Elder Hu chuckled and patted his own arm, speaking admiringly.
"Exactly, the contents within these archives vary in years, handwriting, and paper, which are completely different. Looking at these three aspects, these items should be genuine records, not forgeries.
"Moreover, these archive envelopes, although also made from kraft paper, have had seals pasted on the back, and there’s also a stamp, which can be restored. I feel this envelope looks as though it has been stored in a dark, damp environnt for many years, even longer than the docunts inside.
"It looks like they were improvised from local materials, sorted along a tiline. The contents include the Sapporo era, the Minjin period, and so post-establishnt sabotage plans. I’m not sure about the authenticity of the events, but these docunts don’t look fake."
Xu Dayuan nodded.
"The two of you, please take so effort and organize these archives, repair what needs repairing, and ask for any support you need. We can only discern the authenticity after we have all the materials. This way, we’ll also know whether these matters should be investigated by the police or handed over to a certain departnt."
The two readily agreed.
They did not delay; they understood that the part Zhou Ning stood up to report was just what they could discuss, but not the entirety of the issue.
The two got up, requested an office, and also asked for support from the staff from Qin University before hurrying off to prepare.
Seeing that the two had left, Mr. Zhao trotted over to open the door. Without urging from Zhou Ning, he quickly went through all the events in detail, even sketching a simple map on paper as he spoke.
Although his drawing skills weren’t great, the map was completely understandable. Mr. Zhao leaned in with his cara, flipping through photos and continuously adding information. After this introduction, even though they had not visited this cave, they were largely familiar with the situation inside and the current findings.
"I understand now. As I’ve said before, at least four groups of people have lingered here: the Boyegu People from four hundred years ago, the Sapporo People who discovered this place, the Minjin People who infiltrated Hua Country, and those who ca to offer sacrifices twenty years ago.
"If you think about it carefully, perhaps these events are not unconnected. Such a secretive place—if there were no traces left or special markings, how could anyone find it?
"Judging from the crates recorded in the photos, the storage capacity is so large that it would be sufficient to arm a battalion or carry out any of the missions described in the archives, yet none of that was done.
"Huang Yubin, it seems we need to pull so local files from Ganzhou City, such as population disappearance incidents from twenty years ago and a summary of arrest situations in this area since the nation’s establishnt. After all, the police used to be one and the sa with the special departnts. Of course, we also need information on the nearest rcury sale channels."
Huang Yubin nodded with a smile.
"I’ve been waiting for you to say that. The archive room is ready. Let’s have dinner and talk about everything else tomorrow."
Xu Dayuan glanced at his watch; it was already past six o’clock.
"There’s no rush for dinner, but let’s get in touch with the ard police first to see if they have gone over. The safety of these items is of utmost importance. If they have been stored for decades, as we suspect, and have been mishandled during this incident, we cannot overlook their safety."
Huang Yubin laughed.
"I had already sent the request report when I got Director Zhou’s call. They set off imdiately since they are closer to the cave than the city center. I also inford Mr. Guan that as soon as the ard police were in place, he should imdiately contact ."
As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Yubin’s phone rang. He quickly glanced at the number and answered.
"Mr. Guan, how’s it going? Have the personnel arrived?"
"Reporting to the director, according to the coordinates we provided, they ca up from the southern slope. Vehicles can drive up two-thirds of the way because the gradient is relatively gentle. A cordon has been set up around those crates, and all personnel, including us, have withdrawn."
The cave entrance on the southern slope has been enlarged by us, and the ancient skeletons inside have been cleared by Elder Feng and his team. After inspection, there are no more entrances around. I’d like to apply to stay behind with my n temporarily, as we are most familiar with the conditions inside."
Huang Yubin glanced at Xu Dayuan and, seeing that Xu had nothing to say and made no indication of his stance, hurriedly spoke:
"That’s fine, but pay attention to safety. Bring everyone back to in one piece. The ard police should have food supplies, and at night, you must not rest inside the cave."
"Understood."
Before he could hang up the phone, Huang Yubin lifted it to check the screen, where a new number had co in.
"Fang Dongsheng, where are you guys?"
"Leader, we’ve already returned to the back courtyard. We just didn’t know where you were, so we thought we’d check in."
Huang Yubin visibly relaxed, and his facial expression eased a lot.
"Don’t report just yet; hurry and change out of your disguises. We’ll go eat together. Tell Liu Yufei that their leader, Xu Dayuan, Director Xu, is here. I’m afraid of disturbing your surveillance and tracking mission, so I couldn’t get in touch."
After ending the call, it wasn’t two minutes before he heard footsteps. Liu Yufei pushed the door and entered.
Zhou Ning quickly stood up and looked behind Liu Yufei, whom consequently prodded Zhou Ning’s temple with her hand.
"Would it kill you to show a little politeness when you see ? The mont you do, you imdiately look behind . Your wife and Qu Heping and the rest are downstairs washing up."
Zhou Ning chuckled, easing the awkwardness, while Xu Dayuan gave him a glare.
"Cut it out. You didn’t even greet when you saw . So tell , how did today go?"
Liu Yufei grabbed a bottle of mineral water, gulped down half of it, then sat down and quickly said:
"Our harvest wasn’t much today. The old man Liang from that local diner is very skilled, setting up his stand to look even more local than the locals, and he has a real knack for haggling.
The relations within these Eight Great Families are very complex. The head family used to be extrely prosperous, but since the sixties, the next generation has beco sparse, and in recent years, there have been even fewer descendants, supposedly due to bloodline reasons. I think it might be a chromosomal issue related to inbreeding.
As for the other families, many have broken away so that the various tribes look very different from before. Talking to the locals, many enjoy the current communal lifestyle, and there’s an increasing number like An Jianhua, who go out for education.
As for the sacred blade, pretty much everyone knows about it. Every family has a rubbing of the sacred blade that the old lady spoke of hanging up. As for the real thing, it’s hard to say whether it’s in the head family’s possession, especially since the head family has now dispersed and the few remaining have moved to the provincial capital.
Oh right, while wandering about, we ca across sothing. It’s said that every year, a holy light appears on the Qilian Mountains, and they worship in the direction of this holy light. I asked around, but couldn’t get a clear understanding of this ’holy light’."
Zhou Ning gestured to Mr. Zhao, who promptly brought over a notebook to Zhou Ning, which contained so of the information they had previously found.
"These are so materials we found. There’s no specific ntion of which ethnic group, just descriptions of the local people who undertake a pilgrimage every two years. I don’t know what this ans, but since Mrs. Fei ntioned the holy light, I feel there must be a connection?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Yubin quickly dialed Fang Dongsheng’s number, showing real urgency. It seed sowhat improper to have left Zhou Ning and the others in the cave while he went off to investigate; now that they had returned and he still hadn’t shown his face, it seed a bit awkward.
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