The train arrived.

Brother Hu and his two companions got off the train with their luggage, smiles spreading across their faces.

Zhangjiajie, their own version of San Francisco.

Here, they would begin their own gold rush dream!

Li Zhiyuan walked out of the train with a backpack, the sun outside was bright and somewhat blinding.

The disguised Yin Meng and Lin Shuyou passed by, and Li Zhiyuan gave them a slight nod. The two continued to follow Brother Hu and his companions.

According to the plan, because of the "ample funding," Brother Hu and his two rogue companions would be very enthusiastic about searching for the nonexistent village in the initial days after arriving at Zhangjiajie.

During this period, Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng don't need to do anything, just focus on accompanying.

Once the three ruffians' enthusiasm wanes and they start wanting to give up, Lin Shuyou and Yin Meng will "bait" them with pieces of information bought from locals or beggars to reignite their interest in staying in Zhangjiajie for "gold."

The whole point is to keep leading them on until Li Zhiyuan finds new concrete clues, then draw them in to complete the canal planning as the river fills.

"Grandma Zhu's last wish" and "Wanted: Tian Meihong" are classified as open routes.

The former looks back at her hometown, meaning anywhere in Zhangjiajie is her hometown, and in the end, Li Zhiyuan just needs to visit her old village to sign in.

The latter is even simpler; even if Tan Wenbin is just walking around the street or visiting night markets, he's technically undercover searching for the wanted criminal.

Thus, these two lines have high flexibility. Just put the he scrolls, photos, and the wanted poster in the bag, and all subsequent actions have a basis.

But those three rogues, being living people, needed to be watched.

One person watching is not secure enough, so another person must transition shifts and maintain contact with the group at all times.

Of course, the main concern is that Li Zhiyuan does not trust Lin Shuyou to handle a task alone.

Ah You is definitely strong enough—even without opening his face or divining, he can handle the three ruffians effortlessly, but sometimes he has brain farts.

Yin Meng was very pleased with this arrangement. She was the last one to join the team, and now she's able to lead the new young member, feeling somewhat like a senior, clearly the group leader.

After Li Zhiyuan, Tan Wenbin, and Run Sheng exited the train station, they walked a long way down the street on Run Sheng's suggestion, then entered a noodle shop in a corner and ordered ten bowls of noodles.

The reason for walking this extra distance is that Run Sheng thinks the restaurants near the train station are too expensive.

Additionally, there are a lot of black taxis near the station, and even regular taxis mostly charge flat rates, looking to take you farther.

After eating, Tan Wenbin hailed a taxi, asked about the nearby antique market, and had the driver take them there.

In Zhangjiajie, the next stage of their objective is to find the Jie family.

The antique market is a good starting point for contact.

This market often splits into an outer and an inner market.

The outer market deals with so-called genuine and fake antiques, while the inner market features special items like talisman paper, prayer objects, or cursed objects.

Most antique markets have such inner shops, usually empty, with the shopkeeper sitting inside without calling out, waiting for the knowledgeable or the needed to come in by themselves.

When they arrived, the antique market was quite large, with a construction site outside seemingly preparing for expansion into a cultural tourism street.

Inside, there were many tourists, including many foreigners, with occasional snippets of Korean heard.

The outer market wasn't worth browsing; one didn't need to distinguish genuine from fake since it was mostly handicrafts and souvenirs.

Tan Wenbin said, "Did this driver bring us to the wrong place?"

Li Zhiyuan replied, "This should be the antique market he knows."

The driver hadn't brought them to the wrong place; he just knew of only this one.

Luckily, as they sauntered around, Li Zhiyuan did spot an inner market shop.

The inner market, like the outer, is also a mix of good and bad, as many wealthy modern people gained riches accidentally and thus deeply believe in this "superstitious" stuff.

Their influx also leads to a twisted inner market—money from gullible people is money not wasted by not earning it.

After passing by three inner market shops, they found only facade decorations with no real items, until they reached the fourth shop, where Li Zhiyuan stopped, noticing two paper figures at the entrance.

Tan Wenbin and Run Sheng also spotted something unusual with the figures, as they are skilled paper craftsmen who can discern quality.

"Why don't these paper figures have eyes?" Run Sheng asked.

Li Zhiyuan replied, "These are paper figures used as tools, not just to be burned as sacrificial offerings."

Setting these two paper figures at the shop entrance demonstrated the shop's heritage.

Li Zhiyuan entered the shop, which had limited stock, barely filling the cabinets and display cases.

An old man in a blue long gown with a goatee was sitting drinking tea and didn't stand to greet the incoming guests.

On the counter were three candles, and a lantern hung from the beam.

After surveying the surroundings, Tan Wenbin approached the three candles.

The old man, seeing this, slowly put down his teacup and prepared to stand and greet them.

Tan Wenbin started lighting the candles, one, two...

One signifies a person from Jianghu, meaning a peer who understands the trade.

Two signify an equal, someone who considers themselves equal in status, able to speak peer-to-peer with the shopkeeper and those behind him.

When the second candle was lit, the old man switched to good tea leaves, preparing to brew tea.

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