Casey stood up from the ground and saw the box that Sylvia had just opened.
He couldn’t contain his excitement and rushed over, “Medicine! This box is full of medicine!”
Sylvia looked down at the box by her feet and saw it was filled with bottles and jars of medicine. The design of the bottles looked more modern than ancient.
She picked up one of the bottles and read the label, “Sulfoxaflor?”
“Trisiloxane, Zinc Phosphide, Aluminum Phosphide?”
“It’s obvious that someone had been here before and hid these chemical substances,” Sylvia mused. “Who would leave such valuable treasures behind and just leave?”
It was unbelievable.
“I need to see if there’s any Puppet Dust in here,” Casey said as he started searching through the box.
Antwan walked over to Sylvia and whispered, “Don’t mind him. The young master is desperate to find this medicine. We found clues about the Palace of Elegance in a diary from the Gentry family. It mentioned the effects and characteristics of Puppet Dust, which can turn people into puppets controlled by whoever administers it.”
“Is it that serious?” Sylvia frowned at Antwan. “Do you have the diary with you? Can I take a look?”
Antwan quickly fumbled through his backpack and pulled out the diary with trembling hands.
“This diary was hidden in our family’s secret chamber for years. We only discovered it recently while cleaning.”
Sylvia slowly opened the diary and noticed the handwriting was as messy as the one Jaden had given her.
After flipping through several pages, she confirmed that both diaries were written by the same person.
She continued to read, hoping to find new clues.
When she reached the last page without finding anything useful, she returned the diary to Antwan with a sigh. “This diary must not fall into the wrong hands. It contains a significant secret.”
Antwan nodded quickly, “Miss Andrews, don’t worry. We won’t let it spread.”
At that moment, they heard Casey’s excited voice, “I found it! This must be it!”
Everyone gathered around as Casey carefully took out a small purple bottle that looked translucent.
“How can you be sure this is Puppet Dust?” Jaden asked, puzzled by Casey’s excitement.
“The diary mentioned that Puppet Dust is stored in a purple bottle. I searched through the entire box and finally found this purple bottle,” Casey explained as he opened it, releasing a faint fragrance.
He took a deep breath, “It smells wonderful.”
The next second, he felt dizzy and almost lost his balance. Antwan quickly supported him, “Casey, are you okay?”
Casey shook his head, “I’m so dizzy…”
Sylvia grabbed the bottle cap and quickly sealed the purple bottle. “The powder inside this bottle shouldn’t be opened carelessly. What if it affects your mind?”
She thought of the puppet crystal she had hidden in the Hipps Family, which was similar to Puppet Dust.
It seemed both were created by the same person who wrote the diary.
“If this substance spreads, it would be more dangerous than firearms,” Franklin said, frowning at the small bottle. “We should destroy it immediately.”
“But… I think it has significant research value,” Casey said after regaining his clarity. “Destroying such a rare find would be a waste. Moreover, if there are more hidden elsewhere and someone else finds them, wouldn’t it be more dangerous if we have no countermeasures?”
Sylvia narrowed her eyes slightly. “I agree with Casey. We should study it and find ways to counteract it. If these substances are mass-produced and spread, they could endanger the entire world.”
“Casey, make sure to protect this bottle and bring it safely to Blood Medical Sect for detailed research,” Franklin said, seeing Sylvia agreed.
Sylvia looked at the box again. It contained many chemical substances.
She glanced at other boxes filled with books. If the creator hid medicine here, could they have also hidden books?
The thought excited her.
She sat down next to a box of books and started flipping through them one by one.
If they were ancient versions, she set them aside. She was looking for modern books since there was a significant difference between ancient and modern texts.
“While Jasper and the twins haven’t returned with the plane yet, let’s search for modern books and categorize them. Ancient ones in one pile, modern ones in another,” Sylvia suggested to Casey and Jaden. “I believe if the diary’s author left medicine here, there might be books too.”
“You’re right. Let’s all search together. We might find something soon,” Jaden agreed wholeheartedly with Sylvia’s suggestion.
Everyone started searching for modern books.
The cave became bustling with activity.
Suddenly, they heard hurried footsteps outside.
Everyone paused their actions and held their breath.
Sylvia and Franklin signaled everyone to hide behind stalagmites. They quietly set down their books and hid silently.
Casey made sure to put the Puppet Dust bottle into his backpack and followed Sylvia closely, feeling safe with his powerful savior nearby.
Sylvia and Franklin exchanged glances and drew their daggers quietly.
Jasper and the twins had gone to get the plane; they couldn’t have returned so quickly.
So… these people weren’t Jasper and his group.
The footsteps grew closer until they stopped in front of the pile of treasures. A rough voice spoke excitedly, “Ha ha ha! These Princess Sharon’s treasures are ours!”
“Boss! What should we do now? Move them?” a lackey’s voice asked.
The rough voice replied excitedly, “Of course! Move them now!”
As he turned around, there was a sudden “thud!”
A knife was plunged into his chest. He staggered back in shock, clutching his chest, staring incredulously at the lackey who had just stabbed him. “You… you… you dare to kill me?”
The lackey’s voice turned cold, “I’ve had enough of you. Now the treasure is mine.”
“You… kill him!” The rough voice tried to command his other lackeys.
But they all looked indifferent. “We’ve wanted you gone for a long time. Are you still dreaming?”
“Let’s move quickly.”
They began moving the treasures.
“These people are just a bunch of rabble. How did they find this place?” Franklin whispered. “We can’t let them take anything.”
Sylvia nodded. They exchanged a knowing look and leaped into action like martial arts experts, attacking from behind.
Caught off guard, the men were startled.
The rough-voiced man lay dying on the ground but cheered weakly when he saw someone attacking his traitorous crew. “Good job!”
The men dropped their gold and drew their weapons to shoot at Franklin and Sylvia with guns!
Sylvia and Franklin dodged gracefully and moved among them swiftly.
They quickly took down several men, but there were over twenty of them-pirates from nearby waters.
Seeing his men dwindling, the lackey tried to escape, but Sylvia leaped after him and kicked him towards Franklin.
“Ah! It hurts!” he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground.
“Tell me, how did you know about Princess Sharon’s treasure?” Sylvia demanded coldly, stepping on his back.
“We… we’re pirates. There’s a legend among us about Princess Sharon’s treasure being in the Palace of Elegance,” he answered painfully as blood trickled from his mouth.
Franklin’s sharp gaze fixed on him. “Who started this legend?”
“It… our boss heard it first… I don’t know who told him,” he answered weakly.
Sylvia walked over to the stabbed pirate leader. “Who told you?”
“I… I’ll tell you since you avenged me… I heard it from another pirate gang who kidnapped a powerful man from the red-light district… He seemed to be from St. James Clan… It’s their family secret…”
“St. James Clan?” Sylvia frowned; it sounded familiar but she couldn’t recall where she’d heard it before.
“It’s a prominent family in the red-light district,” Franklin explained calmly. “They deal in diamonds and jewelry globally; they’re top jewelers.”
“How did St. James Clan know about this place?” Sylvia wondered aloud but before she could ask more, the pirate leader’s head slumped as he died.