At this moment, Yu Feibai took the lead, walking into the room and immediately looking around, spotting a sculpture placed in the most conspicuous spot.

Wang Guan also took a look. The carving depicted something Buddhist.

It resembled a mountain shape, within which countless Buddha statues were carved—some as large as an inch, others barely a few points high. The Buddha heads, the size of rice grains or beans, showed no lack of detail in the eyebrows, eyes, mouth, ears, or the spiral topknots on their heads. Beside the structures within the mountain were miniature rockeries, flowing water, and various trees and flowers. In front of the mountain, thousands of monks walked along a path, and at the foot of the mountain stood a main gate, from which hung a three-inch-tall purple-gold bell.

All in all, it was dazzling, resembling the legendary landscape of a Pure Land paradise.

"This is the Myriad Buddha Mountain."

At the same time, Elder Hou chuckled, "Carved from sandalwood."

"Is that all?" However, Yu Feibai seemed somewhat dissatisfied. "Just a simple wood carving?"

"What else did you expect?" Elder Hou shook his head and sighed. "Think about it—to carve so many vivid, countless Buddha statues within such a large piece of wood must have been an incredibly laborious task. By our estimate, given the speed of ancient craftsmen and without the aid of machinery, relying solely on manual carving, this piece must have taken at least ten years to complete."

"That's true."

Hearing this, Yu Feibai felt a touch more respect.

"But it's a pity that due to improper preservation, the piece cracked into many fragments."

Elder Hou smiled. "It took us considerable effort to restore the Myriad Buddha Mountain, bringing it back to its original appearance."

"It was cracked? I really can't tell," Yu Feibai was instantly surprised, as to the naked eye, the Myriad Buddha Mountain carving appeared perfectly unified, without any visible flaws.

"It was painstakingly pieced back together using a special adhesive, followed by some technical processing, so naturally, you can't see it." Elder Hou said casually, "After this treatment, it should remain unchanged for at least a hundred years."

"Only a hundred years?" Yu Feibai asked curiously, "What will it look like after a hundred years? Will it just crumble completely?"

"After a hundred years, it will simply need to be reassembled again," Elder Hou smiled. "It won't decay that easily."

"Oh."

Yu Feibai nodded, no longer focusing on the Myriad Buddha Mountain, because at that moment, he noticed another peculiar carving beside it.

It was something resembling a bird, placed under a glass dome. Looking closely, the bird wood carving was not overly detailed; the craftsmanship possessed a rough, bold quality. Yet, for some unknown reason, amidst this roughness, there was a hint of lively agility.

Yu Feibai, feeling puzzled, naturally inquired, "Elder Hou, what is this? It looks significant."

"How do you know it's significant?" Elder Hou asked with a smile.

"He guessed," Wang Guan interjected, revealing the secret in a single sentence. "After all, it's kept under a glass dome and preserved so carefully; it's easy to guess the item isn't simple."

"It's good that you know; don't spill the beans," Yu Feibai didn't mind admitting. He then smiled. "Elder Hou, please tell us what is so special about this thing that it's hidden so securely."

"It certainly has special features," Elder Hou said, stalling for time. "I won't tell you right away. Try guessing again; perhaps you can figure out what it is."

"A work by a famous master carver?"

"...No!"

"A very precious type of wood material?"

"No!" Yu Feibai had guessed twice, both rejected by Elder Hou, which made him a bit dejected. He shook his head. "Then I can't figure it out. You have to give me a hint."

"A hint..." Elder Hou thought for a moment and really offered one. "I can tell you definitively that this is from before the Pre-Qin period. Furthermore, you were slightly correct earlier, but not entirely. It is indeed the work of a master, but you didn't specify correctly, which is why I rejected it."

"What do you mean? How was I not specific enough?" Yu Feibai was stunned. Meanwhile, Wang Guan was also somewhat surprised, finding the carving under the glass dome even more precious than anticipated.

Even with the hint, Yu Feibai could not guess and had to ask Elder Qian for help, looking appealingly at Elder Qian and the others, his expression pitiful. "Stop keeping us in suspense; just tell us the answer."

"Haha, I knew you wouldn't guess it." Amidst the laughter, Elder Hou gently lifted the glass dome and carefully took out the wooden bird.

At that moment, he must have pressed a certain spot, as the bird's wings suddenly spread out, achieving the posture of an eagle spreading its wings.

"Ah!" Seeing this, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai froze; they had never imagined the wooden bird could actually move. In their perception, it was just a static carving.

It was then that Wang Guan had a flash of inspiration and hurriedly asked, "Could this be the legendary mechanical bird?"

"The mechanical bird!" Yu Feibai realized the truth instantly. "The one where Gongshu Zi shaved bamboo and wood to make a magpie that flew for three days without falling—that mechanical bird?"

"You finally guessed it," Elder Hou nodded. "That's right, this is such an object."

"Really?" Yu Feibai was surprised and delighted, yet also hesitant. "Is it really Lu Ban's work, and could it truly fly for two or three days without descending?"

"I don't know." Unexpectedly, Elder Hou shook his head this time. "The mechanism is broken and it can no longer fly. Because the mechanism is quite complex, we have only managed to repair a portion of it, just enough for the wings to move slightly."

"Alas..." Yu Feibai immediately sighed in disappointment upon hearing this.

"Of course, according to our research, even if it were fully repaired, it couldn't fly for three days," Elder Hou smiled. "It lacks sufficient power; it absolutely couldn't fly that long. However, we have performed precise calculations and believe that with a tailwind, the mechanical bird should be able to glide for several minutes."

"Don't underestimate those few minutes. Back in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, achieving this level of flight was absolutely unprecedented. It's no wonder the story was exaggerated through hearsay into the legend of a wooden bird that flew for three days without landing."

As he spoke, Elder Hou also felt a touch of melancholy. "It's a pity that ancient China prioritized literature over mechanics. Otherwise, if research had continued, even if they couldn't invent an airplane, at least a simple glider could have been realized..."

Everyone nodded, sharing a similar sense of regret.

"Let's go; there are better things inside. Let's take a look together."

A moment later, Elder Hou felt that discussing this was spoiling the mood, so he abruptly changed the subject, continuing to lead the group out of the room. They walked down a long corridor and arrived in another large space.

However, upon entering, Wang Guan and the others found that this place was less a space and more a small workshop—a porcelain workshop. Over a dozen people in white coats were busy working there.

"Yao Jing," Yu Feibai noticed a quiet young girl among the workers and exclaimed in surprise, feeling both unexpected and predictable.

Hearing her name, Yao Jing only glanced up, her gaze sweeping over them briefly before she nodded slightly and returned to her task with intense concentration. Her slender, delicate hands moved with great dexterity on the potter's wheel; with a slight pull of her ten fingers, a lump of clay naturally formed itself into a small bowl...

"This place... it really isn't just a workshop, is it?" Yu Feibai found it interesting but harbored doubts. After all, if it were just an ordinary workshop, there would be no need to build it here.

"Haha, you have eyes; can't you see?" Elder Hou reminded him, pointing casually. Following his gesture, Wang Guan and the others looked over and saw several finished porcelain pieces displayed on a table. They appeared to be plain porcelain, unadorned, without any painted designs—plain ware.

"Huh." However, upon moving closer, Wang Guan and the others were astonished to realize they had misjudged; the pieces weren't plain ware but cai ci (colored porcelain). The pure blue color was incredibly clear—distinctly sacrificial blue...

"What sacrificial blue? It should be sacrificial red," Wang Guan began, but Yu Feibai immediately refuted him. At first, Wang Guan thought Yu Feibai had simply misspoke, but the next second, as Bei Ye spoke, both he and Yu Feibai were stunned.

"Isn't this yellow?" Bei Ye asked, completely confused.

"Red, yellow, blue?" In an instant, Wang Guan and Yu Feibai realized something was off. After exchanging a look, they immediately turned to Elder Hou and the others, hoping for an explanation. As they sought answers, the group moved a few steps aside to examine the pieces more closely.

This time, they saw the problem. As the viewing angle changed, the glaze color of the porcelain shifted as well.

"What is happening?" Discovering this, the group kept shifting their positions and indeed found that the glaze color they saw was distinctly different with every change in angle. However, the variation was limited, only cycling through red, blue, and yellow.

"This is the effect of color-changing glaze," Elder Hou explained with a smile at that moment. "The process is complex, and I can't explain it all in a moment. In short, it's achieved through the combination of special body materials and glaze materials."

"Initially, it was just a single color, and after prolonged research, it evolved into two colors, then three." As he spoke, Elder Hou looked forward with longing. "However, if we delve deeper into the research, perhaps we could achieve all seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet."

"Elder Hou, you missed some. Add black and white, and that makes nine colors," a researcher nearby commented, smiling. "We are confident we can reach that stage. Even if we can't, little sister Yao definitely can..."

"That's right. With Little Yao's ability, she will certainly develop the perfect formula within a few years." In that moment, the team of researchers nodded in approval. Clearly, in just a few months, Yao Jing had won over her colleagues; no one looked down on her due to her young age.

(To be continued...)〖Book Net ∷ Fast Update ∷ No Pop-ups ∷ Pure Text ∷ www.〗RT