The iron box was brought into the Special Investigation Bureau's underground examination room.
Song Zhixia had Lu Wenchuan and Xu Zhihan stand three meters away, put on protective gloves, and personally removed the outer layer of black threads. An old Thunder Talisman was pasted over the opening of the box. It had grown brittle, its corners scorched. Beneath the Talisman Paper lay a transparent film with dried blood inside.
Lu Wenchuan looked at that trace of blood, his expression darkening slightly.
Song Zhixia did not look up.
"Ji Heng's blood?"
Lu Wenchuan murmured an assent.
Xu Zhihan stood to one side, his gaze resting on the iron box.
"A blood talisman holding down black threads for fifteen years means he already knew the Old Gods Society would come back for this box."
Song Zhixia said quietly, "It also means he was already badly injured when he left it."
No one in the examination room spoke again.
When the sealing threads were cut, the iron box gave a faint sound. The black threads inside slammed into the lid, only to be blocked by the isolation shield outside. Song Zhixia moved quickly, pinning the black threads into a corner of the box with three Line-Suppressing Nails before opening the first lid.
Three things lay inside.
An old audio cassette, a small key, and a neatly folded sheet of paper.
Lu Wenchuan's name was written on the paper.
Lu Wenchuan did not immediately step forward.
Xu Zhihan looked at him.
Lu Wenchuan breathed very softly, his gaze fixed on that sheet of paper, as though he were looking across fifteen years at something he had never dared touch.
Song Zhixia took the paper out and placed it in an isolation tray.
"It's safe to read. No active threads."
Only then did Lu Wenchuan