Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan came out of Zhang Weiyi's office. The corridor was quiet, and sunlight shone in through the windows.

He stood in the band of light for a few seconds, his mind racing as he thought about the "ruins" the skeleton had mentioned yesterday.

"Is Master Su trying to go into the mezzanine again?"

"Why do we have to go in again after just going in?"

"I don't know, maybe they're worried about Miss Awu."

The murmurs coming from the corridor made Su Yuan turn his head to look, but there was nothing in the shadows in the corner.

He knew they were talking, but ignored them and went back to his office.

Just as I sat down, Zhao Cheng knocked on the door and came in.

He placed a folder on Su Yuan's desk, then pulled up a chair and sat down instead of leaving.

Zhao Cheng looked at him:

"I could smell it as soon as I got back without Chen Xiaohe telling me. Tell me about that skull."

Su Yuan glanced at Zhao Cheng, paused for a few seconds, and then said, "It said there's a place called 'Ruins' in the interlayer, where A Wu's remnant soul might be."

Zhao Cheng was also taken aback: "Ruins?"

"Brother Zhao, do you know this place?"

"Never heard of it."

Zhao Cheng shook his head:

"The Ninth Division might know that Shen Yue left a message before he left, saying to contact Director Zhou immediately if he made any discoveries."

After listening, Su Yuan took out his phone, hesitated for a moment, and did not call Zhou Peiyuan directly.

He first retrieved the message Zhou Peiyuan had sent earlier, and then read through the interpretation of the two bamboo slips.

Something pops into my head, but I just can't grasp it!

He put down his phone and looked at Zhao Cheng:

"Brother Zhao, you said that people in the Warring States period only knew about 'gap' and even performed sacrifices to it, so did they know about 'ruins'?"

Zhao Cheng thought for a moment:

"It's hard to say, but one thing is certain: that skeleton is not an ordinary one. It is a remnant of war, carrying the obsession of the battlefield."

"It can see other things in the interlayer, which means it was not an ordinary person when it was alive."

Su Yuan also recalled the skull's glowing green eye sockets and the sense of awe in its voice when it said "Ruins"!

"Brother Zhao, I want to go into the mezzanine again."

Zhao Cheng glanced at him: "When?"

"Of course, the sooner the better."

Zhao Cheng didn't stop him and stood up: "I'll go tell Director Zhang, you can prepare the things."

After Zhao Cheng left, Su Yuan took the bronze mirror off his neck and placed it on the table.

Awu's shadow shone brightly inside, her small body was a bit more solid than yesterday, and the outline of her clothes could already be seen!

It is a Tang Dynasty style ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and the curve of the skirt hem is clearly visible in the light and shadow.

"Awu".

Su Yuan called out softly, and A Wu Guangying turned her head to look at him.

"Do you know what that 'ruins' that skeleton mentioned?"

Awu's luminous figure seemed to be thinking, then pointed to herself, then to Su Yuan: "Remnant soul..."

He made an opening gesture with both hands, and finally pointed forward.

Su Yuan stared at her gestures and the two words she said:

"You mean, a part of your remnant soul is in the 'Ruins,' and you need to open something to retrieve it?"

Awu Guangying hummed in agreement.

"Where is that 'ruin' in the mezzanine? Do you know?"

Awu's light and shadow shook her head and spread her small hands. She didn't know the exact location, only the direction.

Su Yuan put the bronze mirror into a soft cloth bag and hung it back around his neck, then began to take stock of the items in his toolbox!

I haven't used up most of what I brought last time. I still have more than half a bottle of fish glue left, I only used a little of the porcelain powder, and I haven't touched the copper material or the old bamboo pieces.

He checked Su Zhi's sword again; the bronze spirit eye and the protective talisman were kept close to his body.

The jade ring felt warm on my hand, and the spirit-locking bead was pressed against my finger.

Everything is ready!

At lunchtime, Chen Xiaohe sat down with his tray, looking excited: "Su, you're going into the mezzanine again? Take me with you this time!"

Su Yuan rolled her eyes at him: "What are you going to do?"

"I'll carry your toolbox for you. Xiao Meng carried it for you last time, so it's nice of me to do it this time!"

Chen Xiaohe patted his chest and said, "Look at you last time you went in, you were busy repairing the skeleton and picking up pottery shards, you were so busy."

"I can help you with some work when I go, you just focus on finding A-Wu's remnant soul."

Qian Weidong snorted upon hearing this:

"You're going? That skeleton in the warehouse last time scared you so much you jumped out of your skin. If you actually went into the mezzanine and saw a living one, wouldn't you faint on the spot?"

Chen Xiaohe blushed: "That's different! It really is alive... Anyway, I'm not afraid this time!"

Zhao Cheng sat down with his plate in hand and simply said, "You'd better not go."

Chen Xiaohe opened his mouth, glanced at Zhao Cheng's expression, swallowed the words he was about to say, and stubbornly shoveled rice into his mouth.

Su Yuan smiled at him but didn't reply.

After finishing his meal, Su Yuan returned to his dormitory to rest. He had just lain down on his bed when his phone vibrated. It was Zhou Peiyuan calling.

"Xiao Su, Director Zhang told me."

Zhou Peiyuan's voice came through the receiver, sounding quite serious: "Regarding that 'ruins,' the Ninth Bureau has found some information."

Su Yuan sat up abruptly: "Teacher Zhou, how is it?"

"Don't rush."

Zhou Peiyuan said: "Xu is a place name. This place name has appeared in several Tang Dynasty documents, all referring to a special area in the interlayer."

"The exact location is not recorded, but one thing is certain: to enter the market, you need a special item called 'guide incense'."

"A guiding incense?"

It sounded like they were moving an ashtray on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, the literature says that this incense is made from several unique materials in the interlayer, and when lit, it can guide the way in the fog."

"Without it, you won't be able to find your way even if you enter the 'ruins,' you'll just be going around in circles!"

Su Yuan frowned as he listened to Zhou Peiyuan speak:

"Teacher Zhou, where can we find this guiding incense?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone for a few seconds before Zhou Peiyuan spoke: "It's in a warehouse at the renovation center."

Su Yuan was first taken aback, then delighted: "This is the warehouse?"

"Yes, according to records, your great-grandfather, Mr. Su, left behind a batch of things, including a copper box containing the 'guiding incense'."

Zhou Peiyuan grunted and then said:

"Your grandfather mentioned this to me when he was alive. Later, after being moved around, the copper box was transferred to that warehouse over there."

"Okay, Teacher Zhou, I'll go look for it right away."

After hanging up the phone, Su Yuan jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and ran outside.

Upon reaching the second floor of the office building, Zhao Cheng was just coming out when he saw Su Yuan rushing around and asked:

"What's wrong?"

"Looking for something!"

As Su Yuan spoke, he walked towards warehouse number three. He hadn't seen a similar copper box on the second floor, so he guessed it might be in warehouse number three.

"We need to find a copper box, which may contain a guiding incense, essential for entering the 'ruins'."

Zhao Cheng hurriedly followed behind him, and the two entered warehouse number three.

After turning on the lights, I saw that the shelves in the warehouse were filled with all kinds of cultural relics, some of which were in boxes and some were just left open on the shelves.

Su Yuan stood at the warehouse door, unsure of where to begin.

He quickly took out the bronze mirror and asked in a low voice:

"Mr. Zhong, could you help me find where my great-grandfather's things are?"

Zhong Ming's shadow and Miao Deyu had gone to keep an eye on the big guy in the mezzanine and had only been back for half a day.

It slowly floated out.

He glanced at the shelves in the warehouse with his hands behind his back, his voice audible only to Su Yuan:

"Your great-grandfather's things? Let me take a look..."

"Go check if you have that one, the one wrapped in oilcloth on the top shelf of that row on the west side."

Su Yuan hurriedly walked to the row of shelves on the west side, stood on tiptoe, and looked at the top shelf!

There were indeed several items wrapped in oilcloth, of varying sizes, all covered with a thick layer of dust.

Zhao Cheng helped move a chair over, and Su Yuan stood on it, taking down the oilcloth bundles one by one.

The first package contained a set of coppersmith's tools: a hammer, chisel, and pliers, all rusted beyond recognition!

Su Yuan put it aside and would deal with it later when he had time.

The second package contained a stack of old blueprints, depicting various objects, some with dimensions and materials marked on them.

Su Yuan flipped through the pages and saw a drawing of a round box with three words written next to it: "Guiding Incense".

That's it!