“Yes, thank you for your good intentions. It gave me an excuse to leave first. But I don’t like being kept in the dark – why did you come to the airport?”

Xia Xiaolan pressed on relentlessly.

Du Zhaohui hemmed and hawed, refusing to explain. When Xia Xiaolan threatened to get out, the driver slowly pulled over to the curb and removed his cap:

“I asked Young Master Du for help, hoping to meet with you privately.”

Only when the driver spoke did Xia Xiaolan and Pan Baohua notice him.

Xia Xiaolan belatedly realized that the driver wasn’t Hua, Du Zhaohui’s most trusted man. Pan Baohua had taken the front passenger seat but hadn’t paid much attention to the driver… he only noticed people who posed a threat. The driver seemed ordinary, without malice or menace. Pan Baohua could crush this thin middle-aged man like a chicken with one hand.

But when the driver suddenly spoke, Pan Baohua became instantly alert. This middle-aged man barely had the aura of a living person, as if hanging on by a thread, like a ghost!

Xia Xiaolan was also surprised.

Her first thought was how thin this middle-aged man was!

Second, he seemed familiar.

She hadn’t met him before – Xia Xiaolan usually had a good memory.

“Do we know each other?”

Du Zhaohui coughed twice, “Let me introduce you – this is Master Qiu.”

Master Qiu?

The antique dealer.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t understand why Master Qiu wanted to meet her.

Master Qiu managed a weak smile: “Though you don’t know me, I’ve known you for a long time. I can only meet you in such a secretive way. I’m very sorry, and also very grateful.”

What did Master Qiu have to be grateful for?

They had no connection at all.

Xia Xiaolan stared at him intently, “Who are you!”

Master Qiu covered his mouth and coughed: “I’m a coward who should have died long ago, but dared not die, clinging to life, unable to show my face in the light…”

Xia Xiaolan slowly narrowed her eyes.

“I know who you are now. You’ve described yourself accurately – indeed a coward. Though I’ve never dealt with Master Qiu, I know he’s quite capable in Hong Kong. I thought you were struggling in exile, but you’ve become such a prominent figure – I feel terrible for Grandmother Yu!”

An antique dealer wouldn’t come to meet Xia Xiaolan and say such strange things.

Only one person would appear at this moment!

Xu Zhongyi!

This Master Qiu was Xu Zhongyi!

He didn’t look much like his photograph.

Xia Xiaolan felt familiar with him because of Xu Zhongyi’s eyes, which looked like Fein’s… Combined with his strange words, that’s how she guessed!

No, it wasn’t just the eyes that resembled Fein, but also his build—

“In San Francisco, the homeless man who warned me – that was you in person?!”

Master Qiu slowly nodded, “Yes, it was me.”

He shouldn’t have appeared in Los Angeles then.

But Xia Xiaolan’s step-by-step investigation had already caught Zhang Jiadong’s attention. He had to warn her, though he didn’t need to go personally – he had his selfish motives.

Xia Xiaolan laughed bitterly:

“Well, well, well! I certainly didn’t misjudge Master Qiu. Your influence is substantial – you have your own business in Hong Kong and can freely enter and exit America, just can’t return to mainland China.”

Look at how many times more of those antiques Yuan Han sold were resold after reaching Hong Kong.

This Master Qiu couldn’t possibly be short of money.

Having his own big business in Hong Kong, yet letting his mother sweep the streets in mainland China?

Though their conversation wasn’t explicit, Pan Baohua finally understood this riddle and was shocked:

“You’re Xu Zhongyi?”

Yes, he was Xu Zhongyi.

He hadn’t used that name for many years.

He had survived under a different identity. Master Qiu showed a self-mocking smile:

“Until I’ve killed my enemy with my own hands, I have no right to use that name. Xu Zhongyi is dead, only ‘Master Qiu’ lives on.”

Pan Baohua’s ears hurt hearing this, “I’ve never met someone who calls himself ‘Master.'”

Master Qiu shook his head, “It’s not arrogance. Anyone in my position would be called ‘Master Qiu.’ It’s not a name, just a code. There can be many ‘Master Qius,’ it just happens to be my turn in this position.”

Du Zhaohui finally couldn’t help showing off:

“He means tomb raiders, just saying it fancy so others can’t understand!”

Du Zhaohui had been holding back for a long time. A gang of tomb raiders formed an organization and transformed into antique dealers in Hong Kong.

He discovered Master Qiu and others’ former identities and was invited aboard a boat for “tea.” He should have been the one threatening Master Qiu, but instead was threatened by him.

The memory still angered Du Zhaohui.

But when Master Qiu said Xia Xiaolan was in danger, he couldn’t help getting involved.

And this woman wasn’t even grateful… Du Zhaohui secretly glared at Xia Xiaolan, but when she looked at him, he felt guilty.

Master Qiu didn’t hide it:

“Emperor Wei Wu created military ranks like Grave Opening Lieutenant General and Gold Touching Inspector specifically for tomb raiding to raise military funds. Though these ranks disappeared, the names lived on. One school of tomb raiders calls themselves Grave Opening Generals. From the ‘qiu’ meaning mound to the ‘qiu’ meaning hill, it’s to avoid attention.”

In her previous life, Xia Xiaolan had never read books like “Ghost Blows Out the Light” or “Grave Robbers’ Chronicles,” otherwise she would have found Master Qiu’s explanation familiar.

But she was good at grasping key points:

“So, you became a tomb raider?”

Grandmother Yu was once a wealthy merchant’s daughter, and the Mr. Xu she married came from a scholarly family.

Xia Xiaolan could hardly believe their son had fallen to becoming a tomb raider.

Fortunately, Master Qiu shook his head, “I’ve never raided tombs. Since taking over this business, I won’t even accept goods dug from graves. It’s just a title. The name doesn’t matter. I asked Young Master Du to help bring you here to meet me, to keep you away from danger. You shouldn’t travel with Zhang Jiadong.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded in understanding:

“It seems I was never wrong about the direction – Zhang Jiadong is your enemy. Now that he’s left America, you have the best chance for revenge, which is why you couldn’t help revealing your identity to me!”

Xu Zhongyi didn’t originally look like this.

Xia Xiaolan observed. Master Qiu’s hands were still on the steering wheel, his sleeve had slipped down slightly, revealing his wrist.

There were scars on his wrist, probably from the burns back then.

So, Master Qiu was indeed Xu Zhongyi. His face was ordinary but something seemed off. Looking carefully, the hairline was uneven… Xu Zhongyi must have undergone facial reconstruction surgery, both to repair burn damage and to escape Zhang Jiadong’s pursuit.

After all, with a different face, as long as he was careful, his enemy certainly wouldn’t recognize him.

Xu Zhongyi’s words and Du Zhaohui’s additions somewhat eased Xia Xiaolan’s concerns.

Xu Zhongyi hadn’t started as “Master Qiu” – he might have taken over the previous Master Qiu’s power base, leading to his current influence. Why he couldn’t contact Grandmother Yu all these years, Xu Zhongyi didn’t need to explain to her – these words needed to come from him to Grandmother Yu!