Urban Martial Saint

”This box is a lock!?” Not only Ye Qing, but even Zhao Chengshuang widened his eyes.

Since ancient times, boxes have been used to contain things, and locks have been added to the outside of boxes. When did boxes become locks, used to lock things?

”Look here.” Lin Zhen Nan pointed to the corner of the box and said, ”There’s a small crack here, and an opening at the opposite corner. It’s said this is the key to opening the box. You must get a special key to open this box and take out the Gold Silk Armor. That’s why they say this box is actually a lock.”

Ye Qing looked at the corner of the box and found it was indeed as Lin Zhen Nan described; there was indeed a mechanism there. Ye Qing tried several times but still couldn’t open the box to take out the Gold Silk Armor.

”What exactly is this thing?” Zhao Chengshuang exclaimed, ”A Gold Silk Armor used for burial, and it’s locked up in such a box? This can’t really be called locked. If someone wants to rob a tomb, they could just take the box away, how can this lock anything?”

”If I’m not mistaken, this box is designed to lock the Gold Silk Armor!” Ye Qing furrowed his brow and said solemnly, ”The person who made this box didn’t want the Gold Silk Armor to be taken out!”

”Huh?” Zhao Chengshuang was even more surprised and said, ”Not wanting the Gold Silk Armor to be taken out, why? It’s used for burial, not taking it out doesn’t mean anything! Besides, even if it’s not taken out, if someone takes away the box, they’d still lose the Gold Silk Armor, wouldn’t they? It seems unnecessary!”

”Not necessarily!” Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”Perhaps the Gold Silk Armor is the most crucial item, having another use. So, they locked the Gold Silk Armor. Even if stolen, they can’t open the box, hence can’t use the Gold Silk Armor!”

”Really?” Zhao Chengshuang looked at the box and felt the Gold Silk Armor, curiously asking, ”What use could this thing possibly have?”

Ye Qing shrugged, his previous statements were just guesses. How could he know what other uses the box could have?

Just then, Lin Zhen Nan suddenly said, ”By the way, there are some carvings inside the box. Seems like writing, but it’s unknown what exactly it is.”

Ye Qing immediately put his hand inside the box, searched along the wall for a while, and indeed found carvings. They seemed like characters, but Ye Qing couldn’t make out what they were.

”Uncle Lin, have you consulted anyone knowledgeable about ancient scripts to examine this box?” Ye Qing asked.

”I have, but none of them recognized these characters.” Lin Zhen Nan hesitated for a moment and said, ”Moreover, these characters don’t belong to any script type ever used throughout Huaxia’s history. Even some global text experts couldn’t decipher what kind of script this is. Some suspect it could very well be some patterns, or...or traces left by aliens...”

”No way, really? Aliens leaving a box to lock up Gold Silk Armor?” Zhao Chengshuang exclaimed, ”Could this be a space suit?”

”Who knows!” Lin Zhen Nan shrugged and said: ”I studied it for a long time after I first acquired this thing, but never made any progress, so it’s just been sitting here. Ye Qing, you seem very interested, why not just take this Gold Silk Armor as a gift? Once you’ve figured it out, just tell me what it’s all about!”

Lin Zhen Nan, with a net worth over a billion, found the Gold Silk Armor, though worth over a million, merely a trinket for him, easily given away. Indeed wealth brings boldness.

Ye Qing understood, since King Wan Yan of Northern Desert was so eager to retrieve this Gold Silk Armor, it must have something special about it. Furthermore, seeing the Gold Silk Armor, the strange box, and the odd characters inside the box sparked his curiosity. So, when Lin Zhen Nan offered the Gold Silk Armor, he didn’t refuse, expressing thanks for Lin’s gesture.

After a brief stay with the Lin family, Ye Qing left with the Gold Silk Armor. Returning to Tian Sheng, he took out the Gold Silk Armor, examined it thoroughly, hoping to uncover any specialty about it. But after a long scrutiny, he discovered nothing new, just as before.

Apparently, to fully understand the contents of the Gold Silk Armor, the meaning of those characters inside the box must be unraveled. However, after all the font experts Lin Zhen Nan consulted failed, Ye Qing had even lesser chance. Could it be that the text inside the box truly were alien inscriptions?

Ye Qing thought, claiming aliens left these artifacts was impossible. Yet, he himself couldn’t decode the characters in the box. Unsure of what to do, Ye Qing took the Gold Silk Armor to consult Liu Mubai for insight.

Liu Mubai, widely-read with extensive knowledge, might possibly recognize these characters.

Seeing Ye Qing carry such a large box inside, Liu Mubai was also astonished. However, upon hearing the background and details about the Gold Silk Armor, he became quite intrigued.

Approaching the box, Liu Mubai carefully observed every part, inside and out. Then, he reached inside the box, touched the lettering on its interior wall.

Ye Qing stood watching nervously, but witnessing Liu Mubai’s puzzled expression, he immediately felt disappointed. It seemed Liu Mubai was also unfamiliar with these characters.

”No way, no way!” Indeed, Liu Mubai shook his head in the end and said, ”I’ve never seen these characters before!”

”Then where on earth did these characters come from?” Ye Qing pondered momentarily and said, ”This is a burial article of the Jin Dynasty’s Imperial Family. Could these characters be from the Jin Dynasty?”

”No!” Liu Mubai swiftly shook his head and said, ”I’m familiar with the Jin Dynasty script, and this is not it.”

”Then what’s going on here?” Ye Qing was even more puzzled: ”Could it have just been someone scribbling inside?”

”Doesn’t look like it, these characters have form, definitely not random doodles.” Liu Mubai contemplated for a bit, then said, ”Perhaps Eighth Master could figure out what these characters are; he’s incredibly knowledgeable!”

”Old Wang Ba?” Ye Qing widened his eyes, saying: ”Isn’t that old guy someone who didn’t even finish elementary school?”

”If tested on English, he’d certainly fail. But in other areas, like astronomy and geography, he’s definitely proficient.” Liu Mubai paused for a moment and said, ”Iron Calculation Sect people excel in every domain!”

”Oh?” Ye Qing didn’t expect Old Wang Ba to be so versatile. However, Old Wang Ba was not in Shenchuan City, so even if he was versatile, it couldn’t solve the current issue.

”Since Eighth Master isn’t here, perhaps you could check at the teahouse with the Netherworld Taoist.” Liu Mubai suggested, ”The Netherworld Taoist used to have strong ties with Eighth Master, frequently wandering around together. Maybe he learned a lot from Eighth Master.”

”Netherworld Taoist.” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up. Though this old chap was somewhat sly like Old Wang Ba, he indeed had real skills, quite suitable for consultation.

Ye Qing immediately carried the Gold Silk Armor to the teahouse.

The teahouse people were already aware of the recent return of the Bloody Monk, making the Sha Men group very excited, and they all returned to Shenchuan City. Except for experts like Cui Yulong who went out helping Ye Qing locate Huangfu Ziyu, everyone else remained in Shenchuan City, awaiting the Bloody Monk’s return. So, currently, the teahouse was quite populated. Ye Qing, upon entering, found the Netherworld Taoist directly, who sat at the back room-smoking pipe, playing chess with the Pig King.

The Sha Men members now held Ye Qing in high regard and greeted him warmly upon sight. Ye Qing didn’t engage in much conversation and went straight to the Netherworld Taoist, placing the Gold Silk Armor box in front of him and saying: ”Master, could you take a look at this box and see if you recognize the characters inside?”

”If you don’t recognize them, how could I?” The Netherworld Taoist responded indignantly, ”I only have a slightly higher degree than Old Wang Ba, did you come here to insult me?”

”No, that’s not my intention.” Ye Qing quickly shook his head and said, ”It’s just that the characters inside are strange, so I wanted you to take a look.”

”Strange? How so?” The Netherworld Taoist extended his hand into the box, casually touched the interior, and suddenly his expression changed.

Seeing this, Ye Qing’s heart jumped. Could it be that the Netherworld Taoist recognized these characters?

”This...” The Netherworld Taoist looked at Ye Qing, took a deep breath, and said: ”This box is actually made of wood?”

”I...” Ye Qing almost collapsed. After so long, is this all you’ve noticed? Besides, I asked you to look at the text inside the box, but you’re examining the box’s material, what’s that about?

”Wow, what’s with that expression of yours!” The Netherworld Taoist said sternly, ”You’re so focused on the characters inside and overlooked the box’s material?”

”What’s special about the box being made of wood?” Ye Qing curiously asked: ”The characters inside are what’s truly strange.”

”Hmph!” The Netherworld Taoist sneered and said: ”Don’t you understand what the box’s material signifies?”

”What does it signify?” Ye Qing wondered. After all, he hadn’t thought in this direction.

”Judging by this box and the craftsmanship of the Gold Silk Armor, these two items should have been produced during the Jin Dynasty.” The Netherworld Taoist looked at Ye Qing and said, ”What does the Jin Dynasty mean? It means, these two items have been preserved for at least eight to nine hundred years. A wooden box preserved for eight to nine hundred years without decay, doesn’t that indicate something suspicious?”