Chapter 22: A Moment

“Hiss—”

The sound of shattering glass was sharp and piercing.

Remembering that there was said to be a dog inside the villa with sharp hearing, Wang Qiang sucked in a cold breath and hid in the shadow of the curtain.

The pitch-dark house was silent.

Not even a bark.

It was so quiet it was as if that harsh sound of glass breaking had never happened.

Pressing himself against the wall, he crept inside, spat out the glowing cigarette butt in his mouth, rubbed the sweat from his palms, and pulled out a knife to hold in his hand.

The room he entered was a bedroom.

The faint light of his phone screen lit up an empty bedside table.

Crouching down, Wang Qiang anxiously yet carefully searched for valuables.

But aside from a few bottles of unknown medicine, the room was so clean it looked like it had already been looted once.

He cursed under his breath.

How could these rich bastards not hide something valuable in their bedroom?

Lurking by the door for a while, he finally slipped into another room.

This too was a bedroom.

Beside the bed sat a small golden cage.

The side door was open, but the dog was nowhere in sight.

That golden cage—he had read online—cost more than two hundred thousand yuan.

Wang Qiang secretly rejoiced, gauged the size, and tried to take it.

But once he realized it couldn’t be disassembled, he bared his teeth and kicked it hard.

He then crept into another bedroom.

Inside the empty space stood a wardrobe so large it was jarring.

Pulling it open, he found rows of dresses—long skirts, short skirts, one-piece dresses, hanfu, Lolita fashion, even JK uniforms and sailor suits.

Snickering, he hid away one of the dresses, then moved on, climbing up to the third floor.

There was only one room on the third floor.

The door was ajar.

He peeked through the crack, saw nothing, then hunched over and slipped inside.

The room had a huge, soft sofa.

On the table before it lay all sorts of items: whips, chains, collars, along with jewelry, earrings, and jade bangles, glittering faintly in the dim light.

Not knowing if they were truly valuable, Wang Qiang swept them all into his backpack with one big motion, leaving the table bare.

Fumbling his way back down to the first floor, he nearly tripped over a carpet.

Wiping away his cold sweat, he ransacked the floor for valuables.

Delicately carved teapots.

Western oil paintings he couldn’t make sense of.

An antique diamond-inlaid dagger hidden in a drawer, and other seemingly precious trinkets.

Finally, he stuffed a plain-looking Chinese knot into his bag.

Clutching the bulging backpack, Wang Qiang suddenly remembered the biggest prize of all—

Miss Gu’s dog!

Why had he searched everywhere, yet the dog hadn’t made a sound?

And there wasn’t the slightest trace of it being kept here.

In this huge villa, he hadn’t seen even a single dog hair.

Impossible…

Where was the dog being kept?

Just then, a cold glint reflected off a wall.

Walking closer, Wang Qiang found a vase filled with dead branches.

Behind it was a row of elevator buttons.

Damn rich people—

Three floors only, and they still needed an elevator?

He slammed the button.

“Ding.”

Clutching his heavy backpack, he slipped inside.

The first and third floors were already looted.

The second floor had nothing of worth.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Qiang pressed the button for B1.

“Ding.”

The elevator doors opened.

A chill wind knifed through, making him shiver.

He fumbled for his phone and used the light to illuminate the passage ahead.

Like a spark dropping into an abyss, the faint light could not pierce the dense darkness.

It felt as though some monstrous beast was lurking in the black.

Swallowing nervously, he glanced back at the glowing elevator and tightened his grip on the backpack, forcing his feet forward.

Amitabha.

Since I’ve come this far, if I die, so be it!

“Drip.”

A drop of water fell.

Startled, Wang Qiang wiped at his face, fearing it was blood.

But the wetness on his hand was only cold sweat from his brow.

Rubbing it on his pants, he raised the phone light again, revealing a delicate wooden door.

Could the dog be kept inside?

Excitement surged.

Forgetting his fear, he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

“Bang!”

The wind slammed it shut behind him.

His heart nearly leapt out of his throat.

It was a long while before he dared to move his hand and shine the light.

The beam landed on Yu Zhu.

In the pitch-darkness, a figure trembled in scarlet hanfu robes.

Wang Qiang froze.

Her skin was so pale under the light it was blinding.

The crimson robes clung to her slender frame.

Golden threads shimmered with nobility.

The phoenix crown on her head was so long it trailed down onto her snow-white collarbones.

His breath grew hot and heavy.

All fear evaporated.

Wang Qiang nearly laughed to the sky.

He felt like fate was smiling on him.

He had only come here to teach these rich bastards a lesson before retiring, yet he stumbled upon such a “gift.”

Hahaha…

Ha—

A glint of silver at her throat silenced his laughter.

That silver chain—he knew it better than his own face.

He had studied its picture online countless times.

Three million yuan, for this.

Miss Gu had bought it for her dog, Zhu Zhu.

But now… it was locked around the neck of the girl before him.

In that instant, he understood.

Smirking, he stepped closer.

“Tsk, tsk. Rich people’s fetishes, huh.”

“So you’re the pet that rich woman keeps.”

The beam shone straight into Yu Zhu’s face.

His pupils shrank.

He bit his lip, tugged the chain, and pressed himself tightly against the wall.

“Three million… three million!”

Seeing the chain restraining him, Wang Qiang grew fearless.

He yanked at the collar on Yu Zhu’s neck.

It was buckled so tightly it pressed against his artery.

Pulling hard, he scraped skin, drawing blood, but the collar would not budge.

“Three million… three million…”

He muttered feverishly.

Yu Zhu struggled to breathe, holding back the blood rising in his throat, lowering his gaze past the intruder.

A faint acrid smell seeped into the air.

Red sparks flickered beyond the door.

But Wang Qiang noticed nothing.

He tugged and tore, hands slick with sweat, but the chain wouldn’t give.

“Whoosh—”

Flames licked across the basement, catching on the wooden door with a crackle.

The room lit up like day.

Wang Qiang turned, startled.

f*ck!

How did a fire start?!

No time to check his phone, he sucked in a breath and pulled harder at the chain.

Just a bit more.

Just a bit more!

Three million…

Almost there!

“Fwoosh!”

The flames devoured the cardboard strewn across the floor, rising like a dragon to the ceiling.

Thick smoke burned his eyes.

But in the winter cold, the blazing heat brought Yu Zhu a strange sense of long-lost warmth.

Ashes swirled in the firelight.

He looked at the inferno before him—

and smiled.

Like a flower blooming for just a fleeting instant.