Chapter 158: Where Did the Things Go?

After thinking for a moment, Sun Huai’an continued, “Little girl, how about calling me ‘Big Brother’ instead? I’m not that old.”

Xiang Xinyao rolled her eyes. “Old man, stop joking. If I call you ‘Big Brother,’ people will think your parents had you when they were in their seventies or eighties.”

When Sun Huai’an heard Xiang Xinyao call him “old man,” his eyes instantly lit up.

“Old man, that’s a good nickname, it feels very close. I like it! Little girl, from now on, call me ‘Old Man’—hehe…”

Xiang Xinyao twitched her mouth. “Fine, whatever.”

It was quite odd that someone actually liked being called “old man.”

Shaking her head, Xiang Xinyao gathered up the herb seeds, said goodbye to Sun Huai’an, and took Xiang Xinyu to go shopping again.

…

Half a month had passed since Xiang Xinyao returned to Bianjing.

One morning, Xiang Xinyao’s two uncles and her third uncle came to Mansion.

When she saw them, Xiang Xinyao knew they had almost finished handling their family’s assets.

Her eldest uncle lowered his voice and spoke, “Yao’er, we’ve taken care of the family property, but some things are too heavy to bring with us on the journey. You said before you could help with the things we can’t take. How do you plan to handle them?”

Xiang Xinyao smiled sweetly. “Eldest Uncle, to be honest, I’ve learned magic from a mysterious old man. I can use magic to make the things you can’t take disappear.”

“Magic?” Her two uncles and third uncle froze.

What kind of magic? They had never heard of it.

Xiang Xinyao explained, “It’s similar to sleight of hand. Don’t worry, just leave everything behind that you can’t take. I promise I’ll get it all to Yun City.”

Her eldest uncle looked astonished. “You can perform magic tricks? But those things are quite heavy. Are you sure it’ll work?”

“Of course! Let’s go now. Once I make your things disappear, you can set off quickly—better to leave before dawn, in secret.”

Her two uncles and third uncle nodded.

They also planned to leave soon so they wouldn’t hold Xiang Xinyao and her sister back.

But the idea of magic still seemed unbelievable.

How could she possibly use magic to make all those valuable things disappear?

With a mix of nervousness and curiosity, her eldest uncle led Xiang Xinyao to his house, and the second uncle and third uncle hurried after them.

Arriving at her eldest uncle Bai Mu’s home, Bai Mu and his wife took Xiang Xinyao to the bedroom.

In the bedroom, two large chests were placed by the bed, and next to them were several pieces of fine cloth.

Because these cloths were expensive, others hadn’t given them a fair price when Bai Mu tried to sell them, so he had brought them back himself.

Bai Mu said, “Yao’er, there’s quite a lot of stuff here. Are you sure you can make it all disappear?”

Xiang Xinyao nodded confidently. “Eldest Uncle, don’t worry. I’m sure I can get it all. Please step back a little.”

Bai Mu and the others obediently stepped back, and Xiang Xinyao started muttering a chant that she herself didn’t fully understand.

With a wave of her hand and a focus of her will, everything in the room disappeared into thin air.

Her two uncles, her aunt, and her third uncle were all left speechless.

The impact was like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

All four of them stood there with their mouths agape and their eyes wide open, completely stunned.

After a long pause, her eldest uncle finally snapped out of his stupor. “Yao’er, where did everything go? What happened to it? Those are all our family’s valuables! Please don’t lose them!”

Xiang Xinyao twitched her mouth, focused again, and retrieved everything from the space where she had stored it.

“Eldest Uncle, don’t worry now. Everything is safe with me. As long as I’m alive, no one can take it from me.”

“Now I can rest assured, Yao’er, quickly make the things disappear, then go to your second uncle’s house.”

Xiang Xinyao once again muttered a chant, then with a wave of her hand, all the items were stored in her space.

Amazing!

It was truly magical!

“Yao’er, you’re such an impressive person!” Her eldest uncle sighed, his heart brimming with excitement.

Having such a capable niece meant the future would surely be even more glorious than the present.

Although they were leaving Bianjing and moving away from the political scene, the current state of the government was disappointing at best. Corrupt officials were everywhere, and there were very few who truly cared about the welfare of the people.

It was probably for the best that they were leaving, so they wouldn’t inadvertently draw attention and get into trouble.

Her second uncle and third uncle were just as excited.

Having such a capable niece was certainly beneficial for the family. Even if they couldn’t all share her abilities, they could still benefit from being related to her.

However, they all understood the importance of secrecy.

Having a niece with such abilities was not something to be shared with others.

Her eldest uncle solemnly instructed, “Yao’er, this ability of yours to hide valuable items might one day be a lifesaver. No one should spread the word about what you can do.”

Her aunt, second uncle, and third uncle all nodded seriously, agreeing to keep the secret. They all planned to leave Bianjing and join Xiang Xinyao in Yun City, and they knew the importance of discretion.

They understood what could be said and what could not.

Her second uncle spoke up, “Yao’er, we have a lot of things at my place too. Let’s go there now!”

Xiang Xinyao nodded and followed her second uncle to his house, with her eldest uncle and third uncle trailing behind.

Upon arriving at her second uncle’s house, her second uncle asked his wife to prepare dinner but instructed her not to enter the room.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust her, but her second uncle felt that the fewer people who knew about Xiang Xinyao’s unbelievable abilities, the better.

There were also a lot of things at her second uncle’s house, and since all three families were dealing with their property, they couldn’t all exchange their valuable possessions for banknotes.

Doing so might attract unwanted attention and cause trouble for them.

After collecting everything from her second uncle’s house, Xiang Xinyao quickly moved on to her third uncle’s house.

Her third uncle was no fool either. The moment they entered, he sent his wife to prepare dinner and asked the children to buy pastries and roast duck, clearing everyone out of the way.

Xiang Xinyao collected everything from her third uncle’s house as well.

She then asked, “Third Uncle, Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, what are you planning to do with the servants?”

Her eldest uncle smiled slightly and said, “We’ll take a few of the clever and quick-witted servants with us, the ones without any ulterior motives. As for the others, they’ll stay behind. We’ll leave a small amount of silver for them, and once they finish eating, we’ll reveal where the rest of their belongings are.”

Xiang Xinyao immediately understood her eldest uncle’s strategy.

If all the servants were dismissed, it would raise suspicion. But as long as the servants remained, outsiders would assume they had gone off for some errands or a trip.

As long as there was still food in the house, the servants wouldn’t leave immediately. Once the food was gone, they would have no choice but to sell off whatever was left.

Of course, the truly valuable things had already been taken.

As for the property, without the deeds, no one could sell it.

Her eldest uncle’s plan was brilliant!

“That’s a clever plan, Eldest Uncle. When do you plan to leave?”

“We’ll leave tomorrow morning. The sooner, the better.”