Chapter 168 The treasure in the box (3K)
The box is about the width of a palm.
Less than a meter in length.
I don't know how long it's been there.
Fang Yan moved over cautiously, and then gently pushed the black box.
With a click, he found that the black box was loose.
Very good, it looks like it can be taken off directly.
Fang Yan was afraid just now that it would last forever, but the box had been placed here and integrated with the beam. If that were the case, it might break as soon as it was touched.
Fang Yan used a little force in his hand and then took it out of the groove.
It was heavy to hold, but the feel reminded him inexplicably of his iron birch double sticks.
I don’t know how long this box had been there. The amount of dust on it was exaggerated. Fang Yan blew hard on it, and countless dust and mud chunks flew out from the black box.
"Ahem..." Fang Yan frowned and held his breath.
After the dust was blown away, the true face of the box was revealed.
Fang Yan was surprised to find that this was actually the same material as his iron birch rods.
A box made entirely of iron birch.
There are no traces of art on it.
This dialect will first exclude the artistic value of this box.
At the same time, there is no way to know what era this thing is from.
Fang Yan gently cracked the box a few times, but couldn't find a way to open it.
Not covered or clamshell
Then I pushed it a few more times and found that it wasn't a pull-out type either.
He shook the box and felt that something was shaking slightly inside, indicating that the box was not solid and that there was something inside.
Fang Yan continued to struggle for a while, but found that he still couldn't find a way to open it.
Thoughts in dialect:
‘Could it be that the box with the mechanism was designed like the Luban box? ’
Then Fang Yan began to press on the box bit by bit with his hands, trying to find a mechanism that might be very finely made somewhere.
After pressing it all around, I still couldn't find the place to open it.
After Fang Yan found that it couldn't be opened easily, he started to look carefully again, trying to find any clues that could open it.
After looking around, I found that the iron birch box seemed to be a whole, and there was no place like a keyhole.
Shake.
Judging from the feel, Fang Yan can probably guess that there should be a metal appliance inside.
It was not convenient to be on the rafters at the moment, so he planned to try again later when he was on the ground.
So he put down the box and took out the painting on his back first.
After blowing away the dust around the beams, wrap it tightly with the cloth and kraft paper that comes with the scroll.
Fang Yan tried to put it in the groove of the box.
Not to mention it was just right, it was put in right away.
After placing Fang Yan, he jumped lightly from the beam and landed on the ground as lightly as a civet cat.
After practicing martial arts, I have become more and more precise in controlling my body's strength.
Although I have never practiced any light kung fu, I can still rely on the control of my joint and muscle strength to offload the force of falling to the whole body.
At this time, he checked the beams above his head and found that there were no flaws. Only then did Fang Yan feel relieved and took the box to the yard.
After checking it against the sky, Fang Yan still didn't find any traces that could be opened.
In order to prevent himself from missing the above details, Fang Yan wiped the entire iron birch box with a cloth to remove the dust on the surface, and then checked it again.
Fifteen minutes later, with the help of his diagnostic skills, Fang Yan finally saw a small asymmetry in the wood grain.
So this place is probably the gap that opened.
After finding the clue, Fang Yan began to think of ways to confirm whether what he thought was correct.
He thought for a while, took a bucket of water, then took the box and put it in.
He felt that as long as he could see the bubbles, he could be sure that there was indeed a gap in the entire box.
But this time after throwing the box into the bucket, it was quiet, not a single small bubble escaped, as if the iron birch box had been made airtight.
Fang Yan was also speechless. After looking at it for a while, he picked up the box again.
It seems like I need to take the time to find a professional to take a look.
Next, Fang Yan locked the doors and windows at home and prepared to take the bus back to Tongrentang.
Of course, it is most reliable to ask Le Miao for advice on this kind of matter.
Among the people she knows, she is the only one who understands better. After all, the Le family’s heritage lies there.
If she can't do it later, she will have no choice but to go to Mr. Cheng.
Although Mr. Cheng studied acupuncture all day long, in fact when he was young, he joined the Shanghai Traditional Chinese Painting Association, and later joined the National Art Association and the Calligraphy Association.
Now he serves as the honorary president of the Calligraphy and Painting Research Association of the Ministry of Health. He is also a member of the Capital Chinese Painting Research Association and the consultant of the Xinglin Painting and Calligraphy Association of the Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The old man should have done some research on these things.
But even if the thing he found was opened, he could only hand it over.
Therefore, Fang Yan will not go to Mr. Cheng until the end.
After speaking in dialect, he went out. The street office still locked the door at the moment. It seemed that everyone had gone back to eat. He should be back in time.
When he walked to the entrance of Xiehe Villa District, Fang Yan looked inside specifically and found that the outside of several villas had been marked with red lines.
There were also many police officers searching carefully in the surrounding flower beds and green belts, apparently looking for traces left by the thief last night.
From this attitude, we can see how much importance the above attaches to this matter. Generally, theft does not involve such a big deal.
It shows that they also know about this matter and what it means behind it.
It's just that Fang Yan is a little curious, what kind of skills can he achieve to that level?
He couldn't guarantee that he would not alarm anyone at all. How did he do it?
Could it be that spies are also masters of martial arts?
Fang Yan continued to walk forward without stopping. If he stood here and observed carefully, the police inside would probably have noticed him and regarded him as a criminal who had returned to the scene.
As he continued to walk forward, Fang Yan also saw some police comrades coming out of the courtyard opposite, apparently mobilizing personnel to conduct an investigation.
At this time, it is also very important to mobilize the power of the masses to find suspicious people who have appeared around. Maybe someone can provide important clues.
After getting on the bus, Fangyan arrived at Dashilar soon.
Tongrentang was much deserted in the afternoon. When Fang Yan walked into the store, there was not a single customer inside. All the colleagues who worked in the afternoon were full and sleepy.
Only Le Miao was holding her book that counted medicinal materials at the moment, taking advantage of every opportunity to count the goods.
Check out the 16-9 book bar and see the correct version!
Fang Yan said to Le Miao:
"Hey, Le Dian doesn't even take a break at noon?"
Le Miao saw Fang Yan coming back, nodded to him, and then responded:
"Isn't it because your business has been so good recently that the medicinal materials have been consumed quickly?"
"What? What kind of wind brings you back?"
Fang Yan waved the black box in his hand towards her and said:
"I found something, let me take a look at it."
Le Miao put down the notebook and pen in her hand, walked out of the counter and came to Fang Yan:
"Let me see."
Fang Yan did not give it to her directly, but pointed to the back:
"Let's go to the backyard."
"Okay." Le Miao agreed.
Then the two of them arrived in the backyard. Le Miao took the iron birch box from Fang Yan and looked at it before asking:
"Where did you find this?"
Fang Yan did not hide anything and said directly:
"On the beam of the main hall of my courtyard house."
Le Miao looked thoughtful after hearing this.
Then he lowered his head and started tinkering.
Fang Yan saw Le Miao and didn't open it, so he said to her:
"I've tried many methods but can't open it. I don't know what's inside or how long it's been on the rafters."
"I think there should be a metal utensil inside. I think there is a high probability that it may be gold or silver or something."
Le Miao shook the iron birch box and said:
"If my guess is correct, there should be a dagger inside."
"Dagger?" Fang Yan was startled.
Le Miao asked him:
“Have you ever heard of Chi Kiss?”
Fang Yan didn’t know what she meant and asked:
"Sounds familiar...can you tell me something?"
Le Miao nodded and said:
"Chiki, according to legend, is the ninth son of the dragon. It has a dragon head and a fish tail. It can swallow all things and spray waves to make rain. There is a record in "Qingxiang Miscellaneous Notes" of the Northern Song Dynasty: The sea is a fish, and the Qiu tail is like an owl. When it is used to spray waves, it will rain. .”
Fang Yan glanced at the box and asked:
"What does it have to do with this box?"
Le Miao said:
"Of course it does matter. People think that placing chi kisses on the roof or beams can avoid fire, so since the late Tang Dynasty, in order to fix chi kisses, veranda roofs will be built on the roof. In fact, it is a chi kiss. Robbed of iron, rejected by magpies, statues stuck on the roof.”
"In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, that is, the period when courtyards were built, this habit had evolved into a sword, and the story was attached to Xu Xun, a famous Taoist priest in the Eastern Jin Dynasty."
She paused and asked:
"Hey, Xu Xun, do you know?"
"I don't know." Fang Yan shook his head.
Le Miao said:
"Have you ever heard that when a person achieves enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven?"
Fang Yan suddenly understood and asked:
"Are you talking about Xu Xun?"
Le Miao smiled and nodded. She was very happy that she could show off her knowledge in front of the dialect, and then continued:
"Yes, he also has a story called Iron Pillar to Suppress the Dragon. It is said that there used to be floods in Jiangxi because of a dragon, so Xu Xun nailed it to the iron pillar with his thousand-edged sword."
"After Xu Xun ascended to heaven, his family's chickens and dogs were also taken to heaven, but his ten thousand-edged sword came back again, falling from the sky and nailing the escaped dragon, Chi Kiss, to the sky. Roofs to protect people’s homes.”
“Later on, people in architecture would make something like this to use as a townhouse.”
She paused for a moment before saying this, then changed the subject and said:
"But this is the capital, and nailing a dragon with a sword is disrespectful. Few people in the capital dare to do this under the eyes of the emperor, but some people will always find a way, so someone uses a box like this and puts it on the beam. Put a dagger and a talisman inside to use as a house guard.”
"Your place used to be the residence of Shi Heng, Marquis of Wuqing in the Ming Dynasty. Maybe this thing was left by one of their families."
Then she shook the box:
"And the dagger in the box is definitely a treasure that can cut iron like clay."
It dawned on me when I heard the dialect here.
It turns out that this thing was put up by the first owner.
Fang Yan asked Le Miao:
"If it was really Shi Heng who put it there, wouldn't it be more than five hundred years ago? Can the dagger still be preserved inside?"
Le Miao shook her head and said:
"I don't know about this. I've never opened a box that took so long."
Hearing this, Fang Yan asked:
"From what you say, can you open this box?"
Le Miao nodded:
"Of course."
(End of chapter)