Chapter 128: Skateboarding Skill

The Forbidden City is vast; even without counting the unopened areas, one day is not enough to thoroughly tour every part inside and out, let alone that the unopened areas alone make up a full third of the entire Forbidden City.

Yang Yinqiu did not understand why Qin Yun wanted to start from the Meridian Gate, but spending more time with Qin Ye was fine.

Watching videos didn't make it obvious, but seeing him in person, Yang Yinqiu felt Qin Ye was truly tall and broad-built. And this bulk was not clumsy, not the kind of dumb, lumbering physique, but a palpable sense of power.

One glance made it clear he was a man of formidable physical strength, the kind that could make your legs weaken just by looking at them.

"Qin Ye, just call me Xiaoqiu. No need to use my full name—it sounds too formal."

Hearing Qin Ye call her, Yang Yinqiu corrected him.

"Heh, alright then, I'll call you Xiaoqiu. Did you start working at the Forbidden City right after graduation?"

Yang Yinqiu shook her head: "I haven't decided yet whether to follow my grandfather's work. I do like restoring Forbidden City artifacts, but there are too few young people here, and they're all as quiet as mute gourds—kind of boring. Right now, I'm just a temporary worker, hehe, just like you, Qin Ye."

Qin Yun smiled faintly; seeing that the "Taihe Hall" attraction had already lit up, he continued walking forward.

Even though it wasn't a holiday, the Forbidden City was still packed; though not to the point of crushing crowds, every direction was filled with heads.

There are just too many Chinese people.

"Let's go to Zhonghe Hall."

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, emperors would rest briefly in Zhonghe Hall before proceeding to Taihe Hall for grand ceremonies.

The name Zhonghe Hall was changed during the Qing dynasty; in the Ming, it was first called Huagai Hall, then after a fire it was rebuilt as Zhongji Hall, and only during the Shunzhi era did it become Zhonghe Hall.

Later, it was briefly renamed Tiyuan Hall when Yuan Shikai restored the monarchy.

Over these past few days, Qin Yun had meticulously copied down every single Arrived ancient method needed to restore Hanquan, and under his guidance, they were all crafted to match his exact specifications before he was satisfied.

Restoring an ancient guqin involves nearly ten Arrived ancient methods, which Yang Zhiyu, Zeng Yanming, and others regarded as treasures—crafts in ancient times that were worthy of being passed down through generations.

Precisely because of this, many Arrived ancient methods have faded and been lost over time.

Of course, that doesn't mean Arrived ancient methods are always superior; modern technology far surpasses many of them, and favoring the past over the present is not advisable.

But due to cultural relic restoration, the best method is naturally to use the original period's techniques for seamless restoration, to achieve a one-to-one replication.

In terms of craftsmanship, ancient techniques cannot compare to modern ones.

"Qin Ye, when's your next live stream? The silhouette in that wilderness survival livestream teaser on Douyin—is that you?"

Qin Yun didn't hide it; he nodded. His fans all knew it was him.

"Yeah, it's me. As for livestreaming, we'll see—if it fits, I'll do it; if not, we'll talk later."

He hadn't decided yet; it was mid-November now, only about forty days left until January 1st, and after subtracting the ten days for training in Canada, he had just one month left.

"It's a pity wilderness survival isn't live—if only you could livestream during the show, Qin Ye," Yang Yinqiu fantasized.

"Haha, I think so too," Qin Yun chuckled. "But unless the production team has gone insane, they won't allow me to livestream."

Just think about it—they didn't invest so much just so you could livestream.

The two walked slowly, stopping now and then, and before they knew it, arrived outside the Zhai Palace.

Zhai Palace is not open to the public, so when people passed by, they saw the metal fence and warning signs and walked right past.

But Qin Yun was not among them; together with Yang Yinqiu, his human pass, they ignored the fence and passed through the arched gate. The guard inside, who had been about to stop them, saw their credentials and sat back down.

Some passing tourists saw this and, intrigued, followed suit, hoping to try their luck.

Then—

"Hello, this is an unopened area."

The tourist pointed at Qin Yun and Yang Yinqiu ahead, dissatisfied: "How come they can go in?"

"They're staff—Cultural Relics Restoration Bureau. They can go anywhere in the Forbidden City."

"..."

Fuck, having privileges is awesome.

Before they knew it, it was noon. They exited through Jingyun Gate and headed straight out of the Forbidden City.

"Qin Ye, Grandpa gave me a budget to take you out for a big meal—no need to save money."

Qin Yun didn't refuse; he thought for a moment and said: "Isn't there a Sijiminfu restaurant near here? Let's go eat roast duck."

"Great!" Yang Yinqiu's eyes lit up. "I was just craving roast duck. Let's go—today we each eat one whole duck."

Looking at her slender figure, Qin Yun frowned: "You can even eat a whole duck?"

Yang Yinqiu sniffed: "One duck? My record is sixteen rolls and still able to walk."

"Impressive!" Qin Yun was convinced. One duck, sliced and wrapped in pancakes with vegetables and sauce, counts as one roll. A whole duck yields about twelve rolls—clearly, Yang Yinqiu's appetite was enormous.

Roast duck restaurants are everywhere in Beijing, brands as numerous as fish crossing a river, many nearly identical.

For ordinary people, any of them is more or less the same.

Qin Yun had lived in Beijing for years and eaten at both big and small brands; they were all essentially the same. Brand power is immense, but only those like Bianyifang and Sijiminfu—brands with reputation and reasonable prices—make you feel you got your money's worth.

Quanjude isn't bad tasting—it's just that the price exceeds the flavor.

Take Bianyifang and Quanjude: Bianyifang charges two hundred yuan per duck, while Quanjude charges nearly three hundred, plus a service fee.

That's why online reviews of Quanjude are generally mediocre.

In short, poor value for money!

The two ordered a three-hundred-yuan set meal and added one extra duck.

After eating their fill, Yang Yinqiu's stomach was visibly swollen.

"I haven't eaten this full in ages—so good."

Walking out of Sijiminfu, Yang Yinqiu patted her belly, clearly satisfied.

"Qin Ye, shall we keep touring the Forbidden City or head to the restoration room?"

Since yesterday, a seminar on restoring Hanquan had officially begun, and by that afternoon, a special task force was formed; Yang Zhiyu even specially registered Qin Yun as an external consultant for Forbidden City Cultural Relics Restoration.

The restoration experts were highly professional; after watching their work, Qin Yun temporarily abandoned the idea of handling it himself.

With the Arrived ancient method for non-invasive restoration now available, people like Yang Zhiyu and Zeng Yanming moved with swift precision, nearly matching his skill—he was happy to take it easy and let Yang Yinqiu accompany him to complete the system's check-in task.

He also felt fortunate to have met Zeng Yanming before coming to the Forbidden City, with the matter of restoring the ancient guqin as a pretext. Otherwise, the system's check-in task—the designated route through the Forbidden City—would have required him to find other ways to access many unopened areas, and success was far from guaranteed.

This ease was like having a pillow when sleepy, or Red Bull when exhausted.

"Keep touring the Forbidden City. My goal is fifty sites—I'll try to finish them all today."

Yang Yanqiu immediately felt his steps grow much heavier.

But before they could enter the Forbidden City, a phone call came in.

Yang Yanqiu's face broke into a smile: "Mr. Qin, Grandpa wants us to come over—he has some questions he needs to consult you on."

Qin Yun nodded: "Then let's go handle the restoration work first. Afterward, we'll come out again."

"…"

The two returned to the restoration room, and Qin Yun quickly understood the current problem.

"The sound holes are too small. Once the lacquer-gypsum paste is inserted, it's hard to tell whether it's properly adhered inside or if gaps remain. Do you have any solution?"

Qin Yun frowned: "Isn't it enough to just not force it in? Why bother judging whether it's properly adhered inside? The lacquer-gypsum paste is soft by nature—it'll naturally fill any gaps."

Zeng Yanming laughed heartily: "Because there are too many hollow spots, and many can only be reached through a single sound hole, we need real-time judgment. That's why we're seeking your help—photos can't guide operations in real time."

Qin Yun understood. He thought for a moment: "Then how about I give it a try?"

"Perfect."

Although Qin Yun had never demonstrated his artifact restoration skills before, everyone present no longer doubted his ability to restore it.

He first prepared the lacquer-gypsum paste—a traditional medicinal compound that must be made fresh and used immediately, unable to be stored long-term. Other tools, like thin bamboo tubes, were already fully prepared.

After making the lacquer-gypsum paste, Qin Yun first studied the X-ray images of the guqin's surface, memorizing the exact locations of all hollow lacquer spots, then began carefully probing the Hanquan Guqin.

Images are images, but the physical object is the physical object. During actual operation, precisely injecting the lacquer-gypsum paste into the correct spot cannot rely solely on images—it's easy to make errors.

If too little paste is applied in the middle, gaps remain. Such repairs can never be perfect and will easily lead to lacquer cracking later.

Qin Yun's hands moved across the Hanquan Guqin, occasionally tapping lightly, using acoustic feedback to precisely locate each spot. He continued this for half an hour before finally stopping.

He then took a thin bamboo tube, dipped it in the "lacquer-gypsum paste," and inserted it directly into the sound hole.

Everyone watching held their breath.

Yang Zhiyu and Zeng Yanming exchanged a glance, both seeing astonishment in each other's eyes.

Those hands were too steady—steadier than a surgeon's.

Even with close observation, not a single tremor could be seen—almost machine-like.

Qin Yun himself felt nothing unusual. His physical condition had long since been enhanced beyond human limits by the system's repeated ability boosts.

Though each skill seemed within acceptable limits, who in the world could master so many skills as he did?

Each one alone would require a lifetime of dedication to achieve.

Yet he was a master in every single one.

Qin Yun worked quickly, his movements steady—as if his eyes could clearly see the exact locations of the hollow lacquer spots. Thus, all eighteen hollow spots took him almost no time at all.

In fact, less time than he had spent observing.

In under half an hour, Qin Yun withdrew the bamboo tube from the final sound hole and set it aside.

"Done. Let it dry in the shade, then take another X-ray to check if it's perfect."

Yang Zhiyu smiled: "Little Qin, it's a shame not to keep your skills here. If you're willing, I can apply for better benefits for you—including state subsidies."

"Hahaha." Qin Yun waved his hands quickly. "Mr. Yang, you flatter me too much. I'm just an amateur—just happen to know a bit of restoration. I can't sit still."

Zeng Yanming said: "No problem. Little Qin is already registered, so he's officially on the roster. If you ever need him again, you can still call on him."

"I'm always at your disposal—no hesitation."

Restoring an ancient guqin isn't a matter of one or two days. According to Qin Yun's estimate, it would take at least a month.

The Laozu's treasured item is too precious—must be handled with utmost care.

…

After leaving Zhenfei Well, Qin Yun had activated 49 sites—only the Shenwu Gate remained.

Without hesitation, he walked straight toward the exit.

As he stepped into the range of Shenwu Gate, the system panel instantly lit up the Shenwu Gate icon and began its countdown.

A path that should take seconds, he deliberately took five full minutes to cross, strolling slowly out the exit.

The moment he stepped out, the system's alert sounded.

【Check-in task completed. Reward received: Skateboard +1】

【Skateboard Skill LV1: You can ride any wheeled board—and you're highly skilled. Try it if you don't believe me】