appartement abandonné du village

Chapitre 13

…Thinking of this, I suddenly felt a pang in my heart. I didn't feel it, and Wei Xian shouldn't have felt it in the tomb either, but what about later? Was his dazed expression later related to this flag?

This thought crossed my mind, but ultimately faded away due to a lack of supporting facts. I took the flag out of my travel bag; logically, Wei Xian shouldn't have taken it out after returning to the Hilton.

From the accounts of several elderly people who had seen the flag years ago, I already knew its power. However, I didn't feel any of that awe-inspiring feeling from the tattered flag before me. This is easy to explain—a flag that is incomplete naturally has no power. But the problem is that the design on the flag is different from the design recalled by the three elderly people, Zhong Shutong, Yang Tie, and Fu Xidi.

The design on the flag clearly depicts several menacing dragons. Although incomplete, I could still recognize them. How could those elderly people have mistaken such an obvious design?

My mind was filled with doubt as I stared intently at the flag. Under the bright light of the desk lamp, the mangled remains of the dragons and the bloodstains were intertwined, and for a moment my heart began to race.

I steadied myself. The black dragon embroidered on the bright yellow background was very conspicuous, but now the blood had congealed into a dark brown color. If you didn't look closely, you couldn't tell which was the black dragon and which was the bloodstain.

However, there seem to be other dark patterns on that bright yellow background.

Perhaps it was just a lighter stain of blood. I thought to myself, but I still reached under the flag and lifted it up to examine it closely in the light of the desk lamp.

Yes, it is indeed a different pattern.

On the bright yellow background, there are also earthy yellow patterns that would be impossible to notice unless you looked very closely.

Those are patterns from the tomb passage!

A chill ran through me. Although they weren't exactly the same, they were definitely similar to the patterns in the tomb passage.

What do these patterns represent? Why embroider these subtle patterns after embroidering the dragon? They would be easily missed if you didn't look closely.

These questions are certainly unsolvable through mere speculation, but I have decided to visit Professor Zhong's home tomorrow. I believe that with the profound knowledge of this great scholar, even if he cannot give me the answers directly, he can at least point me in the right direction.

I carefully folded the tattered flag and set it aside, then picked up the diary and began to flip through it page by page.

This diary has over two hundred pages, almost completely filled. It's not Sun Huizu's diary, but rather that of Sun's eldest brother, Sun Yaozu. This is quite normal; otherwise, I would find it strange, as Sun Huizu doesn't seem like the type to keep a diary, perhaps he can't even read many characters. It's just that somehow Sun Huizu carries this diary with him.

This diary wasn't kept every day; in fact, it couldn't really be called a diary, but rather a record of their operation. It was roughly one page per day, but the first entry was made on July 17, 1928. From that day on, the plan slowly began to unfold. Initially, the diary entries jumped around a lot, showing slow progress. By 1937, the frequency increased significantly, and after March, there was at least one entry every other day.

I carefully tore open the paper that was congealed with blood. The smell of blood grew stronger with each page I turned. Many parts were no longer legible, but the grand plan that the Sun brothers had carried out back then was finally revealed bit by bit.

July 17, 1928, sunny.

I don't usually keep a diary, but something happened today that made me decide to write it down. This is just the beginning, and I hope I can keep it up until the end. I know my ancestors are watching over me from heaven.

Today in Zunhua I met Han Zhang (I didn't understand who Han Zhang was at first, but after reading further, I guessed that Han Zhang must be Sun Huizu's courtesy name). He told me that he and Sun Dianying had done a big deal a few days ago and made a lot of money. He showed me a lot of jewelry, all of which were the finest treasures I had ever seen in my life. I asked him for details and learned that Sun Dianying had actually led a team to excavate the tombs of Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Qianlong.

Seeing my surprise, Hanzhang told me something else: a strange thing happened when we entered the Qianlong tomb, which frightened him quite a bit. Sun Dianying had strictly ordered that this matter not be told to anyone, and if I weren't Hanzhang's elder brother, I'm afraid he wouldn't have told me.

The nightmare begins (4)

When they entered the innermost chamber of Qianlong's tomb, they blasted open the stone door. Han Zhang was the first to rush in, but before he could even step into the chamber, he was so frightened that he sat down on the ground.

If Hanzhang hadn't said it himself, I really wouldn't have believed that my third brother would be so afraid.

However, everyone who was following Han Zhang at that time, including the audacious Sun Dianying, was so frightened that their bodies went limp.

But all they saw was a flag. A large flag hung on the wall at the innermost part of the tomb, opposite the door. It was seeing that flag that terrified Han Zhang, as did the others. Initially, however, they all thought it was Emperor Qianlong's anger, a curse.

At that time, no one dared to go in. Sun Dianying called out a few engineers from his engineering battalion, and they shot three of them in succession for not daring to go in. Only the fourth one managed to crawl in. Then they realized that although the flag looked frightening from a distance, it was perfectly fine once you got close.

Han Zhang was not the eldest son. Although he knew about the glory of the Sun family at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were some things that only the eldest son was qualified to know.

This was the first time Hanzhang had seen me so out of control. In his eyes, I, his older brother, had always been as steady as a mountain.

We should call the second and fourth sons over. Now that the flag has appeared, our Sun family's opportunity has arrived.

If only we could find that book...

August 9, 1928, cloudy, thunder in the dry season.

Hansheng finally arrived, and of all the Sun family members still alive, only the four of us remained.

Thunder without rain is an omen.

Now that the last chance has come, the taboo of passing it on only to the eldest son should be broken. All members of the Sun family must strive for this goal. Unfortunately, we only have four left.

I've told you everything.

Our ancestors tried everything to find that tomb, but they couldn't. Now all their hopes are pinned on this flag.

But that flag is currently hidden by Sun Dianying, and even though Hanzhang has followed him for many years, it's unlikely he'll be able to get it back from him.

After discussing it all afternoon, we still couldn't reach a conclusion.

November 13, 1929, cloud.

Han Zhang still hadn't gotten the flag. Sun Dianying had hidden those treasures too well.

How much longer must we wait? Is there still any chance for our Sun family to rise again? I kept asking myself these questions, but I couldn't show them. I had to have faith in them.

But why did you give me hope, only to make that hope seem increasingly faint?

Damn it!

March 17, 1934, cloud.

I received an urgent telegram from Hanzhang today: the matter is accomplished.

I couldn't help but burst into tears.

I thought I would never add anything to this notebook again, it's been more than five years.

I must get there as soon as possible.

March 20, 1934, sunny.

I never expected to see Hanzhang in the hospital. His lung had been punctured by a bullet. He told me that even the most powerful hard qigong is useless against a bullet.

But it was this bullet that gave us hope again.

Han Zhang shielded Sun Dianying from the bullet.

Sun Dianying was a man who always repaid kindness. He told Hanzhang that he would grant Hanzhang any request.

So he agreed to give the flag to Hanzhang. He would give it to him as soon as Hanzhang was discharged from the hospital.

All we can do now is wait.

We can only wait.

May 3, 1934, rain.

We finally got the flag.

Despite being mentally prepared and retreating to a distance of 30 meters from the flag, I was still so frightened that I lay down on the ground.

But I'm very happy, because this is the flag. With this flag in hand, no army can stand against me.

I hope this flag will help me find that book, and I hope my ancestors' predictions are correct.

But not now. We need to wait for an opportunity to make Han Zhang and this flag disappear from Sun Dianying's sight.

We've waited so long, and we're very close to our goal.

January 18, 1935, snow.

Sun Dianying has been out of power for some time now, and I think the time has come.

We need to discuss this with Han Zhang and the others before we can take action.

Let's just wait for this snow to stop.

January 20, 1935, sunny.

Fire Release successful.

Han Zhang had followed him for so long, how could he have imagined that Sun Huizu, who had lost power but still followed him to Shanxi, would use fire escape techniques?

He'll probably just cry his eyes out; none of the people who debuted with him are left. Han Zhang is the last one.

Luckily, we found a scapegoat who was about the same size as Han Zhang.

The nightmare begins (5)

Starting today, we will begin the next phase of our plan.

Even when Sun Dianying's power was at its peak, he never crossed the Yangtze River, so we are safe.

I turned the pages one by one, sometimes gently scraping away the bloodstains that covered the writing with my fingernails, my fingertips turning dark red.

The following dozens of pages detail how, over a period of more than a year, the Sun brothers traversed the cities and countryside of Jiangnan, covering all the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Clearly, the Sun family ancestors did not know the exact location of the tomb.

Unfortunately, I haven't found answers to some key questions, such as whose grave it is. Sun Yaozu consistently refers to it as "that grave" or "his," without providing any details. The same goes for the book.

Even when people are writing in their diaries, they often speak vaguely and subconsciously avoid the most private and unspeakable matters, which is one example.

However, it did resolve some of my questions, such as why it was always Sun Huizu carrying the flag:

February 24, 1935, light rain.

Tomorrow it should be the fourth brother's turn to carry the flag, but he's not too keen on it.

He and his second brother both said that a designated person should be assigned to carry the flag, hoping that this would give the flag bearer more opportunities to become familiar with the flag. Legend has it that divine weapons have their own consciousness, and perhaps this would facilitate communication between the flag bearer and the flag, making it easier to find the tomb.

Of course, only the third brother could do this. The flag and pole weighed more than 30 kilograms, and I was exhausted after carrying it for a day. The second and fourth brothers were not much better off than me.

Let's settle this for now, and Hanzhang will take the lead from now on.

There's one part they didn't mention, but I do know it.

Carrying this flag is a bit ostentatious.

Sun Yaozu only touched on the subject briefly. The other three people could probably read the entries in this diary, so writing too much was not advisable.

What does "somewhat ostentatious" mean? Imagine carrying such a large flag, walking down city streets or along country fields, attracting everyone's attention. It would be impossible to ignore everyone, and the second and fourth sons of the Sun family would lose face. This is probably the real reason why the third son of the Sun family was made to carry the flag alone.

These four brothers are surprisingly united, with Sun Yaozu and Sun Huizu being the most steadfast.

Sun Yaozu did not specifically explain the connection between carrying the flag and discovering the tomb in his records. He explained this to his three younger brothers six times, and by comparing the records, I have pieced together a rough outline.

This flag is closely related to something in the tomb, most likely the book, or something else entirely. Sun Yaozu was vague about it, but in short, the connection is very deep; they either originated from the same source or have similar functions. The Sun family ancestors speculated that the two might resonate or attract each other, like two magnets approaching each other to a certain extent. When the flag gets close to the tomb, it will also produce unusual phenomena, from which the approximate location of the tomb can be determined.

For over a year, the flag had shown no unusual signs, only terrifying first-time visitors without any resonance or connection. Needless to say, the brothers' suspicions about their ancestors grew stronger, which is why Sun Yaozu explained it six times.

I can imagine that as they walked day by day, the number of places they hadn't reached decreased, but the flag didn't react as expected. They must have wondered if their ancestors' conjecture was wrong, or even if it was just something their ancestors had made up to prevent their descendants from giving up hope after trying all the practical methods of searching and failing.

If it weren't for the magical nature of the banner itself, the Sun brothers probably would have given up long ago.

July 14, 1936, thunderstorm.

Moving forward to Shanghai.

July 15, 1936, rain.