120: deep sea

A major discovery?

Qin Yun froze when he heard those words.

He knew Hank was a steady and experienced man who had seen much of the world; he wouldn't get this excited over an ordinary matter.

He quickly agreed and looked at the Tycoons with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry, I have some urgent business to attend to today, so I'll be leaving first. We can get in touch again when I have time."

After bidding everyone farewell, Qin Yun and Julia drove back to Hank's house.

As soon as they entered, they found Hank leisurely drinking tea and reading the newspaper at the dining table, showing no signs of urgency whatsoever.

"You're here, sit down and have some tea."

Hank waited for the two to sit, poured them each a cup of tea, and then spoke: "I've heard about what happened in New York; you did a great job!"

"To find the Silver Mine map and Caesar's Armor, your strength and luck are both extremely formidable. You must cherish this talent Heaven has bestowed upon you."

Hank looked at Qin Yun with glowing eyes as he advised him.

He was becoming more and more satisfied with this young man, Qin Yun.

Despite achieving such great success, he remained neither arrogant nor impetuous, always maintaining a calm mindset when handling big affairs; he was a rare talent.

He was somewhat worried that Qin Yun might end up like a child prodigy who lost his spark, which was why he was giving this earnest advice.

"Yes, I will."

Qin Yun agreed very straightforwardly.

Inwardly, he was curious why Hank seemed to have changed his tone with him.

And he had even learned how to keep him in suspense.

After slowly finishing the tea in his cup, he finally asked: "What was the urgent matter you mentioned on the phone?"

Julia also listened intently, curious about what her father was referring to.

Could it be even more shocking than Caesar's Armor?

Hank gave a mysterious smile, took out an ancient piece of paper wrapped in plastic protective film from a folder, placed it on the table, and looked at Qin Yun without saying a word.

Qin Yun was a bit bewildered by Hank's solemn display.

He picked up the paper and began to examine it.

Since Hank was making such a ceremony of it, this paper must be extraordinary in some way.

Thinking this, he still didn't take the paper too seriously in his heart.

Qin Yun had just obtained Caesar's Armor; ordinary treasures could no longer give him much of a surprise. What could be so precious about a single piece of paper?

When he discovered that ancient Xia characters were written on it, a serious expression appeared on his face.

What was recorded on it was the method for forging a Zhanmadao.

Because there was only one page and it included illustrations, there wasn't much content recorded, making it difficult for him to judge where the paper came from at first.

There weren't many books that recorded weapon forging, especially for the lost tang dynasty Zhanmadao. Recalling Hank's suspenseful attitude, the answer in his heart blurted out.

"Could this paper be from the yongle encyclopedia?"

Qin Yun's tone was hesitant at first, but by the end, his face was full of certainty.

Only a timeless, wondrous book like the yongle encyclopedia would record such 'exotic crafts' that were looked down upon by Confucianists. And Hank had been so eager to find him and bring him back.

There was only one conclusion: Hank had found a clue to the yongle encyclopedia.

Hank nodded, feeling a bit disappointed.

As expected of the most dazzling rising star in the treasure-hunting world, this piece of paper hadn't stumped Qin Yun.

He himself had studied it for five hours and looked up a lot of information before proving that this paper indeed came from the yongle encyclopedia.

"Yes, this is indeed a page from the yongle encyclopedia!"

Since Qin Yun had already guessed the paper's origin, Hank didn't play games anymore and stated the result directly.

Despite being over ninety percent certain in his heart, hearing Hank confirm the result still left Qin Yun momentarily speechless with shock.

The yongle encyclopedia was a national treasure of Xia that he had sworn to find, and now a single page was lying right before his eyes.

Amidst his excitement, there was also a hint of regret.

This was the most important classic of Xia, recording a vast amount of lost knowledge.

Finding the yongle encyclopedia would not only have immense symbolic significance but might also lead to the discovery of lost technologies and the recording of history that everyone had forgotten.

It held significant meaning for the revival of Xia civilization.

It was a terrible shame for such an inestimably valuable masterpiece to be destroyed.

Especially in America, where many people were so arrogant that they didn't care to understand other countries' cultures.

They didn't know how to cherish them; destroying another country's cultural relics was a normal occurrence for them.

"Where was this found?"

Qin Yun asked urgently.

He was worried that the yongle encyclopedia would be damaged in someone else's hands, so his voice was a bit louder.

In his heart, he had already secretly decided that no matter the cost—even if he had to trade Caesar's Armor for it—

He had to get his hands on the yongle encyclopedia.

Hank was very pleased to see Qin Yun's urgent state.

This was the reaction he had anticipated.

"Don't be in a hurry. I only contacted you because I have a lead on the yongle encyclopedia."

"I have a friend who is a diving enthusiast working in the undersea salvage industry. While diving near the shore, he discovered a safe. He brought it to me for appraisal and sale."

"This page from the yongle encyclopedia was in the box, along with many gold and silver ingots, jewelry, and a rusted scabbard. I saw that this paper had ancient Xia characters and research value, so I brought it back to examine it."

"Oh, the gold and silver ingots and jewelry have already been given to the Auction House, but I took a few photos here that you can look at."

After Hank finished speaking, he took out his phone and pulled up the photos for Qin Yun to see.

Qin Yun took the phone and looked.

There were dozens of ingots in the box. Only an ancient country with a developed civilization like Xia would have these ingots cast from gold and silver.

The jewelry consisted mostly of hair ornaments, exquisite and primitive in style.

The scabbard had the specific running script and cloud patterns of the ming dynasty. It seemed this box contained ming dynasty antiques.

Putting down the phone, Qin Yun began to ponder.

He had thought the yongle encyclopedia would be kept in a specific place.

He hadn't expected it to be found in a treasure chest by the sea.

Surely no one would throw such a heavy treasure into the sea.

Even if the owner couldn't see the value of this paper, any normal person could see the value of the gold and silver jewelry.

"Could it be a shipwreck?"

Qin Yun voiced his hypothesis.

A box found by the sea either came from a shipwreck or someone had intentionally hidden the treasure chest on the seabed.

However, hiding it on the seabed would be a bit foolish.

There are ocean currents, and the treasure chest would drift around.

Furthermore, it wouldn't be placed in a spot where people dive, so it most likely came from a shipwreck in the ocean.

The treasure chest had drifted to the shore with the currents, where it was discovered by Hank's friend.

"That's likely the case; my friend and I thought so too."

"However, the ocean is so vast that searching for a shipwreck would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It won't be easy."

Hank explained with a bitter smile on his face.

This was the reason he had called Qin Yun to discuss it.

His friend worked for a salvage company. With such a discovery, the company would definitely search for the shipwreck's location.

The shipwreck likely contained the yongle encyclopedia; Qin Yun needed to make plans early.

"Regardless, this is a good clue, and I cannot give up on it."

"Contact your friend now. I can provide the funds for them to search for this shipwreck."

Qin Yun said with a determined face.

If it were anything else, it would be fine, but this was the yongle encyclopedia.

As long as there was even a one percent chance, he wouldn't give up.

Although searching for a shipwreck in the ocean was difficult and would incur significant expenses,

He would absolutely not back down.