Author's Note: It’s the third watch of the night, if you still have monthly tickets, please support me. Thank you. Author: Zhu Shi

At this very moment, Wang Guan felt a stir of anticipation, his gaze fixed intently on Ouyang’s phone, hoping to hear the sound of a successful connection. Instead, to his disappointment, the waiting resulted only in a succession of busy signals.

“What’s going on?”

Seeing this, Yu Feibai was utterly perplexed. “Strange, so strange. Why would he…”

Mindful of the waiter standing nearby, Yu Feibai left his thoughts unspoken, but Wang Guan and the others understood his implication: he was wondering how Zhu Da, and the person staying in that room, had known they were coming, thus allowing them to slip away beforehand.

They were certainly avoiding them; otherwise, why leave now, precisely at this moment, rather than earlier or later? It seemed too coincidental. While many coincidences occurred in the world, they didn't believe this was one. On the contrary, they felt it was a deliberate arrangement.

At this point, Wang Guan calmed himself and turned to the waiter. “Could you check when he might have left?”

“Sir, I’m truly sorry.”

The waiter shook his head and explained, “That’s guest privacy information. We cannot disclose it casually.” The more formalized a star-rated hotel was, the more seriously it took the protection of its guests’ security. Thus, the waiter naturally rejected Wang Guan’s request outright.

Wang Guan was slightly disappointed but didn't press the issue. After all, from Ouyang’s earlier conversation, they could deduce roughly that the man had checked out shortly after their morning phone call. This time window perfectly coincided with Ouyang’s visit to Murong Guang’s residence.

Could it be that someone was monitoring Ouyang, saw Wang Guan as well, and fled upon realizing their presence? It wasn't vanity on Wang Guan’s part; the opponent’s actions gave him exactly that impression.

Regardless, without finding the person, everyone returned disappointed.

Not long after, back at Ouyang’s villa, Murong Guang saw their expressions and suddenly laughed. “What’s with the long faces? By now, you should be certain that the so-called Yongle Grand Plate is a fake. Ouyang, you weren’t cheated, you should be happy, so why the gloomy look?”

“That’s true, but the problem is…” Ouyang said mournfully, “I treated him like a friend, and yet he deceived me like this, clearly treating me like a fool. How can I possibly be happy?”

“That’s what you call knowing a person’s face but not their heart,” Murong Guang advised. “You only met him once and spoke a few times on the phone; you weren't deeply acquainted. Being tricked is normal.”

“Hey, is that how you console someone?” Ouyang shot back, eyes wide. “It sounds suspiciously like you’re enjoying my misfortune.”

“That’s just your impression.” Murong Guang chuckled slyly, certainly not admitting anything, and quickly changed the subject. “Speaking of which, weren’t you going to treat us to dinner? Can we eat yet? My stomach is about to shrivel up.”

“Eat, eat, eat! We’ll eat right now, I’ll stuff you until you burst,” Ouyang replied irritably, but still led everyone toward the dining room.

The dishes were already prepared. At Ouyang’s command, servants carried them out, placing platter after platter onto the round table, sending up wisps of fragrant steam—they were incredibly fresh and delicious.

“Bring the wine…”

Ouyang’s declaration meant everyone was staying up to get thoroughly drunk with him that night.

And so it was. No one knew how long they drank or how they managed to return to the estate, but when they awoke the next day, it was already past noon. Wang Guan, after washing up, came out and waited while sipping millet congee. Half an hour later, Yu Feibai and Murong Guang appeared, looking listless.

“You’re fine?”

Seeing Wang Guan looking so spirited, Yu Feibai was shocked, but also intensely jealous. “Right, speaking of which, your tolerance for alcohol seems incredible. I’ve never actually seen you truly drunk.”

“It’s a natural constitution, something you can’t envy,” Wang Guan said with a sly smile, gloating over his advantage. This wasn't a natural constitution; it was the result of cheating with his ability.

Yu Feibai pouted, not in the mood to argue with Wang Guan, and picked up his spoon, slowly tasting the fragrant millet porridge. After one bowl, he felt much better, and then took another bowl, still feeling the lingering taste.

By then, Wang Guan had finished eating and asked with a light laugh, “Well, are we still going to Dunhuang today?”

According to their plan, they were supposed to visit the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang today, but seeing Yu Feibai’s weak state, Wang Guan wondered if he could endure a four to five-hour drive.

“Of course we’re going, why wouldn't we?” Yu Feibai gulped down half a bowl of millet porridge, put down his spoon, and rallied his spirits. “Since you’re driving, I’ll rest and recover in the back…” “Fine, let’s go then.” Wang Guan had no objection. The two packed up, said goodbye to Murong Guang, and drove off towards Dunhuang.

In the car, Yu Feibai was comfortably sprawled in the back seat, pretending to doze, when he suddenly asked, “Should we tell Elder Qian about yesterday?”

“I already told him just now. Elder Qian was very surprised and regretted that we found nothing,” Wang Guan sighed faintly.

“It’s not our incompetence; it’s that the enemy is too cunning. As soon as there’s the slightest disturbance, they flee instantly, quicker than rats from a gutter,” Yu Feibai comforted him. “However, it wasn't a complete waste of effort. At least we disrupted one of their deals; that counts as a victory.”

“That’s a victory with no real meaning,” Wang Guan shook his head. “If we can’t find the main culprit, and the item isn’t sold to Brother Ouyang, they can still trick someone else.”

“That’s true…”

Yu Feibai nodded and stopped talking. The main reason was that he had drunk far too much yesterday, and he was still suffering the after-effects. He decided to take another nap. After an unknown amount of time, in a drowsy state, he suddenly felt the car shaking and woke up abruptly, asking blankly, “What’s wrong?”

“It looks like a tire has been punctured,” Wang Guan frowned, immediately pulling the car over to the side of the road and stepping out to inspect it.

“No way.”

At the same time, Yu Feibai also got out, stretched languidly, and then ambled over to look. At first glance, he immediately cursed, “Who is so morally bankrupt as to scatter nails here?”

It wasn't surprising that Yu Feibai was angry; the outer layer of a car tire is very thick, and ordinary sharp stones rarely penetrate the inner tube. But there were exceptions, such as nails specifically meant for car tires. Years ago, some tire repairmen would scatter nails on the road to drum up business. But these days, such incidents were less frequent. Firstly, repairing tires didn’t earn much money, and secondly, modern cars usually have spares. Drivers aren’t fools; they’d rather change the spare themselves than let unscrupulous businesses profit.

However, they never expected this increasingly rare occurrence to happen to them. So, not only was Yu Feibai cursing, but Wang Guan was also quite angry.

“Huh, where are we?”

But just as Yu Feibai was scanning their surroundings, looking for the unscrupulous dealer to settle accounts with, he was surprised to find nothing but vast, desolate wilderness around them. Not a single person was in sight, let alone a shop that repaired cars.

“We’ve just passed Yumen City a short while ago,” Wang Guan said casually, also puzzled as to why someone would scatter nails in such a place, with no village ahead and no shop behind. Could it just be a prank?

After looking around, the two exchanged glances, unable to find the culprit, and could only sigh at their bad luck. They then dutifully opened the trunk, preparing to take out the tools to change the tire. Just then, a car sped toward them from up ahead. Wang Guan instinctively looked up and suddenly noticed the driver toss something out.

In that split second, even though Wang Guan didn't know what the person had thrown, he instinctively sensed something was wrong and subconsciously turned, grabbing Yu Feibai next to him and pulling them away.

“Boom!”

After running only a few steps, Wang Guan heard the sound of an explosion, accompanied by surging waves of heat airflow. It made him stagger, bringing Yu Feibai down with him onto the grassy verge.

At this point, both men were somewhat stunned. It took a long while before they finally regained their senses.

“Damn, what happened?”

Although conscious, Yu Feibai was confused about the situation. Looking at their car, whose trunk was now blown open, he wore an expression of utter bewilderment.

“We were attacked,” Wang Guan said, rubbing his slightly sore back. He felt no injury and gradually stabilized himself. Then, looking at the smoking wreckage of the car, he immediately dragged Yu Feibai ten or so paces away before frowning and speculating, “I suspect this is a warning, or perhaps retaliation, from Mr. Zhu Da.”

“What?”

Yu Feibai snapped to attention and his eyes widened. “Retaliation?”

“Yes!”

Wang Guan nodded gently, his emotions complex—a mix of righteous indignation and a flicker of lingering fear. If his reaction had been a fraction slower, he might not be dead, but he would certainly have been injured.

“A car doesn’t explode for no reason. A car just drove past us, and I got a relatively clear look. As the car passed, someone threw something, and then our car exploded.”

Having composed himself, Wang Guan explained, analyzing carefully. “We disrupted their plans yesterday, and today we run into this. Besides Mr. Zhu Da, I can’t think of anyone else. Otherwise, maybe you have enemies in the Northwest, and they came for you…”

“Impossible. I haven’t been to Jiuquan that many times, and every time I came, it was a quick trip in and out. I haven’t offended anyone,” Yu Feibai shook his head, then clenched his fist, saying indignantly, “It’s definitely Mr. Zhu Da, absolutely him…”

As he spoke, Yu Feibai immediately pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and then shouted into it, “Brother, save me! Your brother is being hunted right now and is about to die!”

“What’s the situation?” Yu Fang Kai had just answered the call when he heard this and was naturally confused. He hurriedly asked, “What happened to you?”

“It’s too complicated to explain right now. Just hurry over here…”

With satellite positioning, Yu Feibai gave Yu Fang Kai his exact location and reminded him, “Oh, right, tell them it’s an emergency mission or something. Don't tell Mom, so she doesn’t worry.”

“Understood. Don’t move around. I’m coming right now!”

A long time later, Yu Fang Kai arrived. He wasn't alone; he drove there with two or three other vehicles behind him, some carrying his subordinates, others carrying Murong Guang, who had heard the news, and Ouyang… (To be continued)