Zhuang Yan smiled embarrassedly and said, "Brother Xia, you asked the wrong person. I usually stay at home, and I haven't even been to many places in Tanzhou City."
"That can't be! Aren't you born and raised in Tanzhou? "Xia Ruofei asked with a smile.
"I don't like to go out. I like to stay at home and read books, surfing the Internet," Zhuang Yan said, scratching his head.
Xia Ruofei asked calmly, "Don't you work in the Cultural Relics Bureau? Don't you usually go out to do archeology? "
Xia Ruofei knew that the ancient tomb was not within the boundaries of Tan Province. If it was, then the Tan Province Cultural Relics Bureau would have participated in the inspection. If that was the case, Song Wei would not have met Seo Yuanyuan only now.
However, he just wanted to get some information from Zhuang Yan. Who knew how long the two women would talk anyway! He had nothing to do anyway.
Zhuang Yan smiled honestly and said, "Occasionally, there will be outdoor archeology activities. The main thing is that there will be construction and some ancient tombs will be excavated. In this case, we need to carry out rescue excavations. Other than this, there are also tombs that have been opened by tomb raiders. We also need to carry out inspections and excavations. Otherwise, for the purpose of protection, we will not take the initiative to excavate ancient tombs."
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "I understand. I heard that the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Shan Province was later backfilled!"
"Yes! The best way to preserve cultural relics is to seal them in tombs. " Zhuang Yan was not so stingy when it came to professional matters. "As long as it is excavated and exposed to oxygen, no matter how good the protective measures are, it will be damaged. The Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang that you mentioned just now was actually filled with colorful terracotta soldiers. However, once exposed to oxygen, the layer of paint on the surface was oxidized within a few minutes and became what it is now … "
Xia Ruofei smiled and nodded. "Your profession is quite professional."
"There are specializations in the profession. It's just that," Zhuang Yan said humbly. "Actually, our profession is quite boring. Didn't you see that Yuanyuan has only been working for half a year and she's already thinking about taking the postgraduate entrance exam? Most of the time in the unit is just a waste of time! "
"No way! Listening to you, I feel that it's quite interesting. " Xia Ruofei smiled and said, "Zhuang Yan, tell me about some interesting things you've encountered in your work!"
Zhuang Yan saw that Xia Ruofei was in high spirits, so he could only rack his brains to think of the "interesting things" that happened during their work. However, their work was indeed quite boring, so there was nothing to talk about.
After thinking for a while, Zhuang Yan smiled and said, "Brother Xia, last year, there was a very exciting thing in our Xiangnan Cultural Relics System. However, it was not in Tanzhou City, and I did not participate in this matter. It was all hearsay."
Xia Ruofei's eyes lit up and he asked calmly, "Oh? Tell me about it! "
Zhuang Yan said, "At that time, an ancient tomb was found in Yuezhou. Experts speculated that it should be from the Ming Dynasty. It was also opened by grave robbers. After being discovered by the villagers, it was reported to their superiors. Later, it was found that the tomb was very large. The National Cultural Relics Department, the Museum of History, the Department of Archaeology of Beijing University, and other units formed a joint investigation team to prepare for a rescue excavation of the tomb …"
Speaking of this, Zhuang Yan paused for a moment. After taking a drag of his cigarette, he continued, "In the process of excavating the ancient tomb, something happened …"
Xia Ruofei was secretly happy. Song Wei had always refused to tell him the specific location of the tomb. Now, he had inadvertently found out about it. Now, the scope had been narrowed down to Yuezhou City.
"Could it be that the mummy in the ancient tomb has been resurrected?" Xia Ruofei joked.
"No," Zhuang Yan said. "But it was a very serious accident. I heard that several members of the archaeological team who entered the tomb had symptoms such as dizziness and nausea. They quickly ended the operation, but it was already too late. I don't know what kind of filthy things are in the tomb. Anyway, I heard that several members of the archaeological team successively fell ill and died … "
Xia Ruofei could not help but secretly laugh. Zhuang Yan had indeed only heard about it from rumors. A lot of the information was not accurate. For example, one of the members of the archaeological team, Song Wei, was still alive and had just met with them.
"Then … then what about the ancient tomb? How is it now? "Xia Ruofei asked.
"I heard that the experts suspect that there is an unknown poison in the ancient tomb. At the moment, they have not found an effective treatment," Zhuang Yan said. "In order to prevent the poison from spreading and causing a large-scale epidemic, the Yuezhou government immediately backfilled the ancient tomb and sent people to guard it."
Xia Ruofei could not help but secretly frown. It seemed that it would take some effort to enter the ancient tomb! Especially since they had Song Wei with them.
After Xia Ruofei heard the news, he did not continue to talk about this topic. He did not want to arouse Zhuang Yan's suspicions. He also did not want people to associate their coming to Xiangnan with the ancient tomb.
Of course, Zhuang Yan did not suspect him. To him, this was just a topic to talk about after dinner.
At around ten o'clock at night, Xu Yuanyuan came to Xia Ruofei's room accompanied by Song Wei. She had asked Zhuang Yan to go home with her.
Xu Yuanyuan winked at Xia Ruofei and said, "We won't be third wheels. But … this room will be empty tonight, right?"
Song Wei's pretty face flushed red as she said, "You blabbermouth damned girl! Why aren't you leaving? "
Xu Yuanyuan giggled and said, "I know! It seems that Weiwei can't wait any longer! Zhuang Yan, let's go quickly! Don't be an eyesore here … "
After that, Xu Yuanyuan really did leave quickly with Zhuang Yan. She also insisted that Xia Ruofei and Song Wei not go downstairs to see them off.
After the two left, the atmosphere in Xia Ruofei's room became a bit ambiguous, especially after Xu Yuanyuan's joke.
Song Wei blushed and said in a mosquito-like voice, "I … I'll go back to my room first!"
"Oh …" Xia Ruofei also felt a bit awkward. "Rest early …"
"En!" Song Wei said.
Although she also knew that Xia Ruofei would certainly not be so ridiculous as to let her stay here, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
When they walked to the door, Song Wei turned back and said, "Right, Yuanyuan said that she would take us around Tanzhou tomorrow. Let's postpone it for a day!"
"Okay!" Xia Ruofei said with a smile.
Xia Ruofei also knew that Song Wei and Xu Yuanyuan hadn't seen each other for a long time. Moreover, they had announced that they were traveling to Xiangnan. Since Xu Yuanyuan had offered to take them around Tanzhou, it was naturally hard to refuse. Otherwise, it would seem very unreasonable.
He then said, "Anyway, it's very convenient here in Yuezhou. It's not far away!"
"Yes!" Song Wei said without thinking. Then he suddenly raised his head and looked at Xia Ruofei. "You … How did you know?"
Xia Ruofei laughed and said, "I can predict. Don't think that I don't know anything just because you don't tell me!"
Song Wei was not in a hurry to leave. He looked at Xia Ruofei and asked with a faint smile, "Since you know the place, you won't leave me and run over alone, right?"
"Why would I!" Xia Ruofei said, "I'm a man of my word!"
"Why don't I believe you?" Song Wei said, "If you leave me alone tonight and secretly run to Yuezhou, who can I reason with?"
"Can't we trust each other?" Xia Ruofei said with a bitter smile.
"No!" Song Wei said with a smile.
"Then what should I do?" Xia Ruofei spread his hands and said, "My legs are on my body. If I really want to leave, you can't stop me!"
Song Wei smiled and said, "Why don't I just stay here tonight and wait for you. Let's see how you run!"
Xia Ruofei was shocked and quickly said, "Don't joke around! I'll tell you the truth! Actually, I was just trying to get information from Zhuang Yan. Isn't he also in the Cultural Relics System? That thing is not a secret in the Cultural Relics System of Xiangnan Province … "
"You're so insidious!" Song Wei said coquettishly, "You even tricked an honest man like Zhuang Yan …"
"I didn't trick him! It was really just a casual chat! " Xia Ruofei said, "And I know what I'm doing. I didn't ask too much. I only know that the ancient tomb is in Yuezhou. I don't know anything else! So, you can go back to your room and rest. Without you as a guide, I can't even move an inch! "
"Really?" Song Wei asked.
"I swear to God …" Xia Ruofei raised his hand and realized that they were indoors. So, he changed his words and said, "I swear to the light!"
"Okay! Then I'll believe you for the time being! "Song Wei said," Don't lie to me! Otherwise, I'll never forgive you! "
Xia Ruofei smiled bitterly. Why does this sound a bit ambiguous?
Song Wei didn't notice anything wrong. After warning Xia Ruofei, he went back to his room with a smile.
…
The next day, Shu Yuanyuan came to the hotel very early. Then, she took Xia Ruofei and Song Wei to tour around Tanzhou.
Zhuang Yan didn't come because he had to go to work. He only showed up for dinner.
As for Shu Yuanyuan, she didn't need to go to work. The previous night, the director had said that she could stay at home and study for the exam.
Shu Yuanyuan was the host for dinner. First, her classmates had come from afar, so she wanted to be a good host. Second, she wanted to thank Xia Ruofei for helping her with her postgraduate entrance exam.
After dinner, Shu Yuanyuan drove Xia Ruofei and Song Wei back to the hotel in a Polo that she had just bought when she got married.
Originally, Shu Yuanyuan wanted to take them to some scenic spots the next day. However, Song Wei didn't want to waste any more time in Tanzhou, so he politely declined.
Shu Yuanyuan knew that when Song Wei and Xia Ruofei went back, they would have to come to Tanzhou to take the plane. So, when they were saying goodbye at the hotel entrance, she reminded Song Wei to remember to look for her and get together again.
After resting in the hotel for another night, Xia Ruofei and Song Wei finally embarked on their journey to Yuezhou the next day.
The two of them rented an SUV to go to Yuezhou. For safety reasons, Xia Ruofei even used a fake ID. The car rental company's car had a global positioning system, and the car's driving trajectory was all recorded. Xia Ruofei had to avoid leaving any clues that would lead people to connect him to the ancient tomb incident.
Although the possibility was very low, Xia Ruofei didn't allow any mistakes.
Of course, Song Wei didn't know about this. Xia Ruofei went to rent a car alone and drove back to the hotel to pick her up.
Yuezhou was located on the coast of Dongting. It was built in 505 BC. It was an ancient city with a history of more than 2,600 years. It was only about 100 kilometers away from Tanzhou.
After more than two hours of driving, the two of them had arrived in Yuezhou City.
After the car drove out of the highway toll booth, Xia Ruofei asked with a smile, "Song Wei, can you tell me the specific location now?"
Song Wei chuckled and said, "Along the way, I was wondering when you would ask. Now it seems that you are quite patient!"
Xia Ruofei was speechless. He looked at Song Wei innocently.
Song Wei chuckled and said, "Okay! I will set up the navigation system for you. Just drive forward! "
"Yes, sir!" Xia Ruofei said with a smile.
Soon, Song Wei set the destination on the car's navigation system. Xia Ruofei glanced at it. It turned out that the ancient tomb was located in Hualin County, which was in the west of Yuezhou City. It was still a few dozen kilometers away.
Xia Ruofei looked at the time. It was a little late to rush to Hualin County for lunch. So he said, "Song Wei, let's just have lunch in Yuezhou before we leave!"
"No problem! I will follow your arrangements! I am only responsible for leading the way! "Song Wei said.
"Okay!" Xia Ruofei said.
Song Wei had already set up the navigation system. He didn't bother to adjust it. He drove directly to Yuezhou City according to the signs along the way. He found a restaurant that looked cleaner. The two of them had a simple lunch, then got in the car and continued on their journey.
Since they were very close to their destination, Song Wei naturally didn't want to hide anything. She introduced the ancient tomb of the Ming Dynasty to Xia Ruofei on the way.
The tomb was located in Mount Yu, which was in the south of Hualin County. Legend had it that Yu the Great climbed the mountain when he was controlling the flood. The Yu King Temple was built on the mountain. It was also a local scenic spot.
The ancient tomb was on the other side of the mountain, facing Dongting Lake. It was surrounded by mountains and water. From the perspective of Feng Shui, it should be a place with good Feng Shui.
In addition, Song Wei also introduced some of the things that she had learned when she participated in the archaeological work. After all, she had gone down to the tomb and experienced many things herself.
After Xia Ruofei heard everything, he frowned slightly and said, "Song Wei, according to the information that I heard from Zhuang Yan two days ago, the problem now is that the ancient tomb has been backfilled by the local government. In order to prevent it from being opened again and causing the poison to leak out, there should be people guarding it all year round …"
"When we left, there were armed policemen guarding it." Song Wei nodded and said, "But half a year has passed. The security shouldn't be so strict anymore, but there should still be people guarding it."
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