Chapter 18: Beast-Faced Patterns!
The number of viewers in the live stream had already reached eighty thousand!
Zhang Xuan’s live channel had truly exploded in popularity!
Countless viewers began sharing and forwarding the stream.
A Taotie dragon-patterned bronze cauldron!
An artifact from the Shang and Zhou dynasties!
Even those unfamiliar with such relics, upon hearing the name and seeing its dignified and imposing shape, would know it must be a national treasure-level artifact!
Zhang Xuan took a deep breath; this cauldron truly took him by surprise.
He steadied his emotions and said, “Brother, listen to me!”
“Now, walk slowly around the cauldron, don’t rush. Pretend you’re observing it carefully.”
Zhou Cheng silently followed Zhang Xuan’s instructions, circling the dragon-patterned cauldron.
After about two or three minutes, Zhou Cheng stopped.
Zhang Xuan’s expression grew even more uneasy. He reached for another cigarette and lit it to calm his nerves.
“Brother Xuan, what’s the situation?”
“I’ve heard from your Third Uncle’s thoughts: this is a Warring States period tomb, so it shouldn’t contain Shang or Zhou artifacts.”
“Could there have been a mistake?”
Zhang Xuan shook his head. “No mistake.”
“Besides, this time it’s really serious!”
“Brother, listen to me!”
“The Taotie is a divine beast of ancient China, different from the Qilin or Azure Dragon. Its design is inherently exaggerated and fierce.”
“Using it to symbolize imperial authority was a way the ruling class of the slave society mythologized their power and majesty.”
“The real use of the dragon as a symbol of imperial power only began evolving slowly after the First Emperor of Qin.”
“So whenever you see Taotie patterns, they must be from the Shang or Zhou periods!”
“Of course, since the Warring States period was a transition between Zhou and Qin, there are still traces of Taotie motifs for a while.”
“But those Taotie patterns had already undergone significant changes compared to the Shang or Zhou ones, with many additional embellishments. In short, they are not the same as this!”
Zhou Cheng took a deep breath. “Got it, Brother Xuan!”
Zhang Xuan continued, “I think your Third Uncle and the others are still studying it. I guess they can’t make sense of the inscriptions on it either.”
“Oh, and remind them not to mess with this Taotie dragon-patterned cauldron.”
“I saw your so-called Uncle Tai getting quite excited.”
Zhou Cheng asked, “Oh, we can’t touch it?”
Zhang Xuan was speechless for a moment.
“No... wait... you actually want to move it?”
“Let me put it this way!”
“Even the National Museum doesn’t have one of these!”
“If you don’t touch it, even if something goes wrong later, being honest might still give you some leniency. But if you move it, it’s instant death without negotiation!”
Zhou Cheng was noticeably silent for a moment, then said, “Third Uncle also said not to move it.”
“Besides, it’s really huge and impossible to move!”
Zhang Xuan said, “Okay!”
“Go act like you’re obedient in front of your Third Uncle.”
“Remember to speak slowly, don’t scare him!”
Zhou Cheng chuckled, “Hehe!”
“But Brother Xuan, you still haven’t said what the inscriptions mean?”
“And there’s a beast pattern on the back too, is that also a Taotie pattern?”
“Or it looks like a person?”
Zhang Xuan took a deep breath. “Brother, what I just told you should be enough for your probation and promotion!”
“You want me to translate the bronze inscriptions too?”
“The content on it could fill a short story!”
“What are you thinking!”
Zhou Cheng said, “Huh?”
“So many stories?”
“Alright, got it!”
“One last question, what was this Taotie dragon-patterned cauldron used for?”
Zhang Xuan replied, “For sacrifices.”
“It was used to hold slaves buried as funerary offerings.”
Zhou Cheng exclaimed, “Ah?”
Zhang Xuan took a sip of water to calm himself. “What ‘ah’? If you don’t believe me, just stick your head inside and see for yourself!”
He took another deep breath. Although the Taotie pattern was rare, it wasn’t enough to shock him this much.
It was the content of the inscriptions and the human-faced beast pattern on the back that truly unsettled him.
.............................
Duty Room!
“This...”
“The National Museum doesn’t even have such an item?”
Xiao Lü’s face looked frightfully grim.
“Captain Fang... is this going to blow up?”
“This is a national treasure!”
Liang Jingyi also realized the gravity of the situation. They had been thinking of observing carefully and searching for clues.
Who would have thought that so soon, the case seemed to have escalated!
“Luckily, this group of tomb raiders has some conscience. Coupled with Zhang Xuan’s persuasion, they don’t plan to touch the national treasure. Otherwise, it would be a national tragedy!”
“Our fault!”
Fang Youcai said nothing. He took out his phone, hesitated briefly, then quickly dialed a number.
He was calling Director Chen.
Xiao Lü saw the name and immediately became serious.
“Captain Fang, it’s late. What’s the matter?”
The call connected, and Director Chen’s voice came through.
He sounded like he was asleep and had just been woken by the call.
Fang Youcai seemed a little nervous as well. “Sorry to disturb your rest, Director Chen.”
“There’s an urgent situation I need to report!”
Director Chen: “Hmm...”
Fang Youcai hurriedly opened his notebook, cleared his throat and said, “We’ve been monitoring a live-streamed tomb robbery online!”
“After two days of tracking and investigation with my colleagues on duty, we finally obtained some useful information about the tomb raiding gang!”
“The case is being swiftly investigated!”
Director Chen: “Hmm...”
Fang Youcai continued, “According to our original plan, we were going to wait until we had full information on the tomb raiders, then coordinate with other departments to launch a sweep operation and capture the entire gang!”
“But an unexpected situation has arisen!”
“We discovered a Taotie dragon-patterned bronze cauldron from the Shang and Zhou periods in the tomb raiders’ live broadcast footage!”
“Insiders have revealed that even the National Museum doesn’t have such a Taotie bronze cauldron!”
After he finished speaking, the other side fell silent.
After a moment, Director Chen’s voice came again: “Are the tomb raiders from Qingzhou?”
Fang Youcai replied, “We can’t confirm the location of the tomb raiders yet.”
Director Chen breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I will report this up the chain.”
“Keep tracking them, don’t slack off!”
“Alright, I’m going back to sleep now!”
Fang Youcai: “Understood, Director Chen!”
“But the streamer they’re connected with is from Qingzhou…”
Director Chen: “What?”
“Say that again?”
Fang Youcai: “The tomb raiders were streaming live in connection with an appraiser streamer whose IP address is from Qingzhou.”
Director Chen: “Are you in the duty room?”
Fang Youcai: “Yes, Director Chen.”
Director Chen: “Okay, I’m coming over now!” (Sounds of getting up)
The call ended.
Fang Youcai: “...................”
Xiao Lü: “Is Director Chen really coming?”
Liang Jingyi: “Probably!”
“Get ready. There might be action tonight.”
Fang Youcai glanced at her. “You think so too?”
Liang Jingyi shrugged. “With Director Chen coming personally, given his temper, how could he not cause a stir?”
Fang Youcai seemed conflicted. “What do you think Director Chen will do?”
Liang Jingyi shook her head, smiling wryly. “You think too highly of me. How would I know Director Chen’s decisions?”
“But one thing’s for sure!”
Fang Youcai looked at her.
Liang Jingyi held up five fingers in a claw shape. “Arrest Zhang Xuan!”
Fang Youcai slapped his forehead. “That’s what I feared!”