Under the continuous pursuit of the British Museum, the matter finally made new progress. As soon as he received the news, Harwitt rushed over.
"Director, we found this outside the museum."
The yellow paper came into view, and the writing on it looked like ghostly symbols, but no one could understand it.
"What is this?"
"The characters above seem to be Daxia characters?"
Harvitt was still well-informed. He pondered for a moment and said: "This seems to be a Taoist talisman from Daxia, and it seems to have been used."
But he didn't know what the talisman meant specifically.
"Director, we have asked the cleaning staff before. This talisman did not exist before, so I suspect that this talisman is related to the thief."
How can there be such a coincidence in the world?
The lost cultural relic happens to be from Daxia. Outside the scene, there is another mysterious talisman from Daxia. Although it is outside the museum, it is difficult not to think that there is some connection between it.
A deep doubt appeared in Harvit's eyes, "Could the theft be related to Daxia?"
"I think it's probably true. Didn't Daxia have been negotiating with the curator before, hoping that we can return the cultural relics to them?"
"Mr. Curator, why don't we go ask Daxia and figure out the meaning of this talisman first. If it really has something to do with them, Daxia must give an explanation."
Harvett shook his head, "It's just a talisman. It can be of any use, but it doesn't mean anything. Our top priority is to keep it confidential and not let the outside world know about the theft."
There is currently no clear evidence pointing to Daxia's actions, but judging from these two points, they are inextricably related to Daxia.
Or maybe someone is playing tricks?
If it was just to frame Daxia, there was no need.
Lawrence and Harvitt couldn't figure out the reason even after racking their brains, so they could only collect the talisman for the time being.
Zhao Jianhua, who was causing a stir in the British Museum at the moment, had already boarded the nearest flight back to Daxia, taking the wine gourd and jade pendant with him.
Although the British Museum suppressed the news of the theft, there is no airtight wall in the world. I don’t know who leaked the news.
Many people have been calling the museum these days, and the phone numbers were almost buzzing at one point. Countless emails flew in like snowflakes, leaving the curator and others in a state of distress.
"Didn't we agree to block the news and prevent it from being known to the outside world? What is going on now?"
Harvitt threw the newspaper in his hand in front of Lawrence, his face so gloomy that he could shed water.
"Lawrence, how did you become the security captain? You couldn't even catch a thief, and you made this incident known to everyone. The museum's face was almost lost to you."
I saw the words "Museum Stolen" in huge black letters on the top center page of the newspaper, which looked shocking.
"Director, something is wrong with the director!"
Another staff member ran over with a hurried look.
Harvitt rubbed his forehead, "What happened again!"
"There are many reporters outside, wanting to interview you, the curator. It's noisy outside right now. It can be said to be a mess."
At this point, the news couldn't be suppressed at all. All Harvitt could do now was to try his best to restore the reputation of the museum. After gathering his emotions, he came to the door.
In addition to the reporters, there were also many people who were not too concerned about the excitement. Seeing Harvitt's arrival, there was a moment of commotion in the crowd.
"Director Harwitt, what do you think of the theft in the museum? Is it due to improper maintenance of the museum?"
"I heard that the museum has not caught the murderer yet, and there are no clues. Didn't you take corresponding security measures when preserving the cultural relics?"
"Is the museum really just losing one cultural relic? Are there other cultural relics missing, but you just didn't make it public in order to protect your reputation?"
The reporter's questions became more and more sharp. The formulaic smile on Harvitt's face slowly faded. He took a deep breath and then said:
"The museum's security measures are very good. You don't have to worry about this. Only one cultural relic is missing in the museum now. It was just an accident. We will investigate clearly."
Apparently reporters didn't buy Harvit's official statement.
"But according to the information we know, you have not caught the thief so far, and there are no clues. If the thief comes again next time, it will be a great threat to other cultural relics in the museum."
The smile on Harvitt's face had disappeared. Lawrence next to him saw that the situation was not good and stepped forward.
"I'm sorry, our curator is a little uncomfortable. We will solve the problems everyone raised. We also hope that everyone can give us some time."
Soon the British Museum published an official Weibo, which probably meant to condemn the thieves who stole cultural relics. In addition, a reward was offered for clues, hoping to mobilize the power of the people to uncover the thief.
This incident caused a lot of waves in Country Y. There was a lot of noise on the Internet, and people in Country Y were furious.
"I never thought it would be stolen from the British Museum."
"The British Museum is one of the four major museums in the world. Is the security system just a decoration? It can be stolen. Is the curator responsible for negligence?"
"This matter must be taken seriously. If one thing is lost now, what if ten or hundreds of things are lost in the future?"
"Director Harwitt must give us an explanation, and the thief must be caught, otherwise we will not be able to feel at ease."
If it were a small museum, it might not attract so many people's attention. After all, it is the world-famous British Museum. Not only domestically, but even the Internet is hotly discussing this matter.
Since the lost cultural relics belonged to Daxia, and the news was so popular on the Internet, it naturally spread back to China. Compared with the international comments condemning the thieves, domestic netizens applauded.
"What a good steal. Who did it? I respect him as a good man. No matter which country he is from, he will be my good half-brother, Mr. Li!"
"The British Museum still has the nerve to condemn others. How did they obtain those cultural relics? They didn't have any idea, and they deserved to be stolen."
"This wave is just a thief shouting to catch a thief. It's really funny. Let me tell you a cold joke. A robber said that he was patronized by a thief, and he tried to mobilize the crowd to help catch the thief."
"The cycle of nature brings unfavorable retribution. When they stole and plundered cultural relics from other countries, they never thought that such a day would come."
"This strong man should steal more. Just one piece is too little. It's best to empty out the museum and don't leave even a scum to this group of people."
"Well, although I know there is little hope, I still hope that the government can negotiate with Country Y and let the cultural relics go home as soon as possible."
On the other side of the ocean, as public opinion continues to ferment, and even the government has put a lot of pressure on the British Museum, Director Harwitt can be said to be in a state of distress.
"Why are these people just staring at this matter? They are like a swarm of flies."
As the museum's security guard and confidant, Lawrence had an idea.
"Now the outside world thinks that our museum has failed in its responsibility. If we can find a way to divert their attention——"
He changed the subject and hinted: "Director, do you still remember the mysterious yellow talisman we found at the scene? Maybe we can use this."
Harvitt is a smart man and quickly understood what he meant and quickly posted an official Weibo.
It’s just that this time the official Weibo is a bit special. In addition to the statement, there is also a picture, and the official Weibo of Daxia is aptly mentioned.
"The lost cultural relics come from Daxia, and we found yellow symbols at the scene, which are most likely marks left by the thieves! Therefore, we hope that Daxia officials can help us conduct a joint investigation and recover the stolen items as soon as possible."
Although the words were high-sounding, they didn't mention anyone by name. They said that people from Daxia came to steal things and threw the blame away.
When the official person in charge of Daxia saw this statement, he almost fainted from Country Y's shamelessness. Of course, he ignored them. After all, this matter had nothing to do with them. It could be said that people were sitting at home and the pot came from the sky.
Of course, for the sake of international reputation and public opinion, we could not just sit idly by. Daxia officials immediately edited a statement and published it, but they did not condemn this theft, but instead gave it a thumbs up.
As for asking them to help, it is absolutely impossible. After all, although this kind of thing cannot be supported openly, it must be loved secretly!
Unless country Y agrees to return all Daxia cultural relics, Daxia will consider helping.
But how could the British Museum agree to this request? Naturally, the two sides broke up on bad terms. They had no concrete evidence in hand. Apart from posting a few indifferent official tweets, they could not do anything to Daxia.
For a time, the British Museum's voice caused a lot of waves in the country.
"Don't think of us when something goes wrong. If something goes wrong, come to us. If you find the talisman on the spot, say it was done by us Daxia. If a bandage is found, can you still say that the mummy did it?"
"The British Museum is crazy, you can think of all these excuses."
"Although it is very possible that they are shirking their responsibilities, this talisman is indeed strange. Is there any knowledgeable person who can tell me what kind of talisman this is?"
"Based on my ten years of experience in drawing symbols, I can't tell what it is. I always feel that the symbols on it are very high and unpredictable."
"Shouldn't the Aite Taoist Association be here? Let them come and take a look."
Many netizens have followed Taoist-related websites, but no one has recognized what kind of talisman this is.
The talisman paper came from a strange and mysterious place. Although the British Museum is suspected of blaming it, it was indeed found at the crime scene, which still aroused the interest of many people.
Slowly, attention shifted from the British Museum to the talisman.
Kyoto Archaeological Research Center.
There was a lot of buzz about the theft in the British Museum. As a cultural relic protection and research organization, they naturally paid attention to this news in the industry.
"Professor Song, those people in Country Y are so shameless and have the nerve to ask us to help."
"Isn't that right! Just steal them all back. They are all cultural relics of my Daxia!"
"But this talisman looks familiar, as if I've seen it somewhere."
"Hey, Xiao Zhang, don't you specialize in Taoist cultural content? Come and take a look. Do you recognize what type of talisman this is?"
"This talisman paper is a bit strange. It is different from ordinary yellow talismans. It seems to be a new style created in a different way."
A few young people were having a lively discussion there. Professor Song, who was passing by, also listened to a few words and couldn't help but look at the pictures on his phone.
"It does seem a bit familiar."
He couldn't help but squint his eyes, not knowing what he thought of, then his face changed slightly, he picked up his phone and enlarged the picture, and looked at it carefully.
Professor Song pondered for a moment and said, "Do you still remember when we were at Qiguang Temple before?"
Everyone was confused, "How come Professor Song, why did you mention Qiguang Temple?"
Professor Song pointed to the picture of the talisman on his mobile phone and said word by word: "Don't you think this talisman is exactly the same as the one you saw in the temple before?"
Everyone was stunned when they heard what Professor Song said, and then found out that it was true.
Although the content of the talisman paper is different, judging from the handwriting on it, it is exactly the same, obviously written by the same person.
When it comes to identifying cultural relics, what they pay most attention to is details, and even the slightest trace of difference can be found.
Therefore, whether the two talismans are the same or not comes from the same source and cannot escape their eyes.
Moreover, this incident was a big deal in Qiguang Temple at that time. The gangsters kidnapped hostages, and later the so-called "talisman manifested" appeared, and the thunder from the sky punished the gangsters, so they were particularly impressed by this.
"It's strange. Didn't Qiguang Temple say that this talisman paper was painted by an expert? How come it has traveled across the ocean and appeared in the British Museum, and is even connected to the disappearance of cultural relics?"
"Could it be a coincidence? It's just a similarity. After all, we haven't seen it with our own eyes. Maybe someone knew what happened at Qiguang Temple and wanted to imitate it."
"I don't rule out the possibility of someone imitating it, but it's too similar, and it's too much of a coincidence."
"Do you think this talisman paper also has some kind of magical effect? Someone relied on the power of the talisman paper to successfully steal the cultural relics!"
Some people have great imagination, but they are close to the truth invisibly.
People in the research center were discussing this a lot, but they were only discussing it privately. After all, it would be difficult for anyone to believe it if it was told.
Not only them, but also the people who had experienced the "Appearance of Talisman Paper" incident in Qiguang Temple before also noticed it.
The pictures released by the British Museum were similar to the talismans they had seen, and it also caused quite a ripple in their hearts.
The experience of Qiguang Temple can be said to be unforgettable and will never be forgotten.
Many people saw with their own eyes that the thunder and lightning struck the gangster as if it had eyes, but the two hostages were fine. Many people believed that the talisman appeared.
The original talisman could summon thunder and lightning and punish the gangsters. So, would the talisman in the British Museum have any magical effect?
(End of chapter)
