On the afternoon of April 4, Imperial Calendar 1157, Sean woke from a deep sleep. He sat up with some effort and vigorously rubbed his face with both hands. Then he turned toward the cabin door and called out, "Someone..."
With a creak, the cabin door was pushed open from outside. Torr and Phil hurried into the room, their faces full of concern.
"Young Master, you're awake." Torr asked anxiously, his expression full of worry.
"Mm..." Sean nodded at his two attendants. Seeing the tense expressions on their faces, he said with an amused smile, "I'm fine... Prepare some hot water for me. I want to wash up..."
"Yes, Young Master. We'll prepare it right away..." Thor answered, but the two of them did not leave immediately. Instead, they asked again, "Young Master, are you hungry? Shall we bring you lunch?"
At those words, Sean immediately felt hunger rise in his stomach. He smiled and nodded in agreement. Only then did he see the two men smiling as they turned to leave. He shook his head helplessly before getting out of bed.
Bathing and lunch took Sean more than an hour. Afterward, he changed into a clean Second Lieutenant Uniform and left the cabin with Thor and Phil. The warship he was aboard was currently docked at the pier of the former Water Bandit Camp.
Standing on the deck at the bow, Sean looked out into the distance. The former Water Bandit Camp had become smoking ruins, with wisps of gray smoke rising from the shattered walls. Small groups of soldiers were searching through the wreckage.
Farther away, a sprawling cluster of tents had been erected in an open area, tightly enclosed by wooden fences. From the deck where Sean stood, he could vaguely see soldiers patrolling.
Sean then turned to Torr behind him and asked, "How did the battle go last night?"
After hearing Sean's question, Torr considered his words before answering, "Young Master, after the Water Bandit Camp caught fire last night, Lord Merkel ordered the entire army to attack. First came a round of arrow volleys, followed by the troops landing for battle... After that... the fighting lasted for more than three hours, I think." After a pause, he continued, "I heard... all the water bandits' leaders, big and small, died in that battle..."
"My lord, I heard that more than three hundred bodies were found afterward... More than four hundred prisoners were captured as well. They're being held in those tents over there..." Phil added, pointing toward the tent cluster Sean had been observing earlier.
"Mm... Looks like it was a complete victory. Then we'll be able to go home soon..." Sean said lightly after hearing them out.
"Yes, Young Master. You didn't see it... When the Water Bandit Camp caught fire last night, Lord Merkel was laughing as he slapped the ship's rail and praised you." Torr recalled how, upon seeing the blaze from afar, Lieutenant Colonel Merkel had happily shouted, "Heaven is helping me!" and "Good lad, you really did it!" before immediately ordering the whole army to attack. Even now, Torr could still feel that bold, commanding presence, as though Merkel could summon storms and direct the course of the world.
"Where's Vinson? Go call him over. We'll visit the Water Bandit Camp together..." In high spirits after hearing this, Sean smiled at the two men.
"My lord, please wait a moment... I'll go get him right away..." Phil naturally took on the errand and turned to leave after speaking.
"Come on, let's take a look around the pier first..." Sean waved his hand and walked toward the gangplank with a smile. Torr followed immediately, also smiling. The two slowly disembarked from the warship and soon arrived at the log-built pier.
Sean and Thor casually looked around the pier. Before long, Phil returned at a run with Vinson.
"Vinson, did you rest well?" Sean asked with a smile, seeing that Vinson appeared to be in quite good spirits.
"Thank you, my lord. I'm well... The soldiers have all been very polite to me as well..." Vinson replied respectfully, slightly out of breath.
"Don't worry. Once Lord Merkel is done with his work, I'll go speak to him..." Sean promised Vinson with a smile. Seeing Vinson immediately break into a smile, he continued, "Show me around your Water Bandit Camp..."
"Thank you, my lord, thank you... This way, please... I'll lead the way..." Vinson thanked him excitedly. He then invited Sean forward, walking slightly to one side as he followed beside him and introduced the situation within the Water Bandit Camp.
"Vinson, where was your old house? Let's take a look... While we're at it, dig up the money you hid before..." After wandering around the camp ruins for a while, Sean smiled and teased Vinson.
"My lord, hehe... I really did hide a little money before. I don't know whether it's still there..." Vinson scratched his head and smiled sheepishly. Then he pointed at a house and said, "My lord, this was the house I used to live in. If you want to see it, I'll take you there right away. I hope no one has found it yet..."
"Ha... Then let's go have a look together..." Sean laughed heartily, patting the awkward Vinson standing before him as he spoke in a teasing tone. With that, he took the lead toward Vinson's former home.
With Vinson personally digging, they soon unearthed a leather money pouch from beneath a water jar in the ruins. After brushing the dirt off the pouch, Vinson immediately handed it to Sean.
Sean waved his hand and said with a smile, "That's your money. Keep it yourself and see if the amount is right..."
"Thank you, my lord. This is money I saved over several years. There are thirty gold coins in all..." Vinson thanked Sean as he opened the pouch and poured out the gold coins inside. Soon, he held a handful of gold coins in his palm.
"Vinson, do you know where the other water bandit leaders hid their money?" Sean asked with a smile. Then he added regretfully, "What a pity... They won't get the chance to spend it anymore. They might as well support us..." Hearing this, the others could not help but smile.
Vinson smiled as well and replied, "My lord, I heard Chief Gil had a small Vault. I don't know if it's true..."
"Oh... Take us to have a look..." Sean immediately became interested after hearing Vinson's words.
"My lord, this way..." Vinson immediately tucked the pouch of gold coins into his clothes and pointed in a direction for Sean.
Before long, they followed Vinson to a residence that had already been burned into ruins. It covered quite a large area, and judging from what remained, there had been more than twenty rooms in the front and back. Unfortunately, as the residence of a water bandit chief, it had naturally been a primary target of the Garrison's attack. Even after being completely burned down, it remained a key area for the soldiers' search.
Sean shook his head in disappointment and was about to tell Vinson to lead them away to try the residences of other leaders.
"My lord, I suddenly remembered... There was once a rumor within the Water Bandit Group that... that Chief Gil had a Secret Residence somewhere near the outskirts of the camp." Seeing Sean's disappointed expression, Vinson spoke up at once. However, his tone carried some uncertainty.
"Oh... Take us there immediately..." Sean raised his eyebrows and urged him expectantly.
"My lord, this way..." Vinson immediately answered. After looking around, he took the lead toward the edge of the camp.
The four of them traveled from the center of the camp to its edge, encountering many soldiers responsible for searching along the way.
Soon, a small courtyard appeared before them. Since it was located on the outskirts of the Water Bandit Camp, it had fortunately escaped last night's fire and the fighting that followed. At that moment, the entire courtyard had suffered no major damage. Its gate stood wide open, clearly indicating that soldiers had searched it before.
But Sean was not disappointed in the slightest. After all, he had initially only intended to look around. The idea of treasure hunting had come afterward, and he did not insist on finding anything. Thus, he still led the others into the courtyard.
After entering, Sean and the others quickly spread out to search. Sean himself stood alone in the courtyard, lightly stroking his chin with his right hand as he examined the entire place before him. The courtyard was small, with only two or three rooms. The buildings also had several old, minor damaged spots. Clearly, they had not been affected by last night's battle. Moreover, the place was located on the outskirts of the Water Bandit Camp.
If this truly was Chief Gil's Secret Residence, then it was very likely a storage place where he had prepared valuables, clothes, and other supplies to help him flee in the event of an emergency.
Sean began searching carefully. There were no clues in the front hall or the two rooms. He slowly walked into the backyard, which was nothing more than a small enclosed courtyard. There was an outhouse against the wall, but strangely, it was locked.
He approached it in confusion and was immediately hit by a foul stench. That gave him an even stronger sense that something was off. An outhouse that was used regularly should not be locked. What could possibly be worth locking up?
Suspicious, Sean immediately called the others over loudly. After Vinson heard his explanation, he stepped forward and kicked open the outhouse door. There was nothing unusual inside, but Sean noticed that the wall at the back of the outhouse was tilted at a strange angle.
Sean instructed Torr to guard the entrance to the backyard before walking into the stinking outhouse. Carefully avoiding the unmentionable contents, he reached out and lightly touched the wall. At the same time, his abnormal perception spread through the point of contact on his hand. Before long, he sensed an independent space behind the wall. Guided by the feedback from his perception, he pressed his right hand against a brick on the right.
After a series of mechanical noises, a large opening split open in the wall. The passage extended straight downward, connected by man-made steps. The group exchanged glances before Phil took the lead, bracing himself against the wall as he entered the opening.
After descending roughly three or four meters, the passage became a straight tunnel leading forward. Sean and the others slowly felt their way ahead. After walking about fifty meters, they found a hidden chamber in front of them, along with Phil's voice from the lead. "My lord, there are several chests here..."
"Don't touch anything. Be careful of traps..." Sean immediately warned them. As he spoke, he hurried forward several steps and entered the hidden chamber.
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