As he spoke, Uncle San took out two crumpled photographs from his shabby bag and handed them to me. I knew these two photos must have been taken of that danlu (a type of alchemical furnace); they were probably given to him by that foreigner. The situation is quite complicated, and without these photos, it would be hard to explain clearly. Now, he was using it in relation to me.

Taking the photos, I looked again and saw that the first one depicted a huge danlu displayed in a museum. When Uncle San spoke, I didn’t realize it was this big—almost as tall as a person. Smuggling something like this out of the country is indeed an impossible task.

The second photo showed the bottom of the danlu. I saw the bronze base covered in intricate patterns, and in the center of the base was a fist-sized copper beast looking up at the sky, its head raised majestically. In terms of design, it was truly a top-notch piece.

“This is the restored danlu in the museum; the second picture shows the interior of the danlu,” Uncle San explained to me. “The mechanism discovered by Jie Lianhuan at the bottom of the furnace is a very clever water inlet, used to add water to the danlu during alchemy. The walls of the furnace are hollow, with water inside. By rotating the lid of the danlu and aligning the pattern above to a certain position, one can open the mechanism beneath the beast, and the water in the walls will spray out from the beast’s mouth. This way, there is no need to open the furnace lid during the alchemical process.”

I nodded in amazement. However, such clever mechanisms are not particularly unusual in China. Why was this mechanism said to be the key to unlocking the texts of the Warring States period?

Uncle San said the issue wasn’t the function of the mechanism, but rather the way it operated. He then took out a magnifying glass and asked me to closely examine the patterns on the bottom of the danlu.

The photos were small, but as I looked closely, I saw that all around the beast, there were many tiny relief sculptures densely packed together. If one did not examine them carefully, they would think it was just copper rust.

“What is this?” I still didn’t understand and asked.

“It’s understandable that you don’t know. The reliefs on the bottom of the furnace are an ancient star chart.”

“An ancient star chart?” I was taken aback. “Is it a chart that indicates the positions of stars in the sky?”

Uncle San nodded and then showed me a photo of a diagram translated from the Warring States bamboo slips for comparison: “This is the most ingenious aspect of this mechanism. The bottom of the furnace is an ancient star chart. When the lid is rotated to the correct angle, the curves on the lid’s pattern will align with six stars in the star chart below, allowing the mechanism to open.”

Upon hearing this, I immediately thought of something and then realized: “If the two patterns can align, then the strange lines on this Warring States bamboo slip are actually a ‘star disk’?”

Uncle San nodded. “Exactly.”

A star disk is a tool for stargazing. Because there are countless stars in the sky, which move according to the time of year, it is quite difficult to identify specific stars among so many. Thus, the star disk was created. It typically consists of lines connecting the arrangements of stars. By aligning the Big Dipper on the star disk, one can use a compass and the seasonal scale to rotate the disk, causing those specific lines to coincide with the stars one is looking for.

I couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “Ah, this isn’t hard to figure out! Why didn’t I think of it earlier?” It makes perfect sense. During the Warring States period, astrology had already developed significantly, and people of that era believed that celestial phenomena represented the movements of all things in the world, allowing them to gain insights into certain cosmic secrets. These secrets often foreshadowed changes in nations, major wars, and disasters, and were generally not to be casually disclosed. It is therefore understandable that Iron Face concealed the star chart he observed within a silk manuscript.

Moreover, this star chart also appeared on the alchemical furnace, perhaps indicating that this celestial phenomenon held some special significance, attracting the attention of many people at the time, which is quite plausible.

My uncle nodded, “You’ve made progress; you’re absolutely right. Once this material arrived in America, Jude Kao immediately discovered this secret. Like you, he thought of astrology.”

This was an exhilarating discovery; it could be said that it was the first of its kind in archaeological history, and Jude Kao gained significant recognition once again. However, at that moment, he was no longer concerned; he had completely immersed himself in the archaeological process. What did the celestial phenomena represented by the star chart mean? Given how meticulously it was hidden, it was clear that these celestial signs foreshadowed something of great importance that could not be known by others.

After overlapping the star chart with the celestial disk, he identified six specific stars from the entire star chart, synthesizing a celestial diagram, and then consulted ancient texts to understand what this celestial diagram represented in astrology.

However, ancient Chinese astrology is almost as complex and profound as feng shui, with nearly no systematic documentation. The star chart concealed in the Warring States silk manuscript held secrets that were completely untraceable.

At that time, the only way to unlock this secret was to seek out those so-called experts, but this time, they were nowhere to be found in America. Thus, Jude Kao once again entrusted Jie Lianhuan to visit the folk circles in China.

Unfortunately, Jie Lianhuan was unable to complete the task this time. Those who understood a bit of the I Ching and feng shui were all sent to the cow pens, and those who managed to escape were all trembling with fear, reluctant to speak. Inquiries had to be made discreetly, making it extremely inconvenient.

This search lasted two years without any results, and there were no advancements in other research conducted in America either.

In desperation, Jude Kao had a sudden inspiration and redirected his attention back to the Warring States silk manuscript. He speculated that since there was a star chart in the manuscript, perhaps other texts contained records of the secrets of the star chart.

Thus, he began acquiring Lu Huang silk in China while also plotting to revisit his grandfather, who had sold the Warring States silk manuscripts. Based on his experience, local scholars typically did not leave empty-handed; the silk manuscripts could not possibly consist of only one volume. If his grandfather had stolen them, he must have taken the entire collection, and the remaining parts might still be in his grandfather’s possession.

At that time, Xie Lianhuan and Jude Kao had developed a very close relationship, and in a moment of treachery, he helped Jude Kao gather information from my grandfather. Unfortunately, my grandfather was very tight-lipped and revealed nothing. In desperation, Xie Lianhuan went to ask my third uncle. At that moment, my third uncle was quite interested in the notes my grandfather had made, and after a few drinks, he ended up sharing the entire story of how my grandfather had stolen the ancient texts from the Warring States period.

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but interject, “Third Uncle, so it turns out that the foreigner learned about the blood tomb from you?”

My third uncle let out a bitter laugh and shook his head, saying, “I did drink a bit too much that day. After a few drinks, I didn’t even remember telling him about it. It was only when that foreigner brought it up that I recalled it, and I regretted it deeply.”

I shared in his bitter laughter; the situation was indeed dramatic. However, it could be said that when Jude Kao chose Xie Lianhuan, he may have already known about the relationship between the Wu family and the Xie family, having this plan in mind from the start. This foreigner acted with such secrecy that it was truly frightening.

After Jude Kao received the news, he planned to re-excavate the blood tomb, but unfortunately, Xie Lianhuan couldn’t help him with that, and he couldn’t find anyone else. At that time, U.S.-China relations were beginning to warm up, and he sensed that the situation would change, so he patiently waited for a while. Sure enough, he eventually got an opportunity. He then hurriedly returned to China with a group of archaeologists to plan the operation, leading to the events my third uncle had experienced.

The subsequent events can be guessed. That night, after my third uncle escaped from the ancient tomb, Jude Kao entered the tomb the next afternoon. It goes without saying that this turned into a disaster. When they opened the hidden compartment at the bottom of the coffin, a wave of chaos erupted, nearly killing everyone present in the tomb.

Fortunately, one of the associates Xie Lianhuan had brought was quite clever; at the most dangerous moment, he detonated explosives, completely collapsing the inner chamber. It was thanks to this that Jude Kao and Xie Lianhuan, who were in the outer chamber, were able to save their lives. Unfortunately, he and several others were buried alive in the tomb.

The scene was extremely terrifying, and witnessing it firsthand dealt a huge blow to Jude Kao, nearly driving him insane. His understanding of China, built over decades, completely shattered. After returning to Changsha, he immediately went back to the United States, fell seriously ill, and nearly lost his mind. His research on the ancient texts of the Warring States period was abruptly halted.

However, we know this was only temporary. A year later, the second era of underwater archaeology began, and the wheels of fate started to turn faster beneath the waters of the Xisha Islands.