Chapter 127: Contribute the Ancient Methods

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

More than ten years ago, the Palace Museum released a documentary about cultural relic restoration called "I Restore Cultural Relics in the Palace Museum," which sparked a huge online craze.

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 person alone.

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

Ancient stringed instruments, or ancient musical instruments as a category, though less popular than ceramics or antiques, remain a substantial restoration discipline.

Moreover, instruments called "ancient qins" are mostly already a hundred or even several hundred years old.

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

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

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

Thus, although the category of ancient musical instruments is large, it remains quite obscure 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 restoration issues 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 across the civilian sector.

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.

Many people inside, coming and going, turned to look at the sound.

One 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, Mr. Yang."

"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 take a look at Hanquan."

Upon hearing this, the elder raised his eyebrows in surprise: "A young man who restores ancient qins?"

Qin Yun replied modestly: "Just a little knowledge, Mr. Zeng is too kind—he exaggerates. I merely have some understanding, so I came along to observe."

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

"So you're Mr. Yang. My apologies for the rudeness."

Yang Zhiyu laughed heartily: "Then I'll call you Little Qin too—no need for formality. I'm just examining Hanquan; come in together."

The three entered through an inner door into another compartment, where the temperature felt perfectly regulated, specially treated. On a table stood 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 woman.

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 palace drama.

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

Yet after the introductions, Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichu both wore skeptical expressions, showing clear distrust toward Qin Yun. Yang Yanqiu, however, burst out the moment Yang Zhiyu finished speaking.

"Qin Ye, is that you? Qin Ye?"

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 ecstatic: "I'm your loyal fan, Qin Ye—I've followed you since you challenged Dongya Cliff."

She tugged Yang Zhiyu's sleeve: "Grandpa, this is the person I've been watching on livestreams—you remember?"

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

"I remember now. But it's hard to match Little 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 wilderness, crossed deserts—doing things no ordinary person could. But this young man before him looked energetic, full of vitality, gentle-faced, and radiating warmth.

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

Though Yang Yanqiu was Qin Yun's fan, she wondered how an outdoor livestreamer could possibly connect with cultural relic restoration—it seemed utterly unrelated.

Qin Yun nodded: "A little. That's why I met Mr. Zeng at a client's place, and came along to take a look."

"Don't listen to his modesty," said Zeng Yanming, who had brought Qin Yun here and needed to elevate his status—otherwise he'd look foolish. "Little Qin doesn't just know a little—he looked at photos on my phone and spotted hidden problems with this qin. He even claims to understand ancient restoration methods. Otherwise, why would I have brought him? This isn't a game."

Yang Zhiyu's eyes lit up: "Since Little 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 replace direct observation.

After observing, he had a clear idea, yet still gently stroked the lacquer surface, his touch as tender as if handling a fragile treasure.

Though隔着手套, the minute tactile sensations were still precisely captured by him.

"As I suspected—the lacquer surface appears intact, but is extensively delaminated. The internal sound beams are better than I imagined—no complete decay, only slight rot and minor shrinkage—but the resonance structure has completely failed."

Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichu instantly turned their heads toward Zeng Yanming.

Zeng Yanming rolled his eyes: "You two, if you can't do it, don't deny others can. I didn't mention any of these issues—Little Qin figured them out himself."

The two felt embarrassed, yet were utterly stunned: Damn, how could he possibly know this? It matches exactly what our instruments detected—no difference at all. Zeng didn't tell him—could he really have seen it with his naked eyes?

Yang Zhiyu trusted Zeng Yanming completely; they had known each other for years, and Zeng would never bring a fool here.

So he stepped forward and asked softly, "Little Qin, Old Zeng said you know the ancient method of restoration—can you repair this qin?"

Qin Yun did not answer immediately; even though he had received the system's ability, applying it in practice still required thought.

He thought for a moment, combining the inheritance of the ancient restoration method he had mastered, and nodded solemnly: "It can be repaired."

At these words, Jiang Dingfang could no longer hold back: "Mr. Qin, our Palace Museum's cultural relic restoration standards are different—this qin cannot be opened, nor can its lacquer be broken. Without opening it, are you certain you can repair the internal hidden cracks and delamination?"

It was no wonder Jiang Dingfang doubted—it was simply that Qin Yun was too young; if a sixty-year-old man had come instead, he would have trusted him at least a little just from age alone.

Wen Shichu also said, "Mr. Qin, it's not that we don't trust you—we've checked historical records of ancient qin restoration, and nearly all are fragmentary, incomplete; we simply cannot find a complete non-invasive restoration method."

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

This was no joke—an ordinary person holding a Song Dynasty repair manual written entirely in classical Chinese would first have to solve the translation problem.

A single mistake could destroy it completely.

Qin Yun paid no mind to their skepticism; it was only natural. He looked at the group and smiled faintly—a smile brimming with confidence: "Don't worry—I'll list the exact repair process and provide the ancient methods involved to the Palace Museum Cultural Relic Restoration Bureau. After all, repairing such a qin alone is difficult, so we must pool our collective wisdom."

"By the way, I'll provide the ancient restoration methods involved free of charge."

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhiyu and the others stared wide-eyed; regardless of whether it was true or not, Qin Yun's spirit of selfless contribution alone was enough to inspire admiration.

Jiang Dingfang and Wen Shichu exchanged glances and spoke together: "Mr. Qin, your magnanimity."

"Hahaha!" Zeng Yanming laughed, feeling his prestige greatly enhanced. "Little Qin, then tell us first how you plan to repair it."

Qin Yun nodded without hesitation and pointed to the paper on another table: "May I use this?"

"By all means."

Qin Yun picked up a pen nearby and drew a simple diagram of the qin's internal structure on the paper. As he drew, he said: "Since we must balance cultural preservation with playability, and adhere to our Palace Museum's principle of 'minimum intervention, reversible restoration,' I plan to proceed in five steps."

"Step one: use the ancient method to detect and locate cracks. Based on the sound's emptiness and solidity, lightness and heaviness, precisely determine the length, position of hidden cracks, and the extent of delamination—'without seeing the crack, yet knowing exactly where it lies.' This involves the first ancient method, called 'Listening to Sound to Identify Cracks.' Though we already have X-rays, mastering this method will allow us to better judge future cultural relic restorations."

"Step two… Step three…"

"The final step is reinforcing the sound beam and tuning the tone. The sound beam is slightly decayed and shrunken—without disassembly, we can use the sound holes, dip a bamboo needle in fish glue solution, and gently apply it to the sound beam's surface, then take a small amount of aged… until the tone becomes rich and clear, with no clattering or broken notes, and resonance restored to its proper level."

Yang Zhiyu nodded frequently; the others did the same.

Yet…

"Little Qin, are you truly willing to donate the ancient methods involved to the Palace Museum Cultural Relic Restoration Bureau?"

Qin Yun smiled: "I'm just an outdoor streamer—knowing these methods is merely an added skill. But if I can help you all learn them, I believe we can save more cultural relics on the brink of destruction. This is a matter for generations to come—I naturally take it upon myself."

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

When the first ancient method appeared on the paper, the most excited were Yang Zhiyu and Zeng Yanming—both were pillars of the Palace Museum Cultural Relic Restoration Bureau, their abilities far surpassing others', and naturally they could instantly tell whether Qin Yun's writing was genuine.

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