Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Since he was already there, he had to go inside, so he stood up.

"I'll think about it."

A glint flashed in Zhang Weiyi's eyes, and he nodded: "Okay, let me know when you've thought it through."

As Su Yuan reached the door, Wu Zhenshan called out from behind, "Little Su."

"The braised beef, roast chicken, and chili sauce your dad sent will arrive tomorrow."

Just as Su Yuan was about to ask him how he knew, Wu Zhenshan grinned, revealing his gap-toothed smile:

"He sent me a copy too, saying it was to thank me for taking care of you..."

Su Yuan grunted and left. Back in his dorm, he faced the bronze mirror. The shadows in the mirror remained silent.

As if he knew his situation, Su Yuan didn't say anything, but took out his phone and sent a WeChat message to his mother: "Mom, has Dad ever told you before that he wanted to go to a certain place?"

After waiting five minutes without a reply, I sent another message, unwilling to give up: "It's like... places inside the wall."

Still no reply. Su Yuan felt heavy-hearted. He placed his phone next to his pillow, lay there with his eyes open, and stared blankly into space. His phone vibrated!

"He did say that, I remember he mentioned a place only he could go. I asked him what place it was, but he wouldn't say. Then he..."

The message stopped there, then a few seconds later another message appeared: "And then he got into trouble!"

Su Yuan stared at those two lines of text, lost in thought. After a while, his mother sent another message:

"Yuan'er, why are you asking this?"

With red eyes, Su Yuan replied, "I was just asking."

His mother sent a message: "Oh, you should go to sleep early."

Su Yuan put down his phone, unable to fall asleep, and whispered to himself in front of the bronze mirror:

"Old Black..."

The bronze mirror moved slightly, and the dark shadow rose from the mirror, slowly rotating on the surface.

Do you recognize that gap in Yongle Palace?

The shadowy figure stopped spinning and didn't reply. Su Yuan continued:

"You also came from the crack, so you must be the same kind of thing," the shadowy figure spoke. "No, it's different. It's wild! I was domesticated!"

Su Yuan jolted awake and sat up abruptly, asking:

"Raised? Who raised it?"

The dark figure sank back down without replying. Su Yuan stared at the mirror, thinking, "Raising...who raised it? Who would raise something in a hidden compartment?"

The person behind that thing is in this company!

He flipped the bronze mirror over and placed it face down on the table, lay back down and closed his eyes. Various images flashed through his mind, making him feel excited.

He rolled over and saw his phone was lit up; his mother had sent another message. This time it was a voice message, and when he opened it, his father's voice came through the phone:

"Yuan'er, don't be afraid! Go where you need to go. You'll be alright once you get out, and even if you don't... don't be afraid!"

Su Yuan felt a tightness in his chest and wanted to shout a few times. After listening to the audio, he listened to it again.

As dawn approached, he finally fell asleep. In his dream, a person stood in front of a wall with their back to him. It was a very tall red wall, and when the person turned around, it was his father!

It was his father when he was young, with black hair and a chubby face. He smiled at Su Yuan.

"Yuan'er, don't follow my example..."

Suddenly a curved crack appeared in the wall, and his father walked right in. The crack then closed up immediately!

In his dream, Su Yuan stood there, toolbox in hand, frozen in place, unable to move. He wanted to shout, but no sound came out; he could only helplessly lower his head…

Looking at my toolbox with the tools and paint flying around, I looked up again and the wall was still there, but the cracks had disappeared.

He stood there for a long time, wanting to cry but unable to. The feeling of powerlessness woke him from his dream, and there were tears in the corners of his eyes!

Daylight had broken, and the sun shone through the window. The bronze mirror on the table was now facing upwards, and the shadows within it were quite lively. Seeing that he was awake, a voice called out:

"Stop making noise, Master Su is awake!"

The bronze mirror fell silent. Su Yuan sat up, his head aching, and silently dressed and washed his face. He stuffed the bronze mirror into his pocket and left without his toolbox.

When Su Yuan arrived at the office building, Wu Zhenshan was already sitting on a bench. Seeing Su Yuan approaching, he waved and asked:

Have you eaten?

"without…"

"There's porridge in the cafeteria, go and have a bowl."

Su Yuan's voice was a little hoarse: "Uncle Wu."

"Um?"

"If we seal off what's inside the wall, will everything be fine?"

Wu Zhenshan looked at him with gentle eyes: "Yes..."

"I'll go!"

Wu Zhenshan's brow twitched, and he said very solemnly, "Okay, let's go!"

"Where to?"

"Go find Zhang Weiyi first; he has something for you."

Su Yuan followed him upstairs. The door to the director's office was open, and Zhang Weiyi was standing in front of the window with his back to the door. Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around and stared at Su Yuan:

"Have you thought it through?"

"Yes, I've thought it through."

Zhang Weiyi nodded at him, walked to the table, and took something out of the drawer. It was a neatly folded blue cloth, which he handed to Su Yuan.

Su Yuan took it and opened it. Inside was a piece of white jade, about the size of a thumbnail, with the character "Su" engraved on it!

"This belongs to your great-grandfather," Zhang Weiyi said. "The records say he made it himself."

Su Yuan held the jade in his hand, trembling. It felt warm. Zhang Weiyi said:

"Take it with you when you go in; it will help you find your way!"

Su Yuan wrapped the jade and put it in his pocket, placing it next to the bronze mirror, and asked, "When are we going?"

"Tomorrow," Zhang Weiyi said, "Let's make some preparations today."

Once in the office, those shadows crowded into the bronze mirror again, and a voice asked:

"Master Su, where are we going tomorrow?"

Su Yuan rested his chin on his hands, stunned and speechless. The voice spoke again:

"Do we need to go inside the wall?"

Hearing this, Su Yuan snapped out of his reverie and moved closer to the mirror, looking at the reflections. The one in the foreground, the one who had spoken, was indistinct; all he could make out was that it was an old man hunched over, asking curiously:

How did you know?

"Hey, the word's all over the mezzanine: more than thirty years have passed since Yongle Palace, and finally someone's going in again!"

Su Yuan felt empty inside and didn't speak, only hearing the voice ask:

"Master Su... are you scared?"

Su Yuan looked out the window: "I'm scared."

The voice didn't ask any more questions, and the shadows fell silent...

Su Yuan stood in front of the window for almost two hours without moving.

After a soft sigh, his gaze shifted to the bronze mirror, and he suddenly noticed that the shadows inside were no longer talking much, and their chatter had quieted down considerably, as if they were afraid of disturbing someone!

The old man at the front, seeing him looking this way, moved forward a bit, and his voice sounded somewhat reluctant:

"Master Su..."

"Um?"

"Are you really going tomorrow?"

Su Yuan stared blankly without answering. The old man shook his head and didn't ask any more questions. He put the bronze mirror in his pocket and walked out of the office. In the corridor, he vaguely saw some shadows watching him!

No one said anything about what they wanted him to fix. Wu Zhenshan wasn't in the lobby on the first floor. He stood there for half a minute and then walked towards the cafeteria.

The canteen was located in a gray brick bungalow behind the workplace. Su Yuan pushed open the door and went inside, only to find it completely empty!

A cool breeze swept past him...