Relic

The strong smell of blood filled the air and did not dissipate for a long time. The sound of the surging seawater entered the room like thunder. At dawn, rays of sunlight shone into the room through the window. It was warm.

When Mu Ling woke up, the man had already left.

He left a note on the cabinet, which read: Thank you, please contact me when you reach Jing city. 

There was a phone number at the end of the note.

Mu Ling smiled and put the note into his pocket. She then took out a hard object from her pocket. It was a coin with a lion's head carved on it. The coin was black and looked like a shield from medieval Europe.

The lion's head was exquisitely carved. The lion had a mighty expression and an imposing aura. It looked expensive, but he didn't know what material it was made of.

This coin belonged to the man from last night. He probably dropped it when he broke into the room and Mu Ling put it away because she recognized the Lion Head symbol. It was the family emblem of the Zuo family, one of the four big families in Jing city. She thought that maybe she could use this coin to hug onto the Zuo family's golden thigh!

The ship arrived at Jing city at noon on time. Mu Ling didn't have much luggage with her, only a small suitcase and a sandalwood box. After getting off the boat, she looked at the bustling capital city and felt very emotional. After 80 years, everything had changed when she returned to this place.

No one from the Mu family had come to pick her up, but they had given her an address. She left the pier and hailed a taxi.

After getting in the car, the driver asked, "where are we going? Young girl."

"Mister, do you know where I can find a shop to repair this?" She pointed to the sandalwood box in her hand. One of the iron sheets was loose, and she wanted to fix it.

The driver "Hey, little girl, this looks like an old thing. It must be quite valuable, right?"

Mu Ling, "Really? I don't really understand."

"Definitely!" The driver replied. "Look at the craftsmanship and the pattern, Oh! There are also carved patterns. Little girl, where did you get this thing?"

"It's a relic."

Mu Ling said indifferently.

The driver's expression froze. After a while, he said, "Alright, you've asked the right person today. I really do know where to fix it."

Half an hour later, the driver dropped Mu Ling off at the entrance of an alley. This was the largest antique market in the capital.

"Young lady, you can walk straight into this alley. When you see a shop called 'Ling Bao Zhai', you can just enter."

"Thank you, master," Mu Ling replied. After saying that, she carried her suitcase and the sandalwood box into the alley. After a while, she saw the antique shop called "Ling Baozhai."

There weren't many people in the shop, and it was quite deserted. The boss's eyes lit up when he saw Mu Ling. This little girl was wearing a retro long shirt and a pair of exquisite black gloves. Her appearance was outstanding, and her temperament was extraordinary. She was really too beautiful!

"Boss, can you fix this box?" Mu Ling's voice was clear and melodious as she placed the box on the counter.

The boss looked at the sandalwood box, and his eyes immediately lit up. "Little girl, where did you get this box? This is a precious thing!"

Mu Ling, "It's a relic."

"Are you selling it?"

"I'm only repairing it, I'm not selling." Mu Ling said.

The boss's face was full of pity.

"Can it be fixed?" Mu Ling asked.

The boss smiled and said, "if I can't fix it here, then there's no place else to fix it. But I have to take a plane to Shun city later. Why don't you leave the box with me first? When I come back and fix it, you can come back and get it. How about it?"

"I want to fix it today," Mu Ling said with a frown.

The boss looked embarrassed and said, "that might be..."

"Forget it, if you can't fix it, I'll just find someone else." She didn't have the time to make another trip.

The boss thought for a few seconds and said, "okay! Seeing that you're a new customer, I'll help you fix it. The price is a bit high, and your loose iron sheet needs to be re-nailed. It's very troublesome."

"Yeah, as long as it can be fixed."

"No problem," the boss said. "Then you can sit over there and wait. Give me half an hour."

Mu Ling put down her luggage, but she didn't go over to sit. Instead, she looked around the store. The shop wasn't big, but it was full of antiques. Suddenly, her eyes fell on a jade bangle. The bangle was placed in a glass box. The entire bangle was completely green and was wrapped in a circle of gold thread. It was very beautiful.

"It's here!" Mu Ling exclaimed in surprise.

"You know about this bangle?" The owner asked.

"Yes, it's mine," Mu Ling said.

"Yours? Young lady, you must be joking. That bracelet is at least a hundred years old." The boss said.