Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 605 - 403: Ancient Shu Kingdom (Double)

The next day, at the Cultural Relics Bureau.

"It’s only been a few days, how did you end up looking so haggard?" Qi Yun asked suspiciously, looking at Hua Weiguo who was frowning opposite him.

Hua Weiguo gave a wry smile, put his cup on the table, and spoke with a weary voice, "Don’t mention it, I haven’t had a proper sleep for days."

"You must have heard about the donated artifacts being swapped, right? A third of the people in this building have been taken away for questioning."

"Yes, I’ve heard." Qi Yun pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him.

He had learned about this incident long ago from a system intelligence report, and he also heard some whispers when he returned from Japan last time.

"Did it affect you?"

Hua Weiguo shook his head, "I was always in charge of archaeological excavations; the management of artifacts doesn’t involve me, so I was lucky to escape that ordeal."

"But I still have to cooperate with the disciplinary department’s investigation. Who wouldn’t be apprehensive going to that place?"

Qi Yun chuckled silently, thinking to himself that this little old man was quite endearing.

But surviving such a huge storm, his character was indeed commendable.

Hua Weiguo sighed and looked at Qi Yun, "Did you come to see me today for something? I have a meeting later, so if there’s anything, just say it quickly."

"Yes, it’s something small." Qi Yun replied while taking out the Bronze Mirror from his bag, "I’ve finished using this. I’m giving it back to you to handle."

Last time in Genghis Khan’s Tomb, Hua Weiguo had tacitly approved Qi Yun to privately take the Bronze Mirror, but the latter had also promised to return it afterwards.

"Alright, give it to me. I’ll write a report and submit it." Hua Weiguo took the brocade box handed to him and opened it to take a look.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, this mirror should be the legendary Qin King Bronze Mirror." Qi Yun added.

"Qin... What did you say!?" Hua Weiguo suddenly raised his head, his eyes widening, "This is the Qin King Bronze Mirror?"

He had inspected the mirror in the tomb and only recognized the inscriptions on the back as from the Qin Dynasty, but he hadn’t determined its origin. Unexpectedly, it was one of the four legendary divine mirrors, the Qin King Bronze Mirror...

Qi Yun nodded slightly, "That’s right."

Hua Weiguo took out the mirror and examined it closely, then continued to ask, "How did you confirm it?"

"I have a friend whose family has passed down documents that record this mirror. You can also look up related information later." Qi Yun casually made an excuse.

Seeing Qi Yun unwilling to elaborate, Hua Weiguo did not press further, carefully placing the treasure back into the box and locking it in the safe.

"There’s one more thing." Once he was done, Qi Yun spoke again.

"Go ahead."

"Do you know much about the history of the Ancient Shu Kingdom?"

Qi Yun had two purposes for coming here today: to return the Qin King Bronze Mirror and to inquire with Hua Weiguo about clues regarding Can Cong.

"Ancient Shu Kingdom?" Hua Weiguo showed a surprised expression, "You’re interested in that?"

"Yes, I’m quite curious."

"Alright, then I’ll tell you what I know." Hua Weiguo crossed his legs and began to speak at length.

"The history of the Ancient Shu Kingdom can be traced back to the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, when Changyi, the son of the Yellow Emperor, married Jing Pu of the Shu Mountain Clan. Their son later became Zhuanxu, one of the Five Emperors." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"When Zhuanxu came to power, he appointed the leader of the Shu Mountain Clan as the Marquis of Shu, overseeing the area now known as Rongcheng, marking the proto-beginning of the Ancient Shu Kingdom."

"The Ancient Shu Kingdom experienced the Xia, Shang, and Zhou eras. During King Wu’s conquest of King Zhou, the Ancient Shu Kingdom also participated in the war, becoming one of the Eight Allied Nations during the Mu Oath."

"By the end of the Western Zhou period, as the Zhou dynasty’s rites and music decayed, the ruler of the Ancient Shu Kingdom at the time, Can Cong, declared independence and officially became king, thus starting the legendary era of ’Can Cong and Yu Fu’."

"People’s understanding of the Ancient Shu Kingdom mostly stems from the bronze artifacts unearthed at Sanxingdui. In fact, the Ancient Shu Kingdom not only mastered unique bronze techniques but was also adept at witchcraft."

"Witchcraft?" Qi Yun was momentarily taken aback.

"Yes, that’s correct, witchcraft." Hua Weiguo sipped from his tea mug to moisten his throat and continued, "According to historical records, the Qiang people and the Ancient Shu Kingdom coexisted and integrated for a long time in the upper reaches of the Min River, and the Ancient Shu People learned many witchcraft techniques from the former."

"Especially that Ancient Shu King Can Cong, who was exceptionally skilled in witchcraft..."

After listening to Hua Weiguo’s summary of the Ancient Shu Kingdom’s background, Qi Yun continued with his questions, "That Can Cong, were his eyes very peculiar?"

Upon hearing this question, Hua Weiguo paused in lowering his tea mug, seemingly not expecting Qi Yun to bring up this detail.

"Yes, the historical texts clearly describe Can Cong’s vertical eyes, stating that his eyes appeared to grow vertically, unlike ordinary people."

"Initially, the academic community thought it was mythical exaggeration until the vertical eye mask was unearthed at Sanxingdui, with its protruding vertical eyes, suggesting the legend might not be entirely fictitious."

Speaking, he stood up and went to the bookshelf, pulling out a thick archaeological catalog, flipped to a middle page, and handed it to Qi Yun, "Look at this; it’s the most famous vertical eye mask from Sanxingdui, with eye posts protruding ten centimeters from the eye sockets, creating a particularly exaggerated shape."

"Some say this is a representation of Can Cong, while others believe it is the Ancient Shu People’s imagination of the ’Eye of God’."

"After all, with the prevalence of witchcraft, they believed vertical eyes could see things invisible to ordinary people, like deities, ancestors, or even omens of the future."

Qi Yun stared at the mask in the catalog; the eye sockets of the mask were about the size to fit a ping-pong ball, matching perfectly with the stone Brother Quan had shown him.