Xianan burst into the house. Grandpa Feng lay on the bed, barely breathing.
Jin Zhou, his mother, and several neighbors stood around him in silence.
"Grandpa!" Xianan rushed forward, her voice trembling.
The sight froze her in place.
Grandpa Feng's head was heavily wrapped in bandages, already soaked through with blood. Fresh red seeped out, staining the cloth. His eyes were shut tight. Saliva slipped from the corner of his mouth. His body trembled faintly.
His face was pale—deathly pale.
Xianan's chest tightened.
"What happened?" she asked, her voice shaking. "He was fine just days ago… how could this happen?"
Jin lowered his gaze.
"Two days ago, he went to check his storage cabinet. He wanted to take out some money… for your academy fees."
Xianan's heart skipped.
"But he ran into a masked thief," Jin continued quietly. "The thief attacked him, took everything, and left him like this."
"He was already badly injured," Jin added. "Then he collapsed… and hasn't woken up since."
Xianan's hands trembled.
"His money…" she whispered.
Jin's mother sobbed beside them, her voice hoarse.
"He told me before… those were coins his daughter sent him. He never spent a single one. He just… kept them. Sometimes he would take them out and look at them when he missed her…"
Xianan bit her lip, tears falling.
"Did you call a doctor?"
"We did," Jin said. "The doctor said he won't die immediately… but he doesn't have long. Maybe just a few days."
"A few days…" Xianan repeated.
"There's one way," Jin continued. "If we can get an old mountain ginseng from the Wood Realm… it might save him."
"How much?"
"At least one hundred taels."
Silence. That number crushed the room.
Even if everyone pooled their money together, it wouldn't come close.
"If my father were still here…" Xianan murmured, lowering her eyes. "He knew medicine… maybe he could…"
Her voice broke.
She looked at Grandpa Feng again.
The man who used to laugh so loudly… now couldn't even move.
It felt like her heart was being torn apart.
Suddenly, her eyes hardened.
"Who did it?"
Her voice turned cold.
"If we get the money back… we can save him."
Jin shook his head.
"We don't know. We asked the village chief—he had no idea. Then we went to the Golden guards…, the security troops, they didn't care."
"They didn't care?" Xianan's teeth clenched. "We send tribute to Golden every year—and when we need help, they ignore us?"
"I'll go find them."
Jin's mother grabbed her arm.
"Don't! It's useless. If you anger them, they'll throw you in prison."
Xianan stopped.
Forced herself to think.
"Our village is peaceful," she said slowly. "Theft is rare. And how would the thief know where the money was hidden?"
Jin shook his head.
Xianan's thoughts raced.
One by one, she went through every person close to Grandpa Feng.
Then—
A spark.
The Kou couple. The ones who came to borrow money. They were in debt. She never trusted them.
Xianan turned and walked to the empty storage cabinet.
She ran her fingers across it and then paused.
A few thin threads were caught on the cabinet door.
She pulled them free.
Cotton. Fine cotton.
Not something ordinary villagers could afford. Only wealthy merchants…Like the Kou family.
Her eyes sharpened. "I know who did it."
Jin looked up. "Who?"
"The Kou couple."
Jin's eyes widened instantly.
"That makes sense… I saw them staring at grandpa that day. They must've found out about the money then."
"But you have no proof," Jin's mother said.
Xianan nodded. "You're right. Not yet." She took a breath.
"The coins were special. They are from Golden, rare in Soil, right?"
"If they used them… We'll know."
They investigated quietly. The result shocked them.
The Kou couple had already repaid all their debts. And even bought new goods.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
Something was wrong.
They tracked down the creditors.
The answer?
The debts were paid with ordinary Soil coins.
Jin frowned.
"Did we get it wrong?"
Xianan shook her head. "No. They must have exchanged the coins first."
After hours of searching, they found the money changer in the eastern market in Soil.
And he confirmed it.
The Kou couple had exchanged twenty taels' worth of dragon-patterned coins.
But—
"They weren't Golden coins," the man said. "They were coins from the Water Realm."
Xianan froze. "That's impossible."
"Golden coins have cloud patterns," the man said calmly. "Not dragon patterns. I've been doing this for years. I don't make mistakes."
Xianan stood there, stunned.
If those coins weren't from Golden…
Everyone knew that Grandpa Feng's daughter, Dianmo Feng, was in the Golden Realm.
Then why were these coins from the Water Realm?
Why from somewhere so distant?
Why not Golden?
Nothing made sense.
Jin clenched his fists.
"Those bastards… is this how they repay Grandpa Feng?"
He looked at Xianan. "What now?"
Xianan's eyes turned cold. "We confront them."
The Kou couple denied everything.
Even when they heard Grandpa Feng was dying, they didn't flinch.
"Get out," Master Kou snapped.
Then a yellow handkerchief slipped from his sleeve.
Xianan picked it up.
Dragon pattern.
From Grandpa Feng's storage cabinet.
Proof.
Her gaze turned icy.
"Swear it," she said. "Swear you didn't steal it."
"Why should we?" Kou's wife sneered. "Get out."
The village chief refused to help.
The Golden guards refused to care.
The truth didn't matter.
Jin clenched his fists.
"So what do we do now?"
Xianan didn't hesitate. "I'll go to the Golden guards."
"They won't help."
"I'm not asking for help."
Jin froze.
Then his eyes widened. "You… you mean…"
Xianan nodded. "The dungeon. If we survive four days… we get one hundred taels."
Jin's face turned pale. "That place… people don't come back from there."
Xianan's voice was steady. "Grandpa Feng won't survive either. I have to try."
Jin stared at her.
Then slowly he grabbed her hand. "…Then I'm going with you."
Xianan looked at him. And nodded.
The Golden guard captain smiled when he saw them. "You again?"
Xianan stepped forward. "We want to enter the dungeon."
The captain raised an eyebrow. "Still remember what I said?"
"If we survive four days, we get paid."
"And that still stands."
Xianan took a breath. "Then I have one more condition."
"Oh?"
"If I survive five days—Help me arrest two people."
The captain stared at her and then chuckled. "The dungeon isn't a place for the weak."
Xianan met his gaze. "I know."
Jin tightened his grip on her hand.
And this time—
Neither of them let go.