148: Chapter 148 Forty-two Boxes

Hu Tian took out a total of eight porcelain items from this box, varying in shape and size—there were bowls, plates, and a bottle with a slender neck. They were all wrapped in that layer of decayed padding and were relatively well-preserved, though their surfaces were covered in thick dust and grime.

Hu Tian held the slender-necked bottle in his palm to examine it. The entire body was coated in white glaze, with Blue and White peony patterns painted under the glaze. The colors were rich and vibrant. There was an extremely fine bow-string pattern on the neck, the foot rim was neatly finished, and the overall shape was tall and upright, exuding a graceful aura.

The light screen deep within his consciousness unfolded once again. With a crisp, melodious "ding-dong," information flowed out like water.

[Item Name: Blue and White Prunus Vase with Peony Patterns] [Year: Fired at the Official Kiln during the ming dynasty xuande period, circa 1428 AD]

[Origin: Commissioned by the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Factory for imperial use, it was stolen during the chaos at the end of the ming dynasty by Adam Schall von Bell in collusion with Jews. After changing hands several times, it was secretly hidden here during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor by a Fujian merchant of Jewish descent surnamed Pu.]

[Condition Rating: Good. The body has no chips or damage, the glaze is intact, and there is a slight scratch on the bow-string pattern on the neck, which does not affect the overall condition. It can be restored after cleaning.]

[Estimated Market Value: For a Blue and White Prunus Vase from the xuande Official Kiln of similar condition, recent auction transaction prices range between 22 million and 30 million RMB. This piece has a well-proportioned shape and rich, pure colors, so its estimated upper limit could reach 35 million.]

[Spiritual Value: +3500 points] The light screen slowly faded away, and his consciousness returned to calm.

Hu Tian put the Prunus Vase into his System Space, lowered his head to scan the row of wooden boxes again, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

This box, eight items, just picked at random, and every single one was from the xuande Official Kiln. This luck was simply heaven-defying.

He bent over and walked towards the second box, chose one with slightly less damage to the outer wall, and used his tool to pry open the lock as before.

The moment the lid was lifted, an even stronger musty odor than the first box rushed out. Hu Tian turned his head slightly, waited for the smell to dissipate a little, and then looked inside.

The padding in this box had decayed to a greater extent, almost completely turning into fine ash. The items were buried directly in that layer of ash, revealing blurry outlines.

He reached in, his fingertips touching a square object. He hooked the edge and slowly took it out, dusting off the loose ash. It was a rectangular tray with slightly upturned corners, carved cloud patterns on the inner walls, and a line of small text stamped on the bottom.

Hu Tian brought his flashlight closer, squinted for a moment to identify it, confirmed the year, and his heart skipped a beat.

Ding-dong. [Item Name: Carved Red Lacquer Tray with Cloud Patterns] [Year: ming dynasty Yongle period, circa 1410 AD, imperial court lacquerware]

[Origin: Produced by the Imperial Workshop during the Yongle reign, originally used for imperial banquets. It was stolen during the chaos at the end of the ming dynasty by Adam Schall von Bell in collusion with Jews. After changing hands several times, it was secretly hidden here during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor by a Fujian merchant of Jewish descent surnamed Pu.]

[Condition Rating: Very Good. The lacquer layer is well-preserved, the carved patterns are clear, there is very slight damage on the four corners, and there is minor flaking on the lacquer surface at the bottom. The overall condition is superior among similar surviving items.]

[Estimated Market Value: Yongle imperial carved red lacquerware is extremely rare. Recent relevant auction records show that Yongle carved red lacquer trays of similar condition have transaction prices between 40 million and 60 million RMB. This piece has complete patterns, and its conservative valuation is over 50 million.]

[Spiritual Value: +5000 points] Hu Tian examined the lacquer tray over and over for a good while before securely putting it into his System Space.

He continued to fish around in this box and pulled out two more items: one was a round box with carved red lacquer floral patterns, and the other was a rectangular box with black lacquer and gold-painted landscape patterns.

Ding-dong, ding-dong. The system successively displayed two appraisal messages. Both items were imperial lacquerware from the Yongle to xuande period, and their combined valuation added nearly 80 million more.

Hu Tian put the two items into his System Space, straightened his back, stretched his aching spine, and scanned the array of wooden boxes in the darkness.

Seven rows, six boxes per row, a total of forty-two boxes. He had only opened two.

He bent over again and walked towards the third box.

The condition of this box was slightly worse than the first two. One side of the box wall had partially collapsed, and some of the padding had spilled out, spreading on the ground to form a shallow, curved band of ash.

Hu Tian squatted down, first scanned the ash band with his flashlight, and seeing no items had rolled out, he stood up, pushed aside the remaining part of the lid, and shone his light inside.

This box contained bronze ware. Several bronze items were stacked together, their color blackened, with varying shades of green patina on the surface. The top item was an incense burner. The body of the burner was round and bulbous, with two slightly flared handles and three sturdy legs. The overall shape was thick and stable.

Hu Tian put on the thin gloves he carried with him, picked up the incense burner, and carefully examined it under the flashlight for a moment. There was a blurry cast mark on the bottom of the burner. He rubbed it gently with his thumb, and the characters began to emerge from beneath the rust layer—'Made in the xuande Period of the Great ming dynasty.'

Ding-dong. [Item Name: Gilded Bronze Incense Burner with Two Handles and Three Legs] [Year: ming dynasty xuande period, circa 1429 AD, supervised by the Imperial Workshop]

[Origin: The xuande Emperor ordered imperial craftsmen to use tribute copper from the Western Regions, carefully supervising its creation according to ancient methods. This piece is a masterpiece among xuande incense burners. It was stolen during the chaos at the end of the ming dynasty by Adam Schall von Bell in collusion with Jews. After changing hands several times, it was secretly hidden here during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor by a Fujian merchant of Jewish descent surnamed Pu.]

[Condition Rating: Excellent. The shape is complete, the bronze is dense, and the patina is deep. Although the gilding has local wear, it is well-preserved overall. There is residual incense ash on the inner wall of the burner, which is a natural sign of use and does not affect the condition assessment.]

[Estimated Market Value: Authentic xuande incense burners are extremely rare, and most of those circulating in the market are later imitations. This piece has been verified as an authentic item supervised by the imperial court during the xuande period. Based on recent relevant transaction records, the valuation range is between 80 million and 120 million RMB.]

[Spiritual Value: +12000 points] Hu Tian stared at the final number on the light screen, silent for nearly ten seconds. 120 million! Just from this one box, he had dug out a peerless, one-of-a-kind item worth over 100 million.

He held the xuande incense burner in his hands and looked it over again under the flashlight. The bronze of the burner body revealed a deep, dark golden color under the light, with a warm and smooth patina, without the slightest hint of ostentation.

He tilted the burner slightly, and the residual incense ash on the inner wall slid gently. It was as if the incense smoke that had slowly risen in some palace hundreds of years ago was still hidden in this layer of ash, not yet completely dissipated.

He securely put the xuande incense burner into his System Space, bent over to continue taking bronze items out of the box, and removed two more: a seated gilded bronze Guanyin statue and a bronze bottle with chased flower patterns and a long neck.

Ding-dong, ding-dong. The system sounded again in succession. The appraisal information for the two bronze items appeared one after another, with a combined valuation of nearly 100 million again.

Hu Tian put the items away, paused for a moment, and did a simple mental calculation. Three boxes, fifteen items, the total valuation had already exceeded 350 million.

He slowly swept the flashlight over the remaining thirty-nine boxes. In the yellow beam of light, the grain on the sides of the wooden boxes emerged one by one from the darkness, only to sink back into it again.

He took a deep breath, squatted down again, and reached for the lock of the fourth box. Ding-dong.

The crisp sound rang out one after another in this dark stone chamber that had been sealed for many years. Each time it rang, another item salvaged from the depths of time appeared in his System Space. Each time it rang, the string that had been quietly tightening in Hu Tian's heart pulled a little tighter. Thirty-nine boxes. It took Hu Tian a full eight hours to clear these thirty-nine boxes.

Hu Tian stood up, stretched his legs that had gone numb from squatting, and swept the flashlight beam around the empty stone chamber. The forty-two wooden boxes that had originally been packed tightly across the floor were now just empty shells scattered about. The padding was strewn everywhere, spreading a thin layer that made a faint rustling sound when stepped on.

Several of the box walls had completely rotted away and would fall apart at a touch. Wood shavings mixed with accumulated dust floated up, slowly settling in the beam of the flashlight. He glanced down at his watch: 2:47 AM.

Hu Tian put the remaining empty wooden boxes into his System Space one by one. He even bent down to carefully sweep up the padding and wood shavings scattered on the ground, taking away everything he could. He didn't force himself to clear the fine dust that couldn't be cleaned; after all, the stone chamber had been sealed for hundreds of years and already had a thick layer of grime, so it was impossible to tell where this little bit of extra debris had come from.

After finishing this, he stood still in the center of the stone chamber and slowly swept the flashlight over the four walls. The stone chamber was completely empty. The faintly visible chisel marks on the four stone walls, the white marks where moisture had seeped in, and the shallow grooves left on the ground from years of pressure all remained quietly in place, like the last trace of breath left on the stone by the Fujian merchant who had moved the boxes in one by one on some late night hundreds of years ago.

Hu Tian stood by the shallow grooves for a moment without speaking. He thought of the sentence in the system information: "Secretly hidden here during the reign of Yongzheng Emperor by a Fujian merchant of Jewish descent surnamed Pu." This person had smuggled the items all the way from Shuntian Prefecture in the north to the Fujian region, and then hidden them underground on this small island. He didn't know if he was waiting for something, or if he hadn't intended to wait at all and was just hiding them, only for them to remain hidden for hundreds of years, and even he himself had never been able to return to retrieve them.

However, "If these items were to appear, the world would know the severity of the harm caused by the foreign barbarians." Hao Yulin had said this, and he certainly wasn't talking about these artifacts. Hu Tian's gaze turned inward. The narrow gap leading to the inner chamber was still waiting quietly behind the stone wall, unmoved.

Hu Tian walked slowly toward the large items covered in coarse burlap deep in the cave. He squatted down and gently lifted a corner of the burlap. Underneath, a piece of deep red wood was revealed. Although most of the lacquer had peeled off, the wood was still hard, and it felt smooth to the touch. It was rosewood, with a fine grain, likely a material like old rosewood.

Hu Tian removed all the burlap covering it, revealing a complete cabinet structure. It was dozens of rectangular wooden boxes placed side by side. They were of the same size, much smaller than the wooden boxes in the outer chamber, but they were wrapped more securely. The outside of the boxes was pasted with a layer of paper that had turned yellow and brittle, but overall they were unexpectedly well-preserved, probably because the ventilation and moisture-proofing conditions in this inner chamber were better than those in the outer chamber.

Hu Tian gently picked up the nearest box. It was very light. He shook it, but there was no sound inside. He used his tool to pry open the pasted paper layer and opened the lid.