Professor Gu: "Very good, Kitty, you're making great progress. I've already seen the artifacts. Please keep up the good work and make sure to protect them well."
“I know,” the cat said.
Professor Gu chuckled. "Kitty, you sent me those materials because you had questions for me, didn't you? Why aren't you saying anything now?"
The cat said, "Because I was wondering if you would answer me honestly if I asked."
Professor Gu: "Hahaha, you little rascal, you dare to say anything... Fine, ask away, how will you know if I'll tell you or not if you don't ask?"
The cat did indeed ask, "Does this shipwreck look familiar to you?"
Professor Gu said, "The ship is in such a state, completely unrecognizable, why does it look familiar to me? Besides, this shipwreck is probably older than me, why does it look familiar to me?"
Cat pursed her lips. "Professor Gu, you're not telling Cat the truth... I've already seen the artifacts that were salvaged. They're all old objects, but they definitely weren't taken out to sea with the ship. This ship is much older and has been sunk there for much longer."
This can only mean one thing: this ancient shipwreck was discovered long ago, and at least seventy years ago, someone had already found it and entered the cabins.
Cat paused for a moment, then said, "Since you've been inside before, you should be familiar with it, right, Professor Gu?"
Professor Gu remained silent.
After a long time, so long that Cat was wondering if Professor Gu had fallen asleep, she suddenly heard him say, "Cat, how did you determine that the ship and the artifacts didn't sink together?"
By saying that, he was practically admitting what the cat said!
Cat yawned and said, "Didn't Cat already say that? Because I've already seen the artifacts."
Professor Gu paused in surprise. He had experienced everything in his life, but even now, his voice trembled slightly as he asked, "Could it be... a mirage?!"
The cat hummed in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Professor Gu became even more excited. Holding the phone, he muttered to himself, "It's actually a mirage! The supreme magic of the Yao Sect! Now someone has actually inherited it. Even the old sect leader himself said that he only learned the basics and had not yet reached the point of seeing through the past and present lives of cultural relics."
After his excitement subsided a little, he seemed to remember that he was still on the phone with Maomao, so he asked in confusion, "Maomao, the Mirror Flower Water Moon technique was clearly sealed in the Eight Gates Secret Techniques, so how did you learn it?"
The cat said it casually, "Because I am the master of the gate."
Professor Gu was taken aback, then chuckled. “That’s true. You’re the head of the sect, so this kind of thing isn’t something outsiders can inquire about… In that case, I’m relieved. With the Mirror Flower and Water Moon in your hands, there shouldn’t be any artifacts that can stump you.”
After a pause, Professor Gu continued, "That's right, the artifacts you salvaged today belong to our ship back then..."
There's definitely a story behind this.
It turns out that when Professor Gu was young, the leader of the Eight Gates once went to sea to search for the secret techniques of the Eight Gates, but something else happened along the way.
At that time, the sea was also very chaotic, with pirates everywhere. Professor Gu and his group encountered a group of pirates who were plundering a ship with a lot of cargo. By the time they passed by, the battle was over.
A large area of the sea was stained red, and many corpses were thrown overboard.
The pirates had made a considerable haul and initially didn't want to bother with Professor Gu's ship. However, Professor Gu and his crew deliberately provoked the pirates! This was because they discovered that much of the cargo originated from China!
Although there were many pirates, they were only good at dealing with ordinary people, and they had no advantage against the leaders of the Eight Gates!
Professor Gu and his team dealt with the pirates and moved the cargo onto their ship.
And so, they continued their search for the Eight Gates Secret Technique with a shipment of goods.
They reached the designated sea area, but they did not find the place where the Eight Gates Secret Technique was sealed, and they encountered trouble there!
Another wave of pirate cats boarded their ship, and the battle was fierce. Although all the pirates were killed, they also paid a heavy price.
Professor Gu concluded by saying, "Our ship was bombed, and we couldn't bring back anything from it, so we simply sank it along with the cargo into that ancient shipwreck."
The cat asked, "Haven't you looked for it again all these years?"
Professor Gu said, "Of course I've looked for it. I personally led a team there twice. However, the location of the shipwreck has changed, and there has been no news for many years. I am relieved that we were able to find it this time. Once the cultural relics are successfully transported back, my long-cherished wish will be fulfilled."
After listening, the cat simply let out a soft "oh," seemingly no longer curious.
Professor Gu said, "Cat, only you know now that this ancient shipwreck is of extraordinary significance... It may be related to the Eight Gates Secret Technique, a point we didn't have the chance to verify at the time..."
Even disregarding the Eight Gates Secret Techniques, this ancient shipwreck sank at least four hundred years ago, and the value of its artifacts is immeasurable. If any are found, they must be brought back! They absolutely cannot fall into the hands of other countries!
Cat: "Yes, cat knows."
After hanging up the phone, the cat thought for a while and didn't tell anyone else about it.
Firstly, with Fifth True One present, it's not appropriate to discuss the Eight Gates openly. Secondly, if this matter were so simple, Mu Jin and the others would have known long ago.
Professor Gu, Granny Mu, Old Man Ye, Old Man Tan, and even the old man from the Song family were all in the know and had participated in the past. How could they not have told their grandson?
What the cat was curious about was that Professor Gu hadn't actually told her everything...
He only gave a rough outline, which seemed to be fine. However, Maomao had already asked Jiuyebai to investigate the Yamashita family. The time when Yamashita Haraichi went to China coincided perfectly with the time when Professor Gu and his group went to sea.
Even the cat suspects that Yamashita Haraichi was involved in this, so why doesn't Professor Gu say anything?
...
at the same time.
The atmosphere on the Japanese ship was unusually somber!
The only sound in the cabin was the sound of the waves; no one dared to breathe.
Yamashita, whose face was once handsome, now had a gloomy expression. He finally spoke: "You are all excellent samurai of the Yamashita family! You have undergone brutal training for this day, but on the very first day, we have already lost two of you! Even if you go to heaven, how will you face my grandfather!"
"I'm so disappointed in you all!"
Four people stood there stiffly, their heads bowed in shame.
One of them mustered his courage and said, "Young Master, don't the artifacts we salvaged today have any value?"
Yamashita's anger remained unabated. "Those are not what we're looking for at all! You are all battle-hardened warriors! Are you even inferior to those pampered young masters of China?!"
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