58: Chapter 58 Zhao Shanhe is definitely not an ordinary businessman.

Hu Tian's voice was unhurried, and his face even carried a hint of the relaxation that comes from just having returned from outside, as if he completely hadn't noticed the posture of the few bodyguards around him who were subtly surrounding him.

Zhao Shanhe walked up to Hu Tian with steady strides, his eyes sharp as a hawk's as he sized up the young man in front of him, then pulled a neatly folded document from his suit's inner pocket.

"Allow me to introduce myself; I am Zhao Shanhe, the chairman of the Shanhe Group."

He paused, his tone calm yet exuding a sense of oppression, as if a great mountain were pressing down, "Mr. Hu, there is no need to be nervous. I just want to ask a few questions and won't take up too much of your time."

As he spoke, he unfolded the document in his hand and handed it to Hu Tian; his movements and expression were as solemn as a judge reading out a verdict.

It was a printed itinerary, clearly marking the dates, times, and locations of Hu Tian's route from Binhai to the Cuiyun Mountain area, even recording the duration of his stays in such detail that it was truly "all-encompassing," noting even where he had used the restroom.

Zhao Shanhe's finger tapped on the words "Cuiyun Mountain" on the paper, his tone probing: "Mr. Hu, was there any special reason for your trip to the Cuiyun Mountain area a few days ago?"

His eyes were fixed tightly on Hu Tian's face, not missing a single flicker of expression, as if he were "interrogating" a criminal; his gaze was sharp enough to pierce through skin and reach the soul.

Hu Tian frowned slightly, taking the paper with an expression of surprise and confusion, his eyes scanning the contents while a look of bewilderment appeared on his face—his acting skills were worthy of an "Oscar," and it was truly a loss to the entertainment industry that he wasn't an actor.

"Mr. Zhao, forgive my bluntness, but what is the meaning of this? Are you stalking me?"

Hu Tian displayed a look of utter astonishment, his tone laced with displeasure, "Also, where I go seems to be my private business. What? Do I need to report to you, President Zhao? You are overstepping your bounds, aren't you? Are you a 'Neighborhood Committee Auntie'?"

Zhao Shanhe smiled, not angered by Hu Tian's sarcastic teasing, but the smile did not reach his eyes, as if it were a "false mask." He waved his hand and said, "Mr. Hu, please don't misunderstand. I have no intention of offending you. It's just that some special things have happened in the Cuiyun Mountain area recently, and since you happened to be there during that time, I just wanted to confirm some details. After all, that place is a 'geomantic treasure land' and prone to producing 'monsters'."

As he spoke, a flash of keen light crossed his eyes, and he asked in a deep voice: "So, Mr. Hu, what was your purpose in going to Cuiyun Mountain?"

Hu Tian thought to himself that with the other party's status and power, they would definitely have dug up some information about him, so he said softly: "Oh, I deal in antiques. There are some old villages in the Cuiyun Mountain area, and I heard that the farmers there have some old items, so I thought I'd go over and see if there was anything worth collecting. This is called 'treasure hunting,' do you understand?"

He spoke lightly, but Zhao Shanhe's gaze became even sharper, as if to say: "Do you take me for a fool? You can come up with such nonsense?"

"Really just collecting old items?"

Zhao Shanhe stared into his eyes and asked, word for word: "Then you stayed in Cuiyun Mountain for nearly two days and returned empty-handed. Was it because you didn't find anything suitable, or was there another reason?"

Facing an old fox like Zhao Shanhe, Hu Tian calmly raised his head and said in a casual tone: "Oh, there's no special reason for that. It's just that my luck was bad; I didn't run into any 'good goods,' so I had to return empty-handed."

He shrugged, as if recalling some trivial matter, "That day, I originally intended to take a shortcut through Cuiyun Mountain to get to a few old villages on the other side of the mountain. But the paths in the mountains were hard to recognize, and as I walked, I lost my way and wandered around inside for the better part of the day. Later, I ran into a woodcutter and followed him out of the mountains. By the time I got out, it was almost dark, so I had no mind to go collect anything and just headed back home."

When he said this, his face carried a hint of a wry smile, and his tone revealed a sense of annoyance, looking exactly like a truly unlucky person who had missed out on business because of getting lost; his expression was so authentic that even he himself almost believed it.

Zhao Shanhe stared at Hu Tian's face without blinking, his gaze sharp as a knife, not letting a single subtle change escape him, as if he were using a "microscope" to observe bacteria.

Was there any unnatural twitching at the corners of his eyes?

Were his lips inadvertently tightening?

Did his Adam's apple bob subconsciously?

However, there was nothing.

Hu Tian's expression remained as calm as a stagnant pool from beginning to end, and his eyes even held a hint of helpless amusement. That expression was just like someone genuinely recounting a bewildering experience of getting lost, without a single flaw, truly "watertight."

Zhao Shanhe's gaze darkened slightly, and while the smile remained on his face, a question mark quietly formed in his heart—a question mark as big as a basketball.

This young man was too composed.

He was silent for a moment, then calmly followed up with: "Whereabouts in Cuiyun Mountain did you get lost?"

Hu Tian pretended to ponder and replied: "This... I have to think about it. It seems to be the northern area. I couldn't find the way back not long after entering. The paths in the mountains twist and turn; honestly, I wouldn't walk that path again even if you killed me. It's practically a 'maze'."

His tone was relaxed, without any hesitation, as if he had just remembered it and was casually saying "the weather is nice today."

Zhao Shanhe stared at him for a full five or six seconds, but in the end, he still couldn't detect anything. A flicker of imperceptible gloom flashed deep in his eyes, then he put away the itinerary and piled that proper smile back onto his face; the speed of his face-changing was faster than "Sichuan Opera face-changing."

The smile on Zhao Shanhe's face became a bit gentler, and he stood up, his tone carrying a hint of apology: "Mr. Hu, I am truly sorry. I was abrupt; please bear with me."

He reached out and made a gesture of invitation, "You know, some things have to be handled with caution, and I hope you can understand. I feel terrible for wasting your time today; next time, I will treat you to a meal to make amends."

The expression on Hu Tian's face softened a bit, and he waved his hand: "Mr. Zhao, you are too polite; I understand."

Zhao Shanhe personally saw Hu Tian to the elevator entrance, and before parting, he specifically shook his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Hu, if you have free time, you are welcome to come to my Shanhe Group for a visit. I have collected quite a few antiques and paintings here; we can exchange ideas."

"Sure, if there's a chance, definitely."

Hu Tian responded politely, while secretly thinking: "Go to your place? That's likely a 'Hongmen Banquet'."

Just then, the elevator door opened, and he turned and entered the elevator, his retreating figure as dashing as a "hero."

Watching Hu Tian's figure disappear into the elevator, the smile on Zhao Shanhe's face gradually faded, and his eyes became deep and gloomy, as if he were a beast about to prey.

The assistant standing to the side asked cautiously: "President Zhao, do you think this Hu Tian... is 'bluffing' us?"

"I can't see any flaws."

Zhao Shanhe said calmly, a flicker of contemplation in his eyes, "Either what he said is true, or his psychological resilience has reached a terrifying level."

He paused, then added: "But the more that's the case, the more I feel this person is not simple."

The assistant hesitated for a moment, then asked tentatively: "Then should we continue to investigate? Or should we just 'take him out'?"

Zhao Shanhe raised his eyelids and glanced at him, his tone carrying a note of unquestionability: "Of course we must investigate, and we must investigate more carefully. We need to dig up everything about him, even back to his ancestors eighteen generations ago."

He stood up, walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the hall, and looked at the night scene outside, saying in a deep voice: "Send people to watch him; see where he has been recently, who he has met, and what he has done. Remember, be discreet; don't let him notice."

"Yes."

The assistant acknowledged, turned, and prepared to leave, moving faster than a rabbit.

"Wait."

Zhao Shanhe suddenly called him back, turned his head, and a flash of keen light crossed his eyes, "Go investigate whether there have been any anomalies in the Cuiyun Mountain area recently, especially in the northern region. Don't let any slight disturbance go, even if a 'fly' flies past, you must record it for me."

The assistant nodded and left quickly.

Zhao Shanhe turned back around, looking at the thousands of lights outside the window, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister smile; that smile was even more terrifying than a "villainous big boss."

He had seen too many people in his life and had encountered all kinds—con artists, masters, overlords, fools—he could see through them all at a glance.

But this Hu Tian gave him a feeling of being inscrutable, as if he were a fog.

And the more inscrutable a person was, the more worth his effort to dig into, because he knew that such a person was either a "useless waste" or a "big trouble."

The moment the elevator door slowly closed, the relaxed expression on Hu Tian's face quietly faded, replaced by a thoughtful calmness, as if he were pondering something.

Standing in the elevator, letting the floor numbers jump up one by one, his brain was whirring at high speed, faster than a "supercomputer."

Soon, the elevator arrived at the 38th floor.

After entering hotel suite 3808 and closing the door, he finally truly relaxed; the feeling was like "unloading a thousand-pound burden."

He took off his coat and tossed it casually on the coat rack by the door, came to the suite's sofa and sat down, picked up the water on the table and took a sip, his thoughts beginning to replay everything from tonight bit by bit, as if he were "watching a movie replay."

This Zhao Shanhe was extremely deep and cunning, truly an "old fox."

He had met him with a smiling face the whole time, speaking politely and properly, but the moment that itinerary was brought out, Hu Tian understood that this was a test prepared in advance.

The other party possessed the trajectory of his movements in the Cuiyun Mountain area, which meant they had specifically investigated his whereabouts, or in other words, they had already been to the Heavenly Kingdom Holy Treasury in Cuiyun Mountain and must have seen that the treasury was empty, which was why they had tested him.

Cuiyun Mountain.

Heavenly Kingdom Holy Treasury.

A person who could connect these two things—Zhao Shanhe was definitely not an ordinary treasure-hunting businessman.

Hu Tian closed his eyes and replayed every detail of Zhao Shanhe from tonight in his mind.

Thinking of this, Hu Tian couldn't help but let a smile curl at the corners of his mouth.

He could almost imagine Zhao Shanhe's expression at that time—opening that heavy stone door full of anticipation, thinking he would see mountains of gold and silver treasures, only to find the inside completely empty, not even a single hair left.