The fog of Wangchuanhai
The wind before the winter solstice was bitingly cold, sweeping the shoreline of Wangchuan Sea with sea fog. Lu Ye stood on the stone steps of the dock, clutching a yellowed nautical chart—one he had found in Master Mo's notebooks. On the chart, the location of "Wangchuan Sea·Heart of Song" was marked in cinnabar, with a line of small words next to it: "Where the love is attached, where the soul returns."
The soul-calming bell on his collar rested against his collarbone, feeling as warm as Qi Chen's body temperature. Qi Chen's outline was so clear in the bell that the curve of his brow bone could be clearly seen. His voice, mixed with the sea breeze, carried a subtle hint of nervousness: "Xiao Ye, just ahead is Wangchuan Sea. Master said the fog here will bring back memories. If you feel uncomfortable, let's rest for a while."
Lu Ye shook his head, folded the sea chart, and put it in his coat pocket. The black coat he was wearing was the one Qi Chen often wore back then. It had gotten a little muddy when he went to look for Xiaoya's stuffed doll last winter, and he hadn't been willing to wash it. The cuffs still had stitches from Qi Chen's mending. "I'm fine," he said softly. "We're just one step away from having you back."
An old wooden boat sat docked at the dock, its blue paint mottled. A faded red lantern hung from its bow, casting a faint glow in the fog. The boat's owner, a gray-haired fisherman wearing a patched blue shirt, tapped his pipe on the stone steps, the ash falling onto the damp flagstones, instantly dampened by the sea mist.
"Young man, this Wangchuan Sea is no ordinary sea," the old fisherman's voice was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing against wood. He squinted his eyes and looked at Lu Ye, his gaze lingering on the soul-calming bell for a moment. "Every year at this time, there are people singing in the fog. Those who hear it will either lose their way home or never wake up again."
Lu Ye's heart tightened, but he still handed over the boat fare: "Uncle, I want to go to the reef area in the middle of the sea. Can you take me there?"
The old fisherman took the money but didn't put it away immediately. Instead, he sighed, "The reef area? That place is the 'soul cage' of Wangchuan Sea. A singing girl's shipwrecked there, and her soul is trapped in the fog. Whoever goes there will be unlucky. If you're looking for someone, I advise you to forget it - this sea will only bring back your most painful memories, and keep you here with it."
"I must go." Lu Ye's tone was firm. He touched the Soul-Calming Bell, and Qi Chen's voice rang out softly from the bell: "Xiao Ye, don't force yourself. We can think of other ways."
"There's no other way," Lu Ye smiled at Ling Zhong's silhouette, "You said that obsession is unfinished tenderness, then you are the tenderness that I most want to complete."
The old fisherman looked at him for a long time, then finally put his pipe on his waist and jumped into the wooden boat: "Come on, if you don't arrive before dark, you will be left to your fate in the fog."
As the wooden boat pushed away from the dock, the sea fog thickened, reducing visibility to less than five meters. The oars sliced through the water, making a clattering sound that mingled with the faint sound of distant waves, like someone sobbing softly. Lu Ye sat at the stern, clutching the soul-calming bell. Qi Chen's silhouette flickered gently within the bell. Occasionally, he would point to the shadow in the fog and tell him stories of the past.
"Do you still remember the first time we went to Wangchuan Garden?" Qi Chen's voice was tinged with laughter. "You saw the lotus in the lake and insisted on picking one for me. You slipped and fell into the lake, and I had to pull you out."
Lu Ye's face flushed slightly as he recalled the scene of that day—he had squatted by the lake, gazing at the pink lotus, and turned to Qi Chen, saying, "This flower is as beautiful as you." Reaching out to pick one, he lost his balance and fell into the water. Qi Chen had jumped into the lake and pulled him out, frowning as he wrung the water out of his clothes. But when he saw his lips, purple from the cold, he took off his scarf and wrapped it around his neck.
"I remember," Lu Ye said softly, "you laughed at me for being stupid, saying I would fall into the lake even when picking flowers."
"I didn't laugh at you for being stupid," Qi Chen said with a hint of grievance. "I was worried you'd catch a cold. Later, I even looked up information about Wangchuan Garden and learned that the lotus flowers in the lake can't be picked casually. Next time I want to pick flowers for you, I'll take you to a proper garden."
Suddenly, a faint singing voice emerged from the sea fog. The female voice was clear and graceful, yet tinged with an indescribable melancholy. The lyrics were indistinct, as if separated by a thick veil. Lu Ye looked up suddenly and could vaguely see a white shadow in the fog, floating on the sea, swaying gently with the waves.
"What is that?" Lu Ye clenched the Soul-Calming Bell tightly. The bell suddenly became hot. Qi Chen's figure became tense. "It's Wang Chuanhai's wronged spirit. Don't listen to her songs. It will draw your consciousness away!"
The old fisherman suddenly stopped rowing and pointed at the shadow in the fog with a pale face. "It's Lanyin! It's the singing girl who sank on the reef! She's out singing again!"
The singing grew closer, and Lu Ye felt his temples throbbing. Fragmented memories began to surface in his mind - the moment Qi Chen disappeared in the Bell Tower Square, the blinding white light, and he stretched out his hand but couldn't catch anything; flipping through Qi Chen's notes in the secret room shop late at night, tears falling on the pages and blurring the words; the feeling of mixed joy and sadness when he found Xiaoya's doll in the toy factory...
"Xiao Ye! Don't listen!" Qi Chen's voice was filled with anxiety. A dazzling blue light emanated from the bell, enveloping Lu Ye. In the blue light, Lu Ye suddenly woke up. He found that he had stood by the boat without knowing when. If he took another step forward, he would fall into the sea.
The old fisherman rowed the boat tremblingly, his voice filled with tears: "I told you not to go! Lan Yin's song will bewitch people's souls! If you don't leave now, we will all die here!"
Lu Ye leaned against the side of the boat, breathing heavily. The singing in the fog faded away, and the white shadow also disappeared into the sea mist. He looked at Qi Chen in the bell, his outlined face full of worry: "Are you okay? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," Lu Ye shook his head. "You woke me up. Qi Chen, was that Lan Yin just now? Why does her singing bring back memories for me?"
Qi Chen's silhouette was silent for a moment before he whispered, "Master's notes say Lan Yin was a singer from the Republican era. While singing on a boat, the boat hit a reef and sank, and her lover died in the sea. Her obsession was to 'find a reason to sing again,' and her singing can reflect the memories that matter most to the listener—because of that concern, it's the only way to be hooked."
The old fisherman stopped his boat at a small island, where only a few dilapidated fishing huts stood. No smoke rose from the chimneys, indicating that no one had lived there for a long time. "I can only take you so far," he said, jumping ashore and packing up his oars. "The reef is just ahead. I don't dare go any further. If you want to come back, shout my name into the sea fog, and I'll come pick you up—provided you're still alive."
Lu Ye thanked the old fisherman and, clutching the soul-calming bell, walked into the fishing hut. The hut was covered in dust, cobwebs festooned the corners, and the only wooden bed barely wide enough for a person to lie down. He sat on the bed, pulled out a nautical chart, and scanned it in the dim light from the window. The reef lay just east of the island, only a few miles away, but the fog was so thick he couldn't tell the direction.
"What should we do?" Lu Ye touched the Soul-Calming Bell. "The fog is so thick, how can we get to the reef area?"
Qi Chen looked at the sea chart and suddenly pointed to a place marked "Lighthouse": "Master's notes said that the lighthouse in Wangchuan Sea will glow in the fog and can guide the direction. We can go to the lighthouse first, and then go to the reef area from the lighthouse."
Lu Ye nodded and stood up to leave. As he left the fishing hut, he saw a faint light in the distant sea fog, flickering like a lighthouse. Delighted, he headed towards the light.
The path on the island was difficult to navigate, littered with gravel and weeds. Lu Ye walked for over half an hour before he finally saw the outline of the lighthouse. It was tall, its tower covered in vines. The light atop it emitted a faint yellow glow, like a distant star in the mist.
He walked into the lighthouse. It was pitch black inside, with only the handrail of the spiral staircase visible. Lu Ye climbed up, holding onto the handrail. The stairs creaked, as if ready to collapse at any moment. When he reached the top of the tower, he saw a yellowed diary next to the light, with "Lan Yin's Song" written on the cover.
Lu Ye picked up the diary and opened the first page. Inside was a line of beautiful handwriting: "In the 23rd year of the Republic of China, I met him. He said he liked listening to me sing, so I sang for him all night."
Turning to the middle, there was a black and white photo tucked into the diary. In the photo, Lan Yin was wearing a white cheongsam, standing at the bow of the boat, holding a microphone and smiling brightly. Next to her stood a man in a suit, holding a bouquet of white gardenias. It was her lover.
"It turns out her lover likes gardenias," Lu Ye said softly, "just like you like sandalwood."
Qi Chen's silhouette looked at the photo, his voice gentle: "Everyone has their own favorite things, just like you like pumpkin porridge and like reading on the floor of the secret room store."
On the last page of the diary, the handwriting became illegible: "The boat was about to sink, he pushed the lifebuoy to me, but fell into the sea himself. I shouted his name to the sea, but he did not respond. I didn't want to live anymore, but I hadn't finished singing the last song for him... My singing heart is still in his hands..."
"Heart of Song?" Lu Ye's heart moved. "Could it be that the 'Heart of Song' Lan Yin mentioned is something her lover gave her?"
At that moment, the lighthouse suddenly went out. Sea fog crept in through the windows, shrouding the entire tower. Lu Ye heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs—it was Lan Yin! Her white figure appeared at the top of the stairs, holding a tattered lantern, the light of which illuminated her pale face.
"Have you seen my diary?" Lan Yin's voice was filled with resentment. "Did you see him? Did you see the song I didn't finish singing?"
Lu Ye held the soul-calming bell tightly and whispered, "Ms. Lan Yin, I know you're obsessed with finding a reason to sing again. Is your heart of song the gardenia your lover gave you?"
Lan Yin's body stiffened, and the lantern fell to the ground with a thud. Dark tears streamed from her eyes, and her voice was filled with shrill sobs. "It was... he who gave me the gardenias! He said that when I sang, I was as pure as the gardenias. When the ship sank, he pressed the flowers into my hands and said, 'Live on, keep singing'... But I can't find him, and I can't sing anymore..."
The sea fog grew thicker, the lighthouse began to shake violently, and plaster began to fall from the walls. Lu Ye knew that Lan Yin's resentment had erupted. He took out the Soul-Calming Bell and shook it vigorously. A blue light spread from the bell, enveloping Lan Yin's figure. "Miss Lan Yin, I will help you find your lover and that bouquet of gardenias! Don't get excited, let's fulfill your obsession together!"
Lan Yin's crying slowly stopped. She looked at the soul-calming bell in Lu Ye's hand, and a glimmer of clarity flashed in her eyes: "Can you really help me? Can you really find him?"
"I can," Lu Ye said firmly, "as long as you tell me where your lover is, I will help you find him."
Lan Yin pointed at the sea fog outside the window: "In the reef area... He sank to the deepest part of the reef area... There is his ship and my heart of song..."
The lighthouse stopped shaking, and the sea fog slowly dissipated. Lan Yin's figure became transparent. She looked at Lu Ye, her voice filled with gratitude: "Thank you... If you can find him, tell him that I have been waiting for him and singing for him..."
The figure disappeared, leaving behind only a tattered lantern and a yellowed diary. Lu Ye picked up the lantern and turned on the switch - the light from the lantern became brighter and could illuminate far away.
"Qi Chen," Lu Ye touched the Soul-Calming Bell, "We can go to the reef area now. Lan Yin's Heart of Song is right there."
Qi Chen's silhouette looked at the lantern light, his voice filled with anticipation: "Okay, let's go together. Xiao Ye, thank you for working so hard for me."
Lu Ye smiled, lantern in hand, and descended the lighthouse. The sea fog had dissipated considerably, and the reefs in the distance were faintly visible. He knew the hardest part was yet to come—diving to the bottom of the reefs, finding Lan Yin's heart of song and Qi Chen's last vestiges of emotion.
He walked along the coastline, the lantern light reflecting on the sea, creating golden ripples. From the distant sea mist, Lan Yin's song could be heard again. This time, the song was no longer mournful, but instead held a glimmer of hope, as if guiding him in the right direction.
Lu Ye held the Soul-Calming Bell tightly and walked towards the reef area with a determined step. He knew that as long as he found the Heart of Song, Qi Chen would return to him intact, and they could fulfill all their promises together - open a bookstore together, cook sweet osmanthus porridge together, watch the sea together, and live a peaceful life together.
And this time, he will not let Qi Chen leave again.
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