I couldn't quite make out what he was saying before Uncle Ming’s knees buckled, and he dropped to the ground with a thud. Duo Ling and Gu Cai followed suit, kneeling as if they had encountered something terrifying to the Boat People. Using his knees for locomotion, Uncle Ming crawled over and carefully placed the boneless, gelatinous corpse into a large, sealed plastic bag. Seeing that the body hadn't been immersed in water, the look of extreme distress on his face finally began to ease. He kowtowed repeatedly, imploring the Lord of the Fishery for protection.

On the high seas, whipped by wind and tempest, the Boat People view Mazu as a divine entity. The Heavenly Empress rescues those in distress on the ocean, a sacred patron ensuring the safety of their vessels. Yet, those who venture out are not battling the waves for sport; they do it to feed their families. For those who dive for pearls, hunt whales, or haul up Qingtou or catch a thousand-pound fish, it is imperative to make offerings to the Lord of the Fishery, asking the Sea God to grant them their sustenance.

I had always assumed the Lord of the Fishery was the Dragon King of the seas spoken of in legends, but to see Uncle Ming and the others so fearful and deferential toward the female corpse in the conch shell left me utterly bewildered as to what these three Boat People were intending. For practitioners of the Corporeal Refinement path of cultivation, the body left behind after ascending to immortality is called a Yitu (relic body). Could this skin-like husk, soft as mud, be the Yitu of the Lord of the Fishery?

Shirley Yang had hoped to find the map to Guixu within the conch shell, but instead, she inadvertently caused a scare for Uncle Ming and the Duo Ling siblings. Clearly, the various items stored inside the giant conch shell were familiar to the Boat People. She pressed Uncle Ming and the others, asking exactly what the boneless female corpse, the bronze sword, the jade plate, and the other objects in the shell were used for.

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Uncle Ming said, "My role as your consultant isn't just for show. You masters of grave robbing and mountain dismantling are accustomed to traversing dangerous tombs and marshes with ease, but out on the sea, you know nothing of the lore and rules of pearl diving. Although all seventy-two trades rely on specialized skills for a living, one trade is as distant as another mountain range. That's why you don't know what this female corpse and short sword are for; in the eyes of the Boat People, these are divine artifacts left by our ancestors."

I remarked, "Uncle Ming, you’re just a reactionary academic authority. Stop beating around the bush with vague talk. Even if I’d never dived for pearls before, I could guess three parts of the truth: what's stored in the shell are likely the implements the ancient ancestors of the Danan used for diving and collecting pearls underwater."

Uncle Ming replied, "Hu Zai, you truly live up to your reputation as a premier figure among the Mojin Xiaowei. Your insight is indeed sharp. This conch shell, sealed by a bronze lid, is neither a coffin nor a box of funerary Mingqi. The skills of the Boat People are inherited from the barbarian Danan who sailed the seas during the Qin and Han Dynasties. Legend holds that the ancestors of the Longhu families could lure giant clams on the seabed using Ben spirits. Even now, in certain ancient sea god temples, you can find murals documenting those ancient miracles. Every Boat Person who has been to sea knows this, just as most Mojin Xiaowei know that their patron saint stole the Cinnabar Elixir Book from the tomb of King You of Zhou. That Cinnabar Elixir Book is a divine artifact from the Western Zhou period, and the methods of the Mojin evolved from it. Yet, no later generation has ever seen the book. The Bang Ben of the ancestors of the Boat People is just like the Cinnabar Elixir Book of the Mojin patriarch—a divine tool only heard of but never seen by pearl divers."

After hearing Uncle Ming's explanation, Shirley Yang and I understood more than half of it. The Danan are remnants of the Hentian Clan; they should know how their ancestors descended into the sea to collect pearls and hunt giant clams. The ancient artifacts stored in the conch shell were the tools the Hentian Clan used for underwater pearl harvesting. Legend says they were all crafted by the Sea God, the Lord of the Fishery, and each one is unique in the world. We never expected to unearth them by accident. However, how these strange and bizarre objects are used—is that boneless female corpse, the so-called Bang Ben, also a tool for catching clams and gathering pearls? We were completely clueless about these matters concerning the Boat People; we were true outsiders.

Uncle Ming declared that since these items were revealed to us, it was all due to the immense fortune granted by the Lord of the Fishery. He suggested we take them all back; they would be of great use should we ever need to dive for pearls in the South China Sea again. Natural pearls along the coast have all been harvested, and there are few left in the spiral coral reefs; it might take hundreds of years before another perfect Moon Bright Pearl forms. But these ancient artifacts are the ancestors of the Qingtou found in the deep sea. If they are not useful, they can be sold, which would still amount to considerable wealth.

However, among this batch of Qingtou, the Bang Ben is the most dangerous. Shirley Yang mentioned earlier that King Xu Yan of antiquity was entirely boneless, composed only of muscle and blood. This female corpse might have suffered from the same rare condition as King Xu Yan. Indeed, such a debilitating bone disorder existed in ancient times. King Xu Yan was born a helpless invalid, unable to sit or stand, forced to lie on his back looking up at the sky his entire life. But the female corpse serving as the Bang Ben is different. Her entire skeletal structure was removed through a cruel form of torture, and her flesh was specially treated, making her resemble a grotesque specimen. Yet, the method for creating the Ben spirit was never passed down from Guixu, so later generations cannot know it.

Starting around the Qin and Han periods, because some thousand-year-old giant clams were heavily guarded and too massive to haul to the surface, the Longhu among the Danan always brought a "Pearl Medium" (Zhu Mei) when diving to lure out pearls. When the giant clams or mussels saw the shimmering Zhu Mei, they mistook it for the moon in the sky and emerged from their hiding places, opening their shells to release their pearls and capture the essence of heaven and earth. The Longhu would then seize the opportunity to risk their lives for the pearls. This technique was extremely perilous because the seabed would then be alight with shimmering energy, attracting deep-sea predators like malevolent sharks and dragons. The Longhu often had to fight off dragon tentacles and shark bites while simultaneously timing their grab for the clam pearl at the split second the giant clam prepared to close its shell. Emperor Wen of Han, upon hearing of these pearl-gathering exploits, exclaimed repeatedly, "How perilous!"

The earliest prototype for the Zhu Mei was a corpse spirit (Shi Ben) transformed from a woman's body. In the primordial, deepest, and most Yin parts of the ocean resided Clam Ancestors (Bang Zu), beings that had already achieved sentience, living for thousands upon thousands of years, becoming one with the seabed reefs. They would only release their pearls at the time of the fullest, brightest moon. Their pearls possessed unparalleled radiance, and the old clams were cunning and spiritually aware, meaning ordinary Zhu Mei were useless for luring out their treasures. Only by clothing the female corpse in a pearl robe—where the pearls were cheap fish pearls, akin to stones found in fish brains, which shone dully underwater—could the corpse's inherent mournful aura create a dim, faint light on the seabed, mimicking the Yin light of the moon. Only by carrying the Shi Ben into the depths could the diver entice the clam spirit to release its bright pearl.

The Shi Ben could not be exposed to water, as contact would cause its form to degrade and its Yin energy to dissipate. This primitive yet effective method of pearl gathering, imbued with a degree of sinister cruelty and mystery, was held exclusively by the ancestors of the Danan. Even the Longta clan couldn't create Shi Ben; they could only use a medium made from the phosphorescent paste of ordinary corpses mixed with fish pearls. They were helpless against truly sentient, fully formed clam spirits.

As for the two short swords in the conch shell, their blades were pitch black, featuring translucent perforations arranged in the pattern of the Big Dipper on the back edge. Both the hilt guard and the blade base were cast as a single, seamless piece. The hilt was shaped like a Merfolk—a coiled, curved mermaid tail, with the human head looking up, spewing forth the sword blade. The twin swords were perfectly symmetrical, one Yin and one Yang. The edges had begun to faintly emit a dark red sheen but remained utterly sharp. When held close to the ear, one could hear the faint sound of the tide rushing through the holes in the blades. Both short swords resembled the Dragon Arc and were the favored weapons of the Danan ancestors for slaughtering clams and dragons at sea. Looking at the grave-like mounds of conch shells piled in this courtyard, one could only imagine how many aquatic creatures had perished by these blades.

Uncle Ming, though self-proclaimed as a Boat Person, had never actually collected pearls at sea, yet his worldly experience and years of illicit activities on the water made him intimately familiar with maritime affairs, the techniques, and the lore of the Danan—perhaps even more so than those who actually made a living diving. Observing his demeanor, I believed he spoke the truth, but I remained unconvinced internally: "This is like the ancient art of dragon-slaying—utterly impractical now. Giant clams are nearly hunted to extinction, and their required environment is highly specific. Where on the seabed would you find an ancient clam that requires a Shi Ben to lure it out?"

What concerned me most were the jade plate and candles within the conch shell. Legend has it that when King Wen of Zhou deduced the Pre-Heaven Hexagrams, the implements he used were tortoise shell and candlelight. This is because objects like tortoise shell and dragon bone, or deep-sea jade, inherently contain mysterious Dragon Qi and have always been regarded as conduits to the heavens. The ancient city of Guixu likely holds remnants of the Sixteen Pre-Heaven Hexagrams, so I urged Uncle Ming to stop talking about irrelevant Clam Ancestors and the Lord of the Fishery. Were the jade plate, the jade vessel, and those few Mermaid Candles indeed used for divination by the ancients?

Uncle Ming said that the Danan are seafaring barbarians and never engaged in sorcery or divination. The jade plate and candles were used to calculate the waxing and waning phases of the moon by observing the candle shadows against the Yuebi (Moon Disc). In earlier times, many Longhu adopted this ancient method, but as more instruments for observing the moon and stars became available, this old practice gradually faded. The ointment in the black jade vessel was a secretion from the scales of the Merfolk. Besides curing decompression sickness, it could be smeared on pearl divers. Otherwise, the breath of a living person could not be masked underwater, alerting sentient giant clams that someone was attempting to steal their pearls, causing them to seal their shells and elude the divers. In reality, these items constituted an entire set of mysterious tools used for ancient pearl harvesting. They were likely not intentionally buried in the remains of the conch shells; this courtyard, being well-ventilated, would dissipate the scent of blood. It was probably an ancient clam-butchering ground.

Hearing Uncle Ming’s explanation, everyone felt uneasy. Looking down at the towering piles of conch and clam shells, they could almost smell the scent of blood. Clams that grow pearls, living for centuries underwater, are harmless to humans, yet they suffer brutal slaughter—a clear case of "an innocent man suffering for possessing a treasure." It wasn't just human greed; even sea monsters of the Merfolk species relentlessly pursued sea pearls. Although there were many clam shells in the ruins of Guixu, the number of Danan and aquatic creatures who died for Southern Pearls over the millennia was likely ten times greater. No wonder the bright pearls are said to capture the essence of the moon; it is because the Yin energy clings to them stubbornly, an energy so potent it could preserve an ancient corpse for a thousand years. If the greedy nobility of ancient times, who madly coveted Southern Pearls, knew that every pearl the size of a thumbnail was paid for with the lives of countless Danan and aquatic beings, would they still dare wear them as ornamentation?

Fatty and I packed Ruan Hei’s corpse into the emptied conch shell, resealed the bronze lid, and buried it within the grave mound of clam shells. We bowed twice, hoping his spirit would rest peacefully with his pearl, and bless us with smooth sailing and an early return home. Afterward, everyone ate something to sate their hunger and rested on the spot.

Fatty was unconcerned about their current predicament. He stuffed the Jade Burial Garment, the remains of the Merfolk swallowing pearls, and other priceless treasures into a backpack, clutching it tightly as he snored loudly, seemingly counting money in his dreams and mumbling incoherently, "God, it feels so damn good to have cash plastered on my face..."

Uncle Ming kept glancing at the Shi Ben and touching the pair of Merfolk short swords. While his heart was alight with unconcealed ecstasy, he couldn't help worrying about how they would escape from the seabed. When fear and despair overwhelmed him, his whole body would tremble uncontrollably.

Gu Cai and Duo Ling were grieving their master's tragic death and anxious about their future fate and present predicament. After eating, they too tossed and turned, unable to sleep, lying wide-eyed with bloodshot pupils on the conch grave, listening to the surging sound of the seawater outside the city walls.

I went over and urged them to close their eyes and rest while they could. Seeing the ominous surge of the sea air, I sensed great peril approaching soon. When the moment came to fight the waves, their survival would hinge on that single strike. If they couldn't replenish their spirit and strength, they would miss the fleeting chance for survival. We are blessed people; let's not overthink things now, just get some sleep.

Ever since entering the Coral Spiral, everyone's nerves had been constantly taut, leaving no moment to breathe. They were all utterly exhausted. After my persuasion, their spirits finally relaxed a bit, and Uncle Ming and the Duo Ling siblings eventually fell asleep in the inflatable boats.

Only Shirley Yang remained restless, her emotions turbulent, making sleep impossible. She leaned against the small boat, quietly discussing with me how to resolve the numerous difficulties facing the salvage team. The more Qingtou they collected, the heavier their burden became; the situation ahead was not optimistic. Several sea eyes in Guixu were flowing with scorching Yin fire, blocking the ingress of millions of tons of seawater. However, the seabed crust had been hollowed out by years of large-scale mining, causing the sea air within the earth's veins to become unstable. Once this accumulated sea air shifted, a submarine collapse would occur again, and the massive undersea cavern would suck in an infinite volume of seawater into Guixu. Returning to the surface through the sea eyes was harder than ascending to heaven. We had personally experienced the power of the cavern devouring the sea; the immense suction it generated could even pull sea birds from the air. Therefore, the sea eyes were essentially a dead end.

Shirley Yang said, "Turbulent currents surge beneath Guixu; the water surface is sometimes calm, sometimes boiling furiously, even showing waves and tides. The small boats cannot navigate in such adverse conditions. Although there might be exits via underground flows in the distance, they are incredibly difficult to approach. We don't know when the great cavern will draw in seawater again, and at that moment, this ancient city ruin floating on the surface will be instantly submerged. We won't even have a place to stand."

To clear my head, I took out my cigarette case and lit one, thinking that enjoying a smoke in an ancient ruin thousands of years old was a luxury few could experience. Watching the smoke drift lazily upwards, I suddenly recalled a master from the past, a former boatman named Liu Baitou. He was addicted to tobacco his entire life and was a master of Feng Shui. However, he focused only on water, not mountains, specializing in the Way of Sea Qi. He authored the esoteric book The Eye of the Sea, which meticulously detailed and argued the principles of sea qi and sea mirages, making his methods for observing water unparalleled—a true masterpiece.

The Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Arts written by the Mojin Xiaowei is the ultimate compendium of Feng Shui techniques, "thoroughly exploring the transformations of heaven and earth to form its own school of thought." It collects the essence of many grandmasters of geomancy, organized into five forms: "Diagrams, Tables, Songs, Formulas, and Rhymes." Only the "Dragon Seeking Formula" touches upon the "Southern Dragon." Because the Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Arts is a "Mojin Guidebook," its analysis of the Southern Dragon, which features few ancient tombs or mountain mausoleums, is not detailed. Its discussions on "Sea Eyes, Sea Qi, and Dragon Fire" were derived entirely from the offshore eccentric Liu Baitou's The Eye of the Sea.

The Eye of the Sea states that the changes in sea qi follow the principle of "Pangu's Chaos, Yin and Yang Separation." This refers to the chaotic energy that has existed in the ocean since the dawn of creation. As the Yin and Yang waters mix, there must be an underlying flow beneath the sea qi—underwater freshwater hot springs. The Hentian Clan, hiding on islands in antiquity, must have had a considerable population based on the scale of their ruins. They mined copper underground for Dragon Fire year-round, but they didn't reside permanently at the bottom of the ocean, like inside a whale’s belly. The architectural ruins in the Coral Spiral trench were all sunk from the surface. They required massive freshwater resources for daily needs. The turbulent currents in the coral forest are likely the remains of ancient deep freshwater wells. If we can discern the direction, perhaps we can use the freshwater spurting upward to float back up into the Coral Spiral.

I thought this plan brilliant, but Shirley Yang vehemently disagreed. This depth was too profound; the crisscrossing water pressure and currents were impossible to estimate and could easily tear a person to shreds. She then mentioned that the tattoos behind Gu Cai seemed to conceal many secrets, suggesting that perhaps understanding their truth could lead to an escape route.

The sea mountains depicted in the Trans-Oceanic Tattoo match what we have seen—various grand halls built into undulating mountains arranged in a circle. In the center stands a massive black tree, beneath which is pressed a strangely shaped zombie. Deeper still are the remains of Merfolk and ancient dragons. The mystery within is unimaginable unless witnessed firsthand. Our only option now is to conserve our strength for the time being, rest, and then explore the ruins further to uncover the truth and devise a way out. After talking with Shirley Yang for a while, I felt my eyelids growing heavy, and I drifted into a deep sleep.

Perhaps because we were so tired, we slept soundly until a deafening, world-shattering roar suddenly struck, and we felt the surrounding sea surge in with a howling rush. Everyone woke up instantly from their dreams. The water in the courtyard had violently risen, submerging all the cavern entrances in the four walls. The two small boats that had been dragged onto the clam grave were now floating. I rubbed my eyes, worried the boats would be swept away, and hastily urged everyone aboard. Just then, we heard the incessant clang of bronze armor from outside the courtyard, as if the bronze warrior statues in the Sun-Shooting Palace had suddenly come alive. Their armor scraped and clashed as they surrounded us. The sound was so dense it was impossible to discern their numbers—certainly more than the few dozen bronze giants we had seen in the Sun-Shooting Bronze Hall. It seemed an army of thousands or tens of thousands of bronze warriors was reviving in the water. The sound of ten thousand marching feet traversing the water mixed with the churning of the sea—it was impossible to tell if the roar was that of an army or the tide mimicking an army—but the deafening noise instilled a profound sense of dread.

Everyone turned pale at the sound, uncertain what catastrophic change was happening in the water. Even Fatty was startled. He suspected the bronze figures underwater had come alive to reclaim the Qingtou we risked our lives to salvage. He hurriedly strapped his backpack onto his body, grabbed his Carbine, and stuffed a few grenades into his belt. Seeing this, Uncle Ming panicked even more, asking with alarm, "Fatty, what are you planning to do?"

Fatty fiercely pulled back the bolt of his rifle, "If any son of a bitch dares to touch a single finger of my Qingtou haul, this commander will beat him back to the Stone Age!" As he spoke, the surging seawater lifted the two small boats out of the courtyard. They tumbled over the edge like a waterfall into the valley below. Through a haze of sea mist, countless bronze warriors materialized, arrayed in dense formations around a giant, pitch-black tree.