Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan picked up his toolbox, greeted Zhou Peiyuan, and went downstairs.

Zhou Peiyuan stood at the door, watching his retreating figure as he walked down the stairs, and only said one sentence: "Xiao Su, be careful."

Su Yuan turned around and hummed in response. Downstairs, Zhao Cheng was sitting in the passenger seat, and an unfamiliar man was in the driver's seat.

"Su Yuan, this is Xiao Shen from the Ninth Division, Shen Yue," Zhao Cheng introduced. "He's in charge of taking us there today."

Shen Yue turned around and smiled at Su Yuan: "Master Su, it's an honor to meet you. Director Zhou specifically instructed that I be in charge of your travel these next few days."

Su Yuan opened the car door and got in: "Thank you, you've gone to so much trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, it's my job."

The car started and drove out of the residential area, quickly arriving at its destination. Shen Yue parked the car in the parking lot on the side of the building, and Zhao Cheng and Su Yuan got out of the car.

"Master Su, call me after the training this afternoon, and I'll come pick you up," Shen Yue said.

Su Yuan nodded and followed Zhao Cheng toward the building.

There was a security checkpoint at the entrance, but not by ordinary security personnel. Two men in black jackets stood on either side of the security gate, their eyes scanning everyone who entered!

Su Yuan walked to the security gate. One of the men glanced at him, his gaze lingering on the jade ring on his finger for a moment, before he nodded directly.

"Master Su, please come in."

They were allowed through without going through the security scanner, and Zhao Cheng was the same; he was also allowed through directly.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name: 20 ...

"Do they know us?" Su Yuan asked in a low voice.

"The people under the Ninth Division should have seen our photos and information before the training," Zhao Cheng replied quietly.

Upon entering the building and walking along the corridor, a sign on the wall reads: "Special Cultural Relics Restoration Training Conference Room, Third Floor."

The two went up to the third floor, where at the end of the corridor was a large conference room. The door was open, and more than a dozen people were already sitting inside!

The meeting room was set up similarly to the last seminar, with long tables arranged in a U-shape, and nameplates and notebooks placed on the tables.

Su Yuan found his seat and sat down. To his left was Zhao Cheng, and to his right was Jiang Weiguo.

He glanced at the name but said nothing.

At 8:50, Jiang Weiguo arrived.

He was wearing a dark blue jacket, his hair was neatly combed, he smiled when he saw Su Yuan, and extended his hand: "Su Yuan, we meet again."

Su Yuan also stood up and shook hands with him: "Hello, Director Jiang."

"Don't call me Director Jiang, just call me Brother Jiang."

Jiang Weiguo sat down with a smile and placed his briefcase on the table: "This training is mainly for practical exchange. You did very well at the museum last time."

Su Yuan smiled but didn't reply. At nine o'clock sharp, the meeting room door closed.

Zhou Peiyuan took the speaker's position and began to speak:

"Gentlemen, I am Zhou Peiyuan from the Ninth Division."

Some people in the audience whispered among themselves, but quickly fell silent. Zhou Peiyuan's gaze swept across the entire room, lingering briefly on Su Yuan before moving away.

"This training will last for three days, and its content will not be made public. The list of participants has already been submitted, so I will not say more."

He opened the folder in front of him and said:

"On the first day, I will explain the basic principles and monitoring methods of the interlayer. On the second day, we will have practical exercises at the provincial cultural relics bureau's restoration center. On the third day, we will have group discussions and debriefings!"

"Let's begin the first lesson."

Zhou Peiyuan pressed the remote control for the projector, and an image appeared on the screen, but it wasn't a map.

Instead, it was a schematic diagram resembling a geological profile, labeled with words such as reality, interlayer, and layer fracture.

"Let's start with the interlayer. This is our general term for areas where historical shadows have accumulated." Zhou Peiyuan's voice wasn't loud, but every word was penetrating and clearly audible.

"It is not another world, but our world, a space formed by the shadows peeled away by time."

Su Yuan stared at the picture, his hand unconsciously touching the jade ring.

Zhou Peiyuan looked at everyone and continued:

"The entrance to the mezzanine is not fixed, but there are some patterns to follow. Cracks are most likely to appear in places that are old, have a high density of cultural relics, or have been the site of historical events."

Su Yuan understood.

What Teacher Zhou said was slightly different from what he knew, and he knew that Teacher Zhou and the others must have their reasons for saying it that way!

Zhou Peiyuan turned to the next page, and another photo appeared on the screen.

It's a crack in the wall, but the texture of the crack is wrong. It's not a crack in the bricks and stones, but a pattern like blood vessels.

"These are the fissures! Energy from the interlayer seeps out from these fissures and affects the reality layer."

At this moment, someone in the audience raised their hand and asked a question:

"Director Zhou, can this crack be sealed?"

"Yes, it's possible," Zhou Peiyuan said. "But sealing it isn't permanent; it requires regular monitoring and maintenance. If the crack widens, the contents of the interlayer might seep out."

"What's seeping out?" someone else asked.

Zhou Peiyuan paused, then said ambiguously, "There are all sorts of things. Some are harmless, just fragments of historical images. Others... are harmful..."

He didn't elaborate and turned to the next page.

Su Yuan noticed that Jiang Weiguo was taking notes diligently, his pen almost constantly moving across the paper…

The morning classes lasted two hours, with a break at 11:00. Su Yuan stood up and stretched his neck. Zhao Cheng leaned over and whispered:

"Director Zhou's explanation was insightful and much more detailed than Director Zhang's."

After saying that, he turned around and started chatting with the person next to him.

Su Yuan smiled but didn't reply; he knew Zhang Weiyi knew a lot. Jiang Weiguo leaned over from the side and whispered, "..."

"Su Yuan, have you ever worked with mezzanine structures before?"

Su Yuan glanced at him, remembered Zhang Weiyi's words, smiled and said, "I haven't had much contact with him, except that there are sometimes some anomalies in the unit's warehouse."

"Oh?" Jiang Weiguo's expression was unreadable: "Then you're quite lucky. You've only been in the industry for less than a year and you're already participating in this kind of training."

Su Yuan smiled, but remained cautious and didn't reply.

Lunch was at the Cultural Relics Bureau's canteen, a simple working meal. Su Yuan carried his tray and found a less crowded seat, and Zhao Cheng followed him down.

"Xiao Su, what did Jiang Weiguo ask you just now?" Zhao Cheng asked in a low voice.

"They asked me if I had any experience with interlayer materials."

"What did you say?"

"They said they hadn't had much contact with them, except that there were sometimes unusual things happening in the company's warehouse."

Zhao Cheng nodded: "That's a pretty safe bet. This guy seems to be paying close attention to you."

Su Yuan hummed in agreement and ate his meal. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Jiang Weiguo, who was sitting at another table, chatting quietly with two other people.

It doesn't look particularly special!

The afternoon class was a case study. Zhou Peiyuan talked about several cases of interlayer infiltration that had been dealt with in nine places. There weren't many details, but each case sent chills down my spine.

One example is the warehouse of a local museum.

A Tang Dynasty terracotta figurine moved on its own during the night. Surveillance footage captured the figurine's shadow coming down from the shelf, walking a few steps in the warehouse, and then returning to the shelf.

Su Yuan suppressed a laugh: "Teacher Zhou certainly knows how to revise... simplifying the matter between A-Wu and me so much..."

"This is not a paranormal event."

Zhou Peiyuan glanced at Su Yuan again and said, "It's the shadow of the interlayer projected onto the terracotta figurine, creating a brief image overlap."

"We call this a 'spirit shadow'."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan subconsciously touched the bronze mirror in his pocket.

The bronze mirror was warm, and I could feel movement inside it, as if they were listening to a lesson!

The first day of training ended around 4:30 p.m.

Su Yuan and Zhao Cheng walked out of the conference room and stood in the corridor for a while, but didn't see anyone special.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Shen Yue, then stood at the door with Zhao Cheng and waited.

Seeing Jiang Weiguo walking down the corridor not far away, carrying a briefcase, he nodded to him, smiled, and said, "See you tomorrow."

Then he disappeared at the top of the stairs.

Su Yuan withdrew his gaze, took a deep breath, and the first day of training passed without any major incidents!