Jenny shook her head and said, "I don't know who that person is. It was mailed to me. The address was in China. I signed for it in person at the time, so the memory is very deep. The sender did not leave any contact information, only Beijing and China." A simple address, name Neither the phone nor the phone number was left behind.”
“I was also puzzled at the time. I grew up in the United States and had no friends in China. But when I opened it, I realized that it was a navigation chart. But I didn’t know that this was what my ancestors had left behind. Because when my father went to sea, I was still very young and had never seen the complete nautical chart. This is what my mother told me later. This was the nautical chart that my father took away before, but only half of it was left. , no one knows where the other half is. "
"The person who mailed you the navigation chart is so important. If you knew who he was, things would be much simpler. Who could he be?" My mind was spinning wildly. What’s Jenny’s purpose in sending nautical charts to people by mail? It’s still half a nautical chart that was mailed, so where is the other half? Did she disappear with her father, or was she left behind by this mysterious man?
“I also want to know who he is. I always feel that he mailed me this half of the nautical chart for a purpose. Since he knows the existence of the nautical chart, he should be with my father. Went to sea, my God, Zhongyi, could he be the Chinese man who disappeared? The Chinese man who is not even in the photo," Jenny suddenly said with her eyes widened, obviously she had just figured it out.
Jenny’s words suddenly made me realize that she was right. The person who mailed her the nautical chart must have gone to sea with his father. Otherwise, how could he know such important information.
Furthermore, there were a total of twenty-three crew members who went to sea at that time, including twelve Americans, eight Mexicans, and three Chinese. There were twenty-two people in the photo, but the last one was missing. One person, it stands to reason that all twenty-two corpses have been found. The two Chinese male corpses in the coffin were a little doubtful before, but now that Jenny said this, it is completely certain.
This twenty-third person, that is, the missing Chinese, is probably the key to the matter. From this, it can also be inferred that this person is not dead, and must be the half-card he mailed to Jenny. Navigation chart, this man is quite dangerous. Not only did he leave no clues, he didn't even have a photo.
If it weren’t for the captain’s diary, we wouldn’t even know he existed. So who is this person? What is his purpose? Why was he able to leave the Ice City alive, and was the death of Jenny's father and everyone on the ship related to him? It's all a mystery.
But I personally feel that it is absolutely impossible to escape the connection. We have to find a way to dig out this person. I always feel that there is a huge conspiracy in this. If Jenny did not lie, then she He has also been calculated into it. There is definitely a big conspiracy behind the person who mailed him the navigation chart.
"Zhongyi, why are you so stunned? I'm talking to you?" Jenny touched me.
I came back to my senses and said, "Yes, you are right. It is very likely that he is the Chinese man who disappeared. This is all too weird. He deliberately hid himself. We have to find a way to dig him out." You have to come out, this person is very important."
"Where can I find him? There are no clues at all, so I plan to go back. Since my father is dead, there is no need for me to go to sea. Jenny sighed and said a little sadly.
I said firmly, "You have to stay. Things are not that simple. Now let's think about things in a reasoning way. There are probably two nautical charts in your father's hands. There is one in Zheng He's tomb, which makes more sense. Otherwise, there is no way to explain this. But what I don't understand is that in Zheng He's coffin, there is only The second half, then where did the first half go?
"If there are really two complete nautical charts, one is in my father's hands, and the other one must still be in Zheng He's tomb, but it's just us. It's just that he didn't find it. He probably split a nautical chart into two parts. We only found the second half. The first half was probably placed somewhere else. That should be it. "Jenny is not sure, everything is inference, but things finally have some clues, but it's a pity that there is too little light, and no very useful clues can be found.
I could have discussed it with Jiao Ba. , but I promised Jenny not to tell anyone, so I can only figure this out on my own, but my own strength is too limited
"Okay, let's go on as you said. Then why did the person who mailed you the nautical chart only mail half of it? Could it be that your father's nautical chart was also split into two? Or is it because something else appeared in the middle? Things that ended up causing this navigation chart to be split into two? "I still feel that it is right, it seems that there are some key issues missing.
“It can only be like this, it can’t be fake, right?”
Jenny’s words suddenly reminded me of something very important. I said that I always feel No, I forgot about it. "Jenny, are you sure this nautical chart is authentic?" The aeronautical map is unmistakable," Jenny said with certainty.
But what I thought of was what Jiao Ba said to me before. He told me that this nautical chart was a fake. At that time, we both compared it, and it was indeed the same as what was found in Zheng He’s coffin. The nautical charts are different, both in terms of leather and lines, especially when viewed from different angles under the sun. In Zheng He's half of the nautical chart, the black lines will turn red.
As for the first half of Jenny's nautical chart, the original color remains unchanged. It is basically the work of two people. There are also subtle differences in the painting techniques. If I am not a professional, I can't tell the difference at all. If it weren't for Jiao Ba, I wouldn't know at all. Although this was all done by people of the Ming Dynasty, the authenticity can still be distinguished from the fake.
"You are wrong. The half of the navigation chart in your hand is fake." I said calmly.
"What did you say? It's fake? How is it possible? I asked someone to check it. It was indeed made by someone from the Ming Dynasty." Jenny still didn't believe what I said.
"I know, but that's also a lie. I gave you the navigation chart last time. It should still be with you, right? Just take it out and take a look." Since she doesn't believe it, I You just have to tell him the truth.
"Here it is, I'll take it out now."
Sure enough, Jenny carried the navigation chart with her. After she took it out, I put it on the ground according to Jiao Ba's previous method, and then asked her to squat on the ground at a 45-degree angle toward the sun to observe again. Waiting for Jenny to squat After getting off, her expression changed immediately, and she was stunned for a long time without saying a word.
"How about it? Do you believe it now? If the nautical chart in your hand is real, this kind of change should also occur. It's a pity that it has not changed at all. And if you look carefully, the two nautical charts The texture and painting of the picture are also slightly different." I squatted down and looked at her and asked.
Jenny’s eyes widened and she looked back and forth. After a few minutes, she turned to look at me and said, "What? How could this happen? If you look carefully, it is indeed different, especially the painter. It is not the work of a painter at all. How do you know about human handiwork and loyalty? ”
"Me? Of course I didn't have that chance. It was Jiao Ba who told me the second day after boarding the ship. But since arriving in Ice City, I have forgotten about it. "Yeah, I just remembered it when you said that." To be honest, without Jiao Ba, I would never have known.
"Jiao Ba is really amazing. He can see through such small differences. However, have you ever thought that if there are two nautical charts, it is possible that they were drawn by two people?"< br>
"That's true, but under normal circumstances, it shouldn't happen. The fewer people know about such a confidential matter, the better. There is no reason for two people to draw a nautical chart. Moreover, the secret hidden behind this nautical chart, It's not what you and I can imagine." I remembered what the old man on the island said, this is a century-old secret.
“That’s right, if it were me, I wouldn’t do it either.” Jenny nodded and said.
"Haha, now you know, there is content in it. The person who mailed you the navigation chart may have drawn this by his hand." I boldly imagined it. , but it is really possible.
"No way? This was painted by someone from the Ming Dynasty." Jenny looked unbelieving.
But his words reminded me again, "People from the Ming Dynasty? Yes, people from the Ming Dynasty. The old man on the island can live to this day, but what about the others? Especially the missing one Eunuch, no one knows whether he is dead or alive."
Jiao Ba and I didn't analyze this issue at that time. We just thought about whether there was any relationship between the cat's-eye black man and the eunuch named Liu Qian. Now that there is such a mysterious Ming Dynasty man, how about combining the three of them together? If you analyze it, things seem a bit subtle. It seems that you can always connect them, but I can't explain why. What is the relationship between these three mysterious people?
"Oh God, if this is really the case, wouldn't I also be caught in it? This is probably a big trap." Jenny slapped her forehead and said worriedly.
"Why do you say that?" I looked at her and asked.
Jenny's expression was extremely bad. She calmed down for a moment and said, "After I received this navigation chart, in order to find out the news about my father, I went online and typed the address of the emailer, but What I didn’t expect was that it was not a residential area, but Beijing x University.”
“What did you say? Beijing x University?” Why is this thing getting weirder and weirder? Jenny nodded and said, "Yes, I verified it. It was already many years ago. Later, in order to find this person, I returned to China alone and went to Beijing X University to study. I stayed here for several years. , but unfortunately, there are still no clues.”