Having discussed the plan for tomorrow, Jiang Yongguang prepared to say goodbye and leave.

Just before he left, Uncle Mei suddenly remembered something and pointed to the backpack on the table, saying,

"Oh, right, that batch of fake bronzes of yours sold for a full two hundred thousand. Shouldn't you take this money and turn it over to the authorities?"

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yongguang feigned ignorance and asked, "Two hundred thousand? What two hundred thousand? How come I don't know anything about this money?"

After saying that, he turned and left without looking back.

We were first stunned, and then we understood what he meant. This guy had both the rigor and solemnity of someone in public service, and the shrewdness and sophistication of an ordinary citizen.

This huge sum of money thus became our family's "legitimate income."

The night passed uneventfully.

The next day, Uncle Mei and I got up early to plan for the roundup operation in the afternoon.

Hu Wazi went out in the morning, specially to Ren Shou Tang (Benevolence and Longevity Hall) to select a group of outstanding brothers to escort us in the afternoon.

Presumably Jiang Yongguang was also preparing in advance, and would cooperate with us from the inside out to wipe out Shopkeeper Wang's tomb-robbing gang in one fell swoop.

A little after two o'clock, Uncle Mei and I went to the appointment with the precious treasure in our arms.

We took the bus to the villa area, and the two of us followed the address in the text message, heading towards the detached villa.

As soon as we entered the villa area, two familiar figures came up to us. They were the two rats who had traded with us in the antique market yesterday. When they saw us, they were enthusiastic and greeted us with smiles.

"Boss, you're right on time! Welcome, welcome!"

"Boss, did you bring the goods?"

Uncle Mei carefully revealed a corner of the jade slip wrapped in newspaper from his arms and whispered, "Why would I do business without bringing the goods? Don't worry, it's on me, safe and sound."

The two rats beamed with joy, walking ahead to lead the way, repeatedly saying, "This way, Boss! This way, please!"

Under their enthusiastic guidance, Uncle Mei and I arrived at the detached villa where Shopkeeper Wang was located.

Before entering, I quietly looked around. I saw two SUVs parked in the villa's garage, and three five-seater SUVs parked on the side of the road in front of the villa. This was clearly a posture ready for a quick getaway.

It seemed that Uncle Mei's guess was correct. Shopkeeper Wang and his gang planned to evacuate this place as soon as they got the ancient Shu jade slip, and slip away in time.

"Hmph, a dragnet has been set up outside. Let's see where you can run!"

I thought to myself, and followed Uncle Mei into the villa.

After entering, the rats took us directly to the second floor.

As I walked, I looked around and saw that there were indeed many people here.

They had a variety of appearances and body shapes, but they all carried an indelible earthy smell. There was no doubt that I had plunged headlong into a rat's nest.

While going upstairs, I not only carefully looked around, but also pricked up my ears to listen everywhere. I just wanted to figure out one thing—was Little Mei here or not.

If she had unfortunately fallen into the hands of the rats, then she was likely to be imprisoned here.

But I searched for a long time, and there wasn't a single clue. Perhaps it was true what Hu Wazi's brothers said, Little Mei was not in Shopkeeper Wang's hands.

In the blink of an eye, we reached the second floor of the villa. The short-haired rat said loudly, "Shopkeeper Wang, the seller has arrived."

As soon as we heard the three words "Shopkeeper Wang," Uncle Mei and I felt our hearts race!

The main character had arrived!

Finally, we were about to see Shopkeeper Wang's true face!

"Got it!"

Just then, a lazy voice came from a bedroom. To my surprise, Shopkeeper Wang's voice was younger than I had imagined. It sounded like the voice of a young man in his twenties or thirties.

Then a man in flannel pajamas and slippers, with disheveled hair and a cigarette in his mouth, walked out of the bedroom.

He was indeed young, looking at most in his early thirties, with a thick head of black hair and no wrinkles on his face.

"This is Shopkeeper Wang?!" I couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

I didn't expect that the person in charge of dozens of tomb raiders was actually a young man who hadn't even grown all his hair yet!

Shopkeeper Wang was slow and deliberate, perhaps because he hadn't woken up yet. He slowly took a puff of his cigarette, looked up at Uncle Mei and me, and asked, "You two are the sellers?"

Uncle Mei nodded and said, "That's right."

Shopkeeper Wang grinned and asked, "Where's the merchandise? Let me take a look."

Uncle Mei didn't rush to show the goods, but instead asked, "Where's the money? Let me take a look."

"Oh... you've got quite the temper!"

Shopkeeper Wang twitched the corner of his mouth and waved to the short-haired rat. The short-haired rat immediately took out a black backpack from the cabinet and opened the zipper to show us. It was filled with bundles of hundred-yuan bills, far more than the two hundred thousand from yesterday.

"One million, not a penny less. Don't worry, Boss!" the short-haired rat said loudly.

Uncle Mei nodded.

Shopkeeper Wang hooked his fingers at us and said, "Now can I see the goods?"

Only then did Uncle Mei take out the ancient Shu jade slip from his arms and carefully hand it to Shopkeeper Wang.

Shopkeeper Wang quickly extinguished the cigarette in his hand, carefully took the priceless treasure with both hands, gently placed it on the coffee table, unwrapped the newspaper, and began to appraise it.

While he was carefully appraising the treasure, I began to look around. I saw that the space on the second floor of the villa was not spacious. In addition to a living room, there were three rooms.

One of the rooms was Shopkeeper Wang's bedroom. I could vaguely see a long-legged woman with a buxom figure wearing a camisole nightgown lying on the bed.

Another room seemed to be a storage room for tomb-robbing tools. The door was not closed, but slightly ajar, and I could vaguely see Luoyang shovels, baskets, whirlwind shovels, ratchet hoists, and other things inside.

As for the third room, the door was tightly closed. Not only that, but there were also two tall men standing guard at the door.

As soon as I saw this room, my heart skipped a beat!

Judging from the looks of it, could there be someone imprisoned in this room?

Could it be Little Mei, whom I had been thinking about day and night?

While Shopkeeper Wang was appraising the treasure, I quietly nudged Uncle Mei with my elbow, signaling him to pay attention to the tightly locked door.

Uncle Mei apparently noticed it too, and nodded slightly at me to indicate that he understood.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Shopkeeper Wang, who was appraising the treasure, suddenly pushed the jade slip on the coffee table to the side, slammed the table, and said sharply, "Damn it, you're trying to fool me with a fake, aren't you? You two have a lot of nerve! Why don't you go out and ask around? I, Wang, have been in the antique business for so many years, when have I ever been fooled?"

Uncle Mei and I were stunned when we heard this, and our hearts were shocked.

Jiang Yongguang had clearly guaranteed that the craftsmanship of this fake was so exquisite that even experts at the museum might not be able to see through it, let alone Shopkeeper Wang.

How did he know that this ancient Shu jade slip was a fake?

But after thinking about it, I suddenly understood!

I finally understood why Shopkeeper Wang said that.