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After Mrs. Zhou's emotions had calmed somewhat, Shen Tong gently asked, "Mrs. Zhou, could you please recall if Mr. Zhou has shown any unusual behavior recently? Or mentioned anything out of the ordinary?"
Mrs. Zhou rested her right hand on her chin, thinking carefully for a moment before suddenly looking up and saying, "Well, it’s not particularly strange, but over the past half month, Zi Jun has indeed become exceptionally cautious. A few days ago, he suddenly asked a friend to purchase a foreign-made safe and locked his research notes and some rubbings inside. When I asked him why he was being so careful, he just patted my head and smiled, saying, 'Some discoveries are too important and need to be properly safeguarded.' At the time, I thought it was just a scholar's quirk, but now that I think about it..."
Lin Mingchang exchanged glances with Captain Lu, who then asked seriously, "Mrs. Zhou, where is that safe now? Would it be possible for us to take a look?"
Mrs. Zhou glanced at Captain Lu and then at Lin Mingchang, hesitating before saying, "The safe is in Zi Jun's study. Could it... really be related to his research?"
Zhou Zijun's study was located at the end of the second floor, facing southeast, and it was a room with excellent lighting. The two walls of the study were lined with bookshelves filled with various books, especially ancient texts bound in silk.
By the window stood a large rosewood desk, its surface scattered with several sheets of densely written notes and a few ancient rubbings. On the walls hung several carefully framed rubbings of Chu Jian, each accompanied by an explanatory label written in Zhou Zijun's own hand.
In the center of the room hung a massive cursive scroll of "Yellow Crane Tower," its vigorous strokes sealed with Zi Jun's red stamp—likely one of Zhou Zijun's proudest works during his lifetime.
"This is Zi Jun's favorite place," Mrs. Zhou said softly as she caressed the desk with nostalgia in her eyes. "Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can still see the light on in the study."
Lin Mingchang looked around and his gaze fell upon a dark green metal safe next to the desk. "Is this the safe Mr. Zhou purchased recently?"
Mrs. Zhou nodded and took off a delicate chain from around her neck that held a small brass key. "Zi Jun gave me a spare key and said that if anything happened, I must take good care of what’s inside the safe." Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, "I never expected it would be so soon..."
"Madam, my condolences," Shen Tong said softly to comfort her.
With a long sigh, Mrs. Zhou opened the safe to reveal neatly arranged stacks of documents and a thick leather-bound notebook inside.
Lin Mingchang put on his white gloves and carefully took out the notebook. The cover was inscribed with large characters that read "Chu Jian · The Whisper of the Yellow Swan Research."
" The Whisper of the Yellow Swan?" Lin Mingchang murmured softly as he looked at Mrs. Zhou in confusion.
"This is Zi Jun's recent research topic," Mrs. Zhou replied. "He mentioned it to me briefly; it seems to be an ancient script from the State of Chu that has long been lost—something only heard of in legends—but clues have been found in newly unearthed bamboo slips."
Lin Mingchang opened the notebook to find it densely filled with various ancient characters, analyses, and derivation processes. Some pages even had small rubbings or photographs of Chu Jian text attached alongside various references.
"These symbols..." Shen Tong leaned closer to examine them and recalled, "Some are remarkably similar to the tattoos on the bodies."
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