Viewing them through the glass, the volumes appeared bound in paper, densely stacked and voluminous, holding countless secrets. Chang Dong longed to gather them all and turn through them page by page, yet knew this was impractical. Zhao Guanshou suddenly said, "How about this—Miss Liu Xi, you go back first. There's still some time before our appointment; I'll take a moment to think." How quickly this had concluded? Chang Dong was somewhat surprised, though he had anticipated such a scenario: safety came first; it was better to come away empty than to risk disrupting the carefully laid plans. He should now begin to withdraw—Miss Liu Xi would make further efforts to secure a favorable outcome, and this brief interval would be his window of departure. Just as he was about to step back, he paused. He noticed one volume among the others in the case that stood out—bound in copperplate paper, with pins still fastened along the spine, clearly resembling a magazine. What was this? Chang Dong felt an unusual sense of awareness, though he couldn't quite explain it—there was a strong, unmistakable feeling that this particular volume must contain a secret, one he could not afford to miss. Chang Dong Zhao Guanshou had already stood up, and Ye Liuxi was caught off guard by the formal gesture of seeing guests off. She quickly glanced at Chang Dong, who shook his head and raised his hand to touch the eagle-vulture's wings. Ye Liuxi's scalp tingled. What was he going to do? Didn't he say he'd do it this way beforehand? How could he suddenly change course without notice? Didn't he know that opening and closing the glass display case takes time, and introduces countless variables? In that moment, Ye Liuxi truly felt she wanted to squeeze the life out of him. Damn it—she couldn't just leave him behind; she'd have to go step by step: Ye Liuxi felt her body grow warm, and suddenly reached out both hands, firmly gripping Zhao Guanshou's shoulders. Unexpectedly, what happened was that Zhao Guanshou was actually pressed back into a seated position by her force. It makes no sense. A person trained in martial arts naturally responds with defensive reflexes—she merely pressed on his shoulder, and he would instinctively generate a counterforce or release her pressure, possibly even shaking her arm off. She only intended to block him and hadn't expected the result to be so effective. Zhao Guanshou's eyes flashed with deep embarrassment and outrage. Her arms trembled continuously, her hands gripping tightly, subtly shifting Zhao Guanshou's body slightly to the side. Chang Dong, using the rhythm of her speech to mask his movements, swiftly opened the glass door, withdrew the magazine, instantly tucked it into his sleeve, smoothed out the remaining pages to avoid any telltale signs, and then closed the door, the fabric of his sleeve pulling against the glass, quickly wiping away the fingerprints left behind. If Ye Liuxi came hard, or even more out of bounds, Zhao Guanshou would have been furious already—there was an alarm button at the table corner; a simple press would have had the swift raptors outside sealing the area off instantly. But she managed her rhythm perfectly—losing composure yet remaining low-key, appearing to question while actually pleading, her voice choked and trembling, as if in distress. Zhao Guanshou found himself at a loss to object, and softened his tone: "Miss Liuxi, Jiang Zhan has been staying hidden in Black Stone City. To reach the Golden Mine, he must leave and enter the city. How about this—I’ll have the guards at Black Stone City conduct thorough checks, and I’ll also send additional personnel to the mine side..." Someone else gently tugged at his foot—Chang Dong had returned to this side. Ye Liuxi’s back was drenched in sweat. She loosened her arms, murmuring unconsciously, “Well, we can add more people—more hands make the work easier…” Today she had been unusually out of sorts. Zhao Guanshou glanced at her sideways, a touch of disdain in his mind. When she had first agreed to exchange her staff for jade with a bovine head in favor of Jiang Zhan, hadn’t she been quite stiff, even pushing back at Jiang several times? Now, upon hearing that they needed to enter the Ghost Tooth mine passage without any accompanying personnel, she was clearly losing her composure. He cleared his throat and gestured as if to step out. “Don’t worry—I’ll give this some careful thought. You go back first…” A fresh layer of sweat broke out on Ye Liuxi’s forehead. She felt as though she were being simply sent away—how would Changdong manage to proceed? It was the final step now; she might as well go all in. She grabbed the booklet on the table about the gold mine, “Is this the one I was supposed to refer to? Then I’ll take it back… By the way, is there anything else? Mr. Zhao, the more materials "She grew more and more excited, suddenly circling the table and rushing straight for the bookshelf: 'Keep looking! With all these books lining the wall, there must be several volumes about gold mines. Wait—there's writing on the glass! How exactly does one open this lock?' It was never before seen that someone would be so unorthodox—these shelves are filled with various chart books, reports, lists, and ledgers, none of which she could possibly read. Zhao Guanshou hurried after her. Chang Dong took advantage of the moment to swiftly move toward the doorway of the study. Behind him, Zhao Guanshou's patience was nearly worn out; he managed to suppress his temper and said, 'Miss Liuxi, I'll say this once more—please go back now.'... Ding Liu's task was simply to keep an eye on the study's main door. Although the study was adjacent to the living room, it was designed to remain undisturbed, and thus both spaces were spacious. Ding Liu always sat on the sofa directly facing the study door, deliberately making subtle sounds—sometimes sighing, sometimes stretching her shoulders and neck, occasionally humming a soft tune—so as not to appear restless or suspicious. The tea attendant, whose brow had furrowed into a knot several times, had tried to intervene but had ultimately held back. After all, the sound level wouldn’t disturb the study, but if she grew upset and started complaining to him, things would become difficult. Suddenly noticing movement at the door, Ding Liu’s skin tingled; she coughed loudly to alert Gao Shen, then turned and walked toward the tea attendant. The tea attendant didn’t particularly like her: “What’s up now?” Ding Liu smiled gently, her voice soft, as if aware that her request was somewhat awkward: “Mr. Zhao’s tea is truly excellent. Could you possibly pack me a few cups? As ordinary people, we rarely get to enjoy such quality tea.” "Indeed, a big forest has all sorts of birds," the tea attendant coldly glanced at her. Ding Liu returned with a cheeky smile, and at the same time cast a glance toward the study door. Chang Dong had just stepped out, rising slowly with breath held, his back to the door; he signaled to Ding Liu with a glance and, as he slowly pushed the door shut with his hand, he made sure it wouldn't make any noise when it closed... Gao Shen had also entered the room, standing not far from Chang Dong. Ding Liu, still embarrassed, continued, "After all, Mr. Zhao won't be checking the weight of the tea leaves, so just give me a little bit, please..." Her voice was soft and slightly flirtatious, and she reached out to tug at his sleeve, "Just a little bit, really..." Unexpectedly, she had gone too far. The tea attendant, growing increasingly annoyed with her, simply pushed her hand away, and as she turned, she ended up facing Chang Dong right there! Ding Liu’s mind was on fire; she almost wanted to knock the tea attendant senseless. Chang Dong didn’t have time to react—just as suddenly, he leaned to one side and firmly knocked on the door, “Liu Xi, you’ve been chatting for so long—have you come to any conclusion yet?” The tea attendant blinked: had those two people just entered? He remembered the woman entering the study, and in the living room, three people—two men and one woman, one wearing a hat and the other not. Gao Shen calmly locked eyes with the attendant, then looked up, gently placing his hat on his head, and slowly adjusted it to perfection. The door opened. Behind it, Liu Xi’s face appeared. She reached out to gently press the latch, then, without a word, smoothly returned the handle to her palm and said, “Done.” On the way back, Ding Liu was absolutely thrilled, talking nonstop. “Dong, it was so exciting! You wouldn’t believe it—I was talking to that tea attendant, and my heart was pounding!” Chang Dong smiled and reached out to take Liu Xi’s hand. She tossed him aside and looked up. In the dusk, her face was as stiff as stone. Changdong glanced around, then reminded Ding Liu, "Speak softly." Ding Liu lowered her voice, yet her emotions wouldn't subside. "It's just that the tasks assigned to me have been fewer and fewer. I've been waiting, but I haven't been given much excitement. Oh, Dongguang, and Gao Shen—he suddenly put on the little hat and made me so happy..." She turned to Gao Shen, then laughed softly, "Why are you still wearing it? You're still wearing it for me, aren't you?" Rarely did she speak to him so calmly and with such warmth, and this time her laughter was clearly directed at him. Without hesitation, Gao Shen reached up and removed the hat, offering it. Ding Liu instinctively reached out to take it, but paused halfway, then withdrew her hand. "It's not even mine. Why should I have it?" She tucked her hands into her pants pockets and walked forward with her head held high. Gao Shen held the hat, unable to hand it over or retrieve it, feeling awkward. Turning back, he saw Chang Dong gently holding Ye Liuxi’s wrist. Ye Liuxi struggled a couple of times but couldn’t free herself, and Chang Dong’s hand smoothly slid down, enclosing hers. “Was it his own words when he said he no longer had the hearing or sight as before?” Ahu felt a bit embarrassed. “No… not exactly. We deduced it. Mr. Zhao is very self-assured—he doesn’t tolerate criticism, especially not about his skills. After all, he’s the head of the Yulin Guard.” As she spoke, her voice grew quieter and she glanced nervously toward the door. “Then, why do you think his hearing and sight have declined?” Ahu stammered. “Well, he’s always surrounded by people. Over time, those around him begin to notice subtle changes… Miss Liuxi, don’t ask me—this is something I heard from others.” Ye Liuxi didn’t press further. The Hu Yang City had been battered by sandstorms—she had lost most of her memory. And the so-called Lady Long was reportedly seriously ill. Could an old man like Zhao Guanshou really have only experienced a gradual decline in hearing and vision? She couldn’t help but look at her own hands. At the very moment when she had pushed Mr. Zhao down, he truly seemed… completely powerless. — Though she was eager to know what Chang Dong had discovered beneath the table and what he had pulled out from the bookshelf, Ye Liuxi managed to keep her eyes on Chang Dong, avoid looking at him, asking him, or speaking to him. After dinner, she went to wash up on her own, returned to her room, and slammed the door shut with a loud sound, habitually reaching out to relock it. As her hand touched the lock handle, she withdrew it again, staring at the handle for a long time. Clearly, Chang Dong would come to apologize tonight—he wouldn’t come if he didn’t. And if he did come, she’d have to get out of bed to open the door, which would be a bother. Ye Liuxi gave him a cold sniff, leaving the door ajar. Once in bed, she pulled the blanket over herself and flipped through the atlas on the gold mine. Zhao Senior had said it could be referenced, but that "the significance wasn’t very great." It was rare indeed that he had spoken honestly—this atlas showed the general outline of the gold mine, the water sources, the mountain access paths, the refining sheds, and a series of tools used within the mine, yet it contained absolutely Everything Jiang Zhan had arranged was surely within the mine tunnels. She tuned her ears to the sounds outside—first a bustling chatter, with voices constantly speaking, then gradually quieting down, growing dull and monotonous... Finally, a soft knock came from the door. Ye Liuxi bit her lower lip and slowly turned the page, as if she hadn’t heard it at all. A moment later, the latch clicked softly, and Chang Dong entered, closing the door gently behind him and calling, "Liuxi." In her heart, Ye Liuxi thought: "I still call you Liudong." She closed the folio and rolled it neatly into a scroll in her palm. Chang Dong approached, still a few meters away from the bed when Ye Liuxi suddenly flipped over and sat up, raising her hand to toss the folio toward him— Chang Dong instinctively raised his hand to block it. But Ye Liuxi didn’t throw it. She gave a cold laugh. "Just stand there. Don’t move. Don’t block. Especially don’t block your face." Chang Dong lowered his hand. Ye Liuxi fixed her gaze on his face. Then