Chapter 3

Chapter 3

We soon arrived in Sichuan, where Professor Zhu had sent someone to pick us up. The driver introduced himself and mentioned that Professor Zhu was currently working at the Sanxingdui ruins, which piqued everyone’s interest immediately.

The driver chatted excitedly the whole way, rambling about how Sanxingdui belonged to the Chiyou Tribe one moment and claiming it was built by aliens the next.

“The bronze craftsmanship is far beyond anything else from that period. And those masks-oh, you’ll see when you get there, they’re incredible. Professor Zhu says most of the items unearthed are related to sacrificial rituals. It’s all very mysterious.”

After talking for a while, the driver hesitated, then whispered conspiratorially, “And when they first started excavating the site, something happened. It was bizarre, and the media wasn’t even allowed to report on it.”

Lin Xin asked curiously, “Sir, what exactly happened?”

The driver just shook his head and smiled. “I can’t say, I can’t say. You wouldn’t believe me anyway. Go ask Professor Zhu yourselves. That whole business… it has something to do with one of his female students.”

Professor Zhu was an archaeology professor at A University and had several doctoral students under him. They were all following him to work at the Sanxingdui site, as their graduation theses were related to the Sanxingdui culture.

The driver dropped us off at a nearby office building. He was still smiling as we got out, but the moment he turned and saw the young woman standing behind us, his expression shifted instantly.

“Uh, this is Professor Zhu’s student, Dr. Fang. If you need anything, talk to her. I’ll be going now.”

With that, he hurriedly slammed the car door, hit the gas, and sped away.

Seeing his reaction made us even more curious. We turned to look at the young Dr. Fang.

Dr. Fang was a beautiful woman with short hair. She wasn’t very tall and had large, round eyes. She was currently looking at us with a faint smile.

The moment I saw her, the hair on the back of my hands stood up. I immediately understood what the driver had meant.

Dr. Fang actually had heterochromia. Her pupils were exceptionally large with very little white showing; her left eye was pitch black, while her right was a brownish-blue. When she stared at someone, her gaze was unreadable, naturally carrying a sense of dread.

I became interested in her instantly.

In Taoism, heterochromia is often called Yin-Yang Eyes, a natural gift for seeing unclean things. For her to be in the field of archaeology with such eyes, she must have incredible courage.

“Hello, Classmate Qiao. The professor is already waiting for you in the office.”

Dr. Fang smiled at me, seemingly indifferent to the curious looks from the others.

We entered the office to find Professor Zhu holding a magnifying glass, carefully examining a bronze token on his desk. I took a casual glance and my eyes widened. On that token was an asymmetrical pentagram pattern, and in the bottom right corner, a creepy smiling face was drawn.

Professor Zhu explained to us that the site they had initially discovered wasn’t actually Sanxingdui, but another ancient tomb dozens of kilometers away.

“That place was truly strange. The archaeological team met with several accidents, so we had to put it on hold for now. Currently, the team is mainly focused on research at Sanxingdui. This token was found in that other tomb.”

Professor Zhu glanced at Dr. Fang and sighed.

“Fang Qian has an older sister who was also one of my students. Her sister was the one who had the accident in that tomb.”

“As for the specifics of what happened there, I’ll let her tell you. Sect Master Qiao, I know you have real talent, but from my personal perspective, I really don’t recommend you go to that tomb.”

Professor Zhu took off his glasses and rubbed the corners of his eyes, looking quite sorrowful. He then went on to explain a lot about the pentagram. According to his understanding, the pattern was also related to sacrificial rituals.

“All the bronzeware unearthed at Sanxingdui is related to sacrifices. There’s an object shaped like a steering wheel that we call the Bronze Sun Wheel, which is remarkably similar to your pentagram.”

“Professor Zhu, if I may ask, how much do you know about the Zhu You Arts?”

Professor Zhu froze, then shook his head with a bitter smile.

“My father died in a cowshed and burned all those manuals. What could I possibly know?”

“However-”

Professor Zhu looked at the group with hesitation, then suddenly pulled me aside and whispered, “Among the Twelve Forbidden Branches, there are a few symbols I recognize. I can draw them for you, but-”

As he spoke, he raised his hand and rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

My eyes widened.

Seeing that I didn’t seem to get it, he kept rubbing his fingers together so hard he almost created sparks.

I reached out and stopped him.

“Alright, alright, I get it. How much?”