As my thoughts returned to the present, I found myself completely captivated by his story, feeling as if I were in an ancient tomb, cradling Wenjin’s warm and fragrant presence in my arms. My third uncle coughed, and I was startled, suddenly realizing that I was holding a pillow. I felt embarrassed, thinking to myself how could I have such fantasies about my uncle’s woman? I quickly turned red and asked, “Why did you stop? What happened in the end?”

My third uncle gave a bitter smile: “There’s nothing more to say; the story ends here. Even now, I can’t figure out what happened in the ancient tomb while I was asleep.” His lips trembled as he continued, “I don’t know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I found that I was the only one left in the ear chamber; everyone else had disappeared. I thought they must have gone to the main tomb while I was out, and I felt angry because Wenjin usually listens to me, but this time she was messing around with them. I wanted to chase after them.”

He pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, looking somewhat pale: “At that moment, I saw that the door in the wall had disappeared! When I turned around, I immediately realized that this was not the ear chamber where I had been sleeping, but a completely unfamiliar place. Behind me, there was actually a golden nanmu coffin.”

I laughed and said, “With your courage, Uncle, you must have wasted no time in flipping the coffin lid and dumping out all the good stuff inside.”

My uncle cursed, “Nonsense! Let me tell you, I was scared out of my wits. I’ve seen plenty of coffins, but that one was different; water kept bubbling out of it, wave after wave. Damn it, it was as if something inside was taking a bath! I remembered what Li Si said about the sea ghost tomb. You know I’m not afraid of zongzi, but sea ghosts? That was a first for me. I was so scared I almost wet myself. I was also worried about Wenjin, so I shouted a few times, but no one answered me. At that moment, the coffin lid suddenly shifted.”

My uncle’s expression grew strange as he continued, “Without thinking, I saw that the helmet was still in my hand, and I jumped straight into the spring. Then I managed to escape.”

I quickly interjected, “Wait, didn’t that room change? How could the spring still be there?”

My uncle’s face turned pale, and he stammered, “It’s there, of course, the spring is there. Don’t interrupt! I haven’t finished yet.” He collected himself and continued, “I didn’t care about any tsunami or anything; I found that hole and swam out. When I looked up, the sun was high in the sky, but I didn’t know what time it was. I broke the surface of the water and saw several large ships not far away, apparently there to rescue us. I swam back to the ship, and when I asked the time, damn it, it was already noon the next day! Can you believe I just took a nap in that tomb, and a whole day passed?”

I stared at my uncle, feeling that it was all too unbelievable. He must have encountered something decisive, but I didn’t understand why he was unwilling to tell me. What on earth did this old guy do in that tomb? Damn it, I couldn’t force him to talk, but seeing him hesitate made me anxious.

Noticing he had fallen silent, I grew worried about Wenjin and asked, “What about the others? Didn’t they come out?”

I hope this translation meets your expectations! If you need further assistance, feel free to ask.

Uncle San slapped his thigh in frustration. “I got on the boat, and for some reason, I passed out after only a few words. Later, I was taken to a hospital in Hainan, where I remained in a coma for a whole week. By the time I wanted to go back and find them, I couldn’t locate the captain who had taken us to that place. At sea, if you don’t know the exact coordinates, you can’t find it at all; the surface of the water looks the same everywhere.” He paused, “I later went to ask the maritime administration and their research institute, and found out that those young people had all gone missing. Wen Jin was with them too. It’s been almost twenty years, and there’s still no news. I really can’t understand what happened with that grave. How could people just disappear without a trace?” He pounded the table hard, his eyes reddening. “Damn it, I regret it. Why did I have to show off back then? If I hadn’t gone to that sea battle, maybe that whole group would have grandchildren by now! And Wen Jin, I really owe her an apology.”

I watched Uncle San, tears and snot streaming down his face. I had never seen him like this, and I didn’t know what to do. He picked up the snake-eyed copper fish and said, “I thought for a long time about why I was the only one who could come out, while the others couldn’t. The only difference between me and them is that I have this thing.”

I looked at the fish and thought, “If King Lu Shang had also been in that sea battle and had one of these snake-eyed copper fish, could it be said that the Lu Wang Palace and the sunken grave in the sea are related?” But then I thought, no, that’s not right. The two graves are from such different times—one from the Warring States period and the other from the early Ming dynasty. They couldn’t possibly be connected. I couldn’t make sense of the mystery no matter how I thought about it.

After Uncle San finished speaking, he seemed a bit disoriented. He lay back for a moment, and I thought he had just gone through another painful memory and needed some time to calm down. Unexpectedly, he suddenly sat up and turned to me, saying, “Nephew, I just remembered something.”

Seeing his pale face, I thought he had recalled something terrifying again. He scratched his head and said, “Among the few guys who went into the sea battle with me, there was one who looked a lot like that quiet little guy!”

I felt a chill run down my spine and said, “You can’t be mistaken, can you? He must have only been a little kid back then!”

Uncle San recalled carefully, his frown deepening. Finally, he said, “It’s been so long; I can’t be a hundred percent sure, but I still have a group photo from that time. It was taken before we went out to sea. I can have my family scan it and send it to me.”

It’s easier said than done. Uncle San made a phone call, and five minutes later, an email arrived. As soon as he opened it, I felt a chill all over. The photo was in black and white; there were ten of them. The front row was squatting, and the second row was standing. I saw that the young Uncle San was squatting in the middle of the front row, and right behind him stood that quiet little guy!

I was covered in a cold sweat, thinking I must have been seeing things, so I looked again, and sure enough, it was him. That gaze, that expression were exactly the same. My hands started to tremble a bit. My third uncle glanced at me, looking very confused. He had a question stuck in his throat for a long time before finally asking, “Why… hasn’t he aged a bit in twenty years?” As soon as he finished speaking, it was as if he suddenly realized something, and he shouted, “I understand! I understand!”

I watched him as if he had gone mad, unsure of what to do. He picked up his luggage and headed outside. I tried to grab him, but he shook me off and turned back to say, “You stay here and watch over Panzi. I need to go back to Xisha right away!” With that, he ran out without looking back.