The dark tide surging up from the seabed, though immense, would soon settle and vanish. We watched from the deck for a long time, hoping to spot the giant squid carcass that Old Ming had mentioned. Even if our little boat couldn't haul it aboard, just a glimpse would be worthwhile. And then, sure enough, we saw a white object bobbing in the distance on the water. From afar, it looked substantial. I immediately told Captain Ruan Hei to steer us closer. Old Ming had already grabbed the binoculars and peered through them first. “Bloody hell… that’s bizarre… it’s not a dead fish… it looks like a coffin floating on the sea… white…”

I thought I’d misheard him. How could a white coffin be floating on the sea? Just as I reached for the binoculars to look, the Trident was already closing in, nearing that pale object. It became perfectly clear to the naked eye: a white stone sarcophagus was indeed drifting with the ocean current. This crew of ours has seen more than our share of coffins; with our experience, we couldn't be mistaken.

As the boat drew near, it became even more distinct. The rectangular coffin was perfectly formed, with sharp edges and corners, far larger than any ordinary stone sarcophagus—big enough to hold two or three 'Zongzi' without a squeeze. Its surface was finely carved, though some parts were encased in patchy, grayish-white coral polyps. Several thick chains secured the stone box, clasped shut tight. These rust-eaten chains bound the sarcophagus firmly to something beneath the water. Beneath the coffin, a black mass, larger than four Baxian tables, rose and fell with the current. It was this object supporting the stone box that kept it from sinking to the bottom.

Perhaps this supporting object had also been washed up by the surge from the deep. It was the strangest sight we’d ever witnessed. I had an urge to haul the whole thing up for inspection, but before I could speak, someone behind me was barking orders to prepare the winch to retrieve the "Green Head" the Dragon King had sent up. Apparently, Fatty had sobered up from his drinking at some point. Seeing the floating coffin in the water, he immediately revealed his true colors, thinking any coffin must contain Zongzi and burial artifacts. In his wild excitement, he was ready to stir up trouble.

Captain Ruan Hei quickly tried to dissuade him. “Our salvage team is here for the 'eggs,' to collect them in the Coral Spiral. Let’s not invite complications. Who can truly understand the sea? Maybe there’s a demon locked in that coffin; we shouldn’t ask for trouble. Besides, bringing a coffin aboard is terrible luck—something bad is bound to happen. I say we pretend we never saw it. We won't lose anything by leaving it down there. Why invite a fight?”

Before Fatty could retort, Old Ming jumped in, preempting Ruan Hei on Fatty’s behalf. “Oh, Old Ruan, you don’t know this Fatty guy at all. What kind of man is he? If he doesn't get the advantage, he feels he's lost something! I think we should just go along with him and pull up this ‘Green Head’ from the sea. Otherwise, if he gets disgruntled, that’ll be the biggest headache on our boat…”

In truth, Old Ming was even more eager than Fatty to get the stone coffin aboard. He used Ruan Hei's words as an excuse to shift the responsibility entirely onto Fatty. Hearing the local fisherman criticize his magnificent image in the eyes of the masses, Fatty immediately bristled, rolling up his sleeves and cocking a fist, ready to swing.

I quickly stepped between them. “Old Ming, you really deserve a beating. Even if you want to slander Fatty Wang, you should plan it in private, ignite the base from below—how could you do it right to his face? Isn't that exposing your target? This shows those of you who didn't experience the Cultural Revolution truly haven’t grasped the essence and laws of struggle. I'll teach you the finer points when we get back. To fight heaven, fight earth, fight man—what endless joy! But the principles here are too deep; a scoundrel like you probably can’t grasp them… And Fatty, you too. How can you resort to violence against Old Ming at his age? We must operate on the principle that all men are equal before the truth; everything must be reasoned out. If he says something you don't like in the future, you can reason with him first, you can even curse him—cursing is fine, even Mr. Lu Xun cursed when provoked. If necessary, you can even brand him, but absolutely do not strike him. If you must fight, find a place where no one else is around, so we won't be put in a difficult position. After all, we’re a team; if you beat him in front of everyone, should we intervene or not?”

Old Ming must have truly let something slip. Seeing Fatty glare, he immediately shrank back, wishing he could leap into the sea to hide. He could only feign deep remorse, scrambling to get close to Fatty, claiming that the sight of the "Green Head" had made him so emotional that his dissociative episodes had flared up, and he hadn't even known what he was saying.

At that point, Shirley Yang said to me, “If you keep squabbling, that coffin is going to drift away with the tide.” Reminded by her, I quickly told Gu Cai to prepare the grappling hook. Fatty and Old Ming went to clear the aft deck, the only spacious area on the boat. Duo Ling connected the hoses, preparing to wash the grime off the sarcophagus.

Everyone separated to their tasks. After a flurry of activity, they finally hauled the stone sarcophagus up from the sea. The winch suspended it off the stern. It turned out the sarcophagus was chained to the skeleton of a gigantic turtle. Duo Ling and Gu Cai, both raised in harsh working environments, were skilled laborers, completely familiar with the shipboard routine. Without further instruction, they turned on the water jets, using the dark stream to scour the seaweed and filth from the sarcophagus.

As the water washed over it, details on the side of the white stone box gradually emerged: it was covered in dense carvings of strange symbols. Shirley Yang, with her superior eyesight, noticed something even while the sarcophagus hung in the air. “It looks like diagrams from the I Ching are carved there. Lao Hu, you understand hexagrams—quickly, see what they are!”

Old Ming waved a signal, and Ruan Hei reeled in the hook slightly. As it drew closer, various Bagua symbols appeared on the sarcophagus, but too much of the surface was covered in grayish coral to make out much detail. The crew hastily maneuvered it onto the aft deck. Inside the turtle shell, the skeleton was largely intact, not yet decomposed, suggesting it hadn't been dead too long. However, judging by the exterior of the stone box, it had to be at least a few thousand years old. As the saying goes, "A thousand-year tortoise, ten-thousand-year turtle." The lifespan of a turtle far surpasses that of other creatures. One wonders how many years this giant turtle carried the sarcophagus before it finally died.

The turtle shell carrying the coffin was also etched with patterns, though these were still hard to decipher. The underwater environment had caused too much erosion. Now, all hope rested on whatever might have been preserved inside the sarcophagus. Fatty brought over a 'Yin-Seeking Claw' and pried open the lid. The gap of the lid had been sealed with mud, very tightly. Upon opening it, we found another nested coffin inside. Remarkably, the carvings on the inner surface of the stone lid were well preserved. When washed clean of the grime, the raised contours revealed a series of I Ching hexagrams, and looking at several key details, they matched perfectly with the portions of the jade statue restored by Professor Chen.