After "persuading" the demoness, Wang the Taoist priest left the museum with his young apprentice.
The anxious curator finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two of them emerge unharmed.
He hurriedly asked, "How did it go? Did it succeed?"
The Taoist priest looked at him with pity: "Take advantage of the time to eat a few good meals and see the people you want to see as much as possible. Be sure to spend all your money, or it will be a waste."
curator:"……"
His legs went weak: "Wh...what do you mean? We failed?"
Wang the Taoist sighed, "Blame your stubborn prime minister. If he had sent the artifacts back earlier, none of this would have happened. He had to fight against death. Now look what's happened, they're all waiting to die."
"Death?" the curator exclaimed.
"That's right, she's not a demon, but a god, the Grim Reaper."
“How could she be the Grim Reaper? She wasn’t carrying a scythe, nor was she wearing a black cloak. Besides, the Grim Reaper wouldn’t speak Chinese.”
In Western culture, death is a real phenomenon, and the black cloak and black scythe are its symbols.
Wang the Taoist priest sneered, "That's a narrow-minded view. Even gods keep up with the times. What's wrong with learning Chinese? The whole world is learning Chinese now."
"Besides, with her mysterious and unpredictable methods, she can kill a large number of people with a single move. Who but the Grim Reaper could do that?"
The curator was filled with despair.
With death on its side, what hope does the empire have?
Sigh, I shouldn't have been so greedy for those cultural relics.
No, he had to immediately inform the Prime Minister and send those artifacts away as Death had requested; perhaps there was still a chance for survival.
Thanks to the efforts of Wang Daoshi and his disciples, the news spread rapidly.
Soon, the entire population of Country Y learned the whole story.
The fearful and desperate people vented all their resentment on the leadership of Country Y, with the Prime Minister bearing the brunt of the attack.
If he had returned the artifacts from Country Z earlier, he wouldn't have completely angered Lord Death.
During this period, they lived in fear even more than the people in war-torn countries. They dared not close their eyes when they slept, for fear that their houses would collapse and they would not have time to escape.
Many people lost their families along with the military base in the mushroom cloud, not to mention those affected by the collapsed buildings.
It's all the fault of those greedy, blind fools.
Millions of people took to the streets to shout, and the march continued to grow.
We have only one demand: the return of the cultural relics from Country Z as soon as possible.
Qi An and Fu Gui stood high on the clouds, looking down at the grand parade below, and nodded in satisfaction.
Fu Gui said, "Those two young Taoist priests did a good job, and these foreign devils are quite savvy too."
Qi An's lips curled slightly: "They saved their own lives."
It doesn't matter if they don't follow the rules; just send them to meet their maker.
The curator finally met the prime minister at the hospital and tearfully told him about his impending death.
"Your Excellency, the public is now aware of this matter, the march is getting longer and longer, and the situation is out of control."
He said cautiously, "How about... we return the cultural relics of Country Z to them? After all, they originally belonged to them and have been here for many years. If this continues, the Empire... the Empire will be destroyed by the Grim Reaper."
The Prime Minister remained silent for a while, then simply said "I understand" and dismissed the curator.
After the people left, the prime minister slumped his shoulders, looking twenty years older.
He had already regretted it.
They refused to pay back the money back then because of their pride, but now they've lost everything, not even their pride.
The treasures of Country Z are valuable, but their losses these days are more than ten or a hundred times the value of those cultural relics.
Especially the vanished military bases; every soldier was a treasure of the empire, and they were gone in a single mushroom cloud.
Cabinet ministers suffered heavy casualties, public resentment was boiling, and other countries were eyeing the country covetously.
The Prime Minister was filled with remorse when he thought about all this.
If he had known this would happen, he would have sent those cultural relics away with singing and dancing, and banging drums and gongs, when that woman first made her request.
Hopefully, it's not too late.
The Prime Minister made up his mind, summoned the remaining cabinet ministers, and headed straight to the museum.
The entire route was lined with marchers, and people who recognized the Prime Minister's car glared at him angrily.
He wouldn't have made it to the museum if it weren't for the new team of bodyguards with guns on his back.
At this moment, a large number of people from Country Y had gathered in front of the museum.
They knelt and prayed as if they were God, begging Death to show mercy.
Qi An, dressed in a red dress, stood above the museum, her black hair flying in the wind. Coupled with her domineering and fierce temperament, she really did resemble the Grim Reaper.
The Taoist priest and his apprentice stood at a distance, excitedly recording a short video.
The Taoist priest exclaimed excitedly, "My disciple, we are about to witness a great moment in history!"
The young apprentice was even more excited: "And we even participated! I contributed too! I'm so excited!"
"Don't let your hands shake, take good pictures, make sure to capture the foreign devils' cowardly faces clearly, and then upload them to our domestic websites to make our families happy."
"Okay, I specifically cleared the memory."
The prime minister, leaning on a cane, walked with difficulty to the front of the crowd, with the translator beside him.
In fact, the Prime Minister did not believe in the concept of the Grim Reaper, nor did he think that the woman was the legendary Grim Reaper.
But whatever she is, she is someone the empire cannot defeat or afford to offend.
The victor is king, the loser is villain; the loser can only accept their fate.
The Prime Minister, suppressing his humiliation, bowed deeply in the direction of Qi An: "Country Y is willing to return all of Country Z's cultural relics free of charge."
The cabinet ministers behind him also bowed and said in unison, "Country Y is willing to return all of Country Z's cultural relics free of charge."
Fu Gui sneered: "Why didn't you do this earlier? You had to be so troublesome and shameless."
Qi An chuckled and slowly said, "At first, I only wanted you to return it, but now, my request has changed."
The curator in the crowd: "..."
He's familiar with this routine.
You'll have to pay more.
Under the Prime Minister's anxious gaze, Qi An said, "First, I want the entire nation of Y to kneel down and apologize."
The Prime Minister and cabinet members' eyes twitched. Bowing before millions of people was already humble enough; to kneel down...
Qi An sneered, clenched his fist, and another mushroom cloud rose in the distance.
The crowd screamed in terror, covering their heads, while the prime minister and cabinet ministers trembled and their knees buckled.
Just as he was about to kneel, Qi An suddenly spoke up to stop him: "Wait."
She raised her hand, and the museum's dome cracked open, revealing the entire Exhibition Hall 33 beneath her, standing beside Qi An.
Those were all the looted cultural relics from China. For the first time in over a hundred years, they had escaped their cages and breathed the air of freedom.
The artifacts remain in their original form, but their souls are fixed on what lies below, waiting silently.
More than a hundred years have passed; they need an apology.
Qi An pointed at the artifacts, looked down, and said coldly, "Kneel down and apologize."
Her voice echoed throughout Country Y, and all the people of Country Y knelt down in devout worship.
Then, the cabinet ministers knelt down, and then the prime minister knelt down as well.
Qi An looked at the distant royal castle and let out a cold snort. All the members of the Y Kingdom royal family lost control, their knees buckled, and they knelt down in the direction of the artifacts.
The entire nation knelt, bowing their heads deeply before the cultural relics, and uttered the belated "I'm sorry."
"sorry."
"sorry."
"sorry."
...
The Taoist priest muttered to himself, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
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