Matthew shed the attire he had worn during his early morning operation, changed back into his everyday clothes, and walked slowly toward the inn.
The morning breeze was slightly cool, brushing against his calm face. He did not feel much of a stir in his heart regarding his decision to give the mother and daughter ten gold coins just now; he simply felt that the matter should be settled this way.
There were two reasons why he had given them this money:
First, ten gold coins were nothing to him.
After breaking through to the Silver Rank, his horizons and strength were no longer what they used to be, and a small amount of money could no longer sway his heart.
He had always prioritized peace of mind in his actions—since he had taken the treasure hidden by Nathan, and the mother and daughter had indeed been innocently dragged into it, leaving behind some compensation was a clean way to put an end to this interlude.
He did not want to leave any unnecessary lingering regrets in his heart just to save a bit of money.
Second, although the mother and daughter were currently in difficult straits, they were not truly at the end of their rope.
The courtyard they lived in was located in the inner city. Though not luxurious, it was still a solid piece of real estate.
If they truly hit rock bottom, they could easily sell it and secure enough funds to move to the outer city, which would be more than enough to support a fairly stable life.
As for Nathan's vague request to "take care of his wife and daughter"—Matthew had not agreed to it at the time, so he naturally did not feel bound by any promise.
Returning to his room at the inn, Matthew gently closed the door behind him, shutting out the rising bustle of the early morning streets.
The room was still dim. He walked to the window and parted a corner of the heavy curtains, letting the faint morning light slant in, landing right on the wooden chest that had just been brought back in the center of the floor.
The chest was large and ordinary in style, its surface still covered in damp soil, with even a few marks where tree roots had wrapped around it. It looked dusty and gray, which matched the simple inn room rather well.
Matthew did not clean it immediately. He simply stood a few steps away with his arms crossed, watching it quietly.
A relaxed and expectant smile slowly curled the corners of his lips.
Although he had maintained absolute calm and caution during the operation earlier, now that the dust had settled and the very real, tangible harvest was right before his eyes, a sense of genuine joy quietly welled up within him.
After all, this meant resources. In a world where strength was revered above all, it gave him a bit more confidence and options to work with. Although breaking through to the Silver Rank was the foundation, without the support of resources, the road ahead would still be fraught with difficulties.
His gaze flickered for a moment between the chest and the spot inside his jacket where he had just placed his coin pouch.
“Ten gold coins... I hope I don't lose money on this...”
Matthew thought to himself, a glint of shrewd calculation flashing in his eyes.
He did not feel particularly distressed about giving away that money, but it was by no means a casual handout either. He had always had his own principles in everything he did:
Every expenditure had to yield a return, or at the very least, it could not be a losing transaction.
“That fellow Nathan,”
He recalled the minor leader of the Blood Hand Gang who had met his end in the forest.
“He was definitely no fool to have risen to the position of a bandit leader and even hide treasure in secret. Since he took such pains to bury the chest under the old tree in his wife and daughter's courtyard, rather than carrying it with him or depositing it in a bank, it shows that the contents of this chest held significant weight in his mind.”
At this thought, Matthew felt even more assured.
He clearly remembered that the belongings he had scavenged from Nathan's body back then were already quite substantial, far exceeding those of ordinary horse bandits.
How could someone who valued his own wealth so much and had the ability to accumulate it leave behind a meager backup plan for the family he saw as his final safety net?
“I'm afraid it will be far more than just ten gold coins.”
Matthew was almost certain of it. The cash and miscellaneous items Nathan carried on him were already of considerable value. Therefore, this deliberately buried, safer, and more core accumulation of savings was bound to far exceed the value of his personal effects. Ten times? Dozens of times? Or perhaps there were even more precious things inside that transcended ordinary currency?
Thinking of this, he looked at the dirt-covered wooden chest, the anticipation in his eyes growing even stronger.
Waiting no longer, he stepped forward, squatted down, and reached out. Ignoring the dirt, he opened this gift from the past that would nourish his future.
Matthew's fingers brushed against the cold metal clasp on the edge of the chest lid, the rough texture under his fingertips mixing with the slight dampness of the soil.
With a slight application of force, the clasp popped open with a click, and the lid swung upward. A scent mixed with old wood, dry soil, and a faint, subtle musk of animal hide wafted over him.
The first thing that caught his eye, just as he had expected, was a layer of thick and somewhat coarse animal fur.
They had been carefully laid out, covering the entire space inside the chest, with the edges tightly tucked in. They were clearly used to keep out moisture and protect the items underneath.
The furs were of varying quality; there were ordinary deer hides as well as a few fox pelts with decent luster. Although they were not top-tier goods, using them as padding and protection showed Nathan's diligence.
“Probably worth about five gold coins? Not bad.”
He muttered to himself as he brushed aside the layer of fur.
Beneath the fur lay several layers of dry burlap, further ensuring the dryness of the chest's interior.
As he removed these protective layers, the sight underneath made Matthew's gaze narrow slightly.
Illuminated by the morning light, a dazzling metallic luster suddenly filled his vision.
The middle layer consisted of neatly stacked coins, occupying most of the space inside the wooden chest.
The top few rows were actually finely minted, clearly embossed gold coins, still shimmering with a steady and alluring glow in the dim light.
They were not randomly piled up but were arranged roughly in rows and columns. Although they had been buried for years and their edges were inevitably dusted with some grime from the chest, the luster of the metal itself had not been obscured. With a rough glance, the number of gold coins in this layer was quite substantial.
Beneath the gold coins were silver coins of decent quality, fewer in number than the gold ones, filling most of the gaps.
The silver coins were not arranged as meticulously as the gold ones, but they were roughly gathered together, forming a silvery-white base.
As for copper coins, they were indeed almost invisible, just as he had expected.
Clearly, when Nathan organized this "family stash," he had discarded those low-value copper coins, keeping only hard currency.
Looking at the neatly stacked, glittering gold and silver colors that occupied nearly half the chest before him, Matthew's pupils contracted slightly, and his breathing hitched imperceptibly for an instant.
Even though he had already estimated that the value of the goods in the chest would far exceed his expectations and had prepared himself mentally, when this wealth, far beyond his imagination, was presented so directly and heavily before him, a strong sense of shock still seized his mind in an instant.
“There's actually... so much?”
The whisper in his heart carried a shock that was hard to conceal.
...
...
Rate on N.U.
