Uncle San had recounted everything he knew about the situation up to this point. After finishing, both of us let out a sigh of relief; Uncle San seemed to feel as if he had let go of a burden, while I felt as though I had just watched a movie.

We both fell silent. Uncle San went out to use the restroom, and I closed my eyes, replaying everything that had just been said from beginning to end. A few minutes later, I had managed to sort things out quite clearly.

Although the whole matter was not a hundred percent clear, I had a good grasp of the background and consequences involving Qiu Dekao and Uncle San; there were only a couple of things I didn’t know.

As for Uncle San’s experiences in the underwater tomb, that was the beginning of his nightmares and also the turning point that led him from being a grass-roots figure to someone more mature. In his quest to find the archaeological team that had vanished in the ancient tomb, he devoted his entire life to it. Not to mention the money and time spent, he even sacrificed his career to delay An Ning and the others’ progress. Except for a few particularly loyal individuals, all his associates in Changsha had dispersed. Uncle San was undoubtedly one of the top figures among the descendants of the Old Nine Gates, but now everything had turned to dust.

Now, he found himself in a half-dead state; at his age, he should have retired long ago. Of course, the most unfortunate one was me, enduring both mental and physical torment. However, upon hearing the latter parts, I realized that this matter seemed to have nothing to do with me. Looking back, it seemed that Uncle San’s earlier deception was perhaps well-intentioned; if I had known how deep the waters were, I probably wouldn’t have stepped in.

The most important piece of information Uncle San provided was that at the time on their boat, besides him and Xie Lianhuan, there seemed to be a third person who knew about the underwater ancient tomb. This person was obviously connected to Huo Ling and evidently wanted to eliminate both him and Xie Lianhuan.

This person must have been one of the ten individuals, as by the time they entered the underwater tomb, there were no boats left on the surface, and only those few people had gone down.

Therefore, out of the ten people, excluding Uncle San, Wen Jin, Men Youping, Huo Ling, Xie Lianhuan (who was dead), and one person who took him back, only four people remained: Li Si and the others. If Men Youping was telling the truth, then this mysterious person should be one of those four, and among these four, there should also be one woman, which actually leaves only three individuals to choose from.

If it weren’t for Xie Lianhuan’s zombie returning, the mysterious person must be among these three. Of course, there was still the question of who Men Youping saw before losing consciousness. This question was quite strange; if one forced an explanation of it being a mistake, it could make sense, but it still felt somewhat off. I needed to think about it more when I got back.

As for Qiu Dekao, it was about what happened during that year of archaeology in the Xisha Islands. Qiu Dekao was unwilling to talk about it, which clearly indicated that this matter was crucial and involved core secrets. The reason he was willing to share the previous events was that, in hindsight, those matters were insignificant; what he was pursuing at the time was merely the meaning of the Warring States silk manuscripts, which was an academic issue.

But obviously, his goals have changed now. Here, I’ve discovered something that Uncle Three hadn’t considered. What is Jude Kao’s purpose? It’s still shrouded in mystery—filming dead bodies, filming murals, entering the Royal Palace of Lu, the Heavenly Palace on the Cloud; this is definitely not academic research. What exactly does he want to do?

Jude Kao is already over ninety years old, and he is still engaged in this activity. Clearly, it’s not for money or fame or status; it’s quite bizarre.

When Uncle Three returned from the restroom, I shared my thoughts with him. He nodded and said to me, “I’ve actually thought about this, but it’s just too complicated for me to articulate. You see, after Jude Kao started the Xisha Project, I couldn’t make sense of it at all. However, if you pay close attention, you can still feel some clues. The Royal Palace of Lu, the underwater tomb, the Heavenly Palace on the Cloud—all places that Wang Canghai has been to. On the surface, it seems obvious that they are following in Wang Canghai’s footsteps. I can’t help but feel they might be looking for something—something that Wang Canghai possibly left in these ancient tombs.”

“Something left in the ancient tombs?” I pondered, “Could it be the copper fish with snake eyebrows?”

Years ago, Wang Canghai hid the copper fish with snake eyebrows, which concealed secrets of Dongxia, in the treasure eye of a great feng shui site, hoping that it would be discovered by tomb raiders in the future. Therefore, these ancient tombs all contained the copper fish with snake eyebrows.

Uncle Three shook his head, saying it was unclear and didn’t seem quite right; it felt like something else. They repeatedly entered the underwater ancient tombs, seemingly to obtain clues about where Wang Canghai had been, and then to search for them.

“Actually, I don’t care what they want to do. I just want to know what happened to them when they went missing in the depths of Xisha. Where did Wenjin and the others go? I’m keeping an eye on Jude Kao because this matter in Xisha must be related to his purpose. Unfortunately, the more I investigate, the more complicated it becomes,” Uncle Three sighed. “In the end, I don’t even know what I’m investigating. I can only try to be faster than them, hoping to find what they’re looking for first, so I can threaten that old ghost to reveal the truth. Unfortunately, I’m getting old, and many things are beyond my capability now.”

I patted him to comfort him and said, “Well, the thread of the great feng shui has come to an end. Reaching the Heavenly Palace on the Cloud is already the final stop. It’s clear that An Ning and the others aimed for the Nine Dragons Coffin, but due to the chaotic situation at that time, they didn’t succeed. I think they might try to go in again. In any case, the Heavenly Palace on the Cloud should be the last station. Whether they find something or not, this matter should be coming to a close. Uncle, don’t be too obsessed; some things you’ve already done your best with, so don’t think too much about it.”

Uncle Three smiled bitterly, “The end? I thought so at first, but now it seems too early to say that.” Saying this, he picked up the videotape sent by the sealed bottle and tapped it. “This matter is definitely not over. Let’s see what’s in there first.”