I loaded the Mysticism panel.

The last period in the afternoon was geography class, and Richard handed in his quiz early after class.

He came out of the school gate carrying his schoolbag, but didn't go to the bus station to queue.

Evelyn didn't come out to ask him anything today; she was probably out shopping with her classmates.

The stone griffin perched on the doorpost, a clump of withered grass growing from the gap in its left wing, trembling slightly in the winter wind.

He turned onto the south-facing street, walking faster than usual.

Once the walking skill is unlocked, walking several miles is no longer a burden.

The air was colder than it was a month ago, but my chest felt clear and my steps were stronger.

Soon, he arrived at the alleyway on Grafton Street.

He pushed open the door and went in, the copper bell jingling once.

The shop was warm, and the coal in the fireplace was burning brightly.

Clement sat behind the counter, with a newspaper and steaming black tea spread out in front of him.

The old man glanced at him from above the newspaper.

"You're here? You're right on time."

"Um."

Clement took a small cloth bag from the drawer under the cabinet, placed it on the cabinet, and pushed it over.

The bag wasn't big; when you held it in your hand, it was only about the size of an egg.

Richard untied the bag and poured the contents into his palm.

A stamp the size of a thumbprint rolled out.

Tin-copper alloys have a dark appearance and an uneven oxide film on the surface.

The top of the seal has a flat, round handle, and the sides have anti-slip texture.

He turned the seal face down and glanced at it against the fireplace light.

Waves, three points, the sun.

In the various documents he reviewed, this combination of three concentric rings had never appeared before.

But he was very familiar with the sun symbol; he had seen it more than once.

Of course, it is not rigorous enough to conclude that this seal is related to the sun tradition based solely on a sun symbol.

Sun worship has been prevalent throughout human civilization, and it is perfectly normal for artifacts unearthed in colonial areas to have sun motifs.

But Stuart's appraiser circled the unassuming little seal.

That circle represents "Category II labeling," meaning that an unexplained anomaly has occurred in the standard identification process.

The appraiser didn't write any notes, probably because the anomaly was too subtle.

So faint that he himself wasn't sure, and he didn't bother to elaborate.

But that circle itself is information.

Richard held the seal in his hand and casually flipped it over a couple of times.

The panel has changed.

Available points: 0.63

The number increased from 0.62 to 0.63, an increase of 0.01.

The increase was minimal, but it was moving; the panel was reacting to the seal.

He showed no change in emotion, flipped the seal over, and looked at the bottom.

Clement observed him from behind the cabinet.

"How is it?"

"The workmanship is quite rough," Richard said honestly.

Compared to the welding process used for oil lamps, this seal must have been cast by hand under rudimentary conditions.

The alloy composition is uneven, there are several visible air bubbles on the surface, and the horizontal lines on the handle are of varying depths.

"That's true." Clement nodded in agreement.

"Most artifacts from the early colonial period were like this. The casting conditions were limited, and the raw materials were not pure. It was already quite good if you could tell that someone had deliberately made them."

He added another half cup of hot water to the teacup.

"Its condition wouldn't even rank among the best in a proper antique exhibition."

"But it has a sun symbol," Richard said.

"There is a sun symbol."

The old man tapped the cabinet with his finger: "To be honest, it's because of that sun symbol that I didn't just throw it into the junkyard."

"Do you think the appraiser made a mistake?"

"Possibly," the old man said, picking up his teacup and blowing on it. "Or perhaps I'm right."

He put down his teacup: "It's only three shillings anyway. Buy it and study it. Just consider it a bit of fun."

Richard took three shillings and five copper coins from his pocket and placed them on the counter.

Clement took the money, tore a receipt from the ledger, and handed it over.

"Mr. Clement." Richard folded the receipt and put it in his pocket.

"If you get a new list in the future, no matter how big or small the item is, could you please give me a call?"

"Are you sure?" The old man raised an eyebrow. "Some things really aren't worth much."

"It's okay, I just want to see."

"Okay." Clement picked up his pen and wrote a note in the blank space of the ledger.

"But let me make this clear from the start," he said, closing the ledger.

"The clearing cycle on the Stuart side is not fixed. Sometimes a batch comes in every one or two weeks, and sometimes it takes one or two months."

Moreover, there are very few labeled items in each batch to begin with; you'd be lucky to find one in ten leftover items.

"I understand," Richard nodded.

"Also, if there are expensive items on the list in the future, I will tell you the price over the phone first."

Whether you buy it or not is your decision; don't be embarrassed to say you can't afford it.

The old man spoke these words frankly, without any hint of charity.

The pricing is transparent, the decision-making is autonomous, and no one makes things difficult for anyone else.

"OK."

Richard tucked the small cloth bag into the inside pocket of his coat and attached it to the stamp.

Just as he was about to take his leave, Clement suddenly leaned forward from his chair.

"By the way, that lamp you bought before... have you figured anything out about it?"

This is a natural question. Given Clement's status and curiosity, he would naturally want to know if the buyer made any further discoveries after taking away a marked item.

Richard was ready to answer.

"I've seen the seal structure; it's textbook-level Black Soil River Basin priest inscriptions."

He picked out some information that could be made public: "The inscription is very well preserved, and the date should have been set shortly after the oil lamp was cast."

His description stopped at visual analysis and did not involve any breaching of the seal.

"Can you read priestly inscriptions?"

"It's just the basic framework; the deeper content is still inaccessible."

The old man didn't say anything more.

"Alright, let's go home, it's getting dark."

Richard went out the door, and the copper bell jingled behind him.

He quickened his pace, crossed the alley, and turned onto Grafton Street.

After walking about two hundred steps, he reached his right hand into his inside pocket and pressed his finger against the stamp.

The copper surface was cool to the touch, and the rough texture of the oxide layer could be felt through my fingertips.

The numbers on the panel are slowly climbing.

0.67...0.72...The speed is much slower than the oil lamp and the gargoyle, but it's about the same as the copper coin I bought from Flower Moon Street.

He held the seal in his palm and continued walking towards home.

The ether seeped out of the seal at a very even speed, without any fluctuations in speed.

This indicates that the etheric sediment structure inside is relatively simple and is not sealed to control the release rhythm.

0.75……0.79……The numbers are still rising, but the growth rate is already slowing down.

The tin-copper seal, about the size of a thumbprint, represents a finite amount of ether.

0.8...0.85...

Richard walked along, stroking the concentric ring pattern on the seal with his fingers.

Waves, three points, the sun.

Within his limited knowledge, the outermost wavy line might represent water or the ocean.

In colonial areas, symbols of maritime navigation are not uncommon.

The meaning of the three small dots in the middle circle is uncertain; they could be counting markers or celestial symbols.

The innermost sun symbol, whether or not it is related to sun tradition, at least indicates that the creator had a certain degree of identification with sun worship.

These analyses are currently just speculations. Once the basic framework of Ancient Greek is established, we can refer to the new reference table provided by Mr. Hutton for further examination.

0.92……0.93……The rate dropped to a very low level.

The number remained at 0.94 for a long time.

He waited an extra half minute, but the panel didn't budge.

The amount of ether stored in the seal has run out.

Richard loosened his fingers and put the seal back into his inside pocket.

The seal is almost completely drained; the remaining amount is negligible.

The available points are fixed at 0.94.

0.06 point difference.

Clement is right. How many of those tin-copper stamps, the size of a thumbprint, could there be?

The answer is: approximately 0.32. It rose from 0.62 to 0.94, less than half a point.

He walked along while rapidly calculating in his mind.

It's a 0.06 gap, but the panel isn't a person; it won't make an exception for you just because it's "not much different."

He still had a few items in his hand that hadn't been dried.

First, rule out gargoyles.

That gargoyle was a gift from my maternal grandfather; it's best not to clean it too thoroughly for now.

The gargoyles didn't move, and there were several others.

The oil lamp was bought from Clement; he paid for it himself, it was his personal item, and no one would question it.

But he preferred to leave the oil lamp until last.

He hasn't fully deciphered the inscription on that lamp yet; preserving some of the original etheric deposits is valuable for future research.

If you can avoid doing anything, then do nothing for now.

Therefore, the two items purchased at the Tang Na store on Huayue Street are of the highest priority.

Only Donald and Vincent saw that they had bought the bronze coins and the small incense burner.

I won't see my cousin Vincent again until at least next year, so it doesn't matter if I'm completely drained.

Whether he takes advantage of the situation or throws the food down the drain, it's entirely up to him.

Richard quickened his pace to get home.