814 A Million Times for You 176 (1/2)

Fan Shixin nodded and packed some necessary items into his bag before leaving the motel together with An Xiaoning, leaving Xiao Bai behind to tend to the luggage.

As soon as they stepped foot out of the door, they were greeted with the sight of a large crowd of people.

There were various hawkers touting along the streets and advertising their own products.

An Xiaoning and Fan Shixin walked side by side toward the bus stop.

It was the only place in the town where one could board a bus.

The citizens were not affluent and could barely afford the bus fare, which cost an average of tens of dollars. The prices could go up to a few hundreds, depending on the distance required to travel. Hence, the locals would usually only opt to travel by bus if they were traveling to a faraway place.

It was market day today and the crowds were larger than usual. The car was already full by the time they got inside. Thus, there were no longer any seats available and they had no choice but to hold onto the handles while standing.

Fortunately, they arrived at their destination shortly after.

After alighting from the bus, they scanned their surroundings to see that they were on a road along the mountains with trees and jungles all around. The place felt rather eerie, and there was not a single soul in sight apart from the bus.

After verifying that they had come to the correct place, An Xiaoning pointed at the entrance and said, ”It should be there.”

”That's right.”

The pair walked forward and knocked on the door. However, there was no response at all.

”Hello, is anyone in?” Fan Shixin asked loudly.

There was still no response.

They looked at each other in dismay. Instead of climbing over the wall, they decided to wait quietly for another few minutes.

They were given a huge fright when the door opened all of a sudden, with no sounds of footsteps prior to it at all.

They turned to look at the elderly man standing by the door.

”Hello, Uncle, my wife and I heard that this is a very popular spot and we'd like to come and take a look. Could you allow us to enter?” Fan Shixin greeted fluently in the native language of V Nation.

The hunchbacked elderly man had a deadpan expression on his face, and his eyes were glassed over. He smiled and said, ”Don't make it so high-sounding. You're just here for the legendary treasure map, aren't you? Come in.”

Before they could even respond, he returned inside the house. Fan Shixin and An Xiaoning entered slowly; shortly after, the door closed by itself.

They looked at each other in bewilderment before taking another glance at the automatic door.

They both found it exceptionally bizarre.

An Xiaoning noticed that the elderly man was skilled in walking, such that his footsteps made no noise at all.

The two of them followed him while An Xiaoning asked, ”Uncle, are you the butler?”

The elderly man answered, ”I'm only here to tend to and upkeep the house. I can provide your meals and lodging, but you'll have to pay me. It's up to you to decide how long you'd like to stay here. I'm a blind old man and I can't see anything. I get to have someone to chat with whenever there's a visitor.”

”Uncle, why don't you use a walking stick since you can't see?”

”It's not a huge place and I've been here for decades. I've gotten used to it and I can walk around even without seeing.”

”I heard that there had been lots of people who came by here. Why are you living here alone, Uncle?” Fan Shixin asked.

”It has been years since rumors about the treasure map were sparked. There were too many visitors who had come and gone. It seems this place has become a tourist attraction. I do stand to gain from this, though. I get to earn some money even without having to step out of the house.”

Will you even get to spend the money you've earned? Aren't you afraid that they'd give you counterfeit cash? An Xiaoning thought to herself.

”Uncle, how much will my wife and I have to pay to stay here?” Fan Shixin asked.

”One thousand dollars each per day.”