Berechnen

Kapitel 14

Han Zhang told us that he felt something was different.

He couldn't quite explain what it felt like, but he felt that holding the flag felt different from before.

But none of us felt anything. Hopefully, this wasn't Hanzhang's imagination.

Perhaps what we're looking for is right here in Shanghai.

August 7, 1936, cloudy.

Han Zhang felt it again, even more intensely than last time.

This is Zhabei District in Shanghai.

After hearing what Hanzhang said, we also felt that something was different. Was it a psychological reason?

The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

If this doesn't work...

August 11, 1936, sunny.

The nightmare begins (6)

We finally found it!

Something truly extraordinary was about to happen! Everyone on the street was nearly driven mad with fear; it was like a psychological storm! But we, standing under the flag, were completely unharmed. No, it should be said that for a moment, we felt an overwhelming sense of power.

Power. In that instant, I felt as if I possessed the power to challenge the world.

I believe that day is not far off, and my grave will be right at my feet.

The handwriting on this page trembled; Sun Yaozu even tore the paper several times while writing these words. The increasingly faint hope had suddenly become a reality; success was within reach. How could he not be excited?!

Many years later, as I sit here looking at this record, I realize that he was actually close to death.

After that, I basically knew everything recorded in this notebook. They cultivated good relations with the government, relocated residents, built a "three-story building," invited Zhong Shutong, Yuantong, and Wei Buhui, and began digging underground under the guise of an air-raid shelter. Simultaneously, they transported the excavated soil to Qiujiatang, discovered the exact location of the tomb, the Japanese bombing, and Yuantong's ominous prophecy…

I turned to the last page of the record.

September 4, 1937, cloudy.

Get ready to go down.

This is the final moment, but everyone seems a little...

Perhaps we shouldn't have asked Yuantong to come.

We hope Wei Buhui can help us. Whatever lies ahead, we have no way to retreat. Behind us lies the hope of the Sun family from over a thousand years ago. Our ancestors are watching.

Fortunately, we don't have any worries.

When I closed the notebook, it was already past one in the morning. Although it wasn't that late for me, I felt a deep weariness wash over me, not physical, but emanating from the depths of my brain, making it impossible for me to think any further.

I had too many thoughts, all tangled and intertwined, which made me lose the courage to sort them out for a moment.

I'd better go to sleep first.

I always use sleep to escape certain things. But in reality, they are things I can't avoid.

There was a faint smell of blood on my fingertips.

I tucked both hands under the pillow...

I can't remember when I fell asleep, or perhaps I never really slept at all. Images kept flashing before my eyes: Wei Xian, the Sun brothers I'd never met, and that skull. I haven't had such terrible sleep in a long time; when I got up, I was covered in cold, sticky sweat.

The alarm clock hands pointed to 7:15. That's a very early time for me, but I couldn't stay in bed any longer. Even with my eyes closed, I could still see random lights.

I took a cold shower, which barely lifted my spirits. It's not appropriate to call Professor Zhong now, but I don't want to take out that dark red diary to reread it anymore.

The diary entries helped me piece together the outline of the events of that year, but they weren't of much real help. In particular, I had originally thought that this diary could provide clues about Wei Xian's suicide, but now I can't think of anything at all.

What drove Wei Xian to such a dead end that he didn't even have the courage to resist, or even ask me for help?

How should I interpret the sudden look of fear and helplessness on Wei Xian's face at the last moment? At that time, his gaze was fixed on me.

I suddenly had a thought that shocked me: Could it be that Mr. Wei is afraid of me!

Because he was afraid of me, he didn't say anything to me. His last expression of fear was because he was looking at me.

Looking at myself in the full-length mirror, apart from looking a little haggard, I looked no different from usual.

I paced back and forth in the room, feeling an inexplicable pressure that made it impossible for me to breathe comfortably. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't pinpoint it.

I have a sense of danger, but I have absolutely no idea where the danger is coming from.

At 8:15, I finally couldn't resist calling Zhong Shutong's home; the old man always gets up early.

He answered quickly, seemingly without disturbing the scholar's sleep. Upon hearing of new developments, he immediately asked me to come and tell him, almost more eager than I was.

I printed out the photos from my digital camera at a high resolution, put them in my bag, and, lacking the patience to take the bus, went straight to the Zhong family's house by taxi.

Death Curse (1)

I didn't tell Zhong Shutong about Wei Xian's bizarre death. The news wouldn't have any positive meaning for him; the story I told him was already shocking enough.

"I never expected it to turn out like this." Zhong Shutong had repeated these words many times while listening to my story.

Hearing that he had unknowingly participated in such a massive plan back then, even this elderly man was filled with curiosity about what the Sun brothers were up to. So before I could even bring it up, Zhong Shutong was already eager to see the photos I had taken and that half of the ghost flag.

"Huh?"

When I unfolded half of the flag, Zhong Shutong looked surprised.

"Is this the side?" he asked, turning to me.

I nodded in agreement.

"The pattern is slightly different from the one you drew for me back then, but I think it's unlikely that Sun Huizu was clutching a different flag when he died, right?!"

"But the pattern is completely different from what I remember, although the colors are similar. Is it that people's memories are failing as they get older?"

"That's not necessarily true. The flags drawn by Elder Yang and Elder Fu are different from the one you drew, and they both said their memories are accurate. Perhaps the flag appears different to everyone. This flag is already quite magical; it's not impossible for it to be even more magical!"

"Now look at the pattern on this flag, what is it? Is it a dragon?" Zhong Shutong asked.

"Yes, just as you see, perhaps, perhaps after the flag is torn, its original function will be lost." My voice softened again. In front of such a great scholar, talking about these mystical things that even I am not sure about really made me feel very unsure.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Shutong nodded and turned his gaze back to the flag.

I was about to take out the printed photos, but I stopped when I saw Zhong Shutong's knowing look.

Zhong Shutong looked at it for a while, then took out a high-powered magnifying glass to examine it closely, his face, wearing reading glasses, getting closer and closer to the flag.

"The material of this flag is something I've never seen before. It's neither silk nor cotton. I suggest you send it to be tested for its composition. Over the years, people have turned to dust, but time seems to have done little to affect this flag." Zhong Shutong's first words after he spoke again left me somewhat disappointed.

"However, judging from the pattern, this should be a military flag."

"A military flag?"

“Yes, it could be the Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms period, or the Jin Dynasty, with the Three Kingdoms period being the most likely. The person represented by this military flag should have held a very high position,” Zhong Shutong added.

"That's it, the military flag. If it's the military flag, then it makes sense." Having figured out a key point, I became very excited.

"What makes sense?"

"It's the power of this flag. For those who see it, it has a clear deterrent effect. If one's own troops see it for a long time, they should be able to get used to it. For those within a certain range of the flag, such as the commander's personal guard, it has a morale-boosting effect. And for enemy troops who see it for the first time, it is a fatal blow. This flag is simply tailor-made for the battlefield of the cold weapon era."

At this point, however, he remembered why the "three-story building" was preserved and immediately added, "It could also play a huge role in modern warfare."

Zhong Shutong paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "It's a pity it's broken. I hope we can find the other half and figure out how it works. By the way, where are the photos you took?"

I quickly took out the picture printed on professional photographic paper from my bag and handed it to Zhong Shutong.

Zhong Shutong looked at one book after another, but his eyebrows furrowed more and more tightly.

He read very slowly, flipping through more than a dozen pages over and over for more than twenty minutes, especially the close-up of the eerie skull.

At first, he shook his head slightly, but as he watched, the shaking became more and more pronounced.

Finally, he looked up and smiled bitterly, saying, "I am truly ashamed. I have never seen those symbols carved on the tomb walls or the archway before."

I was truly surprised to hear Zhong Shutong say that. Zhong Shutong holds an extraordinary position in the field of history and is known for his extensive knowledge and versatility. Although he specializes in the history of the Three Kingdoms, such a master would definitely be an expert in the history of other periods of China. Logically speaking, even if he had not specifically studied that symbol, he should have been able to say its origin and provide some clues.

Death Curse (2)

"Judging from the shape of the door, it should be from the Three Kingdoms period, but I have never seen these symbols before. Not only from the Three Kingdoms period, but I have never seen such tomb symbols from other periods. It is certain that these are not meaningless decorative patterns, but must have an important meaning."

Zhong Shutong said, taking out five sheets from the pile and saying, "I'll keep these and study them slowly."

Of course I said yes.

Zhong Shutong then pulled out another card and placed it in front of me, saying, "I have some guesses about this one, but they are not accurate and are only for reference."

This is a close-up of that skull.

Zhong Shutong pointed to the large hole in the skull on the forehead in the photo and said, "Although it is unbelievable, judging from the photo, the hole looks natural. It is impossible for someone to go into the tomb of this size and dig such a hole in the head of the deceased after he died. And the hole looks so smooth that it could not have been caused by a weapon during his lifetime."

"So you mean..."

“A third eye,” Zhong Shutong said, using a term that left me speechless.

Perhaps I've also thought that such a large hole could resemble a third eye, but that was just a casual association; I've never heard of anyone having a third eye. But this renowned historian's statement clearly reflects a serious attitude.

"I don't know the reason, perhaps it's a genetic mutation, but there are indeed records of people with a third eye in Chinese history. I've been studying historical records for a long time, comparing various materials, and supplementing them with unofficial historical notes. Sometimes I find things that I can't even believe myself. Although there's the possibility that rumors can spread, many times, all the information points to a result that I can't accept. But usually, I keep these doubts to myself, after all, these things have already been buried in history, and I don't need to dig them up again. But now, I want to tell you that it's very possible that people with a third eye really exist, and such people often have special abilities that are hard for ordinary people to imagine."

"To your knowledge, has anyone ever been born with a third eye? Were there such people during the Three Kingdoms period?"

"The Erlang Shen Yang Jian in folk legends may very well have been a real person, and Huang Taiji, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, is also said to have the ability to see the heavens. But I have never heard of him during the Three Kingdoms period."

There was no such person during the Three Kingdoms period? But the tomb owner was clearly a person from the Three Kingdoms period.

“But during the Three Kingdoms period, how many people were recorded as having extraordinary abilities?” Zhong Shutong said slowly.

As I left the Zhong family's gate, I kept thinking about who fit the criteria from the Three Kingdoms period, who might have a third eye, and who might be the tomb's occupant. Coupled with my poor sleep last night, I was in a daze and didn't realize I'd reached the intersection. A passing bicycle tripped me, and naturally, I received a few curses. However, I was quite fortunate; if that middle-aged woman hadn't brushed against me, I would have walked further into the middle of the road, which would have been disastrous.

When I arrived at the newspaper office, I opened my email and found several articles sent by correspondents. I selected two that were acceptable, made some minor revisions, gave them good titles, added my own after their names, and sent them to the day's submission archive. These past few days, I haven't felt like conducting my own interviews and writing articles; having ready-made articles is always a good thing.

I stayed at the newspaper office for less than three hours before leaving to go home. I didn't care whether those two articles would be published in tomorrow's paper.

I bought a box of instant noodles on the way, just enough to fill me up. I started searching online for information about the "third eye."

Unfortunately, there is surprisingly little information about this topic online. I only saw a few articles mentioning the human third eye, but that is enough for me to know that there are still some people in the world who are studying the human third eye and making scientific speculations and constructing hypotheses.

The concept of a third eye has a long history. In many Eastern religious rituals, people traditionally draw a third eye between their eyebrows, believing this grants them a channel for direct communication with the universe. Ancient Greek philosophers believed the third eye was located in the center of the brain, likening it to a gate through which cosmic energy enters the body. Even today, modern medicine continues its research into the third eye.

What surprised me was that everyone has a third eye, but it only appears during the first two months of human embryonic development, specifically during the formation of the lens, photoreceptors, and nerve cells in the diencephalon. Strangely, it begins to degenerate immediately upon its appearance. The famous Haeckel's law of biological genes provides the strongest evidence for this. According to this law, an embryo experiences the entire evolutionary history of its species within a very short period. That is, humans exhibit certain morphological characteristics possessed by our ancestors during the embryonic stage. Anthropologists believe that certain organs in the human body can degenerate and eventually disappear. This degeneration can be observed in the evolution of ancient amphibians. The spotted tusk lizard of New Zealand, which has existed for 200 million years, has a small eye socket on its skull, with a real eye hidden under a transparent membrane. Paleontologists have discovered that many extinct reptiles had eyes on the top of their heads, which were an important supplement to their visual organs. It is precisely because of this unique organ that reptiles are so sensitive to natural disasters such as earthquakes, geomagnetic storms, and volcanic eruptions.

Death Curse (3)