Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

The next morning, Xu Xing packed his luggage and headed to Huacheng Airport with Professor Feng and Li Yuting.

The return flight was at 10:30 a.m., and three hours later, the plane landed smoothly at Chang'an International Airport.

It was the height of summer in Chang'an, with the scorching sun and intense heat.

As Li Yuting stepped out of the terminal, she let out a long sigh of relief and stretched: "Finally back! Huacheng is nice, but it's still more comfortable to stay in Chang'an."

Professor Feng smiled and patted her on the shoulder: "Alright, go back and get some rest for a day. Remember to report to the studio on time the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, teacher!"

Li Yuting obediently responded, then turned to look at Xu Xing, "Brother Xu, what are your plans for the future?"

"I'll rest for two days first, then take care of some things."

Xu Xing, carrying his suitcase, smiled at her and said, "You've been working hard for days. Go back and get some sleep."

The two parted ways in the parking lot, and Xu Xing took a taxi back to his residence.

After entering the room, he first put down his suitcase, then carefully took out the copper incense burner from his bag and placed it on the desk.

For the next two days, Xu Xing hardly went out.

Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, he would sit at his desk, using various tools to clean the soot inside the bronze incense burner.

He went downstairs to the supermarket and bought a small brush set, which included seven or eight different sizes of soft and hard brushes. He also bought a bottle of professional metal cleaner and a pack of absorbent cotton.

The cleanup work was much more complicated than he had imagined.

The soot accumulated over hundreds of years has adhered firmly to the surface of the gold leaf, and the thin layer of gold leaf may be damaged if not handled carefully.

Xu moved very lightly, first using a soft brush to sweep away the surface dust, and then using a cotton ball dipped in a small amount of detergent to wipe away the soot little by little.

He would stop after wiping away a small area, carefully examine it with a magnifying glass, and only proceed to the next step after confirming that the gold leaf had not been damaged.

It took him two whole days to clean most of the soot off the surface of the gold leaf.

A complete gold leaf gradually unfolds before your eyes.

It is about 20 centimeters long, about 15 centimeters wide, and less than half a millimeter thick, with an extremely thin and light texture.

The gold leaf surface is engraved with dense Sanskrit characters, the characters are simple and dignified, and the lines are smooth and powerful, clearly the work of a professional.

Xu Xing took a magnifying glass and carefully examined every single word on the gold foil.

Unfortunately, although he could recognize that these were Sanskrit characters, he couldn't understand what was written on them at all.

Sanskrit is a writing system from ancient India that frequently appears in ancient Chinese Buddhist scriptures, but it is impossible for modern people to recognize it unless they have specifically studied it.

Xu Xing frowned, put down the magnifying glass, leaned back in his chair, and pondered for a moment.

Chang'an, as the capital of thirteen dynasties and the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, has always been a place where cultures converge.

This city has many experts and scholars from universities and research institutions, including many senior professors who are proficient in Sanskrit.

Thinking of this, Xu Xing picked up his phone and called Wang Benquan, quickly obtaining the phone number of a professional from him.

Gao Yuanzhi is a retired professor from the School of History and Culture at Chang'an University. He is 73 years old this year and is one of the leading scholars in China who study ancient Western Region culture and Buddhist classics.

Xu Xing dialed the phone.

The phone rang a few times before being answered. A deep, resonant voice came from the other end: "Hello, who is this?"

"Professor Chen, I am Xu Xing from Chengxinzhai. I have a question about Sanskrit that I would like to ask you."

"Sanskrit?"

Gao Yuanzhi's tone revealed a hint of interest, "What is it?"

"A gold leaf was inlaid inside a bronze incense burner. The gold leaf was engraved with Sanskrit characters and the inscription 'Donated during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty'."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for several seconds.

Then Gao Yuanzhi's voice turned serious: "Are you sure it was done during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Sure."

"Are you free to come over now? I'm at the Chang'an University staff quarters. Call me when you arrive and I'll come downstairs to pick you up."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

Xu Xing hung up the phone, carefully picked up the aromatherapy burner, put it into a pre-prepared velvet box, and then went out.

The staff quarters of Chang'an University are located next to the west gate of the school. It is an old residential area with shady trees and the sound of cicadas.

When Xu Xing arrived, Gao Yuanzhi was already waiting downstairs.

The old man was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt. His hair was gray, but he was in good spirits, and his eyes were bright and piercing.

"Did you bring the things?"

Gao Yuanzhi asked the question directly.

"I brought it."

Xu Xing patted the velvet box in his hand.

"Come on, let's go upstairs and talk."

Gao Yuanzhi lived on the third floor. The apartment was small, with two bedrooms and a living room, but it was filled with books and materials everywhere. On the wall of the living room hung a rubbing of a Dunhuang mural, and several yellowed thread-bound books were spread out on the desk.

Gao Yuanzhi moved a few books off the sofa to make room for Xu Xing to sit down, then put on his reading glasses and took out a pair of white gloves from the drawer.

"Take your things out."

Xu Xing opened the velvet box and carefully took out the incense burner, placing it on the sofa.

Gao Yuanzhi then picked up the incense burner, and his hands visibly trembled the moment he saw the words on the gold foil.

He first glanced at it briefly through his reading glasses, then suddenly stood up and walked quickly to the window, examining it carefully in the afternoon sunlight.

The room was extremely quiet, with only the ticking of the old-fashioned wall clock.

Five or six minutes passed before Gao Yuanzhi slowly turned around, took off his reading glasses, and asked with a look of deep emotion, "Mr. Xu, where did you get this from?"

"I found this at a street stall in Huacheng Liwan Antique Market."

Xu Xing answered truthfully.

"Street stalls?"

Gao Yuanzhi's eyebrows almost flew to his forehead. "You're telling me this thing was found at a street stall?"

"It really was found at a street stall."

Xu Xing smiled and briefly recounted his experience in Huacheng that day.

After listening, Gao Yuanzhi remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed deeply: "I really don't know whether to say that your luck is blessed by God or that you have a very good eye."

He walked back to his desk, laid the gold leaf flat on a piece of velvet cloth, and then began to interpret the Sanskrit on it.

"These Sanskrit characters are a script used in ancient India called Siddham script, which was prevalent between the 7th and 12th centuries AD and was later replaced by Devanagari script."

"Siddham script frequently appears in ancient Chinese Buddhist texts. Most Buddhist scriptures translated during the Tang Dynasty used this script, but by the Ming Dynasty, very few people understood Siddham script."

Therefore, this style of writing was often used as the exclusive script by the royal families of India to record important events.

Gao Yuanzhi's fingers traced the gold foil, deciphering each character one by one.

"The contents of this document are a letter from the government."

"credentials?"

Xu Xing was slightly taken aback.

"Yes, a letter from ancient India."

Gao Yuanzhi's expression grew increasingly solemn. "The writer of this letter of state was a king from the southern coastal region of ancient India, named Parakramabahu VI."

Xu Xing's heart began to race.

The contents of the letter were roughly as follows: the Ming emperor sent the eunuch Zheng He with a fleet to arrive at the time. At that time, our country was being invaded by neighboring countries and rebels were attacking and seizing our territory. The royal family was in imminent danger.

General Zheng He led the Ming Dynasty navy to help us quell the rebellion, kill the rebel leader, and recover lost territory.

I am deeply grateful and wish to serve His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty for generations to come. Therefore, I hereby present a quantity of tribute, including gold, ivory, and spices.

And this gold-leaf letter serves as proof that Princess Anura accompanied the ship north to serve the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.