Chapter 15 The One-Armed Grave Robber

When we approached the SUV, I saw a figure walking towards us, silhouetted by the moonlight.

"Not bad, kid. Didn't expect you to be so righteous, willing to risk yourself for someone you just met. Gotta say, you're a stand-up guy!"

The figure said with a sneer.

He was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, one sleeve hanging empty. It was none other than the one-armed grave robber, Yang Guo.

I didn't bother with his nonsense. I shook the plastic bag in my hand, the shattered pieces of the ancient Shu jade slip making a crisp sound as they bumped against each other.

I said, "I brought the goods. Where are Old Huang and his wife?"

Yang Guo glanced at the plastic bag. It seemed to contain several pieces of jade, and they were clinking together. He said nervously, "Hey, kid, be careful! That's a priceless treasure! What? Did you break the ancient Shu jade slip?"

I snorted. "Duh! Do you know where the ancient Shu jade slip was hidden? Inside that bronze dragon skeleton in the main tomb chamber. The bronze dragon skeleton fell to the ground and shattered. How could the ancient Shu jade slip not break? What were you expecting?"

Hearing these details, Yang Guo was indeed taken in. He squinted at the plastic bag in my hand and said, "Let me examine the goods first!"

I didn't agree. Instead, I bargained, "You can examine the goods, but the goods are in my hands anyway, and I'll hand them over sooner or later. Let me see Old Huang and his wife first. I need to make sure they're both okay."

Yang Guo smiled disdainfully, squinting as he said, "Kid, I advise you to be smart. You're in no position to bargain with me right now!"

As soon as he said this, two burly men emerged from behind him. I recognized one of them as Mengzi, the sidekick he always had with him in the tomb. I hadn't seen the other one before.

Both of the burly men were carrying cleavers, which glinted coldly in the moonlight.

Yang Guo looked at me and Huwa leisurely, threatening, "If you listen to me, I don't want to cause trouble. But if you don't cooperate, don't blame me for bullying the weak."

Seeing Yang Guo's move, I wasn't flustered. Instead, I suddenly loosened my grip, and the plastic bag containing the ancient Shu jade slip fell to the ground with a thud.

Jade artifacts are inherently fragile and easily damaged, so they are usually handled with care. Throwing it directly on the ground like that startled Yang Guo, his eyes widening.

"You little bastard, what the hell are you doing? That's a priceless treasure! Be careful!"

He roared at me.

I laughed and said, "Oops, it's all my fault for being such a scaredy-cat. You frightened me so much that my hands went weak. I couldn't hold the ancient Shu jade slip, so I dropped it on the ground. Sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"You motherfucker!" Yang Guo knew I was deliberately toying with him. His forehead was bulging with veins, but he didn't dare to lose his temper. He could only glare at me.

The two sidekicks next to him wanted to attack, but I grabbed the plastic bag from the ground and sneered, "What? You want to fight? Come on! You have knives, and I have the ancient Shu jade slip. Anyway, I don't care about this treasure. I'll smash it to pieces and see who's more upset!"

As soon as I said this, Yang Guo was indeed intimidated. He was afraid of harming the treasure, so he didn't dare to act rashly.

This guy was a sly old fox, able to yield when necessary. He chuckled and said, "Little brother, don't be so angry. Young people are too impulsive. You can make any request you want. Everything can be discussed."

Then he winked at Mengzi and said, "Go, bring Old Huang and his wife over here."

Mengzi nodded, turned, went to the SUV, opened the door, and dragged Old Huang and his wife out of the car.

Soon, the pitiful couple was brought before us. Old Huang's wife was disheveled and her clothes were in disarray. Old Huang was even worse off, his face bruised and swollen. One of his legs was limping, his calf deformed. It looked like his leg had been broken!

Their mouths were taped shut, and they couldn't speak.

Yang Guo pointed at them and said to me, "Little brother, what do you think? I brought the people to you. They're all alive. You can rest assured."

Seeing the two people's miserable state, I felt a fire burning inside me. I said loudly, "Yang Guo, you're a real bastard! Look at how you've tormented this couple! What happened to Old Huang's leg? Did you break it?"

Yang Guo chuckled, shamelessly saying, "You can't blame me for that. You can only blame him. I warned him a long time ago that if he dared to run away, I would break his leg. But that guy didn't believe me. He actually managed to grind through the ropes and tried to escape. I'm a man of my word. Once I say something, it's set in stone. So, I had to break his leg."

Hearing these words, Old Huang desperately "woo woo wooed," seemingly protesting or cursing Yang Guo.

Yang Guo turned around and kicked Old Huang, cursing, "Shut up! Believe me, I'll break your other leg too!"

Seeing him bully Old Huang like this, I really wanted to rush forward and fight him.

But I knew that if I did, I wouldn't be able to save Old Huang, and I might even endanger Huwa.

I shook the ancient Shu jade slip in my hand and said, "Alright, you let them go, and I'll give you the treasure."

Yang Guo said vigilantly, "Don't rush. I need to take a look at this treasure to see if it's real. What if you try to fool me with a fake? Then wouldn't I be a sucker?"

I was quite confident in the craftsmanship of this ancient Shu jade slip, so I wasn't nervous at all.

I didn't give him the entire jade slip. Instead, I took out a fragment from the plastic bag and casually handed it over.

"I'll let you see one piece first. You'll know if it's real or fake with just one look."

Yang Guo carefully took the fragment of the ancient Shu jade slip and examined it closely.

Mengzi quickly brought over a strong flashlight and reminded, "Boss, I think this kid is clumsy and doesn't care about this treasure at all. Could it be a fake?"

But Yang Guo shook his head and said, "Young people are impetuous, unlike us. We know the value of this treasure. To tell if it's real or fake, you have to look at the quality of the jade."

This old fox was indeed an expert. He held the fragment of the ancient Shu jade slip and examined it carefully.

He looked at it for a full ten minutes before finally saying to Mengzi with satisfaction, "Did you see the color and luster of this jade? Without thousands of years of sedimentation, it would never achieve this effect. This jade slip can't be a fake. You can make its shape, but you can't make its essence."

I almost laughed out loud as I listened.

It seemed that the fake master found by the government was indeed amazing. Even a treasure appraisal expert like Yang Guo had been fooled.

At this time, Yang Guo nodded to me and said, "Little brother, I'm an honest man. I won't play games with you. This ancient Shu jade slip is indeed genuine. We have a deal."

After saying this, he actually told Mengzi to release the people, untying the ropes on Old Huang and his wife.

Yang Guo did this better than Little Wang, the shopkeeper, before. At least he didn't deliberately make things difficult for us. It was clear that he only wanted the ancient Shu jade slip. Once he had the treasure, everything would be easy to talk about.