Liang En's reason for planning to spend a significant amount of time and effort searching the ruins was simple: he hoped to understand what exactly the ruins concealed.
On one hand, since he had found a relic, Liang En naturally hoped to complete the task perfectly. On the other hand, the search had not yielded any cards, meaning Liang En had not completed the entire search.
Therefore, to avoid returning empty-handed, Liang En planned to thoroughly examine the belongings of the Englishman who had died in the temple's secret chamber, to see what he might have missed.
Of course, the subsequent research would not take place outdoors; they only needed to stay comfortably in Mr. Verma's mansion, waiting for the search results.
One had to admit that while many Indians lived very poorly, life for the wealthy in India was like living in paradise.
For example, Mr. Verma's estate was the epitome of luxury. Although Liang En had visited many high-end venues, this place had the best conditions in both hardware and software, especially considering Liang En was a distinguished guest here.
However, Liang En declined the eight servants Mr. Verma had sent to serve him, only requesting one agile and English-proficient person to run errands for him.
"No problem, this is indeed a silver pocket watch produced in Manchester." After comparing it with the data on the computer, Liang En confirmed the specifics of a key item.
Unfortunately, this did not help much with the tracing work, as Manchester was one of the most prosperous cities in the UK at that time, with countless similar jewelry manufacturers.
If the watch had been a high-end luxury item or produced by a very famous manufacturer, there might have been some clues to trace. But there was no hope for any records of this ordinary silver pocket watch.
"But this watch feels a bit strange. Let me see what's odd about it." Liang En muttered to himself after observing the watch in his palm for a while.
Although he hadn't yet identified the specific oddity, he felt that something about the watch was not quite right.
After a few minutes of close examination, Liang En realized that the pocket watch was not original. The intricately carved case had been added later, and the movement was from another watch.
Although Liang En was not knowledgeable about watches, he could tell that the movement was a cheap one, at least not matching the exquisite case.
This practice was not uncommon in the Victorian era. Many people would go to jewelry stores to get a more impressive case for their pocket watches.
For some people, especially those with heirloom pocket watches, they would not discard them but instead, add a luxurious case to match their current status once they had the means.
This discovery excited Liang En, as if it were indeed a watch of significant commemorative value, the previous owner might have engraved important information on the movement.
He quickly had a servant bring a set of tools and carefully pried open the watch's back cover, exposing some issues.
Due to the rust on the back cover, many details had been obscured. But as Liang En began to open it, he found that all the original screws were missing, and the back cover was merely snapped into place.
This was unusual, as without screws, the back cover would easily fall off. It was stuck firmly now purely because of the rust on the copper case. In its prime, it would have easily come off.
Fortunately, this made it easier for Liang En to open the back cover. He used a bamboo stick to remove the rust and a special tool to pry it open.
"Eh—" Liang En exclaimed softly as the back cover came off, revealing that there was no movement inside, but a silver inner cover instead.
The inner cover seemed to be made of silver, though it had darkened from prolonged exposure to a humid environment. After a few attempts, Liang En managed to unscrew the back cover with a special tool.
At this point, he realized that the pocket watch might be the crucial clue he had been seeking. As the cover opened, he immediately looked underneath it.
Sure enough, the pocket watch had been completely modified, with a hidden compartment inside meant for concealing something.
Upon a quick check, he found a key and an inscription with a place name and a number on the inside of the back cover, likely the answer to all the questions.
The box's high-purity silver material ensured excellent sealing, preserving the copper-colored key and the inscription's clarity despite the passage of time.
"You really found a clue. No wonder the Count praises your archaeological and historical talents." Mr. Verma expressed surprise as Liang En brought these items to him.
"I believe this is the greatest archaeological discovery in Kerala and southern India in the past 20 years. If you need any assistance, I will do my best to help."
For someone as wealthy as Mr. Verma, he lacked few things and was eager to participate in such activities to gain fame.
Unlike the Chinese, Indians loved to show off, and Mr. Verma naturally wanted to be involved in something likely to bring fame.
When the temple was discovered, many media outlets came for interviews. Since Liang En was busy, Mr. Verma handled the media and enjoyed the limelight, never tiring of such opportunities.
For him, his servants could handle all daily matters, so he had plenty of time to participate in the current search.
"I do need your help with something." Liang En pointed to the inscription on the back cover and said, "This place seems to be an Indian bank, but I couldn't find any information about it."
"Let me see—" Mr. Verma took the silver back cover, glanced at the inscription, and smiled. "Ah, my friend, this is not a bank but a temple."
"A temple?"
"Yes, and this temple is one of the five or six our family still manages, with a tradition of storing items for outsiders." Mr. Verma looked proud.
"This temple is much more reliable than those banks. I can assure you that items from over a hundred years ago are still safely stored there. As long as you provide the key and the storage number, you can retrieve the items from the temple."
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