Quick Travel to the Clouds

Chapter 686 My Family 4

The compound eyes of the fire-iron flying ant suddenly lit up, with red and gold light flowing around them, like a precise compass that had received instructions.

They vibrated their thin, cicada-wing-like membranous wings, with flowing flame-like patterns along their edges, and with a "whoosh," they transformed into a faint golden thread, silently departing and merging into the deep night.

At the third quarter of midnight, all was quiet in Kangdu City. A fire-iron flying ant, like a ghost, darted through the air at high speed, its path incredibly precise.

First, it hovered several times above the residence of the Vice Minister of Rites, Fan, and then its invisible divine sense scanned and covered the entire mansion instantly.

It first targeted "Tingfengxuan", where Fan Shaojie lived alone.

The window latch softened like wax under the faint warmth it released, opening silently.

Flying ants flew into the room, their six legs like the finest carving knives, easily slicing open the hidden compartment of the rosewood desk—inside lay a lake-blue purse embroidered with twin lotus blossoms, even carrying the unique orchid fragrance of Tang Yunmo's boudoir.

This is the token of love that Tang Yunmo painstakingly embroidered over several months and carefully gave away not long ago (as she thought).

The dark golden compound eyes gleamed, confirming that it was indeed the right one.

The fire ant suddenly thrust out its mouthparts, not to chew, but to spray out a tiny, incredibly fine cluster of golden-red sparks!

These tiny sparks clung to the purse, without any open flame, yet at a visible speed, corroded the silk threads, brocade, and even the broken jade beads inside, turning them into a wisp of smoke and a small pinch of ash emitting a peculiar metallic, burnt smell.

The entire process was completely silent, with only a faint trace of heat remaining in the air.

Then, it moved through the room like lightning:

Several Huzhou brushes in the white jade brush washer on the windowsill: those were purple-haired brushes that Tang Yunmo had specially collected as a birthday gift for Fan Shaojie.

A page of Xue Tao's letter paper, tucked among ancient books on the bookshelf, contains Tang Yunmo's subtle love poems.

Deep inside the wardrobe was a brand-new cloud brocade riding outfit: Tang Yunmo had it custom-made in the name of the princess and then presented it to her.

……

With a thought, the Fire Iron Flying Ants turned these things into ashes in an instant.

Having confirmed that all traces of Tang Yunmo had been erased, the Fire Iron Flying Ant had not left. It needed to create even more chaos to cover its tracks. Its compound eyes emitted a faint glow in the darkness as it began searching the core area of ​​the Fan residence.

In the study: It found the keyhole of the secret box containing several ledgers of local officials' "ice and charcoal tribute" that Vice Minister Fan had secretly kept. Its mouth released a highly corrosive golden mist, which in a few breaths turned the fine iron lock core and the ledger pages inside into a viscous substance like molten iron. After cooling and solidifying, it formed a lump of iron.

In Madam Fan's bedroom: A gold-inlaid jeweled necklace, stored in a rosewood box on the top shelf of the antique display case, vanished without a trace, leaving only a few tiny corrosion holes on the surface of the box. A jade safety buckle, hidden deep within the pillowcase and said to bring peace and safety, also quietly vaporized like thin ice exposed to the scorching sun.

The warehouse's secret chamber: The thick stone walls were utterly useless against the fire-iron flying ant. It pierced straight through, spewing a burst of sparks onto the neatly stacked silver ingots. Instead of melting them, it directly eroded countless honeycomb-like tiny holes through the entire solid silver ingot! The surface of the ingot remained smooth, but its weight had been reduced by more than half.

In a corner of the ancestral hall: a stone slab buried deep under the floor tiles, containing family precepts personally written by the ancestors of the Fan family, has been pierced through the hidden compartment beneath which the ancestral jade tablets were buried, turning the precious jade tablets into dust.

Having accomplished all this, it hid in the Fan residence, monitoring it!

The night concealed the traces of destruction, leaving only an invisible ember of panic that permeated the entire mansion.

The next morning, the rosy dawn painted the glazed tiles red. In front of the Prince's mansion, three sturdy horses came to a stop. They were the servants sent by Li, Wang, and Zhang, Tang Yunlian's three classmates who had been stood up the day before. These servants were all dressed smartly, but they couldn't hide their slick and cunning nature.

The lead servant of the Li family stood on tiptoe, craning his neck to peer into the Prince's mansion. His face was plastered with an extremely eager smile, but deep down, it revealed a calculating nature. He knocked on the door knocker and said, "Please announce that the servants of the young masters of the Li, Wang, and Zhang families request an audience with Young Master Yunlian! They have important matters to discuss with him!"

Another servant of the Wang family rubbed his hands together and whispered to his companion, "I heard that a foreign troupe has recently arrived at the West Mountain Hunting Grounds, along with some new wine. It would be perfect if our young master went. His silver brocade purse is incredibly impressive."

"That's right, without your heavy purse, young master," the Zhang family servant sneered, his disdain undisguised, "our gentlemen were a bit too restrained yesterday, so we must ask you to make up for it today!"

However, the gatekeeper of the Prince's Mansion had already received Du Feiqin's instructions and bowed respectfully, saying, "Gentlemen, you've come at an inopportune time. Our second young master has accompanied the Princess Consort and the eldest and second young ladies to Cuiyun Mountain for pilgrimage and spring outing, and their return date is uncertain. We are truly sorry."

The three servants were dumbfounded, like balloons that had been punctured. Their previous eagerness to win quickly faded, turning into resentment and bitterness.

They exchanged a disgruntled glance, muttering complaints like "That sickly fellow tripped us up again" and "What a spoilsport!" Their faces clearly showed their disappointment at not getting any money and their dissatisfaction with their master's stinginess. They could only dejectedly turn their horses and leave.

At the same time, the Fan residence, just as dawn was breaking, was as if it had been plunged into an ice cave, shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere of terror.

Tingfengxuan (Fan Shaojie): The first to notice the anomaly was the maid in charge of sweeping. She wanted to tidy up the young master's desk, but found the hidden door ajar and empty inside.

"Ah—!" A shrill, distorted scream shattered the morning's tranquility, sending chills down the spines of everyone in the courtyard.

Fan Shaojie rushed in and first saw the empty purse compartment. Then he was horrified to find that there was only a brush washer on the windowsill but no brushes, and the Xue Tao paper in the desk compartment had turned into grayish-white powder!

When he opened the wardrobe and saw the "expensive" riding outfit inside, its contents twisted and mangled, all color drained from his face. His lips trembled, and he couldn't speak. The immense humiliation and offense nearly made him faint. This was no ordinary theft!

The main wife (Vice Minister Fan and his wife): Madam Fan was wailing and crying, clutching the empty jewelry box. Her personal maid was kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf: "Madam, please see the truth! The window latches were clearly intact last night, and there were even night watchwomen outside! The necklace and jade buckle seem... seem to have vanished into thin air!"

When Vice Minister Fan rushed into his study and saw the molten lock core and account book marks lying on the floor, now just scrap metal, his well-maintained face instantly turned ashen, like that of a dead man.

He swayed, making a hoarse sound in his throat. Having climbed to the position of Vice Minister, he knew all too well the catastrophic consequences of leaking these private accounts!

He personally used tools to pry open a seemingly flawless floor tile in the corner of the study. When his fingers touched the bottom of the cold, empty hidden compartment, the chilling fear of having his "secrets" precisely stolen finally overwhelmed his last bit of composure.

He waved away the terrified servant, sat alone at the table, his fingers tightly gripping his burning forehead, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

Too bizarre! Too precise! How could a thief know the location of his most secret and most hidden place, concealed beneath the ancestral precepts stone slab?! This isn't a thief, it's... it's an evil spirit!

Storeroom: The steward, his face pale, presented the heavy pile of silver ingots: "Master...please feel them..."