At that moment, Yu Feibai, with a sharp eye, pointed towards a figure on the opposite street and remarked casually, "What a coincidence. Qinghua, why don't you go over and say hello?"

"He seems to be waiting for a ride," Wang Guan also glanced over and immediately nodded. "If he's going our way, we could certainly give him a lift."

"Oh!"

Just then, Mr. Tan on the other side seemed to sense their gaze. As if by telepathy, he looked up and met their eyes directly, a flicker of surprise registering on his face.

Had he not noticed them, they could have pretended not to see anything and quietly slipped away. But now that they had made eye contact, leaving without a greeting would have been quite impolite. Thus, regardless of what anyone was thinking, smiles appeared on all faces, and they offered warm, friendly greetings.

"Good morning, Mr. Tan," they walked right over, greeting him with broad smiles.

"And good morning to you all," Mr. Tan said, sounding slightly curious. "Are you heading to the White Horse Temple?"

It wasn't unreasonable for Mr. Tan to guess so, as the road they were on led directly to the renowned White Horse Temple, the very first Buddhist temple established after Buddhism's introduction to China, often hailed as the 'Ancestral Court of Chinese Buddhism' or the 'Source of the Faith.' Most visitors to Luoyang, especially devout Buddhists, would naturally stop by for a visit, perhaps light a few sticks of incense and pray for good fortune.

"We might go if we have time, but right now we're heading toward Mount Mang," Tang Qinghua explained casually, then asked, "Mr. Tan, where are you off to? We’d be happy to give you a ride if it’s on the way."

"No need, no need, I can just catch a ride myself," Mr. Tan politely declined.

"So it is on the way then."

Hearing this, Yu Feibai immediately called out, "Mr. Tan, please don't be so polite. Hop in."

"...Then I must trouble you all."

Under their enthusiastic invitation, Mr. Tan couldn't refuse further and bent down to enter the spacious vehicle. It was a stretched limousine, large enough for seven or eight people without feeling cramped.

As for the bodyguards accompanying him, they could ride in another car.

"You're heading home, Elder Sir?"

As the vehicle moved forward slowly, Wang Guan smiled. "What a fine way to start the day, heading out so early."

"It's hardly a fine way to start..." Mr. Tan hesitated, unable to say more. After all, they were merely acquaintances, not close friends; he couldn't pour out everything.

Wang Guan and the others understood this perfectly and naturally avoided prying further.

"Mr. Tan, having lived in Luoyang for many years, you are quite the expert here," Wang Guan shifted the topic. "As newcomers, we aren't very familiar with the local situation. Could you enlighten us?"

The 'situation' he referred to was, of course, the antiques market.

Mr. Tan did not conceal anything regarding this matter, sighing slightly. "The situation here can be summed up in one idiom: a mix of dragons and fish. There are plenty of items, yes, but genuine pieces are rare, and truly fine items are even scarcer. I know people from outside the province assume this place is steeped in history and surely holds many treasures, so they frequently come here treasure hunting."

"Unfortunately, they don't realize this is an illusion of false prosperity."

As he spoke, Mr. Tan shook his head. "In reality, it’s the same story everywhere; the state of the entire trade is quite similar. How could Luoyang possibly be an exception? Anyone coming here hoping to strike it rich with bargains will inevitably end up deeply disappointed, perhaps even losing everything they invested."

Everyone nodded, knowing Mr. Tan wasn't lying. It wasn't that treasures didn't exist here, but they were one in a hundred, and finding one depended entirely on luck and superior eyesight.

"Of course..."

Just as Mr. Tan was about to pivot the conversation towards the positive aspects of the industry, a very melodious and bright sound emanated from his pocket—his phone was vibrating.

"Excuse me," Mr. Tan offered an apologetic smile, pulling out his phone and squinting at the screen. His expression shifted, showing a strange mix of delight and annoyance.

After a moment's hesitation, Mr. Tan answered, his voice deep. "I'm already here, yet you missed our appointment. Why are you calling now? Are you trying to trick me again..."

At this point, Wang Guan and the others realized with dawning understanding why Mr. Tan had left so early—he had a meeting.

However, judging by the situation, the meeting wasn't going well; the person he was supposed to meet hadn't shown up, causing Mr. Tan to lose patience and start heading back. Now, the caller was likely the one who stood him up, calling to apologize... Of course, speculation was speculation. Since the man was on the phone, Wang Guan and the others couldn't possibly eavesdrop; instead, they turned their gazes to look out the window. Though their eyes averted, the sounds of the conversation still reached them.

"...Change the meeting location?"

Perhaps the other party’s tone was sincere enough, as Mr. Tan eventually relented, agreeing grudgingly. "Where? The Longmen Grottoes... I understand. I'm on my way now."

After a few more words, Mr. Tan hung up abruptly, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Um... gentlemen, could you please stop the car for a moment? Something urgent has come up; I need to divert to Longmen."

"No problem, we'll take you," Wang Guan smiled. "Boss Fang, is changing course to Longmen okay?"

"It is."

For minor matters like this, Fang Mingsheng was always magnanimous and immediately instructed the driver to change direction.

"It’s too much trouble; I can go by myself. I shouldn't delay your business," Mr. Tan quickly demurred. After all, Mount Mang was to the north, while Longmen was in the southern suburbs—a distance spanning the entire city of Luoyang.

"It’s fine; we don't lose much time," Wang Guan said dismissively. "Besides, knowing Longmen's reputation, we were planning to visit anyway. This works out perfectly, killing two birds with one stone."

"Exactly," Yu Feibai agreed. "The scenery of Longmen Mountain and the Longmen Grottoes—those are world-famous sights. How could we miss them while we're here? By the way, is this Longmen the one from the legend of the carp leaping the dragon gate?"

"Not quite,"

Mr. Tan chuckled. "Many people assume so, but that's incorrect. The Longmen associated with the carp leaping the dragon gate is located in the Yellow River Gorge in the Hedong region of Jin Province, now known as Yucheng Gate. As for Luoyang's Longmen, it was anciently called Yique."

"Essentially, the area of Longmen served as the natural gateway to the south of Luoyang. With Xiangshan and Longmen Mountain flanking the river, the Yi River flows between them, looking from afar like a natural gatehouse, hence the rather evocative name Yique."

Mr. Tan explained, "However, during the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang designated Luoyang as the capital. Since the main gate of the imperial palace faced Yique, and ancient emperors styled themselves as true dragons incarnate, it was renamed Longmen, a name that has persisted to this day."

As Mr. Tan spoke, the car turned around and sped along, eventually drawing near the Longmen area.

"We're here,"

Mr. Tan quickly said, "Just stop up ahead."

"Didn't you say you were going to the Longmen Grottoes?" Wang Guan asked, smiling. "Since we're heading there too, let's just stop when we reach the site."

With Wang Guan's assent, the driver naturally drove straight across the bridge and arrived beside the Longmen Mountain Grottoes. Everyone got out, saw Mr. Tan off, and then took in the landscape before them.

At first glance, the area presented itself as tranquil, with green mountains and clear waters. However, the most striking feature was the sheer cliff faces on either side of the river, dotted with caves and niches as numerous and densely packed as a honeycomb.

"Who has been here before? Where should we begin?" Wang Guan asked with a smile. "We should just take a general look, a fleeting tour, and aim to wrap up before noon so we can return to the Mount Mang camp."

"There are many grotto statues," Fang Mingsheng chimed in. "But the most famous are the Three Buddhas of the Fengxian Temple. Wu Zetian commissioned them to create an argument supporting her ascent to the throne, but work halted with the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty..."

"The Ten Thousand Buddhas Cave and the Lotus Flower Cave certainly cannot be missed."

Fang Mingsheng, clearly a frequent visitor, knew the Longmen Grottoes inside and out. As he led them through, he spoke volubly. "But I think you should pay special attention to the Twenty Styles of Longmen."

"The Twenty Styles of Longmen?"

Yu Feibai paused in thought, then understood. "Are those the representative works of the Northern Wei stele script?"

Wei Bei (Northern Wei Stele script) is the collective term for inscriptions, cliff carvings, statues, and epitaphs carved in the Northern Dynasties period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, with the calligraphy from the Northern Wei being particularly superior in skill, displaying diverse styles—rustic and bold, steep and powerful, flowing and elegant.

In the eyes of connoisseurs, Wei Bei inherited the tradition of Han Lishu (Clerical Script) and ushered in the new style of Tang Regular Script (Kai Shu), embodying the spirit of both clerical and regular forms, laying a solid foundation for the structure and brushwork of modern Chinese characters.

The so-called Twenty Styles of Longmen refers to twenty specific inscriptions on statues from the Northern Wei period found within the Longmen Grottoes. These inscriptions are distributed in different locations and carved by different hands, but their styles are broadly similar: angular, decisive strokes, chiseled out with bold, broad cuts of an iron blade, reflecting the aesthetic tendencies of the time.

Later, through integration and absorption by master calligraphers, this formed a distinct and unique style of calligraphy, injecting immense vitality into the art of Chinese calligraphy.

As they toured, Wang Guan and the others expressed endless admiration. Although rubbings of the Twenty Styles of Longmen were available on the market, they could never compare to the direct, stunning impact of seeing the originals.

Naturally, due to time constraints, they couldn't examine all twenty pieces. They selectively observed a few of the most typical steles, then continued walking and looking, browsing the scenery superficially before preparing to leave.

"I'm not entirely satisfied,"

Yu Feibai shook his head. "We'll have to come back for a more in-depth look next time. Not just Longmen Mountain, but Xiangshan on the opposite side shouldn't be overlooked either. I heard there’s a Xiangshan Temple on Xiangshan, built by the scholar of Xiangshan, Bai Juyi, also known as Bai Letian, right?"

"He didn't build it," Fang Mingsheng, who knew the details, immediately corrected. "The Xiangshan Temple existed during the Northern Wei period. It was only in the Dàhé era of the Tang Dynasty that the temple fell into some disrepair. Bai Juyi, serving as an official here at the time, voluntarily donated funds to renovate the Xiangshan Temple and personally wrote a record of the renovation, which greatly increased the temple's fame."

"I still remember the opening line of that essay; it was written beautifully..." (To be continued)

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