Chapter 8: Unraveling the Cocoon

  I couldn't help but recall the darkroom my dad built with his own hands when I was a kid, where he developed all my photos. Our cabinet is filled with photos of me from childhood to adulthood. There's one photo where I'm still an infant, wearing a rabbit ear hat, being held by mom; another photo shows my dad holding me high above his head, laughing so hard his eyes are almost invisible. I remember the tough days before the college entrance exam, when they would wake up earlier than me every day - mom cooked meals and dad dragged me out of bed, even kicking me in the legs when I was unhappy; now that I'm almost thirty, I've only been independent for two years, and my first year after graduation still relied on their support. It seems like since I was born, all their focus has been on me - I dare not imagine what would happen if I put myself in harm's way and something bad happened to me; would they spend the rest of their days repeatedly caressing my photos?

  No.

  I won't let them do this, I will use all my strength to not die here. I won't give up on the affection for my parents, won't give up on the love for Xiao Luqi, and won't give up on the promise to Mingying. Yes, maybe I'm just a snail, carrying all the pressure on myself, but if this can make others, those people I care about, live a little easier, I'm willing.

  Although I impulsively agreed to Mingying earlier, my heart has always been hesitant. At this moment, under the guidance of the mysterious heavens, at Wan Shou Temple's master, I received guidance and underwent baptism and transformation, becoming extremely determined and firm. Just like Stephen Chow's "Journey to the West", this play is considered a farce by many people, but I read from it a man who transformed from being with a group of bandits, playing tricks on the roadside, and taking off his pants with Bai Jingjing on the cliff, to firmly putting on the tight arhat "send you to death" brave responsibility. This is a difficult transformation, but also a decisive leap from boyhood to manhood.

  This trip to Manshu Temple is not just about listening to a story. It can be said that it was a soul-cleansing journey. Master Xujian warned me not to "be deceived by appearances"; I only want to say that my current will, comes from my heart. Follow your own inner self, for the people you care about, and fight freely! Lin You!

  The sky is getting dark, as if it's going to rain. I bought a big bag of lemons from a fruit stand and hurried back to the room. Seeing everyone else there, but one by one hanging their heads in despair, I asked what was wrong? Xinxiao Xin said they had originally wanted to borrow a fishing boat and sneak onto the island quietly. But for some reason, after asking all the fishermen, none of them were willing to go out to sea. How about your side, is there any progress?

  I asked if it is currently a closed fishing season and all boats are prohibited from going out to sea?

  He said no, but a typhoon is coming soon and no one wants to take the risk of going out to sea. Jinshan Three Islands are all uninhabited islands. Only in the 1950s and 1960s, there were once PLA garrisons stationed here, and even military exercises were conducted. But perhaps because it's not far from the coast and life is inconvenient, the island's sentry post was abolished. Since then, Jinshan Three Islands have become a nature reserve.

  After hearing this, I felt a little uneasy. I'm probably a typical conspiracy theorist. I always thought that the so-called military exercise was just a cover-up. So what should we do?

  Xin Xiao Xin sniffled, saying: "The organization has arranged for a ship to come over and has already made contact with the leadership of the Maritime Bureau. They will turn a blind eye. Once the ship arrives tomorrow, we can set off. You haven't said what you gained today yet?"

  I smiled and said it seems I didn't miss any wonderful shows. However, you guys have missed a lot.

  Yang Chao heard this and suddenly said: "Could it be..."

  I met his piercing gaze and said, "I've roughly guessed the location of Xi Shi's tomb."

  "What?" Mingying was startled and went back to her room to fetch a picture for me to identify.

  I didn't give a direct answer, but instead retold the two stories. They listened with bewildered expressions, and Jiang Nan grew impatient, saying: "So many useless words, where is it?"

  Yang Chao, Xin Xiaoxin and Ming Ying stared at the map without speaking. Zhao Chen, on the other hand, had an air of detachment, seemingly not too concerned about this matter.

  I pointed at a certain place on this map of Cannes and said: "It's right here!"

  Four people all looked up at me with puzzled expressions.

  I didn't intentionally sell this pass. Previously, these people, except for Mingying who had some faith in me and Xinxiao Xin with a hypocritical and smooth fake enthusiasm, the others were all very cold to me, as if I was an insignificant person. Since I have already decided to go all out and participate fully, I naturally want to win their respect. So I said:

  "First, the first story. This dragon fish is 9 zhangs 3 chi 5 cun long, which is equivalent to 31.2 meters. To move something so big onto the shore, with a crowd of people standing by that could devour it in one go, would require a huge space. At the same time, the story also mentions a method called 'five oxen turning the wheel'. The wheel was installed on the dock and used to pull ships closer to the shore. Therefore, the place where the dragon fish was placed must have been a very large dock."

  Mingying nodded slightly and said: "But on this map, along the Qinglong River, there are three docks in total. Which one is it?"

  I pointed to something stuck in the river, near the second dock, and said: "This human-like thing is a remnant of Li Bing's measurement method when he repaired Dujiangyan. According to general specifications, this stone man should be about 3.5 meters high, which means the water depth is about 3 meters; while the height of the dragon fish, as mentioned in the story, is one zhang nine chi, that is, more than 6 meters, so it would run aground and expose itself above the water surface to be discovered by people. Therefore, it's not the first dock, where the water is too deep; nor is it the third dock, where the water is too shallow, and the dragon fish can't swim there at all."

  Jiang Nan's impatience was slightly restrained, still with a tone of half-belief and half-doubt, asking: "Even if that's the case, what does it have to do with Xi Shi's tomb?"

  Yang Chao suddenly said: "Don't interrupt! Continue speaking."

  I raised an eyebrow and said, "Do you still remember what I just said? When everyone got the fish meat, they didn't immediately go home to cook it. Instead, they first carried the huge fish eyes with them, following the shadow in front of them, to the Fish God Altar to worship?"

  Mingying suddenly reacted and said: "Could it be... that this Fish Spirit is Xi Shi?"

  I snapped my fingers and said it was right.

  Xin Xiao Xin couldn't help but burst out laughing and said, "How did Xi Shi become a fish god?" Nonsense.

  Xin Kong, you don't even know this? You're too superficial! The Four Great Beauties are Shen Yu, Luo Yan, Bi Yue and Xiu Hua. Among them, Shen Yu refers to Xi Shi.

  Xin Xiao Xin's eyes widened, clearly unaware of this allusion.

  "I continued: 'It's said that Xi Shi was incredibly beautiful, and when she washed silk in the river, even fish would sink beneath the water to get a glimpse of her. That's why they're called "drowned fish". I think this story isn't entirely unfounded, but perhaps it's just a coincidence. However, ancient people often took coincidences as certainties. So, it's not surprising that they believed Xi Shi had divine powers over fish.'"

  Yang Chao waved his hand and said, "If the Fish God Temple is indeed Xi Shi's tomb, where exactly is it?"

  I looked at them and said, "Just now I said something strange, didn't you notice?"

  Zhao Chen suddenly stretched and said: "I don't understand! A month has 31 days, where is the 35th?"

  All eyes were fixed on Zhao Chen's face, she looked at everyone and said: "What are you doing?" As she rubbed her belly, "I'm hungry! When do we eat?"

  Jiang Nan, Xin Xiaoxin and I couldn't help but smile when we heard this. Yang Chao and Mingying's faces were still stiff and expressionless, like wood. Xin Xiaoxin rubbed his head and said: "We ate so much at noon, is Zhao Kong still hungry? I've ordered takeout, just bear with it a bit longer."

  Zhao Chen pinched Xiao Man's waist and said: "We had fish for lunch, I want to eat meat!"

  Mingying frowned and looked at me: "Is there a problem with this story?"

  I leaned back on the sofa and said lazily, "What's up? The Qin Dynasty used the Zhuanxu calendar, with a year consisting of ten months, each month having 36 days. What is called the first month is actually the tenth month. Qin Shi Huang was named Ying Zheng, so to avoid his taboo name, the first month was renamed 'duan yue'."

  "That's January 35th." Jiang Nan continued.

  I smiled and said, "The Qin Dynasty was very strange, it took the tenth month as the beginning of the year. The 35th day of the first month is the 35th day of the tenth month. The first day of the first month is the Beginning of Spring, and the 35th day of the first month, converted to today's date, is roughly around the Vernal Equinox... considering the position of the sun..."

  "What's the position of the sun?" Yang looked at me and asked, "What does it have to do with anything?"

  "Mingying interjected: 'Following the shadow as it moves, this shadow is left behind by the projection of sunlight, isn't it?'"

  I was right, because the story says that after the worship is completed, people go home to cook dinner, indicating that the time is around 5-6 pm. At the spring equinox, the sun sets at exactly 6 pm in the west. That means this Fish God Altar is located roughly northeast of the second pier!" As I said this, I used my hand to point from the second pier on the map and drew a line to the right.

  Jiang Nan listened to me and couldn't help but get excited, saying: "So to say, as long as we follow this direction, we can find Xishi's tomb?"

  I shook my head and said, "Why bother with such trouble? In the second story, it is said that a big flood occurred in Kang City, but the Fish God Temple was not flooded. Either this temple is very high or it was built on a high ground. I think the latter possibility is more likely. Because if this Fish God Temple were actually Xi Shi's tomb, how high could a tomb be? Moreover, building the tomb of a deified person in a high location conforms to ancient Chinese customs."

  Mingying stared at the Xishi tomb I had just pointed to and said, "Could it be that what's drawn here as a protruding thing is a high ground or a mountain peak?"

  I nodded in agreement.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Xin Xiao-xin patted me on the shoulder and said, "Professor Lin is indeed an expert, awesome! I admire him for being able to judge where the Xishi Mausoleum is from these two stories, haha, haha!" As he spoke, his patting became more and more forceful, I almost spat out blood.

  Yang Chao also looked at me deeply and said: "Since that's the case, as soon as the boat arrives, we'll set off immediately."

  The doorbell rang, and Zhao Chen shouted: "Dinner is here!" He jumped up from the sofa and rushed to the door.

  Yang Chao shouted: "Zhao Kong, slow down!"