Daomu Biji

Chapter 2 Old Files

The chain was broken, rusty, and covered with spider webs. It was obviously not a recent incident.

"Hey!" Du Juanshan was also surprised, "What's going on?"

"It's okay, it just means you said it wrong. Someone has gone in." I said, looking down through the iron gate with a flashlight. There were debris piled on the stairs, not to mention dust, and there was a smell. The old smell comes through.

"You won't think about it, will you? It's so dirty in there!" he said.

I was also hesitating whether it was necessary to go down, which seemed to have nothing to do with the purpose of my coming here. There could be a million reasons for the chain to break, or it might not even have been locked at all. But even if there is an extremely bizarre reason, is it none of my business? I gave up just thinking about it.

Just as he was about to leave, he flicked the flashlight out of reflex and illuminated the seal beside the door.

Maybe it's the sequelae of making rubbings, but I always have to take a look at the calligraphy. Maybe it's because the seal is in an odd position, too low, and a bit eye-catching, so I just glance at it subconsciously.

At first glance, I was stunned. The old seal was firmly attached to the door and had not been broken.

"It's strange, look!" I said to Du Juanshan, "It seems that this seal was affixed later."

He leaned over to take a look and found it strange. He said, "Maybe the institute found that the iron chain had been cut, so they put a seal on it."

That's even weirder, why not put a new chain on it? What is the use of seals? I said, going to read the words on the seal, "A person who has broken the chains will be afraid of the seal?"

"There is nothing valuable here. Maybe they think the value of the things inside is not as valuable as a chain!"

"That makes sense." I thought it was a little funny. Owning something does not mean owning its value. These old files are not only of no value to people today, but may also require a lot of money to process, which is why they are still lying here.

The words on the seal read: July 6, 1990, sealed by the Institute of Archeology of XX University.

I am a rubbing maker, so I have a very intuitive sense of taking notes. Those calligraphy strokes are pretty good. This calligraphy must have been imitated by a relatively common calligrapher, and it feels very familiar.

Looking at the date on it, the seal should have been in 1990. Wen Jin had already disappeared by that time, so this matter should have nothing to do with them.

I said happily in my heart, yes! Hope is completely dashed, go back and start all over again! So he called Dujuan Mountain to open the way. He didn't want to stay here for too long. After all, it wasn't a good thing. He was relieved when he heard that I said to leave.

Back the way we came, everything went well. The civilized world is much more relaxed than the ancient tombs. I am not nervous at all. So what if someone sees me? A hundred guards wouldn't be as ruthless as Zongzi!

When I returned to the hotel, I felt very uncomfortable. The road in front of me was actually much narrower. If no clues can be found in the files, what else can be explored?

It's a bit weird to think about, why is there no file? Is it really what Du Juanshan said? The possibility is actually not high. As long as what happened in Xisha happened, the files must be there. Those files cannot be packed in one bag. If they really want to be destroyed, half the rows of file racks may be emptied. But all the files were packed tightly, and it didn't look like they had been removed.

I realized that maybe my preconceptions were wrong. There are students in the archaeological team, and they may not have anything to do with the university. These students may be interns who are already working, so Wen Jin may not be working in this research institute.

Thinking of this, I felt much better. I turned back on the computer and began to search and merge information from other research institutes. I copied them down one by one, preparing to continue asking people for questions tomorrow. Anyway, I have plenty of time, so why not check them one by one to avoid regrets.

After copying it, I lay on the bed and filtered it again, wondering what the next process would be. Some of these units are strict and some are lax, so you have to start with the simplest ones.

Looking at the copied messages, I suddenly felt uncomfortable. It seemed that there was something about the things in this book that concerned me, but I had no idea if I thought about it carefully.

Is it because of obsessive-compulsive disorder?

I smiled, and suddenly I was shocked. The seal flashed through my mind, research institute, research institute, research institute... XX University Institute of Archeology...

Holy shit! I suddenly realized why the words on the seal looked so familiar just now!

——That damn handwriting is actually my own!