Yan Shouyi never expected that the Zu Long Sword could have anything to do with him.
As Lin Zhitong was also "present," the two could jointly witness and analyze the situation.
"Let's come in first," Lin Zhitong said proactively.
As Ma Jinxuan walked into the room, she saw Lin Zhitong bathing on the video call and couldn't help but blush, "Should I come back later?"
"It's already this late, and if you delay further, the sky will be bright," Yan Shouyi said with a wry smile.
"It's alright." Lin Zhitong temporarily turned off the video, put on a clean and soft bathrobe, and then reopened the video.
Yan Shouyi poured Ma Jinxuan a cup of tea and couldn't resist asking,
"You mentioned you were entrusted by someone, who asked you to retrieve the Zu Long Sword from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor?"
The intelligent Lin Zhitong directly replied, "Do you even need to think about it? Of course, it was your father."
Besides Yan Shouyi, the only one who had any interaction with the Ma siblings was Yan Chou.
Yan Shouyi had actually guessed that it was his father who had made the request, but he still wanted Ma Jinxuan to confirm it herself.
Ma Jinxuan nodded, "Last time at Chenjia Village, your father gave us some pointers, allowing us the good fortune to enter the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. In exchange, we retrieved the Zu Long Sword for you."
"This exchange doesn't seem very fair to you!" Yan Shouyi quipped. "You can visit the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor just by buying a ticket, what pointers did my dad need to give you?"
"Buying a ticket only gets you to the Terracotta Army. No one has ever entered the actual Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor. What your father guided us through was a secret passage that led directly into the tomb," Ma Jinxuan explained.
Yan Shouyi suddenly understood, and it finally made sense.
For tomb raiders, imperial tombs were more alluring than money, power, fine wine, and beautiful women. They took pride in having entered imperial tombs.
Not to mention that this time, Yan Chou had sent them into the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, the mausoleum of the first emperor to unify the six states in history.
Let alone bringing back a Zu Long Sword, even if they were asked to carry out Qin Shi Huang's corpse, the Ma siblings likely wouldn't bat an eye.
It was just that Yan Shouyi couldn't understand why his father went to such great lengths to obtain a Zu Long Sword from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor to give to him.
Lin Zhitong said, "Perhaps it's because your birthday is coming soon?"
Yan Shouyi's eyelids twitched. "Even if it's my birthday, I've never heard of gifts from dead people. Besides, it's just my birthday, there's no need to give something like the Zu Long Sword..."
No matter how he thought about it, Yan Shouyi still felt it was a bit too extravagant.
Ma Jinxuan said, "I also can't quite figure it out, so I hope you can open the sword case as soon as possible and see the Zu Long Sword for yourself. Perhaps you'll gain some insight."
"That's true."
For a treasure like the Zu Long Sword, Yan Chou would not have asked the Ma siblings to retrieve it for no reason.
There must have been a purpose behind it.
All the secrets were hidden within this Zu Long Sword.
Thus, Yan Shouyi took out the large sword case from his satchel, placed it on the table, and then asked Ma Jinxuan to help hold the phone so that Lin Zhitong could also watch the "unboxing" of the Zu Long Sword.
Ma Jinxuan felt a bit helpless. She thought Yan Shouyi would be unable to suppress his curiosity and open the sword case himself.
She hadn't expected that after seven days, he still hadn't opened it to look, and she had to come over to urge him.
The sword case was cast from bronze, displaying an ancient verdigris color with red patina. The patterns featured Qilin treading on clouds, accompanied by twin dragons. Although the depictions were not as full and lifelike as modern paintings, they possessed a unique mystical charm.
Yan Shouyi caressed the sword case and said, "This sword case..."
"The sword case is a match for the Zu Long Sword, both were brought out from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor," Ma Jinxuan explained.
Yan Shouyi nodded.
He felt for the hidden clasp of the sword case and gently flicked it. The sword case emitted a crisp sound, and a seam appeared in the perfectly sealed case.
"This craftsmanship is seamless and incredible," Yan Shouyi, his professional habit kicking in, couldn't help but comment.
The Zu Long Sword was a product of the Qin Dynasty. Iron smelting technology was not mature at that time, let alone steelmaking or alloys. Therefore, the Zu Long Sword in the sword case must be a bronze sword.
The most famous bronze sword currently is the Sword of Goujian, King of Yue. This bronze sword had been buried for over two thousand years, yet upon excavation, it was still sturdy. Not only had it not rusted, but its blade was sharp, and the inscriptions on the sword body were clearly visible.
Most remarkably, it was said that when the Sword of Goujian was unearthed, it was bent under the pressure of superimposed pottery. When the staff moved the pottery away, the Sword of Goujian instantly returned to its original shape!
After more than two thousand years, this bronze sword could still be used in battle.
If the Sword of Goujian was like this, what would Qin Shi Huang's Zu Long Sword be like?
Yan Shouyi swallowed, and with great solemnity, lifted the sword case with both hands.
Inside the sword case, there was a golden, dragon-patterned silk lining, and within it lay a bronze sword approximately one meter long!
The sword was slender with a central ridge, double-edged and sharp, with a concave curved tip. The hilt had two raised rings, and the pommel was adorned with concentric circles. The guard was inlaid with dark green gemstones, and the blade itself bore a rhombic patterned inlay.
Upon the first sight of the Zu Long Sword, a dragon's aura seemed to surge forth, and Yan Shouyi could almost hear the dragon's roar from Longhu Mountain again!
"Zu Long Sword, indeed an emperor's sword!" Yan Shouyi exclaimed.
Just looking at the sword, images of Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng's heroic feat of unifying the six states involuntarily appeared in Yan Shouyi's mind.
The Emperor of Qin swept through the six directions, his gaze magnificent!
Flying swords cleaved through the clouds, and the lords all came from the west!
Lin Zhitong, miles away in Rongcheng, could feel the aura of the Zu Long Sword even through the video call.
She murmured, "What kind of world was it over two thousand years ago? Just a single sword has preserved this dragon's energy for over two thousand years!"
Ma Jinxuan said with a hint of shame, "This is just the Zu Long Sword. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you would never imagine what my brother and I saw in the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor..."
As she spoke, Ma Jinxuan's expression became wistful, as if she was thinking about returning to the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor to take a good look.
After confirming that there were no other mechanisms on the sword case, Yan Shouyi carefully picked up the Zu Long Sword.
Due to the material properties of bronze, most bronze swords could only be about half a meter long, even the Sword of Goujian.
If it were too long, the blade would easily break.
However, this Zu Long Sword was about ninety centimeters long, not much different from the length of normal swords and sabers of later generations.
Truly worthy of being crafted by the world's finest artisans.
Upon closer inspection, the two characters "Ding Qin" (定秦) inscribed by Li Si were still as clear as if they had been engraved just yesterday.
He lightly flicked the blade, and a humming sound resonated.
"Truly a fine sword..." Yan Shouyi sighed in admiration.