Chapter 50

These were all newspapers about archaeology and tomb raiding that the Zhao family had acquired through their wealth.

As long as the content was related to archaeology, no matter how old it was, the Zhao family was willing to pay a high price to acquire it.

So the Zhao family's internal database contained a great deal of such old materials.

And on that old newspaper, there was a large black-and-white photo.

Although it wasn't very clear, what was photographed was a Snake-Eyed Copper Fish.

There were also many small artifacts on the side, like Buddhist beads and the like!

Next to the picture was a news report saying that this fish was discovered in the foundation of a Buddhist temple pagoda in Guangxi.

The pagoda had naturally collapsed due to its age.

When clearing the ruins, they dug out the underground palace!

Inside were some scriptures and treasure caskets that had already rotted from soaking.

One of the treasure caskets contained this fish.

Experts speculated it was a relic left by a monk from the late Northern Song Dynasty!

All the information matched the pagoda that Chen Pi Ah Si was raiding!

…….

With this old newspaper, Young Master Zhao immediately started to show off.

Without thinking, he forwarded the content of the old newspaper to his Weibo.

Young Master Zhao had high visibility across the entire internet, and both those interested in archaeology and those who weren't knew him.

No other reason, he was just too high-profile!

Young Master Zhao's family was both an emerging tomb-raiding capital and a family of immense wealth.

Naturally, they would receive a lot of attention from the outside world.

And Young Master Zhao himself liked to comment on things online.

So he had many Weibo followers!

As soon as this Weibo post about the old newspaper was published, it immediately attracted the attention of the entire internet.

Many people hadn't come to listen to the storytelling and didn't know what he meant by posting this Weibo.

The onlookers, having no choice, had to search all over the internet.

It wasn't until someone posted the content of Zhang Lin's first half of the storytelling online.

That the whole internet knew that the old newspaper Young Master Zhao posted corresponded to the old news about Chen Pi Ah Si of the Nine Gates that Zhang Lin was talking about!

In this instant, many people who had previously thought Zhang Lin's storytelling was just fiction were also shocked!

Because this old newspaper from decades ago had records that could be checked.

By that time, the country had already been established for decades, and such archives were also preserved locally!

For a time, because of Young Master Zhao's influence, the content of the old newspaper was frantically forwarded.

This led the local Cultural Relics Bureau in Guangxi to have to come out and speak.

Confirming that the content in the newspaper was true!

Now, everyone was shocked and felt confused because of it.

If Chen Pi Ah Si really succeeded in stealing the treasure, why would the authorities release such news?

Could it be that some unexpected things happened behind the entire treasure theft?

Most crucially, the statement released by the Guangxi Cultural Relics Bureau also mentioned an inconceivable thing.

That was the fact that the Eight-Fold Treasure Casket was indeed dug out from the pagoda's underground palace.

But the artifacts at the time had been lost due to the chaotic situation later on!

This caused the entire internet to explode.

Such an important national treasure could still be lost?

Now, not only were the netizens not having it, but even the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the Institute of Archaeology began to pay attention to this matter.

It was truly because the combination of Zhang Lin's storytelling and the old newspaper.

Made Chen Pi Ah Si and the Nine Gates increasingly known to the public!

Netizens were very interested in the ancient tombs that the Nine Gates had once excavated and the places they had been to!

At this time, hearing that Chen Pi Ah Si hadn't stolen the national treasure-level treasure back then, but the Cultural Relics Bureau had lost it.

Who could stand this?

With no other choice, the authorities also began to initiate investigation procedures.

Mainly searching for the Eight-Fold Treasure Casket and the Snake-Eyed Copper Fish inside!

……

At this time, Yin Yin Nanfeng, who was listening to the storytelling on the second floor of Sancheng Garden, frowned.

While looking at her phone, she felt that the Snake-Eyed Copper Fish in the picture looked familiar.

Seeing her like this, Zhang Yueshan immediately asked: "What, have you seen this Snake-Eyed Copper Fish?"

Yin Yin Nanfeng shook her head and then said: "I'm not sure."

"This thing looks very much like an auction item at the Crescent Hotel recently; I need to check the catalog."

As Yin Yin Nanfeng said this, she went to flip through the catalog for the latest Crescent Hotel auction on her phone.

A large part of the reason why the Crescent Hotel could accumulate huge wealth and remain prosperous for a long time was that it was a place for selling antiques.

The items auctioned were all antiques of great value.

And they were absolutely confidential to the sellers, never revealing the seller's identity to anyone!

This made the Crescent Hotel very famous in the industry, and many people chose to sell their goods here.

Zhang Yueshan then said: "If it really is an auction item from the Crescent Hotel, then that's interesting."

"This thing has now been exposed by that idiot from the Zhao family and has become a national treasure."

"If the Crescent Hotel auctions it again, I'm afraid someone will investigate."

"When the time comes and they make you reveal the seller's identity, your Crescent Hotel's reputation will be ruined."

Hearing Zhang Yueshan gloating, Yin Yin Nanfeng ignored him.

After flipping through it for a while, she frowned and said: "Sure enough, it's an auction item for the new session."

Zhang Yueshan also curiously took it and looked, discovering that the picture showed a very small copper fish.

There were two small snakes on the fish's eyebrows, the fish scales were carved very exquisitely, but the rest couldn't be made out.

Zhang Yueshan said with some confusion: "To be honest, I think there's a problem with this thing."

Yin Yin Nanfeng was also used to seeing antiques, and she nodded and said: "There is indeed a problem."

"According to common sense, the value of this Snake-Eyed Copper Fish is not enough for it to be placed inside an Eight-Fold Treasure Casket."

"This Eight-Fold Treasure Casket has always been for holding Buddhist treasures, usually Buddha bone relics, or at the very least, jade Buddha bones."

"Putting a copper fish inside is disrespectful to the Buddha, and also disrespectful to such a precious Eight-Fold Treasure Casket!"

Yin Yin Nanfeng said this and suddenly looked at Zhang Yueshan.

Zhang Yueshan also immediately reacted.

He said with some surprise: "Chen Pi Ah Si's feeling was right!"

"As soon as he entered the underground palace and saw that eerie Arhat statue, he felt that someone had specifically placed it there to scare him."

"This person not only anticipated that someone would enter the underground palace from this location, but also anticipated his posture."

Yin Yin Nanfeng also couldn't help but sneer, "Then this person who moved the Arhat statue really has good methods!"

"Not only did they take the things in the Eight-Fold Treasure Casket one step ahead of Chen Pi Ah Si, but they also replaced it with a Snake-Eyed Copper Fish."

"They even placed an Arhat to scare him; unfortunately, Chen Pi Ah Si was blinded by greed, noticed something was wrong, but didn't exit the underground palace."

Zhang Yueshan also felt it was somewhat unbelievable.

"Who on earth has this kind of ability? It certainly wasn't someone from the Nine Gates!"

"Could it be an old guy from one of the four factions: Faqiu, Banshan, Xieling, or Mojin?"

Yin Yin Nanfeng shook her head and then said: "I suspect there's a hidden story behind this, and I'm afraid this Snake-Eyed Copper Fish isn't simple either."

"If there must be someone who knows the whole story, then I guess it's only this storyteller!"

"He even knows the ins and outs of Chen Pi Ah Si stealing the treasure from the Mirror Palace as clearly as if he had seen it with his own eyes."

"Presumably, he also knows who replaced the Snake-Eyed Copper Fish."

Zhang Yueshan then said: "Then is your Crescent Hotel still going to auction this copper fish?"