Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 70: Chapter 70: Illiterate and Uncultured

Mu Silin and Shen Yue stared at him in surprise.

Bai Chaosi nodded.

”I’m just guessing, too. According to legend, the Beast God’s Divine Hall has eight Divine Envoys, and these eight giant statues look the part. But that’s all just a legend. It’s also possible this was a temple where the Beast World People worshipped the Beast God hundreds or even thousands of years ago.”

Shen Yue listened, finding the explanation reasonable.

Mu Silin agreed as well.

”That makes sense.”

After all, the Beast World People had believed in the Beast God for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. It was very likely that his followers had built this to make worshipping him more convenient.

Shen Yue held up her flashlight, admiring the statues in earnest. She had to admit, the people of this Beast World might not excel at other things, but she hadn’t expected them to be so skilled at carving.

The craftsmanship was simply exquisite.

’So every world has its own culture. Even though their lifestyle isn’t very modern or refined—they eat raw meat and live in caves in the wild, and they aren’t even good with fire.’

’But they have their own version of Rome!’

’This carving, for example, would be considered a masterpiece even in the modern world. It’s the pinnacle of the art form.’

Just then, Shen Yue walked to the base of one of the stone statues.

Her gaze traveled down its form, and she froze.

”Why is there an empty seat under this statue? And it’s so small...”

It looked as if it were meant for a person of average height.

Shen Yue walked over to the spot, shining her flashlight around. She took a step back to get a better view.

As she looked, she froze. It felt as if all eight giant statues were facing her spot, their heads slightly bowed.

Their posture was one of humility.

’Does that mean this is the seat of honor?’

She shone her flashlight on the giant statue behind her.

She then realized the statue behind her was in the pose of a Guardian. Its arms were slightly spread, as if using its towering body to shield the seat’s occupant, silently standing watch.

She found it amusing. ’Could this be the Beast God’s seat?’

’But why leave the seat empty instead of carving an image of the Beast God?’

As she was thinking, she casually shone her flashlight on the ground.

Mu Silin had sharp eyes.

”What’s on the ground?”

Shen Yue followed his gaze.

On the ground they had just walked over, there was another giant statue. Only this one was in a reclining pose, and it was in the form of a woman.

The woman lay on the floor, her body turned slightly to the side, her eyes peacefully closed as if she were intimately embracing the earth in her sleep.

The sight was strange, and it made Shen Yue feel a sudden, visceral discomfort.

’Why would it be carved at the feet of the eight giant statues, as if it were one with the earth itself!’

Bai Chaosi frowned as well.

”In the legends about the Beast God, I don’t think there are any women.”

Mu Silin nodded.

”That’s right. In all the stories we heard growing up, we never heard about a woman by the Beast God’s side!”

Shen Yue raised an eyebrow. She tried to recall the original owner’s memories of the Beast God legends but found her mind was a near-complete blank on the subject.

All she knew was that the Beast God was a belief passed down through the generations in the Beast World. As for the actual details of the legends, she had nothing useful at all.

’Sometimes I really have to wonder if the original owner had something wrong with her brain.’

’She lived in this Beast World for decades, born into a top-tier noble family in the Royal City, yet she didn’t leave me with a single speck of useful information.’

She looked at the statue on the ground, frowning unconsciously.

’If there are no women in the Beast God legends, then why is this woman carved into the floor?’

’And from the looks of it, she’s being trampled under the feet of the eight giant statues!’

Shen Yue felt a surge of indignation. ’What’s wrong with being a woman?’

’These so-called ”precious and rare” females of the Beast World... in the truest sense, they don’t seem to get any real respect, do they?’

At this thought, she looked away. She wasn’t actually interested in any of these Beast God legends at all.

Right now, she just wanted to find the exit quickly and get back to the surface to see her little cub.

So she took her flashlight and walked deeper inside, carefully searching for a way out.

She went around to the back of the giant statues and began to examine the walls, trying to find a door.

As it turned out, the entire wall of the grand hall was covered in dense script, as if telling a story.

Shen Yue stared at the words. After reading just a few lines, the specific content of these stories and allusions suddenly emerged in her mind.

It was as if she had seen it before.

She was inwardly horrified.

She frantically compared the text materializing in her mind with the words on the wall. They were an exact match.

Just then, Bai Chaosi and Mu Silin also saw the script carved on the wall.

Mu Silin was a little surprised.

”Is this the Ancient Script? I didn’t expect to see such old writing here.”

”Let me see what it all says!”

When Shen Yue heard him, she thought, ’Ancient Script?’

She searched her memory. It seemed the Beast World had two writing systems: the modern script used today, and the Ancient Script from a thousand years ago.

Hearing what Mu Silin said, Bai Chaosi asked:

”You can read this?”

Mu Silin puffed up with a little pride.

”Of course! I can recognize a few of them!”

Bai Chaosi’s lips curved into a slight smile.

”A few? The Ancient Script was the common writing system in the Beast World a thousand years ago. Looking across the entire Beast World now, there are probably very few who can read it all, right? So tell us, what does it say?”

Shen Yue’s eyes flickered.

’There are only a few people in the entire Beast World who can read the Ancient Script fluently?’

’But when I glanced at it just now, not only did I recognize every word, I was so familiar with the content I could probably recite it from memory.’

’It was as if I’d studied and read it countless times, committing it all to memory.’

She couldn’t help but feel a surge of shock.

’I knew this had to be something left over from the original owner’s mind.’

’Does that mean the original owner studied this, read this, and was even fluent in the Ancient Script?’

At that moment, Mu Silin looked over at Shen Yue and saw her frowning, staring intently at the words on the wall.

He thought she was also curious about what was written there.

”There’s nothing much here, really. Just some little stories, narratives and legends about the Beast God, some allusions, the history of the Beast World’s development, and things like the etiquette for worshipping the Beast God.”

”I don’t recognize much of it.”

As he spoke, he noticed Shen Yue was still staring fixedly at the wall.

”Um, Shen Yue, if you’re curious and interested in this, I can teach you how to read in the future.”

Hearing this, Shen Yue froze and looked at him in confusion.

’Teach me to read?’

Mu Silin met her eyes, afraid she would think he was mocking her for being illiterate, and immediately explained:

”I don’t mean anything by it. The rumors all say you’re illiterate and uncultured. I know those must just be rumors. It must be that those tutors couldn’t teach you properly; it’s their failing. In the future, when there’s time, I can teach you myself.”

Shen Yue processed his words, and a monumental realization crashed over her like a tidal wave.

’So the original owner was illiterate and uncultured??’

’How is that possible?’

’Ever since I came to this world, I’ve had a perfect grasp of the Beast World’s writing. And now, I can even skim through this difficult Ancient Script with ease.’

’And *that’s* what they call uncultured and illiterate?’

She knew this had to be knowledge the original owner herself had learned and stored in her brain, and she was merely the one who had inherited it.