After Qi Yun finished instructing Zhong Rui, he hung up the phone.

He browsed through the unread messages on his phone and found one from Luo Yang.

The message was simple, 'The matter is settled, have him go to the municipal bureau to find Deputy Director Liao.'

Qi Yun replied with a thank you, then found Zhou Hongchang's number and dialed it.

The call took a long time to connect.

"Hello, Brother Qi."

"Sorry, I promised to get back to you the other day, but then something urgent came up, and I left for out of town early the next morning," Qi Yun apologized slightly, "Are you still in Bird City?"

"Haha, no worries." Zhou Hongchang forced a smile, "I'm not in Bird City, I'm already back in Shanshan."

Qi Yun could hear a hint of bitterness in his laughter and knew why.

For ordinary people, it truly is too difficult to make progress.

"You were looking for me the other day, was it about your job transfer?"

"Huh?" Zhou Hongchang was taken aback, "You already know?"

"Yeah, Director Zhang told me." Qi Yun's words were straightforward, and he took the opportunity to explain for Zhang Dayong as well, "His situation is quite special right now and requires him to lay low for a while."

"I understand, I understand." Zhou Hongchang quickly replied.

Even if he felt disappointed in Zhang Dayong deep down, he would bury it and never show it outwardly.

Qi Yun paused for a moment, then continued: "But I've kept your matter in mind. Yesterday, I asked a friend to help arrange it, and there should be no problem. You should come to Bird City as soon as you can and meet with Vice Director Liao at the municipal bureau. He'll make arrangements for you."

"Huh?" Zhou Hongchang was momentarily unresponsive.

"What? You're not willing?" Qi Yun joked.

Zhou Hongchang snapped back to his senses, his tone no longer as calm as before: "No! I'm willing! I'm willing! Thank you, Brother Qi! Thank you!"

"I'll head to Bird City right now!"

"Haha, alright, if nothing else, come over early."

"Okay! Do you have time in the evening? I'd like to thank you in person." Zhou Hongchang was very excited at heart. He originally thought this matter had no hope, but unexpectedly, before he even had the chance to ask, Qi Yun had already arranged everything for him.

"The tea leaves I prepared for you a couple of days ago, I'll bring them along for you to try." Zhou Hongchang added.

Qi Yun, being experienced, naturally understood the hidden meaning of the tea leaves and smiled as he refused: "I'm not short of tea leaves; you can ask Deputy Director Liao later. If he likes tea, just give it to him."

Zhou Hongchang still insisted: "Hey! How could that be? I prepared this especially for you, Deputy Director Liao, I'll arrange separately."

"No need, really." Qi Yun sighed, "To be honest, I put in a favor for this. If I didn't consider you a friend, I certainly wouldn't have done it."

"So don't play this game with me; if I need your help in the future, I'll let you know."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hongchang was silent for a moment, then replied firmly: "Alright, as long as it's within my capability, just say the word, and I won't hesitate to help!"

"You're being too serious, haha." Qi Yun grinned, understanding that in this day and age, people don't do good deeds without leaving a name. Even if you don't expect anything in return, at least the favor should be acknowledged, right?

Zhou Hongchang laughed along with him: "How about we find a place to eat tonight? Give me a chance to treat you to a good meal?"

"Not tonight." Qi Yun hesitated for a moment, "Tomorrow, I'm planning to go to the desert, and there are still quite a few things I haven't prepared."

"Let's do this another time; since you'll be in Bird City from now on, there'll be plenty of opportunities. Our time will come."

Seeing Qi Yun say this, Zhou Hongchang didn't insist: "Alright, call me when you get back."

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now."

After the call ended, Qi Yun put away his phone.

On the dining table, Zhao Qing had left him breakfast, and the millet porridge in the rice cooker was still warm.

Qi Yun quickly took a few bites, then swiftly freshened up and hurried out the door.

On the way to the new university, Qi Yun instructed Chen Wei: "Brother Wei, prepare for the evening. Tomorrow we're heading to Lop Nur."

"Lop Nur?" Chen Wei, who was driving, was surprised, but he didn't ask much despite his curiosity, "Alright, I understand."

"Yes, and let Pingyu know as well. The three of us, plus Zhong Rui, will go together."

"Alright."

The car quickly stopped at the entrance of the university, and Qi Yun took two boxes of tea leaves from the trunk, then stepped toward the history department.

What he had in hand was real tea leaves, not what Zhou Hongchang had mentioned.

Inside the office, Wei Xueming was deeply engrossed in studying something, and Qi Yun noticed the door was open, so he knocked lightly and walked in.

"Old Wei, long time no see, I came specifically to visit you." Qi Yun laughed as he approached the desk, placing two boxes of tea on it.

Wei Xueming looked up, adjusted his glasses: "It's been a while indeed, but are you really so kind to come and see me on purpose?"

Qi Yun was not embarrassed and replied with a grin: "You're always saying that, if I weren't so busy, I'd definitely come every week to learn from you."

Wei Xueming glanced at the tea leaves in his hand, without hesitation, reached out to take them, then waved his hand: "Alright, I got the message, if there's nothing else, you can leave, I've got some paperwork to finish."

Qi Yun rubbed his hands, took two steps back, and sat down on the sofa: "Hehe, no hurry, no hurry."

Wei Xueming chuckled: "I knew you weren't so kind-hearted, just say whatever you need."

"You really can't hide anything from you." Qi Yun licked his lips and got straight to the point, "Here's the thing, I plan to visit the vicinity of the Ancient Loulan ruins soon, and I wanted to know from you if there's any famous treasure from the history of Ancient Loulan that even foreigners might know of."

"Ancient Loulan?" Wei Xueming was taken aback, "Why would you go there for no reason?"

"No specific reason, just that I've been dreamin' about it lately, feels like something in the ether is kinda guiding me, so I'm quite curious and planning to check it out." Qi Yun fabricated a reason.

"Hmph, you're kidding me." Wei Xueming glared at him, took a sip from his tea mug, "You probably meant Loulan Ancient City, not Ancient Loulan, right?"

"What's the difference?" Qi Yun asked.

"Of course, there's a difference." Wei Xueming began to explain to him, "Ancient Loulan existed around 200 BC, it was a must-travel route on the Silk Road back then, and had a brilliant and prosperous era."

"But later, it suddenly vanished from the continent swiftly, without leaving any traces."

"There are rumors that they underwent an unprecedented sandstorm, fully buried underground; or some say it was due to a sudden plague that wiped out the entire nation... to this day, there hasn't been a definitive reason."

"Until the late 19th century, Swedish explorer Sven Hedin accidentally discovered an ancient city ruins at Lop Nur and unearthed a large number of coins, grains, pottery and other artifacts."

"Among these artifacts, some documents had the 'Loulan' inscription, which confirmed that this site was one of the city ruins of Ancient Loulan back then, now known as Loulan Ancient City."

"However, historically, Ancient Loulan was as large as the present-day Fujian Province, the found ruins known as Loulan Ancient City is just one of its many cities, do you understand this now?"

After listening, Qi Yun nodded thoughtfully: "Got it."

"So, did any famous treasure from the history of Ancient Loulan exist?"

Wei Xueming gave him a peculiar look: "Are you obsessed with treasure hunting?"

Qi Yun rubbed his nose: "Haha, don't say, but yeah, a bit."

Wei Xueming smiled helplessly: "Actually, there are very few clear records on Ancient Loulan in the existing literature, mostly verified through artifacts unearthed later."

"Historically, this kingdom, as one of the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions, wasn't too prominent. The reason it stands out among other small Western Regions countries is mainly because its disappearance hasn't been confirmed, not because of any widely-known treasures."

"However, I once read in a book a rather interesting theory, suggesting that the last king of Ancient Loulan, Vasumana, somehow acquired a stone tablet, believed it was a revelation from the Sun God, leading to the path of eternal life."

"Later, this news reached the Xiong Nu leader, bringing catastrophe to Ancient Loulan, with elite forces dispatched to seize the tablet, leading to its downfall."

"A stone tablet? The path to eternal life?" Qi Yun murmured, "Why does it sound so unreliable?"

Wei Xueming shook his head dismissively: "I've mentioned it's merely a theory, I personally lean more toward environmental factors causing the decline of Ancient Loulan."

Qi Yun thoughtfully rubbed his chin: "So, the so-called 'Eternal Life Stele' is merely a legend?"

"What else do you think?" Wei Xueming put down his tea mug, pointing to a book on the shelf titled "Western Regions Archaeological Records," "Sven Hedin unearthed Kharosthi Wooden Scrolls in Loulan Ancient City, which recorded matters such as farming and trade, nowhere mentioned any stone tablet."

"Though, similar Sun God Totem Stone Carvings were uncovered in Xiong Nu tombs, quite similar to the Central Plains' 'Golden Crow Carrying the Sun.'

Qi Yun remained silent for a long time, pondering deeply, still unable to fathom the significance of the coordinate point in the intelligence, if it truly aligns with a location on the shipwreck map, what exists at this location?

The Louis Family pursued for a thousand years mustn't be an ordinary treasure...

At this time, Wei Xueming spoke again, his eyes fixed on Qi Yun: "Be honest with me, do you have some clue, wanting to find a certain thing?"

Qi Yun smiled bitterly: "Old Wei, why don't you believe me, I'm really not specifically looking for anything, just exploring."

Wei Xueming smirked: "I might believe others, but you... can even dig out the Qingnang Book, what else is impossible for you..."

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