Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After the start of the new semester, Yuejiang and Yusheng went to the police academy to find Shao Chong and told him about their discovery in the studio that night.
Yusheng was also quite surprised. He said, "No matter whose work that painting is or when it was created, it definitely depicts the pond outside the studio." As he spoke, he handed the camera to Shao Chong. "Look, doesn’t it look exactly like the scene in the painting?"
Shao Chong stared at the camera screen for a long time, his brow furrowing so much it seemed ready to knot.
Then, as if he had discovered a new continent, he suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Quick, turn on the computer! Turn on the computer!"
"You two were so busy marveling at it that you didn’t notice such a big issue?"
"What?" Yuejiang and Yusheng asked in unison.
"Take a closer look at this photo. Although the layout and environment haven’t changed much, you’ve overlooked one crucial detail. What changes constantly at night?"
Yusheng continued to think according to conventional Impressionism principles and replied, "That would naturally be light; light is always changing in an instant. Every second is different. Just like in this painting, the reflection of the moon changes with the ripples on the water."
"I’m really impressed by you!" Shao Chong said excitedly, fumbling with the USB port several times before finally connecting it to the computer.
He continued, "You two are indeed art students; all you know is about lighting and changes in brightness. The secret in Uncle Lin’s painting isn’t hard to discover at all. You just need to observe the real scene according to the patterns indicated in the painting to find the answer."
"What do you mean?"
Yuejiang pressed for clarification. "The thirteen paintings all depict the same pond. Isn’t what we saw in the studio exactly what’s in the painting?"
Shao Chong opened the digital photo, the image clearly displaying every pixel. He pulled the screen up to the diagonal of the photo and pointed at the crescent moon, saying, "It's early October now, and the moon is as thin as a hook. How could it possibly cast a round reflection in the water?"
Yusheng and Yuejiang stared at the screen in shock; they had completely overlooked this issue because the painting depicted a full moon.
The two exchanged glances and simultaneously voiced this undeniable fact: "The reflection in the water isn't the moon at all!"
As Shao Chong moved the display frame to that so-called moonlight, free from artistic interference, they clearly saw the truth. Yuejiang took a deep breath and said, "So this is what Dad wanted me to see."
The pale half-circle of light was not floating on the water's surface but was hidden beneath the pool, partially covered by silt. The moonlight on the surface confused their vision, casting mottled shadows that misled them into thinking it was a reflection.
Yuejiang sighed in relief and said, "So what Father hinted for me to find is this white sphere hidden at the bottom of the water."
Early the next morning, the three of them arrived at the edge of the Water Pond. Shao Chong accurately determined the location based on the photo. Sure enough, standing by the pond's edge, due to their lowered line of sight and the obstruction of lotus leaves, they could not see that white sphere at all.
Only from the studio window on a moonlit night, surrounded by darkness with not too strong a light, could they vaguely make it out when reflections on the water were minimized.
If it weren't for Shao Chong's rationality and keen observation noting that it was a new moon that day, Yuejiang and Yusheng would never have thought of this.
Shao Chong took off his shoes and rolled up his pants. After having Yusheng and Yuejiang point out the correct position from shore, he waded into the water to start searching.
"I found it!" Shao Chong shouted excitedly. "What Uncle Lin went through to help us find this must be a priceless treasure!" As he spoke, he gripped that white sphere, slightly smaller than a volleyball, tightly with both hands and pulled upward with all his might.
As that head emerged from the water and came into view before Yuejiang, a terrified scream escaped her lips. Even Yusheng trembled in shock at the sight of that head, unable to utter a word.
Shao Chong quickly suppressed the shock and confusion within, cradling the head in his arms as he continued to search. Eventually, he brought a complete skeleton to the surface and placed it on the shore, asking them with a face full of astonishment, “Is this what Uncle Lin wanted you to find?”
Yuejiang stepped closer, noticing that the skeleton had turned a bluish hue from soaking in the water, glinting with a chilling light under the sun.
Around the neck of the skeleton hung a key threaded through a nylon cord, identical to the one her father had left for her. Fortunately, it had not rusted from being submerged for so long.
She took the key and held it tightly in her hand. Yusheng couldn’t help but ask, “What is this…?”
Yuejiang was both frightened and shocked, her body trembling uncontrollably as she stammered, “This is my mother; this is my mother who has been missing for twenty years…”
Yuejiang returned to the bank's safe deposit box, using the key she had found on her mother’s skeleton to unlock another compartment.
Inside were only a harmonica engraved with a "D," a letter that had yellowed with age, and the missing right side of an old photograph. The photo indeed featured a handsome man who bore a striking resemblance to Yusheng and Shao Chong; it was their father, Du Lan.
With the words written in black ink on that letter, the truth that had been sealed away for decades finally came to light.
Comment 0 Comment Count