Chapter 81: Chapter 79: Opening the Treasure Chest
Huo Sining’s eyes lit up at the comnt, “Is it very valuable?”
Su Qingqing was so irritated she wanted to roll her eyes, “Duh, do you know how rare ebony wood is? This thing has to be carbonized in the mud underground for thousands of years to form. In ancient tis, it was used to make Buddhist statues, amulets, pendants, and accessories as talismans. To use it to craft a box is an extravagance I’ve never seen before.”
Su Qingqing wasn’t wrong in what she said, ebony combines the quaintness of wood with the charm of stone, its surface is smooth and the grain fine, closely resembling rosewood.
Ebony is valued for never fading, not rotting, not getting infested with insects, and its spiritual nature. Moreover, it’s a non-renewable resource, which makes it highly collectible.
It is said that experts at the Forbidden City Museum even detected that ebony has a significant function in promoting blood circulation and is considered a treasure for warding off evil, attracting fortune, and prolonging life.
However, for Huo Sining, she didn’t care what material the box was made of; she was only interested in how much the box was worth.
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According to Su Qingqing’s reasoning, since the ebony wood was so rare, using it to craft a box was indeed too extravagant.
Moreover, from what Huo Sining had seen in the deep pool that day, the box had been hidden at the bottom of the cliff and gradually exposed over decades or centuries by the waterfall’s erosion.
But why would the owner of this box spend so much wealth and even bury it under deep waters? This inexplicable behavior, what was it for? Could it be that there was an even more valuable treasure hidden inside the box?
Huo Sining imdiately thought of this possibility, and clearly, Su Qingqing had realized the issue too. Swallowing nervously, she looked up at Huo Sining with suppressed excitent and eagerness:
“A Ning, shall we… open the box and take a look?”
She was definitely going to open it. Not knowing what the box was made of didn’t bother Huo Sining before, but now that she knew it was valuable, how could she remain indifferent?
Yet Huo Sining cast a skeptical glance at Su Qingqing, feeling the girl was sowhat unreliable.
“Can you handle it?” Huo Sining didn’t quite trust Su Qingqing’s skills.
Su Qingqing was initially hesitant to start, but seeing Huo Sining question her capabilities lit a fire within her.
She may not be an expert, but how could she lose face before her ntor, Professor Xie?
Quickly, Su Qingqing found a thin piece of wire and began fiddling with the lock.
Unfortunately, while the iron lock seed unassuming, unlocking it was far from easy.
The more Su Qingqing fumbled, the more uncertain she beca. Glancing awkwardly at Huo Sining and attempting a placating smile, she suggested a bad idea, “How about we use a hamr to break it open?”
“And you’re an antique studies major? Don’t you even have that common sense? Can this thing withstand your hamr blow?”
Huo Sining was both amused and annoyed, “Just don’t damage my box, you were the one who said it’s a treasure. If it gets damaged, my loss would be huge! Besides, who knows if the contents are fragile? Your careless handling could destroy whatever treasure’s inside, which would be a disaster!”
At those words, Su Qingqing’s face tightened as she tossed the wire aside, deflated, “So what do we do? I really want to know what treasure is inside!”
Huo Sining looked at her contemptuously, “That’s easy, go to your master, right? Professor Xie is so capable, he’ll surely be able to handle it.”
Su Qingqing shrugged, “Then you might have to wait, the professor is off to Arica for a half-month symposium. He’s probably over the Pacific by now.”
As the two stared blankly at the box, Wu Jun, seeing their troubled expressions, beca curious and couldn’t help but ask, “What’s the matter?”
When Wu Jun heard that Huo Sining wanted to open the lock on the box, he chuckled and simply said, “Let do it.”
At his words, Su Qingqing snorted with a sneer, “Big guy, what are you talking about? This is a maze lock, it’s complex, it’s impossible to open without a key, unless you have—”
Before Su Qingqing could finish, Wu Jun had already grabbed the lock with his hand, clenching tightly.
With a crisp *snap*, the lock and the iron ring that had been combined together directly separated.
Wu Jun released his hand, and the iron lock instantly fell from the wooden box.
“Damn, this big guy is actually a strongman!” Su Qingqing was utterly dumbfounded.
Wu Jun picked up the lock and examined it, then wrinkled his brows, glanced at Su Qingqing, and asked, “Was this lock difficult to open?”
This was blatant mockery, right?
Huo Sining struggled to contain her laughter on the side, while Su Qingqing was fuming with humiliation.
How could she have known that the lock would be so easy to open? If she had known, she wouldn’t have fiddled with it for so long.
“It’s not your fault; I didn’t consider that aspect. It’s a copper lock, and it rusted over ti, so it broke when squeezed,” Huo Sining hurriedly explained.
“A lot of strength, so what? All brawn and no brain, hmph!”
Feeling frustrated inside, Su Qingqing couldn’t help but mutter.
Seeing that Su Qingqing was verging on going crazy, Huo Sining quickly changed the subject:
“He kindly helped to open the lock for you, and you’re still blaming him—there’s no reasoning in that. Okay, now that the lock is open, let’s hurry up and see what’s hidden inside.”
Hearing this, Su Qingqing finally turned around sheepishly and opened the box.
The surface of the box that was smooth had been polished very smoothly, and the black exterior looked as reflective as a mirror.
Su Qingqing only knew the box was made from ebony wood, but she couldn’t judge what the specific material was.
To her surprise, upon opening it, she saw an extrely vivid yellow inside the box.
Under the sunlight, it shimred with a brilliant golden luster, and a rich fragrance could faintly be slled.
“It’s golden Phoebe nanmu!” Su Qingqing was overjoyed.
There are many types of ebony wood, including locust wood, nanmu, and sandalwood, to na just a few, but the price of golden Phoebe nanmu was the highest, and the older and better preserved, the more valuable it was.
Setting aside whatever was in the box, the value of the box itself was already quite high.
Inside the box was lined with yellow silk, and Su Qingqing carefully lifted the silk, revealing a pair of extrely exquisite Mutton-fat Jade Bracelets.
The pair of Mutton-fat Jade Bracelets was crystal clear and white, with a fine and moist texture that was nearly flawless, reminiscent of freshly cut mutton fat, glossy like condensed grease, obviously a rare find.
Perhaps because they were stored in the golden Phoebe nanmu box underwater all this ti, the bracelets looked as if freshly cut, with innate brilliance, and were white as new.
“What beautiful white jade bracelets!”
Huo Sining really liked the bracelets. Compared to the verdant transparency of jadeite, she preferred the creamy white of Mutton Fat Jade.
Perhaps because the Jade Pendant was made from Mutton Fat Jade, Huo Sining had a special fondness for Mutton Fat Jade.
Now, seeing the pair of bracelets in the box, she felt an affinity and couldn’t help but pick up the bracelets and caress them carefully.
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