Wenlan bit her tongue, using the pain to keep her mind completely alert at this depth underwater, and continued to dive in the direction Dongbao had pointed out earlier. As she descended, the visible light on the seabed grew dimmer, and suddenly it felt like twilight before it turns to dusk, as if the whole world had fallen into stillness. Wenlan even felt like she could hear the slow thumping of her heart in her chest.
It is said that experienced divers like Li Haiqiu can develop eyes that are able to see and quickly locate objects in dim underwater light. Wenlan did not possess this ability. Right now, all she could do was to widen her eyes as much as possible, allowing her pupils to absorb the remaining light refracted through tens of meters of seawater from the surface, as she navigated the lonely and silty seabed.
Very luckily, she soon saw a dark, oval-shaped object on the lower, concave side of the pointed peak below. Upon approaching closer, she discovered it was indeed a rare large clam attached to the rock. The clam shell was about the size of a meter, like a small round table covered in algae, estimated to weigh several hundred pounds. At this moment, the clam shell's mouth was slightly open, spitting out a circle of pure white, thick clam flesh, the flesh gently expanding and contracting with the surrounding currents, like the tassels on a fan.
Without time for surprise, Wenlan immediately began the task of harvesting the clam - she had to seize every moment and ideally finish the collection in one go. If she had to surface multiple times due to insufficient oxygen in her body, even after completely eliminating any underwater accidents, every repetition of surfacing and diving was a huge drain on her physical endurance. As a result, her underwater stamina and mental endurance would both decrease geometrically. These were the very areas where she excelled over others.
Wenlan took out a thick-bladed knife from the bamboo basket she carried, used for harvesting clams underwater. She pressed it against the side of the rock, firmly, before lying down, securing her body with her knees, and then picked up a special net from her basket.
This was a net that Li Haiqiu had specially designed for this large clam. It could cover the clam, and once tightened, it was attached to a hemp rope long enough to reach the sea surface. The other end of the rope was tied to a buoy, specially made with pig urine. If all went well, after releasing the buoy, it would float up to the sea surface, and the people on the boat would be able to pull up the connected rope, bringing the large clam from the seabed.
After preparing the net, Wenlan lightly prodded the shell of the clam with the knife. The clam, startled, immediately retracted its white flesh and closed tightly together. Carefully encircling the entire clam with the net, Wenlan used the knife to pry off the part of the clam's foot that was attached to the rock.
This giant clam was estimated to be at least a hundred years old, and the layers of secretion from its foot resembled solidified glue. Wenlan pried a few times, only scraping off some white powder, with the clam immovable.
Wenlan began to feel a desire to breathe from within her body. She bit her tongue again, feeling the pain stimulate her nerves, not thinking about anything, just focusing on finding the point of force. Soon, she inserted the blade into a crevice between the foot silk and the rock she found, and when it was deep enough, she exerted force again, causing the shell to sway slightly.
Wenlan suppressed her excitement and continued to pry the loosened crevice. After a few more attempts, the foot silk finally separated from the rock surface, with the net that was attached to the shell swaying and falling down.
Wenlan quickly tightened the mouth of the net, took out the buoy from the basket and raised it above her head, then let go. The buoy, connected to the rope, like a tadpole with a long tail, began to rise slowly and steadily towards the bright spot.
---
From the time Dongbao followed Wenlan into the water until he resurfaced, it was actually only a short two minutes. But for Xieyuan, it felt as if it had been a very long time.
"Where is my cousin?"
As soon as Dongbao was pulled onto the pearl-carrying boat, he immediately asked.
Dongbao sat on the boat, panting heavily, and said, "I took her to the water about ten feet deep just now. I couldn't hold on, so she asked me to go up first and went down by herself."
"Xie Daren..." Dongbao looked at him and saw the anxiety he was trying to hide. He couldn't help but comfort him in a low voice, "Don't worry. I didn't believe it at first. It wasn't until I went into the water with her that I realized she really was good at it. You can rest assured..."
"I'll go down and look for her!"
Li Haiqiu couldn't contain himself and was ready to go down to the sea but was stopped by Xieyuan. "There's no need. She went down to help you. If you go down again now, if something happens, what's the point of her going down?"
"But..." Li Haiqiu's expression showed a hint of guilt, his hands restless on his clothes.
Xieyuan knew that his earlier anger had made this man feel guilty, took a deep breath, forced down his inner restlessness, and looked at Li Haiqiu with a gentle smile, "I was hasty just now, and my words were too harsh. What Dongbao said makes sense, let's wait for her to come up." After that, he turned and went to the side of the boat again, squatting down and gazing silently at the nearby water surface.
Time continued to flow, but for the people on the boat at this moment, it felt as slow as a snail's pace. For the first time in his life, Xieyuan clearly felt his panic. This was a genuine panic from the depths of his heart. The sun overhead was scorching, but his back was cooled by the sweat, his clothes sticking to his body, his forehead starting to sweat, the sweat rolling down his face and seeping into his full beard.
People who had never experienced sailing on the sea could not understand the feeling of being so insignificant in the face of the forces of nature during a fierce storm and fighting with the sea. Although the sea was not raging at the moment, if a person entered it, they would be as inconspicuous as a speck of swallowed dust, leaving no trace.
Xieyuan knew he shouldn't think like this, but he couldn't hold back anymore. Suddenly he rose and was about to go into the sea, but suddenly he saw a vague movement a few feet ahead under the water, his heart jumped, and he looked closely, seeing a buoy with a rope tied to it emerging.
"The buoy is coming up! The buoy is coming up!"
The others also noticed and immediately became excited, shouting as the boat approached. Dongbao leaned down and grabbed the buoy, and seven or eight hands pulled the rope upwards. As the weight increased, when the rope was fully pulled in, a giant clam covered with algae appeared from the water. After being pulled onto the boat, someone couldn't help but cheer.
When the giant clam surfaced, Xieyuan's heart, which had been beating like a drum, suddenly stopped, and after a moment, he was overwhelmed by a strong sense of loss and panic. Holding his breath, he stared at the sea from where the clam had emerged. Moments passed. Besides the endless waves rippling in the wind, there was no other movement.
The giant clam had been pulled up from the bottom of the sea, but Xie's cousin had not surfaced with it. Since she went underwater until now, it had been half a cup of incense, and it was unheard of for anyone to hold their breath for that long underwater.
The people on the boat quickly cooled down from the excitement of pulling up the giant clam, and they leaned nervously over the edge of the boat. Even Wei Zixing, who had been calm and composed, went to the bow, bending over to stare at the sea, his expression becoming serious.
Xieyuan quickly took off his shoes, picked up a stone from the boat, and jumped into the sea. Seeing this, Dongbao hurriedly followed, and the remaining pearl divers also jumped into the sea. Li Haiqiu was about to stand up, but was stopped by Wei Zixing, who said coldly, "You just stay here!"
Fueled by the force of the sinking stone, Xieyuan rapidly and directly sank into the water until his eardrums hurt too much to bear, then he let go of the stone and opened his eyes. Looking around, he saw only a mist of water, with seven or eight pearl divers who had jumped in after him, but she was nowhere to be found.
He was used to walking on the sea, so his water skills were naturally excellent. But at this moment, he didn't know if it was the pressure of the deep water on his body's organs or an illusion, he only felt as if an invisible hand was tightly squeezing his chest, crushing his internal organs into pieces.
She hadn't surfaced, perhaps still at the bottom of the sea. He didn't dare to imagine her being alone and lonely at the deep bottom of the sea, so he forcefully dove down again. As he descended, the air in his chest shortened with each inch, and his ribs felt as if they were about to burst. He knew he was reaching his limit, but the seabed was still below. Unwilling to give up, he bit down and tried to go down again, but suddenly a dark current swept him up from the side.
Xie Yuan surfaced from the sea, took a brief breath, and then dived down again. When he reached a depth of seven or eight fathoms, the oxygen in his body was exhausted to the limit, and he could only float up to breathe.
The seabed was not far below him. It seemed that with just a little more effort, he could reach it. However, the reality was that no matter how hard he tried, the seabed always seemed unattainably distant.
Repeatedly diving and surfacing in deep water was a great physical exertion. He was feeling fatigued, and his chest was in excruciating pain. The pearl divers, due to exhaustion, had given up and gradually climbed back onto the pearl boat. But he didn't want to end it like this.
When he surfaced for the last time, he made a decision. He would hold onto a sinker stone and descend directly to the bottom. It was the only way to save time.
He knew that this could very likely cause irreversible fatal damage to his body. But he had to do it.
His cousin San Niang might be waiting for him at the seabed at this moment, closing her eyes and waiting for him to take her up.