Yu Feibai's obsession with treasures was something Wang Guan had witnessed before, so he was certainly prepared; as the other man reached out, Wang Guan felt in his pocket and produced the jade thumb ring.

The instant Yu Feibai saw the jade ring, he snatched it up eagerly, then began examining and toying with it closely.

"It truly is the finest Jiyou Huang."

At first glance, the stone's clarity and warm feel already elicited praise from Yu Feibai, but under the illumination of the cabin lights, the thumb ring radiated a lustrous sheen akin to mutton-fat jade, plunging him deeper into fascination.

"Don't forget the main business."

Fortunately, Tang Qinghua remained calmer. After pouring tea for each guest, she casually inquired, "Where is the shipwreck site? Let's head there and make preparations so we can begin salvage operations first thing tomorrow morning."

"Brother Gao…" Wang Guan turned to look at Gao Zhuang.

Gao Zhuang hesitated slightly, then directly announced the sea coordinates. Simultaneously, Tang Qinghua relayed the coordinates to the captain via the intercom in the cabin, then leisurely sipped her tea, chatting and laughing with Wang Guan.

While everyone was exchanging pleasantries, the large yacht slowly pulled away from the harbor, soon leaving the near shore to cut through the waves and disappear into the vast, dark sea. After a considerable time, the yacht finally slowed and stopped, arriving at its destination.

"Let's go out and take a look."

Hearing the captain's report, Wang Guan immediately urged everyone out of the cabin onto the deck to survey their surroundings.

Of course, nothing could be clearly seen; the panorama was entirely pitch black, pierced only by the sound of the howling sea wind and the surging waves. However, the yacht was equipped with searchlights, which could sweep the area, offering a vague sense of the general environment.

At the same time, Gao Zhuang spoke up beside him, explaining, "This area is near Ningbo. I've inquired around; in ancient times, Ningbo was a starting point for the Maritime Silk Road, with cargo ships frequently setting sail. Thus, there are quite a few shipwrecks down there."

"However, this spot is rather remote, outside the usual sea lanes."

A hint of shrewdness flashed in Gao Zhuang’s eyes: "So, I suspect the cargo ship encountered a sudden squall shortly after setting off. They were forced to change course, but ultimately, they couldn't escape their fate."

"Perhaps so."

Wang Guan wasn't overly concerned with the reason for the sinking; he was merely curious how Gao Zhuang had discovered the wreck below.

"It was actually quite by chance," Gao Zhuang hesitated for a moment before telling the truth. "Once, we were fishing near the Ryukyu Islands and got discovered. We immediately turned tail and fled. In our panic, we raced right here. It was night, and we returned empty-handed. Feeling unwilling to give up, I decided to cast my nets right here…"

At this point, Gao Zhuang expressed a touch of relief: "Unexpectedly, with the first cast, I pulled up some porcelain shards. At first, I paid them no mind, but as the fragments kept coming, I realized something unusual was happening here."

Being often near the sea, Gao Zhuang had certainly heard tales of underwater shipwrecks. Seeing so many broken ceramics, he naturally guessed there was a wreck below. Yet, when he dove in, he found no trace of a sunken ship.

"I suspect the wreck is buried under silt," Gao Zhuang conjectured. "But the layer of silt on the seabed is very thick, and I didn't have professional detection equipment. Finding the wreck would be like looking for a needle in a haystack—utterly hopeless."

"No matter, leave this sort of thing to the professionals," Yu Feibai said with a sly grin. "I've already arranged for people; they'll be here first thing tomorrow morning. For now, everyone should rest and conserve energy. We start the salvage tomorrow…"

The yacht was enormous, offering plenty of cabins for rest. After a few more words, everyone retired to sleep.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, Wang Guan awoke to sounds of activity. After a quick wash, he stepped out to see a floating vessel, resembling a platform, moored beside the yacht.

Yu Feibai was already on the platform, gesturing emphatically while giving instructions.

"The salvage crew has arrived?" Hearing the commotion, Gao Zhuang hurried out as well. Judging by his expression, he hadn't slept well; his eyes showed slight puffiness, suggesting he might have been up all night. However, he was now looking quite energized, a smile of excitement playing on his lips.

After all, everything else was intangible; only recovering the shipwreck would bring real benefit.

"Let's go over and see."

Wang Guan smiled and nodded, then crossed the plank bridge from the yacht onto the floating platform.

"Wang Guan, come meet Master Jiang."

Yu Feibai spotted Wang Guan approaching and immediately waved him over. "Master Jiang is an expert in shipwreck salvage. He played a part in the recovery and excavation of the Wanjiao No. 1 back in the day."

"I was just assisting," Master Jiang replied with a light smile. He was about fifty, somewhat lean, with relatively long hair and a pair of dark glasses, giving him a scholarly air.

As an expert in this field, Master Jiang possessed a degree of pride and generally disdained taking on private jobs. But somehow, Yu Feibai had managed to invite him using some connection.

Indeed, it was an invitation, executed with the gentlest means—appealing to emotion and tempting with profit. In any case, Master Jiang was here voluntarily; otherwise, he wouldn't wear a faint smile but would have been stern-faced.

After exchanging a few courtesies, Master Jiang got straight to the point: "Were porcelain shards truly found nearby?"

"Yes…"

Gao Zhuang quickly nodded, gesturing to indicate the approximate area. Since they were on the open sea with no precise landmarks nearby, he could only indicate a rough location.

Master Jiang understood and then asked, "What about the retrieved artifacts? Can I see them?"

"That…"

This question hit Gao Zhuang where it hurt, causing his expression to instantly collapse. He hadn't dared leave the items on his fishing boat due to security concerns, but that boat had been robbed, resulting in heavy losses. In reality, if he hadn't lost his capital investment, he wouldn't have been so quick to agree to cooperate with Wang Guan.

"The items were sold," Wang Guan interjected briefly, then added with a smile, "But I saw them. Many were celadon pieces, appearing to be works from the Southern Song Dynasty's Longquan Kiln."

"A Southern Song shipwreck…" Master Jiang mused, harboring no suspicion. After all, without physical evidence, Yu Feibai likely wouldn't have gone to such lengths to gather help for salvage.

Of course, whether the salvage effort would yield results wasn't his primary concern.

Relatively speaking, salvaging a shipwreck was definitely more difficult than an archaeological excavation. Archaeology was simpler; once the general area was confirmed, digging directly would almost certainly uncover clues, likely leading to an ancient tomb.

But salvaging a shipwreck was different. Even with the approximate location fixed, the presence of underwater currents and silt could break up the vessel or move its cargo elsewhere. This meant that even if some fragments of porcelain were recovered nearby, it wouldn't definitively prove a wreck lay there; the actual ship could be hundreds of nautical miles away.

This was normal; nobody was foolish. Everyone knew the seabed held countless wrecks, the value of which might surpass the total wealth on land.

In China, due to stricter regulations, there were few rumors about this, but abroad, private, highly professional salvage companies were everywhere, specializing in treasure hunting across the oceans. Yet, few ever achieved success.

Conversely, when success did come, the wealth recovered was always staggering, which is why so many people continually threw themselves into the endeavor of underwater treasure hunting. However, these lucky few were one in ten thousand.

For example, China possesses an immensely long coastline, with the East China Sea and South China Sea being the busiest trade routes in antiquity. One could imagine how many wrecks lie beneath those waters. Yet, over decades, the number of retrieved vessels has been minuscule.

It couldn't be denied that some ancient wooden ships had dissolved in the seawater, losing any salvage value, but more likely, people searched diligently without ever finding anything…

Therefore, Master Jiang held little hope for this particular expedition. Regardless of his inner thoughts, the necessary procedures had to be followed. He called out, and several young men stepped forward. Without needing a signal, they promptly donned diving suits, grabbed auxiliary tools, and jumped into the sea with a splash.

Then came the waiting.

During the wait, Bei Ye, Qiao Yu, and the others awoke and gathered nearby, watching with curiosity. It was daytime, and the water in this area was relatively clear, offering decent visibility. A careful observer could spot a few shadowy figures moving beneath the waves. However, once the divers descended to a certain depth, everything became indistinct.

"This is just preliminary scanning now," Master Jiang explained. "Once we confirm there is something on the seabed that requires salvaging, we can use underwater cameras for continuous tracking, and we can monitor the situation below from the ship."

Everyone nodded, accepting whatever Master Jiang said, as they didn't understand much of the technicalities anyway.

Yet, the waiting process was undeniably nerve-wracking. An hour or two passed, with only the occasional diver surfacing to catch their breath and swap oxygen tanks, yet nothing conclusive was found.

"Expand the search radius," Master Jiang, clearly anticipating this, maintained sufficient patience and calmly issued the instruction.

However, Yu Feibai was growing restless. Looking around, he suddenly asked, "Qinghua, do you have any diving gear on your yacht? Bring me a set; I want to go down and check things out too."

"Of course, we do," Tang Qinghua replied, glancing at Wang Guan, Bei Ye, and the others, then smiling lightly. "We even have professional diving instructors. If any of you are interested, you can join in for fun…"

"Fun?"

Master Jiang instinctively started to reprimand them upon hearing this, but suddenly realized he lacked the standing to do so. After all, they were using the yacht's equipment, and the sea was wide open; there was no way they could interfere with the divers' work. Thinking it over, he truly found no valid reason to object to the others enjoying themselves…