magician in town

Chapter 666 Ancestral Gift (56)

"Luo Qi." Liu Ziyu broke Luo Qi's thoughts. In a corner of the cabin, there were some artifacts piled up, all of which looked like bronze objects, somewhat rough, and out of place with everything else here.

Roach walked over and took a look. Based on his limited museum experience, he could only guess that it was a bronze artifact from the early Shang Dynasty, crudely made, but the shape of a bronze bird already appeared among the artifacts. Humans had been imitating the form of this…spaceship…, only adding many romantic and imaginative elements.

Liu Ziyu pointed to a bronze mirror in the corner for Luo Qi to see. The mirror surface was oxidized. She turned the bronze mirror over, and the carving on the back looked very much like the crystal pattern that appeared on the hull inside the spaceship.

“Humans have imitated the technology of the Primordial Mage with their own ideas,” Roach said, referring to their attempt to carve crystal circuitry onto the spaceship.

“And this small petri dish, apart from its size, is structurally similar to the ones we’ve seen before. Why would they make a separate small jar? Unless it’s movable, like a human airplane…” Liu Ziyu said softly, then gritted his teeth before changing his word, “Or a spaceship? A spacecraft?”

Liu Ziyu's voice echoed in Luo Qi's mind. She projected her concentrated thoughts again, and Luo Qi felt that Liu Ziyu seemed to have gotten used to using him as a receiving base station. "There are so many helipads here, this is a hangar, isn't it? The Primordial Mages… whatever they are, they used to fly hundreds of spaceships everywhere, freely flying to other planets? Tell me, am I going crazy?"

"If my mind keeps wandering like this, I'll go crazy," Roach replied.

After a pause, Roach sent her another message: "How do you know the entire Sealed Land isn't just one spaceship? Doesn't this look like a mothership?"

Liu Ziyu's face paled even more, and she fell silent.

"Be strong," Roach said softly, then turned and left.

Of the next four compartments, only one was quite unusual. They were shocked when they burst in; the entire compartment had been invaded by humans, who had transformed it into a sacrificial site. At the very center of the compartment was an altar centered around a bronze coffin. A bronze tripod stood before the coffin, surrounded by piles of exquisitely polished jade. Above the altar hung bronze masks. These were different from the Sanxingdui bronze masks Roach had seen before; these masks resembled animal faces more, yet they shared a clear consistency in craftsmanship and design.

“This is like mask worship. There have been traces of human face worship in many places, such as the animal-faced human faces on bronze tripods, the wild boar-faced human faces on pottery jars, and even the masks from Sanxingdui,” Wusu suddenly said to Luo Qi. “I’ve thought before that humans seem to know a lot about us. They know that as long as a person wears a mask, they can be a beast or someone else.”

Rocchi didn't answer; he knew he didn't need to. Usu had figured it out much earlier than him. Humanity's ancestors must have witnessed the Primordial Mage's spiritual communication, and perhaps even seen the Primordial Mage transform into other people.

Below the altar were piles of tortoise shells and animal bones, which looked like remnants left after burning, and should have been tools used by humans for divination.

Roach picked up the largest piece of tortoise shell, on which simple drawings by ancient humans still remained. One group of people knelt and worshipped around a large bird that had descended from the sky, while another group danced gracefully, waving their arms. Above, much above the bird, three stars shone exceptionally bright. Perhaps humans believed that through these rituals, they could summon back their departed progenitor sorcerer. In their eyes, the progenitor sorcerer must have been a god.

“Orion. Rigel.” Liu Ziyu said sullenly, looking at the thing in Luo Qi’s hand.

"The Heavenly Mandate of the Black Bird descended and gave birth to the Shang Dynasty, settling in the vast land of Yin. The ancient emperor commanded Wu Tang to govern the four directions." Wu Su said in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" Liu Ziyu asked.

Wu Su replied, "It means that Heaven commanded the Black Bird to descend to Earth and give birth to the ancestor of the Shang people. From then on, the Shang people settled on this vast land of Yin. The ancient emperor ordered Wu Tang to govern the four directions. There are a few more lines after that, all saying that the Shang people pacified the four directions, their descendants flourished, and their lives were prosperous. This is the 'Shang Ode: Black Bird,' a hymn used by the descendants of the Shang people to worship their ancestors. Historians believe that the Shang tribe used birds as totems, and now it seems that these were the birds."

Liu Ziyu's face was somewhat gloomy. "That's true. Humans do indeed have many descendants and live a prosperous life."

Luo Qi coughed and hesitated before saying, "Don't be so petty. Don't you like Guan Xinyue?"

"Those are two different things," Liu Ziyu said vaguely. "You see, it's easy to share hardship, but difficult to share wealth."

“Nonsense, what does it matter?” Liu Ziyu said.

“That’s not quite accurate. In other words, I’m both afraid my brother will suffer and afraid he’ll drive a Land Rover,” Luo Qi said without changing his expression, walking around the bronze cauldron to examine the bronze coffin behind it.

If he wasn't mistaken, it should be a bronze coffin, at least in shape and size similar to those of later coffins, suitable for holding a person. The patterns on the bronze surface were trying to mimic the paths of crystal traces on a spaceship; from a modern human perspective, it looked like a rough version of a bronze crystal plate, the periphery of an integrated circuit.

"I don't!"

Roach pondered, touching the bronze coffin. There were no traces of magic; it was a genuine human creation. If he were to push it, he certainly wouldn't be able to open it. If he were to use magic, he might blow the coffin open.

“Luo Qi, don’t you ever experience any emotional setbacks? Don’t you feel hurt? Grand Master Wusu, you also feel pain, don’t you? And you, Master Zhao, you are really strange.”

"The mage world has caused me far more setbacks and harm than this. I'm immune to all poisons anyway," Luo Qi said casually, pondering another aspect of the problem, only glancing indifferently at Master Zhao, who seemed not to have heard Liu Ziyu's question.

“But where you come from is a fundamental question, a question about your own existence. As long as you are human, it is difficult to avoid this,” Liu Ziyu said.

“Now that you mention it, I suddenly remember that Du Zhengyi isn’t even in this cabin yet. We need to find a way to leave before the radiation level rises to the point of being a curse. Hurry up, you two real mages. Which of you will help me open this coffin?” Roach asked, turning around.

"Open the coffin?" Liu Ziyu then realized what the large bronze cabinet was. She blinked, hesitating strangely. "That's not a good idea. I don't want to do it."

"Spend less time watching human movies and reading less literature. Be a dignified and persistent Grand Mage who pursues the origin of all things, Junior Sister Liu. Do you really think the remains of our human ancestors can come back to life? Open it up for me now and let me see what's inside," Roach said.

“I’ll do it,” Wusu said.

Roach immediately dodged, and Usu's magical ability was steady and just right. The upper part of the bronze coffin slid open like a drawer and finally landed safely on the ground next to it. The inner bronze coffin was then opened as well.

"Thank you," Roach said politely, stepping forward and peering into the coffin.

Sure enough, a skeleton lay unremarkable in the coffin, its body scattered with turquoise, shells, agate, and ancient jade—presumably jewelry worn by the deceased in life. Time passed, and the deceased did not rise from the dead; even the ropes binding the jewelry had rotted away.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Liu Ziyu slowly approached and followed Luo Qi inside. "This is their coffin. What did you find?"

“Everything seems normal,” Roach said.

Liu Ziyu was speechless.

"Could this person be...the one created by the progenitor? The first Shang ancestor mentioned in the sacrificial poems?"

"The eldest son buried himself in the hut where he was born?" Roach shook his head. "Who he is doesn't matter. I think he just wanted to be resurrected. But that's not important. We should go."