The address Ding Changsheng provided was an eco-park, essentially an agritourism venue that combined fruit picking, leisure activities, dining, and accommodation. It was designed with classical aesthetics, emphasizing garden-like features, and had quite a distinctive charm.
Yi Sa suspected this was a Ding family enterprise. Over the past few decades, as they experienced successive failures and the lock-opening golden-vault model gradually became obsolete, the three families had already been seeking new revenue streams. They had unanimously trended toward conservative ventures, only dabbling in traditional industries rather than venturing into cutting-edge technological fields.
Entering the eco-park, they headed straight for the hotel, which was situated in a secluded corner of the park next to an artificial lake. Many people were playing in the lake, and with her expert eye, Yi Sa could tell at a glance that these weren’t tourists – they were members of the three families.
She instructed Zong Hang: “Stay close to me and don’t speak unnecessarily.”
Upon entering the hotel, Ding Xi came forward to escort them to the conference room.
There were only three people in the conference room, and coincidentally, they knew them all. Besides Ding Changsheng, there were two water ghosts.
Jiang Taiyue and Ding Panling.
These two were quite unexpected, given that Jiang Taiyue was quite elderly, and Ding Panling lived like a recluse, rarely making his presence known.
Yi Sa now had a clear picture of the water ghost hierarchy in this group: originally there were seven water ghosts. After Jiang Jun and Yi Xiao’s incidents, Yi Yunqiao was excluded as a member of the Yi family. Ding Haijin had always been in poor health and later had heart bypass surgery, so he wasn’t considered either. Of the remaining three, all had participated.
After Jiang Xiaokuang disappeared, only these two were left.
Jiang Taiyue spoke with a pleasant expression: “Sasa, we’ve heard everything and have been making arrangements these past two days. Today we’re having a small meeting first, just to touch base. Long Sheng will represent us at the management meeting.”
Yi Sa responded with a grunt, pulling Zong Hang to sit down. The conference room’s air conditioning was running strong, making it a bit chilly. The projector was on, displaying a rigid Windows desktop covered in dense folders that hurt the eyes.
Jiang Taiyue continued: “It would be better if your sister could be here. Sasa, is there any way to contact her?”
There was meaning behind these words, and Yi Sa immediately went into defense mode: “If she could show up, why would I need to wade into this mess? This has nothing to do with me anyway.”
That was true enough. Jiang Taiyue changed the subject: “I’ve heard about Jiang Jun opening the golden vault to enter the resting nest, but I have a question…”
Yi Sa’s heart suddenly tensed.
“Among the younger generation of water ghosts, not just you and Ding Yudi, but even Panling and Xiaokuang never opened a golden vault. But your Grandmother Jiang has opened one, also in the Yangtze River, at Nine Bends. It ultimately failed, and we returned empty-handed… I remember, as soon as we went underwater, just as the lead person’s forehead touched the ancestor tablet, fireworks seemed to explode in my mind, and I had no memory of anything that happened until we surfaced.”
“How is it that your sister remembers everything so clearly?”
Oh, just this matter – she’d thought she’d made some terrible mistake. Yi Sa relaxed: “How would I know about that? You should ask my sister… But Grandmother Jiang, my sister had an incident in the Drifting Cave and became one of ‘them.’ She’s completely changed, and her mind must be different too, so it’s not strange that she remembers.”
Jiang Taiyue smiled, waiting for just this response: “Then this young Mr. Zong, who is also one of ‘them,’ should be like your sister, right? Unaffected by the ancestor tablet?”
What did she mean? Yi Sa couldn’t figure out her intentions and remained silent.
To Jiang Taiyue, this silence was as good as confirmation. She turned to Ding Changsheng and Ding Panling: “Which of you will speak first?”
After a brief silence, Ding Changsheng cleared his throat: “I’ll… go first.”
Ding Changsheng spoke about privately transferring Jiang Jun back then.
Since the person in question was dead and couldn’t testify, he tried his best to deflect responsibility: “At the time… I was just a minor player. Jiang Xiaokuang was a water ghost, and I couldn’t refuse his request. Besides, after Jiang Xiaokuang took Jiang Jun away, he kept him under strict supervision, which had the same effect as being confined in the kiln.”
Ding Panling just listened, showing no expression, but Jiang Taiyue was somewhat angry: “You had quite the scheme, even creating a fake to fool everyone for all these years! If this gets out, how will the three families view you!”
Ding Changsheng looked embarrassed, but inwardly he was reassured: if Jiang Taiyue could say this, it meant the matter wouldn’t “get out.”
“During this time, I maintained contact with Jiang Xiaokuang. According to him, apart from physical changes, Jiang Jun remained mentally lucid, with occasional delirium, but compared to those in the kiln, his condition was mild.”
Jiang Taiyue gripped her walking stick and tapped it on the ground: “This is where he was clever. He might have transformed into one of ‘them’ early on, but he put on an act and fooled all of you.”
Ding Changsheng remained silent.
Ding Panling interjected: “Moreover, he played ‘Jiang Jun’ flawlessly, which means he had complete control over all of ‘Jiang Jun’s’ memories, able to access them whenever needed – even his father couldn’t tell the difference. Looking back now, we were fortunate that his physical transformation was so severe that we considered him problematic and locked him up. What if there had been no visible changes at the time?”
If he had shown no physical abnormalities or injuries then, no one would have thought he was infected, and they wouldn’t have confined him. He might have taken the ancestor tablet early on and entered the golden vault to activate the Reincarnation Bell.
The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart. Hearing “no visible changes,” Ding Changsheng’s heart jumped, and he unconsciously glanced at Yi Sa.
Yi Sa reacted incredibly quickly: “Uncle Ding, why are you looking at me? Are you suspecting me again? If I were really in that situation, I would have already taken the ancestor tablet and activated the Reincarnation Bell. Why would I come tell you and ask you to find ways to deal with them? Not to brag, but if I hadn’t told you, you might not have figured out what was going on even after twenty years.”
Some doubts should be addressed immediately, not allowing them to fester.
Ding Changsheng looked embarrassed, and Jiang Taiyue smiled and mediated: “You can’t blame your Uncle Ding. Back then, almost everyone was wiped out, yet you, a three-year-old girl, emerged unscathed. Anyone would have their doubts. Now that we’ve cleared things up, it’s better – we avoid fighting among ourselves… Changsheng, please continue.”
So they returned to discussing Jiang Jun.
For this golden vault opening at Poyang Lake, Jiang Xiaokuang knew the chances of success were slim, but to maintain appearances, he still made preparations. Jiang Jun actively offered suggestions, proposing a two-step plan: first, delay the main boat’s golden vault opening due to some reason; second, privately prepare another boat where he would take the ancestor tablet underwater to scout the route while Jiang Xiaokuang could film the path with an underwater camera – having the route would make the next attempt more secure.
Jiang Xiaokuang was tempted and went to consult with Ding Changsheng.
Ding Changsheng had no reason to object. The fake Jiang Jun had always been a burden on his mind, and he felt the sooner it was resolved, the better. However, he wasn’t very comfortable letting Jiang Jun go underwater, so he made some requirements, such as ensuring strict confinement and being present himself. Also, to prevent being affected by the ancestor tablet, he suggested Jiang Xiaokuang not enter the water route ladder but instead use a long chain to tether Jiang Jun, staying as far away as possible.
At this point, he hung his head dejectedly: “At the time, we didn’t think that even staying so far away would help us avoid it.”
Zong Hang thought to himself: What use was staying so far away? Ding Yudi was buried in the mud, and she was still pulled out just the same.
Yi Sa noticed that as Ding Changsheng was finishing his account, Ding Panling had already seated himself at the laptop connected to the projector.
It seemed the main event was coming.
Sure enough, the first image Ding Panling pulled up was a schematic of three major rivers, stretching from their sources, with red circles marking the locations of Tonle Sap Lake and Poyang Lake. There was also a circle on the Yellow River, though Yi Sa wasn’t very familiar with northern geography and couldn’t tell where it was.
Ding Panling said: “These past two days, I compared the Golden Vault manual with maps. The manual lists about twenty Golden Vault points in total. It’s unlikely they’re all resting nests containing bodies – that would be too scattered, and besides, the resting nests are quite large, some golden vault points simply don’t have the necessary conditions. Personally, I believe, corresponding to the phrase ‘hundred-zhang drum at Yellow River shoal, Reincarnation Bell in the hanging water lake,’ there are three resting nests, one for each major river. Although the Yangtze has more than one hanging water lake, only Poyang Lake has both a hanging water lake and a golden vault point.”
Yi Sa recalled Ding Yudi’s plan to lock the golden vault at Hukou: “You think the Yellow River’s resting nest is at Hukou?”
Ding Panling nodded: “First, Hukou has a golden vault; second, the waterfall’s rushing water sounds like beating drums; third, the Yellow River’s surface upstream of the falls is about three hundred meters wide – one zhang is about 3.3 meters, so three hundred meters converts to ‘hundred-zhang’ – everything matches up.”
“Is the Lancang River’s resting nest in Tonle Sap Lake?”
Ding Panling hesitated: “That river’s situation is more complicated. It flows out of the country, and our ancestors couldn’t have gone abroad to lock or open golden vaults – it’s not even marked on the golden vault points. The reason we included it is because of your sister’s connection – she went all that way there, and this Zong Hang was revived there, so that place must be significant.”
Yi Sa nodded.
Ding Panling covered the mouse with his palm: “We’ve already positioned people at Lord Temple, but the Lord Temple waters are just an output point. Everything has its source – you said the three rivers are three birth canals, so where’s the womb?”
As he spoke, he moved the mouse toward the rivers’ sources.
Zong Hang blurted out: “The Three Rivers’ Source?”
Ding Panling corrected him: “It’s the Drifting Cave. The Drifting Cave is at ‘where the rivers flow like a broom,’ connecting to the rivers’ sources, able to transport certain things through the waterways.”
He withdrew his hand, his expression grave, and considered for a moment before speaking: “Yi Sa’s theory about ‘midwifery’ and ‘birth canals’ is very interesting. I searched around these past few days and came across a term – ‘implantation,’ have you heard of it?”
Yi Sa shook her head.
“Guess you haven’t heard of it either – usually only those who’ve had children would know. Simply put, it’s when an early embryo combines with the mother’s uterine wall to absorb nutrients from the mother’s body for continued development – that’s called implantation. An even earlier stage is the fertilized egg.”
“We keep talking about ‘them,’ but no one has seen what ‘they’ look like. Saying they’re formless is too abstract – let’s assume they came in the state of fertilized eggs. Successfully combining with those corpses in the resting nests would be implantation, and after implantation comes grafting.”
“I have a theory – when the Drifting Cave was opened in ’96, it not only created Jiang Jun’s advance guard but also opened up the ‘birth canals,’ and some fertilized eggs came through at that time.”
Zong Hang was spooked by his words: “Then from ’96 until now, such a long time – could they have already successfully grafted?”
Yi Sa interrupted: “No, they couldn’t implant.”
Ding Panling hadn’t expected her to grasp it so quickly, and his eyes showed some admiration: “Yi Sa is correct. Just arriving isn’t enough – they need to graft with suitable human bodies under specific conditions, but without the resting nests being activated, they can’t implant, can’t graft – coming was pointless.”
Zong Hang muttered: “Then… if they couldn’t implant and couldn’t flow back to the Drifting Cave, have they just been floating in the water all this time? Wouldn’t they die?”
Ding Panling had already considered this: “They probably wouldn’t die just because they couldn’t implant. Those fertilized eggs couldn’t have just floated naked in the water when they came – they must have had some carrier or container…”
Yi Sa blurted out: “Breathing soil?”
Breathing soil would be most suitable – those corpses in the resting nests stayed preserved for years because of the breathing soil. If breathing soil served as a container, those fertilized eggs could maintain their vitality long-term, and breathing soil looks like sediment – rivers carrying sediment are too normal to attract attention…
Ding Panling nodded, looking up at Zong Hang: “His situation must have benefited from these ‘ones’ that couldn’t implant, because they should naturally be drawn to two things: resting nests and ‘midwives.'”
Yi Sa understood.
Yi Xiao had muttered “They’re coming” and gone to Tonle Sap Lake, which meant ‘they’ were already in Tonle Sap Lake, but the information she received was too faint – she couldn’t find the resting nest and didn’t understand about the Reincarnation Bell. ‘They’ couldn’t implant, could only be attracted to her, a “midwife,” like iron filings to a magnet, like wandering spirits.
Yi Xiao was completely unaware of this – after all, no one would pay attention to floating dust and sediment in the water.
Until she and Zong Hang both died and were sunk in the lake by Ding Xi, ‘they’ naturally implanted and completed grafting – Zong Hang’s ability to revive was solely because he was tied together with Yi Xiao at the time.
Ding Panling continued: “When Jiang Jun embedded the ancestor tablet into the Reincarnation Bell, he was releasing a signal: this resting nest is now ready, you can come in large numbers.”
Yi Sa pondered: “So this means the main force from the Drifting Cave will surge toward this resting nest at the bottom of Poyang Lake?”
Ding Panling nodded: “When they surge in collectively and grafting begins, that Reincarnation Bell should start moving. So just staking out Lord Temple treats the symptoms but not the root cause – the most thorough solution is to cut off the Drifting Cave at the source.”