Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

The missing strokes have ruined the overall charm of the seal, and the wear and tear from years of use have made the missing edges somewhat rough.

Su Yuan saw that the problem wasn't serious and wouldn't take much time, so he took it directly to the warehouse worktable and started working on it.

First, use a soft brush to sweep away the loose matter on the stamp surface. Then, use a cotton swab dipped in anhydrous ethanol to wipe the broken surface of the missing part, and thoroughly clean away the old dirt and impurities inside.

To avoid affecting subsequent bonding and re-adhesion!

Following traditional jade restoration techniques, he carefully noted the direction of the seal script strokes and compared them with the rest of the complete strokes of the seal.

They began preparing a reversible jade repair paste specifically for cultural relics, mixing it with fine white jade powder of the same color and blending it repeatedly several times.

The color and density of the paste perfectly match the texture of the original jade, restoring the original color of the old object to the greatest extent possible.

After mixing the paste, Su Yuan used a thin bamboo needle to pick up the paste and fill the missing parts in thin layers.

The thickness of each layer must be strictly controlled to prevent shrinkage and deformation during curing!

After the paste had initially set, Su Yuan used a miniature carving knife to carefully recarve along the strokes of the original characters, replicating the unique staccato and rhythmic composition of seal carving from the Republican era.

The thickness of the lines and the force of the turns must conform to the original style.

After the carving was completed and fully cured, Su Yuan used 800-grit, 2000-grit, and 5000-grit sandpaper to polish it step by step.

Finally, use deerskin to repeatedly polish and age the area, allowing the patina at the junction of the old and new layers to blend naturally!

After the repairs were completed and the incomplete strokes were fully restored, Su Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief, packed up his tools, cleaned the workbench, and presented the brocade box to Lin Xi.

The whole process took one hour and sixteen minutes.

Su Yuan stretched his arms and legs, went downstairs for some fresh air, and saw Chen Xiaohe crawling in the security booth when he came out of the lobby. Liu Jun was on leave.

Seeing him come out, Chen Xiaohe called out to him, "Su, it's fixed so quickly. What did you and Lao Zhao talk about?"

Su Yuan walked to his side, hesitated for a moment, and still didn't reveal the blood bank matter. It wasn't that he didn't trust Chen Xiaohe, but the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

They'll let him know when the time is right!

"So, after you shared your findings, he reported them to Professor Zhou. Brother Chen, is Wang Jianguo still at work today?"

"I'm gone."

Chen Xiaohe came out and said, "He left around 2 PM. He still looks terrible and is walking unsteadily."

Su Yuan waited for him to finish speaking before saying, "Brother Chen, we still need to keep an eye on him later."

"OK."

Chen Xiaohe nodded, and said with a very serious expression, "Su, you'd better be careful. I feel like this is getting more and more strange."

Su Yuan smiled and nodded. After having dinner in the cafeteria at 6:30 p.m., he went straight back to his dormitory.

He placed the bronze mirror on the bedside table, and when he returned after washing up, Ah Wu's reflection floated on the mirror.

"Su Yuan, you're amazing! You thought of the blood bank right away."

A-Wu said playfully, and Su Yuan, sitting on the edge of the bed, looked at A-Wu with a smile:

"I just feel that Han Zhengming wouldn't directly kill someone, because that would cause too much of a commotion, and the Ninth Bureau and other departments would definitely investigate him."

Su Yuan lay on his side on the bed, watching Ah Wu float around, and continued:

"It's much safer to transfer blood from a blood bank."

A-Wu stopped, sat on the mirror, rested her chin on her small hand, and moved closer to Su Yuan:

"That big guy was probably sacrificed in the past, and it probably only absorbed blood and qi. The key is the unique essence in human blood."

What else did Awu think of?

"Su Yuan, I think it's still not fully awake, it's in a semi-sleep state, otherwise it wouldn't be moving so slowly."

Su Yuan was taken aback: "Not fully awake yet?"

"Yes." Awu nodded: "The essence in the blood is not enough to awaken it yet, so it needs more human blood essence."

"It won't take long to wake that big guy up, Su Yuan, so you don't need to be too anxious."

After listening to A-Wu finish speaking, Su Yuan felt much more relaxed and picked up the bronze mirror to look at her:

"Awu, I'd like to go into the mezzanine again tomorrow, is that okay?"

Awu raised her little head and looked at him: "You haven't accumulated enough power yet, so you won't be able to go very far if you go in now."

"I know Ah Wu, she doesn't want to go far away this time."

Su Yuan shifted his head slightly: "I want to go to the area near that stone pillar from last time. I want to take a good look at what's engraved on that stone tablet."

Awu thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay."

Su Yuan smiled, placed the bronze mirror beside his pillow, and slowly fell asleep. The next morning, Su Yuan woke up at 6:30.

He got up, washed up, changed into his work clothes, and checked all the things he needed to bring.

The toolbox must contain Su Zhi's sword-making tools, the bronze spiritual eye, and the protective inscription of the Pure Yang True Man; none of them can be missing.

He hung up the bronze mirror, picked up his toolbox, and left the dormitory.

At 7:30, Li Xiulan had already laid out millet porridge, steamed buns, pickled vegetables, and boiled eggs in the canteen.

Su Yuan brought over a bowl of porridge, a steamed bun, and an egg, and sat down to eat slowly.

Zhao Cheng sat down with his tray, and Su Yuan said:

"Brother Zhao, I'm going into the mezzanine today. I want to take another look near that stone pillar from last time."

Zhao Cheng didn't ask any further questions, only saying, "Be careful, I'll keep watch outside."

Qian Weidong heard this, picked up his tray, and sat down. He glanced at Su Yuan and asked, "You Jin, are you coming with me?"

"Hmm... I'll go by myself. It's not far, it's nothing. I didn't ask Shen Yue or Xiao Meng to come."

"Okay, remember to call me if anything happens." Qian Weidong said before eating his egg.

After finishing his meal, Su Yuan went upstairs to the warehouse. Xiao Jue, standing on the shelf, asked, "Master Su, are you going in again today?"

"Okay, I'll be right back."

Xiao Jue's voice became serious: "Master Su, I feel like things aren't going well in the mezzanine these past few days, so be careful."

"I felt an unfamiliar scent seeping in, not from the interlayer."

Su Yuan frowned: "What kind of aura is that?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it, it's just that I feel uneasy, like... someone outside is putting something inside."

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Was it Han Zhengming's men who did it? They didn't go far this time, so it should be fine, right?

He put the toolbox aside and squatted down to look at the ground under the shelf.

The brick-paved ground showed no signs of abnormality, the jade ring on her hand had begun to heat up, and the Spirit-Locking Pearl also lit up briefly.

Zhao Cheng squatted down and sniffed: "The smell is a bit stronger than last time, and it's also a little fishy. Come back immediately if you notice anything wrong!"

Su Yuan hummed in agreement, took out the bronze spiritual eye, and waited with his toolbox until the ground tiles became transparent. He then glanced back at Zhao Cheng, who nodded.

Su Yuan took a deep breath and stepped inside.

The moment Su Yuan stepped onto the gray-white interlayer floor, he sensed something was wrong!

The smell in the air has changed.

The last two times I came in, the air was filled with the smell of earth after the rain, which wasn't unpleasant.

Today's flavor has a slightly fishy-sweet taste.

Su Yuan took the bronze mirror off his neck and held it in his hand; A Wu's image shone within it.

"Su Yuan, come back as soon as you finish reading that content. I can't stand the smell inside either."

"Okay, Awu, stay inside and don't come out. I'll be careful."

After finishing speaking, Su Yuan gripped the Su Zhizao sword and slowly walked forward along the gray-white ground.

After walking for less than ten minutes, the scattered fragments appeared ahead. After walking for about twenty more minutes, the fog thinned, and the outline of the stone pillars came into view!

I was lucky today; I didn't encounter any very thick fog.

Su Yuan walked up to the stone pillar and looked at the Han Dynasty clerical script inscriptions on its surface. He had only glanced at them last time, but today he wanted to examine them carefully using the spiritual eye on the bronze plaque.

Holding the bronze plaque up to the stone pillar, the inscriptions on the pillar became clearer.

Su Yuan read it aloud, word by word:

"In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, I entered the interlayer and saw a huge object, as large as a mountain, its shape resembling a beast crouching in the mist. As I approached it, I felt a chill penetrating to my bones, and my spiritual consciousness seemed to dissipate."

"I communicated with it using a secret method, and the giant creature opened its eyes and looked at me as if I were an ant. I asked it about its origin, but it did not answer. When I asked its name, it said: Gu."

When asked why he was there, he replied, "Waiting."

"When asked when it would answer, it did not. When asked again, the giant creature became angry. My consciousness almost collapsed. After emerging from the interlayer, I could not speak for three days and could not walk for half a month."

"I inscribed this on a stele to warn future generations: Gods must not be approached, or you will perish."

After reading it, Su Yuan felt a chill run down his spine and got goosebumps all over his body.

That big guy is called "Gu," and it's waiting for something in the interlayer!