Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 904 Stiffness

Just as he was concentrating on his research, footsteps were heard outside the tent. Su Yan hurriedly stuffed the silk into the drawer, his heart almost jumping out of his throat. "Xiao Su? Are you asleep?" It was Lao Chen's voice. Su Yan took a deep breath and opened the tent door. He saw Lao Chen holding a bowl of steaming mutton soup. His eyes stayed on his face for a moment: "Don't think too much about what happened today. It may be tomb robbers scouting the area. Drink the soup and replenish your body." After Lao Chen left, Su Yan couldn't drink the bowl of soup. He looked at the starry sky outside the window. The night sky of Dunhuang was particularly clear, and the Milky Way stretched across the sky like a silk thread. The memory suddenly flashed back to the scarlet eyes of the man in black during the day, and the mysterious star ladder symbol on the star map. A bold guess took shape in his mind: the murals of Mogao Grottoes may not only be artistic treasures, but those seemingly ordinary star maps are very likely to hide clues to some shocking secrets, and he has unknowingly held the key. As the night deepened, the sound of camel caravan bells came from outside the tent, approaching and fading away. Su Yan lay in bed, but he had no desire to sleep. He put his hand on his chest and could feel his heart beating violently. Tomorrow, he decided to go to the Dunhuang Academy's database alone, where the oldest Dunhuang documents were kept, and perhaps he could find records related to the star map fragments. But what he didn't know was that at this moment, on the sand dunes outside the Mogao Grottoes, a pair of scarlet eyes were staring at his tent through a telescope, with a cold smile on the corner of his mouth...

Kyoto in August was filled with cicadas and heat waves. The back of Lin You's cotton shirt was stained with dark sweat stains, but it still couldn't stop him from exploring old bookstores. The cobblestone road was hot under the scorching sun. The eaves of wooden buildings on both sides hung faded curtains. Tourists wearing yukatas passed by from time to time. The "tapping" sound of wooden clogs hitting the ground and the shouting of vendors intertwined, adding a bit of fireworks to this ancient city. He held a yellowed map tightly in his hand, on which the locations of more than 20 old bookstores were marked with red pen. This was compiled after he spent several months and consulted countless materials. As a graduate student majoring in ancient book restoration, Lin You has an almost obsessive love for old books. In his eyes, every ancient book is a messenger traveling through time and space, carrying the memory of history and the inheritance of culture. This trip to Kyoto is an important stop on his journey to pursue ancient books. Turning into a narrow alley, the noise was instantly isolated. Moss grows wildly along the base of the wall, and the mottled wall is covered with traces of time. The air is filled with the damp smell of grass and trees, mixed with the faint smell of incense, making people feel as if they are in another world. Lin You slowed down his pace and looked around the buildings on both sides, hoping to find the antique bookstore he liked. At the end of the alley, the half-closed door of an antique bookstore attracted his attention. On the old wooden sign, the three big characters "Moxiang Pavilion" have been blurred by wind and rain, but still reveal a simple charm. The door curtain is a dark blue coarse cloth with tiny bamboo leaf patterns embroidered on the edge, swaying gently with the breeze. Lin You took a deep breath and reached out to push open the door. "Squeak--" The sound of the door hinge turning seemed to come from the depths of time, accompanied by a rich and unique breath. It was a mixture of the musty smell of old paper, the fragrance of ink and the smell of sandalwood incense, as if the long-forgotten history was suddenly opened, making people unable to help but indulge in it. The store is dimly lit with only a few old-fashioned paper lanterns. The soft light casts mottled shadows between the bookshelves, creating a mysterious and quiet atmosphere. The bookshelves are made of dark nanmu wood, and the surface is covered with scratches and patina left by the years, which makes them look particularly heavy. Various books are neatly placed on them. Some of the spines have been worn out to reveal the paper inside, and some pages have slightly curled up at the edges. Some traces of insects can be seen on the yellowed paper. Lin You's fingers gently brushed across the spines of the books, feeling the vicissitudes and temperature of these ancient books, and an indescribable sense of intimacy surged in his heart. "Welcome." A gentle voice came from the back of the store, and then an old man in traditional kimono walked out. His kimono was dark gray, embroidered with a few elegant plum blossoms, and tied with a black belt around his waist, simple yet solemn. The old man's hair was as white as snow, and his face was covered with fine wrinkles, but he couldn't hide his piercing eyes. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, with a faint smile, giving people a kind and amiable feeling. "Hello, I want to see if there are any ancient books about Kyoto's history and culture." Lin You bowed politely and said. The old man nodded slightly, walked slowly to a bookshelf, and his veiny hands gently slid on the spines of the books, as if he was communicating silently with these books. "The history of Kyoto is like a book that you can never finish reading." As he spoke, he took out a few books and handed them to Lin You, "This "Luo Zhong Luo Wai Tu Hui" describes the style of Kyoto in the Edo period in detail, and this "Saga Hundred Poems" contains many waka poems about Kyoto's famous places and historical sites..." Lin You took the book and opened it carefully. On the yellowed pages, the words are neat and beautiful, as if telling stories from the past. He was immersed in the world of books and didn't notice the passage of time at all. I don't know how long it took, when he reached out to take an ancient book deep in the bookshelf, he suddenly felt his fingertips touch a foreign object. He curiously reached in, fumbled for a while, and finally took out a palm-sized booklet. On the cover, the four dark red words "Spell Account Book" were particularly eye-catching. The font was twisted and weird, as if it was written with some special pigment, revealing a mysterious and dangerous atmosphere. Lin You's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily. He subconsciously glanced at the old man and found that the other party was sorting books with his back to him. With a nervous mood, Lin You opened the booklet. However, what came into view were some symbols he had never seen before. They were arranged crookedly on the pages, some like twisted vines, and some like monsters with bared fangs and claws, emitting a faint dark light. Lin You only felt dizzy, as if these symbols had some kind of magic, dragging his consciousness into an unknown abyss. "What is this?" Lin You asked the old man holding the booklet. The old man's movements suddenly froze and he slowly turned around. There was a hint of barely perceptible panic in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure, still with a faint smile on his face: "This may have been accidentally left behind by a previous guest, it's nothing special."