chapter 20 Compass of unknown purpose

The waiter in the restaurant cleared the table and even replaced the tablecloth with a new one. Looking at the delicious lobster and red wine, Edgar Austin had no appetite at all. The way Julianna looked at him made him feel a little uncomfortable. Julianna's eyes were very special, as if they could penetrate his soul and discover all his secrets. "Aren't you in Kyoto? Why are you back in Haizhu?"Edgar Austin broke the silence between the two. "I'll come back to find you."Julianna said. "Is something wrong?"Edgar Austin seemed to be influenced by her, and his words became concise and to the point. Julianna opened his handbag and took out an ancient cast iron key. Edgar Austin was stunned because the cast iron key she was holding was the Ming Dynasty key he had welded! "Did you weld it?"Julianna looked straight at Edgar Austin. Edgar Austin nodded, "I welded it, but... why is it here with you?" Julianna said: "I've actually been paying attention to you, and I know everything you do." Edgar Austin's brows suddenly frowned, "Are you spying on me?" Julianna neither admitted nor denied, but changed the topic, "The police in Haizhu City arrested the two criminals who killed Professor Zhang Boqing and recovered the key. An expert has seen the key you welded and called it It's a miracle. He said that even a welding engineer with ten years of experience couldn't do such a welding process. How did you do it?" "Is this why you came here to ask me this?"Edgar Austin asked tentatively. "This question seems childish, but I really want to know the answer. I am becoming more and more curious about everything about you."Julianna's eyes looked sharp and suspicious. Edgar Austin couldn't help but smile, "Okay, I'm becoming more and more curious about you. Tell me your true identity, and I'll tell you how I did it. You can't be the only one asking questions, right?" Julianna said: "It's not time for you to know yet. Don't mention this issue again in the future. When it's time to let you know, I will let you know." "How insincere."Edgar Austin already knew she would say this, "However, even though you didn't answer my question, I am willing to answer your question. I used welding pliers and cast iron electrodes to weld this key. " Julianna was stunned for a moment, and then smiled for the first time, "Do you think I'm a child?" Edgar Austin thought she looked pretty when she smiled, but he didn't dare to say such things. The two of them drank a glass of wine. Julianna put down his wine glass, "Actually, the real purpose of my visit this time is to ask you to do me a favor." "What do you want me to do for you?" "It's still related to Professor Zhang Boqing's case."Julianna said: "Archaeological experts have found the sunken ship and found an iron cabin from the sunken ship. They used this key to open the iron cabin, and there was nothing unexpected inside. of exquisite porcelain, gold and silver treasures, and only a compass.” "A compass?" "Well, a compass, a very strange compass."Julianna described: "It is actually a very precise instrument, just like a clock. There are pointers on the compass, but because some parts of the compass have been broken, it It won't work. I want your help to weld the broken parts, rework the irreparable parts, and repair the compass." Edgar Austin said with a smile: "I am not a watchmaker. Welded parts will increase the weight and affect the accuracy of the compass. If new parts are processed with a lathe, can they be integrated with other parts from hundreds of years ago? Also Yes, you trust me so much that you are willing to give me such an important cultural relic to restore?" Julianna said: "I don't want excuses, I just want answers. Just give me an answer. Will you help me or not?" She was always so domineering. Edgar Austin smiled bitterly and said, "Well, you trust me so much. It would be inappropriate for me to refuse you. Where is the compass? I want to take a look first." Julianna stood up, "Then let's go." Edgar Austin glanced at the almost untouched lobster on the table with some reluctance, and said depressedly: "That's a lobster, and he left without even eating it... If I had known better, I wouldn't have ordered it, it was a waste!" Although he thought so, Edgar Austin still rushed to the front desk to take the bill. This meal cost more than a thousand yuan, which made him feel a little pain in his heart. Inadvertently, he saw Elaine eating at another table, and Elaine glared at him fiercely. Edgar Austin immediately returned the favor and glared at Elaine. But with this glare, his left eye jumped slightly, and Elaine's proud figure suddenly appeared in his field of vision. She was sitting on the dining chair, and the skin on her body was indescribably delicate and delicate, which immediately stimulated him. "Huh?"Julianna looked at Edgar Austin with strange eyes, "Would you like to go over and say hello? I can wait for you." Edgar Austin finally came to his senses and hurriedly looked away, "No, no need, let's go." After leaving the restaurant, Edgar Austin got into Julianna's car and arrived at the Haizhu City Archeology Bureau. This is an old government compound, with a four-story brick-concrete building and a row of bungalows. When entering the office building, Edgar Austin couldn't help but asked out of curiosity: "Miss Julianna, Professor Santiago's case has been solved, and the nature of this matter has become archaeological. Why are you still involved in this matter?" Woolen cloth?" Julianna gave him the impression of someone who worked in a hail of bullets, and he also guessed that she was a very high-level agent or something. How could she ask such a person to weld a compass? Even if someone wanted to ask him to take action, it should be someone from the Archaeological Bureau, not her. Julianna said: "This case is more complicated than you think, but you are not from the police or us, so I can't tell you too much. You'd better stop asking about things related to the case and help me." Repair that compass." Edgar Austin smiled bitterly and shrugged, "Okay, take me to see it." Julianna brought Edgar Austin to a showroom. There was an old man and a young woman in the showroom. The old man is about sixty years old, has gray hair on his temples, wears colorless glasses, and has a rather scholarly demeanor. The woman is in her twenties, tall and thin, with an oval face and a pair of colorless glasses. She looks elegant and delicate. The old man and the young woman were discussing something. There was a cast iron compass on a display table next to them, and there were several broken parts next to it. Edgar Austin's eyes fell on the compass and he was immediately attracted to it. The compass placed on the display table looks like an enlarged clock, very complicated. With the manufacturing technology of the Ming Dynasty, it is really a miracle that this compass can be produced. A question arose in his mind, what on earth is this compass used for? Julianna walked over and said, "Professor Chance, Professor Lola, hello. I've brought the technician who repaired the compass." Only then did the old man and the young woman realize that someone had come in, and their eyes moved to Julianna and Edgar Austin. Julianna and the others must have known each other, but when they saw that the "technician"Julianna brought was so young, both of them had a look of surprise on their faces. Julianna said: "Let me introduce to you, this is Professor Chance Chance , an authoritative professor in the domestic archaeological field. This is Professor Lola, she is the proud disciple of the late Professor Zhang Boqing." Then she pointed at Edgar Austin and said : "This is Edgar Austin, the owner of Thunder Horse Studio, who repaired the key." This introduction made Edgar Austin a little embarrassed. He is not a technician. In fact, he is just a wage earner with a welding certificate. His Thunder Horse Studio was just a small street shop that had no reputation at all. When Julianna introduced him like this, he really meant to deliberately raise his worth. However, Edgar Austin kept his composure and said politely: "Professor Chance, hello Professor Lola." Professor Chance took the initiative to shake hands with Edgar Austin and said with a smile: "Mr. Edgar, after seeing the key you welded, I wanted to meet you. Before you came, I thought you were about forty or fifty years old, but... I didn’t expect you to be so young, you are really a formidable person.” Edgar Austin smiled and said, "Professor Chance, you're welcome, you're welcome." Lola Gellar , who was standing next to Chance, smiled and said, "I told you not to be polite. Let's talk about business." Lola Gellar looks quiet and sweet, and has a soft and pleasant voice. She has a gentle and pleasant temperament unique to intellectual women. Edgar Austin had a good impression of both Chance and Lola Gellar . He was not restrained and went straight to the display table to observe the compass placed on the table. At this time, Lola Gellar came to Julianna's side, "Miss Julianna, he is so young, is it really he who welded the key?" "Professor Lola, you are about the same age as him, haven't you also become an important figure in the archaeological world?"Julianna said. Lola Gellar lowered her voice, "My situation is different from his. To do his job, you must have many years of work experience." Julianna stopped talking to her. Edgar Austin actually heard the conversation between Lola Gellar and Julianna, but he didn't care about Lola Gellar's doubts about him. His mind was focused on the compass. The compass is about the same size as the Feng Shui compass used by traveling Taoist priests today, but it is divided into three layers: upper, middle and lower. It looks like a round sandwich biscuit. There was a seemingly gold pointer on the face of the compass that had stopped rotating. There are strange patterns on the surface of the compass. They are completely symmetrical, but they do not have any special meaning. Edgar Austin's left eye twitched slightly, and the situation in the middle layer of the compass came into his sight without any cover. There are hundreds of gears and rotating shafts of different sizes in the middle layer of the compass. There are still some sediments that are invisible to the naked eye in the gaps of some gears. Finally he looked at the underside of the compass and saw four Chinese characters - Emperor Yongle.