Tomb Raider: I Am Hu Bayi's Cousin

Chapter 559 Portrait
There were many messy footprints on the second floor. Although they were covered by white dust, some traces could still be found upon careful searching.

Clearly, the guy and his team had searched the area extensively, but the footprints were too messy to provide any useful information.

It is worth mentioning that many complex characters are engraved on the beams on the second floor.

Based on a rough assessment, these texts come from different eras, different regions, and even different cultures.

Almost every character in each line of text belongs to a different writing system.

"Damn it, only the Zhang family would do something so outrageous! If some ancient script expert came here, wouldn't he be cursing on the spot?"

Hu Ming grinned as he looked at the incomprehensible text.

Ancient writing differs from modern writing; each character contains multiple meanings, which need to be guessed and understood in context.

Especially in some remote language families, where people are unfamiliar with the historical customs and cultures that have disappeared into the long river of history, deciphering the written language is simply a pipe dream.

However, in this situation
Hu Ming was certain that even if the top paleography experts in Beijing came, a single sentence or word could drive those old professors crazy.

It's definitely a bittersweet experience!
After all, the Zhang Family Ancient Building holds the most authentic and complete history of China!
Once all the text here can be deciphered, the evolution of Chinese civilization since five thousand years ago will surely be clear to scholars.

But the truth of history will surely shock those old scholars who firmly believe in science, even make them question life and shatter their worldview.

After all, the many mysteries in the real history of this world are no less fascinating than those in mythology, are they?
Think about it, immortality, resurrection, the mythical special powers possessed by extraterrestrial beings—can you explain this to me using modern science?
Of course, all of this is contingent on the experts having the opportunity to come here, successfully decipher these complex characters, and return alive.
However, these things were meaningless to Hu Ming and the others, and they weren't particularly interested in them.

Wu Xie was interested in Xiao Ge's past, not the true history of China.

It is worth mentioning that the first few floors of the Zhang Family Ancient Building deep in the mountains are mostly functional spaces, such as warehouses or residences for clansmen, so there is probably no danger here.

Even if the Zhang family were mentally unstable, they wouldn't go so far as to create a whole bunch of unnecessary things in these places.

Hu Ming and his companions weren't interested in what was on the second floor. They simply followed the footprints left by Xiao Ge and the others, and soon found the hidden staircase leading to the next floor.

The third layer was even more unexpected.

In the vast space, there was only one huge stone tortoise placed in the center.

The turtle has unusually long limbs and neck, a human face and a turtle body, with human hands at the ends of its forelimbs and turtle feet at the ends of its hind limbs.

The face is that of a woman, sinister and fierce, with a half-smile, resembling the terrifying Thangka deities of some Western Xinjiang.

There is a depression on the turtle's back with a black ball inside, which is covered with human faces.

In short, this thing doesn't look like a proper turtle statue at all; it's rather eerie and terrifying.

Actually, although this thing looks a bit eerie and scary, it is actually a genuine deity statue from ancient Chinese history.

This is a portrait of the Shiren people, descendants of Shennong!
In ancient times, the Shennong clan used clay figurines, which were human-faced and tortoise-bodied, to count the number of people in their tribe.

Later, this human-faced turtle-bodied image became the national emblem of the Shiren Kingdom.

Legend has it that the appearance of this thing is related to the mythical goddess Nuwa. It's quite a legendary item, but ultimately it's just a testament to the development of civilization.

On the third floor, the most important thing wasn't this... Hu Ming had already heard some ominous noises that suddenly broke out.

Suddenly, a strange footstep sound came from the "ceiling" above our heads!!!
"What the hell... Holy crap!? Are all the Zhang family freaks? The top is actually covered with divine fruits?!"

At Hu Ming's prompting, the fat man finally stopped lecturing, heard faint footsteps, and looked up at the ceiling.

But upon closer inspection...
The crisscrossing beams overhead form a huge chessboard-like structure.

Countless exquisite little boxes hang in the squares of these chessboards, in the shadow of the beams.

"That's awesome."

The fat man stared wide-eyed at the sight; tens of thousands of small boxes hung in the shadow of the entire ceiling.

The boxes come in various sizes and shapes, and are decorated with patterns, making for a truly spectacular sight.

"Immortal Fruit? What is that?"

Even Hu Ming was stunned by the fat man's shout, temporarily ignoring the footsteps, as he had never heard of such a thing before.

"Hey, Uncle, I've only heard about it... from a friend who used to run a business with me."

"This girl is incredibly arrogant. Once, she went to a boss's house to 'deliver takeout.' You all know what delivering takeout is, right?"

Delivery?
How could Wu Xie and the others not understand? They're all adults, okay?
The group glanced at the fat man with disdain; this guy was really outrageous in Beijing.

In a few years, this guy will definitely be a favorite target for anti-prostitution squads.

"You naive fool, you have absolutely no right to look down on Fatty! How many times have you dragged me to the bathhouse?"

"Let's get down to business. The boss said that some things in this world are never laid to the ground from the moment they are made; they are always hung up for preservation."

"The boxes that hold these treasures are called 'divine fruits.' I've only ever heard of them, but I never expected to find so many here."

The fat man blushed, glared at Wu Xie who was pretending to be an innocent and model young man, and then began to tell his story.

What right do people with Mediterranean features have to laugh at bald people?
"Are you even reliable when you talk to me?"

“I’ve also heard a story that in the past, eunuchs all had a treasure room. All the things that were cut off from their bodies would be put in a box and hung in the treasure room. That’s how it was.”

Wu Xie smiled sheepishly under the teasing gazes of Hu Ming and Xiao Hua, and shared his guess.

"So, you mean, there are tens of thousands of thin beams hanging from the ceiling of the third floor of this ancient family building?"

"Damn it, you bunch of bastards are really good at talking nonsense!"

Hu Ming understood Wu Xie's meaning. His lips twitched violently. These bastards were really getting more and more absurd!
Look at how they quote scriptures and make such solemn vows! If Hu Ming didn't know what was going on, he would have actually believed them! Clap, clap.
However, as the group talked, the footsteps on the ceiling became increasingly clear.