Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan smiled and said, "It's fixed."

"You're really fast at fixing things," Chen Xiaohe clicked his tongue. "But since you came, the warehouse has become noticeably more active than before."

Su Yuan scratched his head sheepishly, "No way..." Chen Xiaohe pouted.

"Before, those things, except for Awu, were like dead things, just sitting there. Now, it's quite interesting that they make some noise from time to time."

"Hehe, it's just a little creepy."

"By the way, this afternoon Sun Guoliang's car was parked at the alley entrance for about half an hour, and there were two figures inside. It felt a bit strange..."

Just as Su Yuan was about to press for more information, Zhao Cheng arrived and, as soon as he sat down, said:

"Su Yuan, I'll also be attending the training at the end of the month," Zhao Cheng said, "but not as a member, but as a contact person."

Su Yuan looked at him and nodded. At this moment, a large pile of kebabs, edamame, and boiled peanuts were served one after another.

They didn't order much beer, and the three of them chatted while eating, no longer talking about work.

More than an hour later, Chen Xiaohe paid the bill and first escorted Su Yuan to the dormitory building with Zhao Cheng before they left separately!

Back in his dormitory, Su Yuan locked the door, put down his toolbox, took the bronze mirror out of his pocket, and placed it next to his pillow.

The light in the mirror was on, but it was a little dimmer than it was before I left home in the morning, returning to its usual brightness.

"Elder Zhong," Su Yuan called out, and Zhong Ming's shadow floated over to look at him.

"Mr. Zhong, Chen Xiaohe told me today that Sun Guoliang parked his car in the alley around 3 PM and left it there for more than half an hour. It seems there were people there too..."

"Yes, Lao Miao noticed it too." Zhong Ming said, his shadow flickering in the mirror. "There's another person in the back seat of that car."

Su Yuan hurriedly asked, "Who is that person?"

"I can't see his face clearly, Lao Miao, you speak..."

Miao Deyu floated over from the pile of shadows: "Young man from the Su family, that person's aura is different from Sun Guoliang's."

"The smell on that person was like something that had been buried in the ground for a long time and then dug up. That person might not even be human!"

Su Yuan was startled, thinking to himself, "He's not human! Zhao Cheng didn't even smell it..."

"Old Miao, what could that be?"

"I'm not sure. The person was sitting motionless in the car, and I couldn't feel any human breathing. When the car drove away, I felt a cold wind sweep past."

After Miao Deyu finished speaking, she went back inside. Su Yuan leaned against the headboard, touching the jade ring on his finger:

"Mr. Zhong, what's the difference between this person and Xi?"

Zhong Ming hummed in agreement and leaned closer to say:

"The gap is something that seeps out from a crack in the interlayer; it has no fixed shape. That thing... it has a form and a purpose, as if it's consciously waiting for something."

"It's getting late, you should get some rest too..."

After Zhong Ming finished speaking, he disappeared without a trace, leaving only A Wu's light shining in the middle. Su Yuan rubbed his head: "For now, we can only wait and see..."

I thought I'd go wash up and go to bed.

After being woken up by my alarm at 7:00 AM, I saw a message from Chen Xiaohe:

"Su, come early. Director Zhang is having a meeting at eight o'clock today. It'll just be a few of us in his office..."

Without delay, I quickly washed up and rushed to the office without even having breakfast.

When Su Yuan pushed open the door, there were already several people sitting inside.

Zhang Weiyi sat behind his desk reading the document. Zhao Cheng sat around the desk to Zhang Weiyi's right, and Qian Weidong sat to his left.

Lin Xi was also there, sitting next to Chen Xiaohe, with a notebook in front of her taking notes.

Su Yuan came in and sat down next to Chen Xiaohe, asking in a low voice, "Brother Chen, what's going on?"

Chen Xiaohe covered his mouth slightly and said, "I don't know. Director Zhang came early today and asked me to inform you."

Su Yuan asked, "Where is Sun Guoliang?"

"He probably deliberately avoided it; he drove off somewhere early this morning!"

After Chen Xiaohe finished speaking and saw Zhang Weiyi put down the document, he cleared his throat, and the office fell silent.

"I called everyone here today at the last minute to discuss something."

Zhang Weiyi's expression was quite serious: "The Ninth Division, the unit above, is currently handling a case of infiltration within a layer of concrete."

"The situation is more complicated than expected, and we may need to cooperate at any time."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan immediately perked up, and Zhao Cheng asked:

"To what extent has it infiltrated?"

"Moderate." Zhang Weiyi flipped through the folder and glanced at it: "The fissure on the east side has fluctuated twice in the past week, including the one that just happened in our second-floor warehouse."

"The Ninth Division has detected it. Director Gu called me yesterday and said that if any other changes occur, we are ready to provide support at any time!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan recalled what Zhong Ming had said.

"How do you need our cooperation?" Qian Weidong asked from the side. Zhang Weiyi glanced at him and said something that surprised Su Yuan:

"Not needed for now. The Ninth Division is still evaluating it; we're waiting for their notification."

Su Yuan was taken aback. If cooperation wasn't needed, then what was the point of this meeting?

As if sensing his doubts, Zhang Weiyi closed the document and said, "I'm telling you this in advance so you can be prepared."

He scanned the faces of everyone in the room, pausing briefly on Su Yuan:

"The issue of the mezzanine isn't just one person's problem. If it spreads, some items in the warehouse will be the first to feel it."

"The number of repair tasks may increase, and there may be more abnormal situations. For now, just focus on your own tasks."

"That's enough, let's call it a day."

The meeting ended in less than twenty minutes.

Everyone was doing their job... Su Yuan was still thinking about this as he walked towards the warehouse with his toolbox.

Zhang Weiyi's statement about each person having their own duties simply meant that Zhao Cheng was responsible for relaying messages and assigning tasks, while Chen Xiaohe was responsible for security patrols at the repair center.

Qian Weidong was in charge of security response, Lin Xi was in charge of archives, so his job was restoration.

It's not just about restoring cultural relics, it's also about accumulating positive self-image!

Su Yuan spent the morning in the warehouse. When he came out to prepare for lunch, Zhao Cheng walked over from the stairwell.

Holding several folders, he flipped through the files in his hand when he saw Su Yuan come out, and handed one of them to Su Yuan.

"This is the schedule for the training planned by Teacher Zhou at the end of the month. Please take a look."

Su Yuan took a look. The first day was an expert lecture, the second day was a practical exchange, and the third day was a group discussion.

The schedule had the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau's letterhead printed on it, so it looked just like the last one—just an ordinary exchange meeting!

Zhao Cheng added, "But that's not the actual content."

"Brother Zhao, what's the actual content?"

You'll see when you get there.

Zhao Cheng put the files back into the folder and patted Su Yuan on the shoulder: "Prepare well these next few days, you might need those things during the training."

Watching his retreating figure, Su Yuan thought that Zhao Cheng had returned to normal when it came to serious matters.

At 6:30 in the evening, Su Yuan finished dinner and headed back to his dormitory. Before he even reached the bottom of the building, his phone vibrated. It was a message from Zhou Peiyuan:

"Xiao Su, Zhao Cheng told you about the training, right? When we get to the provincial capital, there are some things I'll tell you in person."

Su Yuan replied with a "Okay".

He went upstairs, opened the dormitory door, put his toolbox away, and lay down on the bed thinking about Han Zhengming.

Han Zhengming is back in the province, working steadily as a section chief. Could the rifts he's cultivated be used to secretly harm other people? What has Sun Guoliang, Han Zhengming's subordinate, been busy with lately?

He took the bronze mirror out of his pocket and stared at it, thinking about the scene when Awu formed a human-shaped light and shadow last time.

"Awu, I wonder when I'll be able to truly have you living by my side..."

Su Yuan muttered to himself while looking in the bronze mirror.

Suddenly, the light in the bronze mirror shone into a small ball of light, and the jade ring on her finger and the spirit-locking bead embedded in it were both emitting heat…