Chapter 12: The Fish Is Hooked!
Bai Hanyun nodded to Li Qin and greeted him, "Hello, Master Li."
Li Qin smiled at her and then sat down in front of Bai Hanyun. After that, the young woman left, only to return moments later with two cups of tea. After serving them, she went back downstairs.
Left alone with Li Qin, Bai Hanyun opened her backpack, took out a box, and placed it on the low table.
"Master Li, please help me check these items."
Li Qin put on white gloves and a pair of magnifying glasses. He then carefully opened the box and took out the two letters and the bronze plate.
Unfolding the letters, he examined them for over five minutes before his eyes flickered with surprise. "This..."
Not knowing what was happening, Bai Hanyun curiously asked, "Master Li, are these letters worthless?"
Hearing her question, Li Qin looked at her and explained, "These aren't letters—they are prayers. They were written in an ancient language used long before the Shang Dynasty."
"A few years ago, archaeologists discovered a bronze plate with the same inscription as these prayers. After years of study, they determined that the bronze plate originated from a time before the Shang Dynasty—more than 10,000 years ago."
Bai Hanyun thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know which dynasty these prayers came from?"
The old man shook his head. "The first dynasty in our recorded history is the Xia Dynasty, which existed around 5,000 or 4,000 years ago. However, because of the lack of evidence and artifacts, the existence of the Xia Dynasty is still debated among historians."