Under the expectant eyes of Elaine and the others, Xiao Ran took out the sheepskin scroll from the safe and placed it on the desk.
He was not in a hurry to open the scroll and reveal the answer, but pretended to look at it carefully.
Elaine and Fang Yufei were like two curious babies, looking at the parchment scroll with bright eyes, trying to figure out something.
It's a pity that they didn't find anything new, just like what they saw before in Songshizhai.
This sheepskin scroll is relatively crudely made. The two brass axes are each engraved with a plump little angel. The craftsmanship is very poor.
Due to the erosion of time, the sheepskin has turned yellow, and there are even signs of ulceration on the edges at both ends.
It can be seen that the manufacturing process of this parchment is also very poor.
Fortunately, it was not very old, so it was basically preserved intact and did not completely decay.
If it had been left alone for dozens or hundreds of years, this sheepskin scroll would probably no longer exist.
There are no words or patterns on the outside of this parchment, let alone a treasure map.
"Honey, where is the treasure map you mentioned?"
Elaine asked in surprise, and Fang Yufei was also confused.
"Don't worry, you will soon witness a miracle happen"
With that said, Xiao Ran untied the ribbon binding the sheepskin scroll, and then slowly opened the scroll.
What is drawn on this parchment scroll is an ordinary map of the United States, and it is not very standard, and it is a bit cartoony.
On this map, there is no mark where the treasure is buried, and there is no winding treasure hunt route map.
Elaine and the others had looked at this sheepskin map before when they were at Songshizhai, but found nothing.
When I looked again at this time, I found nothing new.
After fully unfolding the map, Xiao Ran took a quick glance.
Then, he picked up the scissors placed next to him, pressed them against the brass scroll, and cut out the sheepskin map in a few strokes.
His action shocked Elaine and the others.
"Ah! Why did you cut out this parchment map?"
Xiao Ran smiled and then explained the reason.
"This sheepskin map is just a cover, used to confuse people's eyes, so that people make misjudgments and insist on studying this map."
"The real secret is actually hidden in this brass scroll. It is very hidden and difficult to find."
"I found some clues through the weight of this brass scroll and some carvings on it, and thus made this inference."
"Look at the incised lines on the surface of the scroll. Are they slightly deeper than the incised lines on the side of the scroll? But they are not very obvious."
As he spoke, he pointed to several engraved lines on the surface of the scroll that seemed to have nothing special about them.
Under his prompting, the two beauties soon discovered something.
"Yes, these lines do look a little deeper, and they are still connected to each other."
Elaine said excitedly.
In fact, if it weren't for Xiao Ran's reminder, even if they were asked to stare at the brass scroll for a year, they might not be able to discover this.
On this point, shopkeeper Lao Wang of Songshizhai is a lesson learned from the past.
It has been more than ten years since he got this sheepskin scroll, but he still hasn't discovered this, let alone Elaine and the others!
"In addition to these special engraved lines, the weight of this brass scroll is also relatively light, indicating that it is hollow and rolled up with a piece of copper sheet."
With that said, Xiao Ran picked up other tools placed nearby and began to dismantle the brass scroll.
In the process, he was very careful lest he cause some irreparable damage.
About ten minutes later, he had removed the two shaft heads of the brass scroll, and the shaft barrel was flattened into a rectangular piece of copper sheet.
As he expected, there was indeed a secret hidden inside this copper sheet.
This is a rectangular map, but it is engraved on this copper sheet using the technique of positive engraving.
At first glance, this map looks like a subway map of a certain city, and it looks a bit familiar.
It's just that because it was engraved backwards, it couldn't be seen clearly for a while.
If you want to see this map clearly, just print it and the answer will be revealed naturally.
Looking at the map engraved on the copper plate, Elaine and Fang Yufei were completely dumbfounded.
"Wow! There is actually a treasure map hidden in this brass scroll. It's incredible!"
"I wonder where this treasure map points to? What amazing treasures are hidden in that place? I really want to find this treasure right away."
Elaine said in amazement, her eyes shining with excitement.
"This treasure map is so cleverly hidden, no wonder it hasn't been discovered for decades."
"There is no doubt that this treasure must be amazing, otherwise it would not be so painstakingly hidden."
“And this is a modern treasure, which makes it even rarer!”
Fang Yufei continued, also very excited.
"It's not easy to know where this mysterious treasure is."
"We only need to rub this treasure map, and we will know the answer immediately."
With that said, Xiao Ran was ready to make rubbings.
At this moment, Fang Yufei shook her head gently.
"Xiao Ran, we just need to know that there is such a treasure and it can satisfy our curiosity."
"As for the detailed information about this treasure, there is no need to know it so clearly. Knowing too much may not be a good thing!"
"It's fine for you to know something like this, you don't need to tell us."
"Let's go out first and enjoy the treasures in the four boxes later."
After saying that, she pulled Elaine, who was a little confused, out of the study.
When she was about to walk out of the study, Elaine just realized what she was doing and nodded immediately.
"Yu Fei is right, my dear, you only need to know the details of this treasure. There is no need to tell us!"
"That will be more conducive to confidentiality. Anyway, you will take us with you when you explore this treasure in the future."
Before they finished speaking, the two of them had already walked out of the study.
Xiao Ran was stunned for a moment, and then laughed softly.
Next, he took action and started rubbing the treasure map.
After a while, a clear treasure map appeared in front of him.
In fact, he had already understood the contents of this treasure map by heart through clairvoyance.
The series of actions just now, including the rubbing, were just a performance, to avoid Elaine and the others from becoming suspicious.
After the rubbing was completed, Xiao Ran glanced at the treasure map and threw it into the shredder.
Immediately afterwards, he walked into the bathroom with the paper basket, burned all the scraps of paper into ashes, and flushed them into the sewer.
After coming out of the bathroom, he smashed the piece of copper flat again, then cut it into strips and twisted them into twists one by one.
All it takes is a trip to the garage and a spray gun to turn them into molten copper.
At this point, even if this treasure map completely disappears from the world, it will only exist in Xiao Ran's mind and no one can steal it.
Half an hour later, Elaine and Fang Yufei returned to the study.
At this time, the study room has been tidied up.
Xiao Ran took out all four boxes from the portable safe and placed them one by one on the large and sturdy desk.
Although they had made a high-profile gesture before, Elaine and the others were still very curious.
As soon as they entered the door, the two beauties asked in unison:
"Dear (Xiao Ran), when are we going to explore this treasure?"
Xiao Ran did not hide anything from them and immediately gave the answer.
"It should be soon. This treasure is in New York, and it's in Manhattan."
"If you want to go to New York to explore this treasure, there is still a lot of preparation work to be done and a lot of relationships to be coordinated."
"So we must make plans early and try our best to find and clean up this mysterious treasure before winter comes!"
Before she finished speaking, the two beauties were already amazed.
"It turns out to be New York. No wonder the traffic map looks familiar to me."
"I think I saw a map like that in a certain movie. It was a map of New York. I just can't remember which movie it was from!"
After chatting for a while, Elaine and the others shifted their attention to the four exquisite boxes on the table.
"Honey, can you open these four boxes and let us see what treasures are inside?"
Elaine asked curiously.
"Of course, no problem. You two beauties, please open your eyes!"
Xiao Ran said with a proud smile.
He opened the first red sandalwood box on the left without any further pretense.
Following this action, a tripod covered with green patina immediately appeared in front of everyone.
"Ah! It's actually a three-legged bronze tripod, and there seems to be several inscriptions on it."
Fang Yufei exclaimed in surprise.
As a Chinese, she certainly knows the special status of the tripod in ancient Chinese culture.
She also knew what the bronze tripod with the inscription meant.
That is a very important weapon of the country!