Chapter 309: Golden Finger
“Ha, what do you mean? How could such massive cauldrons just disappear like that?” Wei Dong asked, astonished.
“The nine cauldrons were divine artifacts passed down from ruler to ruler. The ancient people deeply believed in the divine and the supernatural. They thought that whoever possessed the nine cauldrons could stabilize the nation and become the rightful ruler of the world.” Shao Ling explained. “That’s why mentions: ‘In later generations, sages would follow Yu’s example and forge the cauldrons from generation to generation.’ So, during the chaotic Warring States period, these nine cauldrons became rare national treasures that monarchs of various countries sought after.
“As for the whereabouts of the nine cauldrons, some say that during the Zhou royal family was in financial distress and heavily in debt. They melted the cauldrons down to mint coins to pay off their debts. Others claim that as the Zhou dynasty weakened, the king of Zhou, fearing calamity, had the cauldrons sunk into the Si River and lied to everyone that the nine cauldrons went missing, which led to the famous historical event of Qin Shi Huang ordering people to search for the cauldrons in the river.
“But the most mystical account comes from a record in the Shiji Zhengyi, which says that King Zhao of Qin seized the nine cauldrons from the Zhou court and was sending them back to his kingdom, only for one of them to suddenly fly into the Si River, after which the other eight also vanished. Later, Qin Shi Huang sent thousands of men to search the river for the cauldrons, but they found nothing in the end. Since then, the nine cauldrons have disappeared from the world.
“From then until now, so many years have passed, and countless people have sought the cauldrons, yet all have failed. We’re just ten people. If we want to find the cauldrons out of nowhere, we would need a ‘golden finger’ from the heavens.”
Everyone fell silent, the only sounds were the crunch of their footsteps in the snow.
“But we do have a golden finger,” Ke Xun suddenly smiled.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“I’ve always felt, that only people like Yiran and Prez Shao, who are truly talented and outstanding, could survive in these paintings,” Ke Xun continued, taking a few big steps forward, then turning back to face the group. He walked backward and smiled as his breath formed warm white puffs in the cold air. “As for a newbie as ordinary as me, it’s likely that I would have been taken out right in the first painting.