"Want to know?"
Upon hearing Ye Fan's question, Ji Ziyue's eyes curved into crescents, and the sly smile on her lips became even more pronounced.
"Uh-huh..."
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Li Dan, Li Xiaoman, and the others all nodded vigorously, filled with anticipation.
However, Ji Ziyue deliberately tilted her head, lightly tapped her chin with her finger, and pretended to be thinking seriously, then suddenly burst out laughing.
"Well... why don't you go in and see for yourselves?"
She blinked, her purple dress swaying gently in the breeze, her figure appearing exceptionally graceful in the dim light.
Then she stepped aside to make way for her, making a "please" gesture, her posture both elegant and playful.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo exchanged a glance, both seeing the hesitation in each other's eyes.
But the mysterious girl before them was the only "living person" they had encountered on Mars, the wisp of smoke was real, and more importantly, they had nowhere to retreat.
"Should we go in or not?" Pang Bo asked in a low voice.
Ye Fan took a deep breath, his gaze passing over Ji Ziyue and landing deep within the dilapidated temple.
The temple gate is mottled, and the colorful paintings on it have long since faded and peeled off, leaving only some strange patterns faintly discernible.
There appear to be words above the lintel, but they are eroded by time and are difficult to decipher.
"Enter."
Ye Fan said in a deep voice, "But let's be careful and not separate."
He turned to his trembling classmates behind him and said, "Everyone stay close, this place is strange."
The crowd nodded, their faces filled with fear and unease, but they still followed Ye Fan and slowly stepped into the temple.
Ji Ziyue watched the group of "kids" being so cautious with a smile, not urging them on, but simply leaning against the door, her eyes sparkling with a kind of fascination like watching a show.
The moment Ye Fan stepped through the temple gate, he was jolted.
An indescribable aura wafted over me—not the musty smell of dust, but a more ancient and heavy one, as if I had stepped into a realm sealed by time.
The temple was much larger inside than it appeared from the outside. The dome was high and the light was dim, with only a few rays of dark red sunlight filtering through the cracks in the dilapidated roof.
The temple was empty, with rubble and broken wood scattered on the ground.
The most striking feature is deep within the temple, where a tall Buddha statue stands. Although it has been covered in dust for a long time and its gold body is mottled, its former solemnity can still be seen.
However, the Buddha's face appeared somewhat blurry, even... somewhat eerie, in the dim light.
"This is... a temple?"
Pang Bo looked around in surprise, "How can there be a temple on Mars? And this style..."
"This is the style of Earth, the style of Huaxia."
Ye Fan said in a low voice, his heart even more shocked. He took a few steps closer and carefully examined the remaining murals on the wall.
Although the murals are damaged, the images of flying apsaras, arhats, and bodhisattvas can still be identified. The brushstrokes are simple and the style is very similar to that of ancient Huaxia murals.
"How is that possible...?"
A girl covered her mouth, her eyes filled with disbelief, "This is at least a style from before the Tang Dynasty... How could it possibly appear on Mars?"
The crowd began to scatter and observe. " Ye Fan, look at this!"
Pang Bo found an ancient Bronze Lamp in the corner of the wall. Although it was covered in dust, it had a unique shape and strange patterns engraved on it.
"This lamp is extraordinary."
Ye Fan walked over and examined it closely, discovering that the patterns on the lamp seemed to follow a certain pattern, unlike simple decorations, and instead resembled some kind of... runes?
"Ah!"
On the other side, a girl exclaimed in surprise as she picked up a string of Buddhist prayer beads from under a pile of rubble.
The prayer beads were made of some kind of dark wood, with fine engravings on each bead. They felt warm and smooth to the touch, and didn't look like something that had been around for a long time.
"I found something here too!" someone else shouted.
In an instant, gasps of surprise echoed throughout the dilapidated temple.
Someone found a broken wooden fish mallet; the mallet head was cracked, but the handle was as smooth as jade.
Someone discovered a palm-sized bronze mirror; the surface was blurry, and the back was engraved with a lotus pattern.
Someone also found a tattered page of scripture under the collapsed altar; the paper was yellowed, but the writing was still clearly legible...
Ye Fan's eyes were sharp; he noticed that although these items were scattered everywhere and had been covered in dust for a long time, they all seemed to maintain a strange "integrity."
In the harsh environment of Mars, wood shouldn't be preserved so well, and bronze artifacts shouldn't only have surface dust.
This isn't right.
He looked up and saw Ji Ziyue leaning against the door.
The girl in purple was watching with great interest as everyone looked at her as if she had found a treasure. A half-smile played on her lips, and her eyes held a clear... mockery?
It was as if I were watching a group of country folk who had come to the city and were seeing something new and exciting for the first time.
"Everyone be careful," Ye Fan raised his voice, "These things might not be simple."
What's so complicated about it?
One boy, unimpressed, had already wiped the bronze mirror and was trying to look at himself. "They're just old things, maybe they can fetch a lot of money..."
Before he finished speaking, the bronze mirror in his hand suddenly trembled slightly, and a very faint golden light appeared on its surface. Although it was fleeting, it was particularly conspicuous in the dim temple.
"Holy crap!" The boy was so startled he almost threw the mirror away.
Don't throw it away!
Ye Fan rushed over and took the bronze mirror. The moment he touched it, he felt a gentle warmth emanating from the mirror and spreading along his palm.
Although faint, it was clearly discernible.
"This..."
Ye Fan stared in shock at the bronze mirror in his hand, then looked up at Ji Ziyue.
Ji Ziyue finally couldn't help but giggle, her laughter echoing in the empty temple, clear and melodious.
Is it fun?
She tilted her head and asked, her eyes full of mischief, "It's really amusing to see you all looking at me like I've found a treasure."
"You knew all along that these weren't ordinary items?" Ye Fan asked in a deep voice.
"Of course I know."
Ji Ziyue said matter-of-factly, as she gracefully walked to the center of the temple, her purple robes fluttering in the wind, a stark contrast to the dilapidated surroundings, "How could the relics of the Great Thunderclap Temple, no matter how broken, truly be ordinary objects?"
" The Great Thunderclap Temple?!"
This time, not only Ye Fan, but everyone was shocked.
"You said this is... the Great Thunderclap Temple? The Great Thunderclap Temple from Buddhist legend?" Pang Bo's voice trembled.
"Otherwise what?"
Ji Ziyue shrugged. "Do you really think that any random dilapidated temple on this Yinghuo Ancient Star is worthy of the Nine Dragons Pulling a Coffin to stop there?"
Her words struck like a Jinglei, exploding in everyone's hearts.
Great Thunderclap Temple.
The sacred site where, according to legend, the Buddha preached and taught.
But that's in the Western Heaven's Spirit Mountain, in Earth's legends, how could it possibly be on Mars?
Ye Fan's mind raced, connecting the clues: the giant bronze coffin, the Five-Colored Altar, Mars, the Great Thunderclap Temple...
All of this had long transcended the realm of scientific explanation, pointing to a possibility he dared not delve into.
"So these..." Ye Fan held up the bronze mirror in his hand, "Are all Buddhist treasures?"