Upon seeing this, I was taken aback. "He also knows about Shu Xian?"
I continued, "You say there are gods, what evidence do you have?"
"Hehe, evidence, I saw it with my own eyes."
Nobody believed him; everyone said he was lying. I remained silent for the time being to see what else he would say.
Sure enough, he sent another message, "If you don't believe me, you can come to Mount Emei. I'll take you there, and I guarantee you'll believe me."
Surprised, he wondered if he had discovered something on Mount Emei. Could it be a Shu tomb? This group consisted of people who were either Yin-Yang masters, fortune tellers, or tomb raiders, and it was clear that the other party was a tomb raider.
I was just about to talk to him privately when he messaged me, "You should believe in the existence of the Shu Immortals, right?"
After a slight hesitation, I still typed out the words "I don't believe it".
"Hehe, you'll believe me, because this concerns you."
Startled, I immediately asked, "Who are you?"
The other person had already gone offline and hadn't replied to any of my messages. I was puzzled and couldn't figure out who it could be. Judging from the current situation, this person should know me.
Two days later, I went with the leaders to the Ancient Shu Culture Exchange Conference. It was a lively and bustling place, with officials and business owners everywhere, welcoming this and that. I looked around and saw that most of the people there were government officials or representatives from various organizations, as well as a large number of reporters. We, who should have been the main characters, were relegated to the background and appeared so small and insignificant in the crowd.
The so-called exchange conference is just a matter of selecting a few people to go up and express their research and views on the ancient Shu culture, and to say some exciting things.
I was one of them. I went up and said a bunch of random things, and then thanked the leaders. Immediately, there was thunderous applause from the audience, even though I saw that some people were wearing headphones and listening to music.
96 Archaeology
This was originally a performance show. Although I didn't want to participate, that's how society is; sometimes you don't have a choice.
After the speech, there's a Q&A session, which basically involves shaking hands with the leaders and chatting casually with people from other places. Of course, if you're happy, you can also talk about your patriotism and your views on the recent Diaoyu Islands situation.
Sadly, when you try to express your patriotism, people get upset. They say, "This is an ancient Shu culture exchange conference. Why bring up national affairs? There are tall people to hold up the sky if it falls."
So everyone started chatting idly and flattering each other.
After the exchange conference, we went on a "study tour." Of course, we didn't go abroad for a study tour; we just went to the city for a study tour. Finally, we arrived at Sanxingdui, which was the focus of our ancient Shu culture exchange.
I have known about Sanxingdui for a long time. Based on the existing information, it should be a relic of the ancient Shu culture. In my opinion, it was very likely an important activity site for the Shu people at that time, such as a place of sacrifice.
The bronze human face statue, a landmark artifact of Sanxingdui, is very similar to the bronze human face statue I saw in the Shu tombs. I had wanted to visit this place for a long time, but I never had the time or opportunity. This time, I took the opportunity to visit, and it was free.
Led by the tour guide, the group entered Sanxingdui.
As its name suggests, Sanxingdui consists of three circular mounds and has been estimated to be about 5,000 years old, dating back to the late Zhou and early Shang dynasties.
In terms of timing, it coincides perfectly with the records seen in the Shu tombs, suggesting that Sanxingdui is a relic left from the heyday of the ancient Shu Kingdom.
We go in to see the unearthed artifacts in the exhibition hall, and maybe discuss them and share our opinions.
I also observed it carefully, and finally my gaze settled on a bronze statue with some characters engraved on it. These characters were the same as those I had seen in the Shu tombs. Unfortunately, I didn't recognize them. I could only take a picture of it under the guise of studying ancient Shu culture, intending to take it back to Xiang Fei to see.
Then my gaze was drawn to the bronze human statue again, and I was immediately shocked. Wasn't this the same as the statue of the priest I saw in the Shu tomb, only this one was much smaller and had a different face?
Now I am certain that Sanxingdui is believed to be the site of the ancient Shu Kingdom, and that it holds the secrets of the ancient Shu Kingdom.
In the display case next to the bronze human face statue, there were several gold masks. Of course, if I hadn't seen the information, I would have thought they were bronze. "This is...?" I was even more shocked. These were clearly bronze masks worn by ancient Shu priests. To be precise, they should be gold masks. I had only glanced at them briefly in the Shu tomb and hadn't examined them carefully. The lighting was also dim, so I mistakenly thought they were bronze.
"Sanxingdui is an extremely important place in ancient Shu. It's a pity that this place has now been excavated by the government and is a key cultural relic protection unit. Trying to take advantage of this place is undoubtedly courting death," I thought to myself.
Passing through the outer exhibition hall, you enter the main room, which displays very valuable items, the most notable being the bronze tree in the center. To this day, people still cannot explain the purpose of this bronze tree, which is shrouded in mystery.
Most scholars believe that it was used for sacrificial purposes, while others say it is a symbol, a totem worshipped by the ancient Shu people.
I walked quickly to the bronze tree, which was about four meters tall. I had seen pictures of it online a few years ago and always felt that its symbolic meaning was very special. Some scholars said that it evolved from the Fusang Divine Tree, and that the ancient Shu people wanted to fly to the sky. Now, in my opinion, it was a sacred object they used to communicate with the Shu immortals.
Because I saw murals depicting bronze trees in the Shu tombs, and the bronze tree in those murals is very similar to the one in front of me. However, the bronze tree in the murals is enormous, as if it were about to grow to the sky, and a bronze coffin is placed on its top.
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