Chapter 395: The Key in the Treasure Chest

　　Lu Fei and Mr. Lai were swept away by the sudden rush of river water.

　　Mr. Lai was in a coma, and if they didn't get to shore quickly, he would lose his life.

　　Lu Fei struggled to hold onto Mr. Lai, preventing him from being swept away by the current, and with the power of his dragon scales, he quickly floated upward.

　　Splashing!

　　Suddenly, a suction force came from below his feet.

　　Lu Fei lowered his head and discovered that the gold toad statue had actually opened its mouth, as if unwilling to let them go.

　　"Not letting us leave?"

　　Lu Fei frowned and channeled his magical energy to his legs, giving a powerful push.

　　The suction force dissipated.

　　The two of them finally emerged from the water.

　　"Huzi, come and help!"

　　Lu Fei dragged Mr. Lai toward the shore.

　　Huzi quickly jumped into the water and helped him pull the unconscious Mr. Lai to the shore.

　　"Husband, husband, what's wrong with you? Wake up!"

　　Mrs. Lai shook her husband vigorously.

　　The husband's skin was paler than paper, like a water-soaked corpse, unconscious and unresponsive to her calls.

　　"Manager Lu, what's going on?"

　　"We found the Golden Toad Cave, but the Great Golden Toad inside won't forgive you." Lu Fei shook his head; Mr. Lai's coma was definitely caused by the Three-Legged Golden Toad.

　　"What should we do?"

　　Mrs. Lai was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes.

　　"Don't worry, there's a way."

　　Lu Fei, however, remained calm.

　　"I can't guarantee anything with other Golden Toads, but I do have a way to deal with the one at the bottom of the river."

　　"What way?" Mrs. Lai wiped her eyes, looking nervously at Lu Fei.

　　Huzi was especially curious.

　　Lu Fei went into the water without him, and he didn't know what was happening down there, which made him extremely curious.

　　"The one at the bottom of the river is called the Treasure-Backed Golden Toad. This kind of golden toad is most fond of treasures such as gold and silver. As long as you can offer it a satisfactory treasure, it will let you go."

　　Lu Fei said slowly.

　　This type of golden toad practices by absorbing the essence of treasures and carries a treasure chest with it, collecting treasures everywhere.

　　When he saw that treasure chest, Lu Fei had already guessed a few things, and now he was even more certain.

　　If the golden toad was determined to take revenge, it wouldn't have needed to make Mr. Lai unconscious; it could have just killed him directly.

　　The fact that it didn't kill him directly means that there's still room for negotiation.

　　"Treasure, what kind of treasure does it want?" Mrs. Lai was in a state of panic.

　　"Whatever is the most valuable in your home, give it to the toad. As long as it accepts it, Mr. Lai will be safe."

　　"The most valuable?"

　　Mrs. Lai was taken aback and took a jade pendant from her neck.

　　"This is what he saved up to give me when we got married. In my heart, the most valuable thing in our family is this pendant."

　　"We can give it a try." Lu Fei nodded.

　　The value of a treasure is not measured by its monetary worth; the emotional value may be more important.

　　Mrs. Lai looked deeply at the pendant for a few moments, then glanced at her unconscious husband, sighed, and with great reluctance, placed the pendant in Lu Fei's hand.

　　"Shopkeeper Lu, I'm counting on you!"

　　"Huzi, take care of them."

　　Lu Fei gave a reminder and, with the pendant in hand, dived into the water again.

　　With the experience of the previous two attempts, he was incredibly skilled, heading straight to the front of the Golden Toad Cave.

　　The dark cave entrance was not closed, and he leaped in with a light jump.

　　Tick-tock.

　　Tick-tock.

　　It was still the same golden, shimmering water cave.

　　Lu Fei walked up to the gold toad statue again.

　　The body of the little gold toad was gone.

　　"Great Toad, they truly realize their mistake and have specially come to apologize to you! This is the most valuable treasure in their family! Please accept it with a smile!"

　　Lu Fei placed the pendant in front of the statue and bowed his hands once more.

　　The statue sat quietly.

　　Suddenly, with a whoosh, the pendant disappeared.

　　In the next moment.

　　It fell into the treasure chest on the back of the stone statue.

　　"Great!" Lu Fei felt a surge of joy at the sight, "Lord Golden Toad, now that you have taken the treasure, you can't bother them anymore..."

　　Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Fei caught sight of a jade key in the treasure chest.

　　"A key?"

　　Lu Fei was momentarily stunned, and many thoughts flashed through his mind.

　　"Of all things, a jade key! Could it be related to the Kunlun Child Temple?"

　　He remembered that his grandfather was searching for the key to the Kunlun Child Temple.

　　And among those, the Kunlun embryo, is a spiritual object similar to jade.

　　The jade key in the Golden Toad's treasure chest seemed to have peculiar patterns on it.

　　His eyes fixed on the key, he couldn't help but move forward, wanting to see it more clearly.

　　Bang!

　　The lid of the treasure chest slammed shut.

　　The stone eyes of the lame toad seemed to be staring at him with a wary look.

　　"I won't take your treasures!"

　　Lu Fei quickly explained with a smile.

　　"I just want to look."

　　But the lame toad remained unmoved, and the treasure chest even immediately locked itself.

　　"I want to know what that jade key is?" Lu Fei, knowing he couldn't force the issue, asked the toad in a friendly manner.

　　The stone toad statue did not move, its gaze seemingly cold.

　　Having finally found a clue, how could Lu Fei possibly let it go?

　　He suppressed the urge to snatch, and spoke gently: "How about this, I will exchange treasures with you! Just wait for me, I'll go back and fetch them for you... If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your agreement!"

　　After saying that, he bowed to the stone statue of the golden toad and then hurriedly left.

　　When his figure disappeared.

　　From behind the stone statue of the golden toad, a tiny golden toad emerged, looking in the direction he had left, blinking its eyes.

　　Lu Fei surfaced.

　　"Boss, boss! Mr. Lai is awake!"

　　Hu Zi was standing on the shore, waving vigorously at Lu Fei.

　　"I know." Relieved, Lu Fei swam to the shore, shook off the water from his body, and walked over to Mr. Lai.

　　Mr. Lai had opened his eyes, and his pale face showed a bit more color.

　　Mrs. Lai was supporting him.

　　The couple looked at Lu Fei nervously, as if he were a judge pronouncing a death sentence.

　　"You're okay now, the Golden Toad accepted the pendant," Lu Fei said with a smile.

　　"Wonderful! Wonderful! We are finally saved!"

　　"If we don't have a child, it's fine. What's most important is for us to live well together..."

　　The couple hugged each other and wept bitterly.

　　At that moment, their feelings seemed to have been elevated.

　　"Alright, alright, there will be plenty of time to cry later. I have important matters to attend to, so let's hurry up and go."

　　Lu Fei, thinking about the jade key, put on his clothes and urged them hurriedly.

　　Mr. Lai and his wife supported each other.

　　Everyone exited the lotus field, got into the car, and headed straight for Cloud City.

　　Return to Sinisterium Pawnshop.

　　"Mr. Lai, how are you going to pawn this golden toad wine?"

　　"Absolutely! Absolutely! We don't want the money; instead, we should thank Manager Lu for saving our lives."

　　"No matter the price, there must be a number; that's the rule."

　　"Then... nine dollars, symbolizing long-lasting prosperity! May Sinisterium Pawnshop's business last long, and may our marriage also last long!"

　　Lu Fei wrote out the pawn ticket and had them sign it.

　　The payment was made.

　　The pawn ticket was prepared in duplicate.

　　This transaction was perfectly concluded.

　　Mr. and Mrs. Lai left, leaning on each other.

　　Lu Fei didn't even have time to keep accounts before he went to the warehouse to fetch a bundle of golden silk.

　　"Huzi, hurry up and go to the Hanging Sword Bridge again!"