Chapter 91: Unique Artisan Spirit

  Chu Chen continued: "In the 'Taiping Guangji' it is recorded that among the rare treasures prepared by Li Kuo, there was a small part of this box. This box may be related to two of them. One is called Ruyi Jade, which is said to be as small as a peach kernel, but has seven holes on it, and the light shines back and forth, reflecting infinitely."

  "There is also a kind of incense called fragrant candle, which is said to be made from a rare shellfish oil. Although it is only a foot long, it can burn for a very long time. Moreover, when lit, the fragrance wafts far and wide, and the smoke rises slowly, forming the shape of pavilions and towers."

  Zhao Qirui heard this and suddenly understood: "You're saying that this thing is made from the Ruyi jade and fragrant candle?"

  Chu Chen nodded and said, "After all, the Ruyi jade and incense are legendary things. I think that according to the principle of reflection, there is still a possibility for the Ruyi jade, but relying solely on the smoke from the incense to form the shape of pavilions and buildings, I find it somewhat unrealistic. So I think this box should be something made by later generations based on this record."

  Zhao Qirui thought for a moment and also felt that it might be the case, sighing: "Xiao Chu, what you said makes sense, but until now I still find it unbelievable. What kind of wonderful idea did the person who made this thing have to create such an effect?"

  "This point, Chu Chen also couldn't imagine, and could only say: "I think that person back then must have also gone through repeated experimentation, or spent their entire life to create something like this."

  Zhao Qirui nodded and suddenly waved his hand over the box, and as expected, the painting was swept away. Seeing this, he smiled and said:

  "Haha, when I first saw this thing, I thought it was a treasure from the fairy family. After listening to your explanation, I realized that this thing should be a masterpiece of some ancient master. But thinking about the wisdom of the ancients is really not simple, the master who made this thing is indeed unique and has exquisite skills that are unimaginable."

  As he watched the painting regenerate, Chu Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the wisdom of the ancients, and at the same time, he felt a pang of regret that such technology had been lost.

  Think about the five thousand years of Chinese civilization, with skilled craftsmen emerging one after another, creating many advanced technologies. However, browsing through the entire history of China, for most of the time, China was in a state of war and turmoil, while truly peaceful periods were extremely rare. Many technologies were lost during these wars or after the change of dynasties.

  Especially several times, foreign tribes invaded the Central Plains, and barbarism defeated civilization. Not only did they severely damage the Huaxia civilization, but also destroyed many advanced technologies overnight. Let alone some of these technologies were passed down through a father-son or master-apprentice model, which is often the most fragile. Once the successor encounters an accident, the result is obvious.

  For thousands of years, China has lost many technologies for various reasons. To name a few, the Terracotta Army has unearthed bronze swords that have been buried for two thousand years and are still sharp and shiny, with extremely high toughness.

  When a sword was unearthed, it was bent by the stone, but as soon as the stone was removed, the sword immediately returned to its original straightness. This exquisite sword-casting skill is truly breathtaking, yet no one knows how it was forged.

  After identification, the swords used chromium salt oxidation method to prevent oxidation, ensuring that they would not rust for two thousand years. When the bronze sword was discovered, the most advanced chromium salt oxidation method in the United States at that time could only guarantee sixty years of non-rust, which shows how advanced China's ancient knife and sword casting technology was.

  Unfortunately, this technology has been lost now, and it is unknown when such advanced technology will be rediscovered by us.

  Chu Chen was lost in thought for a while, and Zhao Qi Rui hesitated before speaking: "Xiao Chu, I don't know about this treasure..."

  Chu Chen immediately knew what he wanted to say, and without hesitation, he shook his head and refused: "Zhao Ge, I don't want to cheat you either. You also know that something like this is impossible for me to transfer."

  Zhao Qirui had expected this outcome before he even opened his mouth, and he wasn't angry about it either. If it were him, he would have made the same decision. He let out a sigh and said:

  "Xiao Chu, I understand what you're thinking. To be honest, I'm not particularly interested in this box either. After all, it's just an inanimate object, and no matter how many times you look at it, it's still the same thing. What I care about most is actually the candle inside. Don't be surprised, but my old man had a head injury back then, and whenever he got anxious or frustrated, he would get headaches... "

  This request also made Chu Chen a bit difficult, he didn't know if changing to other candles would still produce strange phenomena. Because it's also possible that the smoke of this candle is different, and after gathering in the box, such an effect will be produced. If so, then the candles can't all be given to Zhao Qirui.

  He pondered for a long time before saying:

  "Zhao Ge, I don't know if other candles will work either. How about this? If other candles can be used, I'll transfer this one to you. If it's related to this candle, let's take a little from the candle first and try to analyze it. If not, we can think of another way. What do you think?"

  Zhao Qirui heard this and also thought that Chu Chen's opinion was good, so he happily said: "Little Chu, thank you so much, I won't say more, I will definitely remember your kindness in my heart. It's not early now, let's go back first, Little Chu, you should rest early too."

  After seeing off Zhao Qirui, Chu Chen felt a sticky feeling all over his body, which was all sweat.

  I mentioned earlier that there is no air conditioning in Chuyan, and just now the fan can't be turned on. It's midsummer now, even if it's at night, the fan isn't turned on, and sweat is still dripping profusely. Just now because my attention was not here, I didn't feel it, but now I feel uncomfortable all over.

  "Hey, I didn't think so before, but now that I think about it, these days are really not easy to get by. It's really true that it's hard to go from luxury to frugality! Looks like the housing issue needs to be resolved quickly."

  But this matter can't be rushed, and they still have to wait for news from Liu's side. Chu Chen shook his head and hurriedly went to take a bath.

  After taking a bath, Chu Chen looked at the time and found it was almost one o'clock.

  "Right!"

  Chu Chen suddenly thought that the ability should have been updated, so he hastily picked up the box and used the ability. However, the result of the ability made him look a bit surprised.

  This time, he absorbed a total of two strands of spiritual energy. This was hardly enough to surprise him, after all, there were indeed two items.

  Judging from the results of the heterochrony, the two objects should have been made for more than 900 years, that is, during the Northern Song Dynasty.

  However, the value is vastly different, and this is also the reason for his surprise, because one of them, the heterodyne cannot judge its value, but the progress is calculated in tens of millions.

  Chu Chen thought for a moment, and then he knew what the reason was. It's very likely that the ability thinks this thing is a unique and precious treasure, so it would have such a result. Needless to say, this thing must be this box, and although the candle also has a possibility, he feels that the probability should be much smaller.

  With this guess, he immediately began to re-examine the box, but apparently, the exterior of the box was still so dull and unremarkable. So he picked up a magnifying glass and started examining the forty-nine small holes on the lid.

  Unexpectedly, upon closer inspection, Chu Chen actually discovered a secret. He didn't think that the material used to make this box was like sand grains, with a low density, and those sand grain-like crystals could reflect or refract light, which made him instantly understand the principle behind it.

  Chu Chen imagined that in the Northern Song Dynasty, a master accidentally obtained a material and found that it had reflective and refractive effects. He devoted himself to studying it, spending a lot of time, and finally completed this treasure.

  Chu Chen originally wanted to take out the candles as well, but after some consideration, he decided to leave things as they were for now and ask Old Liu about it tomorrow.

  The next morning, Chu Chen got up early and found that his spirit seemed to be better than usual today. This made him suspect whether it was related to the strange fragrance he smelled yesterday. If so, then it's really a good thing.

  But thinking about the valuation of the special ability yesterday, it was only 3 cm high and 4 cm in diameter, a candle that was worth 500,000 yuan, this is simply burning money.

  After having breakfast, Chu Chen picked up the box and hurriedly arrived at Liu's old house.

  Today, the wind and rain, Liu Lao was still in the lakeside pavilion, admiring the surrounding scenery. After Chu Chen sat down, he smiled and said: "Little Chu, you're not bringing some rare and strange treasure to this old man's place again, are you?"

  Chu Chen scratched his head and smiled foolishly: "Liu Lao, you really are clever and calculated, guessing it in one go. It's not about offering a treasure, but rather encountering a difficult problem, so I came to ask for your advice." After finishing speaking, he handed over the box.

  Liu Lao took it and looked at it carefully, but after a while, he furrowed his brow. After a good while, he shook his head in some disappointment and said:

  "Little Chu, the material used to make this thing, I really can't tell what it is. In my impression, I haven't seen any old thing made of such material either. And this thing can't be judged by its glaze or other characteristics to determine its age. I said Little Chu, this thing won't be a modern thing, will it?"

  Chu Chen shook his head and told Liu Lao about the process of how he got this thing.

  Liu Lao thought for a moment after hearing this, and said: "According to what you say, the thing is indeed made by ancient people. But how did a candle end up inside it? This is really strange. Is there some special use for it?"

  Chu Chen mysteriously smiled and said: "Liu Lao, I'll show you a miracle later, but let's go back to the house first, it's not very convenient here."