Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

"First, a mold is made, which is then cast into a ceramic mold. Molten bronze is poured in, and after it cools, the ceramic mold is broken. This is why each bronze artifact is unique; once the mold is destroyed, there are no more identical pieces!"

Lin Xi carefully noted it down, then pointed to another spot: "What about the gold inlay?"

"Make a groove in the surface of the bronze artifact, insert gold wire, and then polish it smooth..."

"Have you done this before?"

"I've done it before, it's not difficult, it just strains your eyes..."

Lin Xi couldn't help but laugh, and Su Yuan also grinned, then nervously lowered his head.

Next, Lin Xi asked several more professional questions, which Su Yuan answered one by one. As they talked, his tense nerves gradually relaxed!

After asking all the questions, Lin Xi closed the folder and stood up: "Thanks!"

"No...it's nothing."

She walked to the door and turned back to ask:

"By the way, are you free this weekend? There's an exhibition of Tang Dynasty murals, I'd like to go see it, do you want to come along?"

Su Yuan's heart stopped. Images of him going out alone and talking along the way flashed through his mind. His social anxiety instincts made him blurt out:

"I have things to do this weekend!"

Lin Xi didn't insist, she just smiled and said, "Okay, next time then."

Su Yuan slumped into his chair, letting out a long sigh; his palms were already clammy with sweat. He pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling slightly, and sent a WeChat message to his mother:

"Mom, someone invited me to see a mural exhibition this weekend."

The mother replied almost instantly, her tone full of urgency:

"Male or female?"

"It's...a female colleague."

"Then hurry up and agree!"

"I've already refused..."

A long string of ellipses popped up in the dialog box, followed by an unopened voice message. Even without listening, Su Yuan could guess that it was his mother's disappointed nagging.

He put down his phone, slumped onto the table, and gazed at the pigeons flying past the window, thinking about Director Zhang's words: "Don't just listen..."

He found that he felt less nervous talking to non-humans lately, but felt very uncomfortable when facing living people.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the relaxed mood of the morning was gone. The matter of Chunyang Zhenren kept swirling in Su Yuan's mind, which made him go into the warehouse again.

It wasn't because he had a mission, but because he was thinking about what Chunyang Zhenren had said about the crack being chiseled, and he wanted to investigate that crack again!

Awu on the shelf at the very back of the warehouse didn't move. He glanced at her twice as usual, then walked to the back of the warehouse and lifted the canvas covering the wooden crate in the corner.

In the top box, there was a stack of old black and white photographs, all of them of murals from the Yongle Palace.

He pulled out a photo of "The Court of the Gods" and found the location of the main deity that had been dug out. It was still intact on the film from more than 30 years ago!

A deity in a crown stands on the clouds, surrounded by maidens.

The back of the photo is labeled: Taken in 1987, Chunyang Hall of Yongle Palace.

Hidden in the box below is an old mimeographed document titled "Interim Report on the Conservation Project of Yongle Palace Murals".

The preceding pages contained specialized content such as ground layer analysis, pigment composition, and temperature and humidity monitoring. Turning to the last page, a line of handwritten text in blue fountain pen stood out prominently:

During the thirty-seventh inspection, a new crack was discovered on the west wall of Chunyang Hall. It was 73 centimeters long and located directly below the shoulder of the Chunyang Zhenren statue.

The cause is under investigation!

"It's that crack..."

Su Yuan put away the documents and covered them with the canvas. As soon as he stood up, he noticed something was wrong behind him.

He hurriedly turned around and saw that standing at the door was not a shadow, but the living Zhao Cheng, wearing that navy blue work uniform, quietly looking at him:

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking up information..." Su Yuan steadied himself.

Zhao Cheng walked in and glanced at the box behind him: "Did Director Zhang send you to investigate?"

Su Yuan remained silent. Zhao Cheng stared at him for a few seconds, then calmly said, "Don't concern yourself with the affairs of Yongle Palace!"

Why?

"Because you can't control it; that thing is beyond your ability to handle."

"Do you know what that is?"

"Know!"

"Then why don't you..."

"Because it can't move!" Zhao Cheng interrupted him. "There are people behind that thing, not just one, but a group of people."

Su Yuan's heart skipped a beat. Zhao Cheng turned to look at A Wu on the shelf and continued:

"Do you know why your dad went crazy? It wasn't just because of A-Wu, but because he saw something he shouldn't have seen, something someone didn't want him to see."

He turned to look at Su Yuan: "You're watching too!"

Su Yuan clenched his fists as he listened: "So I shouldn't watch it?"

Zhao Cheng did not respond, but said as he walked out:

"If you want to fix it, then fix it! But don't ask why while it's being fixed, or you might not be able to leave!"

Su Yuan took out a bronze mirror from his pocket, and several more shadows appeared in the mirror. One of the shadows came closer and whispered, "Master Su..."

Su Yuan didn't reply, and the voice asked again:

"Are you going to repair the Yongle Palace?"

"build!"

"When will it start?"

"Waiting for Director Zhang's reply..."

The shadow paused for a moment, then asked again, "Do you believe what that guy surnamed Zhao said?"

Su Yuan was taken aback: "What?"

"He said there was someone behind that thing, and it's true! But he didn't finish his story."

"What didn't you finish saying?"

The shadow moved closer in the mirror, first giving a chilling smile, and said:

"Because the person controlling that thing works in this unit; you see them every day..."

After hearing this, a chill ran through Su Yuan's body:

"What did you say?"

After the shadow finished speaking, it retreated back into the group of shadows, and the sound in the mirror disappeared. Su Yuan turned the bronze mirror over and put it away, then quickly walked out of the storeroom!

In the corridor, the overhead fluorescent light flickered, and Old Wu's laughter came from downstairs.

Who is it?

Su Yuan walked into the lobby on the first floor. Old Wu and Xiao Chen were chatting and laughing. When they saw him coming, they waved to him.

"Come, sit down."

Su Yuan sat down, and Xiao Chen glanced at him: "You don't look well, what happened?"

"fine."

Old Wu stared at him again with those piercing little eyes, making Su Yuan feel uneasy. He tentatively called out:

"Uncle Wu?"

Old Wu then withdrew his gaze and continued chatting with Xiao Chen. Su Yuan sat there, looking at Old Wu with his gap-toothed grin and Xiao Chen smoking a cigarette, his mind filled with doubt.

He suddenly stood up: "I'm leaving..."

Old Wu looked at him: "Come early tomorrow, I have something to do!"

"What is it?"

Old Wu didn't reply to him. Su Yuan turned and walked towards the door. Before leaving, he looked back and felt for some reason that everyone on the second floor was different from before.

That night, Su Yuan tossed and turned all night, barely closing his eyes. It wasn't fear, but his mind just wouldn't stop racing, constantly replaying the two sentences from the shadow.

He went through everyone in the unit one by one.

Director Zhang, Lao Wu, Xiao Chen, Lin Xi, even the cafeteria lady and the old gatekeeper, everyone looks like a suspect!

And then I see that none of them look right!

Before I knew it, it was already past four in the morning, so I simply got up and stood by the window smoking until it was almost dawn before I went back to bed.

He opened his eyes and it was already 7:40. He hurriedly put on his clothes and rushed to work.

Upon arriving at the lobby, Old Wu was not in his chair; only newspapers and two cigarette butts remained. Reaching the second floor, the director's office door was open, but he was not there.

When I got to my office, I saw a note on my desk with crooked handwriting:

"Come to the warehouse, Wu!"