Could it be that the Qian Liu's Tomb in Lin'an City is actually a decoy, and the real Qian Liu's Tomb has already been looted?

If not, how did Qian Liu's Treasure Sword end up out in the open?

Chen Yiyang thought for a moment and dialed the number given in the intel.

"Hello?" A voice came through deliberately low.

"You've got a Qian Liu's Treasure Sword, right? How much are you planning to sell it for?"

"You must be someone introduced from inside the circle," the other side whispered, "We are indeed planning to sell. But something has changed. If you're available, can we meet somewhere to discuss?"

"Alright, you choose the place," Chen Yiyang agreed with a nod.

The other party quickly named a location.

Chen Yiyang glanced at it and realized it was a small restaurant in a narrow alley in a village within the city.

This place is too remote.

Chen Yiyang replied, "The place you've chosen doesn't feel safe to me."

"So where would you like to meet?" the other party asked.

Chen Yiyang picked a mid-range restaurant he had been to before and told the other party.

"No, we won't go there," the other side disagreed this time.

The situation became tense for a moment.

Chen Yiyang could see that the other side wanted a place with high foot traffic, complex terrain, and which was off the beaten path.

He realized then that the other party was likely the direct seller, or even possibly the tomb raider himself.

So Chen Yiyang looked at the map.

He found a University City nearby, with a place called Garbage Street within it.

It's a street with dining and lodging options, serving the nearby university students, so it has a high volume of pedestrians, and many shops and houses.

Chen Yiyang asked if they could meet there.

The other party looked it over and also found the place suitable, so they casually picked a roadside shop in Garbage Street and settled on meeting there for talks.

Having agreed on the location and time for the meeting with the other party.

Initially, Chen Yiyang considered borrowing a few strong young men from Luo Yuncheng's office to accompany him.

But after thinking it over, he still felt it wasn't safe enough.

So he directly called Yang Chengru and explained the situation.

Yang Chengru thought for a moment and took advantage of his personal connections to contact their district's police station, arranging for an officer to accompany Chen Yiyang to the meeting.

That evening, Chen Yiyang met the officer.

"Hello, Mr. Chen." The officer greeted Chen Yiyang coolly.

"How should I address you?" Chen Yiyang inquired.

"Just call me Xiao Chen," Officer Chen said and emphasized, "I took leave out today, so it's not office hours, just call me as you please."

This explanation clarified for Chen Yiyang why Officer Chen was so aloof.

It turned out Yang Chengru had given the police station a heads-up. The station chief thought this was some bigshot wanting to show off power. Wary of any procedural irregularities from officially assigning an officer during work hours to accompany Chen Yiyang,

they simply asked an officer to take leave and accompany Chen Yiyang on personal time.

This way there were no procedural issues.

Unfortunately, poor Officer Chen, with not much leave at hand, had to take a day off just to accompany Chen Yiyang.

Inwardly, Chen Yiyang could only murmur an apology.

Then Chen Yiyang had the driver take him and Officer Chen to Garbage Street in University City.

Inside a private room at a small restaurant, Chen Yiyang met the other party.

The other party had three people in total, all looking like manual laborers, with tanned and rough skin, appearing at least five to six years older than their actual age.

"I'm the one who contacted you on the phone," Chen Yiyang initiated, shaking hands with the counterpart.

"And who is this?" they pointed at Officer Chen.

"The driver I hired, used to be in the military."

"Oh." They had no doubt, since big bosses usually prefer ex-servicemen as drivers.

"My surname is Li, I seem older than you, just call me Old Li."

The leader of the three invited Chen Yiyang and Officer Chen to sit.

And then they started the conversation.

"Can I take a look at the item first?" Chen Yiyang asked after sitting down.

The other party gestured, placing a long, fabric-wrapped package in front of Chen Yiyang.

Chen Yiyang carefully uncovered it to have a close look.

It was indeed a Treasure Sword forged during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

Due to long-term burial within the tomb, it was still fairly well-preserved.

Having picked up many a bargain, Chen Yiyang had gained some appraisal skills.

He judged that this Treasure Sword had likely been looted from the tomb about a year ago.

"What's the price?" Chen Yiyang asked.

"For this sword, ten million," Old Li held up a finger.

"Too expensive," Chen Yiyang said calmly, "I'm buying it for private collection. This stuff can't be openly traded, nor taken abroad. I'm going to offer fifty thousand at most."

Slashing the price from ten million straight down to fifty thousand.

Chen Yiyang felt a flash of hostility in Old Li's eyes across from him.

So Chen Yiyang quickly added, "I can offer you cash, or in US Dollars, Euros, whichever you prefer. If you don't have an overseas account, I can directly wire the money to you."

With these words, the hostility in the other party's eyes dissipated in an instant.

Antiques are precious, but how to legally obtain the cash is the most important matter.

"Seems like you're quite resourceful and well-connected," Old Li probed.

Chen Yiyang said nothing, just took his phone and showed a few photos of his previous collections.

"Boss, impressive." Old Li was convinced.

In Chen Yiyang's collection, some of the best pieces could be called national treasures.

So he outright said, "Since you're so candid, and you contacted us directly within the circle,

I won't pretend anymore. What we want to sell isn't just this Treasure Sword, but also other things. A total of 175 pieces, including Qian Liu's Autumn Porcelain, golden jade belt, and the like.

If you want them all, it's eight billion altogether. Pay us in US Dollars, we plan to emigrate."

"I do have eight billion, but it'll take some time to gather. But can I see the goods first?" Chen Yiyang asked.

"You can, but you'd need to pay a deposit."

"Give me your overseas account details, and I'll transfer the money to your overseas account."

After Chen Yiyang said this, Old Li really gave him an account number.

Chen Yiyang transferred one hundred thousand US Dollars to them.

"Consider this hundred thousand US Dollars both as a deposit and as the payment for this Treasure Sword. After I inspect the other items, I'll transfer the remainder in installments."

"No problem," Old Li was quite pleased.

They had found a major buyer.

In their line of work, the biggest fear is slow inventory turnover.

Selling items one by one easily leads to information leaking and drawing police attention.

Therefore, selling all the goods at once and then emigrating is the best option.

With eight billion, living a top-tier life abroad is within reach.

So both parties happily agreed on the next meeting's time and location.

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