I'm afraid the real oddity lies in his own hands—the necklace pendant is so bright that it feels suspicious. If it really is made of rhodium, then everything can be explained. Rhodium is a metal commonly used in electroplating, with a strong silvery-white metallic luster; only it could make this pendant so dazzlingly silver.

However, a major problem immediately arises: how could a rhodium metal pendant exist in 1795? Ian Lawson remembers that rhodium was only discovered in 1803. At that time, a British chemist, while processing platinum ore, dissolved crude platinum in aqua regia and extracted rhodium from the metallic residue that could not be dissolved. Rhodium does not exist as a standalone metal; it is a byproduct of platinum ore. Because it is rare, it is expensive. Due to its extreme resistance to acid and alkali corrosion and its ability to absorb large amounts of hydrogen, it is used in modern society as a catalyst or as a plating layer on precision circuit boards.

If it were only the demon-subduing pestle that had an issue, perhaps it could be blamed on the instrument. But with the appearance of rhodium, the problem is no longer so simple.

Ian Lawson wandered through the supermarket as if sleepwalking, and prepared dinner in the same daze. His mind was full of riddles; curiosity made him feel as if countless ants were crawling inside him, leaving him anxious and uneasy—even when Carolyn Turner lost her temper at him for entering her bedroom without permission, he paid her no mind.

Considering that Ian Lawson had just returned from a long journey, the two vixens originally planned to let him rest for a few days before starting work. But seeing how restless Ian Lawson was, the two women thought he was simply lovesick and muddleheaded.

“Qiu Hui, hurry up and get him to work, find him something to do to distract him,” Carolyn Turner urged over the phone, then, rather narcissistically, added, “Sigh, I’ve only just realized how charming I am. That little man went into my bedroom to tidy up, and immediately turned all dazed and silly. Tell me, if he actually saw my body, would he turn into a complete idiot?”

Autumn Lewis licked her lips: “So innocent! Carolyn sis, let me take him for a few days and cure his illness. I’ll return him once he’s better.”

“Go on,” Carolyn Turner spat, “If you can cure him, I can too. Seriously, before he turns into a wolf, hurry up and get him to work, please—”

“Alright,” Autumn Lewis agreed readily. “I’ll take care of it tomorrow. In the meantime, make sure to keep your door locked—once a man is satisfied, he’ll run off far away. You have to keep him wanting more. Even if you’re already at the mouth-to-mouth stage, you still have to keep it at hand-in-hand distance!”

“Got it,” Carolyn Turner hung up and muttered, “As if I need you to teach me.”

The two women were indeed decisive. Ian Lawson had only had one day off and was just planning to find a book on heraldry to check what family crest was engraved on the pendant when the work notice arrived.

Chapter 5: Urgent Call

This was a large logistics company, responsible for distributing goods to major supermarkets. Autumn Lewis’s import-export company often dealt with this logistics firm, and since the general manager Thomas Warren was quite taken with Autumn Lewis, a little finger-curl from the beauty was all it took for Ian Lawson to smoothly enter the company as a nine-to-five quality inspector.

Because of Uncle Carter’s request, Ian Lawson didn’t give up his job at the antique shop either, agreeing to help out at Uncle Carter’s store every Saturday and Sunday. Those were the times when there were the most foreign tourists, and also when Uncle Carter’s two kids were off playing. Ian Lawson’s presence was just the help they needed.

The days passed one after another. Whenever he had free time, Ian Lawson would frantically search online for clues, hoping to solve the mystery. As time went by, his research yielded nothing, but his attention to those items only grew. His curiosity increased day by day, and he even felt, as if by fate, that it was this metal tag that had summoned him to Tibet.

Unfortunately, due to various restrictions, it was not easy to find information from abroad.

Once the initial novelty wore off for Tan and Liu, life returned to normal. They only occasionally went home together and had Ian Lawson cook a delicious meal; the rest of the time, they were busy entertaining clients—after all, that was their job.

One day, just after handling a batch of goods and while filling out the warehouse entry form, his phone suddenly rang. Under the supervisor Abel Lewis’s displeased gaze, Ian Lawson hurriedly picked up the phone and said, “I’m busy, I’ll call you back later,” intending to hang up, but Uncle Carter’s thunderous roar came through: “Anzi, get to my shop right now.”

Ian Lawson didn’t dare say much and quickly replied, “Uncle Carter, I’m at work. Can we talk after I get off?”

Abel Lewis had worked his way up from warehouse management to become the manager of the internal distribution department. Feeling highly capable, he was very dissatisfied that the general manager’s relatives controlled the lucrative external distribution department. On Ian Lawson’s first day, general manager Thomas Warren personally brought him to the internal distribution department. Abel Lewis saw this as the insertion of a trusted aide into his own territory and had disliked Ian Lawson from the start. Taking this opportunity, he reprimanded him: “Xiao Anzi, don’t make or take personal calls during work hours.”

Ian Lawson quickly hung up and obediently continued filling out the forms, but Abel Lewis’s gaze stabbed into his back like a thorn, making him uncomfortable.

The phone rang again. Ian Lawson didn’t dare answer, so he reached into his pocket and turned off the ringer.