The Tycoon's Enchanted Mermaid

Chapter 105: Chapter 105: The Past

Yu Yuan scolded him, “What’s the use of saying all this? I’ve been listening to your complaints for years.”

“I just can’t swallow this anger. Back then, I said we should chase after the items abroad and bring them back, or buy them back if we couldn’t retrieve them. Everyone said it was too difficult, unfeasible, and what’s the result? Nothing. Decades have passed, and to this day we only know about the existence of the dynasty on a superficial level. The only evidence is still the underground palace on Qingyuan Mountain, blown to smithereens.”

“An empty shell, what use is it?”

“Cultural relics are the key!”

Qin Hongyun puffed up his beard and glared, still brooding over the matter.

“It’s true that it was difficult. Weren’t the conditions back then also lacking?” Yu Yuan raised his eyebrows.

Qin Hongyun exhaled a cloud of stale breath from his nose and waved his hand, “I don’t want to hear this. It makes my blood pressure rise just listening to it.”

Yu Yuan laughed, “You think I want to talk about these trivial matters of the past? It’s only because you keep bringing it up.”

“If we don’t mention it, who will remember Xiling? If the two old guys who experienced it firsthand don’t talk about it, who in the world would remember?” Qin Hongyun said with a sad expression.

Master Yu Yuan also shook his head and sighed lightly.

Wei Lan stared at the paper in Yu Yuan’s hand, which he had seen before and even often heard them mention. The two old-timers had actually been in the field of archaeology when they were young, forcibly retired due to age, and later turned to appraising treasures.

Their final archaeological project, which could also be considered the most difficult and the oldest in their career, was code-named 0012 – the Ancient Xiling underground palace.

An unrecorded feudal dynasty.

The reason it was called Xiling was simple: although the underground palace had been looted by thieves, they couldn’t take away some of the larger artifacts. However, the thieves were extremely malicious, blowing up everything they couldn’t carry, leaving nothing behind.

A royal tomb of great research significance had been shattered into thousands of pieces. Yu Yuan and Qin Hongyun managed to piece together the inner wall carvings of the coffin, which depicted a passage of text.

They had never told Wei Lan the specific story, only that it pronounced the dynasty’s name as Xiling.

Unfortunately, the underground palace was severely damaged, and after expanding the survey area to nearly a hundred kilometers, it was finally determined to be a solitary grave.

To this day, the discovery of Xiling still consisted of only the devastated underground palace.

Fragments of the coffin, pieces of Jade Ring, and the underground palace were the only traces Xiling had left for the world.

Because they failed to thoroughly prove the existence of Ancient Xiling, it became the sole regret in Yu Yuan and Qin Hongyun’s archaeological career, an issue that haunted them.

After their retirement, they had funded their trips abroad in search of clues, only to come up empty-handed, hence it’s no wonder they were so agitated and lost their composure when they saw the Jade Ring during the live broadcast.

Qin Hongyun spoke gravely: “The Dragon-shaped Jade Ring from the live broadcast, we must bring it back, it is imperative.”

“You don’t need to tell me, it’s of utmost importance. But the live broadcast hasn’t disclosed any information about the owner. It’s like finding a needle in a haystack.” Yu Yuan analyzed seriously, “Moreover, due to the importance of the matter, we should also convey the information to the cultural relics bureau.”

Wei Lan said, “You two don’t need to rush. The platform should have the user’s information, especially those without a fixed location. We might not even need to go through the platform.”

“That would be great, Xiao Wei, check it out as soon as possible. We need to find it by tomorrow, so nobody beats us to it,” Yu Yuan said urgently, hands trembling.

“Okay, I understand.”

Wei Lan opened his phone’s Douyin app, surprised to find that the live broadcast had become incredibly popular online, with screen recordings having over a hundred thousand likes.

What was strange was that the girl’s voice in the video sounded more and more familiar to him, as if he had heard it somewhere before but couldn’t recall where at the moment.

Wei Lan frowned as he searched through the comments, looking to see if anyone had tagged the personal account of the person who had connected online. Finding nothing, he moved on to the next video.

When he saw the screen display three or four pinkish-white pearls, his mind exploded.

He stood up abruptly, startling the two septuagenarians beside him, especially Qin Hongyun who was sipping his health tea and nearly spilled most of it from the shock.

“You little brat, making such a fuss, are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”

Qin Hongyun scolded him while wiping down the table.

Wei Lan didn’t joke with them, turned the phone screen around for them to see, and with a taut smile said, “Mr. Qin, Mr. Yu, would you believe me if I said I know who the owner of the Jade Ring is?”

Yu Yuan looked at the screen, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, and with furrowed brows said, “Well, spit it out then, you’ve got us guessing. No more games, just tell us.”

Wei Lan sat back down, placed the phone on the table, and tapped the screen, “These pearls are very special. The only time I’ve recently seen pearls like these in size and quality was quite memorable.”

Qin Hongyun was skeptical.

“There are many pearl farms around the world, and pink pearls aren’t that rare. With today’s technology, especially considering the low production costs, are you sure?”

Wei Lan pointed to his eyes, “One hundred percent sure. I never mistake what I’ve seen.”

“Actually, one coincidence might be an accident, but two coincidences can’t be. I always felt the girl’s voice in the video was familiar but couldn’t place where I had heard it before. Now, I’ve figured it out; I have indeed met her.”

With that declaration, he raised both Qin Hongyun’s and Yu Yuan’s interest. Four eyes were fixed on his mouth, waiting for his next words. Wei Lan didn’t beat around the bush and said it outright.

“The pearls were brought to me for appraisal by Qin Yu, and as for the owner of the Jade Ring, she’s also with the Qin Family.”

“What? Master Qin?” Qin Hongyun exclaimed in shock. “Are you talking about that young man from the Qin Family?”

Wei Lan leaned back in his chair and glanced at him sideways, “Who else in Capital City is called Qin Yu? Mr. Qin, it looks like you’re getting senile.”

Qin Hongyun wondered aloud, “But I remember the Qin Family didn’t deal with antiques; they were purely into commerce. How come suddenly…”

Normally, antiques wouldn’t confuse Qin Hongyun, but artifacts from the Xiling underground palace were exceedingly rare.

Even though they firmly believed the items had been stolen and taken abroad, they came up empty-handed in their international search.

The situation was truly strange, to the point where they had momentarily doubted their own conclusion: had anything actually been stolen and taken out of the country?

If so, how could it have vanished so completely?

They only came to firmly believe today that items had indeed been stolen.

The Dragon-shaped Jade Ring was evidence of that.

Yu Yuan stated.

“I don’t think there’s anything surprising about it. Couldn’t it be an item repatriated from abroad to be used as a decorative piece? The Qin Family’s business empire is vast. No one knows the extent of their collection, not even Master Qin himself.”

“Regardless of the situation, as long as we have a target, everything else will be easy,” said Qin Hongyun. It was obvious that he was pleased. “Xiao Wei, you have a good relationship with Master Qin. Help us make inquiries, name a price, and we’ll pay whatever it is.”

Wei Lan felt something was amiss but simply said, “I’ll make some inquiries first; don’t rush.”