CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 36: SPACE PROSPERITY 18

The young man, after all, had a thin skin. Even though he was hungry, he was too embarrassed to eat with people watching.

Jiang Mingyue then strolled around to enjoy the scenery, walking up to a small rock formation. At first, she simply thought it was beautiful; it must be the type of rock scenery that future garden landscapes strive to imitate.

However, in the future, most of those are just cement castings painted with realistic marble colors. They are nothing like the one in front of her, a natural formation that developed hundreds of thousands of years ago. It’s not easy to preserve it till now. Speaking of which, Qingshan Village is truly full of idyllic views, but in this era, when food is scarce, who even thinks about these things?

Jiang Mingyue was lost in thought, not noticing that the boy eating roasted potatoes had straightened his back. But it was only for a moment—he thought, the person in front of him was the one who gave him so much delicious food. She was kind-hearted, not one of those bad people, so it didn’t matter if she found out.

Driven by curiosity, Jiang Mingyue used her spiritual power to probe inside the rock. Inside, she found something unexpected: a small cave, filled with straw and showing signs of daily life.

Jiang Mingyue glanced back at the small hut between the two birch trees and again at the stone cave, understanding the situation.

It turned out that the hidden spot was Yun Di’s lair; the thatched hut outside was just a decoy.

It made sense. According to her third sister, he was always bullied by a group of kids. If they knew he lived in this thatched hut, how could they resist coming over to cause trouble?

"Do you want to take a look inside?" The boy’s voice suddenly came from behind.

Jiang Mingyue paused: Was this boy implying what she thought he was?

Before Jiang Mingyue could say anything, the boy had already moved past her. With his pair of bony hands moving faster than she could see, a narrow entrance appeared like magic. The boy looked back: "I sleep inside. Want to take a look?"

Jiang Mingyue thought about how she had already seen it, but couldn’t resist the boy’s eager eyes.

"Sure!" Jiang Mingyue mimicked the boy and crouched down to follow him inside.

Once inside, the space was actually quite large and not dark. It was more like a tile house, with mottled sunbeams dotting the cave. If it were moonlight, it might look like a sea of stars. Maybe that’s why there was no dampness inside; it felt pretty comfortable.

"Does it leak when it rains?"

The boy pointed to a few broken tiles on the ground, where some water stains remained.

If you slept in the center, you might wake up drenched in water. Luckily, he slept further back, like the place had been made with a natural barrier, snug in a one-meter wide space embedded into the rock wall, just big enough for an adult man to lie down without turning over.

The top was covered with a thick layer of straw.

"It’s nice, just missing a quilt," Jiang Mingyue thought. For someone who didn’t even have shoes, a quilt would be an unattainable luxury.

Yun Di didn’t mind whether he had a quilt. Someone who often went hungry had no right to discuss having a quilt. Having a place to shelter from wind and rain was good enough.

"So, why did you... want to talk to me?"

When it came to serious matters, Jiang Mingyue became more serious.

She took something out of her pocket and handed it to Yun Di.

The boy, unsure of what it was, took it anyway. Due to the dim light inside, he stepped out of the cave first. After Jiang Mingyue came out, he triggered a mechanism before her eyes, and the entrance slowly closed with a stone door. If she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, Jiang Mingyue wouldn’t have noticed any trace of a door.

Just like the Jiang Family, she wouldn’t ask too deeply into things she saw. It was as if she hadn’t seen anything at all.

Thus, one didn’t ask, and the other didn’t tell, showing the tacit understanding typical of the Jiang Family.

In the bright light outside, Yun Di took a closer look at what was in his hand. At this sight...

Jiang Mingyue, having been observing Yun Di, didn’t miss the slight squint in his eyes. As expected, she wasn’t wrong about him; he understood antiquities.

"The Nine Dragon Bowl, used by the Royal Family during the Qianlong Period."

Jiang Mingyue didn’t question how he knew these things, instead, she smiled appreciatively. "If, if I paid you to secretly acquire these items, regardless of their value, and as long as someone wanted to sell, we’d buy them. I’d also pay you a reward. Would you be willing?"

Yun Di paused, and then his eyes, deep and clear, reflected utter disbelief.

"You should know that these things could cost lives now; you should stay away from them. Aren’t you afraid..."

She had already died once; what more was there to fear?

But she couldn’t respond like that. After some thought, "Yun Di, have you seen those people smash them? Have you seen them set alight ancient paintings passed down for thousands of years, considered life by countless ancestors?

If... if we could secretly purchase those items and collect them all, so when the skies clear... when they receive attention again, they could resurface... wouldn’t that be meaningful?"

Jiang Mingyue kept looking into his eyes, watching them transform from disbelief to acceptance, then filled with a steadfast light, all in an instant.

Jiang Mingyue was even more certain she found the right person.

"I, I am willing!"

"Don’t rush to answer. I’ll give you time to think. You know in your heart that doing this is dangerous. Consider it carefully before you decide. Once you agree, we are tied together like locusts on one rope. We are a community of destiny."

Yun Di didn’t know what "community of destiny" meant, but he vaguely understood.

Many years later, when he became the curator of a national museum, standing in front of the museum’s sculpture...

He would often recall the day that changed his fate and marvel at the numerous artifacts that had been perfectly preserved. The reason he was more moved than others was because... he was a witness and participant from start to finish. Many years later, he still remembered that sunny afternoon in Baihua Forest, the girl earnestly asking him to join her. That person seemed to be enveloped in a layer of golden light—he chose to call it Holy Light!

Back then, her bold words and dreams came true!

"No, no need to consider. I’m willing. Truly! I know what you’re worried about. Rest assured, I’ll come back safe and sound."

Seeing his earnestness and zeal, Jiang Mingyue thought that if she didn’t agree now, he might be too restless to sit still.

"Since you’re willing, from now on, you’ll work for me. You’ll need to cover your tracks; if you need a basket, come to my house, and I’ll prepare one for you. Later, I’ll buy you a bicycle to make things easier for you.

As for compensation, I’ll cover your living expenses until you reach adulthood. Then, you’ll get a salary. How does that sound?"

Yun Di: "..." He was so happy he could jump to the sky, and she still asked? With such generous conditions, anyone would agree. He only feared he was dreaming, yet he was well aware that this person was helping him silently.

He wasn’t someone who didn’t recognize kindness. If someone was willing to give, he would catch it with his hands.

"Thank you..." Almost choked with emotion.

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t bear to see others cry, so she quickly left after speaking.

"Come to my house later to pick up the basket!"