Inside the bronze box, there were quite a few items, neatly arranged by Xia Hengzhou.

Xu Fan, looking at them, couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

In some respects, these things could indeed be considered invaluable.

Most of them were old photographs, the rest were children's playthings, and some small notes.

The accumulated photos in the box chronicled the time from Xia Yanyu and Xia Xiaodie's infancy until the year Xia Hengzhou disappeared.

Even more, each photo's back was painstakingly inscribed with densely packed handwriting using a fountain pen.

These words documented things regarding Xia Yanyu and Xia Xiaodie, and also some thoughts that Xia Hengzhou had kept in his heart, never sharing with the two.

Nearly twenty years, a thick stack of photos, it was indeed a substantial amount of work, each photo furthermore contained memories very important to the two girls.

Xia Yanyu looked at each photo, silently reading the words her father had recorded, and this woman, who never shed tears in front of others, finally couldn't hold back and dropped tears again.

"Back then, father took over the affairs of the Xia family from grandfather, he was always busy, plus he was usually not one to smile or joke around, in my eyes, he always seemed very strict, even somewhat uncaring toward us..."

"But he..."

The misunderstandings about her father from her childhood, at this moment with the items packed in the bronze box, were completely diluted.

Her father had always been paying attention to her and her sister, it was evident from the questions recorded on these photos, many issues at that time, he was secretly, behind their backs, helping to solve.

The father, like a mountain standing unyielding in her youth, was not unfeeling or cold-hearted; he always loved her and her sister in his own way.

A man of steel and solemnity, hidden in his marrow, was a heart full of tenderness.

"Xu Fan, thank you."

Xia Yanyu stopped her sobbing, holding the stack of photos, took a deep breath, and looked earnestly towards Xu Fan.

If these items had ended up in Piao Yegi's hands today, for Xia Yanyu, it would have been the greatest loss.

Seemingly realizing that this man vaguely overlapped with the shadow of her father, he was also, in his own way, protecting her.

Xia Yanyu's cheeks flushed with a faint cherry red...

"Uh..."

Xu Fan touched his nose, not paying too much attention to Xia Yanyu's change of expression.

To be honest, he wasn't too convinced about this outcome.

At this moment, he frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then asked Kang Lao, "Kang Lao, just this one box?"

Indeed, these items were invaluable, but only specifically to Xia Yanyu and Xia Xiaodie.

In someone else's hands, they could be considered worthless.

How could Feng Huang possibly come all the way to Huaxia for these things which were meaningless to her?

It completely didn't make sense.

Xu Fan had a hunch that there must be something else that hadn't been found.

"Uh, this..."

Kang Lao grinned, shaking his head, "Hengzhou gave me just this box at the time, there are no other items..."

Xu Fan shook his head; it was not possible, there had to be something else.

Could it be placed somewhere else?

Xu Fan, not giving up, asked again, "Then, are there any other hidden compartments in this room?"

Kang Lao shook his head and said, "There shouldn't be any more, young man, is there something wrong?"

The entire Black and White Chess Club, only this room had a hidden compartment, and he only knew about it because Xia Hengzhou had told him.

If there really were any more, he wouldn't be able to find them...

Besides, Kang Lao really couldn't detect anything amiss.

Xu Fan was silent at this moment, as he secretly activated the golden glow in his right eye, and began to closely inspect the chess room before him. Only when he confirmed that there were no other hidden compartments did he deactivate it.

"Xia Yanyu, could you please let me take a look at the box?"

Xu Fan's gaze was now on the box in Xia Yanyu's hands, pondering whether there was something strange about it.

Although she didn't understand what Xu Fan was suspecting at the moment, Xia Yanyu still trusted him and handed over the box.

The box was quite old, and after Xu Fan had taken out all the items inside, he soon noticed something amiss.

"This..."

One could see that at the bottom of the bronze box, there was a groove.

What surprised Xu Fan was that the shape of the groove looked very familiar to him...

"Xia Yanyu, did your father ever give you a jade pendant like this?"

He took out the Jiuyang Warm Jade, which he had completely drained of spiritual energy, and asked himself seriously.

From sister Qingyan and sister Lan, he had received a total of two pieces of Jiuyang Warm Jade, both of the same shape, which could just fit into this box.

"This... how do you also have one?"

Seeing the jade pendant in Xu Fan's hand, Xia Yanyu couldn't help but express surprise.

Indeed, before her father disappeared, he had given her such a jade pendant and had instructed her to carry it with her at all times.

Only now, the jade pendant was not on her...

She had already given it to her sister.

"Xu Fan, my father did indeed give me a similar jade pendant, only..."

"It's not with me at the moment."

"..."

The current moment wasn't the time to ask where she had tossed the jade pendant, as the urgent matter was to open the secret compartment in the box using the Jiuyang Warm Jade.

With a deep breath, Xu Fan then fitted the Jiuyang Warm Jade into the groove.

"This..."

After fitting the Jiuyang Warm Jade into the groove and waiting for a while, there was no response from the bronze box.

Xu Fan even suspected that maybe the box was so old that it was no longer functional.

Could it be due to the lack of spiritual energy?

Hanging on with patience for a while longer and still seeing no reaction, Xu Fan furrowed his brow and figured out the reason.

The jade pendant he held had been depleted of all its spiritual energy by himself to enhance his cultivation level.

To open this box, it likely required the support of the pure spiritual energy of the Jiuyang Warm Jade.

"Damn it..."

Despite the age of the box, the craftsmanship was still exquisite.

At this moment, it was impossible for him to find another Jiuyang Warm Jade that still contained spiritual energy, and Xia Yanyu's was not on her either.

To open this bronze box now, there remained only one method.

To forcefully smash it open.

For Xu Fan, that was not an issue.

However, Xu Fan was somewhat concerned that, with his strike, he might accidentally destroy whatever was inside.

It would be better to first see what was actually placed inside the secret compartment.

After taking a deep breath and restraining his impatience, Xu Fan once again activated the Perspective Eye, eager to see what treasures were hidden inside the secret compartment of the box.

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