Chapter 157: The Tang Tomb and the Han Tomb Are Buried Together

"Whoosh... whoosh..."

The air conditioner vent hummed incessantly, and a ballpoint pen on the desk rolled off the edge with a clatter.

"Clack~"

Chen Peng was completely oblivious, standing before the window with his arms crossed, head bowed in deep thought.

His master had called to ask, and the Political Commissar and the Executive Vice Mayor had also called to ask. That meant that in the eyes of these leaders, the plan he had submitted was perfectly fine.

Even Chen Peng himself believed that the line of reasoning and direction provided by Lin Sicheng were fundamentally correct.

But it had been several days, so why was there still no movement?

They had found several pieces of Cultural Relics, but they hadn't found a single hair of the Grave Robbers. And that applied whether it was the Grave Robbers from the past or the ones from the present.

There was no other way; he could only treat a dead horse as if it were alive and let Lin Sicheng give it a try.

In any case, he already owed him enough, so one more time wouldn't make a difference...

In the blink of an eye, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door, growing louder and closer.

Chen Peng froze, tilted his head to listen, and his eyelids twitched: Oh no, the Bureau Chief?

Of course he wasn't afraid of the Bureau Chief, but the problem was that he could tell from the sound that the Bureau Chief was moving his legs so fast they were practically sparking; could this possibly be a social visit?

And according to past experience, whenever this happened, he would at the very least have to take a beating...

Chen Peng's expression changed, and he rushed toward the door. Just as his hand lifted the latch, with a "Bang," the door was pushed open.

Then, master and disciple stared at each other with wide eyes.

Li Chunnan glanced at Chen Peng's hand on the latch, let out a "Hmph," and began rolling up his sleeves.

Chen Peng gave a start, dropped his hand, and ran behind the office desk.

Li Chunnan chased after him, while the Political Commissar entered the office slowly and silently closed the door.

Turning around again, the master and disciple were like a donkey turning a millstone, circling the desk.

At first glance, it was quite comical: a Bureau Chief and a Deputy Bureau Chief, two such high-ranking leaders, acting just like children playing house.

But this situation would occur every three, five, or six months, and it had been going on for twenty years straight.

It could be said that half the credit for Chen Peng being able to serve as this Deputy Bureau Chief belonged to the beatings from his master, Li Chunnan.

Just like now: one wanted to hit, the other wanted to flee... Li Chunnan couldn't catch him, so he started looking around for something to use. Chen Peng was quick-witted and, across the desk, grabbed Li Chunnan's hand.

His face was full of fawning smiles: "No... Master, even a prisoner on death row gets to have their verdict read, right?"

He was nearly sixty, not what he used to be. Li Chunnan pulled his hand once but couldn't pull it free, then sneered: "Fine, I'll read it to you: Is it true you tricked Lin Sicheng into going to find Grave Robbers?"

Chen Peng was stunned, his face instantly darkening: "No... Wang Qi Zhi is a grown man, why is he still acting like a snitch?"

"Snitching is nothing. If I were Wang Qi Zhi, I wouldn't just rush over to fight you; if I didn't smash your face into a pulp, my surname wouldn't be Li."

Li Chunnan was frustrated by his lack of progress: "Chen Peng, the Municipal Bureau has eleven branches, thirteen detachments, and thousands of Police officers you leave unused, yet you let a student go help you step on landmines? Chen Peng, do you even have a face left, or is it stuck to your backside?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, and Li Chunnan pulled his hand hard: "Are you addicted to letting that kid take the heat for you? Chen Peng, even if you aren't ashamed, I find it embarrassing..."

Chen Peng was anxious and pressed down hard: "Master, don't listen to Wang Qi Zhi's nonsense... I only asked Lin Sicheng to do some visiting; how could it be that exaggerated?"

Li Chunnan didn't believe a single word: "Bullshit? With so many Police, which one couldn't go visit, and you let Lin Sicheng go?"

Chen Peng looked helpless: "Master, I had no other choice... Just a month ago, after Lin Sicheng handed over the legacy documents and the Jade Wenming, I conducted open and secret investigations, wanting to find that first batch of Grave Robbers—the ones who dug out the Jade Wenming. As long as we can find this group, we can find the tomb site, and the rest will naturally be solved..."

"Including what Lin Sicheng said about finding people based on Cultural Relics, he was also looking for this previous group. Even if we can't find the tomb, we might be able to get clues about the later group, the ones currently Grave-robbing..."

"But I investigated for a month, and I didn't find a single hair. After I saw you that day, I sent out seven or eight more teams after I got back, and let alone the 'pot-stirrers' (Grave-robbing ringleaders), I didn't even find a single 'Wind-Catcher' (the peripheral lackeys responsible for scouting information)..."

"There was no other way, so I brought in that old Street-Runner (Cultural Relics dealer)—the husband of the old woman who sold the Jade Wenming to Lin Sicheng—and interrogated him twice, only then did I learn that the ringleaders in this business locally have three 'no-meets': they won't meet buyers who are laymen (don't understand Cultural Relics), they won't meet local buyers, and they definitely won't meet anyone who doesn't understand Grave-robbing..."

"But Master, the Municipal Bureau has thousands of people, that's true, but how many of them understand Cultural Relics and also understand Grave-robbing? I had no choice but to ask Lin Sicheng for help..."

Li Chunnan paused: "You're looking for that previous group?"

"Of course!" Chen Peng nodded vigorously, "It's said they've washed their hands of it for many years, and I even sent people to follow them. How could Lin Sicheng be in any danger?"

"What does 'won't meet locals' mean?"

"They're afraid of undercover Police!"

Li Chunnan's expression cleared slightly, then he thought for a moment: "Lin Sicheng also understands Grave-robbing?"

"Master, he understands it too well..." Chen Peng let out a breath, "Wang Qi Zhi definitely didn't tell you: Lin Sicheng went to Zhejiang and only spent one hundred thousand to have the Grave Robbers find him dozens of scrolls of Southern Song Dynasty documents: they're worth several billion..."

Li Chunnan was startled: "How much?"

"At least two billion, and that's the black market price... The items are currently stored at the Provincial Museum and have been registered with the Bureau. If you don't believe me, check!"

The Bureau Chief and the Political Commissar looked at each other: How does this kid know everything?

Just as Chen Peng said: as long as it's related to Cultural Relics, it seems there's nothing he doesn't know?

After a long silence, the Bureau Chief raised his head: "Where is he? I mean Lin Sicheng."

"He went to Qujiang Township, the place where he bought the Jade Wenming last time!" Chen Peng patted his chest, "Master, don't worry, the people I picked are all veterans; there absolutely won't be any danger..."

Li Chunnan glared at him.

Since there was no risk, he might as well take a swing at the tree to see if any dates fall out.

What if?

The paint-peeling iron gate was covered in rust, and the corners of the walls were splattered with grime.

A few women with garish makeup leaned against the wall, and the sunflower seed shells on the ground covered the edges of their shoes.

In the early winter weather, a few thugs had their chests bared, revealing ferocious tattoos. Their eyes were full of provocation as they scanned the three of them repeatedly, then saw the car with the Zhejiang D license plate parked at the entrance of the alley.

Lin Sicheng had his hands in his jacket pockets, still the same as last time, with a man and a woman following him.

Of course, it wasn't Gu Ming, and certainly not Ye Anning, but two plainclothes officers.

Walking forward at a steady pace, Lin Sicheng laughed softly: "You two, relax, don't be nervous!"

The male plainclothes officer glanced at the back of Lin Sicheng's head, and the policewoman pursed her lips; neither of them made a sound.

You didn't even turn your head, so how did you know we were a bit nervous?

Nervous isn't quite the word; it's just that my nerves are a bit taut.

Because right before leaving, Bureau Chief Chen almost made them swear on their lives: if Lin Sicheng loses even a single hair, the two of you don't need to come back...

But having said that, this kid is truly relaxed; arriving at this dump of a place, is it just like returning home?

Secretly turning his thoughts, the two followed Lin Sicheng as he walked forward, arrived at the entrance of an alley, and checked his watch again.

Ten past twelve, kindergarten should be letting out.

Just as he put down his phone, a "clatter-clatter" sound came from behind.

A woman in her early thirties was pedaling a tricycle, with a half-grown child sitting in the cargo box.

Seeing people blocking the alley entrance, she was just about to press the bell when she paused.

She didn't have much of an impression of the man and woman beside him, but this young man was all too familiar: over a month ago, he had sold eight copper coins and two items from her own home, spending a full 130,800.

And he was incredibly generous, incredibly straightforward; whatever price you said, that was it, he didn't haggle a single cent.

The woman pressed the handbrake, jumped off the tricycle, and her face was full of smiles: "Oh, big brother!"

"Big sister still recognizes me?" Lin Sicheng nodded, "Is the old lady in?"

"In... in... she's at home cooking. Come, come... let's go inside to talk..."

Hearing Lin Sicheng ask about her mother-in-law, the woman's eyes lit up; she jumped onto the tricycle and led the way in front.

Just as she rode into the courtyard, she shouted at the top of her lungs: "Mom~ Mom..."

"What are you howling about?"

The old woman wiped her hands and came out from the side room by the courtyard gate; she was stunned for a moment, then her face piled up with smiles: "Oh, child... quick, quick, come inside... Cuiqin, bolt the door!"

It wasn't just ordinary enthusiasm.

Of course, whoever comes, spending over a hundred thousand in one go, see if you aren't enthusiastic?

After entering the main room and sitting down, the old woman looked at Lin Sicheng with a beaming smile: "Child, did you make a profit on those two items last time!"

Lin Sicheng paused: "Made a little, but not much!"

How could it not be much?

If he hadn't made much, he wouldn't have come back a second time!

The old woman probed: "Then coming this time, do you want to buy two more?"

"Right, buy two more!" Lin Sicheng nodded, "But only if they are like the ones from last time!"

Hearing the first part, the old woman's eyes immediately crinkled into crescents, but hearing the second part, her smile seemed to freeze on her face.

For ones like last time, the family only had those two. That was still hush money sent from above, out of gratitude that her old man hadn't bitten anyone else after he went inside.

If he only wanted those, where was she supposed to find them?

Just as she was thinking that this fortune probably couldn't be made today, Lin Sicheng smiled, "If the old lady doesn't have any at home, could you help me ask around? The finder's fee is negotiable..."

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng held up his index finger: "Ten percent!"

One item is tens of thousands or over a hundred thousand, how much is a ten percent finder's fee?

Suddenly, the old woman's eyes crinkled into crescents again.

"Child, you sit, I'll go call someone!"

Lin Sicheng said okay, and the old woman left the room.

Immediately, the daughter-in-law brought tea. After drinking about half a bowl, the iron gate in the courtyard rang once. Afterward, the old woman brought a tall man into the room.

He was about forty, with stubble on his face.

Huh, an acquaintance?

Just last time, when Lin Sicheng was preparing to do some Watching Stars at Duling to estimate the general direction of Zhang Anshi's tomb, he had the old woman find him a guide, and it was this man.

He remembered the old woman seemed to have said he was her brother-in-law...

Entering the room, the man didn't sit down, staring with his eyes as he looked around wildly.

He looked at the male plainclothes officer, then looked at the female plainclothes officer, and finally looked at Lin Sicheng.

The old woman glared at him: "What? The two hundred you earned last time, could it have been fake money?"

At the mention of this, the man relaxed: no cop would run to the mountains in the middle of the night to look for a tomb.

The key was the stuff he brought at the time: for Watching Stars, measuring the sun, probing the soil, locating the tomb... if things went wrong, this kid might really know how to find a tomb.

Guessing wildly, the man sat down, took an object wrapped in cloth from his bosom, and placed it on the table.

Then, in a muffled voice: "Thirty-eight thousand, not a cent less!"

Lin Sicheng didn't speak, just nodded, and unwrapped the cloth.

Then, his eyes lit up: A Tang Dynasty Gold and Silver Flat-removal phoenix-pattern square mirror?

The item was absolutely genuine, no need to guess: Imperial Palace Ware of the Great Tang, and it was the lost craft of Gold and Silver Flat-removal.

If one were to compare, the level of craftsmanship was much, much, much higher than the imitation he bought at the Bell Tower last time.

And the vessel shape was large enough, and it was an extremely rare square mirror. Just speaking of the black market price, thirty-eight thousand was not expensive.

This was what they called casting a stone to ask the way; regardless of whether it was expensive or cheap, he definitely had to buy one item, at worst he would go back and get reimbursed by Bureau Chief Chen.

After looking it over twice, Lin Sicheng prepared to haggle. He had just put the mirror down when he suddenly paused.

In his mind, the Registration Book from last time, as well as the Jade Wenming, surfaced involuntarily.

Coincidentally, that piece of Jade Wenming also had a bronze mirror inside it.

The strange thing was, it felt like the rust color and soil encrustation on both mirrors were exactly the same?

But how could that be?

One was a Han Mirror, one was a Tang Mirror; the two were separated by seven or eight hundred years.

Unless that one had traveled through time...

The more he looked, the more it resembled it, but the more it resembled it, the more absurd he felt it was.

Lin Sicheng narrowed his eyes: "I still need to verify it; you aren't in a hurry, are you, big brother?"

The man was, of course, not in a hurry.

For a business deal worth hundreds of thousands, if Lin Sicheng had just taken a casual look and immediately paid the money, he would have been the one to feel suspicious instead.

The man nodded, and Lin Sicheng put down the mirror and took out his mobile phone.

He didn't even go outside, making the call right there in the room; looking at that familiar number on the phone screen, the hearts of the two plainclothes officers skipped a beat: could this not be the number of Bureau Chief Chen?

It connected immediately, and before Chen Peng could speak, Lin Sicheng let out a laugh: "Brother Peng, you're at the hotel, right?"

There was a silence of two or three seconds on the phone: "I am!"

"Good, then have someone send that mirror over to me; I want to compare it... the one inlaid inside that box I bought last time... call me when it arrives, and I'll have my driver go pick it up."

Upon hearing about that box from last time and hearing "compare," Chen Peng's heart gave a "thump": was Lin Sicheng talking about the Jade Wenming?

He replied calmly: "Alright!"

After hanging up the phone, the old woman was a bit curious: "The buyer?"

"Yes." Lin Sicheng went along with the flow: "Just earning some hard-earned money!"

Since the buyer could follow along and this kid was looking so intently, it seemed the deal today was secure.

The old woman beamed with joy, told her daughter-in-law to brew fresh tea, and served some steamed buns.

Freshly brewed Fu Tea, freshly baked flatbread, the dough mixed with lard and plenty of fragrant bean powder, salty and aromatic.

Lin Sicheng was not at all reserved, picking one up and eating it immediately.

He even chatted while eating...

The two plainclothes officers exchanged a glance.

They couldn't infer anything else, but this composure, casualness, and familiarity of Lin Sicheng's didn't look like that of a young man in his early twenties at all.

Instead, it looked like that of a seasoned old thief...

He had chewed through nearly half of the flatbread, which was the size of a human head, when Chen Peng's call came through.

Afterwards, the male plainclothes officer went out and brought the mirror back.

Lin Sicheng placed it on the table, and after just one look, his heart couldn't stop pounding.

At first glance, one was square and one was round, one large and one small; the square one was new, and the round one was old.

But Lin Sicheng would bet his head on it: the soil stains and copper rust on these two mirrors were exactly the same.

Therefore, these were definitely dug out of the same tomb pit.

But it couldn't be that some tomb had traveled through time, could it? A Tang Dynasty tomb traveling to the Han Dynasty, or a Han Dynasty tomb traveling to the Tang Dynasty?

Of course that was impossible; it wasn't that ridiculous.

Rather, the two tombs were buried overlapping each other.

To put it simply: when the Tang Dynasty tomb was being built, the roof of the Han Dynasty tomb was broken into. From then on, the two tombs were in the same stratum and the same oxygen environment.

Including the microorganisms and the elements that cause oxidation and corrosion, everything was exactly the same.

The things dug out were, of course, exactly the same...