Some of the writings recorded in the "Earth Book" tell us that there is a numerological arrangement among these secret passages, and it is clear that the construction of the embedded passages took great effort from the ancients. This left me even more puzzled, but after discussing it with Uncle Thompson, I suddenly saw the light.

Previously, I had always thought that the purpose of these embedded passages in the ancient tomb was to guard against intrusion from the outside. But in fact, the simplest way to protect them would be to seal the passages, which is a contradiction—clearly, my line of thinking was wrong. Upon careful reconsideration, we find that the cave with the hydra cypress may not actually be a tomb, but rather resembles a religious site.

There were many fangshi (alchemists/occultists) in Qi and Lu. Fangshi had many secret places for cultivation and gatherings, and even kings had their own secret places for cultivation. At that time, fangshi often carried religious and political backgrounds. For example, the Mohists also believed in spirits and gods, but Mohist disciples had strict organization, almost like a modern cult. Later, Zhang Jiao also raised an army under the name of fangshi.

Because the ancients saw fangshi coming and going in the mountains, their mysterious movements led to rumors and exaggerations, so there are many legends of immortals in Shandong, and the trend of seeking immortality became increasingly popular. This cave might be such a place.

I hoped to find some clues from old legends in Shandong. After consulting many county annals from Shandong, I found that there were indeed many points of connection, but all were very obscure and uncertain. Most of the legends at that point could only be guessed at.

005 Shipwreck Salvage

David Taylor sent an email, having received the 2003 antique auction yearbook. This damned thing gets sent to us every year, and to this day I have no idea who sends it. Anyway, there’s nothing in it that ordinary folks like us could ever afford. I read the news: last month, the Americans sent a skateboard [npfans note: original text] to Mars, and the old guys at NASA were celebrating with each other. I comforted myself: if they can go to Mars, surely it can’t be that hard for me to find someone at the bottom of the sea. I didn’t fully catch what Nancy Taylor told me, and I don’t really know much about their company. After a quick search, I found that their company does exist, with a logo of a softened triangular coral (attached is Nancy Taylor company LOGO illustration). This kind of company, with such a corporate AI-designed logo, can’t be too small—at the very least, I should be able to trust their professionalism. There aren’t many salvage companies of this scale overseas, because most underwater salvage projects are state-owned, involving a lot of secrets and wealth, so governments are generally reluctant to let private companies conduct such legendary commercial activities. The most typical example is the domestic "Awa Maru" Japanese shipwreck salvage plan. Because it was rumored to be carrying the skull of Peking Man, countless foreign salvage companies offered free assistance at the time, but the Chinese side refused them all.

There is still debate internationally about why the Americans sank the ship back then. Eyewitness reports at the time showed that this giant ship was speeding through heavy fog, seemingly in a hurry to reach its destination. Many conspiracy theories believe that besides the Peking Man skull, there must have been something else on board—something that forced the Americans to break the agreement and sink a Japanese civilian ship.

History is full of mysteries, so no one can know what secrets lie in those ruins at the bottom of the sea. Naturally, keeping those secrets under one’s own control is always better than exposing them to those profit-driven treasure hunters.

However, although every country has strict reviews for salvage projects, in reality, such supervision is very weak. As the saying goes, "the mountains are high and the emperor is far away"—in the open sea, salvage operations are basically unregulated. I’ve heard from a few friends who transport goods that the Xisha (Paracel Islands) are almost a battlefield now, with ships from all sorts of countries coming and going, and the coast guard can’t keep up at all. Plus, the profits are huge—a single trip can bring in over ten million, and even if you get caught, you only get about ten years in prison. You’d have to be crazy to go into drug trafficking instead.

Hearing this really made my heart itch. Two to three hundred million in just a few days—even Li Ka-shing would have to bow his head. The risk is low, much better than poaching hawksbill turtles before. Back then, making 200,000 from poaching hawksbills was risking your neck.

Some famous shipwreck salvage cases at home and abroad: Awa Maru, a Japanese oil tanker, loaded with 40 tons of gold, 12 tons of silver, 40 boxes of jewelry, a large amount of cultural relics looted from China by the Japanese, 3,000 tons of tin ingots, 3,000 tons of rubber, and several thousand tons of rice. It was sunk by an American submarine in the waters off Fujian on March 28, 1945, and salvage began in 1977–80. The items salvaged at the time were valued at 50 million US dollars (50 million in 1980!!).

Geldermalsen, a Chinese merchant ship, departed from Guangzhou for Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. In 1752, it sank in the waters off Hong Kong. In 1986, the underwater pirate Mike Hatcher salvaged 239,000 pieces of blue-and-white porcelain from the ship, as well as 125 gold ingots, each weighing up to 45 kilograms. The total value exceeded 20 million US dollars.

Nanking Cargo, a Chinese merchant ship, discovered in the South China Sea. Again, it was Mike Hatcher who salvaged over a million pieces of porcelain from the ship, of which 600,000 were smashed by him due to their ordinary quality or because they couldn’t be transported. The remaining pieces were auctioned in Germany for over 30 million US dollars.