To call it a real-life prison break would be an exaggeration, as the tunnel didn't lead to a jail, but rather to the nearby Liang Yi Zang Museum.

For the moment, everyone except Wang Guan was rather bewildered, sensing the situation was complex but unable to articulate just how complicated.

“Oh, and there’s someone else hidden inside,” Wang Guan kindly reminded them. “If you want to catch that thief, you’d better hurry down there before he slips away.”

“Oh.” Director Huang snapped back to reality. Upon discovering the opening, he had instantly taken Wang Guan’s word as gospel. Without a second thought, he waved and led two or three men into the opening. Firstly, it was to follow orders and apprehend the person, and secondly, he was deeply curious to see where the tunnel actually led.

While Director Huang and his men were attending to their task, Pi Qiushi also walked in out of curiosity. Seeing the tunnel entrance, he couldn't help but sigh, “Good heavens, they dug a secret tunnel. Is it leading to a bank vault?”

“Probably something similar,” Wang Wang Guan replied with a smile. “It certainly wasn't just to hide a person.”

“Huh? What’s going on here?”

At this moment, Sha Qingfeng and Old Meng also entered. Noticing the hole in the room, they too wore expressions of shock.

“What else could be going on?” Pi Qiushi chuckled. “Build high walls and hoard grain, that’s what.”

“What nonsense.”

Old Meng examined it closely and then exclaimed in alarm, “Could this possibly be aimed at the bank vault?” Clearly, the moment they saw the tunnel, the situation instantly reminded everyone of similar scenarios from the movies.

“That’s hard to say,” Wang Guan said with a laugh. “But now that we’ve caught an accomplice, we’ll know for sure once the police come to interrogate him. Besides, Director Huang has already gone in to scout; we can ask him when he comes out.”

As he spoke, a siren wailed—the local police, having received the call, were rushing over. After that, it was no longer Wang Guan and his group’s affair; the police naturally took over everything.

Of course, as per protocol, Wang Guan and the others still had to give statements and perhaps receive a reward. If they wished, the police might even bestow upon them an honorary title, like 'Good Citizen.'

However, on the way to the police station, Wang Guan did not forget his small wooden box. He had paid money for the item, and he had the receipt as proof. Even if the shop owner was a criminal, that fact wouldn’t change. Moreover, the owner had sold him the box before the incident came to light, so the small wooden box couldn't be considered evidence presented in court.

Thus, when Wang Guan insisted on taking the wooden box, the police officer responsible for sealing the shop for evidence collection merely glanced at it, didn't deem the box important, and let him pass without questioning.

Seeing this, Pi Qiushi couldn’t help but laugh, “Brother, you really can’t bear to part with those thirty thousand yuan, can you?”

“Naturally,” Wang Guan smiled. Since there were many people around, he had no intention of explaining, merely chuckling, “I haven’t gained much from this trip to Hong Kong, so I need to take something else to make up the count.”

“And you call that not much of a haul?” Instantly, Sha Qingfeng and Old Meng felt like rolling their eyes.

First the Ge Kiln miniature censer, then the peerless sword Gongbu—either one was a treasure an ordinary person could only dream of. Yet Wang Guan had acquired both in one go and was still dissatisfied. He was clearly fishing for criticism.

“Purely in terms of quantity, it’s indeed not much,” Pi Qiushi also shook his head. “But quality is the key. One of your items is worth hundreds of others combined.”

“Exactly…”

Amidst the subtle reprimand from the three, they arrived at the police station and gave simple statements to the officers. Before the statements were even complete, Mr. Feng arrived, having heard the news. He had no choice but to come, as this matter was far from trivial.

When he first received Director Huang’s call, Mr. Feng had some lingering doubts. Thus, before rushing to the police station, he made a special trip to the antique shop to observe and confirm. He even ventured into the tunnel himself to experience it, only then becoming fully convinced.

Arriving at the station, after getting an update on the case progress, Mr. Feng hurried over to Wang Guan and the others, shaking everyone’s hand warmly, expressing immense gratitude: “Thank you, thank you all so much.”

“Mr. Feng is too kind; we didn’t do much, we dare not take credit…”

Old Meng and Sha Qingfeng hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation yet. After all, the police were just taking statements, asking about the sequence of events, and hadn't disclosed the specific details about the tunnel. Therefore, they were unaware of how great a favor this was to Mr. Feng.

They didn't know, but Wang Guan was perfectly aware. He smiled faintly and said, “Mr. Feng, this has nothing to do with you, and you don’t need to thank us…”

Hearing this, Mr. Feng naturally paused, then saw Wang Guan smile again: “We didn't do this to help you; we did it to exact revenge for ourselves.”

“Right, very right, you said it perfectly…” Old Meng immediately laughed and nodded repeatedly. “That scoundrel dared to frame us; we definitely had to retaliate.”

“That’s right,” Sha Qingfeng agreed wholeheartedly. After being wrongly accused, and then framing Young Master Hu, only to be looked down upon by Young Master Hu in return, he had a belly full of resentment. Now that the main culprit was caught, he felt instantly relieved.

“You guys don’t know yet, do you?” At this point, Mr. Feng recovered and immediately sighed with a laugh. “Do you know where the tunnel from the antique shop leads?”

Sha Qingfeng blinked, speculating, “The bank vault?”

“Incorrect.” Mr. Feng gently shook his head and revealed the answer directly: “It leads to the Liang Yi Zang Museum. I went in just now and saw it myself. The end of the tunnel has already been dug up to the entrance position. In just a few more hours, they could have reached the museum’s interior.”

“What?”

Everyone except Wang Guan was instantly startled, finding it utterly unexpected.

“Those two were truly meticulous,” Mr. Feng sighed again. “They started planning three years ago. First, they acquired that antique shop as cover, and they didn’t work at night but chose the busiest, most bustling time of day, when the noise from traffic and crowds would mask their work. One person stood at the front of the shop attending to customers, while the other slowly dug the tunnel. They dug for three full years and were finally on the verge of success.”

“…Such perseverance.”

At this moment, only Wang Guan had the presence of mind to offer praise, though he was also somewhat puzzled. “Since they were so close to success, why did they still commit a crime at the museum? Wouldn't that be alerting the enemy?”

“That was the point—to alert the enemy.”

Mr. Feng gave a wry smile. “The two of them belong to what they call a high-IQ criminal group; they have a profound understanding of human psychology. After the commotion they caused yesterday, the museum’s security would certainly be on high alert, jumping at every sound, extremely tense, treating it as a major threat. But once the exhibition of the Jiaowei Qin ends, the security personnel are bound to let their guard down.”

“That would be the perfect time to break through and loot the museum extensively. This plan was interwoven, schemed over many years. With meticulous calculation against accidental blundering, they might actually have succeeded.”

Saying this, Mr. Feng sighed with deep feeling. “But man proposes, God disposes. Those two never anticipated being tracked by you. Even now, they can’t figure out why they inexplicably stumbled.”

“What’s so strange about that?”

Wang Guan smiled faintly. “I imagine he was in disguise when attending the auction, thinking no one would recognize him. But don't forget, we hadn't seen his real face before; we recognized him by his build. At the time, his silhouette felt very familiar, so I followed him on a hunch. There was no loss if I was wrong, and it turned out to be him…”

“This is the cycle of cause and effect, where retribution is not avoided,” Mr. Feng laughed heartily at this point. “Do you know why he went to the auction? Because the auction featured stolen goods he had acquired. After being altered, they were put up for sale through that auction house. Unexpectedly, he ran into people he had framed before, leading to the sudden collapse of a plan he had spent years preparing.”

“This… this really is karmic retribution.”

Old Meng and Pi Qiushi were deeply convinced and more or less believed it.

Wang Guan merely smiled at this, offering no comment. He simply thought it was a coincidence, having nothing to do with karma. After all, the man was lurking near the antiques street; an accidental meeting was normal. It was just that the investigators lacked the skill to track him down.

However, just because Wang Guan thought so didn’t mean Mr. Feng did. In his heart, Wang Guan was practically a lucky star. If not for Wang Guan’s discovery, his Liang Yi Zang might have suffered a devastating loss sometime later, which perhaps wouldn't have been limited to just losing three or five items.

Because he understood the theft ring’s conspiracy and the consequences if it hadn't been exposed, Mr. Feng was genuinely grateful to Wang Guan—a sincere expression of thanks. Consequently, Mr. Feng extended another invitation, hoping Wang Guan and the others would honor his home as guests, giving him an opportunity to express his gratitude.

If the previous invitation had somewhat contained an ulterior motive—aiming for Wang Guan’s Jiaowei Qin—this one was entirely sincere. Wang Guan naturally couldn't refuse and readily agreed. After all, Mr. Feng was inviting not just him, but also Pi Qiushi and the others; he had no reason to decline on their behalf.

There's no need to elaborate further on what happened next. The statements were taken, and under Mr. Feng’s guidance, they proceeded directly to his luxurious villa. Shortly after the group sat down in the hall and a servant brought tea, Wang Guan saw Curator Wang also arrive. After hearing the explanation, Curator Wang couldn’t help but express his feelings again.

“It’s truly driven by insatiable greed,” Curator Wang sighed, then added with some unease, “No, when I return, I must have people investigate around the Forbidden City area too, to prevent a similar situation from arising.”

It wasn't surprising that Curator Wang was worried; reality was often stranger than legends, making vigilance necessary.

“By the way,” Curator Wang said suddenly, his curiosity piqued, “that person went to the auction to check the results of the stolen goods being sold. What about you all? Why did you go to that auction?”