"Heh, you seem quite composed now," Yu Feibai said with a knowing smile at the opportune moment. "But I saw clearly when you rushed over just now—you were anything but relaxed; you looked quite frantic."

"Let's switch places, you'd certainly be in a worse state than I was," Wang Guan shot back, sparing no pleasantries before asking directly, "Where is Mr. Zhu? You must have caught him, right?"

"Relax, I'm not you, letting a perfectly cooked duck fly away right to my doorstep," Yu Feibai boasted triumphantly. "The moment he arrived, I had my men seize him and tie him up tight, five ways to Sunday."

"Well done."

Wang Guan naturally didn't skimp on praise and then asked, "Where is he tied up? Take me to see him. After all, we've corresponded for so long; a proper in-person greeting is in order. Speaking of which, he's cunning as they come. When he sensed things were going south at the hotel, he bolted immediately—that speed was like a gust of wind..."

"Stop making excuses," Yu Feibai scoffed. "Failing to catch an old man speaks volumes about your incompetence."

"There were reasons, I couldn't help it..."

As they spoke, Wang Guan followed Yu Feibai into the inner cabin. Sure enough, they saw Mr. Zhu bound tightly to a chair, hands behind his back, struggling fruitlessly.

Seeing the sight, Wang Guan smiled faintly, cupped his hands, and offered a greeting. "Mr. Zhu, a pleasure to finally meet you in person. My apologies for such a rude introduction; I hope you can forgive the slight."

Mr. Zhu offered no response, his head hanging low, clearly ignoring Wang Guan entirely. Compared to Wang Guan, his current state was even more disheveled: drenched in sweat, clothes askew, his glasses nowhere in sight. His beard was tangled, and his hair was a wild mess—the scholarly demeanor completely gone.

The picture of a defeated warrior, Wang Guan mused to himself. He paid no mind to Mr. Zhu's deliberate silence. After all, as the victor, one must possess the magnanimity of a winner. Even the slightest rudeness from the vanquished should be forgiven and overlooked. Even the arrogant Yu Feibai showed no inclination to verbally abuse Mr. Zhu at this moment.

Putting aside their opposing sides, even if Mr. Zhu couldn't be called a grand master, he certainly held the status of a master. Toward someone truly capable, both men maintained a fundamental respect.

"The man is caught. Now what?"

Meanwhile, Yu Feibai quietly asked, "Should we escort him back immediately?"

"Yes, no time to waste. Let's go now."

As he spoke, Wang Guan looked around anxiously. "Right, where is Meng Jian? You didn't let him slip away, did you?"

Wang Guan distinctly remembered that the Mr. Zhu they had captured now was an escapee from over two decades ago. Even if they caught him now, letting his accomplice go could spell endless trouble down the line.

"What Meng Jian?"

However, Yu Feibai looked utterly bewildered. "Who is Meng Jian? When I brought men in to set the ambush, there were only two people manning the yacht, and both were locals. Luckily, Elder Fang arranged for a police officer to coordinate; we used the pretext of taking them to the station for statements, which is how we managed to apprehend the man so smoothly."

"What? You didn't see Meng Jian..." Wang Guan was momentarily stunned, then realization dawned. "Right, Mr. Zhu was the only one on the yacht, but where did Meng Jian disappear to?"

Wang Guan felt a surge of suspicion and naturally turned his gaze toward Mr. Zhu. In his memory, Meng Jian had used a speedboat to rendezvous with Mr. Zhu, but after the meeting, he had only focused on Mr. Zhu, completely overlooking Meng Jian. Thinking back now, Meng Jian's figure hadn't been seen since they boarded the yacht.

For a moment, Wang Guan was deeply perplexed and wanted to question Mr. Zhu immediately.

But for some unknown reason, Mr. Zhu's head was bowed even lower now, enveloped by an aura of desperate resignation.

Wang Guan sensed it, feeling a jolt of surprise, and his mind immediately urged him to look closer. When one examines things too closely, problems often reveal themselves. Looking intently, he finally spotted the issue.

"What's going on?"

Suddenly, Wang Guan's expression shifted, and he shockingly grabbed Mr. Zhu's hair.

"Wang Guan, what are you doing?"

Seeing Wang Guan's action, Yu Feibai was startled. Pulling someone's hair was extremely rude behavior in any situation. Even with their opposing stances regarding Mr. Zhu, such an act was clearly humiliating.

Yu Feibai started to intervene, but in the next second, he froze completely, jaw agape in disbelief. Because at that moment, he saw clearly: with a casual tug, Wang Guan had pulled Mr. Zhu's hair up, revealing a fuzzy clump that was a balaclava.

Underneath the head covering, there wasn't baldness, but a head of short, choppy black hair—hair full of youthful vitality that shouldn't belong to an elderly man.

Not only the hair; after ripping the head covering off, Wang Guan’s expression darkened. He then roughly forced Mr. Zhu's head upright and began feeling around his cheek, instantly tearing off tufts of gray and white beard.

Then, Wang Guan, expressionless, began rubbing Mr. Zhu's face. After a moment of scrutiny, this was no longer Mr. Zhu—it was clearly Meng Jian.

"Damn it!"

Yu Feibai immediately burst out with an oath. "It's a fake!"

"I didn't think we'd be fooled in the end," Wang Guan's expression was just as grim, utterly confused as to when Mr. Zhu and Meng Jian had switched places. A switcheroo executed right under his nose—a direct slap in the face.

As the two stood there fuming, Elder Qian and Elder Fang called them both simultaneously.

"Did you catch the person?"

The two calls hit their cell phones with virtually the same question.

While Wang Guan explained the situation to Elder Fang, Yu Feibai directly grumbled into his phone to Elder Qian: "Don't even ask. We caught someone, but it was a counterfeit. The real Mr. Zhu has probably vanished into thin air..."

"Escaped?" Elder Qian sounded surprised, then calmed himself down to ask for the precise sequence of events.

"The exact details... Wang Guan, you explain..."

Seeing that Wang Guan had finished his explanation, Yu Feibai immediately handed over the phone.

"...This whole affair is truly inexplicable," Wang Guan recounted again. "Initially, I tracked Meng Jian to the sea, watched him board the yacht, and correctly guessed he was meeting Mr. Zhu... Sure enough, Mr. Zhu came ashore and went to discuss business with Su Wenyi and the others, and after that..."

Wang Guan provided extensive detail, yet remained puzzled. "Mr. Zhu never left our sight throughout the entire process. I genuinely don't understand how they managed the switch."

"...If you can't figure it out, let Brother Fang help with the follow-up investigation."

After a moment of silence, Elder Qian commanded, "As for you two, just bring that fake—Meng Jian, right?—back here. We will figure out how to handle the rest slowly."

"Understood," Wang Guan nodded. "Then we'll head back."

After ending the call, Wang Guan sighed resignedly and waved. "Feibai, Elder Qian wants us back immediately. Make arrangements quickly to avoid any further complications."

"Got it!"

Yu Feibai shot a fierce glare at Meng Jian before heading out to prepare for the return voyage. Wang Guan stayed behind, trying to figure out how to pry some useful information from Meng Jian's lips. If he could just learn the real whereabouts of Mr. Zhu, that would be ideal.

However, before he could formulate a strategy for questioning, Meng Jian, who had been silent, suddenly looked up and spoke. "If you let me go, I can give you immense benefits."

"Oh?"

Wang Guan paused, a smile spreading across his face as he played along. "What kind of benefits?"

"Porcelain. Mr. Zhu's porcelain, precious pieces worth billions," Meng Jian's voice dripped with intense temptation. "If you release me, all of it is yours."

"That's spending someone else's money," Wang Guan retorted, curling his lip. "Those items belong to Mr. Zhu, what does it have to do with you? Besides, it's just a batch of fakes, utterly worthless..."

"Who knows?"

Meng Jian countered immediately. "How many people know those pieces are forgeries? The number of people worldwide capable of authenticating Mr. Zhu's work is minuscule. As long as we avoid them, the items are real. You should know this better than I do. When truth becomes illusion, and illusion truth, the line between them is razor-thin."

Wang Guan fell silent, offering no immediate rebuttal, because he knew Meng Jian's words held truth. Mr. Zhu's works could no longer be described as art that perfectly mimics reality; they were simply flawless, masterpieces of craftsmanship. Setting aside any question of forgery, judging solely by their inherent artistic value, they were unquestionably masterpieces of porcelain.

Of course, no matter how convincing the imitation, a fake remained a fake.

"Even if you can deceive the world, you cannot deceive your own conscience," Wang Guan said, shaking his head. "What is real is real, and what is fake is fake. Even if they are separated by a hair's breadth, in my heart, it is an impassable chasm."

At this, it was Meng Jian's turn to be speechless. He stared gloomily at Wang Guan, his expression a mixture of dejection and resentment. He certainly had cause to hate Wang Guan; if Wang Guan hadn't interfered, he would have long since retired successfully. Instead, he was now a prisoner.

Of course, Wang Guan didn't care about Meng Jian's inner turmoil, nor did he wish to pry. He himself was deeply disappointed; he had expected to catch the big fish, only to end up with a minor pawn. That sudden drop in expectation was truly disheartening.

With both men lost in their own thoughts, conversation died.

After a moment, Wang Guan decided to step outside and saw Yu Feibai directing some men to take up positions as cover. The yacht then changed course directly toward the Fujian province.

Standing on the deck, with the sea wind blowing against his face, Wang Guan felt the knot of frustration in his chest loosen slightly. Thinking it over, the effort of the last few days hadn't been entirely fruitless. After all, he should have anticipated that the elusive Mr. Zhu would not be so easily captured... (To be continued)