Chapter 127

Qin Yun had also heard of the Palace Museum Cultural Relics Restoration Team.

More than ten years ago, the Palace Museum produced a documentary about cultural relics restoration called "I Restore Cultural Relics in the Palace Museum," which sparked a huge online sensation at the time.

It helped the public gain greater understanding of our nation's cultural relics and become aware of these quiet, behind-the-scenes contributors.

Although there are ten teams, each team is further subdivided, and no single artifact can be restored by one method alone.

A single artifact often presents multiple problems, and each person specializes in different areas, meaning the restoration of one artifact frequently requires collaboration among four or five teams.

Ancient stringed instruments—or ancient musical instruments in general—though less popular than porcelain or antiques, remain a major category of restoration.

Moreover, instruments worthy of the name "ancient qin" are typically centuries old, some even spanning several hundred years.

These objects have suffered immense degradation over time, compounded by poor preservation and human damage, making restoration extremely difficult.

Even without these factors, restoring a qin itself is a highly precise task.

Especially components related to "pitch accuracy" require a certain level of musical literacy.

Thus, although ancient musical instrument restoration is a large category, it remains a niche field within Palace Museum restoration work.

Every time an instrument needs restoration, personnel beyond the Palace Museum are also invited.

This time, the restoration of the qin "Hanquan" is no different. The problems with this qin have long existed and remain unresolved. Every previous meeting to discuss it involved inviting musicians for consultation.

This time, it was brought out for the same reason: to broaden perspectives and seek possibilities from among the people.

The two of them wound through corridors and entered a side hall, where clear barriers and "Authorized Personnel Only" warnings lined the exterior.

"Old Yang, Old Yang."

As soon as they entered, Zeng Yanming called out.

Several people inside, coming and going, turned to look.

An elderly man with gray hair stepped out of a room: "Old Zeng, what are you yelling for? I'm not deaf. Everyone's working—keep it down."

Zeng Yanming paid no mind, laughed heartily, and pulled Qin Yun's arm: "Come, let me introduce you to someone."

The elder looked at Qin Yun and smiled warmly.

"Junior Qin Yun, greetings, Master."

"Young man, good. Who are you to Old Zeng?"

Zeng Yanming quickly said: "This is a master of ancient musical instrument restoration I met today—Qin Yun. I brought him here to examine Hanquan."

At this, the elder raised an eyebrow, surprised: "A young man who restores ancient qins?"

Qin Yun replied humbly: "A little, just a little. Old Master Zeng flatters me—I merely have some understanding, so I came along to observe."

Zeng Yanming pointed to the elder: "Xiao Qin, this is our team's chief, Yang Zhiyu—a master of lacquer restoration. Many Palace Museum relics were restored by his hands."

"So you are Master Yang. My apologies for my rudeness."

Yang Zhiyu laughed: "Then I'll call you Xiao Qin too—no need for formality. I'm just inspecting Hanquan—come in."

The three entered through an inner door into another compartment, where the temperature felt perfectly regulated, specially treated. On a table lay a qin identical to the one Qin Yun had seen in photos.

It was Hanquan.

Beside Hanquan stood three other figures.

Two middle-aged men in their forties, and a young girl.

Yang Zhiyu introduced them one by one.

The two middle-aged men were also restorers of this qin, like Zeng Yanming.

One was Jiang Dingfang, the other Wen Shichu—named after a eunuch from an old Qing dynasty drama.

The young girl was Yang Yanqiu, Yang Zhiyu's granddaughter.

After the introductions, Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichou both looked skeptical, clearly distrustful of Qin Yun. But Yang Yanqiu, as soon as Yang Zhiyu finished, exclaimed.

"Master Qin, is that you? Master Qin?"

Qin Yun paused—this title could only come from his livestream fans.

"Hello, yes, it's me. Have you watched my livestreams?"

Yang Yanqiu was thrilled: "I'm a loyal fan, Master Qin—I've followed you since you climbed Dongya Cliff."

She tugged Yang Zhiyu's sleeve: "Grandpa, he's the guy I've been watching on livestream—you remember?"

Yang Zhiyu thought for a moment, then suddenly recalled, his eyes filled with deeper confusion.

"I remember now—but it's hard to connect Xiao Qin with the person in the videos. They're so different, hahaha."

In the videos, Qin Yun climbed mountains, skied, rock-climbed, survived in the wild, crossed deserts—doing things no ordinary person could. But this young man before them looked energetic, full of vitality, gentle, and approachable.

"Master Qin, can you also restore ancient qins?"

Yang Yanqiu was Qin Yun's fan, but an outdoor streamer and a cultural relics restorer—how could these two roles possibly connect?

Qin Yun nodded: "A bit. I met Old Master Zeng through a client, so I came along to take a look."

"Don't listen to his modesty," Zeng Yanming said, eager to elevate Qin Yun's status—otherwise he'd look foolish for bringing him. "Xiao Qin doesn't just know a bit—he looked at photos on my phone and spotted hidden flaws in this qin. He even claims to know ancient restoration methods. Otherwise, why would I bring him here? This isn't a game."

Yang Zhiyu's eyes lit up: "Since Xiao Qin is here, let him take a look—we're completely stuck."

Qin Yun took the gloves offered by Yang Yanqiu, stepped to the table, and began carefully examining the qin's details.

After all, no photo, no matter how clear, could match firsthand observation.

After observing, he had a clear idea, yet still gently traced his gloved fingers over the lacquer surface, as if touching a fragile treasure.

Though separated by gloves, he precisely sensed the subtle textures.

"As I suspected—the lacquer appears intact, but large areas have delaminated. The internal sound beams are better than I expected—not fully decayed, only slightly rotten and shrunken—but the resonance structure has completely failed."

Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichou instantly turned to Zeng Yanming.

Zeng Yanming rolled his eyes: "You two—your own skills are lacking, yet you won't allow others to succeed? I didn't mention any of these issues—Xiao Qin figured them out himself."

The two felt embarrassed, yet were utterly stunned: Damn, how could he see this exactly as our instruments detected? Zeng didn't tell him—did he really see it with his eyes alone?

Yang Zhiyu trusted Zeng Yanming—they'd known each other for years; Zeng wouldn't bring a fool.

So he stepped forward and whispered: "Xiao Qin, Old Zeng says you know ancient restoration methods—can you restore this qin?"

Qin Yun didn't answer immediately. Even with the system's granted abilities, applying them in practice still required thought.

After a moment's reflection, combining his inherited knowledge of ancient methods, he nodded solemnly: "I can restore it."

Jiang Dingfang couldn't hold back: "Master Qin, the Palace Museum's restoration standards are strict—this qin cannot be opened, nor can its lacquer be broken. Without opening it, how can you be certain you can repair internal cracks and delamination?"

It was no wonder Jiang Dingfang doubted—he was simply too young. If a sixty-year-old man had come, Jiang would have trusted him at least a little just from age.

Wen Shichou added: "Master Qin, it's not that we distrust you—we've researched ancient records of qin restoration. Almost all are fragmented, incomplete. There's no documented method for non-invasive restoration."

Qin Yun understood their implication: If the Palace Museum couldn't find a non-invasive ancient method, how could an ordinary person discover and understand one? After all, even if an ordinary person obtained the method, they couldn't read it.

This wasn't a joke. An ordinary person handed a Song Dynasty restoration manual written entirely in classical Chinese would first have to solve the translation problem.

One misstep could destroy the artifact entirely.

Qin Yun paid no mind to their skepticism—it was natural. He looked at them all and smiled calmly, radiating confidence: "Don't worry—I'll write out the full restoration process and donate the ancient methods involved to the Palace Museum Cultural Relics Restoration Bureau. Restoring this qin alone is difficult; we need collective effort."

"By the way—I'm donating the ancient methods free of charge."

At this, Yang Zhiyu and the others stared, eyes wide. Regardless of whether it was true, Qin Yun's spirit of selfless contribution alone was worthy of admiration.

Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichou exchanged glances, then said together: "Master Qin, your magnanimity."

"Hahaha!" Zeng Yanming laughed, feeling immensely proud. "Xiao Qin, tell us how you'll restore it."

Qin Yun nodded without hesitation, pointing to another table: "May I use that paper?"

"Of course."

Qin Yun picked up a pen and sketched the qin's internal structure on the paper, explaining as he drew: "To balance cultural preservation with playability, and to adhere to our Palace Museum principle of 'minimum intervention, reversible restoration,' I plan five steps."

"Step one: Use ancient methods to locate cracks. By listening to the sound's resonance and weight, precisely determine the length, position, and delamination range of hidden cracks—'without seeing cracks, yet knowing exactly where they lie.' This involves the first ancient method: 'Listening to Sound to Identify Cracks.' Even with X-rays, mastering this method will improve future restoration judgments."

"Step two… Step three…"

"The final step is reinforcing the sound beams and tuning the tone. The beams are slightly rotten and shrunken—no disassembly needed. Through the sound holes, use bamboo needles dipped in fish glue to gently coat the beam surface, then apply small amounts of aged… until the tone becomes rich and clear, free of buzzing or cracking, and resonance returns to its proper level."

Yang Zhiyu nodded repeatedly; the others did too.

Yet…

"Xiao Qin, you truly intend to donate these ancient methods to the Palace Museum Cultural Relics Restoration Bureau?"

Qin Yun smiled: "I'm just an outdoor streamer. Knowing these methods is merely an extra skill. But if you all can learn them, I believe we can save more endangered relics—this is a matter for generations. Naturally, I won't hesitate."

With that, he sat down and picked up his pen. The others immediately gathered around.

The most excited were Yang Zhiyu and Zeng Yanming—both were pillars of the Palace Museum Restoration Bureau, far surpassing others in ability, and they could instantly judge whether Qin Yun's writing was genuine.

They exchanged glances, suppressing their excitement, and fixed their gaze on the paper. At that moment, the sheet beneath Qin Yun's pen weighed a thousand catties and was worth a thousand gold.