Shapeshifters - Chapter 5
"Oh...that's hard to say."
"I think the underwater people might be a more intelligent species, living in such a beautiful place..."
She talked on and on, making me understand the pressure Zhang Qiang, the archaeological team leader, faced when facing a throng of reporters. However, Su Ying was very pleased that I consistently agreed with her conclusions and showed no sign of stopping. I continued to let her roam freely in her own sea of imagination. It was clear she didn't want to discuss anything with me; she just wanted me to listen.
Before I knew it, several hours had passed, and it was already past eleven. Taking advantage of her interruption, I turned to say goodbye. She laughed, "I'm so sorry to have bothered you for so long." "Not at all. Not at all," I replied. Just as I was about to walk out the door, she suddenly asked again, "Do you want to know what I was doing there last night?"
I paused for a moment, then nodded. Her train of thought was so unpredictable that I couldn't guess what she would say next.
I waited for her reply, but she remained silent for a moment before speaking.
“I’m looking for people from the sea,” she said seriously.
I was genuinely taken aback. She'd mentioned underwater people in five out of ten sentences during our conversation, but I hadn't expected her to bring it up again. Looking her over, I realized she didn't seem to be joking.
"Over there... at the construction site?"
I suddenly realized that this was no ordinary construction site.
"Do you think the Zhidanyuan archaeological site is related to underwater people?" I asked.
Su Ying chuckled twice, tossed her hair, turned to look out the window, and said, "This world has endless possibilities, doesn't it?"
Her eyes once again revealed an unfathomable light, and I didn't know how to respond for a moment.
I went downstairs, feeling quite tired. At first, I wasn't used to Su Ying's speaking rhythm, and I was mentally exhausted. A military expert once said, "Mental attack is the most important," and that's absolutely true.
I quickly washed up and lay down on the bed, but I couldn't fall asleep at all. My mind was filled with what Su Ying had just said. She seemed extremely convinced of the existence of underwater people, almost to the point of worship. To put it more bluntly, it was practically a religion. I had never had the concept of "undersea people" before, but today a beautiful woman had forcefully instilled it in me, emphasizing it repeatedly. I also remembered her letting the house flood, and I always felt that this beautiful girl's behavior and speech were strange and unfathomable.
I don't know how much time passed before I was awakened by a piercing scream. Upon closer listening, I was certain it was a cat's hiss, the same as the one I heard yesterday. It was definitely not the cry of a baby in heat or a hostile growl, but rather a mournful wail from an injured animal. The tone was very high, even somewhat hoarse, and each sound was filled with pain. The more I listened, the stranger it seemed.
I was too lazy to get up and go outside to check, since I couldn't possibly catch it and come back to see what was going on. However, the cat seemed unsatisfied and kept meowing outside the window, probably not far from my door, for most of the night.
Was it that after being run over by a truck, its vengeful spirit lingers, wailing in the middle of the night? What I saw was merely its soul.
I tossed and turned in bed, but my mind was still relatively clear. My sixth sense, which is usually not very sharp, told me that something was happening around me.
By nearly noon the next day, I had finally caught up on my sleep. It was really strange, but once the sun was shining on me, I started to feel that my thoughts from the night before were unrealistic. So I temporarily put my anxiety aside and prepared for the day's work.
Looking back on last night's experience, I think maybe people are just more prone to overthinking at night. Su Ying is probably just a girl with a vivid imagination, which is quite normal.
Having temporarily escaped that strange girl, I'm scheduled to interview a true expert today.
I called the archaeology expert named Ruan Xiuwen. His voice was quite polite; it turned out he had arrived in Shanghai early that morning. He was very busy in the afternoon, so I arranged to interview him in his hotel room that evening. To my surprise, he was staying at the Hilton Hotel, a five-star hotel.
The entire following afternoon, I stayed home cramming on basic archaeology knowledge and frantically browsing related websites online. Before an interview, a journalist needs to do extensive preparation, preparing relevant questions and understanding the basics; otherwise, listening to someone spout incomprehensible nonsense will not only embarrass you but also damage the newspaper's reputation. In this respect, I'm quite dedicated. Therefore, a journalist's knowledge is often rather diverse and not pure.
Incidentally, I also looked up some information about ocean legends online. After all, not being able to join a conversation with a beautiful woman and only being a listener made me seem rather incompetent. A little vanity is forgivable.
On the way to the Hilton Hotel, I couldn't help but make all sorts of guesses. This Ruan Xiuwen seemed to be no ordinary person. Where would the national archaeological agency get so much money to provide their archaeological experts with luxury hotels? Even high-ranking officials might not have this kind of treatment! On the other hand, he must also be quite capable and influential, otherwise why would Beijing send him alone? Could it be that Shanghai is unilaterally exaggerating the importance of archaeology? As I was making wild guesses, I didn't realize that the car had arrived at Huashan Road. I knocked on the door of his hotel room according to the room number he had given me.
"You're the reporter from the *Morning Star*?" Ruan Xiuwen politely extended his hand to me. I took the opportunity to scrutinize him. He was tall and slender, with very fair skin, round-framed glasses, and sharp eyes, giving him an air of shrewdness and competence. This image was unlike any of the archaeologists I had met before. Some always had serious expressions, while others looked weathered and worn, appearing more like construction workers compared to him. Of course, I wasn't trying to disparage Zhang Qiang and his colleagues; Ruan Xiuwen was indeed very unique. He wasn't a pedantic scholar, nor was he the bronze-skinned construction worker. I introduced myself and shook his hand.
"You reporters are really resourceful. I didn't expect to be interviewed as soon as I arrived in Shanghai." Ruan Xiuwen smiled and invited me to sit down. "Few people knew that I was here."
"Have other media reporters interviewed you?"
"No, that's all. You're the only one."
I was secretly pleased; this time I could finally do an exclusive interview. Now I would see what insights this expert, who had come all this way, would have. Ruan Xiuwen's attire was casual but quite tasteful, and he spoke rather casually. Before I could even ask a question, he said, "Actually, I'm already very happy that Shanghai agreed to let me participate this time."
"You were sent by the Archaeological Association, right?" I asked as I pulled out my notebook.
"Ah...yes. But I came of my own accord. The main reason I came this time is that I am very curious about this site that was discovered. As you know, such a discovery in downtown Shanghai is quite big news in the Chinese archaeological community in recent years. In addition, my status is relatively free, and I can move around as I please."
"May I ask your affiliation with the Archaeological Association?"
"I am a freelance archaeologist. I basically conduct archaeological activities at my own expense, and I am just nominally affiliated with the Archaeological Society of China."
"Oh!" I exclaimed sincerely. I've only ever seen this kind of job on TV or in novels. It seems there are real people who do this kind of job, but you must have some savings to afford such a large amount of money.
"So you usually choose your research subjects purely based on your own interests? Do you go on adventures and treasure hunts like in the movie 'Indiana Jones'?" I asked curiously.
"Occasionally. Our lives are definitely not as interesting as you imagine. I also really liked that movie; we can talk about it sometime."
I laughed, then realized the original purpose of my trip.
"I heard that your main purpose in coming here this time is to re-examine the use and construction date of the Zhidan Garden site, is that right? What are the current disagreements?"
"That's true, just as you said. As for the disagreement, it mainly lies in a few aspects, such as the era. Before I came here, the official statement was that it was from the Yuan Dynasty, right?"
"Yes."
"Actually, that's just a very vague judgment. Their main basis is the iron ingot found on site. One theory is that this shape was improved during the Yuan Dynasty. But there are still many contradictions when looking at other things. For example, the Hudu Fortress itself is a controversial issue in the academic community. In fact, I heard that an iron ingot has been sent to Beijing for isotope analysis, but even if the results come out, no conclusive and accurate judgment can be made."
"Oh. Is it a problem with the isotope measurement technique? Like errors or something."
My preparations before the interview were not in vain.
"You could say that, because isotope measurements inevitably have errors of several decades or even hundreds of years. And as you know, the Yuan Dynasty was a short period of history. It's very possible that people in the Ming Dynasty were using Yuan Dynasty artifacts, or that these iron ingots already existed in the Song Dynasty. So the disagreement about the dating issue needs to be further studied based on the progress of the project."
"In archaeological work, when the facts are unknown, we don't look for which statement is closest to the truth, but rather which statement is supported by more evidence. Because generally speaking, the latter can represent the truth."
"I understand. And what other uses could the ruins have? If it wasn't a water gate, what other possibilities are there?"
“That’s the most incomprehensible thing.” Ruan Xiuwen shrugged and picked up a few photos from the table next to him. “I heard about it when I was in Beijing, but I only believed it after seeing it with my own eyes this afternoon. The exquisite construction of these buildings is far more than just a simple water gate structure.”
He pointed to the wooden pillars in the photo: "The structure of these stacked frames is unique among buildings of the same era. It was definitely not for the sake of sturdiness, but for some other unknown reason, perhaps decoration. In any case, it appears very exquisite and very neat. No matter how you think about it or what explanation you use, it is difficult to explain why so much effort was put into building it on such a scale. What is certain is that without a huge investment of manpower and resources, it would have been absolutely impossible to build this building."