Next, the little companions took turns scolding the new "Chicken Snake" Palu, with "cluck cluck cluck" sounds continuing endlessly.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, discovered a cellar in the crevice of several rocks and crawled inside.
The narrow, square room was graced by the long-absent sunlight piercing through the crevice of the door, making the dust sparkle brilliantly.
As soon as he entered, he was slightly startled.
A dry mummy lay peacefully on the bed with its head tilted, hollow eyes staring at him.
Lu Yuan swallowed hard and held his breath, waiting several seconds.
"So quickly I’ve found the museum’s treasure!"
He poked the mummy carefully with a stick, but it didn’t move or play dead.
Upon closer inspection, Lu Yuan found it startlingly human-like in appearance.
It was about one meter seventy, with blue hair, smooth skin without any hair, and slightly sharp ears, resembling an elf from a fantasy novel.
It was garbed in luxurious silk, and a gold bracelet adorned its wrist.
Even as a mummy, it strangely looked like a beauty...
This resemblance to humans raised doubts in Lu Yuan’s mind...
He also saw a photo on the wall, a family portrait of the unknown civilization.
There were five people, all somewhat hazy and hard to make out clearly.
They were smiling at him. Discover stories with empire
There was a unique beauty of the passage of time.
"A race resembling humans," Lu Yuan mused.
This mysterious phenomenon of convergent evolution made him think that they all must have shared a common ancestor.
Just like Earth has wolves, the Pangu Continent also has them.
It is said that humans share a common ancestor called "Lucy," an ancient hominid dating back roughly 3.2 million years—this seemed quite magical.
Just like the religious tale of "Adam and Eve," humans indeed had a common forebear.
"Looking like humans, isn’t that good?" Old Cat jumped down into the cellar, speaking thoughtfully, "It fits your aesthetic preference, and there might even be no reproductive isolation."
"Even if I were starving, I wouldn’t be twisted enough to consider that..." Lu Yuan replied irritably, "This is a mummy that’s been dead for ten thousand years. Have you gone mad?"
The place seemed to be a small bedroom, and after searching for a while, besides some vials and bottles, he found no useful information.
Lu Yuan didn’t want to move the mummy recklessly, for if it was filled with insects, the mere thought of the scene was hair-raising...
He could only go back to the surface and, after a bit of time, found another room and crawled inside.
This room was fairly fresh and dry, with no signs of any living creatures.
Was it possibly a ceremonial hall?
Ceiling light fixtures were installed, but without power, they couldn’t be lit.
And on the walls were carved beautiful yet blurred murals: on a wondrous day, shapely priests performed a mysterious dance.
They inserted palm branches in their bosoms and interpreted their faith with beautiful hand drums.
In the distant lands, where the earth met the sky, there was a glistening tree, as doves returned from there to the graceful branches, causing the city to rise from the ground, bestowing happiness upon all living things.
Lu Yuan thought of the "demon" that had escaped, as well as the great tree in the mural, wondering what catastrophe had befallen this great civilization, causing even the "demon" to flee.
"Miss Conch, do you have any memories of this place?"
Conch looked curiously at the mural.
[I don’t know, I instinctively don’t city,]
[but I lack any memory of it.]
She said dejectedly, [But if you like it, it’s fine. I’ll get used to it eventually, it’s better than the vast desert outside anyway.]
"Do you... want to be resurrected?" Lu Yuan tried to ask.
He had collected a total of 5 Life Fruits.
After consuming the corpses of so many anomalies, the Tree of Life had indeed grown a bit.
[I don’t want resurrection... isn’t it good as it is now?]
[Besides, Mr. Lu, my Divine Attribute is too high, the Life Fruits you are currently cultivating probably don’t have the power to help me rebuild a body.]
[I might not even be an intelligent life form from here...]
Miss Conch, unsure of her own identity, seemed a bit nervous.
She sighed deeply and spoke gloomily, [What if... I were a tank?]
Lu Yuan almost spat blood, "Who taught you that?!"
[Mr. Turtle, he said it was a heavy tank.]
[Perhaps I’m also a turtle?]
Mr. Turtle, who overheard their conversation, snorted, "Aren’t tanks and turtles good?"
[What if I were an insect?] she said in self-despair.
"If you were an insect, everyone would vote to throw you out," retorted Lu Yuan.
Old Cat also stretched out his furry paw, "You might be the Mouse King."
[That’s evil... I can’t believe I actually had expectations of you trash, I’m really foolish.] She was altogether upset, sulking there, [I am just an insect! A Mouse King!]
Lu Yuan had no choice but to appease her with a shiny piece of gold and a sky blue gemstone he had picked up.
"Cough cough, friends, let’s use this room as a temporary base for now. You all rest here, and let me know if you need anything," he said.
"I’m going to wander around for a bit, looking for more suitable rooms for everyone, where we can fully respect each other’s privacy," he added.
Accompanied by Old Wolf, whose brazen spirit resurfaced, they strolled around the vicinity.
Old Wolf seemed very excited, his large tail wagging like an electric fan.
Here, he even smelled the presence of his kin, and his long-suppressed heart began to stir.