I'm Already the Richest Man, Why Did My System Just Arrive?

Chapter 311: Chapter 183: Secret

Zheng Xiu shuddered. Just as he was about to ask another question, Xie Luohe’s lips moved away from his ear. He held up a hand toward Dugu Xiang. "Five parts. We’ll divide Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault into five parts."

Dugu Xiang frowned and asked, "Why?"

"I, Xie Luohe, represent Yunhe Village. I hold half of the map, so I will take one part. The Four Seasons Map is a relic of the Gongsun Painting Saint. He,"—referring to Zheng Xiu—"is a descendant of the Gongsun Family and the only one who can decipher it, so he takes one part. As for the other three, do as you will."

Zheng Xiu had no objections.

Dugu Xiang, Cheng Xiao, and Bai Xiaosheng exchanged glances.

Bai Xiaosheng: "Fair enough."

Cheng Xiao: "Give me my saber."

Dugu Xiang: "Agreed."

With the deal settled, Dugu Xiang placed the *Plum Blossoms in the Snow* on the table.

At last, the Four Seasons Map was complete.

At that moment, compared to the others, Zheng Xiu was less interested in Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault and more interested in the Four Seasons Map itself.

Under everyone’s tense gaze, Zheng Xiu stepped forward and unrolled the final piece of the Four Seasons Map.

The four paintings were laid flat on the round table.

Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

The moment Zheng Xiu saw *Plum Blossoms in the Snow*, he was certain the painting before him was authentic.

On the pale yellow scroll, the scene was exceptionally "clean."

His eyes were immediately drawn to a plum blossom tree, bent low by heavy snow amidst a vast, white landscape. The tree was nearly withered, buried in the thick drifts, but for a single, final, vibrant red blossom on a branch—the Finishing Touch.

Beneath a pale sky, amidst the white snow, the scenery behind the plum tree was a cluster of mountains, overlapping in the distance. They were sketched with simple, light ink, making them appear faint and ephemeral. Yet that single plum blossom was rendered with exquisite brushwork, so fine that even the texture of its petals was clearly visible.

"Magnificent!"

Zhang Da’er might have looked like a brute, but just as the Jianghu legends claimed, Bai Xiaosheng was—if not a master—at least well-versed in the scholarly arts. At first glance, he felt the authentic *Plum Blossoms in the Snow* was less detailed than the forgery. But after looking again, he began to glimpse the profundity of the Gongsun Painting Saint’s technique.

Zheng Xiu smiled. "This is what makes it *Plum Blossoms in the ’Proud’ Snow*. The snow blankets everything, all life withers, yet this single plum blossom stands alone, tenacious and unyielding. It uses the ’death’ of all things to emphasize the blossom’s ’life,’ and the ’submission’ of all things to manifest the blossom’s ’pride.’"

"Enough with the artsy talk," Bai Xiaosheng said, his breath quickening. "Hurry up and see where Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault is hidden!"

Zheng Xiu’s eyes were glued to the four paintings.

’I’ve had a theory for a while now.’

’To pinpoint a location from four paintings, the only way is for a "map" to be hidden within the scrolls themselves.’

’It sounds ridiculous, but for the Gongsun Painting Saint, it wouldn’t have been difficult.’

’This must be how he did it,’ Zheng Xiu concluded.

Time passed in silence. No one spoke.

The only sounds in the quiet secret chamber were the varied rhythms of breathing—some calm, some ragged—as everyone watched Zheng Xiu concentrate on deciphering the Four Seasons Map at the round table.

Xiaotao knew she couldn’t help, so she would occasionally dab the beads of sweat that formed on Zheng Xiu’s forehead.

"Hm?"

Zheng Xiu, who had been staring back and forth at the scrolls, suddenly wore a look of shocked uncertainty.

The others had been patiently watching for his reaction. The moment he showed one, Xie Luohe was the first to step forward and ask, "Where is it?"

Zheng Xiu didn’t even blink, nor did he turn to look at Xie Luohe. He murmured, "I’m not completely sure."

Xie Luohe: "It doesn’t matter. Speak."

"Zhang Pang..."

Bai Xiaosheng cut him off. "I’d thank you to call me Jianghu Bai Xiaosheng."

"Alright, Fatty Jiang," Zheng Xiu replied, beckoning him over. "Fatty Jiang, take a look for me. Is there a mountain that, from a distance, looks like three fingers?"

Zheng Xiu pointed to one of the four paintings.

Bai Xiaosheng was stunned for a moment, then he let out a laugh born of fury. "You little fledgling of the Gongsun Family, are you joking with me? There are countless mountains in this world that look like three fingers! Even just counting the famous, historically recorded ones, you can count them on two hands! Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve managed to get from these paintings?"

"That’s why I said I’m not completely sure," Zheng Xiu said, shaking his head with a strange expression. He beckoned to Xiaotao, motioning for her to hold up one of the paintings, facing outward, and stand at the side of the round table.

"It’s not that the puzzle of the Four Seasons Map is too difficult, but that... it’s too simple."

After Xiaotao, Zheng Xiu had Dugu Xiang, Xie Luohe, and Cheng Xiao each hold up a painting. He walked around the table several times, adjusting the positions of the four people. All four paintings were facing outward.

He led Bai Xiaosheng on a walk around the table. "Look at the paintings and listen to me."

"Each of these paintings actually has a mountain that looks like three fingers. All except the *Spring Pond Willow Swallow Map*. It might seem like a coincidence in the other three, but think about it. What if these four paintings depict the same mountain, viewed from four different directions?"

"It just so happens that the mountain in the *Spring Pond Willow Swallow Map* is a side view of ’the peak that looks like three raised fingers,’ which is why it looks like a single summit."

"So, from one direction, the mountain has a willow grove and a pond. From another side, there’s a maple forest. The summer painting shows the position of the Scorching Sun, which is enough to roughly determine the mountain’s orientation. And the snow painting uses a mountain range to establish its position when viewed from afar..."

As Bai Xiaosheng followed Zheng Xiu’s train of thought around the table, his shock grew with every step. Just as Zheng Xiu said, the four paintings depicted the exact same location from different angles. If the four paintings formed a crude "three-dimensional holographic map," then the common feature linking them all was that "mountain that looks like three raised fingers."

Everyone put down the paintings. They had others take a look, and all clicked their tongues in amazement, agreeing with Zheng Xiu’s theory.

But Zheng Xiu still felt something was off. His Intuition told him it seemed too simple.

However, these were the only clues they had for now.

Bai Xiaosheng, who knew the geography of every river and mountain and had traveled the land from north to south, closed his eyes and pondered for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.

Finally, he slapped his thigh.

"Damn it! It’s Ba Mountain! In ancient times, its name meant ’Pluck Mountain,’ from the phrase ’plucking two fingers from five,’ leaving three! It’s on the border of Yanzhou and Pingzhou. And that pond dried up ages ago! If Younger Brother Gongsun is right, Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault must be in Ba Mountain!"

"Let’s go!"

Without another word, Xie Luohe snatched up his two scrolls, rolling them swiftly into his hands, then turned to leave.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!

Just as they were about to leave the secret chamber and travel day and night to Nie Gong’s Treasure Vault...

...the urgent sound of a gong rang out from outside.

’Have they returned?’

Dugu Xiang knew this was Hidden Sword Manor’s alarm. His heart sank. He dashed forward a few steps and exited the secret chamber.

"Manor Master, this is bad!"

The existence of the secret chamber was no secret among the inner disciples of Hidden Sword Manor. As Dugu Xiang emerged from the secret passage’s entrance, a slightly older disciple hurried forward and whispered urgently in his ear.

"What did they say?"

Zheng Xiu couldn’t hear, so he asked Xie Luohe directly.

Xie Luohe’s gaze turned cold, but a smile played on his lips. "The Court."

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