"What is going on..." After a long pause, Director Jiang murmured, "A hallucination?" "Not a hallucination."

Having already experienced the matters of the Holy Grail Cup and the Essence of White Jade, Wang Guan’s resistance was already quite high, and he sobered up at this moment, realizing that his unique ability had indeed lived up to his expectations.

Seeing the strange phenomenon of the stone cup, Wang Guan felt that such a magical object must be a rare, unparalleled treasure; it hardly mattered whether it was the legendary Holy Grail or not.

At this time, everyone else shared the same thought. After coming back to their senses, everyone’s eyes immediately shone with a scorching light, as if they wished they could melt the cup instantly.

"Wang Guan..." In an instant, Elder Zhou stood up, speaking with urgent excitement: "Quickly take this and come with me."

"Uh!" Wang Guan blinked, unable to help but scratch his head: "Elder Zhou, where are we going?" "Nonsense, to the research lab, of course."

Elder Zhou exclaimed with mixed joy: "To study what material the cup is made of, and how it can turn plain water into this appearance..." "Lingxi, there's no need to rush."

At this moment, Elder Qian remained relatively calm. He reached out, picked up the cup, continued to sniff it deeply, and upon finding no unusual odor, he poured out the water and carefully examined the situation inside the vessel.

After scrutinizing it for a moment, Elder Qian said thoughtfully, "I think the problem lies with the dark red substance inside the cup."

"Whether there's a problem or not, we’ll know once we run some tests."

Elder Zhou was eager: "It was perfectly normal before, but as soon as it mixed with water, such a marvelous change occurred. This kind of thing is unprecedented and holds immense research value..." "Wrong, not research value."

At this point.

Elder Qian gently shook his head: "But cultural value."

"Cultural value..." Elder Zhou paused, then quickly realized, exclaiming in surprise, "Lingxi, are you implying this thing might actually be the Holy Grail?" "Not 'might be'; it is the Holy Grail."

Elder Qian’s gaze flickered slightly: "If it weren't the Holy Grail, how could it possess such a miraculous anomaly?" Instantly, everyone pondered for a moment and understood Elder Qian's underlying meaning.

Whether the item was truly the Holy Grail or not was secondary.

The important thing was that after witnessing the scene just now, many people would undoubtedly conclude that it was the legendary Holy Grail.

This realization fundamentally changed the object's worth.

Everyone present were discerning individuals and naturally understood the immense influence the Holy Grail held in the West, much like the Imperial Seal of China in the hearts of Chinese people.

It was an object bordering on the divine, its value incalculable.

If news spread, the Roman Curia, perhaps out of caution or to save face, might not officially acknowledge it as the true Holy Grail, but the extremely wealthy magnates would certainly be drawn by the scent.

Thinking of this, Director Jiang’s breathing hitched.

He wanted to say something, but ultimately kept silent, mainly because he lacked the standing to speak up.

Even though he was the Director of the Palace Museum, in front of two senior veterans, he was still a generation below them.

Feeling he had no say, he resolved to quickly report the matter to his superiors upon returning, intending to... well, he wasn't quite sure how to proceed, but reporting the facts as they were would suffice.

His superiors would then have the headache to deal with.

With that thought, he felt much relieved and couldn't help but ask, "Elder Qian, if this thing is indeed the Holy Grail, how do you plan to handle it?" "How else? We keep it for our own collection, naturally,"

Elder Zhou chuckled: "The item was found by Wang Guan; this is his providence. Are others going to forcibly snatch it away?" "Forcible snatching isn't likely, but Director Jiang is right; this matter does require careful consideration."

As he spoke, Elder Qian pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "Wang Guan, I am planning to establish a museum recently."

"What?" Wang Guan froze for a moment, somewhat confused by the sudden change in topic, as Elder Qian had jumped too far ahead, leaving him bewildered.

They were just discussing the Holy Grail, and now he was suddenly talking about a museum.

"Lingxi, have you made up your mind?" Elder Zhou, knowing a bit about the background, immediately laughed: "Wang Guan, you don't know, after seeing Brother Kong establish his museum, he’s had similar thoughts. He’s been deliberating over these past few days, I didn't expect he’d finally made the firm decision now."

"That’s a good thing."

Wang Guan nodded in agreement. After all, Elder Qian’s collection was extremely rich; establishing a museum would be more than sufficient.

But he still didn’t quite grasp the connection between setting up a museum and the Holy Grail.

"It is indeed a good thing,"

Elder Qian smiled faintly: "However, after establishing the museum, how to attract public attention is quite a difficult matter."

"Ah..." At this opportune moment, Wang Guan seemed to understand a little: "Elder Qian means to use this Holy Grail as a sensational showpiece to draw attention?" "No, not just the Holy Grail."

However, Wang Guan underestimated Elder Qian’s ambition. He saw him shake his head and smile: "Your treasure vault also holds quite a few fine items. As the saying goes, it is better to share joy than to enjoy it alone. Rather than hiding them in your vault for solitary admiration, it would be better to contribute them as well. I will specially plan an exhibition hall dedicated solely to displaying your items."

"What!" Hearing this, Wang Guan was startled again: "Elder Qian, this..." "What this?"

At this time, Elder Zhou chimed in enthusiastically: "Wang Guan, Lingxi is absolutely right. Your items, speaking broadly, are treasures of the nation, masterpieces of past sages. It is a bit selfish for one person to collect and admire them. Now that Lingxi is willing to contribute his collection to establish a museum, when else would you wait to throw some sand into the mix?"

"First, claim a territory as a dedicated zone, then slowly and gradually encroach. Then, in another twenty or thirty years, Lingxi will inevitably succumb to the natural law of aging, sickness, and death. At that time, you can stage a cuckoo occupying the magpie's nest..." As he spoke, Elder Zhou tempted him: "You get a large museum for free, how wonderful is that."

Knowing Elder Zhou was joking, Wang Guan nevertheless became contemplative, slightly moved, understanding that Elder Qian was paving the way for him.

Moreover, it wasn't simply paving a path; it was providing protection.

The saying, 'A common man owning jade invites calamity,' is an ancient maxim passed down through centuries, still holding relevance today.

As the party concerned, Wang Guan naturally knew how rare and precious his collection was.

Every piece was a priceless treasure, easily inviting covetous glances.

As time went on and his collection of rare treasures grew, Wang Guan increasingly felt the pressure, which was why recently he had unconsciously restrained himself, reducing the frequency with which he made acquisitions.

Elder Qian, being highly observant, naturally understood Wang Guan's concerns and was planning to resolve these worries for him.

Establishing a museum and publicly displaying the items was indeed the best solution.

But this method had pros and cons. The advantages were numerous: once the items were completely exposed to the public eye, surely no one would dare to scheme against them anymore.

Take the world's major museums, for instance: even with management oversights, internal collusion, or theft of collections, the truly great treasures are untouchable.

Even if someone dared to take them, they couldn't be sold. Because everyone knows they belong to a major museum, and generally, no one would willingly purchase stolen goods that cannot see the light of day.

After all, buying them would be meaningless; there would be no possibility of inviting others to view or show them off. If even a whisper got out, the police would likely be knocking on the door.

The essence of wealth collection by tycoons is for ostentation or financial investment. Purchasing famous treasures carries too much risk; few would engage in such troublesome, thankless endeavor.

Without market demand, even if they knew the items were worth fortunes, master thieves and petty criminals would not court disaster.

Thus, once the items were made public, Wang Guan should be able to sleep soundly.

Of course, everything has two sides. While there were clear benefits to publicizing the collection, viewed from another angle, it was also a negative thing.

Because both domestically and internationally, regarding museum artifacts—whether they belong to a national museum or a private one—people have taken for granted that the items are public property.

National museums require no further comment; they are definitively public property, and anyone eyeing them invites death.

But as for private museums, the items inside should, in principle, belong to the owner, and how the individual handles them is their freedom.

However, the public will not see it that way. They will naturally assume that anything in a museum is public domain, and even the owner has no right to dispose of it.

In other words, if Wang Guan needed money one day and wanted to sell a treasure, the moment the news leaked, he would face universal condemnation and be placed under intense scrutiny. This was the greatest drawback.

At this point, Elder Qian had clearly analyzed both the advantages and disadvantages, allowing Wang Guan to decide only after thorough consideration.

"No need to consider."

Wang Guan weighed the pros and cons briefly and immediately made his decision: "We'll follow your old plan."

"No regrets?" Elder Qian chuckled lightly: "Think about it again; it will be too late for regrets."

"There is nothing to think about,"

Wang Guan stated calmly: "You’ve seen it too, Elder. I feel the things themselves are burning hot in my hands; the pressure is too immense, and I don’t know when it will crush me. Now that there is an opportunity to solve the problem, why hesitate? Furthermore, you were correct: it’s better to share joy than enjoy it alone. These are originally treasures of the nation; I was merely responsible for bringing them back, I can't claim them as my private property..."

What Wang Guan said was from the heart; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to easily lend items to Master Banshan or the Daoists of Longhu Mountain.

He was transferring risk, letting others help share the burden.

Resolving the major trouble was the key; as for not being able to sell them to others, that was not an issue at all.

Wang Guan never intended to sell those rare treasures anyway. If he genuinely lacked funds someday, at worst, he would take another trip to Myanmar, or perhaps go dig for diamonds in Africa.

Wang Guan didn't know if he would regret this in the future, but he knew he didn't regret it now.

Wang Guan felt his vision wasn't that far-reaching; managing the present was enough, and future matters could be dealt with later.

Hearing this, Elder Qian nodded lightly; the matter was thus settled.

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