Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 61 - Museum

61: Chapter 61: Museum

61 -61: Museum

After a night’s rest, everyone was refreshed and eager to head to the Foreign Culture Museum.

They didn’t expect to stumble upon anything significant, but that was okay as they saw it as a tourist trip.

However, everyone was relieved this time – no one went missing.

Everyone’s safety awareness had noticeably improved.

The hotel they stayed at was not far from the Foreign Culture Museum, so they walked there.

Throughout the journey, Xia Yue stuck with Du Jun.

On narrow pathways, Xia Yue would let Du Jun walk first.

If Du Jun was buying tickets, Xia Yue would watch his bag.

No matter what Du Jun did, Xia Yue was always ready to accommodate.

Observing their interaction, Lu Yi muttered in annoyance: “Has anyone ever brown-nosed so profusely?

I couldn’t do it even if I tried.”

Su Hui chimed in: “Don’t underestimate people like him.

Having the gall to flatter so obviously is a talent in itself.”

Gu Fan nodded, “True, many people can’t get ahead because they’re too bashful.

But still..” Gu Fan looked at Xia Yue fawning over Du Jun and wondered what Xia Yue was thinking.

Did he really believe that Du Jun could help him?

Everyone knew that Xia Yue came from a poor family.

His family had scraped together everything they had to send him to university.

Again, Lu Yi felt the need to say something: “Xia Yue always works hard and his academic performance is outstanding; he constantly receives scholarships and is well regarded by his teachers.

Surely, he doesn’t need to suck up to Du Jun.”

Gu Fan scoffed indifferently, “Who cares, it’s his business.” Yet, internally he disagreed; he had never seen any student from an impoverished background suck up to someone as overtly as Xia Yue.

Couldn’t he be a bit more discreet?

Regardless, Xia Yue appeared oblivious, continuing to smile sycophantically at Du Jun.

He seemed completely unconcerned about the disdainful looks he periodically received.

Everyone eventually discarded these thoughts, deciding to enter the Foreign Culture Museum collectively.

It was originally the ancient palace of the Great Night Country.

After some restoration, they kept the original appearance but mixed in foreign cultural relics for display, attracting visitors and selling tickets.

If tourists could buy some local specialities on their visit, it would be even better for the local economy. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Without a guide, they had to wander around.

They observed various paintings, ceramics, carvings, musical instruments, and even watched some videos illustrating the cultural characteristics of the foreign lands.

Gu Fan, as if suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, had to clearly see every displayed item, especially the descriptions, fearing that he might miss some critical information.

However, this meticulous approach slowed him down considerably.

The palace of the Great Night Country was vast.

Moving from one hall to another was time-consuming.

But Gu Fan was patient and had plenty of time.

If this process would solve the problem they were facing, he was willing to invest his time into it.

He wasn’t the only one.

The others were also carefully inspecting everything, it was almost like they were hoping that the blind cat would catch the dead mouse – sensing an opportunity from Gu Fan’s diligence.

Lu Yi casually commented while looking around, “This painting is nice, but I don’t understand it.

The porcelain looks valuable, I bet it would fetch a high price at auction.” This elicited a silent sigh from Jie.

They ambled around and after half a day they’d only finished exploring one hall of the museum.

At this pace, it was impossible to finish visiting the entire museum within a day.

As time passed and with the increase in the number of artefacts they saw, even Gu Fan started losing patience.

He was beginning to think it was pointless when suddenly, Lu Yi rushed over and whispered, “Guess who I just saw.”

Gu Fan paused, then prodded, “Who’s that?

Don’t be so mysterious, just spit it out.”

“Just take a look over there…” Lu Yi uttered, pointing in a direction.

Gu Fan looked where he pointed and was drawn to a beautiful face amongst the crowd.

He recognized her and sighed, “Well, it’s a small world, isn’t it?”

Lu Yi immediately asserted, “Don’t be so pessimistic.

This might be a chance to redeem yourself and improve that lady’s opinion of you.”

“No thanks, I’d rather focus on what I’m here for – that’s more practical.” Saying so, Gu Fan turned and walked in the contrary direction.

He didn’t want to cross paths with the standoffish woman and draw an inexplicable icy glare again.

Gu Fan then came to a screening hall.

It displayed information about many foreign countries including their names, specialties, locations and more.

The Great Night Country received extensive mention.

However, despite his keen attention, Gu Fan didn’t hear a thing about the ancient Qian Ye country.

According to his history teacher, rapidly rising and quickly falling kingdoms like Qian Ye were often left out of historical records.

Gu Fan’s investigation here was largely a stroke of luck.

He’d seen so much but found nothing useful yet.

As Gu Fan’s disappointment grew, he moved to another hall.

There, the armor of the soldiers from the Great Night Country had been displayed.

They stood imposingly, each helmet clutching a terrifying mask.

Gu Fan examined the armor, looking at the tusks on the mask, and found it quite scary.

He guessed it was designed to intimidate the opponent, or perhaps it represented a certain god that gave the soldiers their courage to fight.

The palace mainly focused on foreign wars, as the Great Night Country held significant influence abroad during that time period.

In order to expand its influence and solidify its position, the country engaged in numerous conflicts.

The palace recounted several significant battles of the Great Night Country.

The earlier battles were all victorious, but the later ones resulted in consecutive defeats, with territories being seized and the country eventually declining.

There were several paintings within the palace that depicted these battles.

The earlier paintings showed the soldiers of the Great Night Country, in their formidable armor, defeating their rivals.

They were painted with great vigor, demonstrating the country’s prestige.

However, the last painting depicted soldiers of the Great Night Country being defeated and routed, just like homeless dogs.

The painting was full of characters including soldiers from the Great Night Country, generals, war horses, and enemies.

Gu Fan took a cursory glance and thought nothing of it.

Just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly froze.

During that fleeting glimpse, Gu Fan spotted a figure that was different from the rest.

It was a woman who was dressed in armor of a higher rank than those around her.

Instead of a helmet, she wore something that resembled a crown.

She was seated in a chariot, her sword pointing towards the retreating army of the Great Night Country.

That’s when Gu Fan remembered.

It was during the rise of the Qian Ye Ancient Country, led by their queen, that the Great Night Country’s armies were undefeated, and the position of the Great Night Country was threatened.

Was this painting a depiction of the Great Night Country’s defeat at the hands of the Qian Ye Ancient Country?

With that idea in mind, Gu Fan carefully studied the painting for further clues.

However, his efforts were in vain – the painting revealed no hidden information.

Undeterred, Gu Fan searched the palace for anything related to that battle.

He examined the displayed weapons and war chariots, leaving no stone unturned.

“The location, any recorded text about the location of the battle could help infer the location of the Qian Ye Ancient Country.” Gu Fan thought.

However, he wasn’t sure if this idea was correct.

But it was his only lead, and he decided to hold onto it tightly.

However, after some searching, Gu Fan was a bit disheartened.

There was no information he needed.

Contemporary texts didn’t detail the Great Night Country’s disastrous defeat.

Although photography was prohibited, Gu Fan stealthily photographed the painting when the staff wasn’t looking.

He decided to study it later for reference.

After viewing the introduction to the foreign cultural exchanges, Lin Xi and Lu Yi quickly called over Gu Fan.

It appeared they made some kind of discovery.

According to modern texts, several foreign countries, especially the Great Night Country, regularly interacted with the Central Plains.

They were influenced by its culture, even hiring talent from the Central Plains to build their nation.

As a result, in the later period, the culture of the Great Night Country began to align with that of the Central Plains.

“It doesn’t seem significant?” Gu Fan was a bit puzzled, but Lin Xi explained that the exhibit showcased the interaction between foreign countries themselves and with the Central Plains.

Gu Fan immediately understood.

If the Great Night Country and the Qian Ye Ancient Country communicated, there could be records of the latter’s location.

Lin Xi then pointed and said, “Over there is a map depicting the route from the Great Night Country to the Central Plains.

Perhaps we can find another one displaying the route to the Qian Ye Ancient Country.”

Gu Fan thought this made sense.

Whether for diplomatic visits or military expeditions, a route map was necessary, otherwise it was easy to get lost.

However, not much could be preserved after wars, theft, and the erosion of thousands of years.

Therefore, the maps and documents today are scarce.

The fact that even one could be found is already a miracle in itself.

Gu Fan carefully scanned the surroundings once more but was disappointed.

There didn’t seem to be the information he was looking for.

He thought he might have made a wasted trip.

“Well, let’s just leave it at that”.

Just as Gu Fan was about to give up, he heard someone shouting outside the palace: “Stop the thief, don’t run, don’t run!”

Many people were drawn to the commotion, and as Gu Fan stepped out of the palace to see what was going on, a strong impact from the side sent him flying.

“My goodness, who’s running so fast?” Gu Fan was hit so hard he saw stars.

Just as he was about to curse the person for their rudeness, he froze.

He saw a security guard pinning down a man looking rather dejected.

Just as Gu Fan was wondering what had happened, a woman ran over.

After a glance at Gu Fan, the atmosphere turned awkward.