Chapter 2383 - 2286: Jiaoxiao

But Zhou Shitao’s worries were clearly overthought.

As soon as his hand reached out, he instantly felt the texture of the clothing.

The fabric was light and delicate, so sheer that if not for the cool touch, Zhou Shitao might wonder if he had grasped at nothing.

When the garment was unfurled, it appeared before everyone’s eyes, a silver-white piece of clothing like the bright moon.

Though it had been preserved in the box for over a thousand years, once spread out, the entire garment had not a single wrinkle. It looked smooth like water, shimmering under the light, especially when it swayed; the gleaming myriad colors were dazzling, leaving everyone unable to look away.

Nearly everyone present was captivated by what appeared to be an outer robe, left with nothing but awe aside from their amazement.

No one would have thought that in the Eastern Jin Dynasty over seventeen hundred years ago, such weaving technology existed to create clothing so beautiful.

"The wisdom of the ancients is truly magical. What material is this, so beautiful, how was it made?"

Su Qingqing couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

In fact, it wasn’t just Su Qingqing; no one present was willing to look away.

The great Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi once wrote in "The Silken Veil": "It seems like before the bright moon of Mount Tiantai, a forty-five feet waterfall spring, within it the patterns are extraordinary, the ground paved with white smoke and floral frosted clumps."

This poem of his praised the veil as ethereal as mist, as pure and clear as water.

Previously, Huo Sining only regarded this as poetic exaggeration, but now seeing this garment, Huo Sining thought perhaps Bai Juyi’s poem might not be hyperbolic imagination, but a realistic portrayal.

Isn’t this garment before their eyes ethereal like mist, as crystalline as water?

More importantly, this garment, buried for seventeen hundred years in an ancient tomb, showed no signs of decay, as if it were newly made, even when directly lifted by Zhou Shitao, yet bore no signs of fragility, remaining intact in Zhou Shitao’s hand.

Additionally, Xie Daoyuan and Shi Qingyun noticed the peculiarities of this garment:

"Where are the stitches on this garment? I can’t seem to find them."

Prompted by Xie Daoyuan and Shi Qingyun, everyone realized this issue.

Indeed, this garment, whose material could not be identified, revealed no trace of stitches, as if it were naturally formed.

Even Zhou Shitao couldn’t help but furrow his brow; it was impossible for any garment to show no signs of sewing. The textile technology of the Eastern Jin Dynasty had not reached this level.

Could any piece of clothing be without seams? This defies logic unless the garment was a celestial robe worn by immortal beings described in mythological tales, otherwise, how could it be without a single stitch or seam?

However, after Zhou Shitao and the others examined the garment thoroughly inside and out, they found not a single stitch, as if it were naturally formed.

The people around were all puzzled, caught in a storm of thoughts, with none able to explain what was going on.

Guarding the monitor outside and having remained silent, Huang Zhenlong naturally also noticed the peculiarities of this garment in the Auricle Chamber.

"Old Zhou, how heavy is this garment? How does it feel to the touch?"

Zhou Shitao signaled the accompanying archaeologists to weigh and measure the length of the garment.

Upon doing so, everyone was even more amazed.

This strange garment, clearly an outer robe for a grown man, measured 1.9 meters long, larger than the Su Sha Duan Yi from Mawangdui, yet weighing only 37 grams, was even lighter and thinner!

Zhou Shitao relayed this data to Huang Zhenlong, recounting the cool and smooth feel to the touch. After a moment of pondering, Huang Zhenlong suddenly spoke tentatively:

"This garment, it’s certainly not gauze, since no stitches can be found and it isn’t soluble in water. Old Zhou, I have a bold hypothesis."

Zhou Shitao was well aware of Huang Zhenlong’s nature; he seemed careless but was actually full of knowledge. If he spoke, it certainly wasn’t baseless.

"Speak!" Zhou Shitao intoned deeply.

Huang Zhenlong said: "The ’Records of Strange Things’ by Liang Renfang from the Southern Dynasties mentions: The South Sea produces Jiaoxiao Gauze, woven in a spring chamber, also called Dragon Gauze. Its price is over a hundred gold, fashioned into clothing that doesn’t get wet even when submerged."

Zhou Shitao’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat; he suddenly stared wide-eyed at the thin garment before him, instinctively asking, "So?"

"Therefore, I surmise that perhaps the Jiaoxiao Gauze mentioned in the Records of Strange Things wasn’t a fictional artifact but actually existed, and this garment in the box might be made of Jiaoxiao?"

Huang Zhenlong interjected.

This statement immediately caused an uproar within the archaeological team inside the ancient tomb.

Yet Zhou Shitao didn’t immediately object.

After Huang Zhenlong mentioned "Jiaoxiao," it seemed as if a barrier had been broken in Zhou Shitao’s mind, bringing forth all the myths related to Jiaoxiao.

In fact, Jiaoxiao wasn’t only mentioned in the Records of Strange Things from the Southern Dynasties; it’s also recorded in the Taiping Guangji and the Classic of Mountains and Seas. Cao Zhi from the Wei Kingdom even wrote about Jiaoren in the Seven Odes.

Zuo Si from the Jin Dynasty also mentioned Jiaoxiao in the "Ode to the Wu Capital," described as: Exhausting lands and drinking wood, residing deep underwater. The well chamber subtly weaves and rolls up silk, the ocean guest generously cries pearls.

Apart from that, "Jiaoxiao" was also woven into many poems and novels from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The novelist Fei Xing in the Tang Dynasty even specifically described the role of the "Lady Weaver of Jiaoxiao" as a Dragon Maiden.

So "Jiaoxiao" was not an unfamiliar term to Zhou Shitao.

However, even for Zhou Shitao, he always thought that so-called Jiaoxiao was just a beautified mythological item, not something that actually existed but was entirely fictionalized.

Yet as he held this garment in his hands, his long-held beliefs seemed to have a subtle shift toward collapse.

For some reason, the longer he looked at the garment, the more he linked the characteristics of Jiaoxiao mentioned in ancient poetry with the garment in front of him.

Powerless in hand, the dancing garment is light, cutting the Jiaoren, breaking spring’s emerald.

Perhaps due to the water’s Dragon God slumber, obtaining Jiaoren’s five-colored gauze.

The South Sea produces Jiaoxiao Gauze, woven in a spring chamber, also called Dragon Gauze. Its price is over a hundred gold, fashioned into clothing that doesn’t get wet even when submerged.

All these descriptions coincide with the characteristics of this garment before them.

Could it be that this is truly the rare wonder described in mythological stories, the clothing woven by mythical Jiaoren, Jiaoxiao?