Paintings of Terror

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“The Earth’s core is nurtured by the soil. Within it lies time. In the beginning, the heavenly light creates water. Within the water, white fish emerge. Their breath turns into Qi and surrounds the inns as a ring.” wTL82b

This was the opening content of the “Code of Shamans”. Later in the book, it discussed specific methods of practicing shaman craft. Currently, Fang Fei was reading it attentively, hoping to understand it as quickly as possible.

While the film in the tank was still being developed, Mu Yiran and the others were inventorying the items in their luggage. Mu Yiran noticed Shao Ling’s Xun and asked, “Is this Xun any different from the one you used before?”

Shao Ling had already examined the Xun many times: “I haven’t played the Xun for many years. When I was a kid, I used a clay Xun, a nine-hole Xun. This one is a stone Xun. It’s an ancient Xun. It has no sound holes, only a blowing hole.”

Wei Dong didn’t understand a thing, “Luckily, you know what it is. If it were me, I wouldn’t even know it’s a musical instrument. I thought it was a strange little jar. How can this Xun make sounds without holes?” grVTqL

Shao Ling picked up the Xun and looked at the blowing hole, “This type of Xun probably can’t produce a musical tone. In ancient times, it was used to imitate bird calls or animal sounds, to attract and catch prey. Similar Xuns with only one blowing hole have been found in the Hemudu and Yangshao cultural sites. This is probably the most primitive form of the Xun, dating back to at least six to seven thousand years ago.”

“Six to seven thousand years, and I haven’t even had a chance to read ‘Five Thousand Years of Chinese Nation’ yet,” Luo Bu sighed on the side, while Koharu seemed very interested in the stone Xun and kept leaping to try to reach it.

“I think this Xun’s shape resembles an egg. I wonder if this item holds any informational or practical value.” Zhu Haowen said.

Qin Ci quickly understood Zhu Haowen’s point, “It’s just that we don’t know what the ‘Earth’s core’ mentioned in the book really is. Could this Xun be a hint towards the Earth’s core?” pI0MOe

This statement caught Shao Ling’s attention, and he carefully analyzed the stone Xun in his hand, “In fact, the standard shape of a Xun is a flat-bottomed oval. This one’s flat bottom is not very prominent, making it closer to the shape of an egg. If this shape is indeed a hint, there might be some clues to follow. For example, in this world, there are many buildings and foods with Tang Dynasty style, but this Xun is definitely not of the Tang style. The Xun had already developed into a five-hole instrument in the Shang Dynasty, and from then on, it became a formal musical instrument. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, it had evolved into a five or six-hole instrument, and it would certainly not look like this one.”

Wei Dong also began to think: “Why is this thing so hard to figure out? If they really wanted to hint ‘Earth’s core’ at us, they could have just used an egg or an egg-shaped stone. Why bother with a Xun?”

Shao Ling replied, “There is a possibility that the shape of the Earth’s core itself is similar to this Xun, with a hole at the top.”

Zhu Haowen: “There’s another possibility. Leaving an egg might get censored by the painting.” J63n 9

“Censored?” Wu Dong asked.