Chapter 1

Turning off Jinghai Avenue, Chen Hai parked his Volvo, which had changed hands three times, outside the alley. Looking through the alley entrance, he saw that the seven or eight-meter-wide alley was shaded by the dense leaves of two rows of sycamore trees, making the light dim and murky.

This was one of the few old stone alleys preserved in the city. The old residential houses on both sides had peeling walls and severely eroded lime. The stone slabs on the ground, worn smooth by the trampling of countless people over hundreds of years, gleamed with a dark luster. Moss, weeds, and wildflowers with delicate petals grew sparsely along the walls.

Chen Hai didn't know why the other party chose such a place for the meeting and transaction. Such alleys used to be unremarkable, but city dwellers, tired of the concrete and steel skyscrapers, now appreciated the elegance and charm of these old streets. Even though it wasn't a holiday, many people were still wandering around the alley, so it couldn't be considered a secluded or hidden place.

It wasn't yet the agreed time. Chen Hai took out the squashed cigarette box from his back pocket. The few cigarettes left inside were almost broken. He muttered a curse, straightened one of the cigarettes, and after searching his body for a while, found a lighter. He lit the cigarette and took two deep puffs, which helped calm his mind a bit, as if the unease in his heart had dissipated with the rising smoke.

Chen Hai was uneasy about the transaction that would take place in half an hour.

Fat Gu said the other party had a batch of old goods from an ancient tomb excavated at a tunnel construction site and was eager to offload them. If they could close this deal, they wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. However, Chen Hai was also well aware of the risks involved. Selling old goods from ancient tombs was not something law-abiding citizens would do, and the whole thing could be a trap set by someone else.

Although Chen Hai had a small reputation in this line of work, he never claimed to be infallible. He certainly wouldn't trust Fat Gu completely just because they had known each other for four or five years. After all, Fat Gu had only had direct contact with the other party and had only brought back a few photos of the old goods.

In their line of work, if there was a chance to secure a comfortable life, even one's own parents could be sold.

Chen Hai picked up his phone from the dashboard and dialed Fat Gu's number, but it went unanswered after a few rings.

Chen Hai thought Fat Gu might be on his way. He had deliberately arrived half an hour early to drive around the alley a few times, so he could spot any suspicious activity in advance...

"What are you thinking about? Could it be me?"

Just as Chen Hai tossed the phone back onto the dashboard, a fragrant aroma wafted in from the car window. Su Qian, who had approached from behind, leaned in through the window to speak to him.

Su Qian was wearing a black lace undershirt with a low neckline. As she leaned against the car window to talk to Chen Hai, her full, white breasts pressed against the window, revealing a deep cleavage, the smooth, jade-like curve of her skin was incredibly alluring.

Chen Hai ignored Su Qian's flirtatious words and turned to look back, not seeing Fat Gu's figure. He then opened the car door and let Su Qian in. "Where's Fat Gu?"

"Why does it have to be him? Can't I handle this deal?" Su Qian's large, watery eyes stared at Chen Hai's face, and she asked in a coquettish tone, as if they were a couple flirting.

Su Qian was an extremely beautiful and charming woman. Besides her flawless features and fair, attractive face, her figure was also outstanding.

When the car door opened, Chen Hai saw Su Qian's long, shapely legs encased in tight jeans, and her full, round buttocks looked as if they were about to burst out of the jeans. He couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling an urge to touch her.

After graduating with a master's degree in archaeology from Northeastern University, Chen Hai joined the city's cultural relics bureau, where Su Qian was already working.

In his youthful arrogance, Chen Hai had once pursued Su Qian, but her shrewdness and rationality surpassed her beauty. She knew what she wanted and could be considered pragmatic. She maintained a distant, ambiguous friendship with Chen Hai but soon became the mistress of the antique dealer, Fat Gu.

The largest antique market in Nanjing was in Caochangmen, but the antique circle was not limited to the city's few antique markets. It was mainly composed of two types of people.

The first type were the sources of antique goods, controlling the supply. They were often directly connected to tomb raiders or antique forgers, or were themselves part of tomb-raiding or forgery gangs.

These people were high-risk and thus kept a low profile, rarely appearing openly in antique markets. They were the big players in the antique circle, known as "bosses."

The second type were the so-called "second bosses," the most common dealers in antique markets. They set up stalls or shops in the market, directly selling genuine or fake bronze, jade, and porcelain antiques to collectors and buyers.

Fat Gu, strictly speaking, belonged to the second category, but he had made his fortune early and owned a shop called Xiyanzhai in the Caochangmen antique market, specializing in calligraphy and bronze antiques. He had accumulated a fortune of several tens of millions.

Fat Gu had once been an employee of the city's cultural relics bureau. After making his fortune from antique dealing, he took early retirement but maintained his connections with the bureau. If he had any uncertain goods, he would ask his old colleagues to appraise them.

Through these interactions, Chen Hai and Fat Gu became quite close.

Fat Gu was known for his womanizing, having two mistresses and still indulging in extramarital affairs.

Su Qian's relationship with Fat Gu was a significant blow to Chen Hai, but he didn't distance himself from Fat Gu. Instead, he entered the antique market, using his professional knowledge and persuasive demeanor to deal in genuine or fake antiques. He also used his deep expertise in calligraphy to make minor alterations to fakes. Over the past two years, he had accumulated a substantial fortune.

Su Qian had chosen Fat Gu not only for his money but also for his resources in the antique circle. After all, Fat Gu's wealth, though considerable, was not enough to make him a major player in Nanjing. With Su Qian's conditions, she could have married a wealthy second-generation heir.

Su Qian, however, was not content with just receiving a few tens of thousands of yuan a month from Fat Gu. She soon started dealing in antiques herself. With Fat Gu's backing, she became even bolder and more unpredictable in her dealings. Over the past two years, she had accumulated a fortune several times greater than Chen Hai's, and in a few years, she might surpass Fat Gu.

Su Qian pushed back her hair and leaned over to look down the alley.

The alley entrance was on Chen Hai's side, and Su Qian, sitting in the passenger seat and slightly nearsighted, naturally leaned closer to Chen Hai.

This posture stretched out her slender waist, creating a very alluring curve with her full, round buttocks. A sliver of her waist, visible under the black lace undershirt, was smooth and white, like jade.

Chen Hai averted his gaze from Su Qian's waist and buttocks, noticing the clean, jade-like earlobe under her flowing hair, with the fine blue veins clearly visible. He took a deep breath, suppressing his inner agitation, and laughed, "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"..." Su Qian glanced at Chen Hai, challenging him, "Why don't you make a move?"

Chen Hai laughed, masking his awkwardness.

Over the past two years, he hadn't lacked for women and was no longer as naive as before. Su Qian had also given him plenty of opportunities to make a move, but he never did.

Chen Hai wasn't afraid of Fat Gu, nor did he value their so-called "friendship." He just didn't see what he would gain from a secret affair with Su Qian, beyond the physical pleasure. Could it erase the pain he had felt over the years?

He also didn't view Su Qian as a simple, vain woman. He suspected that her flirtations were a way to use him to escape Fat Gu.

Even though the pain from the past hadn't faded, and Chen Hai couldn't deny the fatal attraction Su Qian held for him, he didn't want to be a stepping stone for a woman.

"Are you also interested in this deal?" Chen Hai asked.

Su Qian was taken aback, looking at Chen Hai with confusion, as if she didn't understand his question.

Chen Hai continued, smiling nonchalantly, "Why did you come here ahead of Fat Gu? Are you worried he might cheat you? You two have seen each other naked in bed, so why be so cautious?"

A hint of panic flashed in Su Qian's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure, smiling at Chen Hai and not pulling away. Her red lips were close to Chen Hai's ear, her breath warm, "Fat Gu is probably in bed with some other woman, and I can't reach him on the phone. I was just bored and came to see if he was up to something."

"If you keep this up, I might really take you," Chen Hai said, not caring about Su Qian's and Fat Gu's schemes. He didn't delve deeper into the matter, pinched Su Qian's waist lightly, and resisted the urge to embrace her slender waist. He leaned back in his seat, missing the fleeting look of resentment in Su Qian's eyes.

At that moment, his phone rang. Chen Hai picked it up and saw it was Fat Gu.

"I'm in the alley behind you. Park the car and come over," Fat Gu said on the phone.

Chen Hai and Su Qian got out of the car and walked about a hundred meters back. They saw Fat Gu, Gu Jingzhou, poking his fat, greasy face out from a yard deep in the alley. His round face, with its triangular eyes, showed a hint of caution and unease as he waved them in.

Chen Hai and Su Qian's presence didn't bother Fat Gu, or perhaps his mind was elsewhere.

The yard was unremarkable, with an old wooden door whose paint had almost completely peeled off, leaving marks of rain and time. The slippery threshold stone had been worn down.

Two lush loquat trees grew in the yard, casting dim light. About a dozen people were already waiting, their faces hesitant, clearly not expecting the other party to contact so many buyers.

Chen Hai's heart sank as he looked at Fat Gu, "Why are there so many people? Where are the goods?"

Fat Gu shrugged helplessly, pointing to a middle-aged man in a dark gray jacket standing under a tree. "This is Boss Zhou. He's worried that a few people won't be able to handle his goods, and they're eager to offload them, so he invited three groups. I don't know where the goods are."

The middle-aged man was unremarkable, about 1.7 meters tall, and looked somewhat thin. He wore glasses with heavily worn frames and thick lenses, indicating severe myopia. His jacket was covered in dirt, making him look like a technician from a construction site.

He claimed the old goods were excavated from a tunnel construction site in another province. Since the excavation was done at night, the construction team responsible had moved the goods and then covered the site to avoid detection...

The construction site's foundation work was now complete, so the news of the ancient tomb had not leaked.

This could be a fabricated story, and someone in the crowd asked, annoyed, "Are we supposed to follow him wherever he says?"

They were all from the same circle, and Chen Hai recognized most of them. He knew he was the least wealthy among them, far behind Su Qian.

Who with a few tens of millions would follow a stranger without knowing their intentions?

Seeing the other party's evasiveness, most people, including Chen Hai and Su Qian, were ready to leave.

"I brought two items. You can look at them first before deciding whether to see the rest," the middle-aged man said in a deep voice.

Chen Hai, being the least wealthy, didn't have much to lose. He stood back and watched how Fat Gu and the others would decide, curious to see what the unremarkable middle-aged man could produce to make so many seasoned dealers willing to take the risk.