For reasons such as these, everyone was left speechless, silently offering their condolences to Han Lang in their hearts: meeting the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time naturally resulted in the wrong outcome.

“Alright, let’s not mention him anymore.” Qiao Yu smiled sweetly. “Teacher, thank you so much for your trouble today…”

As she spoke, the doorbell suddenly rang, startling everyone. “Could it be Han Lang, unwilling to give up, coming back shamelessly?”

“Surely not,” Wang Guan blinked, walking over to open the door himself. Standing outside was a middle-aged man in his forties. Their eyes met, and both showed a flicker of surprise.

“You are?” The middle-aged man looked puzzled. “Excuse me, is Elder Tao home?”

Seeing it wasn't Han Lang, Wang Guan quickly stepped aside and turned back. “Elder Tao, your guest.”

“Who is it?”

Elder Tao looked over, also showing a hint of surprise. “Xiao Zhang, why are you here?”

“Elder Tao, something major has happened.”

Just then, the middle-aged man stepped inside, his expression anxious. “A mural in the grottoes—for some unknown reason, many fragments flaked off overnight. We’ve studied it for ages without finding the specific cause, so they sent me to ask for Elder Tao’s help.”

“What?” Elder Tao was shocked. “How could it fall off for no reason?”

“That’s precisely why we requested Elder Tao to come take a look.” The middle-aged man looked worried. “If you have time, Elder Tao, please, you must accompany me.”

“Fine.” Elder Tao agreed without a second thought, then turned back. “Xiao Yu, I have something urgent to attend to now. You and your friends stay here and have fun, or you can go shopping.”

“The grottoes, are they the ones on Tianlong Mountain?” Wang Guan was curious. As far as he knew, besides Jinci Temple, the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes were the most famous historical sites in Jinyang. Of course, there were also sights like Chunyang Palace and Longshan Grottoes.

“What, you want to go see them?”

Qiao Yu’s eyes darted, and she pulled on Beiye’s arm, laughing. “Then let’s go together. It’s safer to stay near Teacher than to risk Grandpa coming to fetch us.”

“You,” Elder Tao chuckled helplessly, “always thinking up clever schemes.” “Suit yourselves.”

While speaking, Elder Tao went back inside to carefully store the calligraphic Thousand Character Classic scroll, then emerged with a briefcase. He then gestured for everyone to follow him out, get into the middle-aged man’s car, and head straight for the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes.

Tianlong Mountain, originally named Fangshan, lies to the southwest of Jinyang. The mountains there stretch on endlessly, and Tianlong Mountain itself winds and undulates, coiled and surrounding the area. Since ancient times, it has been a place renowned for its beautiful and pleasant scenery.

Initially, there were certainly no grottoes on the mountain. It wasn’t until the Eastern Wei period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when Grand Chancellor Gao Huan garrisoned Bingzhou (Jinyang) and established a summer retreat here, carving out two grottoes, that later dynasties—Northern Qi, Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties—continued the construction of temples and caves.

After nearly a thousand years of development, Tianlong Mountain became one of China’s famous Ten Great Grottoes.

Not long after, Wang Guan and the others arrived before this renowned collection of grottoes. Like so many cultural sites, this place had inevitably been transformed into a tourist attraction.

Upon arriving and getting out of the car, Wang Guan saw quite a few tourists taking photos nearby.

Setting aside the man-made grottoes carved into the mountain, the scenery of Tianlong Mountain was indeed lovely: verdant pines and cypresses, lush forests, coupled with elegant peaks and the gentle sound of flowing springs. Even without the grottoes, this would be a wonderful place to visit. However, at this moment, the group had no inclination for sightseeing; they followed the middle-aged man, bypassing the regular visitors, and slowly proceeded deep into the interior of the grotto complex.

As they walked, passing one grotto after another, Wang Guan also observed rows of Buddhist statues, each displaying a different yet exquisitely dignified bearing. What pained and disappointed him, however, was that most of the statues were incomplete, clearly having suffered severe damage.

Wang Guan knew that such destruction stemmed partly from the passage of time—the statues weathering and cracking naturally—and partly from human interference. Human damage was further divided: one category resulted from the "good deeds" of their own countrymen, and the other from the "masterpieces" of foreigners.

In the late Qing Dynasty, especially during the Republican era, many exquisite works from the Tianlong Mountain Grottoes—statues, celestial beings, reliefs, and ceiling coffers—were looted and stolen. According to incomplete statistics, over one hundred and fifty carved masterpieces from Tianlong Mountain were spirited abroad, scattered to places like Japan, the United States, and France, leading to their present ruined state.

Of course, while lamenting this, one must not overlook that sometimes, one’s own people are even more ruthless. Once they realized the value of these artifacts, they didn’t need foreign instigation; they simply stole and delivered them themselves.

Comparing the two, which group deserves more hatred? In Wang Guan’s view, perhaps it was the despicable opportunism of foreigners, mixed with anger at the inadequacy of their own people.

History is complex, and no one can definitively argue the right or wrong of it all; furthermore, this was hardly the time for such philosophical debate. Guided by the middle-aged man, the group slowly arrived inside a specific grotto.

The staff managing the grottoes weren't fools. As soon as they discovered the abnormality with the mural that morning, they immediately sealed off this section, putting up caution tape, claiming maintenance and temporary closure for statue preservation.

The mountain grottoes were vast, with countless statues. The condition of the statues varied in each cave, requiring periodic maintenance to prevent weathering. Thus, tourists didn't find this excuse strange; seeing the path blocked, they naturally rerouted to admire other caves.

However, covering up a scandal only works temporarily, not forever. There is no wall that can hold wind forever. If the cause couldn't be ascertained and the mural restored promptly, the incident would eventually leak out.

At that point, regardless of others, the management of the grottoes would certainly be placed on the front line. Moreover, if trouble arose, in order to soothe public outcry, several people would inevitably be made scapegoats to quell the storm quickly. And as the head of the administrative department, the director, would naturally be the first target.

Therefore, the director was frantic. Hearing that Elder Tao had arrived, he rushed over as if seeing a lifeline, greeting him with great deference. “Elder, I entrust everything to you.” His voice held a faint tone of pleading.

“Let me assess the situation first,” Elder Tao said coolly, ignoring the director and walking directly to the mural.

At this moment, Wang Guan could see it clearly: the mural on the wall truly resembled the plaster of an unfinished cement room. After damp, rainy weather, when subjected to intense sunlight, the lime wash on the wall was flaking off like scattered snowflakes.

Everyone knew that the mural’s colors were painted onto the stone surface using various mineral pigments, creating the breathtaking artwork. But now that layers of the stone surface had detached, the mural was naturally damaged, obscured, and had lost all its former splendor.

“Elder Tao.”

At the same time, a staff member—perhaps eager to defend himself, or perhaps familiar with Elder Tao—stepped forward to explain. “According to the surveillance footage, no one entered or exited the grottoes during the night, and judging by how the flakes are distributed, it doesn’t seem to be the result of human action…”

Elder Tao nodded slightly. After observing for a moment, he turned and asked, “What conclusion have you reached?”

“Elder Tao, we preliminarily suspect it’s due to climate change.”

Several people exchanged glances, nudging each other, before someone dared to speak up. “After all, the weather has been erratic recently—torrential rain followed by scorching sun. This kind of expansion and contraction should cause the mural to flake…”

“Nonsense.”

Elder Tao’s expression turned cold, and he rebuked sharply. “I know this mural; its preservation condition is relatively good, certainly better than the murals in the adjacent grotto. If it were cracking due to thermal expansion and contraction, the one next door should have been affected first.”

“Furthermore, even if it were thermal expansion, it should occur gradually—first tiny fissures, then slow spreading—not half of it falling off overnight.” As he spoke, Elder Tao glanced sideways. “Unless you were all neglecting your duties and never noticed any cracks on the mural.”

Instantly, the director’s eyes lit up; if it was staff negligence, it wouldn't be his problem. The managing personnel, however, quickly shook their heads, insisting they conducted daily patrols and that the mural showed absolutely no problems when they last checked yesterday…

“Stop arguing.”

Elder Tao waved his hand and continued his analysis. “Besides, the climate on this mountain is very stable. It’s not significantly affected by either severe cold or intense heat, so thermal expansion and contraction can be ruled out.”

“Then what do you think is the cause, Elder Tao?” the director asked hurriedly. As long as Elder Tao attributed it to staff negligence, he would have grounds to evade responsibility.

Under the watchful eyes of the staff members, Elder Tao pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “It’s hard to say right now. Can you confirm that only the mural in this specific grotto has an issue?”

“That’s right,” a staff member quickly nodded. “After discovering the flaking here, we immediately checked the status of every grotto, but found only this one mural affected. So we find it very strange.”

It was indeed strange. If murals in several grottoes were damaged, it would point toward natural factors. But with only a single grotto affected, the possibility of human involvement was much greater.

No one present was foolish; they naturally knew the thermal expansion theory didn't hold water, which is why they had urgently invited Elder Tao. Even if the exact cause couldn't be found, there was still a method for remediation.

Yes, remediation. Everyone understood that Elder Tao was a mural master who had previously overseen the restoration of grotto murals. If the elder was willing to step in, he could directly repaint the mural onto the detached stone surface, providing a satisfactory account for the situation.