"Strange?" Hao Ren looked curiously at the small wooden box in Vivian's hand. It gleamed with a dark red-black luster and bore the exquisite European-style carvings of three hundred years ago. Due to its age, there were some fine cracks along the edges, but aside from that, it looked little different from an ordinary jewelry box from that era. "Maybe this was the only valuable thing you had back then, so you solemnly handed it over to one of your subordinates."
"I was poor, but I've never really cared much about expensive things." Vivian opened the small wooden box and stared at the velvet lining as she murmured, "All I've ever cared about was mainly filling my stomach... What exactly is strange about this box?"
As she spoke, she held the box beneath her nose and sniffed it. "There's a faint smell of blood. It's my own blood, probably left behind as a mark, but it's been three hundred years, so the scent has faded somewhat. The runes inside the box don't contain any special information either."
Hao Ren took the box and gently shook it. A thought suddenly occurred to him. "Maybe there's a hidden compartment inside... How about taking it apart and having a look?"
Vivian immediately hesitated. In fact, she had had the same thought when she first obtained the box a few days ago, but after agonizing over it until now, she still hadn't been willing to actually dismantle it. After all, the thing looked quite pretty. She frowned and struggled with herself for a long while before finally nodding lightly. "That's true... Leaving it like this isn't a solution either. Be careful when you work on it. Try not to damage the wood. Maybe it can still be repaired later."
Hao Ren curled his lip,