The next morning, Li Yan had breakfast with Hai Fu, then took his leave.

"It’s Saturday today, do you have any plans? There are so many blockbuster movies, why don’t we go watch one together, just the two of us? You can also get an idea about the movie trends." Hai Fu grabbed him.

If it were a regular day, Li Yan might have stayed, but there’s an antique auction tonight that he has to attend. The lawyer, Zheng Yixuan, also has an invitation, and Li Yan will accompany him inside tonight. However, hearing what Chen Junwei said yesterday, all the artifacts will arrive at the venue before the auction. Will they wait until after the auction to act? If they move before the auction, arriving as guests is too late.

Therefore, he feels that collaborating with Chen Junwei might be meaningful.

"Originally, there was no problem, but..." Li Yan said with a smile.

"But what?"

"But you forgot that Wen Qianyi asked you to drink last night? If she sees me here, last night’s event will definitely reveal the true story." Li Yan gave a reason that made Hai Fu a bit embarrassed.

Hai Fu thought for a moment and earnestly said, "Alright, then you go ahead."

Li Yan gave a thumbs-up.

After saying goodbye to Hai Fu, he carefully left through the stairs.

After driving off, Li Yan found a place to fill up the tank and then dialed the number that Chen Junwei had called from last night.

"I knew you weren’t that kind of person!" Chen Junwei seemed quite excited at Li Yan’s call, as if he had expected Li Yan to reach out.

"I contacted you...to find out, if I help you, how can you get me in? Don’t blame me for being blunt, you’re just a janitor, not qualified to bring me into such an important venue, right?" Li Yan directly pointed out the key issue.

Chen Junwei promptly said, "That’s easy, just come over, I’ll get you my uniform, and you can stay in the bathroom cleaning all the time."

"I swear! You want me to clean bathrooms?" Li Yan felt conflicted.

Chen Junwei seemed to understand his dilemma: "Actually, it’s fine. Generally, who would care about a janitor? Plus surveillance equipment can’t monitor bathrooms, so it’s actually the safest place. I’ve never had any problems before. We’ve cooperated twice, I’m sure this time will be fine!"

Though somewhat repulsed by the idea, Li Yan considered that disguising as a janitor wasn’t too bad for achieving his goal. He didn’t care if the ’Rose’ group would steal the antiques, he was interested in the ancient guqin and mysterious stone that Sonia mentioned!

Frankly, he was keen on doing a double-cross, refusing to cooperate with the ’Rose’ group. He didn’t need to fence that stone, nor worry about selling stolen goods, just seize the opportunity.

"Alright, I can agree to clean the bathroom once. But...aren’t you worried I might be the third group?" Li Yan recalled that he mentioned discovering two groups yesterday.

Chen Junwei chuckled, "I sense you’re someone who views money as dirt, I trust you!"

"I’ll call you when I come over."

Money as dirt? Li Yan sneered, people these days are desperate for dirt to turn into money! You trust me? Just don’t set me up!

...

After the call, Li Yan drove to Zheng Yixuan’s place.

"Are you ready? Sure you’re going with me tonight, not your wife?" Zheng Yixuan joked when he saw Li Yan.

Li Yan lit a cigarette, "Please, if I don’t go and sleep at home, would you be happy to see that?"

"I wouldn’t. But I guess your father-in-law Zhang Tianyi might also attend, so your wife might return. If you go with me, it seems a bit inappropriate, right?" Zheng Yixuan eyed him.

Li Yan was slightly surprised; he had only called Zhang Yurong yesterday, discussing going back to her parents’ for dinner. He had no idea whether Zhang Tianyi would attend the antique auction or not. Recalling the afternoon call, he mentioned postponing till today; perhaps Yurong said her father was busy, potentially due to attending the auction?

Thinking further, the Zhang Family was missing quite a few antique displays; maybe his father-in-law indeed had some interest.

"So you mean, I go with them?" Li Yan initially sought him to legitimately appear at the auction venue. His relationship with Zhang Yurong was secretive; even if her father and daughter did attend the auction, appearing as a husband wasn’t convenient.

"As long as you’re there, whatever way suits you. If you think they’ll mind, going with me works too." Zheng Yixuan took out a box of cigars, tossing one to Li Yan.

"I’ll stick to smoking, save these for your charm amidst ladies!" Li Yan laughed and threw the cigar back.

They spent a moment quietly, each smoking and puffing cigars.

"What should I do? Take out the ones stealing the antiques, preserve these artifacts?" Li Yan asked calmly, his tone losing the earlier jest.

Zheng Yixuan squinted, tapping his fingertips on the chair, then slowly said, "Didn’t you say...they’re extremely dangerous? Even if I don’t ask, for your wife and father-in-law’s safety, you should take them down, right?"

Li Yan looked up at him, "Third Brother, is there something you’re hiding from me? I’ve heard two groups are after the antiques!"

Zheng Yixuan’s eyes sparkled, then he laughed, "Did Old Nine tell you, or your Queen discovered it?"

"Neither, just hearsay." Li Yan grinned lightly, "Helping but keeping secrets from me doesn’t make sense, does it?"

Zheng Yixuan chuckled, "Seventh Brother, don’t worry. Honestly, we do want these items. But this matter isn’t yours; it’s merely because you’re here, I asked for security’s sake. Your info’s correct, this originally belongs to Old Ten, you’re unfamiliar with him, likely not thinking of having him owe you a favor, so I figured it best not to tell."

Li Yan maintained a calm expression, though inside felt tumultuous.

Among these folks, besides the present "Third Brother" lawyer Zheng Yixuan, "Fourth Brother" He Bin was a CEO of a company called Mortal. Yue Yao’s concepts were conservative in this area since all funds came from ’their’ members’ risky efforts, earning would be great, but losses? Funds were stored conservatively.

Mentioned ’Old Ten,’ Li Yan was indeed unfamiliar, never having dealt with them, quite mysterious. What he knew, ’Old Ten’ was a master thief leading an international theft group.

"So that’s it. Since it’s ’Old Ten’ making moves, this batch of antiques and artifacts is certainly lost!" Li Yan chuckled.

Zheng Yixuan also smiled back at him, "Not necessarily, Old Ten’s specialty is technique. If faced with a direct confrontation, it’s not their strength. Those assassins...you should discern them, take them down, not targeting innocents, right?"

"Damn, Third Brother, you’re a seasoned lawyer advocating law’s sanctity, yet egging me on to kill? What kind of lawyer are you?" Li Yan joked and cursed.

Zheng Yixuan spread his hands, "I always uphold law’s honor in court. However, for issues law can’t resolve, alternative methods prevail."

"Honestly...I can assist, but solo taking out those assassins...haha, you’ve underestimated them; beyond the unknown count I’m aware of, those elite assassins stand unparalleled." Li Yan could help Old Ten but refused to promise, figuring he’d also exploit the chaos!

"Understood! Despite their cross-industry operation, their experience may not flourish. You could maximize your strengths...do your best!" Zheng Yixuan refrained from pushing him, yet studied Li Yan deeply, "Haha, how’d you get such details? Quite informed!"

Li Yan shrugged, "They wanted me to join their team."

Since it involved his people, he chose not to expose Chen Junwei, placing the blame on Sonia’s side.

(Thanks to yesterday’s supporters: Cavalry, Yang, Boss and my ginseng needs sweetness, Love means breaking up, dongmin8061, Bright Sea Boy, pro.Eve, Nightscape Enchanting, Love don’t bring into dust, Maple’s Leisure, Henan Bad Boy, Book Friend, Sai Clan’s Little Fish, Sea of Falling Leaves, QEfrank, Great One Master) (To be continued, For more, visit www.qidian.com, support the author for authentic readings!)