At the sound of the call, Wang Guan and the others naturally looked over. Just then, a youth wearing a plaid shirt, baggy shorts, and a thumb-sized gold chain around his neck came running over, looking quite pleased.

"Xiao Yu, you're really back?"

Before even arriving, the youth exclaimed with a beaming face, "I thought Fourth Master was just joking."

When the person drew near, Qiao Yu frowned slightly. "You are... Chen Tao?"

"Yes, yes, it's me, it's me," Chen Tao nodded quickly, his face breaking into a wide grin. "I only changed my hairstyle, you don't recognize me?"

"It's not just the hairstyle..." Qiao Yu showed undisguised disdain. "Such trashy taste, don't you find it tiring?"

"What?" Chen Tao froze for a second, then immediately realized Qiao Yu was referring to his gold chain. He quickly took it off, stuffing it into his pocket while giving an awkward laugh. "You know how it is, my crew only respects this stuff. If I don't wear it, I can't hold the fort."

Qiao Yu pursed her lips slightly and waved a hand. "I won't waste time talking to you; I still need to show my friends around."

"Friends?" Chen Tao's eyes shifted sideways, landing directly on Wang Guan. "You're that guy surnamed Han?"

In an instant, Wang Guan felt a strange mix of amusement and exasperation. He sighed, "My surname is Wang."

"Kid, you're actually that ruthless, even changing your surname?" Chen Tao looked genuinely shocked.

"Chen Tao, these are my university classmates. They're accompanying me to Tianlong Mountain for an outing. I already chased that guy surnamed Han away," Qiao Yu said, her delicate eyebrows shooting up as she pointed a slender finger. "You, get out of here right now too."

Chen Tao was first delighted, then alarmed. "Xiao Yu, I didn't know..."

"Scram!"

Qiao Yu spat the word out coldly, then dragged Bei Ye and turned away. Wang Guan naturally followed, though he noticed Chen Tao didn't seem ready to give up, lingering behind them.

At the same time, Bei Ye asked curiously, "Little Qiao, who was that person?"

"The grandson of a friend of my grandfather," Qiao Yu explained casually.

"Another admirer of yours?" Bei Ye teased with a grin. "As expected of Little Qiao, your charm is immense."

"Natural beauty is hard to hide; what can I do?" Qiao Yu curved her lips upwards in a look of self-admiration.

"I just mentioned you were plump, and now you're really panting..."

"Don't you dare mention the word 'fat,' or I’ll turn on you."

After a moment of playful banter, Qiao Yu said calmly, "Admirer isn't quite the word. His grandfather passed away a few years ago, and the connection between our families faded a bit. That's when he started pursuing me... With me saying it like this, you should understand, right?"

Wang Guan and Bei Ye naturally understood. It was less about Chen Tao genuinely liking Qiao Yu and more about him wanting to latch onto the great tree that was the Qiao family.

"Let's not talk about him,"

Qiao Yu shook her head, then said, "Let's go back and see if Teacher agreed to those people's requests."

Wang Guan and Bei Ye naturally had no objections, so they followed the mountain path upward, soon returning to the stone grotto.

At that moment, the director and several management personnel were gone. Only Elder Tao remained alone in the grotto, staring blankly at the damaged mural, seemingly deep in thought about something...

"Teacher."

Qiao Yu called out, a beaming smile on her face. "You agreed?"

"Agreed to what?"

Elder Tao snapped back to reality, looking utterly confused. "What did I agree to?"

"Agreed to help them cover it up, and even prepare to paint another mural,"

Qiao Yu laughed. "Otherwise, why would you be standing there in a daze next to the stone wall, contemplating how to start sketching? With Teacher's skill, you can definitely restore the mural to exactly how it was before."

"I certainly can. But..." Elder Tao frowned but didn't elaborate further.

"But what?" Qiao Yu smiled sweetly. "You don't want to help them? Even better. It's their fault for being careless. Since a problem occurred, they must bear the responsibility. Even if they try to mend the fence now, they shouldn't expect to escape punishment."

"Responsibility is one thing, but whose responsibility it is remains the question," Elder Tao said, his tone carrying a subtle nuance.

Qiao Yu’s straightforward nature meant she didn't pick up on it, so she settled the matter abruptly. "Everyone is responsible. Fire them all; that way, no one is wrongly punished."

"You," Elder Tao chuckled, "are talking nonsense again." He turned back to examine the mural, a hint of solemnity in his features.

Just then, a thought struck Wang Guan, and he followed Elder Tao's gaze to the stone wall. As he watched, he suddenly walked over, gently touching the stone surface, feeling it carefully.

Elder Tao noticed and whispered, "What do you think?"

"Something seems off," Wang Guan also frowned. After a moment of thought, his fingertips lightly brushed the remaining painted colors on the wall, and his expression immediately shifted to one of surprise.

"What does that mean?" Qiao Yu asked, puzzled. "Why are you two glued to the wall? What's wrong?"

"Little Qiao..." Bei Ye seemed to grasp Wang Guan's current state. She gently tugged Qiao Yu's sleeve, signaling her to remain quiet and not disturb him.

A short while later, Wang Guan seemed to have gained some clarity and immediately turned around. "Elder Tao, is this 'Stealing the Heavens and Swapping the Sun'?"

"Wrong," Elder Tao shook his head slightly, his expression grave. "This move is more ruthless; it's 'Drawing the Fire from Under the Cauldron.'"

"What 'Stealing the Heavens and Swapping the Sun,' what 'Drawing the Fire from Under the Cauldron'?" Qiao Yu clamored. "We don't understand what you're saying! Stop speaking in riddles and just tell us what's going on!"

Wang Guan was about to explain, but Elder Tao gently waved a hand. "This isn't the place to talk. We'll discuss it when we get back."

"Fine, let's go back now," Qiao Yu, true to her impulsive nature, immediately urged everyone to leave.

"Mhm," Elder Tao nodded slightly. He didn't need anyone's permission to leave and walked straight out. Along the way, he encountered some management staff who respectfully greeted him.

Shortly after, the group descended the mountain, flagged down a car, and soon returned to Elder Tao's residence. As soon as they entered the door, Qiao Yu impatiently asked, "Teacher, can you tell us now?"

"Young man, you speak," Elder Tao sighed. "I don't wish to dwell on such sordid matters."

"The mural did not crack naturally, nor was it caused by the impact of a stone stool," Wang Guan stated frankly without evasion. "It was an intentional act."

"Just as I suspected!" Qiao Yu exclaimed excitedly. "I knew it! Someone must have accidentally damaged the mural and, not wanting to take responsibility, staged it to look like natural decay."

"Wrong, it wasn't accidental damage," Wang Guan shook his head, frowning. "If it were unintentional, it would be one thing. But the reality is that there was a hidden agenda; it's even more despicable."

"What agenda?" Bei Ye asked, surprised.

"Art theft!"

At this moment, Elder Tao spoke up, indignation swelling in his voice. "Someone coveted the mural in the grotto and used a special chemical solution to perfectly copy it onto a thin canvas, creating a new work. This action has a specific term in the field: 'Stealing the Heavens and Swapping the Sun.'"

"But there's something even more ruthless and final. To maximize profit, while successfully making the copy, they employed 'Drawing the Fire from Under the Cauldron'—destroying the original painting outright so the copy could replace it as the authentic piece,"

Wang Guan added, his expression also filled with anger. "That chemical solution already causes immense damage to the original, but this person, blinded by greed, actually went further and destroyed the original painting—which makes them all the more hateful."

"What? Something like that happened?" Qiao Yu was stunned, then asked strangely, "If that's the case, why didn't you say anything just now? Why not call the police immediately?"

"I didn't notice at first. It was only after seeing how focused Elder Tao was on the wall that I belatedly realized..." Wang Guan explained, also sounding surprised. "Oh, right, Elder Tao, did you only discover this later too?"

"Not entirely," Elder Tao admitted calmly. "When I first looked, I also thought the mural had naturally flaked off. But when I saw how uniformly the stone skin had fractured, I suspected something was amiss."

"Natural cracks usually result in fragments of various sizes, but the fractures in this grotto were all of a similar size. It's clear someone deliberately broke it into pieces and then carelessly scattered them in a superfluous act of poor cleanup."

Elder Tao scoffed, "Did that person really think I'm old and my eyes are failing, that I wouldn't notice the color and luster of the paint were dimmer than usual? To think they could fool me like that—they vastly underestimated me."

"Elder Tao, I think it's not that he underestimated you, but that he never anticipated someone would suggest inviting you to inspect, and you would deign to agree to help," Wang Guan smiled. "Or perhaps he was too rushed and didn't tidy up carefully, forcing him to settle for this, which left flaws."

"Regardless of the reason," Elder Tao’s tone held a hint of murderous intent, "to dare destroy such a precious cultural relic is an unforgivable crime. They must be severely punished to serve as a warning."

"Yes," Qiao Yu fully agreed, then cautiously asked, "But Teacher, do you know who did this?"

Elder Tao stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at Wang Guan and asked, "What do you think?"

"Me?" Wang Guan was momentarily taken aback, then seriously considered it. After a brief period, a flash of insight hit him. "Right, who was it that said the grotto was struck by a solid stone stool?"

"Teacher said that," Qiao Yu replied with a smile, clearly joking.

"Nonsense," Elder Tao retorted without politeness. "I didn't say anything. I just threw out a bait line, trying to test the waters, not expecting someone would actually take the hook so readily."

'Ginger is indeed spicier when aged,' Wang Guan thought, filled with admiration. Elder Tao had clearly seen that the mural's damage was suspicious, yet he calmly proposed the so-called 'earthquake' theory. Whoever first agreed with it showed a guilty conscience and was the most likely suspect.

"If that's the case, then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and call the police to arrest them!" Qiao Yu clenched her fists, her face alight with eagerness. She looked as if if the police didn't make arrests, she'd go capture the culprit herself.

"Don't rush. This is only a suspicion," Elder Tao shook his head. "We lack solid evidence; alerting the snake now would be unwise. Besides, calling the police to make an arrest is the last resort..."

"Then what do you suggest, Teacher?" Qiao Yu blinked. "Are you planning to use this as leverage to threaten him into giving us half the profits?"

"You little rascal, do you think your teacher is that kind of person?" Elder Tao said with a wry smile.