Chapter 128: Skateboarding Skill

The Forbidden City is vast; even without counting the unopened areas, one day is not enough to thoroughly explore every corner, let alone the additional third of the entire Forbidden City that remains closed.

Though Yang Yanqiu didn't understand why Qin Yun wanted to start from Wumen, spending more time with Master Qin was still welcome.

Watching videos didn't make it obvious, but seeing him in person, Yang Yanqiu felt Master Qin was both tall and powerfully built—not the clumsy, bulky kind, not the brute strength of a giant fool, but a palpable, radiating sense of power.

One glance made it clear he was a man of exceptional physical strength, the kind that could make your legs go weak just by looking at him.

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

Hearing Master Qin call her by her full name, Yang Yanqiu corrected him.

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

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

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

Even though it wasn't a holiday, the Forbidden City was packed—though not yet at the level 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 adopted during the Qing dynasty; in the Ming, it was first called Huagai Hall, then renamed Zhongji Hall after a fire, and finally changed to Zhonghe Hall during the Shunzhi era.

Later, during Yuan Shikai's restoration of the monarchy, it was renamed Tiyuan Hall.

Over these past few days, Qin Yun had meticulously transcribed every ancient technique required to restore Hanquan, oversaw their production under his guidance, and only stopped once he was certain the resulting materials matched his exact specifications.

Restoring an ancient guqin involves nearly ten ancient techniques, all of which, in the eyes of Yang Zhiyu, Zeng Yanming, and others, were treasures—craftsmanship worthy of passing down through generations in ancient times.

Precisely because of this, many of these ancient techniques had faded and been lost over time.

Of course, that doesn't mean ancient methods are always superior—modern technology far surpasses many ancient ones; favoring the past while dismissing the present is unwise.

But for cultural relic restoration, the best method is to use the original techniques of the era to achieve seamless repair, ensuring a one-to-one restoration.

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

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

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

"Yeah, it's me. As for livestreaming—I'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 remained until January 1st, and after subtracting the ten days for training in Canada, he had just one month left.

"It's a pity the wilderness survival show isn't livestreamed—if only you could livestream during the program, Master Qin," Yang Yanqiu fantasized.

"Haha, I agree," Qin Yun laughed. "But unless the production team's gone mad, they won't allow me to livestream."

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

The two walked slowly, stopping occasionally, and before they knew it, arrived outside the Zhaigong Palace.

Zhaigong Palace is closed to the public, so passersby, seeing the metal fence and warning signs, simply walked past.

But Qin Yun was not among them; together with Yang Yanqiu, 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, seeing this, felt a spark of curiosity and followed suit.

Then—

"Excuse me, this is an unopened area."

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

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

"..."

Fuck, having privileges is awesome.

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

"Master Qin, Grandpa gave me a budget to treat you to 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 Peking duck."

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

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

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

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

Peking duck restaurants are everywhere in Beijing, with brands as numerous as fish crossing a river, most nearly identical.

For ordinary people, any one is about the same.

Qin Yun had lived in Beijing for years and eaten at both big and small brands; they were all much the same. Brand power is immense, but only brands like Bianyifang and Sijiminfu—established, affordable, and offering real value—make you feel you got your money's worth.

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

Take Bianyifang and Quanjude: Bianyifang charges two hundred yuan per duck; Quanjude charges nearly three hundred, plus service fees.

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

In short—it's poor value for money!

The two ordered a three-hundred-yuan set meal and added a whole duck separately.

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

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

Stepping out of Sijiminfu, Yang Yanqiu patted her belly, clearly satisfied.

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

Since yesterday, a symposium on restoring the guqin Hanquan had officially begun, and by afternoon, a special task force had been formed. Yang Zhiyu had even registered Qin Yun as an external consultant for Forbidden City artifact restoration.

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

With the ancient non-invasive repair method now available, experts like Yang Zhiyu and Zeng Yanming moved with swift precision, nearly matching his skill. He was happy to take it easy and let Yang Yanqiu accompany him to complete the system's check-in tasks.

He felt fortunate to have met Zeng Yanming before coming to the Forbidden City—this guqin restoration project made everything easier. Otherwise, the system's check-in route, which involved many unopened areas, would have required him to find other ways—and might have failed.

Now, it was as if a pillow appeared when he was tired, or Red Bull when he was exhausted.

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

Yang Yanqiu immediately felt her legs grow heavy.

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

Yang Yanqiu's face lit up: "Master Qin, Grandpa wants us to come over—he has some questions he'd like to ask you."

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

"..."

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

"The problem now is the sound holes are too small. Once the lacquer-gypsum paste is injected, 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 simple? If it doesn't fit, don't force it. Why bother judging internal adhesion? The lacquer-gypsum paste is soft—it naturally fills gaps."

Zeng Yanming laughed: "Because there are too many hollow spots, and many can only be accessed 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 let me try?"

"Perfect."

Though Qin Yun had never demonstrated his artifact restoration skills, everyone present no longer doubted his ability.

He first prepared the lacquer-gypsum paste—a traditional method requiring immediate use, impossible to store long-term. Other tools, like thin bamboo tubes, were already ready.

After preparing the paste, Qin Yun studied the guqin's X-ray images, memorizing every hollow spot, then began carefully exploring Hanquan's surface.

Images are images, but the real object is real. During actual repair, precisely injecting the paste into the right spot using only images is difficult—small errors are easy to make.

If the paste is insufficient in the middle, gaps remain. Such repairs can't be perfect and will likely lead to later cracking of the lacquer surface.

Qin Yun's hands glided over Hanquan, occasionally tapping lightly, using sound feedback to precisely locate each spot. This process took half an hour before he stopped.

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

Everyone watched his movements, holding their breath.

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

His hands were unnervingly steady—more stable than a surgeon's.

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

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

Though everything still seemed within human limits, who in the world could master so many skills as he did?

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

Yet he was a master in every one.

Qin Yun worked quickly, his movements steady—as if his eyes could clearly see the exact locations of the hollow lacquer spots. In his hands, all eighteen hollow spots were repaired in no time.

Even less time than he'd 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 an X-ray to check if it's perfect."

Yang Zhiyu smiled: "Xiao Qin, it's a shame you won't stay with us. If you're willing, I can apply for better benefits and a national subsidy for you."

"Hahaha," Qin Yun waved his hands. "Old Master 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. Xiao Qin is already registered as a consultant—he's officially affiliated. If you ever need him again, just call on him."

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

Restoring a guqin isn't a matter of one or two days; Qin Yun estimated it would take at least a month.

Ancestral treasures are too precious—must be handled with extreme care.

After leaving Zhenfei Well, Qin Yun had already activated 49 attractions, leaving only the last one: Shenwu Gate.

He did not hesitate, walking straight toward the exit.

As he stepped into the range of Shenwu Gate, the icon on the system panel instantly lit up and began counting down.

Though the path could be crossed in seconds, he deliberately took five full minutes, finally strolling out through the exit.

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

Check-in task completed, received a random reward: skateboard +1

【Skateboard Skill LV1: You can ride any wheeled board and are highly skilled at it—don't believe it? Go try.】