"Cai Peng observed his father’s expression, and realizing something was amiss, quickly explained, “Dad, this is Brother Wang, the one you’ve been seeing often on the news…”

“Oh.”

Hearing this, Mr. Cai immediately understood; no wonder the face seemed so familiar. Even as a prominent figure, Mr. Cai kept up with the news so as not to become disconnected from society. In recent days, reports about the Xiyi Museum and Wang Guan’s photograph had appeared repeatedly in the papers and on the radio; it was hard for him to ignore.

Though somewhat surprised at how his son knew such a person, Mr. Cai was also quite pleased, proactively extending his hand and smiling, “It turns out to be Mr. Wang, my apologies for the oversight.”

“It is I who should apologize, for using Mr. Cai’s name to conduct business without prior notice. Please forgive me for my presumption,” Wang Guan replied warmly, clarifying the situation at once.

It was, after all, the truth. Cai Peng’s borrowed prestige was essentially derived from Mr. Cai. The yacht had cruised the sea for two or three days, yet no trouble had come looking for them. The fact that they managed to salvage the treasure was, ultimately, due to Mr. Cai’s influence.

Understanding this, Wang Guan naturally expressed his heartfelt gratitude. Mr. Cai, versed in social intricacies, grasped Wang Guan’s meaning with a quick turn of thought, and immediately laughed, “A mere trifle, hardly worth mentioning. Don't be so formal; since you are a friend of A’Peng, I will take the liberty of calling you nephew.”

“I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare,” Wang Guan waved his hands repeatedly. Who knew if the man was just being polite? If he pushed his luck, he might end up achieving the opposite of what he intended and annoy the elder.

“There’s no need to be strangers.”

At the right moment, Mr. Cai smiled, “Nephew, don’t stand out here in the cold. Please come inside and sit…”

As he spoke, Mr. Cai immediately barked at Cai Peng, “What are you standing there for? Leaving guests out in the wind shows no sign of proper hosting! Hurry up and prepare tea and refreshments!”

“Uh…”

Cai Peng was momentarily stunned, but quickly snapped back to attention, “I’ll go right now.”

With Mr. Cai issuing orders, Cai Peng naturally had no choice but to run errands. Meanwhile, Wang Guan and the others were warmly welcomed by Mr. Cai and slowly entered the living room of the luxurious villa. As for the Golden Ship, seven or eight burly bodyguards carefully carried it inside. After placing the Golden Ship in the center of the hall, beads of sweat appeared on the bodyguards’ foreheads, a testament to the object’s weight.

At this point, Mr. Cai, filled with curiosity, inquired, “Nephew, forgive my rudeness in asking, but how did you know there was a Golden Ship beneath the sea?”

“It all started with a painting,” Wang Guan hesitated slightly, deciding to tell the truth. Since the object had already been found, and given Mr. Cai’s wealth, he was unlikely to covet such a small fortune; it was probably pure curiosity.

Therefore, Wang Guan had no intention of lying, instead asking Tao Li to bring out the Dragon Painting and hand it over to Mr. Cai for inspection.

“Oh!”

Just as Mr. Cai spread the painting out to examine it, Cai Peng had someone bring up tea and pastries. Seeing his father scrutinizing something, Cai Peng naturally moved closer out of curiosity.

At first glance, Cai Peng exclaimed in surprise, “Dad, isn’t this the painting you hang in your study? You always cherish it and never let us touch it. Why is it brought out now?”

“What?”

In an instant, Wang Guan and the others froze, struck with profound surprise.

“Quiet,”

At the same time, Mr. Cai shot Cai Peng a look of slight annoyance. Then, a look of surprise crossed his own face, which quickly smoothed into a smile. “Nephew, don't misunderstand. But he isn't lying; there is indeed an identical painting in my study.”

“Really?”

Wang Guan was slightly astonished, “May I ask, Mr. Cai, what is the origin of your painting?”

“A clansman gave it to me. He said the painting might conceal some secret,” Mr. Cai paused briefly, also deciding to be frank. “More than thirty years ago, when I was preparing to start my own business, my clansman gifted me the painting, saying that my destiny was that of a soaring dragon in the sky, a dragon swimming in the vast ocean, and that I should strive boldly, and success would eventually come.”

“At the time, I took it as encouragement from my clansman and happily accepted the gift. But it’s strange, for whatever reason, my business dealings were extraordinarily smooth. After seven or eight years of hard work, I had indeed made a name for myself.”

As he spoke, Mr. Cai fell into recollection, “However, just as I was reaching the peak of success, I heard that my clansman had fallen seriously ill and was near death. I rushed to visit upon hearing the news. On his deathbed, my clansman finally told me that the painting was not simple; it hid a secret, and whoever could decipher it would certainly become rich overnight.”

Hearing this, Wang Guan and the others looked towards the Golden Ship, nodding in agreement, deeply convinced. An item worth hundreds of millions would undoubtedly make anyone wealthy in any country.

“My clansman was quite lucid then; he certainly wasn't speaking nonsense,”

At this point, Mr. Cai continued, “For the next twenty-plus years, I studied the painting meticulously and showed it to many people, but everyone thought the painting was ordinary—just a piece of ancient art from the mid-Qing Dynasty, nothing special.”

As he spoke, Mr. Cai said solemnly, “Nephew, you don’t know, but when I saw the painting just now, I was startled, thinking this brat had brought my painting here…”

“Dad, how could you suspect me like that?”

Hearing this, Cai Peng expressed great dissatisfaction, “Besides, you treat that painting like a treasure. When we were little, we once accidentally touched it, and you beat us badly. Since then, no one has dared to touch it, have they?”

“That was your granduncle’s relic. What if you naughty children had damaged it?” Mr. Cai’s gaze swept over them, full of authority, immediately silencing Cai Peng into meekness.

However, Wang Guan felt that the reason Mr. Cai valued the painting so highly was likely not just because it was his granduncle’s relic, and certainly not just because it hid a secret. The most probable reason was that he regarded the painting as a sort of Feng Shui talisman, something that could boost his fortune…

This was perfectly exemplified in the case of Fang Mingsheng. Wang Guan didn't know why, but it seemed the wealthier people became, the more they believed in Feng Shui and fortune-telling. And to be fair, out of billions of people in the world, only a small fraction truly become billionaires.

Setting aside the second or official generations, the process for anyone who starts a business from scratch—managing to accumulate initial capital, earning their first pot of gold, and then continuing unstoppable to become a magnate—often involves an element of chance. Many tycoons probably feel a bit mystified themselves as to how they suddenly prospered.

Once the tycoons are successful, their descendants will surely analyze their history and find countless reasons, but those are post-facto rationalizations. To the tycoons themselves, those reasons are mostly nonsense; they prefer to believe that in addition to their own diligence, their prosperity might also be due to the protection of some other mysterious force.

If you speak science to them, they will outwardly agree, but what they truly think in their hearts is hard to say.

Mr. Cai is probably the same. Perhaps twenty or thirty years ago, he still wanted to unlock the painting’s secret and get rich overnight. But by now, he certainly doesn't care about overnight wealth.

One could say that those who truly strike it rich from treasure are generally those who are poor. Imagine: which of the people ranked among the world’s wealthiest would care about some old treasure?

Of course, not caring about the painting’s secret didn't mean Mr. Cai wasn't curious, so he naturally continued to inquire, “Nephew, you said you found the Golden Ship because of a painting. Does that mean the painting really hides a clue?”

“That’s right. Not just a clue, but a sea chart,”

Since the secret was out, Wang Guan had no intention of concealing anything more and immediately smiled, “Actually, the secret of the painting, before it was known, must have seemed incredibly mysterious and hard to decipher, but once explained, it’s hardly worth mentioning.”

“Brother, don’t keep us in suspense,”

At that moment, Cai Peng asked curiously, “Hurry up and tell us, what is the secret of the painting?”

“It’s on the back.”

Wang Guan hesitated no longer, took the painting from Mr. Cai’s hand, and flipped it over, holding it up against the light. In that instant, under the sunlight, a sea chart immediately appeared on the back of the painting, the menacing skull looking somewhat terrifying.

“Ah, there really is a treasure map!”

Cai Peng exclaimed after a glance, causing Mr. Cai to pause slightly before a wry smile touched the corner of his lips.

“Indeed, the secret wasn't hard to decipher; once exposed, it is indeed nothing special,”

As he spoke, Mr. Cai sighed, “But before it was exposed, it confounded me for over twenty years.”

“An elder once told me that the difficult part isn't the secret, but the human heart,” Wang Guan chuckled lightly. “The saying goes, ‘One leaf blocks the view of Mount Tai.’ When one’s thoughts become complicated, they naturally trap themselves in a maze, unable to emerge for a long time.”

“That’s right, absolutely correct.”

Instantly, Mr. Cai was deeply convinced. He had always assumed that since it was a secret, it must be very complex—perhaps requiring some invisible ink, or hidden mechanisms within dragon scales, whiskers, or claws.

But for all his calculations, Mr. Cai never once considered that simply flipping the painting over and holding it to the light would unlock the secret. Ultimately, he had become trapped in the maze of his own making, naturally moving further and further from the truth.

“Dad…”

Feeling his father had lost face, Cai Peng quickly changed the subject, “Are these two paintings truly identical? If they aren’t exactly the same, perhaps the one in your study holds some other secret.”

“Exactly the same,” Mr. Cai stated with absolute certainty. “I’ve studied it for twenty or thirty years. If there were any difference, wouldn’t I have noticed?”

“If that’s the case, then what is the origin of the painting in our house?” Cai Peng was curious, “We know this painting is an ancestral heirloom from Sister Tao Li’s family. Does our painting also come from our granduncle’s line?”

As he spoke, Cai Peng’s expression became strange, “Brother said this treasure was left by the great pirate Cai Qian. Does that mean we actually have some connection to him?”

“Stop talking nonsense…” Mr. Cai was taken aback, then reprimanded, “Drink your tea, eat your pastries, and shut your mouth!”"