The Ancestral Legacy Begins in the Wild West

Chapter 137 A Hot Potato Isn't Just Hot, It Can Be Eaten Too!

Qin Zhengxue finished looking at both items.

He examined it very slowly. He held the Bingzi Jiaolin in his hands and looked at it over and over for more than ten minutes, not missing a single detail, such as the curvature of the blade, the wear on the edge, and the four ancient inscriptions on the hilt.

The dragonfly cut spearhead, probably because it's from the East and not commonly seen, made him squat by the coffee table for a long time to study it, as he had little experience with it.

Examine the curvature of the spearhead, the wear on the blade, and the wood chips remaining on the edge.

Finally, he returned to Bingzi Jiaolin. His eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked at the blade. His fingers gently traced the edge of the knife, and even though he was wearing gloves, his technique was still exceptionally delicate.

When he finally put down the magnifying glass and looked up, the seriousness on his face hadn't faded.

He stood up, stretched his legs which had gone numb from squatting, and then looked at Zhang Chang'an.

"Mr. Zhang." The expression on his face was no longer the initial indifference, nor the excitement after seeing the artifact, but rather quite sincere, with some guilt, but without becoming humble: "At first, I didn't quite trust you, I'm sorry."

Zhang Chang'an was taken aback for a moment, then waved his hand: "It's nothing, Teacher Qin, you're too kind."

Qin Zhengxue shook his head, not taking the opportunity to back down: "I'm not being polite. I've spent my whole life in academia, and I'm not good with words; I don't like to say those empty platitudes."

"My attitude just now was indeed a matter of my personal habits."

"And since you're young, you might have some understanding. The situation regarding cultural relics in our country is very chaotic. There are all sorts of private collectors, and even so-called 'national treasure gangs' that further muddy the waters."

"When I first arrived, I didn't know it was these two items; I only knew they were ancient artifacts that had been verified by customs."

"As for the comrades at customs, their work is certainly very important, but their professional skills may not be sufficient, so I didn't have high hopes for your artifacts at first."

"I'm not a snob, but I've seen too many people who easily treat what they have as treasures, or even have ulterior motives and want to speculate and profiteer."

Therefore, generally speaking, only those who are highly respected or of a certain status are more likely to not waste our time.

Qin Zhengxue sat back on the sofa, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke again, bowing slightly: "I hope you don't mind my previous attitude. Also, thank you for being willing to contact us after passing on such a thing."

"Zhang Chang'an listened, and his gaze subtly changed."

He paused, his gaze falling on the two items on the coffee table, and said with a touch of emotion, "Our Celestial Empire has a history of five thousand years, how many wonderful things have we produced? So many that it's impossible to count them all. I study this, so I know it exceptionally well."

"But times have changed, and people's views have changed too. Some people still value it and are even willing to spend money to get to know it. But once they get their hands on it, it's just a toy in their hands and will never see the light of day again."

It's not that these people are entirely wrong; within the scope permitted by law, cultural relics shouldn't necessarily belong to the state.

Qin Zhengxue sighed as he spoke, "But what's even more troublesome is that there are many more people who are even worse off than these."

His tone turned somber: "The number of Chinese cultural relics scattered around the world is countless. Some were taken out by foreigners taking advantage of people and the country's crisis, and others—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear: "So, while the cultural relics in China are still dazzling and abundant, there are still many deficiencies in certain aspects. Take Tang swords, for example. I'm an old man and don't know much about things on the internet, but I'm aware of the debates surrounding this topic."

This is because so few swords and knives from the Sui and Tang dynasties have been unearthed; everyone can say something, but no one's opinion matters.

Zhang Chang'an naturally resonated with this.

Growing up in a martial arts school and even practicing martial arts, who wouldn't know this? It's a folk saying, a commercial hype, debated for years without ever reaching a conclusion. The abstract one is the rare unearthed Sui and Tang dynasty swords; many are now in Japan.

"This Bingzi Jiaolin sword must have come from the East. It came from the Sui and Tang dynasties, and there are historical records about it there."

His voice held a hint of solemnity: "Your ancestors did a good job in recovering this back then. Now, you're willing to show it to us and let us keep a record of it, which is a very selfless act."

Teacher Qin's meaning was self-evident: these days, there are still cases of cultural relics flowing out of the country. Zhang Chang'an's artifact is not only a legendary relic that has reappeared, but it has also returned to China, which is truly a remarkable feat.

Zhang Chang'an, upon hearing this, was naturally even more moved than they were.

After all, this thing was originally destined to remain in a Tokyo museum until modern times. It's clearly a Sui or Tang dynasty sword, yet any Chinese person, even if they just wanted to catch a glimpse of it, would have to travel all the way to Japan for it.

And now, it was he who personally retrieved this thing and returned it to its homeland.

"Teacher Qin," Zhang Chang'an began, "Our ancestors brought it back with the hope that it could one day return to its homeland and be kept as a record or something. Of course, it's nothing more than that."

Chen Jianping, who was standing to the side, already knew the quality of Zhang Chang'an's things. Therefore, while he was also quite moved by their words, he was calmer than Qin Zhengxue: "Mr. Zhang, we still have to thank you. You said before that you were willing to take it to the bureau to use professional equipment for data archiving, and that we didn't even need to make a special trip to transport it. We are truly grateful for that."

Zhang Chang'an was not surprised by his words. He had already communicated with the Cultural Relics Bureau about this matter in previous online conversations.

Although he didn't plan to donate it, he felt it was still necessary to take it there, take a picture, measure the data, and keep a record.

After all, he was a proper young man from China who had grown up through nine years of compulsory education, so Zhang Chang'an had this much awareness: "It's only right. Taking a picture and keeping some data is a good way to let more people see what our ancestors have to offer."

Chen Jianping nodded repeatedly, his smile almost overflowing. However, as he smiled, he glanced at Qin Zhengxue, then at Zhang Chang'an, clearly hesitant to speak.

Zhang Chang'an noticed: "Director Chen, just say what you have to say."

Chen Jianping opened his mouth, then closed it again, scratching his head: "Oh dear—this—"

Qin Zhengxue, who couldn't stand it any longer, spoke up: "Mr. Zhang, I'm old, but I'm willing to swallow my pride and let me speak on this matter. Xiao Chen definitely shares the same opinion as me. As you said, such wonderful things from our ancestors should have a chance to be seen by young people. We'd like to ask you if it's possible to lend these two items for a period of time."

Zhang Chang'an raised an eyebrow.

Director Chen immediately appeared quite nervous: "Don't worry, the ownership is still yours. It's a legitimate museum exhibition, and the time and everything else are entirely up to you. Security is also guaranteed; there are national laws and precedents for this."

Zhang Chang'an remained silent, but in truth, he had anticipated this: "Just as I expected—"

After finishing the Kyoto instance and seeing that he had inherited these two items in the modern world through official customs channels, he realized that they would be two hot potatoes.

It's not that it's particularly troublesome. The national regulations are very clear: if he has all the necessary paperwork and evidence, then it's his. There are countless family heirlooms like this across the country.

Moreover, these two items are bound to the family tree, so he can summon them back even if he loses them. The real question is, as dungeon loot, what else can these two items bring him besides just keeping them?

Not only is the hot potato hot to handle, but it also has edible value.

Facing the two bigwigs in front of him, Zhang Chang'an pondered silently: "When I was researching the information back then, I checked it out casually."

"While it is legal for individuals to own these two items, as ancient artifacts, I can only maintain them at most. I can't even go to Longquan to find a master craftsman to polish them for me, otherwise I would damage the ancient form and that would be considered damaging cultural relics."

"Even so, it is clear that it can still be used in the future."

"But what else? Aside from weapons and equipment, cultural relics of this caliber are still of great value even if they aren't sold. The country doesn't let kind-hearted people down—"

"I'm familiar with precedents, but I've never been a very studious person since I was little. Now, after reading it once, all I remember are the big numbers."