In the room filled with the smell of chemicals, I looked at the bronze artifacts corroded by strong acid, my mind in turmoil. I tried to guess according to Jiang Man's reasoning: "I don't think your guess is necessarily correct. Although Song Laosan betrayed me, the news that Wei Shengnan and the others were going to the Far East came from him, which means they didn't learn about Duan Jinyan's trip to the Far East from me."

Furthermore, when we left Xishan, where the tomb of King Ze is located, Qu Ruilin and Wei Shengnan intercepted me and specifically asked for the jade seal of King Ze that I possessed. It's hard to say they didn't know the true purpose of this jade seal. Therefore, their destruction of our belongings today is likely for the same reason I am: to prevent the other party from participating in the treasure-hunting competition.”

Jiang Man clenched her fists angrily: "Wei Shengnan and Qu Ruilin are from prestigious families, after all. Isn't it a bit too despicable for them to use such methods against you?"

I sighed: "I also come from a prestigious family, and I still want to deal with them the same way, don't I? The antique world is full of deceit and treachery. It's like a kingpin of thieves. No matter how high his status is in the industry, he is still a thief in the end."

“The situation isn’t that bad yet. At least we still have a collection. It seems that my dad’s two-pronged approach worked.”

Jiang Man comforted me for a moment, then continued, "Now that our location has been exposed, should we change our place of residence to prevent those people from playing any more dirty tricks?"

I thought for a moment and waved my hand: "Forget it, our location has already been exposed. There are probably several pairs of eyes watching us outside. Changing locations won't help us escape their grasp, and it will only make us look like we're afraid."

After hearing my words, Lin Que walked to the door and started cursing: "Damn it, when we're out in the game, we're all about fair competition! What kind of heroes are you, hiding in the shadows and using such underhanded tactics! I'll fuck you..."

"Alright, stop howling! Keep howling. The fight didn't cause any trouble, so don't let the neighbors call the police and say we're disturbing the peace!"

I stopped Lin Que and waved to the others, "It's getting late, everyone should go back to their rooms and rest."

"Young Master Duan, Wei Shengnan is going too far!"

The monkey was still indignant: "Back then, we risked our lives to enter the demon monk's tomb to save her grandmother, and this vicious woman not only showed no gratitude, but also went against us at every turn! This matter absolutely cannot be left like this! I kindly advised you not to bother with them before, but now it seems we have to teach them a lesson!"

"No matter what, the feud between the two families was our Duan family's fault first. Wei Shengnan didn't attack anyone, which is already considered holding back. Now we've lost the initiative and they've got our eyes on us. It'll be difficult to retaliate now, and we might even be outmaneuvered. The only way is to outdo them in the treasure-fighting tournament and find a way to squeeze them out."

I patted the monkey on the shoulder: "Alright, I have a few more words to say to Jiang Man, you go and rest first."

The monkey nodded: "I'll go get my luggage. I'll sleep in your room tonight. Wei Shengnan is alright, but Qu Ruilin is definitely a madman. There's no guarantee he won't do something irrational. I'll stay with you tonight."

After my men left, Jiang Man said to the head of the bodyguards, "I don't care what methods you use, there absolutely cannot be any more problems in this courtyard tonight. If anything goes wrong tonight, then..."

The head of the bodyguards assured her confidently, "Don't worry, Miss, I won't sleep all night and will personally guard the courtyard! If something like this happens a second time, I'll pack my bags and leave!"

"You said it yourself."

Jiang Man coldly dismissed the head of the bodyguards, and then said to me, "I'm really sorry about what happened today. I thought that after we changed vehicles and arrived here, our whereabouts would be very discreet, but I didn't expect to encounter this kind of problem."

"It's alright. I was the one who refused Uncle Tian's request to provide security, so I also bear some responsibility for that."

I waved my hand and said, "What's done is done. There's no point in assigning blame here. You're right. The second batch of things that Uncle Tian prepared did help us a lot. Where are those things?"

Jiang Man explained, "The plan we chose before was to use the things you brought to participate in the competition, so the spare items haven't been touched yet; they're all in the RV. I'll have someone deliver them to us overnight."

I replied, "No need! We're probably already being watched here. Sending the stuff over would only cause unnecessary trouble. Tell the RV driver to hide the stuff and not leave it in the vehicle."

Jiang Man asked with some concern, "There are only two people over at the RV. Isn't it too dangerous to have them watch our things?"

"It's safer when there are fewer people around; it's darkest when you're under the lamp."

At this point, I couldn't afford to make any more mistakes, so I changed the subject and asked, "Have we received any official notification yet regarding the location of the treasure-hunting competition?"

"No, my dad said before we left that the other party would contact us at the phone number we provided tomorrow, and they would only call once. If we don't have a signal or can't receive the call, it will be considered a forfeit."

Jiang Man pouted and said, "The rules of Fengmen Village are too strange, and a bit too domineering!"

"Tomorrow we'll split into two groups and both go to the city center via a detour. You take that phone and try to go to places like shopping malls."

I was extra careful: "Otherwise, if the other side puts something like a signal jammer around us, making it impossible for us to participate, that would be troublesome. Since it's the people from the Fourth Gate who are targeting us, their attention should be on me! Remember not to stay in one place for too long, keep moving so they can't cut off the signal."

Jiang Man smiled and said, "I know, it's always the darkest place under the lamp."

I chatted with Jiang Man for a while, but when I got back to my room I couldn't fall asleep no matter what. Looking at the sleeping monkey, I dialed Su Jialiang's number.

Three minutes later, the satellite phone called my cell phone.

I heard Su Jialiang greet me and laughed, "Mr. Liang, still up so late?"

"Only a few people know my number. Those who call me are all close friends. Even if I'm asleep, I'll call back."

Su Jialiang paused for a moment: "But we have a batch of goods to be shipped out of the mine today, and I'm personally overseeing it, so I haven't slept. Xiao Duan, you're calling me so late, are you having some trouble? I told you before, Fengmen Village is not a place for ordinary people."

"We did encounter difficulties, but they were not caused by the closure of the village."

I lit a cigarette and said to Su Jialiang with remorse, "I was tricked by someone, and all the things I brought were destroyed."