Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, put the jade and copper pieces together, wrapped them in the blue cloth, put them in his pocket, and walked to the window.

The sun was already setting in the west. He stood there, watching the flock of pigeons outside the window, speechless…

His phone rang; it was his mother calling.

"Yuan'er, did you receive the items?"

"Received it, Mom."

"Your dad asked you if you've seen it."

"I've seen it..."

His mother paused for a moment on the other end of the line: "Yuan'er, are you going somewhere tomorrow?"

Su Yuan didn't answer; his mother seemed to be speaking while covering the phone:

"Your dad had another dream last night... He dreamt that you were standing in front of a wall, holding a toolbox! He even said that the wall was the same as the one he had dreamt about before."

Su Yuan gripped his phone, his hand trembling involuntarily. His mother said again:

"Your dad just said that if you really go, you shouldn't look back!"

Su Yuan was stunned, and he controlled his hands to stop trembling as he listened carefully.

"Your father's exact words were: 'Tell Yuan'er not to look back. Once inside, just keep walking forward and don't look back.'"

"They said if we turned back, we wouldn't be able to get out!"

Su Yuan's mind was buzzing, and then his mother's voice came again:

"Yuan'er, tell your mother, where are you going?"

Su Yuan pinched his brow and thought for a moment: "It's just fixing something. I'll come back when it's fixed!"

It sounded like his mom and dad were talking on the other end of the phone. Afterwards, his mom said something:

"Okay, remember to call Mom when it's fixed."

"Um…"

The moment I hung up the phone, the chattering in the bronze mirror began:

"Master Su, we'll be waiting for you tomorrow!"

"Yes, we're all waiting for you..."

Su Yuan looked at the shadows and smiled.

"good!"

Su Yuan slept well that night, and was woken up by his alarm clock at 6:30 a.m. When he sat up, the room was still dark, and he couldn't see anything on the table!

It was a bit chilly, and the water in the tap took forever to heat up when he went to wash up. So he splashed some cold water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror for a few seconds.

I still look kind of handsome in the mirror.

He had packed up his toolbox last night and checked his pockets. He found the bronze mirror, jade, bronze pieces, and the small blue stone that A-Wu had given him, which he had kept under his pillow.

I carried it with me today, placing it next to the bronze mirror. When I bent down to tie my shoelaces, I pulled something else out from under my pillow!

It was a folded talisman, which Su Yuan kept as a spare. It was given to him by the Pure Yang True Man from Yongle Palace.

Su Yuan clutched the talisman in his hand, closed his eyes, exhaled, picked up his toolbox, and went out the door. Along the way, he kept feeling a cool breeze blowing around him…

When I arrived at the entrance of the workplace, there was a person standing there.

It is Linxi.

She was wearing work clothes, her hair was tied up, and she was carrying a plastic bag. Seeing Su Yuan approach, she went over and handed him the bag.

"This is breakfast, eat it on the way."

Su Yuan blushed as she took the bag, too nervous to say thank you. Inside were two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk, both still warm!

"How did you know...?"

"Old Wu said so," Lin Xi interrupted him. "He said you're going on a long trip today..."

Su Yuan stared at the plastic bag without saying a word. Lin Xi smiled and looked at him for a few seconds before asking:

"Do you have enough stuff in your toolbox?"

"enough…"

Lin Xi gave him another strange look, as if she wanted to say something but didn't. In the end, she only said, "Be careful..."

After saying that, he went into the hall without looking back. Su Yuan stood there, carrying a plastic bag in his hand. He glanced at the office a few times, picked up his toolbox, and walked towards the bread cart next to him.

Qian Weidong was leaning against the car door, smoking a cigarette, when he saw Su Yuan coming over, he quickly put the cigarette out.

Have you eaten?

Su Yuan shook the plastic bag in his hand: "I brought it."

"Come on, get in the car."

Su Yuan got into the car and sat in the passenger seat. Qian Weidong started the car and drove away from the vicinity of his workplace.

Old Wu and Chen Xiaohe in the lobby, Director Zhang and Zhao Cheng on the second floor, and Lin Xi watched the bread truck leave...

Su Yuan opened the plastic bag in the car. The steamed buns were made with pork and scallions. He ate one and drank a few sips of soy milk.

As the car started, he glanced back at the two-story building and saw them inside!

The car soon entered the mountain road after leaving the city. Today's road was not the same one that led to Yongle Palace; it was heading north. This road was narrower and had more bends.

The trees on both sides were so dense that the sky was obscured, and the car headlights illuminated the road ahead in a grayish hue.

"How much further?" Su Yuan asked Qian Weidong.

"It'll be about two hours. Why don't you take a nap first?"

Su Yuan was in no mood for anything and stared out the car window without saying a word the whole way. Qian Weidong glanced at him from time to time, but didn't say anything either!

About an hour and a half later, Qian Weidong turned the car onto a dirt road.

The road narrowed, with overgrown wasteland on both sides, and the car bounced violently. Su Yuan gripped the handrail, holding his toolbox, and kept staring out the window.

"We're almost there," Qian Weidong said.

After driving for another ten minutes or so, the car stopped. There was a wall in front of us. It was the kind of earthen wall that resembles the Loess Plateau, and it was taller than a two-story building!

The top was covered with grass, and some corners had collapsed, exposing the rammed earth inside. There was a crack in the middle of the wall, winding from top to bottom, and at its widest point, a person could squeeze through.

Su Yuan's heart tightened, and every nerve in his body pounded as he got off the bus and stood in front of the wall.

A cool breeze blew in from the crack, carrying a smell of earth.

"This is it," Qian Weidong said, standing behind him. "The things Zhao Huaishan sealed back then are behind this wall."

Su Yuan stared into the dark crack, unable to see the bottom. He habitually touched the bronze mirror in his pocket; it was hot!

"I'm going in!"

Su Yuan made a firm decision. Qian Weidong didn't say anything, but simply took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.

"I'll wait for you outside...come out!"

Su Yuan picked up his toolbox and headed towards the crack. After a few steps, he remembered something and turned back to Qian Weidong, saying:

"Master Qian."

"Um?"

"Please say thank you for Lin Xi's breakfast!"

Qian Weidong paused for a moment, then smiled wryly, "Okay, but it's better if you go back and tell me yourself..."

Su Yuan paused for two seconds without speaking, then turned and disappeared into the crevice. Watching his figure vanish into the crevice, Qian Weidong muttered something to himself.

"I'll wait until you come out..."

The light inside suddenly dimmed, so Su Yuan took out a flashlight and shone it forward. The crack was very narrow, with uneven, rough earthen walls on both sides.

He could only squeeze through the crack by carrying his toolbox sideways. After about a dozen steps, the crack widened a bit.

Su Yuan stopped and shone his flashlight in front of him. There was a larger space in front of him, about the size of a room. It was square and not made of bricks; the walls and floor were all made of dirt.

There's more to come...

There was something on the ground right in the middle. He shone his flashlight on it and looked at it, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

It is a bronze mirror.

It was much larger than the one in his pocket, about the size of a washbasin, and it was standing upright on the ground, with the mirror facing him.

The mirror was completely covered in dust, reflecting no image. Su Yuan's hands began to tremble involuntarily...