Chapter 20

When Zhang Tianyuan returned to his residence, Xu Gang had already come back.

"How's the situation? Did the old man on the other side beat you up for taking away his granddaughter?" Zhang Tianyuan asked while putting down his luggage.

"Go to hell, the old man is fine. Do you think I'm like you, as stubborn as a wooden log? I'm quite good at flattering people." Xu Gang said with a smirk, "By the way, Mou Ying's grandfather has already transferred the final payment to your account. Check it."

"So fast!"

"The old man said that the thing you have is really a treasure, more valuable than all the things he lost before. He wants to thank you properly. Once everything here is settled, I'll take you to meet the old man. He's a very approachable person." Xu Gang explained.

Zhang Tianyuan nodded, took out his phone, and checked his account. Indeed, three million had been added, plus the one million Mou Ying had already transferred, making it a total of four million. Compared to this amount, the few thousand dollars he had in the bank before seemed almost embarrassing.

"Alright, I'll go once everything is settled here." Zhang Tianyuan had no reason to refuse. In the antiques business, though friends may not always be friends, not making friends is definitely not an option. Besides, this is Mou Ying's grandfather, so he definitely needs to meet him.

"Hey, how's it going with that Miss Liu?" Xu Gang suddenly asked.

"What do you mean, how's it going?"

"Don't play dumb. Didn't you say you wanted to pursue her?"

"I did say that, but not now. With my current status and identity, even if I really pursued her, I would only be disliked. If I really encountered a rich kid blocking my way, what could I do to compete? Rather than making a fool of myself, I might as well become stronger first. Have you heard a story?" Zhang Tianyuan asked.

"What story?"

"Once, a TV station did a program where they had a man who wasn't particularly handsome drive a Lamborghini to pick up women! The man drove the car, stopped a random woman on the street, and asked, 'Want to go for dinner?' Guess what happened?"

"Day or night?"

"Night."

"Then she must have politely refused, or even called the police," Xu Gang said confidently.

"Wrong. The woman said, 'Sure,' and got into the car without any hesitation. Later, the man asked, 'Aren't you afraid I might be a bad guy?' The woman replied, 'Impossible!' When he asked why, guess what she said?"

"Stop being mysterious. You know I'm not good with women. Just tell me the answer," Xu Gang asked eagerly, loving such gossip.

"The woman smiled and said, 'People who drive nice cars can't be bad guys, because your car is more expensive than mine!'"

"What the hell kind of logic is that?" Xu Gang was不服气 (unconvinced).

"Of course, it's nonsense, but you can't deny that rich men have a much higher chance of pursuing beautiful women. The TV crew did this experiment ten times, and only one woman refused. It turned out her husband drove a Bugatti Veyron, another rich man." Zhang Tianyuan shrugged. "So, the idea of a poor guy winning over a rich and beautiful woman is just something to watch on TV. Don't fantasize about it. If you really want to win her over, become rich and handsome!"

Xu Gang fell into deep thought.

"Don't think too much. Mou Ying is different. She values you as a person, not your money," Zhang Tianyuan said with a smile.

"That's not enough. I want my woman to live the best life possible!" Xu Gang said, clenching his teeth.

"Alright, let's work hard then. Whatever we get from selling the 'Shangyang Tie' tomorrow, we'll split it evenly. After all, it was a joint purchase, unlike the comic books." Zhang Tianyuan finished speaking and went to the bathroom.

When he came out after his shower, he saw Xu Gang searching online. All the web pages were about information related to Yunnan.

"What are you looking for?" Zhang Tianyuan was wrapped in a towel, his exposed upper body with well-defined muscles that would make women scream and men envy.

Xu Gang turned around, stunned, and exclaimed, "Damn, how did you get such great muscles? I remember you used to be as skinny as a monkey."

"Just a bit of exercise," Zhang Tianyuan didn't tell the truth, as his muscles only appeared after he mastered the earth qi. He found that one day of exercise now was equivalent to a month of exercise before, and his strength had increased significantly. Though he didn't know any legendary martial arts, with his current physique and strength, he could easily take on four or five strong men.

"Ah, you guy. Forget about your muscles. What did you ask me just now?"

"I asked what you were looking for."

"Oh, I'm looking up information about Yunnan." Xu Gang replied.

"Of course, I know what you're looking for. I asked why you're looking for that information."

"Mou Ying's company is organizing an archaeological trip to Yunnan soon. They say they've discovered a secret site of the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom. I'm worried about her going alone, so I want to accompany her. I'm looking up information, but there's nothing on the internet about the secret site they mentioned." Xu Gang scratched his head, somewhat frustrated.

"Secret site! What secret site? Hasn't the government sent specialists to check it out?"

"They did, but they never came back. So, civilian organizations have become active, and the government has tacitly allowed this. They even said that whoever finds anything, it belongs to them." Xu Gang explained.

"Probably only insiders know about it?"

"Yes, the information is tightly controlled. If I hadn't pressed Mou Ying, she wouldn't have told me. It's said that only some powerful civilian archaeological organizations and hidden tomb raiders know about it." Xu Gang lowered his voice.

"When are you going?"

"In a month."

"That gives us some time to prepare. Let's start by finding someone to manage the jade shop, and then try to find information about the secret site." Zhang Tianyuan said.

"Wait, you're going too?"

"Of course. You're worried about Mou Ying because of love, and I'm worried about you because of friendship. Is there anything wrong with that? Besides, I have a feeling that if I don't go, you won't come back." Zhang Tianyuan wasn't exaggerating. If even the government's archaeological team failed, going without special abilities would be suicide.

Zhang Tianyuan was confident because he mastered the Feng Shui Treasure Mirror, knew the six true words, and could read the wind and water, avoiding danger. If there were any troubles, he could warn everyone in time.

"You guy, you're too touching!" Xu Gang suddenly hugged Zhang Tianyuan.

"Get off, I'm not into that! Let's not worry about it today. It's time to sleep. We have to go to Baiyi Workshop and meet the experts tomorrow." Zhang Tianyuan looked at the clock on the wall; it was already 11:30 PM.

"Little guy, do you think I like that? I have a girlfriend, buddy! You should find someone soon, or you might be mistaken for a dragon yang. Don't say I didn't warn you." Xu Gang kicked Zhang Tianyuan onto the bed and went back to his own room: "See you tomorrow!"

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