Chapter Thirty-Eight: Stirring Restlessness

"Hey, hey, stop lying there! This damn wall is moving!" Ye Dong suddenly yanked up Da Chun, whose rear was exposed. "Get up, or you'll lose the front cover too. Lose the front, and we've lost our position!"

Da Chun felt a sudden tightness and sprang up with a jolt. "Comrades, the revolution is not yet successful, we must press on!"

With a swift turn, he jumped down from the high wall. Seeing Ye Dong and the others frozen in place, he couldn't help but curse, "Hurry up! Jump!"

Ye Dong and Xiao Bao gritted their teeth and jumped down, running after Da Chun, whose rear was exposed.

Xiao Bao struggled to suppress his laughter. "You know, Da Chun's backside is actually quite perky!"

"Go to hell! Stop staring at my ass, it's disgusting!" Da Chun cursed as he ran. "I swear I'll get my revenge!"

As they ran, Da Chun muttered, "Turns out, it's really breezy without the back cover in this heat!"

Ye Dong scolded, "How can you be so fickle? Can't you stick to anything?"

"Woof! Woof woof!"

The high wall crashed down, and a pack of lustful, hungry dogs charged after the three, chasing through the dust and chaos.

High up in the stands, two men stood watching, grinning.

"Master Chen, care for a smoke?"

"Come, come, such a joyous moment calls for one!"

"Master Chen, you're truly a sage—who could invent such a wicked training method?"

"You're too kind, too kind. Isn't Liang Lingzhi just as easily played by you? We're both cut from the same cloth!"

"If you don't mind, Master Chen, perhaps we could call each other brothers from now on?"

"Ah, I've been meaning to say the same!"

"Brother Chen!"

"Brother Li!"

"Brother Chen!"

"Brother Li!"

"Brother Chen!"

"Brother Li!"

Seeing their endless exchange, Xiao Wang and Xiao Yang, who were timing with a stopwatch by the window, couldn't help but sweat in embarrassment. Xiao Wang whispered, "Those two sly old foxes really do find each other."

"Exactly! Who'd have thought Master Chen, with his mystical skills, could be so mischievous? Poor Ye Dong and the others still worship him as a deity."

Hui Yan gently advised, "Let it go. It's rare for our master to meet someone like Master Chen. Being a bit overjoyed is understandable, and Master Chen is humorous and relaxed—it's hard not to like him."

"As long as we get past the last few obstacles, we'll be safe!" Ye Dong pulled Da Chun, who was flagging. "Don't fall behind, Da Chun!"

Da Chun forced a bitter smile. "This seven-hundred-meter run is harder than ten kilometers. It's thrilling—I'm about to wet myself!"

Xiao Bao was panting but kept running. "Save your breath. Let's curse them once we're over the hill!"

"Swish! Swish swish!"

Suddenly, ten small sandbags flew in from both sides, aimed right at the running trio.

Ye Dong muttered, "Are they really out to finish us?"

"Watch out!" Da Chun yanked Ye Dong toward him, and a sandbag narrowly missed Ye Dong's shoulder—it was a close call!

"Ye Dong, stay focused!"

"Thanks, Da Chun!"

"Thank nothing! If you hadn't kicked away that mangy dog, my front cover would've been gone too!"

In the night, a mud-covered man emerged from a hole, clutching a porcelain artifact. Seven or eight others crawled out behind him. He cursed dejectedly, "Damn it, nearly died for this thing! Le Cheng, you didn't get into any trouble, did you?"

Le Cheng, the tomb-robbing crew's chief tactician.

The man named Le Cheng panted, "Luckily Li Xing helped me disarm those traps, or I'd be haunted by ghosts too!" His eyes grew cold, as if recalling something terrifying.

Li Xing, the crew's top in physical skills, responsible for tackling traps.

A tall man dressed in black set down his dagger. "I didn't expect the traps inside to be so deadly. Nearly didn't make it out."

The mud-covered man praised him, "Li Xing, well done. This time, I'm willing to give you a ten percent share!" He turned to his crew. "Stick with me, and we'll all get rich together!"

The crew were all excited. "Thank you, Boss Wei! Thanks, Brother Le Cheng, thanks, Brother Li Xing!"

Li Xing waved. "Thanks, Boss Wei!"

Boss Wei, deputy leader of the tomb-robbing crew.

Boss Wei cursed, "Thank me, my ass. If we go in together, we come out together! We make money as a team!"

Le Cheng glanced at the porcelain in Boss Wei's hands and laughed, "How much is this worth?"

Boss Wei shone his flashlight and smiled. "The glaze is fine and even, the shape imitates bronze, and the color is dark, like bronze rust. It's definitely an early Qing Dynasty official kiln monochrome masterpiece, called a tea-dust-glazed olive vase—a rare imperial ware from the Qianlong period. Among surviving pieces, it's extremely rare. Conservatively, it's worth at least eight million!"

Li Xing chuckled, "Eight million? If it goes to auction, it'll fetch over ten! Master will be thrilled!"

Boss Wei smiled, "Master isn't short of money. He told us to eat well for a while, meaning he's letting us pocket the cash!"

Le Cheng smiled, too. "Master is truly brilliant. Thanks to his 'flow-guiding technique,' though the decoy died, we passed the traps safely and now eight million is in hand!"

The three exchanged smiles, sincerely admiring their master.

"Chief, here's the detailed info on the September 18th auction," Xiao Wang handed a folder to Officer Li.

Officer Li looked at the calendar on the stage, thinking, "It's September 8th today, ten days until the auction."

He grinned, "After a quiet spell, these tomb robbers are finally cutting loose again?" He flipped through the file. "It seems the person in this photo hasn't shown up. All we know is his weapon is a dagger."

Hui Yan nodded, "That's right. Since Lai Jiayu chased him into the mountains, he hasn't appeared." She set down the photo found on Lai Jiayu that night and pointed at the file. "This person is named Li Zimu. On the surface, he's a businessman, but we suspect he's the new fence for the tomb-robbing crew."

"A new fence?" Officer Li muttered. "Since our three undercover agents were killed one after another, the tomb robbers have gotten smarter—every job, they switch fences."

Xiao Wang muttered, "The last three undercover agents barely got clues from the previous fence; now we'll probably lose the trail again."

Officer Li frowned. "What antique are they auctioning this time?"

Hui Yan handed over a photo. "A Qianlong-era tea-dust-glazed olive vase. According to experts, it should fetch at least fifteen million. This type of porcelain is extremely rare, and its appearance has attracted high-end collectors. Wan Tianze from Thousand Horses Galloping and Mo Bicheng from Splendid Rivers and Mountains have already confirmed their attendance."

Officer Li sneered, "With ten days left, more wealthy bidders are bound to join. It's going to be lively."

Hui Yan asked, "What about Miao Miao's case?"

Officer Li replied, "I'll handle Miao Miao's case specially."

Xiao Wang said, "Should we speed up the reform plan for Liang Lingzhi?"