Restoring cultural relics: Starting with the crying Tang Dynasty figurines

Su Yuan finished washing up with great excitement.

When I returned to the bedside, the light in the bronze mirror had dimmed somewhat, but an outline had appeared, and it was much clearer now…

The edges of the light spot were no longer blurred; they now formed a thin rim of light, outlining a small human figure, no taller than a finger!

The head, body, and thin arms are already visible.

Su Yuan felt numb all over. He squatted by the bedside, looking directly into the bronze mirror, and called out in a trembling voice, "A-Wu..."

The human-shaped light and shadow in the bronze mirror moved slightly!

Before, it was a throbbing motion, but now it's a complete, human movement. She slowly raised her head and turned towards Su Yuan.

Although he couldn't see her features clearly, Su Yuan knew she was looking at him!

"It's okay... Ah Wu, take your time..." Su Yuan choked up, "...I'm not in a hurry."

The tiny humanoid figure of light and shadow moved again, as if it were nodding.

Su Yuan suppressed his excitement as he stood up, took a deep breath, and suppressed the indescribable emotions within him.

I need to get to that wall today, so I can't get distracted!

He changed into his work clothes and began to take stock of the things he needed to bring.

When Su forged the sword, the Spirit Eye copper plaque was wrapped in red cloth and tucked into a compartment of the toolbox. The protective talisman of the Pure Yang Immortal was kept close to his body.

The jade ring was on my hand, and the spirit-locking bead was warm against the base of my finger.

The bronze mirror… Su Yuan picked it up from the bedside table, thought for a moment and decided not to put it in his pocket, but put it in a soft cloth bag and hung it around his neck close to his body!

The mirror was pressed against his chest, and Ah Wu's warmth seeped through the copper and cloth onto his skin.

After everything was packed up, I picked up my toolbox and left the dormitory.

Zhao Cheng was already eating in the cafeteria.

There was a bowl of porridge and two steamed buns in front of him. When he saw Su Yuan come in, he only said one sentence: "Eat more, Little Su."

Qian Weidong sat down beside him, looking much better than last night. He nodded at Su Yuan and asked, "Did you bring everything?"

"I brought everything."

Qian Weidong took a small cloth bag out of his pocket and handed it to Su Yuan:

"Take this. It's a talisman I got from a temple years ago. I've carried it with me all these years; having something gives me peace of mind!"

Su Yuan was taken aback and wanted to refuse, but Qian Weidong had already stuffed the cloth bag into his pocket.

"Don't be so polite with me, just return it to me when you get back."

After Qian Weidong finished speaking, he picked up the bowl of porridge and continued drinking. Su Yuan was full of gratitude and didn't say anything more.

Chen Xiaohe strolled over with her tray and sat down. She glanced at Su Yuan, looking preoccupied, and didn't say anything.

The four of them finished their meal quietly, and Zhao Cheng went to get his car. Su Yuan went back to his office to get his toolbox, and ran into Zhang Weiyi on his way downstairs.

Zhang Weiyi stood at the top of the stairs, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He saw Su Yuan pat him on the shoulder and said:

"Gu's people have arrived and are waiting at the gas station at the east end of town."

Su Yuan nodded in agreement.

"Once you get there, try to follow Zhao Cheng's instructions. He has been on field missions with the Ninth Division and knows how to deal with emergencies."

"Um."

Zhang Weiyi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Xiao Su, do your best, but don't act impulsively."

Su Yuan agreed and left the building with his toolbox.

Zhao Cheng's car was already parked at the entrance of the company. Su Yuan opened the back door and got in, placing the toolbox beside her.

Chen Xiaohe and Qian Weidong saw them off at the lobby entrance, while Lin Xi stood on the second floor with a worried expression: "Su Yuan, come back safely..."

Zhao Cheng honked the horn in response, then shifted gears and drove out of the yard.

After the car drove out of the town, Su Yuan leaned back in the back seat and touched the bronze mirror on his chest through his clothes.

Awu was quite quiet inside. She could feel Su Yuan's body temperature in the bronze mirror, and Su Yuan could also feel her presence!

Looking out the car window, Su Yuan asked Zhao Cheng, "Brother Zhao, do those two have experience?"

"Don't worry, Shen Yue has been on several field missions with Director Gu, so he has more experience than you or me. Xiao Meng was trained by Director Zhou, so he definitely has some skills."

"I haven't seen what it is exactly, but the fact that Director Zhou sent him here means he's not a simple person."

Su Yuan felt somewhat relieved.

"We're almost there, but this time we'll still focus on you and assist you."

Zhao Cheng said something else, but Su Yuan didn't respond; he just nervously touched his chest...

As the car rounded a bend, Su Yuan saw a black SUV. It was parked at the bottom of a dirt slope by the roadside, with the license plate ending in 037.

They honked at each other and headed towards the wall. An hour and a half later, they arrived.

Zhao Cheng parked his car behind the SUV and turned off the engine. The SUV door opened, and Shen Yue jumped out first. He was wearing a dark-colored windbreaker and smiled at Su Yuan.

"Master Su."

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Meng got out of the passenger seat, nodded to Su Yuan without saying a word, turned around, opened the trunk, and took out a black backpack.

Su Yuan got out of the car carrying his toolbox, while Zhao Cheng took a bag out of the trunk and got out of the car.

The four people stood fifty meters away from the wall.

Su Yuan looked at the earthen wall, which was taller than a two-story building and half a mile thick, and then looked at the crack he had entered last time, thinking about his experience of spending nearly two hours in the crack.

I couldn't help but let out a long sigh!

Now, a new crack has appeared next to the one that allowed people to enter.

Su Yuan stared at the new crack for a few seconds, and the temperature of the bronze mirror on his chest suddenly rose.

He glanced down at the cloth bag on his chest; it was A-Wu moving!

Su Yuan placed his hand on the cloth bag and whispered, "I know, I saw it..."

The cloth bag quieted down.

Zhao Cheng turned around and glanced at him, but didn't say anything. When they reached the wall, Su Yuan stood at its base, looking up at the new crack.

The crack's edges are wider at the outside and narrower at the inside, as if something is squeezing out from the inside, creating a gap in the loess!

Zhao Cheng squatted down, pinched a little bit of dirt in his hand, smelled it, and frowned.

"It smells."

Su Yuan squatted down and took a sniff as well. It was a faint, indescribable scent. Like the stuffy, slightly tinged smell in the air before a thunderstorm!

Shen Yue also took out a palm-sized instrument from his backpack and tested the crack for a while. A series of numbers appeared on the instrument's screen.

Looking at the numbers, he said with a serious expression, "The fluctuation value is 9.1%, which is a little higher than yesterday's data."

Su Yuan stood up and placed his hand on the wall next to the new crack.

The earthen wall was cool, but the temperature around the cracks was significantly lower than elsewhere, with a chilly coldness.

He also sensed something inside the crack!

It's not a crack; the contents inside this fissure are different.

It felt as if something enormous was breathing on the other side of the wall, causing the wall to vibrate with each breath.

The vibration was very weak; you couldn't feel it at all unless you put your hand on the wall.

"Brother Zhao, come here and touch it."

Zhao Cheng placed his hand on the crack, then silently withdrew it. He took out his phone from his pocket, snapped a picture of the crack, and sent it to Zhang Weiyi.

"Director, I see it. The fluctuation value of the new crack is 9.1%, and there is a slight tremor in the wall."

Less than half a minute after the message was sent, Zhang Weiyi called.

Zhao Cheng answered the call, hummed a few times, glanced at Su Yuan, hummed a few more times, and then hung up.

"Brother Zhao, what did the director say?"

"He said he'd show you if you could seal this crack like you did last time."

Su Yuan put his hand back on the wall.

"We can't wait any longer." After a dozen seconds, Su Yuan withdrew his hand and looked at Zhao Cheng: "We must seal it off today."

Zhao Cheng nodded: "You tell me what to do."

Su Yuan shivered and took a few deep breaths before starting to take things out...