Daomu Biji

Chapter 9 The truth about Xisha

Even so, Jude Kao was overjoyed and gave orders for Xie Lianhuan to start preparations and find a way to secretly smuggle the alchemy furnace out.

However, as soon as he prepared to untie the chain, he discovered that this was actually an impossible task.

What Jude Kao did not consider was that the alchemy furnace was much larger than he had expected. Times had changed. It was impossible for such a thing to be shipped out of China through customs at that time. If you go through a smuggling ship, you have to reach Zhejiang or Guangdong first, and the risk is also very high. The "chaos" along the southeast coast at that time was beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

They tried many methods, but to no avail. Instead, they attracted Lei Zi's attention. In desperation, Jude Kao had a crazy idea. He asked Jie Huanhuan to smash the entire alchemy furnace, saw it into more than forty pieces, then mark them, and mix them with the silk exported at that time and ship them out in batches.

For the archaeological community, this is simply a heinous act of bestiality, but Jude Kao doesn't care at all, because the value of this thing is meaningless to him, and what he wants is the information above.

This can also be said to be a coincidence. When Jie Lianhuan was sawing the alchemy furnace, he discovered that there was a very clever mechanism at the bottom of the bronze alchemy furnace. It was by virtue of this mechanism that the secrets of the mysterious figures on the silk books of the Warring States Period were finally revealed.

As he spoke, the third uncle took out two crumpled photos from his broken bag and handed them to me.

I know that these two photos must be of that alchemy furnace. These photos should have been given to him by the foreigner. This matter is rather complicated. Without these photos, I’m afraid I can’t explain it clearly. Now he has used it on me.

I took it and looked at it again, and I saw that the first photo was taken of a huge alchemy furnace displayed in the museum. When the third uncle said it, I didn't know it was so big. It was as tall as a person. Smuggling this kind of thing out of the country is indeed an impossible task.

The second picture shows the bottom of the alchemy furnace. I saw the bronze furnace bottom covered with patterns. In the center of the furnace bottom, there is a fist-sized copper beast looking up to the sky, with its head raised to the sky. It is very majestic. In terms of styling, it is of the highest quality.

"This is the alchemy furnace that was restored in the museum. The second picture is the inside of the alchemy furnace." The third uncle explained to me, "The mechanism at the bottom of the furnace discovered by Jie Lianhuan is a very clever water inlet, which is used for refining alchemy. When the time comes, add water to the alchemy furnace. The furnace wall is hollow and there is water inside. Just turn the lid of the alchemy furnace. Turn the upper graphic to a certain position to open the mechanism below the sky-watching beast. Earth water will spurt out from the mouth of the Sky-Watching Beast, so there is no need to open the furnace lid when refining elixirs. "

I nodded in amazement, but such ingenious tricks are actually not special in China. Why is this institution said to be the key to unlocking the silk books of the Warring States Period?

The third uncle said that the problem is not the function of this mechanism, but the way this mechanism operates. As he said this, he took out a magnifying glass and asked me to take a closer look at the pattern on the bottom of the alchemy furnace.

The photo is very small, so I looked carefully. I saw that on the bottom of the furnace, with the Sky-Wang Beast as the center, there were many small relief spots, very many. It’s so densely packed that if you don’t look carefully, you might think it’s copper rust.

"What is this?" I still didn't understand, so I asked.

"You can be forgiven for not knowing. The relief on the bottom of the furnace is an ancient star map.

"

"Ancient star map?" I was stunned for a moment, "Is it a map showing the positions of stars in the sky?"

The third uncle nodded, and then showed me a picture of a map translated from a Warring States silk book for comparison: "This is the most ingenious part of this mechanism. There is an ancient star map at the bottom of the furnace. When the furnace lid is rotated to the correct angle, the top of the furnace lid The curve on this graph will coincide with the six stars in the star chart under the furnace, and the mechanism will be opened. "

As soon as I heard this, I immediately thought of something, and then I suddenly realized: "The two figures can overlap. So, the strange lines on the Warring States silk book are actually an 'astrology chart'?"

The third uncle nodded: "That's right."

An astrolabe is a tool for stargazing. Because there are tens of thousands of stars in the sky, and they move according to the changes of time and seasons. It is very difficult to find a few specific stars among so many stars every time you go stargazing, so there is such a thing as an astrolabe. Generally, they are lines connected based on the arrangement of stars. As long as you align the Big Dipper on the astrolabe, you can use the compass and seasonal scales to rotate the astrolabe. Those specific lines will match the stars you are looking for. coincide.

I couldn't help but marvel, oh, isn't this hard to think about? Why didn't I think of it just now? This is also very logical. Stargazing during the Warring States Period was already very developed, and people of that era believed that the movement of celestial phenomena represented the movement of all things in the world, and they could gain insights into some heavenly secrets. These secrets often herald changes in the country, major wars and disasters, and generally cannot be disclosed at will. It makes sense that Tie Miansheng hid the star map he observed in a silk book.

This star chart also appeared on the alchemy furnace at the same time. Perhaps this celestial phenomenon represented some special meaning, which made many people notice it at that time. This is also very possible.

The third uncle nodded: "You are right that you have made great progress. After these things were shipped to the United States, Jude Kao immediately discovered the secret. Like you, he thought of stargazing."

This is a very exciting discovery. It can be said that for the first time in the history of archaeology, Judekao once again became famous. However, at this time, he no longer cared. He was completely immersed in the archaeological process: What do the stars circled in the astrolabe mean? Judging from the fact that it was so well hidden, this astrology obviously foreshadowed something of great importance that could not be known to others.

After overlapping the star chart with the astrolabe, he found the six specific stars from the entire star chart, synthesized the star chart, and then checked the ancient books to find out what the star chart represented in stargazing. What means. "

However, ancient Chinese astrology is almost the same as Feng Shui. It is extremely complicated and even more profound than Feng Shui. There is almost no systematic information. What kind of secrets the star map hidden in the silk books of the Warring States period foreshadows is completely impossible to find.

At that time, the only way to unravel this secret was to find those so-called experts, but this time they could not be found in the United States, so Jude Kao once again asked Jie Lianhuan to look for it among the Chinese people.

However, Ji Lianhuan failed to complete the task this time. Those who knew Zhouyi Feng Shui at that time were all sent to the bullpen. Those who slipped through the net were all trembling with fear, and no one spoke. They also sounded "sneaky" and "touching", which was very serious. inconvenient.

This search lasted two years without any results. At the same time, other research in the United States also made no progress.

In desperation, Jude Kao had another sudden idea, and he once again focused his attention on the Warring States Period silk books. He speculated that since the star map was on the silk book, there might be secret records of the star map in other pages.

So, while he started to buy Luhuang silk in China, he also took up the idea of ​​his grandfather who sold the Warring States silk books. According to his experience, local masters are generally good at stealing. This silk book cannot only be one volume. If grandpa wants to steal it, he must take it out in its entirety. The remaining part may still be in grandpa's hands.

At that time, Jie Huanlian and Jude Kao had already had a very good relationship. He was so arrogant that he helped Jude Kao go to his grandfather to get information. Unfortunately, my grandfather was very tight-lipped and couldn't ask anything. In desperation, Xie Lianhuan came to ask his third uncle again. At that time, the third uncle was interested in the records in grandpa's notes. After drinking and talking a lot, he told the whole story about how grandpa stole the silk books of the Warring States Period.

Hearing this, I couldn't help but said: "Third uncle, do you think that foreigner knew about the Blood Corpse Tomb and you told me about it yourself?"

The third uncle smiled bitterly, shook his head and said, "I did drink too much at that time. After the wine passed, I couldn't remember telling him this. It was only after the foreigner mentioned it to me that I remembered it. I regretted it all the time. .”

I also smiled wryly with him, this was really dramatic, but having said that, when Jude Kao chose to untie Lianlian, he might have known about the relationship between the Wu family and the Hejia family, and had already made this plan. The mysterious behavior of this foreigner is really scary.

After Jude Kao got the news at that time, he had the plan to rob the blood corpse tomb again. Unfortunately, Ji Lianhuan didn't know how to fight upside down, and he couldn't find anyone else. At that time, Sino-US relations began to warm up. He felt that the situation would change, so he waited patiently for a while, and sure enough, he got an opportunity. So he couldn’t wait to return to China with a group of archaeologists and began planning this operation. So what happened to the third uncle before happened.

You can guess what happened next. After the third uncle escaped from the ancient tomb that night, Judeka also entered the ancient tomb the next afternoon. Needless to say, this incident turned into a disaster. When they opened the secret compartment at the bottom of the coffin, the king flew out and killed almost everyone in the tomb at that time.

Thanks to the cleverness of a man hired by Xie Lianhuan at that time, he detonated the explosives at the most dangerous moment, completely blowing up the inner room. Jude, who was in the outer room at that time, was able to save his life by Xie Lianhuan. It's a pity that he and a group of people were all buried in the ancient tomb.

The scene was extremely terrifying. Jude Kao, who witnessed it with his own eyes, was greatly shocked and almost went insane. His understanding of China for decades completely collapsed. After returning to Changsha, he immediately returned to the United States, became seriously ill and almost went crazy. The research on silk books of the Warring States Period was also immediately terminated.

However, we know that this is only temporary. A year later, the second era of maritime archeology came, and the wheel of fate began to turn faster and faster under the sea surface of Xisha.

At this point, Jude Kao's narrative comes to an end. The next thing happened after he untied the chain and went to find his third uncle.

His narration can be said to have made me understand the origin of this matter very clearly. I really didn't expect that my third uncle would be involved in this matter so early, and that the relationship between Aning Company and our Wu family is so deep. .

After the third uncle finished speaking in one breath, he took a break and asked me if I had any questions or anything I didn’t believe in, I could ask him now.

I knew these were his angry words. Obviously I didn't believe him just now, and he was still worried about it.

I thought about it and decided that I couldn’t say anything if I didn’t believe it. However, there were indeed a few things I wasn’t sure about.

We have just known that Jude Kao and Xie Lianlian have been connected for a long time. The meeting at that time was just a reunion. And based on what I learned later, I speculated that Jude Kao’s purpose of coming to Jie Lianlian was probably to get him to infiltrate Wenjin. The Xisha archaeological team went to the tomb of Wang Zanghai on the seabed and took out something for him, and this thing was probably the snake-browed copper fish that Wang Zanghai concealed the secret of the Eastern Xia Kingdom.

So, Judekao knew about the Blood Corpse Tomb, and it was his third uncle who revealed it. There is no doubt about it, but how did Judekao know about such a secret place as the undersea tomb? Could it be that his third uncle also told him? This is impossible. ###chapter Ten

Also, obviously according to the third uncle's words, the origin of all this is the Warring States Period silk scripts. However, what does Wang Zanghai of Xisha have to do with the Warring States Period silk scripts? Why did Jude Kao turn his attention to Xisha?

When I raised these questions, my third uncle nodded and said, "You have thought of the key point. It was indeed Jude Kao who allowed Xie Lianhuan to infiltrate the archaeological team, but your conjecture was only half correct. According to his own statement, it was Jude Kao who allowed Xie Lianhuan to join the archaeological team." Ancient tomb. Not for Snake Eyebrow Bronze Fish, but just for him to take pictures of the corpse in the coffin. "

As for why he did this, the foreigner refused to say. At the same time, he also refused to disclose where he got the information about Wang Burial Hai Tomb. When the third uncle asked him, he used an old Chinese saying. . Pretending to be mysterious: "The secret of heaven cannot be revealed. "

"However," Third Uncle came over and said, "some of the things that happened later allowed me to more or less guess something. You can listen to see if it makes sense."

I nodded and said yes, and he was on the bed, drawing a few dots with his fingers. "I once thought about it. The foreigner returned to China and focused on Xisha. It was a year after the incident in Changsha. Judging from the time, it should be this year that he knew about the existence of the undersea tomb. So. , something must have happened this year. Let Xie Lianhuan get this information.

"But we know that during that time, Jude was greatly stimulated. It is obviously unlikely that he immediately cheered up and devoted himself to another thing just because he knew that there was an ancient tomb on the seabed. At that time, it was able to attract people. The only things he paid attention to were related to the Warring States silk books. Then, we can infer that that matter must also be related to the Warring States silk books. Jude Kao should have been attracted by the information of the Warring States silk books first, and then noticed the relationship with the Warring States silk books. It is related to Xisha.

"It is impossible to infer what this thing is here. But based on what happened next, I feel that it is very likely that the foreigner met a person. This person should have entered the undersea tomb. It is very likely that he helped Jude to uncover the secret After understanding the meaning of the star map in the silk book, there must be a connection between this meaning and Wang Zanghai's ancient tomb, which made Judekao's interest turn to Xisha. That's why Judekao came to China again. He found Jie Lianhuan and tried to infiltrate the archaeological team. inside. "

"Why are you so sure that you met a person and not something else?" I asked.

The third uncle said: "That's because of the information. Jude Kao's information on the ancient tomb is too detailed and accurate. Someone must have gone in and sorted it out. There can't be any other situation that would allow him to know such details. "

I nodded. This makes sense. However, it is a bit unbelievable why the star map on the silk book of the Warring States Period is related to the ancient tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Could it be that Tie Miansheng, looking at this horoscope, predicted that a colleague would build a tomb in that place a thousand years later?

If the stars could predict such trivial things, I'm afraid it wouldn't be lost now. This still needs to be verified.

Then came the Xisha incident. After that incident, the whole thing entered chaos. The entire archaeological team disappeared in the ancient tomb on the seabed of Xisha, and only the third uncle came back. Jude Kao once thought that the third uncle had killed everyone. However, judging from the third uncle's subsequent behavior, the third uncle had no idea what was going on, and the whole thing turned into a huge mystery. The truth of the matter depends on what the third uncle says.

After resting for a moment, the third uncle made a gesture and prepared to continue speaking. I also cheered up and sat upright.

He took a breath first, obviously trying to change his mood. What I just said was about Jude's exam, which was not painful or painful. What I want to talk about now is his personal experience.

After taking a breath, his face darkened, and his tone became very slow and hesitant.

After thinking about it, he said to me: "As I said before, there are some things about Xisha. I did lie to your third uncle when I was in the hospital in Jinan. However, I had no choice but to do this. This matter has always been a concern." , I really don’t want to mention it again, you have to understand me. "

I nodded and didn't answer. "My third uncle lied to me. I already knew it. I don't want to blame him. I just want to know the truth."

The third uncle took a sip of water and continued: "Actually, the discovery of the undersea tomb that time was just a scene played by me. As early as the early morning of that day, I had already entered it once. However, the place where I entered , should be different from the place you entered later, because Jie Lianhuan has very detailed information, and we directly entered the core part of the ancient tomb at that time, because the foreigner’s commission was to place the coffin room of Wang Zanghai’s coffin. "

"Are you referring to the one in the middle of the three tombs?" I recalled the structure of the undersea tomb.

The third uncle smiled bitterly and shook his head: "No, the place you mentioned is only the first floor of the ancient tomb. This shipwreck tomb is bigger than you can imagine. Wang Zanghai's coffin is buried deep at the bottom of the ancient tomb, and it is In a very strange situation... it is difficult to describe it in words. "

At that time, the information Xie Lianhuan obtained from Jude Kao was quite detailed. It can be seen that the original data in Jude Kao's hands should be extremely authoritative. At the same time, Jude Kao provides an introduction to the American camera and flash. It is said to be the most advanced model in the world at that time, very compact and waterproof.

Information told Xie Lianhuan that about half a mile to the left of the reef inspected by the archaeological team, there is a place that the locals call "Shatou Reef". It is a hidden reef forest, consisting of dozens of main reefs and countless dotted underwater areas. Composed of reefs. This piece of reef is connected under the water. is part of a giant coral reef. On one of the rocks, there is a water cave, located under the sea level. Even at low tide, only a trace is exposed. This was what the craftsmen did when the shipwreck broke the boat and entered the water to seal the tomb. Make a mouthful. Entering here, you can enter the coral reef, the huge sunken ship on the seabed. It is embedded in this reef, in the sea sand.

As long as you enter the coral reef cave, you can go all the way down and enter the interior of the sunken ship. How to go from there. What you need to be careful about is explained in detail in the information. It is as if this ancient tomb was designed by Jude Kao.

Such detailed information is just ordinary ancient documents. It may not be possible to reach this level. That’s why the third uncle thought that someone might have entered this ancient tomb under the sea. It may be that although this person entered, he failed, so Judekao had to find someone for help again.

Originally, Xie Lianhuan was self-aware and knew his own worth. He would not agree to any more requests to go to the fields, but Jude Kao's status was different. Firstly, Xie Huanhua felt that he owed him. Secondly, in the past year, Xie Huanhua had also participated in many activities in the family, and finally he had gone to the fields several times. His courage and skill are different from before. In addition, the conditions for Jude to open the test are very high. I was at an age where I had blind faith, so I finally agreed by mistake.

At that time, the third uncle learned that the foreigner was involved in an adulterous affair. Originally, I wanted to strongly oppose Xie Lianhuan's joining the archaeological team. However, a lot of things happened after that, which made the third uncle feel that something was very wrong. In order to know the real purpose of the foreigner Xie Lianhuan, the third uncle took a risk. He persuaded Wen Jin and deliberately let Xie Lianhuan join the archaeological team. On the surface, he acted calmly, but in fact he was secretly monitoring him to see what he would do. What a move.

Things unfolded in such a strange way. There are many hidden secrets, but they are not important. I will not go into too many details here. I will only talk about what happened to Xie Lianhuan in Xisha the night before his accident.

That day was the first day that the archaeological team's work entered the final stage. The salvage work was nearing completion and the work was easy, so everyone drank some wine before going to bed and fell asleep soundly.

Xie Lianhuan had been waiting for this opportunity. There were only a few days left before the end of the work. He knew that the opportunity could not be missed and it would never come again. So when he made sure that everyone was asleep, he pretended to get up to "pee" while in fact he was spying. Virtual and real, waiting for an opportunity to go to sea.

He didn't know that his childhood playmate, the wife slave of Wu Sansheng, was now a thoughtful old man. Every move he made from the moment he got on the boat was watched closely by this person.

By the way, the third uncle was also quite depressed at that time. He was already extremely unhappy with Ji Lian Lian. He didn't know the purpose of Ji Lian Lian, so Jie Lian Huan was on the ship. To the third uncle, it was like a time bomb. He didn't know the power or when it would explode. It was good. When she was in love with Wen Jin, she became wary of him.

There is another reason that is relatively hidden. The third uncle has not mentioned it directly, but I can hear it from the third uncle's narration. Obviously, Wen Jin admires Jie Lianhuan very much. On the one hand, it is true that the young master knows how to please women, but his personality is very different from that of the third uncle; secondly, Jie Lianhuan's appearance and many aspects are no worse than the third uncle. A novice in relationships like the third uncle will inevitably be jealous.

So as soon as Xie Huanhua took action, his third uncle was ecstatic. Just when Xie Huanhua put down his kayak and wanted to row away from the fishing boat, his third uncle suddenly appeared and pushed him to the deck.

The sudden appearance of the third uncle was unexpected by Jie Lianhuan. However, when he saw it was the third uncle, he was not afraid anymore, because if it had been anyone else, he might have been charged with defecting to Vietnam. But the third uncle, everyone is mutually exclusive. Knowing the details, he couldn't possibly do anything to himself. So he gently asked the third uncle to let go.

However, the third uncle had long had a grudge against him and had a grudge. How could he let him go so easily? He gritted his teeth and almost broke his hand, asking him what he wanted to do after he tried every means to join the archaeological team and went to sea so late.

This was a bit of an excuse to vent his depression. When Jie Lianhuan was tough at first, he felt secretly angry in his heart. In Changsha, no one except his elders dared to treat him like this, so he lowered his voice and cursed.

The third uncle didn't listen to him at all. As soon as he heard him swearing, he directly pushed his head into the water and held it down until he rolled his eyes before lifting it up. This was repeated over and over again until the chain wilted and he had to beg for mercy.

When the third uncle asked the question again, he told the whole story of what happened.

After listening, the third uncle's eyes shone and he could hardly believe his ears. It turns out that there is an undersea tomb of a sunken ship under the sea! This was really unexpected. In the old man's notes, there were also records of underwater ship burials that were mentioned by predecessors. However, such sea battles were extremely rare. The old man himself had only heard about them and had not personally explored them. And in this vast seabed, where the sand travels thousands of miles, it is tens of thousands of times more difficult to find a clue than on land. Now this foreigner actually knows so much in detail, who is he?

Thinking about the third uncle, I felt itchy and wanted to go down to the sea immediately to take a look. Then I let go of Jie Lianhuan and said softly: "Is that just like this? Then you should have told me earlier, what is the relationship between me and you? Tell me." What does it matter? Am I going to steal it from you?"

Jie Lianhuan was already wilting and said: "I kept this matter from my old man. Of course I don't want you to know. Besides, you and I are not very close. I'm afraid of causing more trouble if I tell you." Say, will you let me join the archaeological team?"

The third uncle thought that it was true, and he relaxed a lot, so he said to him: "You are right, but I remind you that this Jude is known as 'Pulsatilla' in Changsha. He is not a simple person. You old man I don’t think this fight is going to be easy. You can either put it down for now and let’s go back and find some people to discuss it in the long run, or let me go with you this time. Anyway, I’m not bragging, I’m sure I have more experience than you.”

Jie Lianhuan pouted and said: "They say that you, Wu Sansheng, are smarter than monkeys. I'm really not flattering you. If you want to make some connections, just say so. We are grasshoppers on the same rope. At this time, what do you say?" Can I still say no?"

The third uncle sneered in his heart after hearing this, thinking that this second generation ancestor could understand it clearly. So the two of them formed a temporary team, and agreed that after going in, each would get what he needed, and no one would be a drag on the other, and no one would regret if they didn't get it well when they came out.

The third uncle's behavior at that time cannot be said to be driven by profit, nor is it glorious. It even made me feel like what a fat man had done. This shows that the third uncle's character does not mature in a short while.

After swearing an oath and packing their equipment, the two put down the rubber raft and went into the sea at night. They rowed in the dark and relied on the compass. Soon, they arrived at the "Shatou Reef" that foreigners call it. The third uncle looked up and saw that just when dark clouds were covering the moon, the whole reef was covered with gray. He was shocked and said to Jie Lianhuan: "You really chose a good time. Not even a hairy moon is gone. The dark clouds are covering the whole reef." Fighting, the blind man enters the hole, and every time there is a two-for-one discount, I am afraid that one of you and I will have to stay in it, and use our tricks, so you and I can take care of ourselves."