Guanzhong Tomb Robbery Notes

"The task force believes that Professor Zhang deliberately feigned confusion and coma in order to evade investigation."

"This secret file was sent to us to let us know the seriousness of the situation so that we can cooperate with their investigation."

"Don't tell anyone about this, not even Zhang Nan."

I didn't expect that Professor Zhang would become the object of suspicion.

This is not good news.

"Director Ma, why do they suspect Professor Zhang? Professor Zhang has absolutely no motive."

"And they said before that the cave collapsed..."

Professor Ma raised his hand to interrupt me.

"The collapse was an explanation given to avoid panic. As for why Professor Zhang is suspected, you can only ask the task force."

"That's all I can tell you. If you have nothing else, please leave."

Seeing that he ordered me to leave, I had no choice but to get up and say goodbye.

After leaving the family quarters, I wanted to find Ai Wuzhuang to see how the inscription translation was going.

But I don’t know where her dormitory is, nor do I know where her classroom is.

After thinking about it, I simply went to the cafeteria door and waited.

At that time, the university was small and had a small number of students, so there was only one cafeteria.

I waited at the canteen door until after five o'clock, and sure enough, I saw Ai Wuzhuang coming with a lunch box.

"Sister Ai!"

"Shi Tou, why are you here?"

"I'm here to supervise you. How's the translation of the inscription going?"

Ai Wuzhuang gave me a hard look.

"Even Zhou Paopi is not as bad as you! The emperor has plenty of hungry soldiers!"

"No, I'll treat you to something delicious."

"That's more like it. I want to eat hemp seed wontons and Fanji's pork buns with preserved juice!"

She is really a foodie.

These dishes were considered absolute delicacies in Xi'an at that time, and mutton soup with steamed buns had to take a back seat in comparison.

The hemp seed wontons have a delicious soup that can make you dizzy with the aroma.

Fanji’s cured meat bun is a must-try.

The freshly made Baiji steamed bun has an iron ring with a tiger back and chrysanthemum core, and the fragrant cured meat is sandwiched in the bun. It starts to ooze oil as soon as you pick it up.

Take a bite and you will taste the crispy bun and the fragrant meat.

It’s a pity that the good craftsmanship was not passed down. Decades later, the hemp seed wontons have disappeared, and Fan Ji’s cured meat buns are no longer as delicious as they once were.

After inviting Ai Wuzhuang to dinner, she took out a notebook from her bag.

"I was helping you translate during class, and Professor Pan even found out. But he didn't criticize me. Instead, he asked me to copy the inscription for him."

"what?"

This was beyond my expectation.

I wonder if Professor Pan’s acquisition of the inscription will cause any accidents.

After all, I made up the story about the origin of the inscription. Just ask around in the village and you'll expose my lie.

I just hope university professors won’t be too bored.

"I don't want to give it to him, but if I don't give him a copy, I'll probably fail the final exam."

"But don't worry. I deliberately replaced a dozen characters when I copied it. I guarantee that Professor Pan will think I copied it from a fake."

"Sister Ai is resourceful, decisive, wise and brave." I gave her a thumbs up and flattered her.

If you want people to help you willingly, nice words are essential.

And to put it nicely, it doesn't cost any money. Whether you are asking someone for help or hooking up with girls, it is the most cost-effective means.

"Stop flattering and get down to business."

"I looked up information and found that bronze inscriptions from the early Western Zhou Dynasty were not very long. For example, the Kanghou Gui has an inscription of 24 characters, and the Li Gui unearthed in 1976 has an inscription of 33 characters in four lines."

It is generally believed in academia that the earlier the writing, the simpler its composition.

It first appears in the form of single words, gradually develops into words and short sentences, and then develops into longer sentences.

Therefore, the inscriptions in the early Western Zhou Dynasty generally have fewer characters than those in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

The inscription I copied from the bronze plate has hundreds of words, and when compared with the number of words in inscriptions of the same period, it appears to be an unusually large number of words.

"The inscription you copied has hundreds of characters. From a professional perspective, I compared it horizontally and found the number of characters to be abnormally high."

"But the translated content is relatively smooth and fluent, and the word usage is also in line with the characteristics of the times, which makes me a little confused."

"If I could see the bronze plate, I could determine its authenticity. Right now, I can only analyze and speculate. Just listen to me."

I nodded and waited for her next words.

"First, if the item is genuine, then the contents of the inscription must also be true. Second, a master of inscriptions made a fake, buried it underground, and was dug up by your villagers."

"If it's the second one, the inscription's content is unpredictable. You must carefully distinguish and treat it."

After saying that, Ai Wuzhuang handed me the notebook.

The book contains the translated inscription.

"The king ordered Bi Gonggao to be sent to Yong, Shu, where he met a divine messenger who promised him immortality. He appeared in the year of Yong..."

Even though Ai Wuzhuang had already divided the sentences into sections, it was still difficult for me to follow.

"Sister, just tell me the content directly."

"The general idea is that King Wu of Zhou ordered Duke Ji Gao of Bi to travel to the states of Yong and Shu, hoping to meet a divine messenger in order to gain immortality. When Duke Ji Gao of Bi arrived in Yong, Jupiter appeared, guiding him to the divine messenger's path, so he hurried to meet him."

"The place where the divine messenger was was a very deep cave. It took Bi Gongji Gao a whole day to reach the place. After the sacrificial ceremony, he met the divine messenger."

"The inscription used for the name of the divine messenger here is the same three words you asked me last time: 'Ba something snake.'"

"Baon Snake," I interrupted.

"I know it's 'Baong Snake,' but that's not very accurate. What if Professor Zhang meant something else? So we can't be sure that the middle character is pronounced with the 'ang' sound."

"It's good to be rigorous. That's what we need to be rigorous."

Ai Wuzhuang rolled his eyes at me again.

"The territory of Yong State in the early Western Zhou Dynasty probably covered the area of ​​present-day Ankang, Shangluo, and Hubei."

"So the cave where Professor Zhang had the accident might actually be the same cave where Bi Gongji Gao met the divine envoy."

"You don't want to go into that cave and explore it, do you?"

That’s what I really think.

But there is still a lot of preparation to do before going.

In particular, you need to find something real that can ward off evil spirits, otherwise you will be too passive when you encounter weird things.

"I probably won't go for the time being."

"Thank you for helping me so much, Sister Ai. I'll treat you to a good meal at Xi'an Restaurant some other day."

Ai Wuzhuang's eyes suddenly lit up and he could hardly hold back his saliva.

"That's a deal, I want the double seafood stew, dry-fried squid strips, gourd chicken, and golden-edged cabbage..."

"Okay, as long as you can eat it, you can order as many dishes as you want."

"I can't eat it all by myself, but there's Nan Nan. Ah! Hurry up and buy some food to send to Nan Nan."

Ai Wuzhuang asked me to buy some Baiyunzhang dumplings and bring them to the hospital for Zhang Nan to eat.

After Zhang Nan finished eating, I briefly told him about the inscription, but did not mention the matter with Director Ma.

The matter is really too sensitive to talk about it.

Letting her know that Professor Zhang is a suspect of the task force will only make things more complicated.

"Sister Nan, just focus on taking care of Professor Zhang."

"I'm responsible for investigating the whole thing. After all, you're a girl, and it's not convenient for you to be out in public and interact with people."

"Then I'll leave it to you." Zhang Nan didn't act pretentiously and entrusted the matter to me.

At this time, I asked cautiously, "Sister Nan, Professor Zhang has such a big problem, why didn't the rest of your family show up?"