Chapter 152: High Fever

The deck suddenly became quite lively. I followed alongside Fourth Brother and watched as the netting attached to the ship’s hull slowly rose, carrying a heavy load of Sea-Salvaged Porcelain. I took a quick look; some were porcelain shards, others were broken ceramic jars, most of them still covered in a briny, earthy scent.

Leaning over the railing, I watched the crew from the other research vessel transfer the netting onto their deck. Fourth Brother lit a cigarette and said, “This is only a tiny fraction of it. The area down there is too vast. Even the smallest coffins number over a thousand in total. It’s not realistic to bring everything up, so for now, I can only pick the more typical specimens to bring back for study.”

“What exactly is the situation down there? Having such a dense cluster of Ship-Burial Coffins piled together isn’t normal,” I said.

Fourth Brother nodded. “It’s definitely not normal. Moreover, I can sense that there should be more than just Ship-Burial Coffins down there. There are other things as well.”

A faint sense of unease stirred in my heart. Just then, a second net broke the surface, but its ascent was noticeably slower than the first. It wasn’t until the net was halfway out of the water that the realization hit me, and I understood what it contained.

The items pulled up in the second net weren’t Sea-Salvaged Porcelain, but an entire Ship-Burial Coffin. The wood of the coffin was bloated from being submerged, and as soon as it left the water, black liquid began to drip from it, mixed with sodden wood chips.

I immediately realized the significance of these underwater Mingqi. This method of salvage would inevitably cause some degree of damage to the objects, especially those that had been underwater for so many years. Yet despite this, Fourth Brother and the others insisted on bringing up a Ship-Burial Coffin to examine. Perhaps it served as indirect proof that there was something even more important on the seabed, and if they intended to dive again, they needed to figure out the patterns as quickly as possible.

This net was clearly more important, and Fourth Brother went over to supervise personally. He Yu sidled up behind me at some point and patted my shoulder. “Well? Did you manage to find out anything?”

Looking at Fourth Brother’s busy figure, I had no reason to bother him further. I sighed at He Yu and asked, “Where’s Old Lu?”

He Yu gestured with his eyes. “Resting in the cabin. He came back, changed his clothes, and went straight to sleep. The wound on his arm hasn’t healed yet, and after being soaked in seawater, I’m afraid it’ll get infected. I told him to apply the medicine, but he’s ignoring everyone. Aren’t you the silver-tongued one? Go in there and nag him a bit. I’ve been busy all morning; I need to take a break.”

I was feeling frustrated myself, with too many things I wanted to clarify. At the same time, I was very interested in the contents of that Ship-Burial Coffin. Before I could get a good look, He Yu started pushing me toward the cabin. He shoved me down the stairs, and I missed the moment they lowered the coffin onto the deck.

The cabin was relatively quiet. The crew members who had been working all morning were exhausted; some had taken the easy route, eating a bit of instant food before crashing onto their bunks.

It made sense. Anyone working for Fourth Brother had to have a certain level of commitment. Fourth Brother was the type of person who would risk his life to get things done, so the people under him tended to be more tired. Fortunately, the pay was good and the holidays were frequent. Fourth Brother was also straightforward and loyal, so no one ever complained.

Bai Shenxian was leaning against his bed eating an apple. When he saw He Yu and me tiptoeing past the sleeping crew members, he let out a scoff. I gave him a fierce glare, and he turned his head away, no longer watching us.

Lu Ayao was completely buried under his quilt, lying on his side. He Yu pointed to the untouched medicine bottle on the nightstand.

I recognized that bottle. It was the one Bai Shenxian had given him last time. It wasn’t a standard prescription from a hospital but something Bai Shenxian had formulated himself; the bottle didn’t even have a label. The wound caused by that infant corpse really did seem different from a normal injury. To heal completely, this medicine had to be applied topically for two months straight. If it healed well, it wouldn’t even leave a scar.

I walked to the bedside and weighed the bottle in my hand; the cap was tightly sealed. He Yu leaned into my ear and whispered, “See? I told you, he’s ignoring people. No matter how tired he is, he needs to put the medicine on.”

I looked back at He Yu, then turned to look at Lu Ayao. I’d heard that Fourth Brother and the others had indeed searched a vast area of the sea. Although the Liu Family’s sensitivity to water was much stronger than the Lu Clan’s, the descendants of the Lu Clan were also trained in the techniques of observing dragon pulses and locating burial sites underwater. Therefore, when it came to identifying tombs, Fourth Brother and Liu Wan still had to consult Lu Ayao’s opinion.

Ultimately, regardless of whether Lu Ayao had his own hidden motives, he had likely put in a lot of effort for Fourth Brother’s sake and mine.

I set the medicine bottle down and gave the bundled-up Lu Ayao a shake. As soon as I did, I realized something was wrong. The man seemed to have lost consciousness entirely.

My expression shifted. He Yu, standing beside me, was the first to react. He took a large stride and sat on the edge of the bed, throwing back the quilt. He quickly pressed his palm against Lu Ayao’s forehead. After feeling the heat, he looked at me. “This is bad!”

I cursed under my breath and pulled Lu Ayao’s arm out from under the covers. One touch was enough for me to look up and shout at Bai Shenxian, “Stop eating, damn it! All you do is eat! Can’t you see the man has a fever?”

Bai Shenxian sprang up from his bed like a leaping carp, tossed his apple core aside, and was over in two steps. He Yu and I immediately made room for him. He first moved Lu Ayao onto his back, then began to examine him with a frown, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

Lu Ayao didn’t react at all throughout the process. This frightened me, and a terrifying thought suddenly surfaced in my mind. This situation might be slightly different from before.

Seeing Bai Shenxian standing there for a long time without saying a word, I couldn’t help but ask, “If something’s wrong, just say it. Why are you acting all mysterious now?”

Bai Shenxian rolled his eyes at me, then pulled his suitcase out from under the bed. He grabbed several boxes of medicine and threw them all to me, scratching his head. “Treat it as a normal fever and bacterial infection for now. Feed him these and see how it goes.”

After saying that, Bai Shenxian turned to leave the cabin. I felt something was off, so I shoved the medicine into He Yu’s hands and caught up to him in a few steps. “What do you mean? What do you mean ‘treat it as a normal fever and bacterial infection for now’? I watched him apply that medicine every day; the wound from the infant corpse was almost healed. Even if it was soaked in seawater, there shouldn’t be a bacterial infection.”

Bai Shenxian didn’t look at me. Instead, I noticed that ever since he found out Lu Ayao had a fever, he had been glancing around as if observing something. Seeing nothing unusual in the surroundings, he finally said to me, “What did your Fourth Brother and the others bring up from the seabed?”

I froze, unsure of what he specifically meant.

Seeing my lack of reaction, Bai Shenxian explained in a low voice, “It seems no one told you. Beneath this stretch of sea, there are not only countless shipwrecks but also a massive Tomb-guarding Beast. Finding a Tomb-guarding Beast isn’t strange, but what’s odd about this one is that the center of its head is hollow. The bows of all those shipwrecks are pointed toward that beast, as if they were guided there to moor by it.”

I still didn’t understand the point he was trying to make.

Bai Shenxian grew impatient. “The head wouldn’t be made hollow on purpose. So, your Fourth Brother suggested swimming through the beast’s ears to see what’s inside its head. He Yu couldn’t hold out and went up first, so we discussed it below using writing boards. The result of the discussion was that your Fourth Brother and Ayao would go in first to scout around, just to be safe.”