Tomb raiding: It all started with shocking the archaeological team.

On Yan Tianjiu's side.

Although Chen Yibai's identity has been basically confirmed.

But when Chen Yibai brought up the matter of seniority again, Yan Tianjiu's face remained ashen.

After all, Yan Tianjiu was the richest man in the world, running a business empire worth tens of billions, and a prominent figure in the domestic and international antique world. He started from scratch and, if not a great tycoon, was still the respected Ninth Master wherever he went.

But now you're actually calling this young man "young master"?

Yan Tianjiu was definitely unhappy!

Despite his displeasure, Yan Tianjiu did not show it directly.

There are many reasons for this, and the old ancestral connections are only a secondary factor.

The important thing is that it has been confirmed that Chen Yibai is a tomb raider, and he is a tomb raider who has been passed down from Chen Xiaoting. He is definitely a talent who will be of great use!

If it weren't for the fact that they were of such different generations, Yan Tianjiu would have even wanted to "recognize" Chen Yibai as a relative in person, to get closer to him and make it easier to ask for his help in the future.

But the key issue is that this generation is just too high...

"wrong!"

Yan Tianjiu seemed to suddenly realize something: "His ancestors were of the same generation as my ancestors. It's only been a little over a hundred years, how come there's a two-generation difference?"

Yan Tianjiu looked at Chen Yibai suspiciously and asked, "Captain Chen, how old are you this year? Mr. Chen Xiaoting lived in the late Qing Dynasty, which is more than a hundred years ago. How could he be your grandfather?"

Although Yan Tianjiu believed Chen Yibai's identity as a successor of the Tomb Raiders.

However, Yan Tianjiu strongly suspected that Chen Yibai was deliberately falsifying his seniority in an attempt to take advantage of him!

Yan Tianjiu's suspicions were reasonable and also within Chen Yibai's expectations.

Chen Yibai remained calm and composed, smiling gently as he said, "Speaking of which, we must mention the robust physical condition of our Chen family, who are tomb raiders. My grandfather, Chen Xiaoting, married thirty-four wives and concubines in his lifetime, fathered my father at the age of eighty-eight, and lived to the age of 119..."

“My father was born in the Republic of China era. He inherited the excellent genes and robust health of our family. He had me when he was eighty-five years old, and he only passed away a few years ago…”

You can slowly count on your fingers, and if you take the two ends, it's exactly a little over a hundred years!

Yan Tianjiu actually did the math in his head, and the timing was just right.

As for the idea of ​​a man in his eighties still being able to have a son, it sounds a bit far-fetched, but after all, men are the ones who sow the seeds. As long as they are physically strong and the soil is fertile enough, it is not impossible for a man in his eighties to still be able to carry a gun and go to the battlefield.

What's more, he's a tomb raider.

Therefore, there's really no way to discuss this matter in a short time, and it's even more impossible to verify.

Yan Tianjiu had no way to refute this, and he wanted to use this relationship to get closer to Chen Yibai and ask him for a favor, but he didn't want to acknowledge this "young master" yet...

So Yan Tianjiu's eyes darted around, and he chuckled at Chen Yibai, completely abandoning his big boss attitude. He reached for a bottle of Moutai, personally poured Chen Yibai a glass, and said with a smile, "Captain Chen, I never expected that our families would have this kind of ancestral connection. It seems our families are truly bound by fate! If you ever need anything, just tell me..."

Yan Tianjiu didn't mention the matter of seniority at all, and Chen Yibai already understood what he meant, so he didn't continue the conversation.

However, seeing how polite Yan Tianjiu was, I couldn't help but feel that he wasn't entirely innocent.

So Chen Yibai interrupted Yan Tianjiu and asked with a smile, "Mr. Yan, you invited me here today not only for dinner and tea, but there must be other things you want to discuss, right?"

Seeing that Yan Tianjiu asked so directly, and considering their relationship, Yan Tianjiu didn't beat around the bush any longer. He took out a sandalwood box from a cabinet behind him and mysteriously placed it on the table in front of Chen Yibai.

This wooden box is exactly the same as the small-leaf sandalwood box containing the high-quality replica of the "Tu Xing Ling" (a type of ancient Chinese ornament) that I saw during my live stream video call with Yan Xuefei last night.

Chen Yibai frowned curiously and carefully opened the box.

Inside was an Earth Token.

Chen Yibai wasn't sure if this small-leaf sandalwood box was the same one he'd seen in the video chat yesterday, but the Earth Token inside was definitely not the high-quality fake from yesterday.

Chen Yibai reached out and picked up the Earth Token, examining it carefully. His expression showed surprise: "This is a genuine artifact!"

The genuine Western Han Dynasty earthen talisman was only cast on one side at the time, and it is unexpected that it ended up in Yan Tianjiu's hands.

"Yes, this is the real Earth Elemental Token!"

Yan Tianjiu nodded with a meaningful smile and said, "Captain Chen, there's something else underneath the box..."

Chen Yibai also saw what was under the box Yan Tianjiu mentioned; it was a piece of cloth folded into a small square.

Chen Yibai put down the Earth Token, then carefully took out a piece of cloth, spread it out, and looked at it.

The entire piece of cloth is about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Although it is called cloth, it is actually made of leather. The surface is mottled and worn, and the edges are somewhat damaged. It is clearly an old object that has been through countless ages.

There is a painting on the cloth, or more accurately, a landscape painting. The mountains and rivers are majestic, the rivers flow straight to the sea, and there are sun, moon and stars in the sky. The brushstrokes are vigorous and powerful, and it is obvious that it is the work of a master.

However, the painting has no signature or provenance seal.

Chen Yibai frowned and stared at the painting intently for a long time.

The more Chen Yibai looked at it, the more it resembled a 'hidden character painting'!

The so-called "hidden character painting" does not mean hiding the characters in the painting, but rather hiding the meaning in the painting.

Many ancient tomb builders would first draw out the site when choosing a location to build their tomb.

Looking at the magnificent landscape in the painting, Chen Yibai felt that there must be a tomb hidden inside!

Although I only glanced at it and didn't study it carefully, so I can't be 100% sure, I'm at least 80% confident.

Before Chen Yibai could even speak, Yan Tianjiu said, "Captain Chen, can you tell where the tomb in this painting is hidden?"

hiss……

Chen Yibai gasped; it seemed he had guessed correctly.

Because hidden calligraphy and paintings are usually quite obscure, they are difficult to spot at a glance. If they are particularly obscure, one might not be able to spot them even in a lifetime without some skill.

At this moment, Chen Yibai roughly guessed that Yan Tianjiu's real purpose in inviting him today with such a grand display was to shower him with gifts in the live stream yesterday, test him with a high-quality counterfeit Earth Token, and so on.

Why is Yan Tianjiu asking this?

Is it simply out of curiosity as a collector?

Or does Yan Tianjiu have some ideas?

A company worth billions of dollars, secretly engaged in tomb raiding?

Putting aside whether they could even tell, even if they could, wouldn't telling Yan Tianjiu make them accomplices in tomb raiding?

Yan Tianjiu seemed to have guessed Chen Yibai's thoughts. He was a straightforward person and went straight to the point: "Captain Chen, this piece of cloth and the Earth Bureau scroll were unearthed in the same place, so I suspect that the scroll on this cloth contains the imperial tomb that the Earth Bureau was responsible for building during the Western Han Dynasty..."