The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 808 Professor: Shen Le, what have you done?
Professor Li was practically lying on the screen, painstakingly trying to discern Shen Le's every move through the monitor connected to a low-light camera.

For a very long time, Shen Le did not stand up, nor did he make any move.

He simply sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the safe deposit box, his hands resting on his knees, head upright, body straight, chest rising and falling slightly—

If he hadn't been sitting upright and not slumped over, Professor Li would have thought he had fallen asleep.

He glanced at his phone every now and then, then at the time displayed on the monitor, confirming that a full two hours had passed, and Shen Ledong hadn't moved an inch.

However, inside the safe, the precious silk fabric laid out flat, the map of Dukang whose surface pattern was almost indistinguishable in the extremely dim light, suddenly, gently, swayed...

"what?"

Professor Li's attention was instantly drawn to it. He stared intently at the Dukang map for a long time, until his eyes ached, but he didn't see any changes.

Just as he was wondering if he was hallucinating or if what he saw out of the corner of his eye was unreliable, another faint light swept across the map's surface.

Then, something extremely fine and thin, like mist, floated up from the map...

Professor Li's eyes widened suddenly. He turned his head, following the small patch of mist, until his gaze focused on the corner of the safe deposit box.

There, on a solitary white porcelain tray, a light, misty gray dust settled gently.

"Is this... cleaning? Has it already started?"

Professor Li felt a buzzing in his head. Honestly, how difficult it must have been for them to clean those delicate fabrics!
These fabrics must be laid flat on a very large, glass, or ceramic surface, placed underneath a shallow, slightly slanted groove with a steel base, and carefully secured with magnets.

The magnetic strips used for securing the fabric should not be too light, otherwise they will not hold the fabric in place; nor should they be too heavy, otherwise they will damage the delicate fabric.

Carefully unfold and secure it, then slowly and carefully pour warm water over it, letting it flow down the fabric.

Repeat this process once, twice, using very gentle running water to wash away the dust from the fabric. Then, pour in warm water, soak slowly, and rinse gently, repeating this process several times...

Professor Li will always remember the first time he cleaned Ming Dynasty textiles discovered in an ancient tomb. He held his breath the entire time he poured water, afraid that if his hand trembled, he would use too much force when pouring the water.

After pouring out a glass of water, I clung to the edge of the sink, gasping for breath, and was even praised by the teacher:

"Good, good. That's how careful we should be in our line of work. You'll get used to it. Once you're used to it, you won't be so nervous anymore, and at least you'll be able to catch your breath..."

The process of washing, air-drying, washing again, and air-drying again consumed a great deal of energy and time. But what was Shen Le doing?
He didn't do anything, and these...mold? dust? just floated up on their own?

Those who practice magic are truly unreasonable...

Professor Li mourned his youth and the countless hours he had wasted on textile cleaning, all the while keeping his eyes as wide open as possible.

Even if he couldn't see anything clearly, even if he couldn't see which part of the silk had been cleaned, he still wanted to see it:
What is Shen Le doing?
What did he clean off?
Fine beads of sweat kept appearing on Shen Le's forehead. He had used the cleaning technique so many times that he was quite used to it, but this time was different:
He was performing the cleansing ritual while listening to the historical echoes on the Dukang map and resonating with its layers of atmosphere.

The dust that was picked up in the Qin Palace could be left behind, but the dust that was picked up later during the hardships of wandering was removed a little.
The mold spots on the surface must be thoroughly removed, but the base from which the mold grew, and the dried bloodstains, should be preserved as much as possible.
After leaving the Qin Palace and before being placed in the pottery urn, the wood stains, rust stains, and various other contaminants that it had accumulated were removed as much as possible, but all traces of the Qin Palace were preserved...

He pushed it over almost centimeter by centimeter, carefully listening to the "voice" of the Dukang map, the fine cleansing light connecting into one.

Completely absorbed, I was so focused that I could hardly feel my body anymore; I wished my soul could fly out of the top of my head and attach itself directly to that map...

"Ah, it's over!"

As the last glimmer of light faded, Shen Le finally exhaled, opened his arms, and fell backward.

Professor Li was so startled that he almost punched the monitor; his fist was almost touching the edge of the screen when he quickly stopped.
"How's it going?" he shouted into the microphone beside him, careful not to raise his voice too much, afraid of startling Shen Le. Shen Le lay sprawled on the ground, waving his hand:
"It's alright, it's all done... the cleaning is done. Next, we'll reinforce it..."

"Use silk fibroin solution?"

Professor Li's eyes lit up. This was his area of ​​expertise; solution concentration, temperature, and reaction time were all things he had accumulated over decades of experience.

What type of silk, what type and degree of deterioration, what kind of silk fibroin solution to use, and how long to soak it—these are all his closely guarded secrets, the kind that could fill an entire book.

Aside from his star pupils, he can't explain the material to just any student, and even if he does, he can't explain the underlying principles. Papers?
Just kidding, of course I wouldn't write that clearly in a thesis. If I wrote it all out, what would the professor have to do with it!
However, if Shen Le needed it, even without consulting him, Professor Li was prepared to teach him everything he knew—just kidding, it was the Dukang map!

Even if he couldn't touch it himself, he would teach all his skills to Shen Le and make Shen Le his substitute!

"Hello? Shen Le? Are you listening?" He even patted the microphone twice, making a "bang bang" sound to get Shen Le's attention:

"When reinforcing fabrics with silk fibroin solution, there are a few things to keep in mind. Improper handling can easily damage the fabric..."

First, you need to determine the fabric's wetness level... then check its strength... if possible, take a small sample of fiber and do a composition analysis... What are you doing?

Shen Le answered with "hmm," reached out and touched the air, and a piece of spirit jade jumped into his palm. He touched it again, and another piece of spirit jade jumped into his palm.

He first directed the women in their skirts to move several tables over and arrange them around the storage box. Then, he quickly walked around the storage box, placing pieces of spirit jade around it.
Place one circle parallel to the Dukang map, another circle on top of the storage box, then drag over a few stools and place another circle sparsely directly below the storage box.

Then, he kept adjusting the position of the spirit jade, replacing several pieces of spirit jade, and even taking out a few pearls to replace some of the jade:
"I'm setting up a spirit-gathering array... The spiritual energy in this map is very sensitive, but a bit weak. I need to strengthen it... It's a pity, if only I had a silk fibroin solution made from spirit silkworm silk..."

Professor Li silently shut up...

He watched Shen Le pace back and forth, occasionally moving the jade stone around, then closing his eyes and making empty gestures with his hand, as if sensing the temperature in warm water, not daring to utter a single word.

Although I don't understand spiritual energy or anything like that, judging from Shen Le's words, adjusting the spiritual energy seems to be of great help in repairing this map.
Then he mustn't disturb Shen Le!

Not a single breath could disturb him! He even softened his breathing, tiptoeing back two meters to avoid his breath hitting the microphone and making a sound.

Then he quietly gestured backward, pointing to a chair, then to the person next to him:
Please!

help!

Bring the chair over here!

My old arms and legs can't stand anymore, and if I stand any longer my back will rebel!
The women in flowing skirts arrived gracefully and brought Professor Li a chair. They even placed two boxes underneath him as he requested, so that he could easily look directly at the monitor screen.

Just as they finished arranging things here, they saw Shen Le open the hole in the lid of the storage box, take out a large bottle of silk fibroin solution, aim it at the precious Dukang map inside, and pour it in...

"Why--!"

Professor Li stretched out his arms and lunged forward, almost falling off his chair.

If Luo Qun hadn't timely waved her long sleeves to block him, he would have been flattened on the ground and his nose smashed—there was even a box under that chair!
There is an elevation difference!

Professor Li broke out in a cold sweat. But he had no time to worry about his own safety; he braced himself, raised his arms, and shouted in a low voice:
"Temperature—Concentration—"

It was too late. A large bottle of solution poured out like water being poured from a thermos.

Instead of hitting the fragile silk, it floated in the air, spreading out in a flat layer, slightly larger than the long roll of silk.

Then, the rectangular layer of water descended quietly and gently, enveloping the silk and soaking it thoroughly, strand by strand.

Professor Li: "..."

This has even less impact on the silk than they would dampen it little by little with a spray!

When sprayed, some fibers get wet while others don't, and the resulting stress changes can leave marks on the delicate silk!
How could you play like this!

Before he could finish venting his frustrations, he saw a continuous stream of light green light flashing on the precious map.

The light was extremely faint, yet incredibly gentle, like the first spring breeze causing the endless spring grass to unfurl on the ground—

The tiny grass shoots appear as a continuous patch from afar, but upon closer inspection, not a single one can be seen. One must bend down and observe carefully to spot the individual tender green shoots.

A radiant glow, imbued with the vitality of spring, rose up, even stirring a soft gurgling sound within the silk fibroin solution, as if the entire silk fabric had come alive, greedily absorbing the solution—

And that is indeed the case. Shen Le's magic has a certain property of reversing death and bringing the dead back to life. Even if it is just silk instead of wood, it can return to its original state and absorb solutions of the same origin to strengthen itself.

At the same time, dozens of spirit jades simultaneously shone brightly on the lid, around, and below the storage box. Lines of various colors—blue, red, yellow, white, and black—intertwined into a net, creating fine vortexes of energy that flowed into the solution.

They dispersed in the solution, absorbed by the silk, becoming part of the map. Soon, Professor Li felt as if he heard a sound—

That was the resounding clang of steel cutting through the air;
It was the sound of hurried footsteps, the dull thud of heavy objects hitting the ground, and heavy breathing;

It's the crisp, clean sound of a weapon being drawn from its sheath; the thud of flesh and bone being severed; the soft, almost wind-like rustling of blood spurting out—

It was a panicked scream, an angry rebuke, a weak laugh punctuated by coughing...

Is this an echo of history?

Was it a sound recorded on a map, the sound that appeared during Jing Ke's assassination attempt on the King of Qin?
Professor Li held his breath, listening intently, not daring to look away for a long time. If only there were a recorder, if only the lab's cameras were equipped with audio recording devices, able to capture all of this—

He prayed silently in his heart, not daring to make a sound or turn his eyes away.

Gradually, the tender green luster on the silk faded, the damp sheen disappeared, and the light from the spirit-gathering array vanished without a trace. In its place, another kind of light and shadow quietly rose from the silk—

"Shen Le!" Professor Li called out in a low voice:
"What have you done?!"

Why does a silk fibroin solution produce a sheen when poured onto ancient silk?

It's because there are some luminescent bacteria on the silk. They were very few before, but now that their reproductive needs have been met, they have started to multiply rapidly.

Or is it a pigment used to depict patterns, in which the chemical elements undergo a series of reactions and begin to glow?
Could it be that this map just happens to be soaked in radioactive elements? No, radium seems to emit green light, not this—

Golden light. To be precise, it was a very faint, very weak, but very sharp platinum-gold light—the so-called light of Western Geng metal.

Professor Li, clutching his pounding chest, hadn't yet come to a conclusion when he saw Shen Le snap on the lab's main light, casually grab the Dukang map, and rush to the large glass window.

"Professor, look!"

"What are you doing!" Professor Li was furious. How could you just carry around such fragile, water-soaked ancient silk like that, even after restoration?
You really think it's like the bamboo slips you've repaired, transformed into a brand new piece of silk—well, it really is!

The luster, the subtle wrinkles between the fingers, the gentle tremor with each step—I could never be mistaken!
And then there's that slightly concave patch in the silk, the one that radiates a platinum-white light—what is that…?

"The true colors are revealed?!" he said in a trembling voice.
"The shadow of the dagger is really left here?!"

"It seems... to be true," Shen Le answered slowly. He could feel the increasingly clear resonance between the Dukang map and the broken dagger:

"Don't worry, I know what you look like now, I'll come fix you right away... Okay, okay, I'll be right there!"

(End of this chapter)