Chapter Four: The Seven-Tiered Pagoda (Update Ends Today~~~~~~)

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Yue Qianling glanced down at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda below, then suddenly gave a bitter smile and said to me, “I don’t know whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda isn’t exactly huge, but it’s not small either. Even if you guessed correctly that the clue is related to the pagoda, I think you might as well forget about going back to the hotel. Just move into the pagoda itself; I doubt you’ll find any clues within a few years.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” I replied with a calm smile, confident. “In fact, I already know the secret hidden in Zhu Yuanzhang’s Big Wild Goose Pagoda.”

“I don’t believe it. You just discovered the secret of Baxia too, didn’t you?” Yue Qianling pouted skeptically. “The clue isn’t written on the pagoda itself, so how could you possibly know?”

“The text we deciphered mentioned location, time, and height. Think carefully about what these things mean,” I said calmly.

“Height mentioned was seven...” Gu Anqi thought for a moment, blinking. “The Big Wild Goose Pagoda has exactly seven stories. Could this ‘seven’ be referring to that?”

“Anqi is right. Baxia led us to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and the ‘seven’ in the text means we need to understand what secret is hidden on the seventh floor of the Great Ci’en Temple,” I nodded.

“Since we’ve narrowed down the area, and the seventh floor isn’t that big, we can split up and search. Maybe we’ll find something,” Gu Anqi said excitedly, confident in her guess.

I shook my head with a peaceful smile.

“The clue probably isn’t on the seventh floor of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.”

“Why? Why are you so sure?”

“It’s simple. If it were on the seventh floor, the text would have given a hint. But it only mentions location, height, and time. Now that we know the location and height, it’s clear the hidden secret relates to time.”

“The text says December 7th at 3 p.m., but it’s only November now—over a month away,” Gu Anqi said helplessly.

“The exact number of days until December 7th isn’t important. What matters is what that time is used for,” I said with a slight smile.

“The clue was left by Zhu Yuanzhang, meaning there’s something special about December 7th every year. But the pagoda has stood for over a thousand years without change.”

“Flowers bloom year after year, but people change every year. If there’s any difference, it’s that different people appear on the seventh floor of the pagoda on December 7th each year,” Yue Qianling said with a smile that was half-mocking. “According to you, maybe Zhu Yuanzhang himself crawls out of the tomb every December 7th to tell you the secret of the Ming Tombs.”

“Honestly, I don’t know how you earned your doctorate with that kind of reasoning,” I said, helplessly shrugging. “Your thinking is wrong. Zhu Yuanzhang left clues for future generations. If the clues kept changing, that would be a complete failure.”

“I get what you mean. It’s not about something that changes, but something that has remained unchanged for thousands of years,” Gu Anqi suddenly understood and nodded.

Compared to these two women, Qiuno was noticeably quieter. If any of the three were going to uncover the secret of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda first, I was sure it would be Qiuno.

Quietly leaning on the railing, Qiuno walked around the seventh floor of the pagoda once. Finally, she leaned against the railing and gazed into the distance. Bathed in sunlight, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was circled in a golden halo. Its vast shadow stretched diagonally, covering the entire Great Ci’en Temple. In the twilight, the pagoda looked even more majestic and solemn.

The pagoda’s shadow shifted with the setting sun, moving like a massive clock hand.

Qiuno smiled faintly, calmly raised her hand, and pointed into the distance.

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“This is what has remained unchanged for over a thousand years.”

Yue Qianling and Gu Anqi looked up and followed Qiuno’s pointing finger. The sunset ignited the horizon in fiery red, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere.

“Is... is that the sun?!” Gu Anqi asked in surprise.

“To be precise, it’s the shadow cast by the sun on the Big Wild Goose Pagoda,” Qiuno explained calmly.

“Qiuno’s really smart. The true meaning of the text in the white jade tofu was this: at 3 p.m. on December 7th, the position indicated by the shadow of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda under the sun points to where the clue to the Ming Tombs is hidden!” Gu Anqi looked down at the slowly moving shadow beneath her feet and said excitedly.

“That’s exactly right. This clue is cleverly hidden so that even after so many years, it won’t be erased.”

“But the problem is it has to be 3 p.m. on December 7th. I still don’t understand. Since the sun’s path repeats daily, why wait for a specific time?” Qiuno said, puzzled.

“December 7th is the solar term called Major Snow in the twenty-four solar terms, which reflect the sun’s annual movement. Each solar term corresponds to a different solar declination angle, so the shadow cast changes accordingly,” Yue Qianling explained proudly. “Solar terms mark specific moments; for example, when the solar longitude is fifteen degrees, it’s the Qingming Festival.”

“Qianling, what degree is Major Snow?”

“Exactly 255 degrees!”

“Ah, that means we have to wait until December 7th no matter what. Otherwise, the shadow won’t align,” Gu Anqi said disappointedly.

“That might not be entirely true. Zhu Yuanzhang left the clue based on the sun’s declination angle during the solar term, which was brilliant at the time. But now, by knowing the sun’s position on the ecliptic and modern solar measurements, we can calculate it,” Yue Qianling said easily.

“Qianling, you make it sound simple, but this involves astronomy. None of us know anything about that. We better wait. The method is found anyway, so waiting a few days more doesn’t matter—good things are worth waiting for,” Gu Anqi said resignedly.

Yue Qianling was the kind of girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. Her expressions were an open book. To put it kindly, she was innocent; to be blunt, she was carefree. Seeing the pride radiating from her face, I smiled and teased,

“Miss, look at you showing off. Don’t tell me you can calculate this?”

“What do you mean showing off? This is just a skill. Didn’t you ask how I earned my doctorate?” Yue Qianling smiled proudly. “I always wanted to study astronomy, not archaeology. But because of my father, I ended up in archaeology. Still, astronomy has always been my passion. I never lost touch with it during college.”

I quickly pulled out paper and pen and handed them over with a wry smile.

“Then please, do us the honor. I knew you were gifted. Quickly calculate where the shadow of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda points at 3 p.m. on December 7th.”

Yue Qianling seemed to relish this moment of glory. She took the pen and paper arrogantly, calculated carefully for a long time, then confidently pointed to a building inside the Great Ci’en Temple.

“That’s the place where the shadow will reach at 3 p.m. on December 7th.”

I hurriedly pulled out a tourist guidebook and located the spot Yue Qianling pointed to on the map.

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The Xuanzang Tripitaka Courtyard!

I and the others descended from the pagoda and quickly entered the Xuanzang Tripitaka Courtyard.

Located north of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the courtyard enshrines the skull relic of Master Xuanzang and a bronze seated statue of him. The walls are adorned with large murals depicting the life of the Tang dynasty’s great monk Xuanzang, featuring copper engravings, wood carvings, and stone sculptures. It is currently the largest Xuanzang memorial, attracting visitors for reverence and study.

After walking around the courtyard, I frowned in surprise and whispered,

“This isn’t right, Qianling. Could the calculation be wrong? This place looks newly built. There’s no way there are any clues here.”

“Oh? You’re usually omniscient, so this must be something you don’t know,” Yue Qianling teased, still riding her wave of pride.

“What don’t I know?” I asked, baffled.

“Yan Hui, the real reason the Great Ci’en Temple is so prosperous is because it holds two Buddhist treasures,” Qiuno smiled calmly, helping me out. “One is the sacred Buddhist scripture known as the Palm-Leaf Sutra.”

“I know that. Palm leaves come from the Indian Talipot palm. When soaked in water, they can be used as paper. Indians often use them to write sutras, so the Buddhist scriptures are also called Palm-Leaf Sutras,” I nodded.

“Early manuscripts of the Palm-Leaf Sutras have nearly disappeared, but Xuanzang brought back 657 volumes from India, treasured by Buddhists and preserved in the Great Ci’en Temple,” Qiuno explained unhurriedly. “But the second treasure I want to tell you about is Master Xuanzang’s skull relic!”

“Does that... have anything to do with the clue we’re looking for?” I didn’t understand why Qiuno suddenly mentioned this.

“Yan Hui, if you knew where Master Xuanzang’s skull relic was, you wouldn’t ask that,” Qiuno said with a gentle smile.

“Where is it?”

“Right beneath your feet!”

“Beneath my feet?!” I was stunned, looked down, and just as I was about to speak in surprise, my eyes suddenly brightened. Quietly, I pointed down and asked,

“Is there a secret chamber below here?!”

Qiuno nodded calmly.

“The spot where you’re standing is the most sacred and also the most secret place in the Great Ci’en Temple—the temple’s underground palace!”