His first reaction was absolute disbelief.
What if he looked for someone to verify it?
Gu Qiumian, like himself, came from the province.
His parents were the same.
His best buddies went without saying, having been born and raised on the island.
It seemed he couldn't even find a single person to verify his claim with.
Zhang Shutong had no choice but to suppress his astonishment in his heart for now, asking further:
"Are there any other legends? I mean, regarding the foxes?"
"Probably not?" Su Yunzhi said uncertainly.
"But surely people have come to the island for tourism? Or visited the temple to worship? They should know that the legends of the two places are different?"
"This... among the friends I know around me, it seems none of them have ever visited the island, and I haven't chatted with anyone about the legends before."
That made sense too, Zhang Shutong thought. Just like the years he went to school in the city, when chatting about the small island, he wouldn't pay special attention to a legend about a temple. At most, someone would ask: how is such-and-such place, is it fun?
You would recommend a few tourist attractions and restaurants, add a few travel tips at most, and that would be about it.
Zhang Shutong looked at Lu Qinglian again, but she merely shook her head as well.
In reality, she should be the one least in the know. She hadn't even left this island since childhood, spending her time either at school or at the temple. Before this, she hadn't even come into contact with the internet, so how could she possibly know?
He immediately analyzed the situation:
The rumors of the foxes shouldn't have arisen out of thin air.
Because it wasn't just rumors; there was physical evidence here to serve as a basis, even though it had been concealed underground.
Whose version of the story they had heard had been altered?
But a very strange point was that the legend of the foxes made no mention of snakes, and the legend of the snakes contained no foxes. It wasn't the typical trajectory of a traditional mythological story where the forces of good and evil confront each other.
At this moment, Su Yunzhi muttered to herself:
"Then that's strange. Did you children on the island actually grow up listening to a completely different legend? I can help look into it after I go back... But the legend of the foxes, I feel it's not fake. Look, this part here seems a bit strange."
She held up her camera, the screen emitting a faint light. Zhang Shutong hurriedly leaned his head over. The content of the photo was the rock wall, and on the ground at the very bottom of the rock wall, there was a recessed space.
When they were shining their flashlights earlier, there was only a single beam of light, but his Senior had used a flash when taking photos, illuminating almost the entire space.
Several pit holes were lined up within that recessed space.
Zhang Shutong's heart gave a jolt.
No more, no less, exactly five.
The shapes of these pit holes weren't particularly regular, appearing somewhat round and somewhat square, yet their sizes were reasonably consistent. They were sunken into the ground, linked together into a straight line.
"It's as if... these were positions reserved in advance. With the number being such a coincidence, it shouldn't be a natural formation, right?" Su Yunzhi said thoughtfully. "But beneath this rock relief, what exactly was it used for? Sacrificial offerings, like the five animals? But it doesn't quite look like it either. A typical altar should at least be a bit elevated..."
Yet Zhang Shutong instantly recalled the fox statue dug up by his mother. The statue also had a base underneath, giving off the feeling that—
They were meant to exist right here.
What if that wide-grinning fox was placed inside?
He was suddenly struck by a cold shiver.
Zhang Shutong turned his head around. On the tunnel behind him, the debris they had cleared out still remained.
It turned out that what was blocked wasn't just a rock wall, but...
Searching his mind for the vocabulary, Zhang Shutong actually failed to find an accurate description.
"What if I say I've seen a statue?"
he said suddenly.
Two sets of gazes instantly fixed on him.
This time, Lu Qinglian didn't speak.
Nor was Zhang Shutong in a rush to answer.
"Hey, for real? Is it exactly the same as the fox on the rock wall?" Su Yunzhi asked in surprise.
"Yes." Zhang Shutong asked, "Do you want to go take a look? Though it's a bit far away."
"Okay..." Just as she nodded readily, she instinctively glanced at her watch, which was an exquisite, small lady's wristwatch. "Ah, no good! It's almost six o'clock, I still have to catch the ferry back to the city..."
Su Yunzhi expressed nothing but regret:
"We can only wait until next weekend then. If possible, School Junior, could you send me the photos later?"
"Sure," Zhang Shutong said. "Let's head up first, it's getting a bit stuffy down here."
"You guys go up first." Lu Qinglian was still knit her brows at that rock wall.
Zhang Shutong knew that the impact of the fox legend on her was far greater than it was on himself, so he tossed the flashlight over to her.
"Then we'll wait for you up there."
Silently, they made their way back.
Zhang Shutong walked at the very front. When they reached the fork, he deliberately brought his footsteps to a halt.
"Won't your classmate fail to find you? There's no signal underground."
Su Yunzhi harbored no suspicions. She had been walking very slowly, as if she was still reflecting on what she had just witnessed. Hearing his words, she hurriedly trotted a few steps forward, closing the distance between them considerably.
Zhang Shutong took one last look at the other end of the tunnel before walking toward the stairs.
His Senior likely wouldn't suspect that another secret was hidden within this underground space, which might be related to the foxes, or perhaps completely unrelated.
By the time they finally walked out of the tunnel, the sky had already grown somewhat dark. Being underground would make one lose track of the passage of time.
Not long ago, it had been a brilliant evening glow, but now the silhouette of the moon could be seen hidden among the clouds.
Zhang Shutong looked back. Su Yunzhi was leaning against her knees on the stairs, panting for breath.
She had a head of straight, fine, soft long hair, and she liked to wear plain, clean dresses, making no exception even in winter. Today, she was wearing a white floral long dress, tightly wrapped in a down jacket.
They say girls of this age develop earlier than boys. His Senior was only a head shorter than him, but temperament was a strange thing that didn't seem to differentiate by age. If Lu Qinglian possessed a clear, detached coldness regardless of age, then Su Yunzhi always carried the vibe of an older sister. Even if you were in kindergarten, as long as you were one grade below her, you would still have to call her "Senior."
Right now, his Senior's long hair and dress were both somewhat dusty and dirty.
Zhang Shutong also knew her physical stamina wasn't particularly good. The air underground wasn't fresh to begin with, and she had just exerted herself climbing up and down on the platform. As she lightly panted for breath, Zhang Shutong hesitated for a moment before extending a hand toward her.
Su Yunzhi raised her gaze, appearing a bit surprised, before placing her hand into his palm. In the next second, she stood securely on the ground, smoothed her hair, and offered a soft laugh as she voiced her thanks:
"Thank you, School Junior."
Zhang Shutong had actually never quite adapted to this form of address. Despite him calling her "Senior, Senior" all day long, his Senior rarely called him "school junior."
Zhang Shutong merely asked:
"Aren't you going back quickly?"
"Let me clean myself up first, I look like a mole right now."
She brushed the dust off her clothes, teasingly remarked:
"On the contrary, shouldn't you hurry back down? That classmate of yours will get anxious from waiting."
Zhang Shutong didn't particularly want to be teased like this.
"You've misunderstood, no matter how you look at it, it's not... well, the kind of relationship you're thinking of."
"Is that so? I thought you would be very popular with girls."
"Probably not," Zhang Shutong said abstractedly.
"I haven't asked your name yet, always calling you School Junior, School Junior?"
"Zhang Shutong."
"Which characters?"
"The shu of shushuo (to state/recount), the tong of wutong (parasol tree)."
"Hmm... a name with a very literary flair," she praised.
Zhang Shutong froze for a moment.
Simply because this sentence felt familiar, or rather, it was identical down to the last detail.
He recalled that he and Su Yunzhi had met at the opening ceremony. His high school entrance exam results had been quite good, making him one of the freshman representatives.
And his Senior at that time had already become the vice president of the student council, holding absolute authority over the freshmen. She was also supposed to host the opening ceremony that day, wearing a lake-blue long dress that shone dazzlingly.
The freshmen couldn't get a clear read on this Senior's background, merely stepping quietly in her shadow as they walked.
Zhang Shutong had his moments of dropping the ball occasionally as well. He remembered that on the previous day, he had just done a certain thing due to the regression, exerting himself until very late. He was severely sleep-deprived, to the point where he hadn't even realized his name tag on his chest was pinned upside down. At that moment, the young girl wearing the lake-blue dress walked over:
"It's upside down."
Zhang Shutong hurriedly lowered his head to check.
She naturally extended her hands, helping him fasten the name tag properly.
"Zhang Shutong... Mmm, a name with a very literary flair. Don't be nervous, do your best."
After saying this, she smiled gently at him.
Only then did Zhang Shutong understand that "older-sister-type" girls—a term he coined himself—were also split into two kinds: the dominant older sister and the girl-next-door older sister. And the Senior before his eyes looked like the former, but was actually the latter.
When other people heard his name, they would only ask out of curiosity what the meaning was, or who would talk about how someone's name was when they had just met? Very few people were like her, accepting things without seeking a thorough understanding.
"Su Yunzhi."
By now, the young girl had finished tidying up the dust on her body reasonably well. She extended a hand.
Zhang Shutong shook hands with her, a brief touch before separating.
"The yun of yunduo (cloud), the zhi of zhiye (branches and leaves)."
Su Yunzhi mimicked his tone as she introduced herself.
Zhang Shutong nodded, indicating he would remember it well.
"Then I'll leave first." The young girl waved her hand at him.
The hour was getting late.
Zhang Shutong watched her step out of the old house, the faint moonlight spilling across her face. Zhang Shutong took a step forward:
"Right, there's one thing..."
"Hmm?" Su Yunzhi turned her face.
"...Regarding the matter of this tunnel, please keep it a secret. It will cause a lot of trouble if people find out."
"I'll remember, not to tell my classmates, right? Then let's count it as my little secret on this island?" she said with a smile. "Is there anything else?"
Zhang Shutong remained silent for a few seconds.
"Safe travels."
Su Yunzhi's figure gradually receded into the distance. She was making a phone call as she walked, raising her head toward the corridor on the second floor of the hospital and waving from afar. Several figures also appeared in front of the window. It seemed that, just as she had said, a classmate had indeed ruined his stomach from eating.
Zhang Shutong looked at the evening sky, which wasn't completely black yet. Dim clouds were draped across the canopy, illuminated into a hazy glow by the moonlight. That was a very high place after all, far, far away from the ground where he stood. How could there be any shadows of swaying tree branches up there?
He asked toward the footsteps behind him:
"Did you find anything else?"
"No."
"It's a bit too coincidental."
"I know." Zhang Shutong turned around, no longer looking out the door. "So I deliberately tested the waters, but at present, it truly seems to be just a coincidence. Whether it was finding this tunnel or discovering those few pits, even when I deliberately said I had already found a fox statue, her attitude remained at the level of curiosity, rather than choosing to miss the ferry just to go look for it."
"Student Zhang Shutong, it seems you have not been completely blinded by that Senior," Lu Qinglian said in a rare tone of praise.
"Is this a compliment?" Zhang Shutong asked in wonder.
"For now, you can understand it that way," she said nonchalantly before asking further, "What are your thoughts upon seeing the Senior from your dream?"
"Uh..."
Zhang Shutong thought to himself that she was already beating him to the punch with the answers.
How did this woman still remember his excuse about having a dream? He ignored this mischievous teasing.
"Let's go."
Zhang Shutong glanced at his phone. It was already approaching six o'clock, and two missed calls from his mother had popped up on the screen. He slapped his forehead, dialed back, and said as he waited for the call to connect:
"Actually, my mom dug up a fox recently. She just showed it to me this morning, the one with the wide, grinning mouth."
Lu Qinglian brought her footsteps to a halt.
She knit her brows and said:
"You actually really saw it?"