The Earl has always been yearning for the ancient and mysterious oriental culture, and someone traveled to China decades ago. The scriptures, silks, embroidery, porcelain, portraits, etc. brought back are amazing and breathtaking.

What interests him the most is the exquisite murals copied and printed from the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, which can be called a miracle.

Dunhuang is an important hub for the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures in history, where different cultures converge and blend.

The murals of the Mogao Grottoes are distinctive, exotic, and the collision of Greek mythology and Middle Eastern legends of major religions seems to contain many meanings.

The count, who rarely pleaded, pleaded with the king many times, hoping to feast his eyes on it. Sith III could see him bow his head and take him hard. Let him see one or two paintings a year, and he still admires only one percent of the many collections.

In recent years, the earl simply did not look at it, but just imagined that he would have the opportunity to go to the Mogao Grottoes in person and appreciate the wonders.

......

Dunhuang is approaching.

The vast desert, the vast Gobi, the cold snow-capped mountains.

Everywhere mottled tells the glory of the past and the endless vicissitudes of life. Seem...... Came to the end of the world.

For some reason, the earl, who had been to many historical sites, suddenly had a palpitation, which was difficult to describe, and he had an inexplicable feeling of being close to home.

Completely unfamiliar place, extremely familiar feeling. Like a dream, at the end of the wind-swept ancient road, the white clothes are vaguely better than the snow, and the long sleeves are flying.

With an indescribable feeling, it has finally arrived. They first stayed in Dunhuang, and after a short rest, they prepared to go to the Mogao Grottoes. Mogao Grottoes is located in the southeast of Dunhuang more than 40 miles, on the cliff at the eastern foot of Mingsha Mountain. The retinue drove the carriage and arrived not long after.

The earl was a little excited, the long-awaited Mogao Grottoes were in front of him, and he thought of the king's bird gas in order to see the mural, and today he could appreciate the real thing vividly, and he couldn't help but feel a little proud. He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, calmed his mood, and like a pilgrim, he was dressed and slowly walked into the Mogao Grottoes with Fasilia......

Magical!

There is no other word to describe what is in front of you but this one. The ingenious Buddha statues and vivid murals all make people fall in love with the mysterious and distant culture of ancient China.

The Count was interested more in frescoes.

The murals of the Mogao Grottoes are unique, and unlike all the murals in the world, the murals here have fewer ethnic characteristics, as if they have broken these boundaries, and these differences do not exist in the first place.

And this is the main reason why the earl wants to come here to find out.

He savored each mural carefully, fascinated. I still remember what I had seen in the palace before. Compared to the vast sea here, it is a drop in the bucket.

There are 492 caves in size, and the narrative frescoes in each cave reflect the customs and major events of the time, and most of the well-informed counts can see it at a glance at first.

But the later it goes, the less the characteristics of those nationalities, races, and generations become, and by the end they have disappeared completely, and it seems to have entered the ancient period. For the Count, who is familiar with world history, the further back he looks, the more shocking he becomes, the ancient gods of the East and the West appear in the same mural.

Vaguely, he always had a premonition as if some great truth was about to be revealed. As the tour progressed, the feeling intensified until a mural came into view, and the Count knew where his strong premonition came from.

It's too old, but it's still faintly recognizable: the first is a graceful woman perched high above her feet, crawling with twelve giant mosquitoes at her feet.

Twelve mosquitoes!

The earl was shocked, and sweat oozed from his forehead in the dry and cold grotto. He wiped his sweat, steadied himself, and continued to look down.

The second is a man with a scythe, and judging by his outfit, it is likely to be Kronos, the god of time during the Chaos Period. There was a jar of wine in front of Kronos...... Before leaving, the important information brought by Prince Merisser came to mind, and the earl's palms also secreted cold sweat.

Next to Kronos stood a man, who seemed to be listening to his commands. For some reason, he couldn't even see his face clearly, and the Count actually had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with this person.

The third painting shows the man next to Kronos holding the jar of wine, sitting on the ground with twelve mosquitoes, as if drinking the jar together.

The next four, five, or six are all war scenes, and the leaders on both sides are the woman and Kronos in the first picture. Even though it is a mural, you can feel that the sky is full of gods and demons, and the battle is fierce.

The seventh is supposed to be the end of the war, and it seems that the women's side is winning, and the two sides seem to be negotiating, and the jar of wine is on the table.

Although it was seven frescoes, the Count was thrilling and crumbling to see. Faslia was concerned about helping him out, but he shook his head, didn't say a word, just stared at the mural for a long time.

The Count's vaunted prowess was completely useless at this point. Except for a little knowledge of Kronos, the god of time, the rest of the confusion is not at all.

Who is that woman? If she can be the enemy of Kronos, she must also be an ancient god, but he can't remember any myths and legends that have this great god. And the jar of wine, the familiar man, what caused the war, and what happened to the twelve giant mosquitoes?......

Wait a minute! Mosquitoes!

He was dizzy by too many questions, but in fact, when he saw the mosquitoes in the mural, he was startled a lot, and immediately thought of Prince Melisser's strange dream. It's just that the more I look at it, the more strange it becomes, and it's really a little dizzy.

Well...... Let's start with the clues of mosquitoes. The Count gradually regained his senses and walked out of the cave with Faslia. I took a few deep breaths of fresh air and cleared my mind.

Soon, plan what you're going to do next. 1. Meet with local officials in Dunhuang and consult relevant historical records. 2. Ask the caretakers of the Mogao Grottoes to see if they can ask for information about the murals. 3. See Prince Melisser as soon as he returns, verify the details, and find out whether the dream and the mural are coincidental or indeed connected. Fourth, a closer look at Greek mythology, with an emphasis on Kronos.

Showing his identity, he was easily received by local officials. In Dunhuang, the streets are full of all nationalities and races, and the local residents are commonplace, and most of them know several Chinese languages.

After explaining the reason, the local authorities provided all the information about the Mogao Grottoes, and made an appointment for the Count to meet the grotto's caretaker, a dazzled and illiterate old man. After a brief exchange, the donkey's lips did not match the horse's mouth, and the count was completely disappointed in it.

It seems that the search for the truth must start from the records.

For several days, the Count stayed at home, carefully examining every detail, and finally, when he saw the creator of the fresco, the first clues appeared.

Most of the murals were made for the painting of Saint Wu Daozi. In the documents he left behind, most of the ins and outs of the mural creation are described in more detail.

When he flipped through the descriptions of the last few frescoes, the count's hands trembled a little.

Is this the meaning of the mural?......

There is only one sentence recorded in the book: During the chaotic period, he suddenly took charge of time and space with Kronos and fought in Dunhuang. Suddenly, it wins.

Thousands of miles of hard work, days and nights of hard work only get this little reward?

The Earl was a little disappointed, but after all, he had some eyebrows, and knew the identity of this woman, unlike at the beginning, he was confused and completely confused.

"It turns out that this woman's name is 'Suddenly' and Kronos are both gods of time and space. I guess I'm in charge of the East and the West. But what about the cause of the war? What do the twelve mosquitoes represent? What is the special significance of the repeated appearance of the jar of wine? And who is that familiar person?"

The thought of this man made the Count's heart beat faster without warning, as if this was the real concern in his heart.

The Count pondered, savoring every word of the sentence...... But in the end, it will be difficult to reap any more gains.

“...... It's better to call Faslia to discuss it together. ”

It suddenly occurred to the Earl that Faslia might not be as good as one percent of him in terms of knowledge, but if it was a change of opportunity, he would probably have to bow down.

......

"In my opinion, all wars must be for power, and both of them are time and space gods, and they must be fighting for time management. Mosquitoes...... Uh-huh! Twelve...... Maybe it's representing time, it seems that Kronos sent people to get the mosquitoes drunk with wine, disrupting time and space, and suddenly refusing to agree, so let's go to war. ”

After looking at it, Faslia pondered for a moment and said slowly.

The Earl's eyes widened as he looked at her: "I can't think of a reason for this, but what you said in a few words is reasonable, and it seems that my name as the first wise man must give way." ”

Faslia smiled at him, "You have to be a little smart, or I can deal with you for the rest of my life!" The two looked at each other and laughed.

The Count continued, "Who is that man next to Kronos? ”

Fascia laughed: "I think you have been stupid in studying these murals recently, and the things in the ancient legends can also have something to do with you? besides, this is just a servant who is ordered to work, what kind of important person can it be?" haha."

The Earl couldn't help laughing, but he still vaguely felt that something must be wrong......

What really bothered the Count was the damn twenty-four seconds, and from the moment he set foot on the trip, he had put down the pocket watch that had never left him, and he had never looked at the time, or dared not look at it.

In the mural, there are two mythological gods of time at the same time, as well as the giant mosquito mentioned in Prince Merisser's dream. All of them made the Earl faintly feel that there must be a mysterious connection in this, and it seemed to be closely related to himself.

The truth is there, but you can't reach it. Faslia's understatement was reasonable, but for some reason it gave him a glimmer of unwarranted fear.