Cutie Pie Is Best at Finding Things

"So the Prime Minister set up an ambush in the shop! Both sides started fighting—none of us got hurt, but several of those men in black ended up dead!"

Her father had always stationed experts in Lucky Star, and Grace knew about this.

"What were they trying to steal?" Grace asked.

"No idea. But the Prime Minister's men caught one alive and took him away!"

...

Later, Grace went to find Minister Zhuo to ask about it.

Minister Zhuo told her, "Didn't I tell you before? They used Lucky Star's business to run some shady deals."

"But why sneak into Lucky Star? What were they after?"

Even if they wanted the shop back, they'd have to go through the authorities.

Otherwise, even if everyone in the shop was killed, Lucky Star would still belong to Grace!

"I suspect they might still have goods stashed away, hidden somewhere in Lucky Star!" said Minister Zhuo.

"Hidden in Lucky Star?" Grace pondered for a moment. "You mean, there might be a secret chamber in Lucky Star?"

Minister Zhuo nodded. "But my men have searched for ages and still haven't found it."

"Didn't you catch one alive? If they were there to move the goods, they must've known where the secret chamber is!"

Minister Zhuo shook his head. "Dead! He was killed on the way back."

"I see..." Grace stroked her chin.

Cutie Pie is the best at finding things...

"By the way, did you sign up today?" Minister Zhuo asked.

Grace shook her head and explained what happened.

Minister Zhuo slammed the table in anger.

Still, there was nothing he could do.

The Spirit Alliance is pretty much independent across the whole continent.

Unless they commit murder or arson, the authorities have no control over them...

...

That day, Cutie Pie happened to be by Grace's side.

When night fell and the shop was mostly empty, Grace took Cutie Pie to Lucky Star.

"Cutie Pie, you're the best at treasure hunting," Grace said. "Take a look around and see if you can find a secret chamber or something."

Cutie Pie hopped over, asking for a kiss.

Grace gave it a kiss, and it bounced to the floor, vanishing in an instant.

Turns out, bringing Cutie Pie along was a genius move!

It was barely a quarter of an hour before Cutie Pie came back.

Cutie Pie curled its tail at Grace, then led her toward the backyard.

Lucky Star's backyard was huge.

In the middle stood a well.

Several buckets for drawing water sat beside the well.

In the wide stone courtyard, there were also a bunch of cooling troughs filled with all sorts of iron tools...

Cutie Pie led Grace straight to the well.

The well was full of water, clear and deep, so dark you couldn't see the bottom.

"Is the secret chamber in the well?" Grace asked.

Cutie Pie nodded and tapped a stone beneath the rim of the well with its tail.

Grace curiously touched the stone—and her heart skipped a beat.

The stone was loose.

She pressed down hard, and suddenly there was movement inside the well.

It sounded like running water.

There was also a faint sound of gears underground.

She looked into the well and saw the stones inside had shifted, revealing all kinds of openings. Water was draining out through the holes.

In less than half a quarter of an hour, the well was no longer a well—it had become a damp, twisting entrance made of stone steps.

Grace grabbed a lantern and stepped onto the offset stones, hopping down into the well.

It was deep down there. She looked up—at least one and a half zhang.