Country Y's largest museum displays top-tier artifacts from around the world, attracting a large number of visitors every day.
Almost all the artifacts here were looted from other countries by the bandit ancestors of Country Y.
Their descendants refuse to return the artifacts, shamelessly claiming they are managing cultural relics for other countries.
This robber museum has more than 100 exhibition halls, numbered to represent artifacts from different countries.
It was closing time, and only cleaning and security personnel were inside.
Upon entering Hall 33, one is greeted by a glazed tile screen wall with dragon patterns that appears to be cut into four pieces.
There are four lifelike dragons on the blue wall: two green dragons and two gold dragons.
The dragon's body is surrounded by auspicious clouds, as well as lotus flowers and peonies, which symbolize good fortune.
Even someone who knows nothing about art can see its value at a glance.
But this top-tier treasure was torn to pieces by wicked bandits.
The lifelike dragon's body was covered with marks of violent cutting.
This is Ah Jiu's true form.
Behind her were her fellow countrymen who had been robbed by bandits along with her.
Among them, the oldest stone artifact is over seven thousand years old.
The smallest jade pot with intertwined floral patterns is only a dozen years old.
All the artifacts have gained sentience, but their souls cannot leave their bodies, and the sounds they make cannot be heard by others; they can only communicate with each other.
At this moment, all the artifacts were grieving for Ajiu's departure.
The youngest, Xiaoyuhu, suppressed her grief and comforted everyone:
"Sister Ajiu's body is in so much pain, yet she has persevered for so many years. It's truly remarkable. Grandpas, grandmas, uncles, elder brothers, and elder sisters, please don't be sad. Perhaps Sister Ajiu has already returned home and seen her family."
The woman in the painting "Peach Blossom and Human Face" has a face like a peach blossom, but her voice is mournful.
"I hope so. I hope Ah Jiu can return to his homeland soon and take a good look at our hometown for us."
The stone sculpture of Maitreya Buddha let out a long sigh. Although his mouth was wide open and he was laughing heartily, it made people feel that he was crying.
"Little Jade Pot, stop trying to comfort us. You were the last one to arrive here. If we let you go back now, will you even be able to find your way home?"
Little Jade Pot: "..."
She couldn't find it.
This place was so far away from their home that she couldn't remember the way home at all.
The pure white, exquisitely crafted ivory fan trembled slightly.
"Look, even you, who arrived last, can't find your way home. We and Ajiu have been away from home for over a hundred years. How could we possibly go back?"
Xiao Yuhu looked at Ajiu's shattered body, because her soul had disappeared, and she could no longer feel that familiar aura.
Overwhelmed with grief, Xiao Yuhu could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
"Waaah, Sister Ajiu... I want to go home, I don't want to stay here anymore, I want to go home..."
The little girl's innocent voice echoed among the cultural relics, making them feel heartbroken.
Who doesn't want to go home?
For over a hundred years, they have dreamed of that land they longed for.
Imprisoned here day after day, they are overjoyed whenever they see their compatriots with black hair, yellow skin, and speaking their native dialect.
They recounted their humiliation to their compatriots, expressed their longing, and yearned for people from their hometown to take them home.
Every compatriot who came here left with red eyes after seeing them, but still no one could hear their voices.
They waited and waited, only to be disappointed so many times that they dared not hold out much hope anymore.
But they are always very happy whenever their compatriots come to visit.
This is one of the few opportunities they have to learn about the changes in their hometown.
From the way their compatriots dressed, spoke, and behaved, they could sense that their country was becoming stronger and stronger.
So, could they perhaps fantasize a little about... that one day in the future, their country will be strong enough to welcome them home with dignity?
But could you go a little faster?
They're almost at their breaking point!
The little jade pot's wailing caused the cultural relics to fall into grief and contemplation.
No one noticed the earth-shattering change taking place on the lifeless dragon-patterned wall.
A mysterious red light swept across the wall, and the old "scars" that ran across the dragon's body gradually disappeared and closed up, restoring it to its original appearance.
Auspicious clouds float by, peonies and lotuses slowly rotate, and four giant dragons weave through them, their heads raised and roaring to the sky.
This is the original appearance of the dragon-patterned glazed wall.
It came to life.
As soon as Qi An arrived, he heard a chorus of crying and sighing.
Upon closer listening, oh, it turns out it's a memorial service for Ajiu.
There's absolutely no need for that!
Little Jade Pot was still crying, mumbling incoherently, "Waaah, when can I go home..."
Just as the elders were about to coax the child, they heard a familiar voice.
"Stop howling, we'll be back in a few days."
Little Jade Pot: "..."
All the cultural relics: "..."
Forehead……
The voice was quite familiar, but the words spoken were very unfamiliar and arrogant!
No, that sounds like A-Jiu's voice, but A-Jiu is already...
Xiao Yuhu was so surprised she almost jumped up: "Sister Ajiu, is it really you? You're not dead! That's wonderful! Waaah, I thought I'd never see you again."
The artifacts were overjoyed: "It really is Ajiu! Ajiu is not dead! That's wonderful!"
The Peach Blossom Beauty was very observant and immediately noticed the key point. She exclaimed with delight, "Ah Jiu, your body... has recovered?"
When all the artifacts were examined together, they were indeed found that the dragon-patterned wall, which had originally been torn into pieces, had actually been restored to its original, intact state.
After their initial surprise, everyone was overjoyed. More than a hundred years had passed, and they had almost forgotten what Ah Jiu originally looked like.
While everyone was still in a daze from their excitement, Qi An quickly surveyed the area.
Even the incredibly wealthy demon god Qi was taken aback by this sight, let alone Fu Gui, the poor wretch who had only recently escaped poverty.
The entire exhibition hall No. 33 was filled with treasures looted from Ajiu Country, a dazzling array that was truly breathtaking.
Mysterious and ancient bronzes, crystal-clear jade artifacts, porcelain and pottery representing the pinnacle of craftsmanship from various dynasties, exquisite Dunhuang murals, as well as various Buddhist statues, famous paintings, stone carvings, wood carvings, phoenix crowns, jade seals, pottery figurines, burial objects, and more.
Each piece is an exquisite work of art, priceless, and tells a story of historical change and human civilization.
In this den of thieves, these top treasures were crammed together without any regard for their value, receiving only slightly better treatment than the counterfeit handicrafts in tourist attractions.
Some don't even have protective covers, allowing tourists to touch them at will.
Most cultural relics are extremely fragile, and even careful protection is not enough; this crude method has damaged countless artifacts.
I heard that many items were also lost.
Qi An felt a slight itch in his fist.
Fu Gui exclaimed in surprise, "My God, so many treasures! Sister An'an, how much is all this worth...?"
Qi An: "Talking about money is vulgar; their value cannot be measured by money."
Knowing that her sister was just trying to comfort her, Xiaoyuhu couldn't help but ask cautiously, with a glimmer of hope:
"Sister Ajiu, you just said we're going home, is that true?"
Qi An affirmed, "Of course it's true. I'll take you back soon."
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