Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 256 - 222: The Secret in the Ancient Books_2

Chapter 256: Chapter 222: The Secret in the Ancient Books_2

Nowadays, Mongolians still use the Mongolian script.

Sean Knight felt that it would be better to compare the information found in the Han documents with those of the Mongolian military orders and letters.

After dinner, just as Sean was planning to continue his studies, he received a phone call from Professor Travis Reynolds.

"Sean, do you have bamboo slips in your possession?" Travis’s voice was very eager. "Are they real or fake?"

"They’re real." Sean didn’t expect Travis to be so urgent. He immediately realized that these bamboo slips might not be simple, but then again, such bamboo slips should never be simple.

"So, where are they? Can you send them to China?"

"I’m afraid not," Sean said. "The bamboo slips have not been well preserved, some are already broken. I hope to find an expert to help me restore them."

"What’s the origin of the bamboo slips...?" Travis asked tentatively.

"I bought them. I got them from an American businessman," Sean explained. "He said they were stolen from a major tomb by a tomb raider who also found some bronze and gold artifacts there. However, those items were all sold, leaving only these things."

Travis was full of regret—this tomb raider was too hateful!

But since the bamboo slips were bought by Sean, he couldn’t convince him to donate them.

Last time, when Sean allowed him to photocopy the contents and conduct research and publish articles, it was already quite generous.

However...

Travis thought of something and suddenly felt happy.

Sean was not a stingy person. Although the items couldn’t be taken back, they could be photographed after restoration.

To study the items, it wasn’t necessary to have the originals, right?

His mind opened, and he suddenly felt the world widen. Travis said:

"Mr. Knight, I have a retired friend who once participated in the restoration of the Shuihudi bamboo slips of Qin. I think he would be suitable for this job."

"No problem, please help me invite him. I’ll cover the intermediary fee, restoration fee, and travel expenses!"

Sean felt that a professional should be hired. He had some understanding of the situation of the Shuihudi bamboo slips of Qin. At that time, they were no longer in good condition, but after being restored by professionals, information was extracted from them.

Sean had also seen the introduction of ancient bamboo slip restoration work online - a twisted, rope-like bamboo slip submerged in special medicinal water would slowly unfold and then be restored through other processes, basically returning to its original state.

It was incredible!

Early the next day, Sean received a call from Travis. He said that the professor named Dominic Ashford and his student would be heading to New York the next day, and asked Sean to have someone pick them up.

Sean was very happy.

After this issue was resolved, Sean continued to study those documents.

He had roughly sorted out the context of those documents. Some of them were used by the Han army to record marching matters. They recorded everything, big and small, probably to respond to the inquiries and inspections of the Mongolian nobles.

Some were used for communication between the Han army, Mongolian cavalry, and other forces. They talked about some non-top-secret military matters, or even if there were top secret matters, the Mongolian cavalry didn’t care much.

They marched as fast as the wind and didn’t care about the temporary gains or losses of a city, so they were not very secretive about their whereabouts.

So from these clues, Sean found quite a few places where the cities that were conquered and the gold and treasures that were collected had been taken to.

Some were given to military officers such as commanders at the time, some were concentrated to be used as supplies, and more were transported to places like Karakorum and the Mongolian tribe gathering area.

Aside from the previously mentioned location that should have gold deposits, Sean found at least three more mentioned gold burial points.

Of those three points, two were within Mongolia’s borders and one was in Russia.

This was really beyond Sean’s expectations.

However, the place names were all ancient, and the scope was quite large. If he wanted to search for them, it would indeed require a lot of research and ample time.

However, Sean did have time for this.

Dominic Ashford was 66 years old, and his student Elijah Hastings had received his Ph.D. and had been serving as Dominic’s assistant ever since.

On the plane, Dominic asked Elijah:

"Chunming, from the photos, can you determine the time period of the bamboo slips?"

Elijah, wearing glasses, appeared very scholarly. He adjusted his glasses and said:

"Teacher, based on the color, length, width, and faint writing on the bamboo slips, I infer that they should be from the Warring States period. As for which specific country they come from, we need to look at the content."

Dominic nodded in satisfaction. He had a similar deduction, but he was more certain than Elijah.

When they arrived in New York, Sean personally greeted them and brought them to the villa.

Upon seeing the upscale villa where Sean lived, a hint of envy flashed behind Elijah’s glasses.

How could such a young man, who didn’t exude any noble air, live in such a high-end villa?

Sean Knight didn’t know Blake Turner was guessing his identity, and he enthusiastically invited them into the villa and then asked Kathy to call for the food.

Sean had already become accustomed to having people cook and take care of him.

Dominic didn’t care - his mind was on the bamboo slips, but amidst Blake’s previous envy, a trace of jealousy also surfaced!

Thinking about himself, the favored child of heaven, he had been a top student and defeated many opponents before finally becoming Professor Nelson’s disciple and assistant.

He had thought himself successful, but when compared to the young man in front of him, he was obviously just a worker.

Unwilling to accept.

Of course, just a little bit.

Then they indulged in the delicious food, and Kathy made sure to hire a top chef to please the guests.

After the meal, Sean asked Dominic to rest, but the old master insisted on seeing the bamboo slips.

Sean agreed, taking them to the storage room.

Upon seeing the bamboo slips casually placed in vacuum bags, the old master stomped his feet angrily:

"What a waste! Such precious things, how can they be placed so casually?"

He turned to Blake and said:

"Blake, hurry and mix the restoration liquid. We need to soak these bamboo slips as soon as possible."

Sean admired the old master’s passion for work and tried to persuade him, but failing to do so, let him be.

For the restoration of the bamboo slips, Sean cleared out a neighboring room, dedicated to Dominic and Blake’s use.

He reminded them:

"You can’t bring your mobile phone or any filming devices during the restoration, or the cooperation will be terminated."

Although Dominic wasn’t happy, he agreed.

He had previously heard from Travis about Sean’s character and knew that things couldn’t be rushed.

Blake, however, seemed insulted and wanted to flare up, but was stopped by Dominic.

Now talking about other things was futile; it was better to restore the slips first.

Watching the bamboo slips stretch slowly, just like in the video, Sean smiled happily.

It’s really magical!

Not wanting to disturb their work, Sean quietly left the room.

Kathy came over, and Sean asked:

"Are the guest rooms ready?"

Kathy nodded.

"Then leave someone here in case they need anything. Also, when they come out, take them to their room. Make sure to prepare fruit and drinks in the room."

For these genuine experts, Sean always maintained a high level of respect.

This is about restoring the history of Chinese civilization!

Since there is essential work here, Sean didn’t leave.

Two of the addresses with the gold bars were sent to Elijah, who investigated them.

After half a day’s work, Elijah reported:

"For these two places, one of them has been razed and turned into a commercial building within several kilometers, with four major construction projects within 30 years."

Sean was somewhat disappointed, as it meant one batch of gold was no longer his destiny.

"The other location is still the original building because it’s more remote, but it has undergone a significant renovation."

Elijah sent photos taken from his mobile phone to Sean.

Looking over the photos, Sean was a bit unsure.

The original address indicated an inn. It’s still an inn, but both the facade and the outer walls have changed significantly.

The interior probably changed as well.

Would the gold still be hidden inside?

Sean was really unsure about that!

However, in any case, it still needed to be verified!