SES Chapter 55 V2

Yi Wansan was sitting nearby, legs crossed, drawing something in the sand with a stick. Cao Yanhua, knowing he was a bit of an artsy type, shouted, “Brother San! What’re you drawing?”

He was feeling smug and lost track of his feet, tripped, and stumbled forward. Luckily, the sand was soft, and his hands caught the ground before he flattened Yi Wansan’s masterpiece.

Yi Wansan shot him a glare. “You can’t even walk straight? Get up, get up!”

Cao Yanhua grumbled, “What even is this? Just a bunch of lines and squiggles!”

Yi Wansan’s heart skipped a beat. A sudden realization struck him. Just as Cao Yanhua was getting up, Yi Wansan grabbed him by the collar and shoved his face close to the sand.

“Hey! Hey!” Cao Yanhua protested.

“What do you see?”

Face barely inches from the sand, all Cao Yanhua could make out was disturbed dirt and random lines. “How would I know? What, you want me to bury my head in it to figure it out?”

Yi Wansan loosened his grip and dragged Cao Yanhua to higher ground.

“Now?”

“Still just lines and squiggles.”

Yi Wansan let go. “Stand up and look.”

Cao Yanhua brushed himself off, looked around, and cocked his head.

“Trees, houses, the sea… You’re drawing a village?”

Yes, he was. He’d been feeling nostalgic, so he sat and traced out a picture of his childhood home, line by line. But now it was ruined.

Yi Wansan’s heart was pounding. He suddenly stood up, tossed the stick aside, and rushed off to find Luo Ren.

Everyone had gathered near the bonfire.

Yi Wansan, flustered and excited, told the whole story. His words were jumbled, but the meaning landed.

Cao Yanhua didn’t get it. What’s the big deal? Of course, you can’t see the big picture up close.

Yi Wansan said, “Like the Great Wall. From far away, you can see how it stretches and snakes across the land. But up close, it just looks like two random walls…”

He couldn’t contain himself. “That day on the boat, looking through the water lens, I had a thought—but the old clam moved and distracted me…”

Luo Ren cut in. “Get to the point.”

Yi Wansan said, “What if the bones on the seafloor—whether human or animal—aren’t scattered randomly? What if they form a picture? A massive mural, just like the fishing-line dolls. A depiction of a crime scene.”

A giant bone mural underwater?

Yi Wansan had mentioned that Wuzhu Village sacrificed to the sea god for generations. The number of bones down there must be staggering. And if you couldn’t see the whole image even from a distance… just how big was that mural?

Cao Yanhua, finally catching on, offered a cautious suggestion.

“But if the water lens gets any higher, we won’t see anything. It’s hard enough to see underwater as it is.”

Luo Ren said, “Not necessarily. We could stitch together a panorama. Move the boat across the sea, use the lens to capture segments, then piece the whole thing together.”

What would that picture look like?

They’d find out tomorrow.

—

That night, Mu Dai tossed and turned. She’d given the blanket to the old clam, and the thin quilt left her cold. Next to her, Yan Hongsha slept soundly.

There wasn’t enough space in the cockpit, so nobody minded that Cao Yanhua bunked with them, on the floor, snoring like thunder. Luo Ren and Yi Wansan were in the cockpit, taking turns on watch.

It was bound to be a sleepless night.

The waves echoed near and far, bringing back memories of the lullaby Luo Ren mentioned.

—Tonight you sleep on silk pillows. Tomorrow, the waves will be your bed…

—I ask my pillow: did I sleep, or not…?

A soft creak.

Mu Dai looked over and saw Luo Ren’s familiar silhouette.

He paused at the door, then walked to her, sitting down gently beside her. He leaned in and whispered, “Are you asleep?”

Of course not—her eyes were wide open.

But still, to be sure, she reached out and tugged at his shirt.

Luo Ren leaned closer and whispered, “It’s past midnight.”

So?

“Let’s start from today, okay?”

His breath was warm against her ear, soft and ticklish.

Mu Dai nodded once. Once wasn’t enough—she nodded again, harder this time.

In the dark, Luo Ren leaned down and kissed her eyelids. She closed her eyes, lashes brushing against his lips, trembling slightly.

He murmured, “Goodnight. See you soon.”

But could it be called a good night?

Mu Dai lay there, staring at the half-open cabin door. Outside, the night stretched far and wide, a faint shimmer of stars visible on the tilted sky.

She started to wonder—Was Luo Ren here? Or did I dream it?

Beside her, Yan Hongsha suddenly sat bolt upright.

“I told you!” she whispered excitedly. “Feelings twist and turn—you never know what’ll happen next! Ugh, I almost suffocated holding my breath just now…”

Mu Dai’s face flushed red. She grabbed the blanket and threw it over Hongsha’s head. “Go to sleep!”

On the other side of the cabin, Cao Yanhua chimed in.

“Hey, Little Sister Shifu, why don’t you switch bunks with my Brother San? You two can go do whatever you want in peace. Some of us are trying to sleep here. Can’t see, can’t hear, can’t sleep—it’s brutal.”

The night passed in a strange limbo. As if they slept—and yet didn’t. Morning came, hazy at first, then bright.

Cao Yanhua and Yan Hongsha both got up early.

Mu Dai pretended to still be asleep. Sure, she got exposed last night, but that was at night. Facing them in daylight?

She’d rather drag it out just a little longer.