For a full year, the two sides had been engaged in a battle of wits and cunning. Up until today, they hadn't even seen a shadow of Mr. Zhu Da, always trailing in his wake. Yet, finally seeing the real person today, even if he managed to slip away, felt like progress of a sort.

At this very moment, Wang Guan comforted himself, and his spirits lifted considerably.

"Don't look so crestfallen."

At the same time, Yu Feibai walked over, full of conviction: "He was lucky today; he managed to escape a scrape. But luck runs out eventually. As long as we learn our lessons and press the pursuit relentlessly, we'll catch him sooner or later."

"Mmm."

Wang Guan nodded lightly, but couldn't help sighing, "It's just a pity. Such a fine opportunity, only to fall short at the very end. It’s a bit like trying to catch sand; the tighter you grip, the faster it slips away."

"It’s good that you realize that," Yu Feibai said casually. "We are in the open, while Mr. Zhu Da is in the shadows, so it's normal for us to suffer some setbacks. However, we also possess a distinct advantage that he cannot match."

"What advantage?" Wang Guan was quite curious.

"Youth," Yu Feibai stated as a matter of course. "We are decades younger than him. Even if we never manage to catch him, time is his greatest enemy. Time flies; we don't even need to lift a finger—we can simply outlive him."

Wang Guan couldn't help but laugh, admitting that Yu Feibai made a valid point. It was akin to Huang Shang in Jin Yong's novels, the creator of the Nine Yin Manual. He spent decades crafting this divine technique, only to emerge from seclusion years later to find all his old enemies had died off. That’s why some people believe the most powerful technique in the world isn't some domineering martial art, but the art of longevity.

The enemy dies while you live—that is the greatest victory.

Amidst their casual talk, the yacht passed through the Penghu Islands. Wang Guan took the opportunity to go ashore, check out of the hotel, retrieve his luggage, and then they continued their journey. As for Mo You, whether he was Mr. Zhu Da's accomplice or not, since he was a well-known painter in Taiwan, they couldn't simply take him away; he had to be left under the surveillance of Old Qian’s men.

The rest of the journey was smooth, without any unexpected incidents, and they reached the coast near Fujian Province without a hitch. At the same time, Gao Zhuang was waiting there for quite some time in his larger vessel.

What happened next was straightforward: they switched boats. The yacht returned to Taiwan, while the large ship turned north. After another round of transfers, they arrived in Tianjin safely and soundly.

As soon as the large ship docked, someone took Meng Jian away. As for where he was being taken—to a jail to scrub floors, or somewhere else for intensive interrogation—that was no longer Wang Guan's concern.

"Brother Gao, I'll find you for drinks another time."

With a quick farewell, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai took a car away. Not long after, they returned to the grand residence and reported the situation in detail to Old Qian, reviewing their own failures.

"It's alright," Old Qian waved his hand. "Man proposes, God disposes. When you undertake something, you must put forth your utmost effort to complete it, but if you fail, that's purely an accident, unrelated to your ability."

"Don't dwell on it," Old Qian continued soothingly. "If it didn't work this time, it doesn't mean it won't work next time. It’s just a small setback; don't let it weigh on your mind."

"I don't mind it," Yu Feibai replied frankly. "I'm just worried Wang Guan won't be able to let it go and will blame himself too much."

"Who's blaming themselves?" Wang Guan retorted irritably. "I'm just pondering whether Mr. Zhu Da, having lost this deal, might harbor resentment and decide to seek revenge."

"Mmm."

Yu Feibai instantly grew vigilant. "Right, we must guard against that."

After all, they had a precedent. Back in the Northwest, simply disrupting a business deal worth tens of millions had earned them a warning. Now, this was a multi-billion deal; Mr. Zhu Da must be furious, and who knows how he might retaliate.

"That's true..."

Old Qian frowned slightly. "It's better to be safe than sorry. For the next while, neither of you should go running around. Stay put and rest up for a bit, and we'll see how things develop."

"Okay."

Wang Guan agreed immediately. Fundamentally, he was a homebody who disliked traveling. Yu Feibai, however, let out a long sigh and even offered to act as bait to draw the snake out of its hole...

"Stop messing around."

Old Qian chastised him at the right moment. "When danger is unavoidable, facing it head-on is called courage. But deliberately rushing toward a danger you could easily avoid is called foolishness."

Under Old Qian's reprimand, Yu Feibai wilted instantly, looking dejected.

Seeing this, Wang Guan kindly tried to smooth things over, casually bringing up another line of inquiry. "Old Qian, besides Mo You being a lead, Mr. Zhu Da’s daughter is also a direction for investigation. I've actually met his daughter—she's about sixteen or seventeen—I think her name was Yao Jing. I wonder if that’s her real name or an alias."

"It's likely her real name." Old Qian pondered. "Yao... I seem to recall something."

"Really?" Wang Guan's eyes lit up.

Wang Guan didn't doubt this. After all, Mr. Zhu Da was just a moniker used within the industry. In reality, after the first generation Mr. Zhu Da, subsequent generations—whether the second or third—might not even have the surname Zhu. They only used the name Mr. Zhu Da because they inherited his techniques and continued operating under that title. If Su Wenyi and others called Mr. Zhu Da 'Mr. Yao,' it was highly probable that was his real name. As for the impression Old Qian mentioned, that was easily understandable. Having participated in the crackdown on Mr. Zhu Da’s syndicate back then, it was natural for him to retain some memories of certain members.

"Let me think..."

Old Qian fell into deep thought. After a moment, he sighed helplessly. "I'm getting old, my mind isn't as sharp, and I can't recall some details. It looks like I'll have to dig up the old files from back then."

"It was over twenty years ago; it’s normal not to remember," Wang Guan and Yu Feibai said in unison to comfort him, then very tacitly changed the subject.

"How was your time in Taiwan these past few days?" Yu Feibai asked curiously. "I heard you attended another black market auction. Did you pick up anything good?"

"I actually did," Wang Guan nodded. "I bought a set of ancient books, which I plan to donate to the Palace Museum."

"Oh?"

Yu Feibai was instantly surprised. "Have you turned over a new leaf, suddenly becoming so benevolent?"

"What are you talking about? I've always been quite generous. The Palace Museum experts helped us a lot during the rare treasures exhibition; we should show some gratitude," Wang Guan chuckled. "It's better to give them something so they stop constantly eyeing my treasures."

"There it is, that’s the key," Yu Feibai scoffed, though he was also very curious. "What ancient books are you talking about?"

"Western ancient texts," Wang Guan didn't keep them in suspense. "A parchment version of the Jewish Bible."

"Pfft, I thought it was something good," Yu Feibai immediately lost interest upon hearing that.

It was Old Qian who seemed more concerned. "What period of Jewish Bible is it? Such an item does indeed hold significant academic research value. Donating it to the Palace Museum is very appropriate."

"It’s said to be from the second or third century AD," Wang Guan mentioned casually. "It seems to be written in Hebrew letters; in any case, I can’t read it..."

As he spoke, Wang Guan retrieved the item from his suitcase. It was an ancient small box, crafted from extremely hard wood and secured with a small lock. After opening it with a key, inside lay a stack of yellowed, even somewhat tattered, parchment sheets.

Yu Feibai casually picked up a piece of parchment, examined it briefly, and immediately shook his head. "Indeed, I can't understand it."

"This should be a relatively original version of the Jewish Bible, perhaps with some differences from the versions circulating today," Wang Guan smiled. "For professional scholars, this is a treasure."

The Jewish Bible, also known as the Hebrew Bible, began to be written when the prophet Moses led his people out of Egypt. It took shape over a long period of compilation, collection, copying, and translation, spanning a thousand years, and it is the most important classic work of Judaism.

However, as everyone knows, no matter what classic text it is, minor changes inevitably occur during the process of transmission—whether due to scribal errors, inadequate translation, or omitted words. Regardless of the reason, differences certainly exist between ancient and modern documents.

This is precisely why modern experts and scholars place such high value on ancient documents. For example, the bamboo slips from the pre-Qin period, the inscriptions on bronze vessels, including tadpole script, the Drum Inscriptions, and so on—these are all subjects of their research.

This isn't unique to Chinese experts; scholars worldwide are similar. Although Wang Guan didn't fully grasp what specific impetus studying the origins of ancient culture provided for modern cultural development, it didn't stop him from contributing his small part.

"I think you’re doing this purely on purpose," Yu Feibai pouted. "What 'small part'? You clearly just want to make someone else look foolish. If you think about it, the number of people in the Palace Museum who can actually decipher these characters must be very few. Even if you donate it, it’ll probably be like chicken ribs—tasteless but a waste to discard."

"Don't measure my gentlemanly intentions with your petty mind," Wang Guan shot back irritably. "I am acting purely out of goodwill, contributing my strength, and you dismiss it in one sentence."

"Hmph."

Yu Feibai sneered but didn't press the matter further.

"Actually, these things are quite good,"

At the same time, Wang Guan smiled. "This is parchment, after all. To survive for seventeen or eighteen hundred years without completely disintegrating into dust shows that the ancient people's craftsmanship in treating animal hides was already quite mature..."

"They had no choice; since paper hadn't been invented, they had to find alternative methods."

This was true. Before paper was invented, people wrote on stone, animal skins, and linen cloth. Only after papermaking technology matured did paper become the most popular medium for writing.

Of course, some people also felt that although papermaking was a source of pride for Chinese civilization, sometimes they felt paper was invented too early. Much knowledge and learning vanished directly into the long river of history after a single major fire, leading to many unsolvable mysteries. This situation was especially severe during times of war and chaos.

Almost every dynastic change brought a shift in cultural customs. However, to some extent, this is also the root of Chinese civilization's diversified development...