I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 1070 Figure it out
"Zhang Chen, are you just looking for trouble? I'm your girlfriend, we're dating, do I have to make a choice about this? Shen Jianghe and I are just friends! I did have a relationship with Shen Jianghe back then, but that's all in the past. Can you please forget about it completely?" Shi Yanan glared at Zhang Chen.

"The things that happened back then are all in the past. You're just constantly bringing them up."

Upon hearing Shi Yunan's words, Zhang Chen tilted his head and glanced at her, but didn't dwell on the topic. Instead, he said, "My birthday is in three days..."

"I will definitely come to be with you," Shi Yunan said.

Zhang Chen looked at Shi Yanan with his eyes. At this moment, even with his thousands of years of experience, he could not grasp her thoughts. He could only say, "Then I will wait for you at the usual place in three days. I hope nothing goes wrong, and I don't want to see Shen Jianghe."

Zhang Chen walked back to his own courtyard, leaving Shi Yunan with a sigh before turning around and chasing after Shen Jianghe.

Back in the house, Zhang Chen carefully read history books while the Five Ghosts circled around him, cleaning the dust in the house. As dusk fell and the aroma of cooking wafted from next door, a feeling of hunger arose in his stomach. Only then did Zhang Chen urge the Five Ghosts to bring over the rice and stew from next door, and they secretly ate in the house.

"Who the hell killed me? Where's the rice I just cooked? Where's the stew I prepared?" Wang Fang stood in the house cursing, staring blankly at the empty stove.

She had just finished serving the food and turned to fetch water to wash the pot when, in that instant, the rice and stew disappeared.

"Could it have been stolen by that kid next door?" A thought flashed through Wang Fang's mind, but she immediately dismissed it. If it really was that kid next door who stole it, she wasn't blind, so how could she not have noticed the commotion?
She simply turned to fetch water instead of leaving the stove.

Looking at the empty stove, a chill ran down Wang Fang's spine: "Could it be haunted?"

Zhang Chen was eating rice next door. As for the side dish, it was cabbage stewed with potatoes. To be honest, cabbage stewed with potatoes was not to Zhang Chen's liking, but he didn't pick at his food and took a bite slowly.

After finishing his meal, Zhang Chen turned on the light and sat quietly in the room, flipping through history books with a look of inquiry in his eyes. Soon, he noticed some clues in the history books.

In the thirty-fifth year of the Dayu reign, Emperor Taizu ordered people to search famous mountains and rivers and visit the abodes of immortals and gods.

"In the thirty-eighth year of the Great Yu Dynasty, General Chang Wei unearthed a large tomb at Wugong Mountain. Inside the tomb was a book of gold and jade script, several pills, and an immortal corpse."

"In the 49th year of the Dayu era, the magistrate of Huaihua County arrested five tomb robbers and discovered a large tomb of unknown era. Inside the tomb were incorruptible bones and divine medicines that could extend one's life by sixty years. Emperor Taizu ordered the tomb to be excavated and a number of burial objects were unearthed."

"In the first year of Emperor Gaozong of the Great Yu Dynasty, Zhang Huaijin, a man from Chengde, visited famous mountains and rivers and discovered an underwater tomb at the bottom of Xiaoxi Lake. Inside the tomb, there were colorful lights flashing. Emperor Gaozong ordered people to flood Xiaoxi Lake, which was flooded for three hundred miles. Later, the tomb was excavated and a cockroach with a crystal clear body was found in the tomb. There were several eggs on its abdomen. When they fell to the ground and hatched, they could break iron and stone, causing the deaths and injuries of three thousand soldiers."

……

Zhang Chen flipped through the thick history book, where every page was filled with amusing anecdotes about emperors from various dynasties searching for immortality. The stories made Zhang Chen's scalp tingle.
"Some old guys are just too unlucky to have been dug up. They won't even have peace after death."

After muttering to himself, Zhang Chen continued to flip through the later chapters. He read them all night long. They were all about emperors from various dynasties who had unearthed various large tombs. Some unlucky people were dug out, and the burial objects might have had some mysterious effects, which made emperors from all dynasties pursue them and were very enthusiastic about the matter of immortality.

Zhang Chen's brows furrowed slowly: "That shouldn't be the case. If the spiritual world had fallen, it should have been discovered by emperors of all dynasties. Could it be that the spiritual world has not fallen at all?"

Zhang Chen was filled with confusion, but unfortunately he was unable to verify the spiritual world. His spiritual energy had only just begun to recover and was not yet sufficient to support him in sensing the spiritual world.

"Perhaps the spiritual world has fallen, but history has been distorted and buried in the dust of history." Zhang Chen scratched his head, closed the book in his hand, and looked at the sky outside. It was already bright.

Smelling the aroma of breakfast wafting from next door, Zhang Chen pondered how to make Wang Fang suffer retribution, starting by taking away her manhood.

As thoughts flashed through Zhang Chen's mind, he touched the stack of hundred-yuan bills in his pocket and suddenly had an idea.

Since I can't find where Wang Fang hid the money, why don't I lure her out? As long as I deliver that stack of hundred-yuan bills to Wang Fang, she will definitely hide the money. I just need to keep an eye on her, and then I'll have a chance.
Zhang Chen pondered how to deliver the stack of hundred-yuan bills to Wang Fang. After a moment's thought, he smiled and had an idea. He took the initiative to open the door and go into the yard to wash clothes. He put the hundred-yuan bills in his pocket without taking them out, washed them directly, hung them on the line, and then walked out of the yard.

After reaching a secluded corner, he used earth-遁术 (earth-遁术, a technique that allows one to escape into the soil) to enter the ground and walk back to his yard, quietly hiding under the clothesline. A short while later, Zhang Fang and Zhang Xiao left, and Wang Fang began tidying the yard. Just then, Zhang Chen used his magic, and the hundred-yuan bill that was in Zhang Chen's pocket suddenly fell out, landing wet at Wang Fang's feet.

Wang Fang stopped sweeping the yard, staring intently at the stack of hundred-yuan bills. Her eyes quickly scanned the surroundings before she suddenly picked up the bills, a look of wild joy spreading across her face: "Hahaha, what a windfall! Zhang Chen, you've finally fallen into my hands. I have enough money for my second son's wedding and for selling the family property!"

Wang Fang quickly picked up the money and hurried into the house. Inside, she rummaged through her tattered clothes, finally pulling out a pair of floral shorts. She wrapped the hundred-yuan bill inside and then stuffed it into a pile of tattered clothes to hide it.

"Wow... No wonder the five ghosts searched the whole house but couldn't find any money. It turns out this woman stuffed all her valuables into her underwear. Women's underwear is considered unclean, so of course the five ghosts wouldn't dare to approach." Zhang Chen, who was watching from the shadows, was almost stunned when he saw Wang Fang hide her money in her underwear.

After Wang Fang walked out, he crawled out from underground with a look of disgust on his face, then lifted up the tattered clothes and pulled out Wang Fang's underwear. He spread out Wang Fang's underwear and found not only his stack of hundred-yuan bills, but also another stack of hundred-yuan bills, as well as various grain coupons, cloth coupons, and some gold and silver jewelry.

"We're rich!" Zhang Chen ransacked the place, then casually tossed Wang Fang's underwear on the ground, finally muttering, "They hid this money while it was still wet, aren't they afraid it'll get moldy?"

He could guess what Wang Fang was thinking; she probably thought it would be better to put it on the kang (heated brick bed) to bake after the storm had passed.

As for throwing Wang Fang's underwear on the ground, it was naturally to startle Wang Fang.

After receiving the money, Zhang Chen left happily, strolling through the streets. He ate breakfast at a roadside stall and wandered around for a while before heading back. As soon as he reached his gate, he saw a large crowd of neighbors gathered, and from afar, he could hear Wang Fang's loud cries coming from the courtyard.

"Who the hell bastard was! He emptied my pockets! You son of a bitch, you deserve to die a horrible death!"

Zhang Chen squeezed through and saw Wang Fang slumped in the courtyard, cursing loudly, her voice filled with anger. Meanwhile, constables were taking statements and searching for traces left by the thieves.

"What's going on?" Zhang Chen asked, walking into the courtyard with a puzzled look on his face.

"Your house was robbed, all your money was stolen, and all your savings of more than ten years are gone," a neighbor replied.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chen was shocked and rushed towards his house, only to be stopped by the constable who was checking the clues: "Stop! Who are you? Don't disturb the scene."

"I'm a member of this family, and my money is still inside!" Zhang Chen shouted hurriedly, then rushed into the house.

The constable looked at Zhang Chen's retreating figure, then at Wang Fang, who was crying on the ground: "There are no signs of theft in your house, and you've been home the whole time. There shouldn't be any thief who would dare to come and steal from your house. You and your stepson don't get along well, so could there be a thief in your house who stole your things?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Fang shook her head and resolutely denied it, saying, "Absolutely impossible! He wasn't home at the time, and I was packing things in the yard. If he had come back, there's no way he could have escaped my notice."

Upon hearing this, the constable frowned, looking at the empty courtyard, unsure of what to do next.

"My money!"

Just then, Zhang Chen's exclamation came from inside the house. He then rushed out in a panic and grabbed the constable's hand: "Officer, you must do justice for me! All the money I earned from working so hard has been lost."

Upon hearing this, the constable casually asked, "How much money was lost?"

"One thousand two hundred yuan!" Zhang Chen said.

Upon hearing the words "one thousand two hundred dollars," the constable's pupils contracted, and a look of caution appeared in his eyes. One thousand two hundred dollars was by no means a small amount; in this era, it was an extremely large sum.

"This is a huge problem!" A thought flashed through the constable's mind. If he couldn't provide an explanation for such a large sum of money, he would be punished by his superiors.

(End of this chapter)