Chapter Seventy Ruins
We were the second batch to land on the island, and the ruins were on a mountain in the center of the island. The mountain was not high, but the entire summit was originally a huge city. I instructed Terry to stay behind and guard the boat with his men, and told him that if we didn't return within a month, he should set sail and leave by himself. Because the three of us only brought enough food and water for a month, and if we didn't return on time, we would starve to death. Actually, I didn't tell Evan and the others, but I had actually brought plenty of water and food with me, however, the secret of the storage ring was not something that could be told to anyone, let alone the fact that I only carried these things on my person for emergencies.
After bidding farewell to Hector, the three of us set off towards the mountain with our luggage on our backs. Since this was originally a city, the wide and spacious road that was built from the top of the mountain, although it had been neglected for many years, could still be walked on. Along the way, there were large stone slabs that had broken apart and scattered all over the place, occasionally with a small section of intact road surface remaining. From these fragmented remains, we could vaguely see that the original road was still there, and we could faintly make out that this road was extremely wide, almost wide enough for three horse-drawn carriages to drive side by side. Even the stones used to pave the road were very flat, and on the stones at the edge of the road, you could still see beautiful patterns. There were also some sculptures lying in the mud at the side of the road, with some even half-buried in the soil, leaving only a small part exposed.
The scale of the city at the top of the mountain can be roughly guessed from the scale of the road. Such a wide road, the scale of the city must not be small. As I walked, I sighed at the vicissitudes of life. A prosperous city, a solid fortress, was also powerless in the face of time. Isn't this desolate scene the best proof?
Such a wide and spacious road, as time goes by, only shows the last of life is those small grasses that stubbornly grow out from the cracks in the stones. In front of time, even solid rocks will crumble, let alone us humans? What can be immortal? Actually, what we should cherish most is the present...
We finally climbed to the top of the mountain at noon and came here, and indeed it was a piece of ruins. Everywhere was rubble and broken walls, not a single house was intact. However, even in this ruin, we were still shocked by the grandeur and magnificence of this city. The broken stone pillars had collapsed, but from the remaining fragments, we could see that they were originally supporting magnificent buildings. The thick pillars, which almost required four or five people to hug together, now only remained less than five meters high, silently pointing towards the blue sky, as if telling an ancient story. On the collapsed walls, you could still clearly see the exquisite and mysterious patterns, although we couldn't understand the meaning of those patterns, but we could still feel the mysterious atmosphere they emitted, solemn and elegant, mysterious and colorful.
Evan led us hastily through the ruins, and after about half an hour, we finally arrived at a huge square in the center of the city. The square was relatively intact, with little damage. In the center of the square stood a statue, which had collapsed, leaving only a pedestal. What the statue originally depicted is now unknown.
Evan pointed to the east side of the square with his finger, and we looked in the direction he was pointing. In the distance, a huge stone palace stood before us, most of which had collapsed, but the wall facing us still stood upright. On the high steps, there was a massive stone archway, behind which was the palace. The wall that did not collapse was covered with mysterious flower patterns we saw earlier. At the entrance of the palace, two huge human statues still stood there.
We walked past and climbed up some steps, the human statues gradually became clear in our field of vision. The statue on the left was a warrior with a full beard and armor all over his body, holding a huge double-handed sword in front of him. The warrior's eyes were only two holes, staring blankly ahead, what was originally embedded in his eyes, no one knew.
The human-shaped statue on the right is a woman holding a heavenly ladle. The woman's face is dignified, with one hand supporting the heavenly ladle and the other hand holding a magic wand. Similarly, there are two empty eye sockets staring forward.
"Let's go, don't look back. Once we get inside, we'll see a patio where we can take a break before preparing to enter the underground chamber. The chamber is in a small room of a side hall, and from there on, it will be dangerous. Be prepared." Evan brought our thoughts back to reality, leading us to the patio he mentioned.
When resting, Evan ate dry rations in small bites, occasionally taking a sip of water. Watching him eat his rations so carefully, as if afraid to waste even a bit of food, I couldn't help but shake my head. Evan happened to look up and see me, smiled and said: "No way, it's just habit, saving every bit of rations for emergencies is a required course for assassins, we often lurk for long periods of time without being able to move, so saving food is also necessary. Besides, when you drop something on the ground, sometimes it becomes a tracking mark, any assassin who is careless with details won't live long." I nodded and said: "Good habit." Then smiled and ate my own dry rations in hand, maybe because I knew we had enough food and water, so I didn't care, eating very casually.
Evan's sister may still be angry, so she didn't speak to me either. All the way, she just quietly followed us. When we rested, she would find a place to sit down and eat by herself, without saying an extra word.
I gave her a glance and didn't bother with her, instead continuing to ask Evan about the situation in the secret room.
Evan carefully ate the dry rations in his hand, took a sip of water, and said: "There is a large hall in this secret room. In the center of the hall, there is a coffin. The rooms around the hall are all closed, and I don't know what's inside. I only vaguely saw it through the gaps outside. Due to the protection of magic and various mechanisms, I couldn't see clearly. It was only after using many methods that I finally used a long object to grind against the wall for three days before I could barely see the general situation. But even now, I still don't understand why I can see the things inside? Where did those rays of light come from?" After finishing speaking, Evan furrowed his brow and thought for a while.
"I listened to Evan's introduction, Zhang opened his mouth and said: 'You bastard, it turns out you brought me here to rob a tomb...'"
