Chapter 44: Building Walls with Gold Bricks

Having seen enough for the moment, Duan Jing took his leave and prepared to head back. "Doctor Chen, please go ahead with your work; I will go and check on the progress of the granary."

As he walked into the courtyard, he accidentally stepped on a stone and stumbled. Fortunately, with quick reflexes, he managed to steady himself against the courtyard wall. Seeing this, Jiang Bai and Chen Jie hurried forward. "Military Advisor, are you alright? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?"

Duan Jing steadied his footing, brushed the dust from his hands, and smiled. "I am fine, just wasn't watching my step and trod on a stone. Go on with your duties; I still need to head over to the granary."

Jiang Bai and Chen Jie exchanged glances. Jiang Bai spoke up, "Military Advisor, why don't I accompany you? The work at the granary has been progressing quite rapidly lately, and the laborers are rushing to finish. We wouldn't feel entirely at ease with you going alone."

Duan Jing waved his hand, cutting her off. "There is no need, Chen Tao is following me. Besides, I am not that frail; it is really not necessary, truly not necessary."

Hearing that Duan Jing intended to check on the granary, Jiang Bai had originally planned not to follow him further, but seeing him almost take a fall made her decide to tag along. However, since Duan Jing declined, Jiang Bai stated that she would stay behind to discuss some matters and return with Pan Rui later.

Jiang Bai and Chen Jie watched as Duan Jing's figure disappeared around the corner. Both breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a smile. Chen Jie patted his chest and said, "Good thing the Military Advisor didn't take offense, otherwise it really would have..."

"Indeed," Jiang Bai continued, "though I genuinely forgot about this. If he hadn't asked, it completely slipped my mind that we hadn't mentioned it yet."

"Still, he is right; next time we should report in advance. Speaking of the rent, moving yesterday was rather hurried, so I haven't asked you yet—how much exactly did renting this place cost?"

Jiang Bai named a figure and handed the contract in her hand over to him. Chen Jie glanced over it and nodded. "Very reasonable. Later I will have a word with the accountant and have it recorded."

Pan Rui, who had been following Jiang Bai and Duan Jing all along, looked around the surroundings and cheerfully addressed Chen Jie, "Doctor Chen, it seems this place is indeed much quieter than the medical camp, and your complexion looks much better than it did yesterday."

Chen Jie touched his face and gave a wry smile. "Indeed, I finally managed to get a sound sleep last night. Although this place is somewhat old, its greatest virtue is the peace and quiet. The medicine boys have all settled in as well, and at last we have the conditions to rest."

Pan Rui walked aside, patted an old tree in the courtyard, and smiled. "Although this courtyard is old, once tidied up, it has quite a bit of charm. Doctor Chen, if you find anything else lacking, just say the word, and I will go procure it for you."

Chen Jie waved his hand. "No need to trouble yourself, it is already very pleasant here. Besides, in a little over ten days we will be moving back anyway, so tossing things back and forth is just a bother. On the contrary, you two were busy the entire day yesterday and still made the trip over today; you must be exhausted."

"Doctor Chen is too polite. As long as you and the medicine boys can settle in, we can rest easy." Jiang Bai was thinking of coming by tomorrow to check on them; she had rented this house herself, and while it certainly looked fine at the time, who knew if hidden issues might lurk somewhere?

"By the way, how is the situation at the medical camp? And what about the progress of the granary construction?" Chen Jie inquired about the state of the granary.

When the medical camp was mentioned, Jiang Bai was not quite sure; she had been busy since early morning and hadn't been over there to look. Pan Rui, however, knew a thing or two. "The granary construction is still underway, but the progress is slower than expected. There is a constant stream of people at the construction site, and the noise is still quite loud, especially during the day—it is simply impossible to find any quiet. Fortunately, you all moved out, otherwise I truly don't know how you would have managed to endure it."

Jiang Bai nodded, pondered for a moment, and said, "Doctor Chen, since the construction of the granary will still take some time, you and the medicine boys might as well stay here for a while longer. It won't be too late to move back once the granary is fully built."

Chen Jie gave a bitter smile. "I suppose that is the only option. However, there are still quite a few people coming to the medical camp for dressing changes; I cannot just stay hidden away here indefinitely."

Hearing this, Jiang Bai suggested, "Then why not have them come here for their dressing changes?"

Chen Jie nodded. "We could give it a try. Most of the recent patients were cared for by me, so I am familiar with their conditions, and walking over here should pose no major problem. Since it is inconvenient for us to go over there, having them come here is indeed the only viable solution, though I worry some might find the distance too far."

"Let's try it first, and if it doesn't work, we will figure something out." Jiang Bai further mentioned that she would also come over every other day to help out.

Chen Jie nodded, feeling considerably relieved with Jiang Bai's assistance. "That would be for the best. I hope this method of having them come over proves workable."

***

After chatting a little longer, Jiang Bai and Pan Rui took their leave. Just as they were about to depart, Jiang Bai suddenly noticed a sunken area on the wall surface—it appeared to be precisely the spot where Duan Jing had braced himself earlier. Fearing there might be a structural issue with the wall, Jiang Bai stepped forward to observe it closely.

"This looks like the exact spot the Military Advisor leaned against just now." Chen Jie and Pan Rui followed Jiang Bai's line of sight.

Paying no heed to Chen Jie's remark, Jiang Bai gently tapped the wall surface, producing a hollow sound. "It feels as though there is empty space beneath this."

"Doctor Jiang, be careful. Do not stand there." Pan Rui gently pulled Jiang Bai back. Having heard the hollow sound of her tapping, he worried the wall might collapse at any moment.

Pan Rui then tested the wall surface himself, and sure enough, a hollow echo resounded. After briefly inspecting the structure of the wall, he frowned and turned to Jiang Bai. "There is indeed space behind this wall, but the structure still seems relatively solid; it shouldn't give way easily."

"Should we have someone come and inspect it?" Chen Jie suggested. "This house is quite old, after all."

Without answering immediately, Jiang Bai drew a copper coin from her sleeve and lightly scraped it across the wall surface. The friction between the coin and the wall produced a faint sound, shaving off a thin layer of grayish-white powder.

"Look at this," Jiang Bai said, holding the copper coin up to the candlelight. "The plaster on this wall is very fresh, no more than half a year old at most."

Pan Rui leaned in for a closer look. "Indeed, the color of this plaster is clearly different from the surrounding area. And..." He reached out and touched the wall surface. "The Military Advisor does not practice martial arts. Even if the wall were simply weak, he shouldn't have been able to indent this portion of it with just his hand."

Thoughtfully, Chen Jie mused, "You mean to say that something might be concealed behind this wall?"

Jiang Bai tucked the copper coin back into her sleeve and gazed thoughtfully at the sunken patch on the wall. The sunlight illuminated her slightly furrowed brow.

"That is a distinct possibility. There is definitely something peculiar behind this wall," Jiang Bai said softly.

Hearing this, Pan Rui immediately stepped forward to examine it closely. Apart from the indentation left by Duan Jing's hand, there were no visible clues or mechanisms. "It appears entirely normal."

"Shall we just knock it open?" Jiang Bai suggested. There ought to be some kind of mechanism here, but searching for it would require extra effort. It would be far quicker to simply break through the spot Duan Jing had caved in, for after all, no matter how clever a mechanism might be, it was no match for direct, forceful demolition.

"I think that's fine." Chen Jie agreed. Rather than believing something was hidden behind it, he suspected the wall had been hastily patched up after years of neglect, leaving a hollow layer that easily caused problems. If an inspection revealed any structural flaws, he would make sure to instruct everyone to steer clear of this wall for the foreseeable future.

"I agree as well." Pan Rui purely loved excitement; he didn't really believe there was anything extraordinary here.

"Then let's smash it open and see." Jiang Bai was about to go search for a hammer when a thought struck her. "What about those medicine boys?" Jiang Bai was now entirely convinced there was treasure here. In the historical dramas and novels she used to watch in the modern era, many stories featured similar plots, and she felt it best that no one else knew about this aside from the three of them—the fewer people sharing a treasure, the more each person would receive.

Understanding her intent, Pan Rui moved a drying rack for medicinal herbs from the side to block the view. Chen Jie and Jiang Bai went into the room and, under a pretext, sent all the workers away on errands that would keep them gone for at least an hour or two.

Once the area was cleared, Chen Jie fetched a hammer and handed it to Pan Rui. Pan Rui motioned for the other two to stand back, then swung the hammer heavily against the wall. With a loud "thud," the wall surface slowly caved inward, revealing a flash of yellow. Seeing that something was exposed, Pan Rui struck again with renewed vigor. As the wall continued to shatter, a strange brick tumbled out from the masonry.

The square brick rolled right to Jiang Bai's feet. She picked it up and peeled away the layer of mortar clinging to its surface. "Gold!"

Jiang Bai's fingers trembled slightly. As she cautiously scraped the remaining dust from the brick, a dazzling golden luster gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight. Her breathing grew shallow and her throat tightened, as if something were lodged there. She raised her head and looked at Pan Rui and Chen Jie; astonishment was written plain on both of their faces.

"There really is something here, and it's gold?" Chen Jie's voice quivered slightly. He took a step forward, then abruptly halted, as if afraid of disturbing a dream.

Pan Rui said nothing. He strode over to Jiang Bai, snatched the brick from her hand, and rubbed its surface with his large, calloused fingers—stiff dirt from the smashed wall still caked beneath his fingernails. As he forcefully rubbed away the grime, even more of the golden sheen was revealed.

***

"It's gold," Pan Rui said in a low, raspy voice, "and it's a solid gold brick."

Jiang Bai felt her heart pounding furiously. She gazed back at the breached wall. Within the indentation Pan Rui had just smashed out, more glints of gold were faintly visible. Her lips were slightly dry, and her palms began to sweat.

"Keep smashing," Pan Rui said suddenly, a trace of hard-to-conceal agitation in his voice.

Chen Jie hesitated. "However..."

"Keep smashing!" Pan Rui shouted sharply. His eyes were bloodshot and brimming with excitement; never in his life had he laid eyes on so much gold at once.

Jiang Bai watched as Pan Rui raised the hammer again and brought it down heavily against the wall. Each blow shook the entire courtyard, causing a shower of dust and debris to rain down. Her ears rang, but her eyes remained locked onto the wall. As more masonry collapsed, an even greater expanse of gold was uncovered.

"Good heavens..." Chen Jie muttered, his complexion shifting from an excited flush to a pale white. "What on earth is going on here?"

Jiang Bai did not answer, her gaze completely transfixed by the gold brick in her hand. Once fully cleared of debris, the brick was roughly the size of a palm and weighed about fifty taels by her estimation. If this entire wall was made of gold bricks, just how much wealth would that amount to?

"Wait!" When Jiang Bai finally raised her head, her eyes were hazy and unfocused, already drifting into fantasies of what she could buy with such unimaginable wealth. Glancing unsteadily at Pan Rui, who was still preparing to strike the wall again, she suddenly snapped back to reality and shouted, "Stop smashing!"

Pan Rui paused mid-motion and lowered the hammer. "Doctor Jiang, why stop?"

"Indeed, let's smash it all open and see," Chen Jie chimed in. It was his first time seeing so many gold bricks as well, and he too wished to witness how magnificent a pile they would make.

"We need to call for reinforcements. Just the three of us cannot possibly safeguard this much gold." Jiang Bai took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. She looked around the courtyard, which was thick with dust and the metallic scent of gold. Several more gold bricks had been exposed in the wall, their brilliant radiance somewhat stinging her eyes. She lowered her head to look at the gold brick in her hand once more; it felt heavy and cold, like a mere stone, yet it carried an intoxicating, heart-shaking allure.

"Pan Rui, Doctor Chen, listen to me," Jiang Bai said, her voice raspy but her tone exceptionally resolute. "These gold bricks... we cannot act rashly. If this entire wall is indeed filled with gold, its value exceeds our wildest imaginations. The three of us alone have no way of handling this much gold."

Pan Rui frowned, the hammer still suspended in mid-air, looking somewhat reluctant. "But Doctor Jiang, we've already smashed out this much. Are we just going to leave it unattended? What if someone discovers it?"

Chen Jie nodded as well. Coming from a respectable background, he wasn't particularly greedy for wealth, but he had simply never seen a wall stacked so neatly with gold. "Shouldn't we at least smash it all out to see? Once we know the exact amount, we can report it upward."

Jiang Bai shook her head, her tone turning even more stern. "Both of you, calm down! These gold bricks are no ordinary items, and their origins are unknown. If we act recklessly, we could invite disaster. Besides, think about it—how could this much gold possibly appear out of thin air? Who is its owner? Why was it hidden inside a wall? We haven't figured out any of these questions. What if someone has already heard the commotion and is watching us?"

Pan Rui and Chen Jie exchanged glances, seemingly sobered by Jiang Bai's words. Pan Rui lowered the hammer and scratched his head. "Doctor Jiang, you are right; I was being too impulsive. Should I go back and fetch someone now?"

Jiang Bai pondered for a moment and lowered her voice. "This matter must be kept strictly confidential; we cannot let too many people know. Pan Rui, go back and fetch help—if possible, the General or the Military Advisor—and make it quick. Doctor Chen, would you mind helping me gather up the fallen gold bricks?"

Pan Rui nodded, turned on his heel, and hurried away from the courtyard. Chen Jie walked over to the wall and cautiously pried out the exposed gold bricks one by one, handing them to Jiang Bai. Jiang Bai took the bricks, neatly stacked them in a corner, and covered them with a tattered sheet of oiled paper.

"Little Friend Jiang, do you suppose these gold bricks could be... stolen goods?" Chen Jie paused in his task of extracting the bricks and suddenly lowered his voice.

Jiang Bai shook her head. Frankly, she couldn't imagine any decent person building gold bricks into the outer courtyard walls of a residence. "Hard to say. It's best to wait until someone in charge arrives."