Chapter 92 Astonishment

  Two men supported Liu Lao and walked into the living room.

  After sitting down, Liu Lao flipped through the box and asked curiously: "Xiao Chu, does this thing have some secret that can't be revealed? You spoke of it so mysteriously."

  "Yes, I think this is just a humidor. At most, it's just that the materials used are a bit scarce, but I really can't see what's different about it." Liu Qinchu's eyes were also filled with puzzlement.

  "Huh? Wait a minute, what's that fragrance? Is it coming from this candle?" Liu Lao suddenly sniffed with his nose and asked in surprise.

  Chu Chen heard the words and immediately raised his thumb, smiling and saying: "Liu Lao, you are really something, guessing it right away. However, just a candle can't show how amazing this thing is."

  "Oh?"

  Liu Lao seemed to be thinking deeply, and then he carefully observed the box again. After a while, he shook his head.

  "Xiao Chu, hurry up and lift the veil!" Liu Qinchu's curiosity was now overwhelming, with the previous Jade of Birth, she also had high expectations for this box, thinking that it shouldn't be worse than the Jade of Birth.

  Chu Chen smiled and nodded, then lit the candle. Just like yesterday, a strange fragrance wafted out instantly, filling the entire living room in just a moment. Even Chu Chen, who had smelled it yesterday, showed an intoxicated and infatuated expression, let alone the other two people.

  "What is this fragrance, how can it be so fragrant? The effect is so unique?" Liu Qinshu asked in surprise after a long while.

  Liu Lao furrowed his brow and sank into deep thought for a while, then hesitantly said: "Could this be the Jing Shen Candle?"

  "Liu Lao, you actually know this kind of candle?" Chu Chen hadn't expected Liu Lao to recognize the candle and was momentarily stunned.

  Liu Lao waved his hand and smiled, saying: "How is this possible? I saw this kind of candle in a book similar to 'Shan Hai Jing' when I was young. The description of the candle is just like this, with a fragrance that can be smelled from a hundred paces away, which can calm one's mind and make all troubles and anger disappear. I always thought it was something legendary, but I didn't expect it to really exist."

  Seeing Chu Chen's dazed expression, Liu Lao continued: "This candle is indeed a bit magical, but it can't be called a miracle. I think the miracle you're talking about should be in this box."

  Chu Chen smiled and said: "Right, Old Liu, you're absolutely right! Next, let everyone take a look at the scenery of the immortal realm!"

  Chu Chen covered the lid, and before the picture had risen, he was attracted by the brilliant light refracted from the candlelight. As the candle smoke gathered, clouds, mountains, buildings, and Taoist figures gradually appeared in front of everyone's eyes.

  "Penglai has a fairy mountain, floating in the sea of clouds......" This scene made Liu Lao unable to sit still anymore. His eyes were bright and piercing, staring tightly at this scene, his expression seemed somewhat excited.

  "This... how is this possible? This isn't a miracle, it's divine intervention!"

  Liu Qingshu was even more shocked by this scene, her eyes wide with astonishment.

  Although Chu Chen also saw it yesterday, today he still can't calm down and has a strong yearning for the scenery in the picture.

  After a long while, Liu Lao finally calmed down and sighed: "What a rare treasure! Xiao Chu, have you ever studied how this was done?"

  Chu Chen smiled helplessly and said, "Liu Lao, you've really got me stumped this time. Even if I were more skilled, I wouldn't have this level of craftsmanship. However, I've managed to figure out some of the underlying principles."

  Then he repeated his guess from yesterday and handed the lid and magnifying glass to Old Liu, saying:

  "I think that the master who made this box must have accidentally discovered a piece of material with reflective and refractive properties, then after careful research, he used his exceptional craftsmanship to create this box."

  Liu Lao used a magnifying glass to carefully examine the box cover, and sighed: "It's really cleverly crafted, the wisdom of the ancients is truly unimaginable. Unfortunately, such a wonderful craftsmanship has not been preserved."

  Chu Chen felt a little downcast after hearing this, it's really a pity that such craftsmanship hasn't been passed down.

  Liu Qingshu saw their expressions and said, "You won't be able to bring back the lost technology by being like this. Let's look forward instead. Rather than feeling sad and worried, it's better to study and investigate carefully."

  The two of them looked at each other and smiled after hearing this. Chu Chen thought of a question and asked, "Liu Lao, can you tell what era this thing was made in?"

  Liu Lao thought for a moment, and then sighed: "It's very difficult. First of all, the material is hard to identify, and there are no carvings or patterns on it. If there were patterns, we could make an educated guess about the time period based on the style. But now, it's really hard to determine its origin. Based on the story you told, we can only speculate that it might have been made after the Tang Dynasty."

  Chu Chen thought for a moment and said, "Actually, it's nothing. I'm just curious about what this special material is. Mr. Liu, do you think it might be made from meteorites?"

  Liu Lao sank into deep thought for a long time, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he smiled: "You've mentioned this, and I really have thought of something - during the Northern Song Dynasty, Shen Kuo recorded an instance where a meteorite fell from the sky."

  In the first year of the Zhiren era of the Northern Song Dynasty, when the sun was setting, the people of Changzhou suddenly heard a loud noise in the sky, like thunder. It turned out that a large star, almost as big as the moon, appeared in the southeast.

  It didn't take long before another loud noise was heard, and it moved to the southwest. After another shock, the star fell into the courtyard of a man surnamed Xu in Yixing. People from near and far saw it, the fire was bright and illuminated the sky, and the fence of the Xu family's house was all burned down.

  The fire went out, and on the ground there was a hole about the size of a teacup, very deep. Looking down, I only saw stars inside the hole, emitting a faint light. After a long time, it gradually darkened, but it was still too hot to get close.

  After a long time, the cave was dug open, and it was more than three feet deep before getting a round stone, which was still hot. It was about the size of a fist, with one end slightly pointed, iron-colored, and weighed like iron.

  The governor of Changzhou, Zheng Shen, obtained it and sent it to Jinshan Temple in Runzhou for preservation.

  Liu Lao continued, "Perhaps this box was made from the meteorite that fell down that time. The Jing Shen candle is said to have been invented during the Northern Song Dynasty, perhaps these two are related, but it's also possible they're not. Of course, this is just my speculation, whether or not it's true, I don't know."

  Chu Chen listened to Liu Lao's story and thought that it was possible, as for the story saying that the meteorite was only the size of a fist, who knows, maybe someone had taken it away.

  The crowd continued to admire the scenery for a while, and then Old Liu spoke up and asked: "Little Chu, what do you plan to do with this strange object? Don't worry, I'm not asking if you're going to sell it."

  Chu Chen thought for a moment, and suddenly understood what Old Liu meant. He opened his mouth and said: "Old Liu, your meaning is to study this thing, right? This is no problem at all, you can take it out, and you don't say, I also want to ask you to find someone to help me analyze the composition of the candle."

  Liu Lao saw him agree and happily said: "Xiao Chu, thank you for your trust. This thing can be called a national treasure without exaggeration. The technology in it is extraordinary, and the composition of that candle is also very useful if researched. If mass-produced, Xiao Chuchu, you'll get rich!"

  "The materials themselves are also very valuable for research, but don't worry, I guarantee that no one will be harmed in the slightest during the research."

  Chu Chen smiled and said: "If it doesn't damage a single bit, then you can't study what material it is. As long as it doesn't affect the formation of the anomaly, taking a little powder from an inconspicuous place is no problem."

  Liu Lao smiled comfortingly and said, "Xiao Chu, your ideological awareness is very high, but the matter of taking powder can be discussed later. After all, once it's destroyed, it can't be restored." At this point, Liu Lao asked Liu Qinshu to prepare a contract.

  Chu Chen waved his hand and said, "Liu Lao, isn't this unnecessary? Don't I trust you?"

  Liu's face turned serious and he said: "How can such an important thing not have a contract? Moreover, strictly speaking, this is also a national matter, you can't be taken advantage of."

  This agreement was not troublesome at all. After a short while, Liu Qinshu returned and the two of them signed their names respectively, and this matter was settled.

  After signing the agreement, Liu Lao smiled and said: "Xiao Chu, what did you just ask me to study?"

  "Hehe, I just want to analyze the composition of that candle and see if it can be remade." Up to here, Chu Chen simply said the reason.

  Liu Lao smiled and nodded, saying: "Old Zhao indeed has that problem, but have you ever thought that treasures move people's hearts? If Old Zhao's son wasn't so upright, could you still keep this treasure safe?"

  "Mr. Liu, you were right, but at that time I didn't know it would be such a treasure either, don't worry, I'll definitely pay more attention."

  To say that Chu Chen was indeed too careless this time, he clearly knew that the hidden things were so well-hidden, they definitely wouldn't be simple, but as for safety concerns, he hadn't considered them at all back then. Even if Liu Lao had said it, fortunately Zhao Qirui was a straightforward and upright person; if it were someone else who saw such a treasure, who knows what the outcome would have been?

  However, this was also because Chu Chen's ability had been used up at the time. If he had known the value of the box at that time, he would not have been so reckless.

  Liu Lao nodded and said, "Xiao Chu, since you've asked me to take this thing for research, let's scrape off some candle powder first, so we can give an account to others."

  Next, Chu Chen carefully took the candle off the candle holder and then asked Liu Qiu Shu for a knife paper to scrape some powder from the candle.

  "Wait!"