The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 757 Where I am, there is the Han Dynasty!

"drop--"

"Drip-"

“Didi di di di di!!!”

The moment the stone carving was unearthed, instruments from the special affairs departments of both countries sounded in unison around the pit.

It rose higher and higher, faster and faster, and then, hissing, hissing, wisps of black smoke rose up...

It was burned.

More than a dozen pairs of eyes quickly converged on him. Shen Le, who was at the center of those gazes, had already been sitting cross-legged on the edge of the summit platform without saying a word, to prevent himself from tumbling down the mountain if he made a mistake.

With eyes half-open and half-closed, seemingly in a meditative state, but actually all attention is focused on the center:
no change.

Nothing has changed.

As the layers of soil were removed, the stone carving was exposed to the sunlight until it was lifted by a pair of trembling hands, moved, and its surface coverings were carefully brushed away.

Throughout the entire process, the light pillars on the stone carvings, and even on the entire summit, remained unchanged; they did not become more intense, sharper, suddenly violent, or aggressive...

It remains calm and harmless to those who discover it, those who cherish it, and those who clean it. Of course, this is on the condition that you don't disturb it.

Do not use your supernatural powers to touch supernatural powers that you do not understand, or even stronger supernatural powers!

Look, it's been burned...

Shen Le opened his eyes, shrugged, and gestured to the few Special Affairs Bureau guys staring at him expectantly. He raised a finger, pressed it to his lips, and smiled.
"It's alright. Don't touch it, it'll be fine for now. It won't attack people without reason, and it won't attack Chinese people who have no cultivation power."

So this is targeting us, right?
The special agents looked dejected and could only drag their equipment away, pretending that the equipment had never been there.

Then, with a series of splashes, several more professors jumped into the pit.

"Dig! Keep digging!"

"Dig carefully! Pay attention to the soil structure! Look for rammed earth layers! -- If an altar was once built here for sacrificial rites, there might be a special structure corresponding to the altar!"

"And the soil we dug up! Collect it all, label it, and take it inside the tent for testing!"

"Dig down one cell at a time, be careful not to miss anything! We've unearthed the jade tablet carved for the sacrificial ceremony; who knows, there might be other precious artifacts as well!"

Let alone objects, even a handful of soil dug out of this pit is precious.

The senior professors even prevented students from handling the work, and also prevented Shen Le's mentor, a scholar specializing in ancient building restoration who was not an archaeology specialist, from doing so.

Several professors, along with associate professors, lecturers, and at the very least doctoral students, divided the ground into grids, inch by inch, as if they wanted to scoop it up with their bare hands.

As for the guys from the Special Affairs Bureau, all they could do was put up safety barriers to prevent anyone from falling due to excitement, and then call back home.

"Yes, we dug it up... We found it! We found the target! — Prepare for defense? In preparation to bring it back? Understood!"

Such an important discovery must definitely, absolutely, and certainly be brought home—probably.

Of course, neither the Special Affairs Bureau nor the archaeological team could make the decision. All they could do was frantically call home on one side and frantically call their superiors on the other.
"A major discovery! A tremendous discovery!"

"The sacrificial stone inscription commemorating Huo Qubing's sealing of the wolf's lair!"

"Found on the summit of Mount Kent!"

"The discovery of this inscription fills a gap in my country's archaeological field... and confirms an important period of history..."

Official media outlets and various independent media platforms all reposted the video like crazy. The video showed the old professor, trembling, picking himself up from the pit, holding a stone slab.
Inside the tent, stone flakes were carefully placed into a storage box, and their surfaces were gently wiped clean.
Most importantly, there was that dark blue-green stone tablet! After being carefully cleaned with tweezers, wooden sticks, a soft brush, and cotton swabs, its surface gradually revealed mottled inscriptions:
Although blurred and covered in grime, the writing was still legible. More importantly, after the grime was cleaned, the strokes on the stone tablet were remarkably clear.

A thin layer of soil has solidified on the surface of the jade over two thousand years. Yellowish-brown and reddish-brown, it resembles the blood shed in the great battle two thousand years ago.

The patina on the jade is slightly lighter, while the patina on the engraved characters is exceptionally deep, presenting a deep red, almost iron-black stroke.

Even those who are not archaeology professionals and lack experience in reading large amounts of illegible text can immediately decipher the text on their own.
"In the fourth year of the Yuan Shou reign... the year of Renxu, the sixth month was Gengchen... General of the Cavalry of the Great Han... Marquis of Champion... Qubing..."

"It's Huo Qubing! It's Huo Qubing!"

"The fourth year of the Yuan Shou era! That was the year Huo Qubing sealed the wolf's lair!"

"The timing matches perfectly!"

"The season is right! From launching an attack on the grasslands from within the Great Wall to decisively defeating the Xiongnu, June is about the right time!"

"These are such precious cultural relics! We must bring them back! Bring them back!"

"They should be invited back!"

"It's enshrined in the National Museum, and I visit it three times a day!"

"Is it possible... I mean, is it possible that this stone tablet would be most suitable to be placed on the summit of Langjuxu Mountain...? We can go and take a look..."

"Are you a traitor?! This artifact is undoubtedly of the highest grade! The kind that can't leave the country! How can it be left abroad!"

"It was found in Mongolia. Did they let us take it with us?"

"What's there to give up or not give up? This artifact undoubtedly belongs to China, and we have historical records to prove it!"

"Although, the Yanran Mountain Inscription wasn't cut up and brought back..."

"How can that be the same? The Yanran Mountain Inscription is a cliff carving, so of course we can't cut a piece of the mountain and bring it back. The Fenglangjuxu Inscription, on the other hand, is buried in the ground!"

"But the 'Inscription on Sealing the Wolf and Dwelling in the Wilderness' has to be placed on the top of Wolf Dwelling in the Wilderness Mountain to prove that Huo Qubing led his troops to this place... What's the point of carrying it back and putting it in the National Museum of China..."

"Wake up! According to current international standards for cultural relic protection, cultural relics naturally belong to the country where they were unearthed..."

"However, the inscription on the seal of the Wolf-Dwelling Mountain was carved by Huo Qubing himself, and Huo Qubing's military achievements are recorded in the Book of Han!"
It naturally belongs to China! Does the Mongolian historical record even mention this once?

"But we can't disregard international standards! We can't ignore our country's laws on the protection of cultural relics! It's one thing to leave immovable cultural relics with them, but why don't they bring the movable cultural relics back..."

"It's such a pity that this territory was ceded! If it were still in our hands, we wouldn't have to worry about this kind of thing..."

"Idiot Chiang Kai-shek!"

"Idiot, leave a space!"

"When can we take this territory back..." "Wake up, if we take it back, there will be no buffer between us and the Russians!"

"Is it possible that we and Russia are originally adjacent, so this buffer zone wouldn't make a difference..."

The internet was in an uproar. In just one day, seven or eight trending topics on Weibo were all about this issue.

No matter how much netizens argue, they can't really influence the ownership of this cultural relic. But whatever, let's argue first!
How netizens argue is their business; the authorities, however, must bear certain responsibilities. On the very night the stone tablet was discovered, a special plane took off urgently from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar.
This matter is no longer just a matter between two archaeological teams, or even between the archaeological communities of two countries; it must be discussed at a higher level!

Shen Le roughly knew that someone had come to take charge of this, but he didn't care. He wandered around, craning his neck everywhere to see the archaeologists' discoveries, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"There are traces of rammed earth here! Take a picture! Quickly, take a picture!"

Shen Le: ...How did you figure that out? It looks exactly the same as the surrounding soil to me!

"The carbon content in this soil is significantly higher than the average! We suspect it's from ashes buried after a sacrificial offering! Dig up more soil and test it carefully!"

Shen Le immediately rushed to the instrument to take a look. Hmm, it really was way off the mark, but if he were in charge of the excavation, he certainly wouldn't have thought of it this way…

Is this what experience is?

"Teacher, come and take a look! Look at these marks on the soil... Could it be, could it be silk or bamboo slips?"

Another young researcher nearby shouted. Shen Le tiptoed over and took a look, but still couldn't figure it out...

Soil? There are unusual marks on the soil? Where are they?

The old professor had already picked up a magnifying glass and bent down to examine it. Shen Le, Shen Le unleashed his spiritual power, scanning the clod of soil twice, but still couldn't find anything...

"We've dug something up again!!!"

In the center of the pit, he screamed with all his might.

Shen Le quickly tiptoed over and saw another professor almost lying on the muddy ground, carefully using a small wooden skewer to pick, trace, hook, and poke at the soil...

Pick out one unidentified object, pick out two unidentified objects, pick out three unidentified objects...

"Boss, what is this?"

He asked in a low, husky voice. Suddenly, he felt a slap on the back of the head as his own professor answered in a similarly low voice:

"It must be something good! Hmm, it looks a bit like gold leaf. Could it be a gold mask? Or a gold book? Sigh, after all this trouble, I'll be busy with the restoration work when I get back..."

Shen Le racked his brains, trying to recall. Finally, he remembered seeing in a documentary he'd watched before that the Sanxingdui gold mask, when first unearthed, was also a messy, dirty mass…

Alas, his life is so difficult. The stone tablets (jade tablets?), the soil, and the things buried in the earth, though slightly moved, still retain the divine light that shrouds the mountaintop.

He was completely unable to use his mental power to delve into the soil and search carefully; he didn't even dare to use his mental power to touch the newly unearthed artifacts.

I could only skim over it, giving it a cursory glance to determine whether the surface deposits were soil or grass stalks, and whether those could be easily removed, or whether it was still shrouded in intense light—

For example, the newly unearthed flaky unidentified object has an unusually strong glow, clearly indicating that it is from the same batch as the previously unearthed stone tablet (or jade tablet?)...

He circled the excavation site seven or eight times, then returned to the edge of the peak, sat cross-legged, and continued to observe the sharp and brilliant beam of light.

As the sun began to set in the west, thick protective mulch was erected at the excavation site to cover both the excavated and unexcavated soil.

The archaeologists gradually withdrew, some returning to their tents to sleep, while others stayed inside, working day and night without rest to conduct various tests.

Shen Le remained seated, while a young man from the Special Affairs Bureau moved closer to her, making rustling noises.

"Hey, anything found?"

"It's still the same old stuff," Shen Le said, shrugging. The delivery guy lowered his voice:
"By the way, when can we take it with us?"

"I can't bring this back to China, can I?" Shen Le asked, looking surprised. The young man was even more surprised than him.

"Why? By what right? This is ours!"

"It was unearthed in another country..." Shen Le explained weakly. Although he wasn't an archaeology major, he still understood some of the basics. The young man, however, firmly shook his head.

"Law is law, but matters beyond the realm of the supernatural are governed by different rules. You said you felt very strong spiritual fluctuations here; what if they wanted to go back on their own?"

"You mean?"

"The spirituality here is so strong that it burned out our measuring instruments just now. I even suspect that it has developed its own consciousness."

"What if it wants to go back and come with us? If we leave it here, it'll make a fuss, won't it?"

Shen Le had never actually considered this possibility. He stared at the young man beside him in shock, and after a long while, slowly nodded:
“What you say is quite possible. I'll pay special attention to this from now on, and if it gets aggressive, I'll warn it in time to at least prevent it from hurting anyone—”

This wasn't the answer the young man wanted to hear, and Shen Le even suspected it wasn't the answer the Special Affairs Bureau wanted to hear either.

But Shen Le wouldn't fabricate a message for the artifact because of these things; he simply sat cross-legged and continued to observe the situation of the light pillar.

Days passed, and on the second and third days, the department head finally stepped out of the tent and announced an important decision:
"Due to limited conditions on the mountain, the cleaning and research of the jade tablet can only proceed to this stage. Next, we plan to move it to a museum in Ulaanbaatar for further research."

Shen Le suddenly looked up. In his extraordinary vision, the pillar of light began to tremble rapidly, shaking violently, condensing, and was about to transform into the shape of a sword.

Turning around, I saw those precious discoveries, wrapped up tightly in layers of clothing, being carried on the students' backs, ready to set off down the mountain.

The hillside beneath their feet and the clouds overhead had begun to tremble slightly.

"Don't!"

He shouted loudly. As he shouted, he rushed to the middle of the downhill road, spreading his arms to block them:

"No! You can't take this down the mountain!"

"what?"

"Leave it to me!" Shen Le snatched the backpack, held it with both hands, and ran straight to the top of the mountain.

The moment the backpack hit the ground, the entire world fell silent. Only that sharp light, accompanied by the clear, ringing sound of a longsword being drawn, appeared before all ordinary people for the first time:

Vast and mighty, reaching to the heavens and the earth. It carried with it a fierce, murderous aura, and an unyielding pride:
"What is it saying?"

"I feel," the department head said, his voice trembling after a long silence, as if he couldn't believe it himself:
"I feel like it's saying, 'It's here to keep order, and wherever it is, that's where the Han Dynasty is!'"

(End of this chapter)