Restore the Painting!

Evening, eight o'clock.

Northern suburbs, outside a different district.

Dong Xuebin got out of the taxi and called Xie Hao.

"Xiao Hao, do you know where Wei Nan's villa is?"

"Huh? Brother Dong, why are you asking that? I thought you'd gone back to the Party school."

"I've got something to do. Ask around for me—what specific compound in the northern suburbs, and which villa."

"My sister and the others have all gone back, so I'm not sure either. Oh, right, it should be No. 11 Compound. I remember my sister mentioning it once, but I don't know which building."

"Alright, thanks."

"Brother Dong, are you going to find Wei Nan?"

"Yeah. I'm going to warn him to stay away from your sister."

"Haha, he does deserve a warning. That bastard turned around and ran when my sister got into trouble. He really is a piece of work. And he keeps going to my eldest sister's place again and again—what the hell is wrong with him? Brother Dong, I support you, but go easy on him. Wei Nan can't take a beating from you."

"Why would I get Hands-on? You little brat, are you afraid the world isn't chaotic enough?"

"Damn, if you don't get Hands-on, what kind of warning is that?"

"I know what I'm doing. Alright, alright, I'm hanging up."

"Go, Brother Dong! Show him what you're made of!"

Dong Xuebin hung up with a wry smile. This Xiao Hao only ever thought about fighting and killing all day long. Well, he wasn't really qualified to criticize him—ever since Dong Xuebin entered the system, he had fought his way through it too. Putting away his phone, Dong Xuebin looked over the compounds ahead and strode forward. It took him more than ten minutes to find No. 11 Compound. It was an upscale villa district, with guards watching the entrance around the clock. Clearly, there was no getting in without a resident pass. But Dong Xuebin had his own methods.

STOP!

Time stopped!

Dong Xuebin had worked for a long time in the Ministry of State Security and the public security system, so he was naturally well versed in this sort of thing. Emerging from the shaded side, he strode past the two security guards and entered the compound. After avoiding the two cameras at the entrance, he silently said, RELEASE!

Time returned to normal!

The compound was huge, several times larger than even the Standing Committee Family Compound in the capital.

Dong Xuebin stood in the compound and looked around before circling along the left side, searching one place after another. Finally, in a spot toward the south, he found his target. It was a pitch-black villa. The main structure had long since been scorched black, and even the underground garage and lawn had not been spared. Everything was charred, making it look like ruins. Still, the building itself remained standing, and its structure appeared fairly sound.

This was the place!

This was Wei Nan's home!

Dong Xuebin swept his gaze around. There was a fair distance between the villas here, so the fire from over ten days ago had not spread to the surrounding homes. No one in the neighboring villas could notice Dong Xuebin now; they were too far away. That suited him perfectly. His eyes sharpened, and he strode toward the villa's front door. The door was shut and burned beyond recognition, with remnants left behind by fire-extinguisher spray nearby. Dong Xuebin shifted his gaze to the West Side, walked over, and climbed into the house through a shattered window.

A wave of burnt stench hit him in the face. It was awful.

Pinching his nose, Dong Xuebin quickly searched through the ash-covered Living Room—nothing. He then went upstairs and searched room by room.

Ten minutes later.

At last, a safe came into Dong Xuebin's view.

The safe stood beside a bed in a bedroom. It was a combination safe, slightly warped, with its door sawed open by an electric saw. The door hung half-open.

Dong Xuebin took a breath and walked over to pull the door open. All he saw was a layer of charcoal ash.

The black ash formed what looked roughly like the outline of a scroll. It remained clumped together rather than scattered, as if no one had touched it, and it had preserved its original shape intact. Dong Xuebin immediately grinned. He had been afraid someone might have damaged what was inside, but it had been preserved so well. Then there was no problem. As long as nothing was missing, Dong Xuebin could completely restore the painting to its original state!

Let's try it!

Hopefully it would work!

Afraid that some part of the pile of ash might be missing, Dong Xuebin did not touch it. He merely held his hand slightly above it, narrowed his eyes, and concentrated.

BACK!

One second...

Two seconds...

Three seconds...

During the days Dong Xuebin had been buried beneath the ruins, as well as the days he had spent resting, he had accumulated quite a lot of remaining time—roughly over twenty minutes. It was more than enough!

Slowly, the black ash began to gather together. Fine ash that had fallen nearby rapidly collected into the shape of the scroll as well. Its color began to change, from black to gray, then from gray to white. The melted plastic scroll rod gradually solidified too. More than ten seconds passed, and the painting scroll that had been burned to ashes suddenly became completely new again. In the blink of an eye, it returned to how it had looked over ten days ago, before it had been burned!

RELEASE!

Dong Xuebin hurriedly took the scroll out of the safe and examined it in his hands before immediately spreading it across the floor. Xu Yang's Triumphant Return of the Western Territory instantly appeared before his eyes. Perfect—there was not even the slightest bit missing from the paper. It was beautiful!

He had it!

Everything had gone smoothly!

Excited, Dong Xuebin, wearing gloves, quickly grabbed a handful of black ash from the floor and put it into the safe as a cover-up. Then he removed his gloves, tucked the painting scroll into his clothes, looked around, and quickly went downstairs. He jumped out through the same window he had entered through.

The night was dark, the wind howled.

Dong Xuebin used the same trick again, using STOP! to slip past the guards' line of sight before calmly leaving the compound.

From beginning to end, the compound remained quiet. Not a single person noticed that Dong Xuebin had ever been there.

It was getting late, and it was difficult to catch a taxi nearby, so Dong Xuebin walked about a kilometer to the road outside to wait for one, feeling extremely pleased.

Suddenly, a BMW 7 Series drove over, slowed sharply, and came to a stop in front of Dong Xuebin.

The window rolled down from inside, revealing Wei Nan's fairly handsome face. "Dong Xuebin? Heh, what are you doing here?"

Seeing him, Dong Xuebin smiled. "Do I need to report to you wherever I go?"

Wei Nan had been planning to return to the villa to take a look and arrange the upcoming construction work, so he could have someone restore it as quickly as possible. After all, it was property worth over ten million. He had not expected to spot Dong Xuebin nearby. He had never gotten over Xie Huilan, and naturally hated Dong Xuebin to the bone. If Dong hadn't butted in, Xie Huilan might well have married him by now.

Wei Nan sneered. "How's that female Boss of yours at the Auction House these days?"

The Boss of the Auction House? Dong Xuebin knew he meant Fei Yunxuan. The time he had gotten intimate with Aunt Xuan, Wei Nan had happened to see it, taken pictures with his phone, and sent them to the Yantai County Discipline Inspection Committee. It had nearly caused Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan to flip out at each other, which had eventually led to Xie Huilan being tied to a timed bomb. Dong Xuebin had never forgotten that. He hadn't expected Wei Nan to have the nerve to bring it up!

"You sure concern yourself with a lot of things," Dong Xuebin said.

Wei Nan chuckled. "Huilan's matters are my matters. I need to let her see your true colors, so she doesn't choose the wrong man."

"Then thanks for your concern. But Huilan already knew about Aunt Xuan and me. Weren't you the one who mailed her those photos?"

Wei Nan's gaze turned cold. "How much does she know?"

"She knows everything." Dong Xuebin said openly, "Let me tell you something. When a woman likes a man, she'll be incredibly tolerant. She'll accommodate him in everything and understand him. Like Huilan does with me. But if a woman doesn't like you, then even if you're just one second late for a date, she'll flip out on you and say it's because your feelings aren't deep enough." As he said this, Dong Xuebin understood even more clearly just how good Xie Huilan had been to him. They had been dating at the time, yet in the end, Huilan had not pursued the matter with Aunt Xuan and had tacitly accepted it. Dong Xuebin felt deeply guilty, and became even more determined to give Xie Huilan a surprise proposal.

They had nothing to say to each other.

After only a few exchanges, the air between them was thick with gunpowder. Then they went their separate ways.

Dong Xuebin did not return to the Party School, nor did he go home. Instead, he took a taxi straight to Yun De Auction Company—the Auction House Aunt Xuan had previously sold.

Yun De Auction Company.

Inside an office.

Dong Xuebin stood face-to-face with a woman in her thirties, and they shook hands.

"Hello, I'm Dong Xuebin, Yunxuan's friend."

"I know you. I've heard Yunxuan mention you more than once." The female Boss smiled. "You must have come here for something today, right? Yunxuan and I have been friends for seven or eight years. I'll definitely help her friend."

Dong Xuebin smiled. "I heard your Autumn Auction begins in two days? I have something I'd like to put up for auction, and I'd also like to have it appraised. Would that be convenient?"

"No problem. Do you have it with you?"

"Yeah." Dong Xuebin took it out and spread the painting open.

The moment she saw it, the female Boss froze. "A Xu Yang painting?"

"That's right."

"Wait here. I'll call in a few appraisal experts." The female Boss's expression grew serious. She immediately made several calls. After summoning one expert, she also invited over two others who had already gone home to rest. A painting that might be worth over a hundred million was not something she could take lightly.

Before long, all the experts had arrived.

Dong Xuebin drank tea as he waited for the result, though he was not entirely confident. Who knew whether it was fake?

But very quickly, the appraisal result gave Dong Xuebin a Pill of Reassurance.

An expert in his fifties nodded at the female Boss. "No problem. It's an authentic work by Xu Yang."

Still not fully reassured, the female Boss looked toward another man.

That man also exclaimed in admiration, "Rare—truly rare. I've reached the same conclusion. It's genuine, there should be no mistake. I'd estimate it at between eighty million and one hundred million."

Dong Xuebin smiled. "Then it's settled? I'm entrusting this painting to you. I want it auctioned as soon as possible."