Chapter 167 - Phantom of the Ancient City

Buffy's vision and Lin Ming Yang's memory of "The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" is the same, Terracotta Warriors and XZ this in Lin Ming Yang's eyes completely out of tune with the pairing in Buffy's view is a wonderful combination. Because in his consciousness, as the roof of the world, XZ is as mysterious as the Terracotta Warriors, these two mysterious elements are paired together to attract people's attention and satisfy the audience's desire to hunt, which will create more box office.

The more Buffy talked, the more excited he became, but he ignored Lin Mingyang's increasingly gloomy face, and by the time he came back to his senses and realized the problem, Lin Mingyang's expression was already full of impatience. Barfi pretended to be thirsty for coffee to stop his tall tale, and as he brought the cup to his own mouth, he still couldn't help but raise his eyes to peek at Lin Ming Yang's expression.

Buffy's gaze collided with Lin Ming Yang, and he coughed twice in embarrassment, using it as a way to hide his embarrassment, but his ears still burned.

"There's no way XZ has terracotta warriors." Lin Mingyang shook his head with a facial expression, "It's common sense!"

Buffy felt that Lin Mingyang's words were insinuating his ignorance in every sentence. He immediately felt a lot of manacles around him, even the mellow coffee in his mouth turned into a bitter potion, and he couldn't swallow it even with several efforts.

Seeing that the situation had been made a little stiff by himself, Lin Mingyang's tone eased a little, "I think Mr. Buffy might have been misled by that film, the vast majority of terracotta warriors and horses are filled with earth rather than living people, it is used as a kind of martyrdom to accompany the dead in place of a living person."

As soon as Lin Mingyang's attitude loosened, Barfi's heart immediately breathed a sigh of relief, he nodded with a sudden realization, his body obediently sat forward again, "Since Mr. Felix knows so much about Chinese culture, then he must have a better idea?"

Being counter-attacked, Lin Mingyang was not flustered, but he had a story in mind, but before telling his story, Lin Mingyang decided to test Buffy first, "Have you heard of the explorer Sven Hedin?"

"Of course!" In order to make this movie, Barfi himself had done his homework, "In Sweden, his name could be on par with Nobel!"

Lin Mingyang nodded, "In Hedin's exploratory career, there were two achievements that made him famous all over the world. One was the discovery of the ancient city of Loulan, and the other was filling in the large gaps of XZ on the map. Of course this was all from a European perspective, and Hedin incorporated them into the Western knowledge system for the first time through his precise descriptions."

"I've read his biography, and I think he would have been considered a world-class icon in those days, and many Western leaders at the time were proud to befriend Hedin, and the British Viceroy of India, Lord Cochrane, promised to offer all conditions to help Hedin explore XZ, but sadly, he left his post in a whirlwind." Buffy had finally found a common topic of conversation with Lin Mingyang, his excellent eloquence finally had room to shine.

"But China didn't see it that way, they categorized Hedin as a colonialist explorer just like Stein!"

"But that's not fair!" Buffy's mood snapped, "If it wasn't for Hedin, the Chinese wouldn't have discovered the ancient city of Loulan for who knows how long, and up he explored a lot of uncharted areas of XZ..."

"But these things did not bring tangible benefits to China at that time, on the contrary a large number of cultural relics were taken away by western explorers." Lin Mingyang made a very imaginative analogy, "If the original manuscript of the American Declaration of Freedom was placed in a museum in China, and as an American you wanted to study this piece of history, and you had to apply to China, and then all you got was still just a photocopied accessory, how would you feel about that?"

Buffy was dumbfounded, Lin Mingyang then teased, "In Europe and the United States, but all the museums that are more famous are able to see a collection of Chinese artifacts, but I haven't heard of it, that there is a collection of foreign artifacts in that museum in China. Today's European and American museum collections can be so rich, Hedin and after him those explorers credit!"

"I've read Hedin's autobiography, My Life of Exploration, and in his mindset, XJ and XZ were just Chinese spheres of influence, not China itself. The respect for Chinese sovereignty was a long time in coming. In this sense, the Chinese are not wrong to categorize him as a colonialist explorer."

A look of bewilderment crossed Buffy's face, "Does it have anything to do with our movie whether it's a good or bad opinion of Hedin himself?"

"Of course it's relevant!" Lin Ming Yang put away the playful expression on his face, "The ancestors of the Egyptians weren't ancient Egyptians, how Hollywood films are made doesn't have much impact on the current Egyptians, but China's civilization process hasn't disappeared like Ancient Egypt's did, and their ancestors lived on that land thousands of years ago. If the movie doesn't want to miss the Chinese market, then the basic thematic ideas in the movie can't touch the sensitive bottom line of Chinese people."

Seeing that Buffy was still half-understanding, Lin Mingyang gave another example, "Just like Stein was a shameful robber in the eyes of the Chinese, who stole a large number of artifacts from Dunhuang and sold them to Europe. But in the eyes of the Europeans, Stein is a brave adventurer, regarding controversial topics and characters like these, it's best that none of them appear in the movie!"

"You wait!" Buffy took out a notebook from her bag and pulled out a pen to brush down the points Lin Ming Yang had said.

After saying so much, the coffee cups in front of both of them had already seen the ground, and after letting the waiter change them, Lin Ming Yang began to tell that story he had already conceived long ago, but of course in the beginning part in order to connect with the first two films of The Mummy, he had made some modifications.

"The legend of the mirage-like 'sand-buried ancient city' has been spreading for centuries among the inhabitants of KS Gaer, Rajrik, Marabash, and Yarkand, the oases on the fringes of the Taklamakan Desert. Lord Constanton of England was also an adventurer, and his father once traveled even more with Hedin through the Taklamakan Desert before leaving behind an amazing secret."

"It was said that Hedin had discovered another mysterious ancient city in the Taklamakan Desert in addition to the ancient city of Loulan back then, and underneath that ancient city there was a place that had been made into a 'Ghost Cave' in the diary of Constanton's father, which was rumored to be heavy with airports and traps, and seemed to preserve a It was said to be full of airports and traps, and seemed to hold a rare treasure! Unfortunately, the entire expedition was caught in a water shortage at the time, so it did not go deep into it before returning in a hurry. And it seems that Hedin's several subsequent forays into China had something to do with that mysterious ancient city which was not publicized by him."

"Conston's father organized an expedition in 1902 to go deep into the Taklamakan Desert once again, but in the end it was unsuccessful, and he himself died in depression. In order to fulfill his father's legacy, Constanton organized another expedition into XJ after the end of World War I. Following the clues left behind by his father, Constanton's expedition made a major breakthrough, and they seemed to have found the ancient city that was even more mysterious than Loulan, but in the end, the expedition came to an end because of internal disagreements within the expedition."

"Having learned the lesson of failure, Constanton made preparations for 10 years after returning to England, and finally organized another huge expedition in 1933 to go deep into the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert once again. They split into two to explore, and finally returned but only one expedition, the other Constanton personally led the expedition disappeared in the vast Taklamakan Desert, and since then there has been no news."

Just the beginning of a story had already mesmerized Buffy's ears, and when Lin Mingyang stopped to drink his coffee, he resisted the urge to ask, "He found that mysterious ancient city?"

Lin Mingyang shrugged his shoulders as he sipped his coffee, and Buffy realized that he was being a bit hasty, he blushed and smiled, then obediently kept his mouth shut.

"Everyone thought that Constanton had been buried in the vast desert, but his daughter Sophie was convinced that he was still alive, and she decided to organize an expedition to collect her father, but she lacked experienced and trustworthy companions to travel with her. That's when someone recommends O'Connor, who lives in London, to her."

"Since defeating the Scorpion King, life has returned to normal for the O'Connor family, but that peace is shattered by Sophie's visit to their door. Touched by Sophie's desperate desire to find her father, O'Connor decides to help her, and Rachel, who has become Mrs. O'Connor, also loves adventure, and together with her brother John Harner, the four lead an expedition to the Taklamakan Desert once again."

"In a small oasis town on the edge of the desert, the expedition learns from the locals of an ancient legend about a mysterious ancient city. Once upon a time, long, long ago, there was a powerful nation in the desert, and their ruler was a beautiful queen. This queen loved her people and was deeply loved by them, but because she was too kind-hearted, she was poisoned and killed by a minister who plotted against her."

"That ruthless usurper placed the queen's body in a coffin made of special wood, in which the body would never rot and deteriorate. According to the rumor, if a person's body does not decay after death, then her soul will be forever imprisoned in her flesh, unable to be freed. The usurper killed all the ministers who were loyal to the queen, and then threw them all into the bottomless pit underneath the palace, and the queen's coffin, which was also stored in this hole. In order to prevent anyone from discovering the secret, the usurper laid layers of organs at the entrance of the cave. When he had done all this, disaster struck immediately afterward, and a terrible plague broke out in the whole country, and the ensuing civil strife pulled the once-powerful country into the abyss of destruction. And the ancient city that housed the queen's corpse was also cursed, and no one who entered it came out alive."

"Sophie realizes that the legend is probably about the ancient city that her father, Constanton, has been searching so hard for, and that Constanton's disappearance is most likely related to this bizarre legend as well. Following the clues left behind by Conston when he returned from his first expedition, they went into the Taklamakan Desert."