Chapter 14: Could anyone possibly live forever?

Yesterday, the museum added a portion of the artifacts discovered on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan to its collection, creating a nationwide sensation. Countless tourists who had heard of the news flocked to the museum, making the tickets hot commodities.

If it weren’t for Lila’s extensive connections, it would have been impossible for William to get in at this time.

Before they entered, Lila had told David that they should go their separate ways. 𝒃𝙚𝙤𝙫𝒆𝒍．𝙘𝒐𝙢

David had agreed readily, but he followed them nonetheless.

Lila couldn’t very well shoo him away.

After entering the museum, William looked around silently. He paused before each artifact, appearing to ponder something.

As his host, Lila simply stood by and introduced the origins of those artifacts.

“This ‘Rin Dragon Blue and White Cup’ is a piece of Jun porcelain from China’s Song Dynasty. Do you know about Jun porcelain?” Lila, looking at the Rin Dragon Blue and White Cup in the display case, introduced it to William. “Jun porcelain originated in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Song Dynasty. It has a history of more than 1,300 years and was appointed as a royal treasure by the emperors since Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Only the royal family was allowed to own it, and it was forbidden for the common people to possess privately. This Rin Dragon Blue and White Cup is the only one in the world and is undoubtedly a national treasure.”

“Hm?” William responded casually, “It’s just a slightly nicer-looking cup. Besides, this isn’t the only one in the world.”

“Are you joking? Just a slightly nicer-looking cup? What do you think this is?”

David, who had been standing behind them, finally couldn’t resist scoffing, “This Rin Dragon Blue and White Cup is definitely the last one in the world. Such a rare treasure, if there were a second one, it would have caused a national sensation long ago.”

William simply glanced back at him without a word, his gaze seemingly viewing an imbecile.

It’s just Song Dynasty Jun porcelain. To others, it might seem precious, even unparalleled, but to William, it was just a slightly nice-looking cup.

David clenched his fists in anger. He wanted to rush up and give William, this country bumpkin, a good beating. But for the sake of decorum, he let it go.

Lila didn’t know what to say, attributing it to William being from the mountains and not being aware of the value of the cup.

“Speaking of cups, I used to have a completely transparent one, which was pretty good.” William recalled a crystal cup he had used over two thousand years ago, the completely transparent type. He preferred simple-looking items.

A transparent cup?

Lila couldn’t help but purse her lips. Sure enough, William’s taste was probably limited to transparent glass cups.

But she was puzzled. Could her grandfather really value a hillbilly with no taste?

David chuckled from the side, “Glass cups are indeed nice. They suit your character very well.”

William glanced at him, saying, “If I remember correctly, that cup was made of crystal, not glass. Glassware only came into existence a few hundred years ago.” After saying that, he even pulled out his phone to look it up.

“Crystal?” David couldn’t help but laugh, “You mean, your cup was an antique crystal cup? Not from the ancient Roman period in Italy, is it?”

William looked up a Roman-era crystal cup excavated in Italy on his phone. After seeing the picture, he just smiled and said, “It probably is.”

“Lila, this guy’s not crazy, is he?” David couldn’t help himself anymore.

Lila shot David a cold glance, ignored him, and turned to William, “The artifacts discovered from the mysterious tomb on Mount San Juan Teotihuacan are displayed up ahead. Let’s go take a look.”

Of course, Lila didn’t believe what William was saying. It was clear he was boasting. She didn’t want to deal with David either, but David continued to press.

William was, after all, her guest, and David’s constant antagonism was simply tiresome.

David noticed Lila’s discontent and didn’t dare to say more, but his gaze towards William was full of resentment.

If it weren’t for this kid, how could he have embarrassed himself in front of Lila?

“‘The artifacts from Mount San Juan Timuquin…’ ” William mused as he moved forward, gazing at the items displayed one by one. He sighed, unable to resist, as these items were actually part of his previous collection.

He had several tombs like the one on Mount San Juan Timuquin. Who knows how they have changed and eroded over time? Some tombs were even forgotten, their locations eluding his memory.

“I heard from Mr. White that this stele is believed to be from ancient times? But nobody recognizes the first few lines of text engraved on it! We don’t even know what it says, and the material of the stele is definitely not from Earth.”

“Could there really be extraterrestrial civilizations?”

“No, no, no. Look, besides the unrecognizable, unheard-of script on the stele, there’s also oracle bone script, Gothic typeface, even modern Copperplate script.”

Two elderly gentlemen wearing reading glasses stood in front of a stele, studying it with keen interest.

William wandered over, transfixed by the stele. This stele was something he’d kept all along, inscribing interesting events from his recent life each time he reawoke.

From ancient times? William held back a smile. It seemed the so-called experts still didn’t understand this stele.

“Ryan, do you think this could be a diary?”

“It certainly seems like it, and the events recorded on it, apart from the first few lines, appear to span the entire history of the world.”

“I never imagined a simple-minded child could unify the world.”

“I met a boy named Columbus who has a great love for sailing. I taught him some navigation techniques, which should be enough to realize his dream.”

“Later on, I didn’t expect that in his search for me, he discovered this continent. Gradually, more and more people arrived here, establishing nations. How ridiculous.”

…

The two old men translated parts of the script on the stele, with staff members recording their interpretations on the side.

Not just the two translators, but even the workers were completely dumbfounded. The inscriptions on the stele seemed more like an individual’s account of their own life, which was quite unnerving to contemplate.

“I couldn’t stand seeing the world in chaos, I just wanted to warn Japan, but I ended up going too far. I must be careful not to act rashly in the future.”

“This… this is Copperplate script? It should have been inscribed during the 17th or 18th century, right?”

The two old men almost suffered a heart attack on the spot. They roughly translated some of the inscriptions, and then a terrifying idea surfaced in their minds.

Could there really be someone who has lived from the ancient times, or even earlier, up until now?

Could there really be someone who is immortal?