Chapter 45: Only Civilization Is Immortal

Modern apartment.

Lin Xuan glanced at Xiao Sizi's stiff back.

The little girl stood motionless, her arms still braced on the table edge.

Lin Xuan sensed the atmosphere was wrong.

Ancients valued returning to one's roots and held imperial power supreme. He realized that such a direct display of real scenes was too cruel a shock for a four-year-old Tang Dynasty princess.

He tried to make a few amending remarks.

"Houses made of wood cannot escape fire and war."

"When a dynasty changes, a new Emperor burns them down with a single torch."

"Not just your Tang Dynasty; the preceding dynasties, the Qin Dynasty and Han Dynasty, were all the same."

As Lin Xuan spoke, his fingers tapped the Keyboard.

Pinyin input.

Five characters entered into the search bar: "Epang Palace Ruins".

The Enter key was pressed.

The screen image rose again and panned.

This time, there were no dense high-rise buildings, no bustling commercial districts.

The image descended upon a vast suburban plain.

In the vast fields grew lush green crops.

In the very center of the fields, a huge yellow earth rammed-earth platform stood alone, rising more than ten meters high.

The platform was overgrown with wild trees and weeds.

A dirt road wound around the edge of the platform.

A few stray dogs wandered at the foot of the platform.

In the distance, the single-story houses of several villages were scattered.

"Look, this is the Epang Palace built by Qin Shi Huang," Lin

"It wasn't finished before the kingdom fell; now it's just a big mound of earth, surrounded entirely by villages and fields."

Outside the Sky Screen.

Qin Dynasty Xianyang Palace.

Ying Zheng was completely stunned.

The number-one palace in the world, intended to house the treasures of the six conquered states, which he believed could withstand the winds and frosts of a thousand generations,

became, more than a thousand years later, a mound of earth where wild dogs urinated and farmers cultivated.

The eternal foundation of the Qin Dynasty left not even a single intact stone tablet.

The Eternal Emperor stepped back two paces, unable to utter a single word.

Lin Xuan's fingers continued to dance on the Keyboard, inputting "Weiyang Palace Ruins".

The image switched.

Several broken, massive stone slabs lay scattered in the wilderness. A modern stone tablet stood amidst the weeds, its surface carved with "Han Chang'an City Weiyang Palace Front Hall Ruins".

Around the stone tablet, withered yellow grass swayed in the wind, over the undulating yellow earth of the ground.

In the distance, a modern excavator stood parked beside a pit.

Lin Xuan leaned back in his swivel chair, his tone carrying a hint of sighing regret.

"The Weiyang Palace of the Han Dynasty, the grand main hall of the Western Han."

"Only a few stones and this tablet remain."

Great Han Weiyang Palace.

Liu Che stared at that lone stone tablet in the Sky Screen.

He turned his head, looking at the massive golden nanmu pillars, thick enough for two arms to encircle, standing tall in the main hall, and at the dragon-carved and phoenix-painted caisson ceiling.

"It's all gone..." Liu Che's Adam's apple rolled, and a bitter laugh escaped him.

Wei Qing and Huo Qubing kept their heads bowed, daring not to look directly at their sovereign.

No matter how peerless the martial arts, no matter how vast the territory.

In the end, none could withstand the gnawing of time.

Lin Xuan pulled two tissues from a box in his desk drawer.

He bent down and pressed the tissues against the little girl's tear-streaked face.

His thumb and index finger, separated by the resilient paper, gently wiped away the rolling tears.

The little girl sobbed, her nose turning red, allowing Lin Xuan to wipe her face.

After turning off the Personal Computer, Lin Xuan grabbed the curtain pull cord and yanked it hard.

The heavy blackout curtains slid open to both sides.

The wild wind outside had stopped at some point.

The torrential rain had weakened into a steady drizzle.

A crack appeared in the thick cumulus clouds, letting through a wisp of somewhat pale sunlight.

The rain gradually subsided.

"Stop crying."

"Come, change your shoes, I'll take you out for a trip."

Xiao Sizi sniffled, wiping the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

"Where are we going?"

"To see the True Buddha." Lin Xuan picked up Xiao Sizi's rainproof thin windbreaker, draped it over her head, and fastened the buttons. "Didn't you want to find the Great Tang? I'll take you to find it."

The black SUV drove out of the underground garage.

The tires rolled over the waterlogged asphalt, splashing water half a foot high.

Lin Xuan held the steering wheel with one hand, his gaze fixed straight ahead. The windshield wipers swept rhythmically.

Forty minutes later.

The vehicle drove into the southern suburbs of the city.

Welcome to the fantasy continent of historical novels, the entrance is here:.

Ahead appeared a vast, majestic complex of Tang-style architecture.

White walls, gray tiles, four corners with flying eaves.

The vehicle came to a steady stop.

Lin Xuan pushed the door open, got out, and walked to the back row to pick up Xiao Sizi.

The two walked on the stone path after the rain, heading toward the main gate.

Above the main gate hung a huge plaque: Shaanxi History Museum.

Passed through security.

Lin Xuan held the little girl's hand and stepped into the dim, spacious exhibition hall.

There was no bustle of the mall here, no traffic of the streets.

Cold light strips ran along the baseboards of the walls; the lighting in the center of the hall was extremely soft.

The marble floor reflected rows of floor-to-ceiling glass display cases.

A few visitors spoke in hushed tones, walking slowly forward.

Lin Xuan led Xiao Sizi through the bronze ware exhibition area, through the Han Dynasty pottery figurine exhibition area.

They walked quickly all the way.

He stopped at the entrance of the third exhibition hall.

"Look up." Lin Xuan pinched Xiao Sizi's shoulder.

Xiao Sizi followed his line of sight.

Above the exhibition hall, a row of glowing characters emitting warm light hung in mid-air.

Treasures of the Tang Dynasty.

Her heart jumped suddenly; she took a step and ran toward the nearest independent glass display case.

Inside the case stood a Sancai Camel Figurine with Musicians.

The glaze colors were vivid, yellow, green, and white interwoven.

The expression was vivid, as if about to come to life.

Xiao Sizi's eyes widened.

Her small hand unconsciously pressed against the cold bulletproof glass.

"This is colored pottery fired by the Shaofu Jian."

"I have seen it in the warehouse before, exactly the same."

Lin Xuan walked behind her, slipped his hands under her armpits, and lifted her entire body up.

Her line of sight rose higher.

Lin Xuan carried her, moving slowly through the exhibition hall.

One display case after another.

Agate Cup with Beast Head.

Gilded Silver Pot with Dancing Horses Holding Cups, Secret Color Porcelain Plate.

With every step, a bit of the despair in Xiao Sizi's eyes vanished.

The marks of the Great Tang had not been completely swallowed by the yellow earth.

They were displayed intact in these transparent covers, radiating a glow spanning a thousand years.

Lin Xuan stopped in front of a huge glass wall.

Inside the wall were displayed rolls of yellowed paper and ancient rare books.

Beside them stood several heavy stone rubbings of green stone steles.

"Yan Qinli Stele," "Duobao Pagoda Stele," on which were printed Yan Zhenqing's dignified and powerful regular script.

Several fragments of copied Tang poetry manuscripts lay flat on velvet stands.

Although the paper had become brittle, the ink traces on it remained clear.

Lin Xuan held Xiao Sizi up.

His gaze swept over those exhibits, finally settling on the little girl's profile.

"Palaces are built of wood; sooner or later they will rot."

"City walls built of brick and stone cannot block the wind and sun."

"There is no dynasty that does not fall, no Emperor that does not perish."

"But look at these."

"The clay figures your Great Tang craftsmen molded, the gold and silver vessels they carved."

"The poems your Great Tang scholars wrote, the characters they carved. All are here."

"For thousands of years, China has seen the world change masters more than a dozen times."

"We have fought terrible wars and suffered famines."

"Yet in every generation, there are those who risk their lives to hide these things and protect them."

Lin Xuan turned his head, looking at the modern visitors lingering in the exhibition hall, admiring the exhibits.

"In our time, with 1.4 billion people, we pooled our money to build this earthquake-proof, fireproof great hall."

"We encase them in the hardest bulletproof Glass, use machines to control the temperature and humidity inside, allowing not even the slightest deviation."

"Every day, people are sent to dust them; every night, patrols are sent to guard them."

"Generation after generation, we have carefully worshipped and hidden them as if they were our ancestors."

"If imperial power is lost, if territory is surrendered, that does not count as the fall of a nation."

"As long as the poems left by your Great Tang are still recited, the characters you wrote are still learned, and the beautiful objects you created are still viewed."

"The soul of the Great Tang will never be severed; it lives forever."

Lin Xuan spoke word by word, his voice ringing with weight.

"Only civilization deserves to speak of immortality."

Chapter 45: Only Civilization Is Immortal — Surprises Await, Click to Unlock Immediately.