Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan sat down, and Zhou Peiyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said:

"Deputy Director Chen told me that the bronze dou vessel you repaired today was the best craftsmanship she's seen in recent years!"

Su Yuan scratched his head sheepishly:

"Don't praise me, it's all thanks to your excellent teaching! I was just doing it normally."

"In those years, I was just doing what a teacher should do. If you can do that well, it means you have a solid foundation."

Zhou Peiyuan put down his teacup: "But I called you here not to praise you."

Su Yuan thought to himself, "As expected!"

Zhou Peiyuan took out a folder, opened it, and found several sheets of paper inside with some data and charts printed on them.

"Yesterday I told you about Han Zhengming's cultivation of discord; today I'll show you some specifics."

He pushed the folder in front of Su Yuan and pointed to a few lines of text: "This is the monitoring data from nine locations over the past three months. Take a look for yourself."

Su Yuan picked it up and flipped through it.

The first page is a line chart, with the horizontal axis representing the date and the vertical axis representing the fluctuation value.

The line started to rise slowly three months ago, but suddenly surged in the past week!

"The fluctuation value of the fissure in the east is continuously increasing."

Zhou Peiyuan pointed to the highest point on the chart and said, "Yesterday it had already risen to eight percent. If it rises another two points, we'll have to activate the emergency plan."

Su Yuan stared at the ever-rising data line and unconsciously touched the jade ring on his hand.

"Professor Zhou, is this fluctuation related to Han Zhengming?"

Zhou Peiyuan glanced at him:

"Nine points are suspected to be related, but there is no direct evidence at the moment. However, one thing is certain! Every time Han Zhengming is found to be going to the east, the fluctuation value will increase a little."

Su Yuan frowned: "What's he doing going east?"

"I don't know," Zhou Peiyuan said.

"Our people have followed him, but they always lose track of him. He must have arrangements over there, with someone to meet him."

The room was silent for a few seconds before Zhou Peiyuan put the folder away.

"I'm telling you this just so you're aware of the situation. After the training ends, go back to your normal life."

"The Ninth Division will be keeping an eye on Han Zhengming's matter."

"And what about me?" Su Yuan asked, "Am I just going to wait like this?"

"No," Zhou Peiyuan said, looking at him.

"Focus on your repairs and protect what you have. The bronze mirror, jade ring, bronze plaque, and Su's sword are the four things Han Zhengming most wants to obtain."

"You need to prevent them from stealing. They don't dare to openly rob you right now! As long as you have these things, they can't touch the foundation of the hidden compartment."

Su Yuan nodded after listening.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Zhou Peiyuan stood up. "Go back and get some rest. There's another day of training tomorrow."

Su Yuan also stood up, but turned back as he walked to the door:

"Teacher Zhou, Sun Guoliang should have gone to the east yesterday as well."

Zhou Peiyuan frowned slightly:

"Okay, I understand. Don't worry about this. Let the Ninth Division handle it. Go ahead and tell Xiao Shen to come pick you up."

Su Yuan hummed in agreement, opened the door, and went out.

There were hardly any people left in the corridor. Zhao Cheng stared at him for a while but didn't come over. Su Yuan stood by the window for a while, then took out his phone and sent a message to Shen Yue.

Shen Yue drove up to the building quickly.

Zhao Cheng watched Su Yuan get into the car, then turned around and went into Zhou Peiyuan's house. Su Yuan leaned back in the back seat, closed his eyes, and went through the events of the day in his mind.

Jiang Weiguo's gaze, Deputy Director Chen's comment, the wave chart Zhou Peiyuan showed him...

Shen Yue glanced at him in the rearview mirror: "Master Su, are you alright?"

"Um."

Shen Yue didn't ask any more questions and focused on driving.

Upon arriving at Zhou Peiyuan's house, Zhao Cheng sent two messages:

"After the training, Jiang Weiguo chatted with a man wearing glasses in the parking lot for ten minutes. We were far away, so I couldn't hear what they were saying."

"I looked into that man; his name is Liu Dong. He works in the Technical Department of the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau and is close to Han Zhengming."

Su Yuan frowned and replied, "Thank you, Brother Zhao."

He scrolled back to the messages Chen Xiaohe had sent earlier and glanced at one of them: "He only said he went to a certain place in the east."

The fissure is in the east. Han Zhengming went to the east, and Sun Guoliang also went to the east. The fluctuation value is rising, and the infiltration of the interlayer is intensifying.

These things are like a net, getting tighter and tighter.

After Su Yuan entered the house, he wanted to cook something to impress others, but after thinking about it, he decided against it and decided to save some ingredients!

After entering the second bedroom, he put the toolbox away and took out a bronze mirror, placing it on the bedside table.

"Elder Zhong," Su Yuan called out.

Zhong Ming's shadow drifted over and looked at him.

"When Jiang Weiguo looked at me today, did you see anything else in the mirror?"

"Today we discovered that he also carries something with him." Zhong Ming thought for a moment and said, "It's not a gap, it's something else."

Su Yuan: "What is it?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it." Zhong Ming's shadow flickered.

"I've lived here for so many years and I've never seen that kind of atmosphere before. It's not as cold and gloomy as the gutter, nor as warm and gentle as the things from your Su family."

"It's more like... a mixed up flavor."

Miao Deyu's voice came from the mirror: "It's like someone forcibly stuffed several things into a person's body, and since they weren't digested, they just piled up like that."

Su Yuan's heart sank upon hearing this.

Imagine the burden of having multiple different energies crammed into one person! Can Jiang Weiguo withstand it?

Su Yuan felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it. He wanted to ask more questions, but then he heard Zhou Peiyuan open the door.

Su Yuan turned the bronze mirror over, placed it face down on the bedside table, and left the bedroom.

Zhou Peiyuan changed his shoes, put his briefcase on the sofa, and glanced at him with a smile: "Haven't eaten yet? I'll go make some."

"Teacher Zhou, let me help you."

"No need, you've had a long day, go and rest." Zhou Peiyuan waved his hand and went into the kitchen.

Su Yuan didn't follow them inside. Knowing that Teacher Zhou was annoyed that he was getting in the way in the kitchen, he sat on the sofa in the living room, lost in thought.

Dinner consisted of rice, stir-fried greens, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. Zhou Peiyuan didn't say much today and ate relatively quickly.

Su Yuan glanced at it but didn't ask any more questions, and started eating in silence.

After finishing his meal and washing the dishes, Zhou Peiyuan sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette. Su Yuan knew he didn't usually smoke; something must have happened today!

"Teacher Zhou, has something happened?"

Su Yuan asked cautiously, and Zhou Peiyuan took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled:

"This afternoon, people from higher up came and reviewed nearly six months' worth of monitoring files from nine locations!"

Su Yuan didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

"The people who accessed the files were from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection," Zhou Peiyuan flicked his cigarette ash. "They weren't from the Ninth Division, they were from Han Zhengming."

"Someone reported him behind his back, saying that he abused his power by illegally transferring personnel and interfering in local cultural relics projects."

Su Yuan frowned: "This...can they even investigate him?"

"I can't get anywhere with this." Zhou Peiyuan stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Han Zhengming has too deep roots in the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau. The Discipline Inspection Commission's review of his files was just a formality. But the signal is very clear: someone higher up is taking action against him."

"Who could have reported this behind my back?" Su Yuan thought to himself that this person must be someone extraordinary.

Zhou Peiyuan glanced at him: "I don't know. But to be able to file a complaint up to the provincial discipline inspection commission, that's no ordinary person!"