"Long Dingxiong, how dare you!"
"Summon my men, apprehend Long Dingxiong!"
Upon learning the truth, Long Ding Tian's face flushed with rage as he issued a stern order.
Soon, Long Ding Tian's subordinates stepped forward, seizing Long Dingxiong on the spot. They forcefully pinned him to the ground and snatched the knife from his hand.
He struggled fiercely, roaring at Long Ding Tian, "Big brother, you're biased! I hate you! You'd rather believe an outsider than me!"
"Long Dingxiong, I gave you a chance to confess everything willingly, but you didn't cherish it. You even sent people to steal our family's jewels and intended to send them to Sakura Country. You are truly a disgrace to the Long family."
"I arranged for you to be in the Antiquities Association to contribute to the antique world. I never expected you to frame President Xu for your own power, almost causing me to take President Xu away. You truly are my good brother."
Long Ding Tian was reluctant to see his own third brother punished, but his actions were simply too excessive and unforgivable.
Not long after speaking, Long Ding Tian instructed his subordinates, "Take Long Dingxiong back to the Long family. I will deal with him according to family rules, and then hand him over to the security authorities."
"Yes, Master Long."
The subordinates directly pulled him up from the ground and led him away.
Seeing him being taken away, Xu Shenglong let out a cold snort, feeling that he had brought it upon himself.
"President Xu, today's matter was a misunderstanding. I apologize here and hope you will not take offense."
Long Ding Tian personally approached Xu Shenglong, pulled out a card, and handed it to him, bowing deeply in apology. "To express my sincerest apologies, this card contains twenty million, considered my contribution to the Antiquities Association."
"In the future, if the Antiquities Association needs anything from me, Master Long, please do not hesitate to ask, President Xu."
"You are too kind, President Xu. If I were Master Long, I would also be angry in such a situation. I do not blame Master Long," Xu Shenglong replied in kind.
The Long family had always provided considerable assistance to the Antiquities Association, and he could understand Master Long's reaction this time.
Seeing his magnanimity, Long Ding Tian's face showed relief, and he insisted on giving the money to Xu Shenglong.
Unable to refuse such a generous offer, Xu Shenglong finally accepted it.
Subsequently, Long Ding Tian walked over to Li Yang, tightly gripping his arm. "Mr. Li, this is the third time you have helped my Long family. You are truly a benefactor to us."
"You have helped my Long family immensely today, and I have no way to adequately repay you. My family is hosting a Dragon Soul Banquet tonight, where many prominent figures from the national antique world will be attending. I hope Mr. Li can also come and join the festivities."
The Dragon Soul Banquet was an annual event hosted by the Long family, renowned throughout the provincial capital.
The guests at this banquet were invariably top national businessmen and many influential figures from the antique world.
Anyone staying in the hotels in the provincial capital would notice that eighty percent of the hotels were fully booked, all due to people attending the Dragon Soul Banquet.
This was not just a simple banquet; at this event, attendees could witness a spectacular auction of exquisite antiques, as well as antique gambling games hosted by businessmen, and roulette games with large prizes.
With good luck, one could find incredible bargains tonight, acquiring luxury cars, villas, yachts, beauties, and valuable connections.
The number of people in the entire provincial capital who could attend this banquet did not exceed ten.
Therefore, Long Ding Tian's invitation to Li Yang to attend such a banquet clearly demonstrated his high regard for him.
Li Yang had only heard of the Dragon Soul Banquet before but had never actually attended one. Long Ding Tian's personal invitation today was an excellent opportunity, and Li Yang would not miss it.
"Alright, since Master Long has invited me so warmly, I won't be polite. I'll see you tonight."
Li Yang smiled and agreed.
After handing the invitation to Li Yang, Long Ding Tian bid farewell and returned to the Long family.
Before leaving, Long Lingling winked at Li Yang with her beautiful eyes and said with a smile, "Li Yang, I'm leaving with my dad now. See you tonight. I'll take you to find some fun. The Dragon Soul Banquet is always very exciting."
"Okay, we'll keep in touch then," Li Yang replied with a smile.
After seeing Long Ding Tian and the others off, he returned to Xu Shenglong's side. Xu Shenglong immediately knelt before Li Yang and said, "Alliance Leader Li, thank you for your immense kindness. Thanks to you today, I escaped disaster. Please accept my bow."
"Please get up quickly, President Xu. It is my duty to help you. There's no need to be so formal," Li Yang quickly said, helping him up.
The entire matter today was Long Dingxiong's fault, and Xu Shenglong had nothing to do with it.
Even if Li Yang were not their alliance leader, he would have willingly helped.
"By the way, Alliance Leader Li, how did your trip to Jiangcheng go regarding the treasure map? Did the treasure map fall into the hands of the Sakura Country villains?" Xu Shenglong asked seriously.
"Rest assured, I have obtained the treasure map, and the leader of Sakura Country, Ku Teng, has also been captured. Sakura Country will not take any action for the time being, nor will they shift their focus to the provincial capital," Li Yang reassured him.
"That's wonderful! As expected, Alliance Leader Li's actions are extraordinary. With this, I no longer worry about the treasure map falling into the hands of those villains."
The stone that had been weighing on Xu Shenglong's heart finally lifted. He then looked at Li Yang and asked, "Alliance Leader Li, could you let me see the treasure map? I am very curious about it, and even a glimpse would be satisfying."
"No problem, but it's not convenient here. Why don't you come with me to my office?"
Li Yang glanced around at the people present and said casually.
"Okay, okay!"
Xu Shenglong readily agreed and personally led Li Yang upstairs to the office, then closed the door.
After they sat down, Li Yang took out the treasure map he had obtained in Jiangcheng and handed it to Xu Shenglong. "President Xu, this is one of the eight treasure maps. The route map within is very clear, but one must find the other seven to know the location of the treasure."
"So that's how it is. I never imagined that the great wealthy merchant Shen Wansan of that year was so clever as to divide a complete treasure map into eight parts and hide them in different locations, making it as difficult as ascending to heaven for future generations to find the treasure."
"We have only obtained one part so far. The journey to find the treasure's whereabouts is still long and arduous."
"To be frank, I actually already have three of them."
Li Yang felt there was no need to hide it from Xu Shenglong and stated directly, "Earlier, I accidentally found one treasure map within an antique I acquired at an antique shop. Later, I discovered the second one in a painting belonging to the Long family."
"Including this one from Jiangcheng, that makes a total of three!"