Chapter 126: I Didn

Qin Yun hadn't received a check-in task this easy in a long time—one that required nothing but walking.

The past few check-in tasks had all been deserts, ice mountains, or skiing—extreme challenges. Now, back in Beijing, he'd gotten another relaxed check-in task.

Thinking carefully, aside from his failed marriage, Beijing really was his lucky place.

His first task just required taking a bus; the second was watching the flag-raising ceremony; the third was slightly harder—he climbed the Great Wall.

Today was the fourth task: the so-called fifty Forbidden City check-ins were merely incidental stops during a sightseeing tour.

This task was like picking up free money.

Qin Yun's earlier gloom vanished instantly; his mood was wonderfully bright.

He'd originally planned to leave today, but now it seemed he'd have to stay a few more days.

He went downstairs, checked out at the hotel front desk, and took a taxi straight to the Forbidden City.

But the car hadn't driven ten minutes before an unexpected WeChat message changed his route.

"Driver, don't go to the Forbidden City—please take me to Beijing Runyuan instead."

The driver said nothing; the car, which had been going straight, turned right immediately ahead.

"Brother, you live in Runyuan? That's a luxury compound…"

Qin Yun shook his head and smiled: "I couldn't afford to live there. I've got a business there, so I'm just visiting a client."

"Oh, I see." The driver gave him a look that clearly said he didn't look like a rich man. "People who live there are either filthy rich or high-ranking. Very wealthy, brother. Your business must be big—may I ask…"

Beijing taxi drivers were famous for chatting, and Qin Yun had lived in Beijing so long he was used to it—let him talk, it wouldn't kill anyone.

An hour and a half later, Qin Yun met the woman again at Zhao Lingsu's home.

Though months had passed, she still glowed with radiance, showing not a trace of being a mother of two children—money truly does sustain a person.

"Uncle Qin."

Seeing Qin Yun, Zhao Lingsu's two children, Zhao Yiyan and Zhao Yiyu, immediately came forward, their expressions filled with admiration—completely different from last time.

Especially Zhao Yiyan, with his mushroom haircut—his sycophantic expression was painfully obvious.

Besides the three of them and the household servants, there was also an elderly man, around sixty, dressed simply, with a refined demeanor.

After exchanging greetings, Zhao Lingsu introduced them.

"Mr. Qin, this is Master Zeng Yanming from the Forbidden City Cultural Relics Restoration Bureau. Master Zeng, this is the musical instrument repair expert I mentioned—Qin Yun."

To be honest, Zeng Yanming was somewhat disappointed.

Though one shouldn't judge by appearance, Qin Yun was far too young—his expertise in ancient musical instrument restoration was clearly negligible. He might not even recognize all ancient instruments, let alone restore them.

But out of respect for Zhao Lingsu's face, he agreed to meet him.

As expected, this young man couldn't possibly be an expert in ancient musical instrument restoration—Zhao Lingsu had clearly been deceived.

He squinted at Qin Yun, studying him: "Young man, how old are you? Do you even understand ancient instrument restoration?"

Qin Yun naturally saw the man's distrust, but he didn't feel offended—any normal person would be skeptical.

He chuckled: "Greetings, Master Zeng. This humble one knows a bit about instrument repair—though insignificant, it's enough to earn a living."

Others could doubt him—he wouldn't pretend modesty. Too much modesty would only make them believe him even more.

Zeng Yanming's lips twitched slightly. Clever kid, putting on a show already.

He didn't hold back, pulled out his phone, and pulled up several photos: "That's excellent. Old man here has a few troublesome instrument repair issues needing resolution—please, young Qin, lend your expertise."

Qin Yun took the phone and examined the photos carefully.

He didn't undervalue himself, nor did he overestimate—he knew this repair skill was merely master-level. Compared to many senior restorers at the Forbidden City, he couldn't claim superiority.

The only advantage was that the system's repair skill covered everything—both ancient and modern.

Many ancient restoration methods had been lost in modern times.

The photos, both wide-angle and close-up, were crystal clear—every texture was visible.

He studied them back and forth; the problems with this ancient guqin emerged clearly in his mind.

"This is a Song dynasty guqin," Qin Yun said.

Zeng Yanming didn't care—unless he couldn't even tell it was a Song dynasty instrument, he should just leave immediately.

"From appearance, the lacquer is intact, no obvious damage, the shape is regular—no visible flaws."

Zhao Lingsu nodded in agreement: "Master Zeng showed me too. I think this qin is fine—surviving from the Song dynasty with such condition is already extremely rare."

Zeng Yanming remained silent, watching Qin Yun quietly.

Qin Yun smiled inwardly—he figured the old man had already labeled him a fraud.

He pinched the photo to zoom in, fixing on a smooth lacquer surface: "Master Zeng, based on my professional judgment, the lacquer and wooden body of this qin have almost certainly suffered large-scale hidden delamination."

Zeng Yanming's eyes widened slightly with surprise: "Correct. How did you know that?"

"What does that mean?" Zhao Lingsu didn't understand Qin Yun's words.

Qin Yun explained: "It's commonly called 'hollow lacquer'—the surface feels smooth, but internally it's delaminated."

At this moment, Zeng Yanming set aside his doubts.

To spot this lacquer issue at a glance—even though the man was young—Zeng Yanming still had to show full respect. Such observational skill alone was top-tier even within the Forbidden City.

"Another issue: any ancient guqin surviving from the Song dynasty would have its internal sound beams completely decayed. Thus, the instrument's resonance structure has certainly failed—it can't be played."

Zeng Yanming was even more astonished—three sentences revealed the man's deep understanding of the guqin.

"And here's the most obvious one." Qin Yun pointed to the photo's "yanzu" position on the guqin: "This is the load-bearing core—but internally, it's fractured. If you string it, it will snap immediately."

Now, Zeng Yanming could barely contain his excitement.

"Correct, young brother—you're right. The yanzu of the Hanquan qin did crack; it once snapped when strung. Now it's only externally disguised."

"We've checked with X-rays and endoscopes. Hanquan's exterior looks intact, but the problems are severe. Maintaining its appearance is fine, but a qin must ultimately be playable. As you said, the internal wooden body is internally cracked, the yueshan and soundboard junction has micro-cracks and sinking, and due to age, it's rotted—basically useless."

Qin Yun nodded: "Master is right. This qin is indeed ruined—bone cracked, skin stretched thin. Repairing it is extremely difficult. I'm familiar with the Forbidden City's restoration standards. Without opening the instrument or damaging the lacquer, repair is nearly impossible."

Zeng Yanming's expression darkened suddenly; he sighed slowly: "The Forbidden City holds many objects like this, all of which cannot be shown to the public. We who guard these national treasures are powerless—ah, truly ashamed of the nation's and the people's trust."

Saying this, he took the phone.

"Of course, this qin isn't beyond repair—after all, our culture is vast and profound; ancient times had their own peerless techniques for non-invasive internal repair and seamless restoration."

Zeng Yanming nodded slightly: "Correct, ancient times indeed had such techniques, but they've been lost. Even in ancient texts, not a single complete record has been found—only fragments remain, making it hard even to trace their origins."

At this moment, the girl Zhao Yiyu looked at Qin Yun and suddenly asked: "Uncle Qin, you can repair it, right?"

At these words, all eyes in the room instantly turned to Qin Yun, especially Zeng Yanming's.

He had assumed, without thinking, that if the Forbidden City didn't possess this ancient technique, how could a young man like Qin Yun possibly know it? But he forgot—he'd come here because Zhao Lingsu had introduced someone, a master instrument restorer, who might help with ancient artifact restoration.

Qin Yun rubbed his nose and nodded under Zeng Yanming's expectant gaze: "Correct, I can repair it."

Zeng Yanming's pupils contracted sharply; he grabbed Qin Yun's arm, his voice trembling with excitement: "Mr. Qin, is this true?"

"I wouldn't dare joke about this. I truly can restore this Hanquan," Qin Yun said, now genuinely interested—not because of money, but because participating in cultural relic restoration seemed like a fascinating thing to do.

"Come, follow me," Zeng Yanming pulled Qin Yun to leave.

Zhao Lingsu hurriedly said: "Uncle Zeng, let me send someone to drive you there."

"Mom, I'm coming too, I'm coming too!" Zhao Yiyu, the mushroom-headed boy, leapt up, joining in the commotion.

But he was immediately subdued by Zhao Lingsu's hand.

Qin Yun had originally planned to visit the Forbidden City to complete his check-in task; since he could help now, he decided to postpone the task for a while.

Riding in the luxury car arranged by Zhao Lingsu, Qin Yun was pulled by Zeng Yanming and soon appeared inside the Forbidden City.

This time, of course, he didn't have to queue like tourists—he entered directly through another gate, enjoying special privileges.

"Old Zeng, do you have many restoration staff at the Forbidden City?"

The Forbidden City was still the same Forbidden City; outside closed areas, people were everywhere. The two of them moved among them, utterly unremarkable. No one could tell one was a Forbidden City artifact restoration expert, and the other the famed Qin Ye.

"Yes, our team is large and grows every year, but skilled artifact restorers are rare and hard to cultivate," he said, sighing slightly. "Now, training for such talent relies entirely on state funding. Everyone's chasing money—who still learns this? So we still follow the master-apprentice model, but as you can imagine, this method is extremely prone to breaking the lineage."

This is just like intangible cultural heritage—if you can't even survive, who the hell cares about transmission?

"Our team has ten specialized restoration groups, covering all categories of artifacts: calligraphy and painting, metal, ceramics, wood, textiles and embroidery, lacquerware, clocks and watches, storage boxes, and more. We're always busy, but every single artifact restoration moves extremely slowly."

Qin Yun nodded: "So, qin restoration falls under the lacquerware group?"

"Yes," Zeng Yanming said. "Of course, if it's made of special materials—like bronze or iron qins—it naturally goes to the metal restoration group."

Soon, the two passed through stone pathways and entered a gate leading into an unopened area.

"By the way, calling you Xiao Qin is fine, right?"

"You may call me whatever you like, Old Zeng."

"Haha, good then," Zeng Yanming chuckled. "Shall I first take you around and show you the Forbidden City's unopened areas?"

Qin Yun quickly waved his hand—he could see Zeng Yanming's urgency, and wouldn't be so clueless as to delay him.

"No need. Sightseeing can wait—let's go see the qin first. I need to inspect it myself before I can confirm anything."

"Alright, let's get to the main task first."