them up and let's take a look."

They had been obscured by the stone tables earlier, but upon stepping closer, they realized the corner was filled with various bottles and jars. Additionally, the two skeletons had a sturdy large burlap sack slung behind them.

The vase in Zhou Yuwen's hand was very likely made of gold, so the value of the rest was quite obvious. Lu Lin obediently went to inspect the other items. Zheng Yanyan wanted to join in, but looking at the two piles of skeletons, she felt a strong sense of hesitation. Ultimately, gritting her teeth, she went over as well.

A voice crackled through Zhou Yuwen's walkie-talkies. It was Lu Wanting and Shen Yu from outside. Lu Wanting asked why they had heard someone screaming just now.

"Are you guys alright?"

"We are fine. Come on down; it is just an ordinary secret room."

"Okay."

Following Zhou Yuwen's instructions, the remaining two girls came down, bringing even more lighting equipment. By the time they arrived, the secret room was already brilliantly lit.

The entirety of the secret room was finally visible. It was forty square meters, and deeper inside, there was an iron bed and torture instruments. Actually, they were not exactly torture instruments, but rather items meant for abuse.

Some calligraphy and paintings of unknown age hung on the walls. The innermost stone tables were lined with glass display cases coated in dust. Once the dust was wiped away, exquisite antiques and sparkling gemstones were revealed. There were red, blue, and green gems, all roughly the size of pigeon eggs.

The collection also included Eastern porcelain and calligraphy and paintings. Judging by their appearance, they were incredibly old. Zhou Yuwen even spotted the handwriting of a certain ancient emperor.

In addition to this, Zhou Yuwen found a locked small iron box. He simply shot it open with his gun. Inside were some old black and white photographs along with military merit badges.

When Lu Wanting and Shen Yu came down, they were shocked by the scene inside the secret room.

The stone tables were already covered with exquisite porcelain and numerous gold ornaments that had been polished to a gleam.

There were vases, a walking stick, a necklace, and hats. These pieces of jewelry were inlaid with gemstones, looking incredibly valuable at first glance.

Stacked beneath the innermost wall were several large boxes, all firmly locked. Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin had exhausted themselves trying to open them, but to no avail.

Zhou Yuwen told them to shoot the locks off.

Neither of them had ever fired a gun before, so they were too afraid to try.

Without wasting another word, Zhou Yuwen told them to step back and then pulled out his pistol.

Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out.

He blasted all the locks off.

Then, Zheng Yanyan and Lu Lin stepped forward to open the boxes.

The boxes were opened.

Row after row of gold bricks reflected a blinding brilliance.

There were five large boxes in total, and four of them were completely filled with gold.

The final one was filled with jewels.

The sight before them stunned the girls. Staring at this immense fortune, they found themselves completely at a loss for words.

Actually, the moment Zhou Yuwen laid eyes on those boxes, he knew exactly what was inside.

Looking at the girls' utterly shocked expressions.

Zhou Yuwen simply closed the boxes, one after the other.

He then told them not to take a single thing from inside for the time being.

"Let's head out first."

Ever since they started following Zhou Yuwen, he had never let them lack for food or clothing. Although there was a massive amount of gold here, no one could accurately guess its true value. Moreover, the girls were genuinely overwhelmed and temporarily lacked the presence of mind to make any decisions.

Hearing Zhou Yuwen's command, they did not voice any objections.

However, as they were leaving, they could not help but cast reluctant glances at the exquisite gold jewelry scattered across the tables.