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墨書 Inktalez
I quietly returned to the cabin with Jiao Ba. As we made our way back to the resting quarters, I glanced at Jenny and Mai Lao's rooms. The hatches were tightly shut. Jiao Ba and I stood outside, listening for a moment, but there was no sound coming from Jenny and Li Xin's room.
In contrast, there was a faint snoring from Mai Lao's room. The old man was sharing a space with the helmsman, and there was another resting area where the Maintenance Worker and several other sailors stayed. Everything seemed normal. Deep down, I knew that Jiao Ba and I were just wandering around aimlessly, like blind men on horseback. What could we possibly hear outside their doors? Perhaps that man in black was lurking just behind one of the hatches, but we had no way of knowing.
Or maybe he was hiding in some corner, watching us, waiting for us to let our guard down so he could strike. But such thoughts were always conflicting in one's mind. So, without hearing anything unusual, we returned to our own resting quarters.
Inside, the sound of snoring continued in the darkness. I turned on my flashlight and scanned the room, only to find Shunzi's bed empty. I turned to Jiao Ba and whispered, "Where's Shunzi?"
Jiao Ba looked blankly and shook his head. "How would I know? Isn't he usually with you?"
"Was he here when you left?" I asked, certain that Shunzi had been there when I walked out. I feared that he might have followed me right after I left. Although I didn't want to suspect him, in this situation, I couldn't trust anyone.
Jiao Ba awkwardly whispered in my ear, "I don't know! I was just focused on you; I didn't pay attention to him."
"Damn it, let's go check." Just as we turned to leave, the hatch swung open. When I shone my flashlight towards it, there stood Shunzi, looking groggy and shielding his eyes from the bright light.
"What were you doing out at this hour?" I asked irritably.
"I went to the bathroom! What else could I do? Brother Yi, what are you two up to? When I woke up, you both were gone. Hey? Why are you both so wet? Did you go swimming?" Shunzi immediately noticed that Jiao Ba and I hadn't had time to dry off.
I quickly played it off. "Oh, it's nothing. It’s hot out; we just took a shower." As soon as those words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself. Who goes for a midnight swim for fun? Besides, the saltwater is too harsh for bathing.
Shunzi seemed still half-asleep and didn’t catch on. "Oh, then I'll go back to sleep. You two should get some rest too." He returned to his bed and fell back asleep.
I exchanged a glance with Jiao Ba, who shrugged and shook his head, indicating that he couldn't see any problem. We wiped the seawater off our bodies, changed into clean clothes, and then collapsed into bed. That night, I slept restlessly; I had been dreaming of that female corpse for some time, but tonight I kept dreaming of the man in black. He repeatedly demanded my life.
I could never clearly see who he was, but I distinctly remembered his feline-like eyes. They were the most terrifying eyes I had ever encountered. In my dreams, he relentlessly pursued me, and I kept running, running, but he would not let me go. It seemed he needed that jade pendant, constantly shouting, "Give me the thing... give me the thing."
Suddenly alert, I slowly opened my bleary eyes and realized I was still lying in the Rest Cabin. It was quiet around me; aside from the sound of snoring, there was nothing else. I rolled out of bed and locked the Hatch. I was genuinely scared; I feared that the man in black would kill me while I slept.
However, when I returned to my bed, I was startled to find a note beside it. Confused, I picked it up and felt a chill run down my spine as I read the words: "You have the thing in your hands, right? Keep it safe; if you lose it, your life is forfeit."
After reading those words, cold sweat began to trickle down my forehead. I felt a wave of cold wash over me. This had to be left by the man in black—was he warning me? Did that dream mean it was all real? Was he standing right next to me? The thought made my scalp tingle; if he wanted my life, I would have died countless times already.
Sitting on my bed with the note in hand, I reflected on everything that had happened. After much thought, I reached a conclusion: he wouldn't kill me for now. The note said so itself—if I kept the thing safe, my life would be temporarily spared. That thing must be the jade pendant; it seemed the man in black already knew about the female corpse's origins.
Who exactly was he? What was his purpose for coming out to sea? Things were becoming increasingly complicated and far beyond my imagination. To uncover this mystery, it seemed I'd have to put in some effort. Since he wanted to play games, I'd play along until the end.
I lit a cigarette and quietly smoked while lying in bed with my eyes closed, lost in thought throughout the night until dawn broke without much real sleep.
Early in the morning, everyone gathered on deck. Jenny asked Jiao Ba to check on what had been salvaged to confirm whether this ship was indeed from the Yongle Period wreck. Although Jiao Ba claimed that the female corpse dated back to early Ming Dynasty, that didn't necessarily mean the wreck did too.
As for what happened last night, Jiao Ba and I didn't mention a word about it. I deliberately observed everyone's heights and features but still couldn't find anyone resembling that man in black. Could it be that he wasn't on our ship at all? Where could he be hiding? I found myself puzzled.
"Loyalty and Righteousness," Mai Lao approached me with a smile and asked, "You don't look too well; didn't you sleep well last night?"
"Oh, it's nothing. The sea breeze has been strong lately; maybe I've caught a chill," I casually brushed him off.
"That's good to hear. Let's go check out what we've salvaged," he said. Nodding in agreement, I followed Mai Lao over.
Jiao Ba was currently examining the salvaged porcelain and Silver Ingots, while Mai Lao and the others stood nearby, clearly waiting for the final outcome.
Jiao Ba scrutinized each piece closely, not missing a single item. After more than an hour, he set down a vase, revealing a look of helplessness on his face. He frowned, pouted, and slowly shook his head, leaving everyone puzzled by his actions.
Seeing Jiao Ba's expression, Jenny quickly asked, "What's wrong? Is there something off?"
Jiao Ba stretched his arms and slowly stood up. "I might disappoint you with what I have to say! This wreck—it's not from the Yongle Period; I don't even think it's from the Ming Dynasty."
"Ah? Why?" This question echoed among us all. I was just as confused. Setting aside the Coffin Corpse for now, just a few days ago, Mai Lao had shown Jiao Ba some porcelain, and he had claimed it was from the Ming Dynasty's Yongle Period. Now he was saying otherwise, which left everyone anxious. I felt even more bewildered.
Jiao Ba casually picked up a piece of porcelain. "This vase appears to be sweet white porcelain from the Yongle Period based on its surface. However, in reality, it's from the Qing Dynasty during the Qianlong reign. If this were a Ming Dynasty shipwreck, how could there be artifacts from the Qing Dynasty?"
Shunzi took the sweet white vase from Jiao Ba's hand and glanced at it. "No way! Doesn't it say 'Yongle' on the bottom? How can you say it's from the Qianlong period? Lao Ba, are you trying to pull a fast one on us?" Shunzi was skeptical of Jiao Ba's words since he often had all sorts of tricks up his sleeve.
Jiao Ba merely smiled and didn't respond to him. However, I began to piece things together in my mind. I snatched the vase from Shunzi's hand and examined it closely while Jenny and Mai Lao looked on. I whispered, "In the early Ming Dynasty, especially during the Yongle Period, most porcelain—whether from official kilns or folk kilns—didn't have year marks. If I'm not mistaken, porcelain with year marks or production numbers only started appearing during Emperor Xuande's reign."
"Brother Yi is indeed Brother Yi! Although I'm not sure if it started with Xuande, one thing I can confirm is that porcelain made during the Yongle Period absolutely won't have year marks on the bottom. That much is certain, especially sweet white porcelain; it's impossible for it to have one. Moreover, this vase's color differs significantly from that of porcelain produced during the Yongle Period. Outsiders might not understand and could easily be misled," Jiao Ba explained with a half-smile. Despite his annoying grin, I had to admit that his ability to identify antiques was truly impressive.
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