Theft in Plain Sight

That was why Luo Yang had brought Su Changming along and no one else. The old man could give him the information he needed.

"The Sanxingdui Civilization is a mystery. How it came into being and how it died out still need to be explored and verified. Don't let all the artifacts we've unearthed fool you-we've only uncovered a few percent. Who knows how much is buried beneath this soil?" Su Changming said with a sigh.

"Then, among the artifacts unearthed so far, are there any connected to shamans?" Luo Yang steered the conversation toward what he most wanted to know.

Su Changming thought for a moment, then said, "There actually is one. A Kneeling Figure Statue was found in Sacrificial Pit No. 2. Have you seen it?"

Luo Yang shook his head. "No."

"Then you really should take a look," Su Changming said. "The Kneeling Figure Statue has both hands resting on his knees, socks on his feet, and curly hair swept back before rising upward. He looks very distinguished. Based on my research, he was probably a shaman, and his posture suggests he was praying for blessings or performing a sacrifice."

"Professor Su, those features don't seem to have much to do with shamans. How can you be sure he was one?"

"This was five or six thousand years ago. For an ordinary person to have even a scrap of cloth on their body would have been remarkable, let alone socks. Think about it—what kind of status would someone who wore socks five or six thousand years ago have had?" Su Changming continued, "Besides, this is the Sichuan Basin. When has a curly-haired ethnic group ever originated here? So that wasn't his hair, but a hairpiece that was something like a hat. The Sanxingdui Civilization worshipped the sun, and that wavy hairpiece represented sunlight. Therefore, that Kneeling Figure Statue was probably a shaman of distinguished status."

"When you put it that way, Professor Su, it does make sense. But shouldn't sunlight be straight?" Luo Yang still had some doubts.

"Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and Earth's gravity before reaching the ground. The substances in the atmosphere and Earth's gravity both alter the light rays. There's really no such thing as a perfectly straight ray."

"People five or six thousand years ago knew that too?" Luo Yang asked in surprise.

Su Changming chuckled. "Don't underestimate ancient people. They had already mastered bronze technology five or six thousand years ago, which is an incredible mystery in itself. And don't assume human civilization is progressing. It might well be going backward."

Deeply moved, Luo Yang turned his gaze back to the Bronze Knife lying on the muddy ground. "Professor Su, do you think this Bronze Knife could have been that Kneeling Figure Statue's Witch Artifact?"

"That's impossible," Su Changming said. "The objects in the two pits came from different periods, possibly hundreds or even thousands of years apart. Besides, if this Bronze Knife belonged to that Kneeling Figure Statue, why bury them separately? They should have been placed together."

"Then whose Bronze Knife was it?" Luo Yang asked.

Su Changming frowned. "If you're asking me, who am I supposed to ask?"

Luo Yang smiled. "Don't get worked up. I just wanted to discuss it with you."

"Discussing things with you will probably shave years off my life," Su Changming said irritably.

Luo Yang: "..."

That was hardly surprising. A medical student discussing history with a renowned archaeology professor wasn't asking to be tormented-he was tormenting the professor.

Luo Yang crouched down and reached for the Bronze Knife.

"Careful!" Su Changming instantly grew nervous. Earlier, he had used that Bronze Knife to stab Luo Yang. If Luo Yang now used it to stab him, an old man like him wouldn't even be able to run away.

Luo Yang still reached out and grasped the Bronze Knife's hilt.

The eye on the hilt suddenly flashed green, radiating a menacing evil aura! At that same instant, a surge of icy energy shot from the hilt into Luo Yang's arm and spread through his entire body!

Earlier, it had restrained its spiritual energy under pressure from the Witch Ruins. But now that it had nowhere left to retreat, it was bound to fight back!

That alone was enough to prove how powerful-and cunning-the Bronze Knife's "artifact spirit" was!

This time, Luo Yang was prepared. Before jumping down, he had already awakened the ancestral shaman life seal. The seal was an inheritance from the Witch Ruins and was bound to it. Awakening the ancestral shaman life seal effectively united him with the Witch Ruins, making the Witch Ruins his "weapon"!

Ring!

The Witch Ruins gave a clear chime. Wherever its sound waves passed, the icy energy vanished completely. The evil spirit within the Bronze Knife was suppressed once more and shrank back into the blade.

The Bronze Knife trembled incessantly, like an underling shaking in terror with a boss's hand clamped around his throat.

"Behave yourself," Luo Yang said coldly, "or I'll destroy you!"

As though it had understood Luo Yang's words, the Bronze Knife actually stopped trembling.

"Little Luo, who are you talking to?" Su Changming asked curiously.

"I'm talking to this Bronze Knife."

Su Changming was utterly baffled, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

Luo Yang extended his Primordial Medical Finger and tapped the spine of the blade. "I'm taking you out of here now. If you don't behave, I'll destroy you!"

The Bronze Knife quivered slightly, as though responding.

"Little Luo, has this knife affected you? What are you muttering to yourself about? Are you all right?" Su Changming was deeply worried and a little frightened.

Luo Yang didn't answer. He stood up, pulled open his collar, and slipped the Bronze Knife inside his clothes right in front of Su Changming.

Su Changming was dumbfounded. After a moment, he said anxiously, "Little Luo, what are you doing? Do you know how many years you can get for stealing cultural relics? Especially bronze artifacts-you could even lose your head over it!"

While he spoke, Luo Yang wound the red cord attached to the Witch Ruins around the Bronze Knife, securing the Witch Ruins snugly against the blade.

Total suppression!

"Little Luo! I'm talking to you! Snap out of it! You can't break the law!" Su Changming was frantic.

Luo Yang smiled. "Professor Su, what are you thinking? If I wanted to steal bronze artifacts, why would I bring you along? I'm taking this knife back to the Museum to remove its spirit."

"Then there's still no need to hide it inside your clothes. People will get the wrong idea."

"If I don't keep it hidden against my body, it'll hurt people again," Luo Yang said. "All right, let's head back."

When he had awakened the ancestral shaman life seal earlier, he had already used the super-sense state to carefully scan the entire area covered by the sheet-metal shed. Apart from this Bronze Knife, all the other bronze artifacts were normal, including those buried in the soil, so there was no need to stay any longer.

If he had come alone, he could have performed the Spirit Communication Technique right there in the pit and refined the Bronze Knife's spiritual energy, effectively destroying its "artifact spirit." But with Su Changming there, he felt it would be awkward. If anything went wrong and he stabbed Su Changming, he would be a complete idiot.

So, to be safe, he decided to take the Bronze Knife back to the Museum and deal with it there.

The two left the sheet-metal shed and headed back. By then, it was dark, and they could see the checkpoint's lights from far away.

"Little Luo, you aren't planning to ditch me and deal with it alone, are you?" The more Su Changming thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he sounded a little displeased.

"Then how about I give it to you?" Luo Yang replied. "You can deal with it however you like."

Su Changming: "..."

Their friendship capsized just like that.