Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats

"Bing'er, what nonsense are you talking about? What struggle for power? We are family—we should stand united and live in harmony." The beautiful woman shot her daughter a glare.

She was also afraid that Yue Yang might not know his limits, or act out of spite and truly contract the Five-Element Puppet Rats.

She stepped forward and lightly patted Yue Yang's shoulder with her jade-like hand. "Third Son, keep them for now. Let's accept them and study them slowly; once we understand what they do, it won't be too late to contract them. Uncle Zhong, please reply to the clan's Eldest Master. Tell him that the Fourth Branch's wife and Third Son are both grateful for the family's gift. If Third Son amounts to anything in the future, he will surely repay the family with all his heart and never fail the family's great efforts in nurturing him."

After hearing the beautiful woman's words, the servant Uncle Zhong lowered his head and repeatedly answered yes. Then, with both hands, he respectfully presented a gold-edged, silver-patterned banknote stamped with a special seal.

This was the subsidy every Yue Family junior received after successfully contracting a Codex.

With this specially made banknote, Yue Yang could redeem one hundred gold coins at any bank in any major town or city within the kingdom's borders.

One hundred gold coins was no small sum.

Since there was money to take, Student Yue Yang naturally did not stand on ceremony and reached out to accept it. When the little girl Yue Bing in black saw this, she felt indignant again. She knew that although everyone ostensibly received a subsidy of one hundred gold coins, those from the First and Second Branches received one hundred and fifty, even two hundred gold coins after successfully contracting their Codices. Even she had received one hundred and twenty. Now that it was Third Brother's turn, why did he only get the bare minimum of one hundred?

This was clearly looking down on them!

"Seventh Sister, don't be angry. It's already good enough to receive a subsidy of one hundred gold coins." Yue Yang felt that he was not some tragic loser; even an impostor like him got money to take. That was already quite good!

As for how the Yue Family looked down on the beautiful woman and failed to treat such a kind and virtuous daughter-in-law properly, that was another matter. Yue Yang felt that once he had the strength, he would definitely take the beautiful woman back to Yue Clan Castle and trample those arrogant bastards properly, venting her anger for her as the Fourth Branch's wife. Only then would he live up to how much she cared for and loved him.

Though he was not the tragic loser, in truth, he had received all the love she had given that tragic loser.

He said nothing outwardly, but Yue Yang had already decided to seek justice for her.

After the old servant Uncle Zhong left, Yue Bing in black repeatedly warned Yue Yang not to contract them, saying it would waste pages in the Bronze Codex.

Yue Yang nodded on the surface, but inwardly he found it amusing.

The Five-Element Puppet Rats invented by the genius Yue Gong were practically the most remarkable treasure puppet beasts of his lifetime. How could they possibly be trash? Moreover, the Five-Element Puppet Rats could merge five into one and coexist on a single page. Only those who did not understand the secret of summoning them would split them into five separate entities. Dividing them into five was the stupidest and most laughable thing imaginable!

In fact, these Five-Element Puppet Rats were not even called by that name.

Their original name was Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats. They possessed extraordinarily powerful detection abilities for all kinds of ores, energy items, mechanisms, traps, force fields, barriers, and more.

For instance, if there was a gold mine somewhere, they could sniff it out from within a hundred zhang.

Or if there was treasure or a buried divine artifact somewhere, they could discover it immediately...

Most importantly, these Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats could adapt to any terrain. No matter what kind of landscape existed in the world, the five Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth attributes could handle it. Whether it was the Flame River with its flames soaring to the heavens or Icewind Valley with its bone-piercing cold, one little mechanical rat of the corresponding attribute could move about freely. At the same time, because they were all Level One puppet beasts with absolutely no combat power and no life force, even if they entered the territory of some powerful war beast, they would not be attacked.

They could be called five treasures that combined detection and treasure-seeking in one!

Even if they were used in battle as a last resort, they could still uncover hidden mechanisms, traps, force fields, and barriers on the battlefield.

If they were not this incredible, would the genius Yue Gong have cherished them so dearly?

Yue Yang sighed that later generations did not recognize treasure and had actually treated them as utterly useless garbage... How absurd!

Of course, though Student Yue Yang knew this secret, he would not reveal it. He merely smiled and nodded, indicating that he would not contract these Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats.

Once Yue Bing in black and the beautiful woman had left, he immediately contracted the Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats. A flash of golden light shimmered, and five exquisite, adorable little mechanical rats of different colors appeared on the fourth page of the Bronze Codex. At the center was a profound pattern of the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—swirling and converging, while around it, the five little mechanical rats linked head to tail in a circle, each a different color, delicate and adorable.

"Good. Let's see whether there's any treasure buried nearby!" Yue Yang summoned them and discovered that all five little mechanical rats could be summoned at once, without any limit on their numbers.

Golden light flashed. The instant the five little mechanical rats appeared, their tiny eyes made of multicolored gemstones lit up.

All of them rushed toward the same spot, squeaking away.

Upon the blank space of the fourth page in the Bronze Codex, a line of text miraculously appeared: Gold discovered, quantity scarce; jade-type energy item discovered, energy reserves immense...

Yue Yang leaped three feet into the air with joy.

He had always suspected that the tragic loser who drowned himself in the river had left behind belongings, because there had not been any money at all in his room. When the tragic loser went to drown himself, he could not possibly have taken all his money along to commit suicide, could he? There had to be belongings left behind, but Yue Yang had no idea where that tragic loser had hidden them. He had searched for half a month without finding anything. Now it was perfect—the Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats had found the place the moment they moved out. What delighted Yue Yang even more was that they could roughly judge an item's quantity and purpose. Their ability was far more than simply locating buried treasure.

With these five little fellows, his treasure-hunting journeys would go much more smoothly in the future!

Yue Yang dug out the wooden chest buried beneath the floor tiles. When he opened it, he found that it indeed contained the tragic loser's entire "inheritance."

Fifteen gold coins, sixty-two silver coins, and a small leather pouch filled with copper coins—likely more than several hundred. Besides wooden toys from the tragic loser's childhood, clothes from his younger days, and two "diaries" his parents had left for their son, there was also a dark, unremarkable jade necklace.

If the Five-Element Gold-Seeking Rats had not determined that this jade necklace contained enormous energy, Yue Yang would not have dared to confirm that it was truly a treasure.

Yue Yang discovered that even his Insight Talent could not see through this inconspicuous necklace.

"This should be a treasure the tragic loser's parents left for their son. Unfortunately, they died too early and never had the chance to tell him, so he never knew it was valuable. He treated it as junk and stored it away with his childhood toys and clothes. Good, now it's mine!" Student Yue Yang had been worrying about finding something that could prove he was the tragic loser. Now this Black Jade Necklace could serve its purpose, so he immediately put it around his neck.

He put away the gold coins, while the wooden toys and childhood clothes remained in the chest, which he buried beneath the tiles again.

Then he opened the two "diaries" written by the tragic loser's parents. On the surface, they were journals filled with the parents' longing for their son, recording the little details of daily life. Yet Yue Yang's Insight Talent revealed that these two diaries were not so simple.

They must have recorded something important using some kind of invisible potion or secret technique.

Unfortunately, Yue Yang's Insight Talent was not at a high enough level to see through it.

"Thank you, you two elders. I'll treasure the fruits of your labor!" The shameless Student Yue Yang tucked the two books into his chest, truly treating himself as the tragic loser.

After taking over the tragic loser's abundant inheritance, Yue Yang felt especially refreshed.

He slept especially sweetly as well.

Within his deep slumber, the Sword Spirit Elder Sister, whom he had not seen for many days and yearned for day and night, appeared miraculously.