My girlfriend is a Miao demon.

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:06

"I saw the screenshot you sent me. What county gazetteer is this?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:07

"This is the revised edition of the Xiyang County Gazetteer. Look at the rightmost line on the left; there's only half a line of text."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:07

"Did you see it? Is the other half damaged?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:10

"No, traditional ancient books cannot be printed on both sides, so a large sheet of paper is folded in half, so the right half is the previous page and the left half is the next page. This is called a cylindrical page. The vertical line of text in the middle of the cylindrical page is the title of the book, 'Xiyang County Gazetteer, Revised,' compiled in the 18th year of the Republic of China."

"At that time, Wangshan was not yet a city, and even the name Wangshan did not exist. Most of the area of ​​today's Wangshan City was under the jurisdiction of the neighboring Xiyang County at that time."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:11

"Oh, well... this picture... to be frank, I don't see any useful information in it."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:11

"Well, don't rush me, I'll explain it to you slowly. In fact, it took me three days to figure out even these things."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:13

There is a river in Shounan Mountain called Xiangnong Creek.

"This river flows out from the northern foot of Shounan Mountain, then eastward, around Shounan Mountain, and then southward through Xiyang County. This river is the mother river of Wangshan City and Xiyang County."

"The name of Wangshan City is self-explanatory; it is named after Shounan Mountain. In ancient Chinese feng shui, 'the south side of a mountain and the north side of a river are considered yang.' The two characters 'Xiyang' in Xiyang County, 'Xi' refers to Xiangnong Creek, and 'yang' means 'the south side of a mountain and the north side of a river.' Therefore, Xiyang County is named after Xiangnong Creek."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:13

"Oh, I understand."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:15

According to the "Wangshan City Gazetteer" I found at the Wangshan City Library, the name Wangshan originally came from the Wangshan military station during the Northern Expedition. Before the establishment of this military station, the Wangshan area was just an ordinary rural area with farmland.

"Therefore, the revised gazetteer of Xiyang County, which was completed in 1923, will not specifically record the history of the Wangshan area; it will only record events that occurred throughout Xiyang County."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:16

"Yes. And then?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:18

"Then look at the records in this county gazetteer. In July of the second year of the Republic of China, which is 1913, a flood occurred in Xiyang County."

"The flood killed 650 people and forced 7 people from the county to flee their homes. A stone bridge in the county town was also destroyed. The provincial governor at the time reported the disaster to the Beiyang government in Beijing and listed Xiyang County as one of the 12 counties in the province most severely affected by the disaster."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:20

"Yes, I saw it. It says here: 'In the seventh month of summer in the second year of the Republic of China, torrential rains lasted for ten days, causing great flooding in Xiyang. Six hundred and fifty people drowned, and seventy thousand people were displaced. The city walls and Youxian Bridge collapsed. The governor reported the disaster to the Beiyang government.'"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:21

"Okay, I'll send you another picture. You can take a look at the next page."

Xiang Nanfeng sent another screenshot to Mao Xigu Master.

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:23

"In August, the torrential rains continued. Floods had already occurred in July, and the torrential rains continued in August, so many towns and farmlands along the riverbanks were submerged. Then there's this sentence written here, I don't know if you noticed it—'On the night of the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, Miaoyao Pagoda was struck by lightning and collapsed.'"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:23

"Yes, I saw that sentence. Is there anything special about it?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:25

"When Xiyang County was flooded, I judged that it must refer to Xiangnong Creek."

"I found in another county gazetteer of Xiyang County—the Xiyang New Gazetteer, compiled in the 30th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, i.e., 1691 AD, Volume 4, 'Food and Commodities'—that Youxian Bridge, which collapsed in July 1913 due to a flood, was located in the southeast corner of the city. It was originally built in the 11th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty and was a wooden arched covered bridge. And look at this picture, I'll show it to you."

Xiang Nanfeng sent another screenshot to Mao Xigu Master.

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:28

"This map is titled 'Complete Map of Xiyang County in the Wanli Era,' and it comes from the 'Xiyang County Gazetteer' compiled in the eighth year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, which is 1580 AD. You can see that the Xiangnong River flows east through Xiyang County, and the point where it passes through the city is located at the southeast corner of the county. The old town of Xiyang did not undergo any major changes from the end of the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China, which shows that the great flood of 1913 was indeed a flood from the Xiangnong River."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:30

"The Xiangnong River flooded, destroying a 300-year-old wooden arch bridge in Xiyang County and submerging towns and farmland along its banks. But where did this flood come from?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:31

"Upstream? Guarding Nanshan?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:35

"Yes, it must be Shounanshan, and it must be today's Wangshan City, not Xiyang County."

「我这两天顺便在两家图书馆查了望山和溪阳两地近20年内的6月、7月、8月3个月的降水记录，我分析应该是因为守南山地势的抬升作用，每年望山市这三个月的平均降水量都是溪阳县的2.5倍左右。

"Therefore, my analysis is that the torrential rains in Xiyang County in July and August of 1913 mainly fell within the territory of today's Wangshan City, or more precisely, in Shounan Mountain. It was precisely because of the continuous torrential rains in Shounan Mountain that the Xiangnong River, which originates in the mountains, experienced a major flood."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:36

"Now that you've reached the conclusion that the torrential rain hit Shounan Mountain, look at this sentence again: 'On the seventh day of the eighth lunar month, Miaoyao Pagoda was struck by lightning and collapsed.' What do you think now?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:39

"This...you mean, because of the torrential rain on Shounan Mountain, a building called Miaoyao Tower was struck by lightning and collapsed during the rainstorm? But what is this related to? The legend of the Lou family? Or the ancient castle at the bottom of the pool? Or the Pastoral Kindergarten?"

"I... I still don't understand?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:40

"In my opinion, this Myriad Jade Pagoda might be related to all three of these things!"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:40

"Huh? They're all related? Why didn't I see any of that?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:40

"Don't rush, take a look at this first!"

Xiang Nanfeng sent another screenshot to Mao Xigu, this time from the 1923 revised edition of the *Xiyang County Gazetteer*. The page in the margins shows this page immediately following the previous two, separated by only one page. In this screenshot, Xiang Nanfeng had already circled a line of text in red, and the black characters within those circles, when connected, formed this exciting sentence:

"That year, the German businessman Nicholas demolished the ruins of the Miaoyao Pagoda, intending to build a villa on the original site."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:41

"German businessman! German businessman! German businessman!"

In the chat box on the screen, Mao Xigu Master's repeated exclamations popped up.

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:41

"That's right, it's the German businessman, the German businessman Nicholas!"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:43

"Miaoyao Pagoda is a pagoda. It is also a pagoda standing in Shounan Mountain. And what is a pagoda? A pagoda is a traditional Buddhist building. Since there is a pagoda, it means there is a temple."

"It's normal for monks to build their temples deep in the mountains for the sake of spiritual cultivation. Usually, only temples and Taoist temples are built in deep mountains. The two stone tablets I saw are very likely from this temple."

"The temple's pagoda was struck by lightning during a rainstorm and collapsed. At this time, a German businessman named Nicholas appeared and wanted to build a villa on the site of the original pagoda."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:44

"The villa nestled in the southern mountains—Nanshan Villa! Indeed, the Germans—the castle, it's all connected now, truly connected!"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:48

"That's right. And after realizing all this, I suddenly remembered that on the night of December 25th, I was at the bottom of the pool in the dream world, and before entering the castle, I first climbed seven steps."

"I was too scared at the time and didn't think much about it afterward, but now that I think about it, those steps and the Gothic castle, oh no, it's completely different from the architectural style of Nanshan Pavilion."

"It doesn't belong to Nanshan Museum; it's more like the foundation of a traditional Chinese building."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:49

"The Miaoyao Pagoda, that's the foundation!"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:50

"And if I'm not mistaken, this is exactly where Luyao and I parted ways on December 25th."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:50

"Where is it? Is it in the Miaoyao Pagoda? Wasn't the Miaoyao Pagoda burned down, collapsed, and gone?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:51

"That's right. The tower burned down, collapsed, and is gone, but the foundation is still there, and the underground palace of the Miaoyao Tower is still there!"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:51

"My God! You mean, the stone chamber you fell into and crawled into was the underground palace of a Buddhist stupa!"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:54

"Isn't that right?"

"The Miaoyao Pagoda must be a wooden pagoda, because only a wooden pagoda could catch fire after being struck by lightning, and only after burning could it collapse. A brick or stone pagoda would not be able to do that."

"Nicholas must have cleared away the burnt and collapsed broken wood and charcoal ash from the foundation of the Miaoyao Pagoda. The sturdy bluestone foundation was not easy to sink, and dismantling it would be time-consuming and laborious, so it was preserved."

"He built Nanshan Pavilion on the foundation of Miaoyao Pagoda."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:55

"Excellent, excellent, absolutely excellent! So, this German merchant, Nicholas, should be the key to our investigation? Have you continued investigating him?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 21:58

"I checked, but it's definitely not written about in the county annals anymore, I'm very sure of that."

"Whether it's Nicholas or Nanshan Pavilion, it only appeared once, just once. I also searched online for all the combinations that include 'Nicholas' and 'Wangshan City', 'Wangshan County', 'Xiyang County', 'Shou Nanshan', and 'Xiyang Consulate,' even with 'late Qing Dynasty' and 'Republic of China' that I could think of, but I didn't find any useful information."

"By the way, I asked another reporter from our news channel's Berlin bureau yesterday."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 21:59

"What did he say?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:03

He said the name Nicholas is common among German men.

"I asked him to spell out 'Nikolaus' in German for me, and then I logged into major German and English search engines to search for various combinations of 'Nikolaus' with 'Wangshan', but I still couldn't find any useful information. Or if I broaden the scope of the matching combinations, for example, to include China, then there are just too many web pages to find, thousands of pages in total."

"Looking for a needle in a haystack like this is probably pointless."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:04

"So, the lead between Nicholas and Nanshan Mansion has gone cold again? All that searching for nothing?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:09

"It's unlikely we'll find nothing, but I haven't really thought of a breakthrough yet. However, now that we've confirmed the identity of the German businessman Nicholas, the connection between Nanshan Pavilion and Pastoral Kindergarten is locked in."

"I heard that Muge Kindergarten has a half-day open day for enrollment on weekends. I'm planning to try to find a way through that. If I can find clues at Muge Kindergarten, maybe we can reconnect with this line of inquiry. But as for how to sneak into the kindergarten, what to do after getting in, and where to start investigating, I've been busy these past few days and haven't had time to think about it yet."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:13

"Going inside the kindergarten is one way. But I think even if you get in, it's been over a hundred years, the building was long ago converted from a consulate into a kindergarten, what could you possibly find? What was this building used for before it was converted into a kindergarten?"

"I remember you once said that Gui Luyao told you that Muge Kindergarten was originally the municipal party committee's kindergarten? So before it became a kindergarten, it should have been owned by the government? This does indeed fit its historical situation. Before liberation, it was the German consulate, and after liberation, it was taken over by the government."

"So I was wondering if you could find some elderly people who worked in the Wangshan County government or even the Wangshan Town government decades ago, and ask them about the situation inside this building back then?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:18

"Sigh, it doesn't seem easy either."

"Actually, this is the same idea as sneaking into the kindergarten. It's not hard to sneak in, but it's hard to know what to do after sneaking in and where to start investigating. It shouldn't be hard to find an elderly person who used to work in the Wangshan Town government, but it's hard to know what to ask them once you find them."

Ask them, "Do you know about Nanshan Pavilion in Shounan Mountain? Do you know about the German businessman Nicholas in the early 20th century?" After all, they weren't staff members of the German consulate back then, so how could they possibly know these things?

"Or I could ask them, 'Was there anything unusual when you were working here back then?'"

"If you were one of these elderly people, what useful information could you possibly provide?"

"Actually, I have thought about it. If we want to follow this lead, the best way is probably still to start with the documents, just like how we found Nanshan Museum and Nicholas by checking local chronicles. I should look for German diplomatic archives."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:23

"I found that Germany's Federal Archives Act stipulates that the declassification of diplomatic documents in Germany follows a 30-year secrecy rule. Relevant documents will be declassified and published according to procedures after 30 years from their creation. The records of Nicholas and Nanzan House date back to 1913, which is almost 100 years ago. These diplomatic documents are definitely in a declassified state."

"I found that the Political Archives of the German Federal Foreign Ministry, in conjunction with the Munich Institute for Contemporary History, publishes a new series of 'Foreign Policy Documents of the Federal Republic of Germany' every year."

"This series is compiled every five years, and it has now been published up to 1949 to 1954."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:25

"In other words, finding that series of compilations from 1909 to 1924 might lead to the Nanshan Collection? And going even further back, it would at least certainly reveal the reason why Germany established a consulate in Wangshan?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:29

Logically speaking, I think that should be the case.

Why would a Western European country build a consulate in such a remote rural area as Wangshan, especially a rising capitalist country like Germany? I think there's no reason why the reasons for choosing a location for a consulate shouldn't be stated in foreign policy documents. But you have to understand, I'm just an ordinary journalist!

"I'm not the channel director or the station manager. I'm just a regular colleague with that dispatched reporter. We studied together for about half a month when we came to Taiwan for training, and then he was dispatched abroad. I even had to ask someone to give me his contact information."

"I can't just order people around to find this or that for me. Besides, I can't read German myself, so even if these files were right in front of me, I'd still have to figure out how to translate them. All of this takes time."

"Thinking about all this gives me a headache!"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:31

"You're saying I'm clearly under the influence of the Miao curse, that there's an old man named He Xiao living at No. 93 Loubei, and that dream world is supposed to be the Miao people's world, so how did foreigners get involved? Ugh, the more I think about it, the more my head aches!"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:34

"Alright, no need to worry about it. Don't worry about the diplomatic documents, leave them to me. I have a feeling I'll be back in the next day or two. If possible, I'll try my best to transit through Europe and go to Germany in person. If I can't go or find them, we'll figure something out together when I get back."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:34

"Back in China? So you weren't in China? Where are you then?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:34

"And why did you have a premonition of returning to China instead of planning it?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:35

"I'm on an island in the Atlantic right now. My family entrusted me with something. Well, we'll talk about it when we meet."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:36

"Even without this incident, I would have had to go back immediately. I have a feeling, believe it or not. I have a feeling that your 'train' is about to leave, and if I don't get on now, it might be too late."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:36

"Hahaha, how dissatisfied are you with the real world that you really want to come with me to the dream world?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:37

"How can you be so sure I'm 'going'? Why can't I be 'coming back' like you?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:37

"Haha. Okay, okay, it's 'back,' it's 'back,' we agreed to go 'back to our hometown' together."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:38

"Alright! But let's get back to the main point. I still have a question about what happened earlier: You just said that the Miaoyao Pagoda is related to the Lou family, the Nanshan Pavilion, and the kindergarten. What does it have to do with the legends of the Lou family?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:39

"Do you remember when Mr. Jia Shouguang mentioned a wandering monk?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:40

"I remember! After the Lou family died, the story of the so-called thousand-year-old female demon killing people was first told by this monk. He also gathered villagers from all around to raise funds to build a temple, hoping to suppress this thousand-year-old female demon."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:40

"You mean, the Miaoyao Pagoda is the pagoda in that temple?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:42

"Isn't that so? The Wenchang Pagoda in Nanjing, Fujian, suppresses water demons; the Dushan Brick Pagoda in Langxi, Anhui, suppresses mountain demons; the Tianfeng Pagoda in Ningbo, Zhejiang, suppresses turtle spirits; and the Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, suppresses the White Snake Lady. Isn't it reasonable to use pagodas to suppress demons?"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:45

"Really? Jia Shouguang said that the demon-suppressing temple built by the wandering monks was located on the high ground at No. 27 Lounan and No. 27 Lounan Jia. The temple had already collapsed, fallen into disrepair, and been demolished during the Qianlong era, and then three small courtyards were built. But according to your speculation, Miaoyao Pagoda is Nanshan Hall, which is located in the belly of Shounan Mountain. How could it be in Loujia Village?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:48

"The Miaoyao Pagoda is not in Loujia Village. The Miaoyao Pagoda must be the Nanshan Pavilion, which must be located under the pool."

"I believe that the buildings on that high ground in Loujia Village were not originally temples, or at least they had nothing to do with Miaoyao Pagoda. This is what I have always emphasized: Jia Shouguang's words cannot be completely trusted. So-called legends passed down orally often contain great deviations. I think this deviation is reflected in the spatial aspect."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:52

"This... forgive my bluntness, but I think your conclusion is somewhat subjective and arbitrary. You can't affirm Jia Shouguang's account of the wandering monk and deduce from it that Miaoyao Pagoda is the original Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, while denying that Jia Shouguang said the original site of the demon-suppressing temple was on the high ground at No. 27 Lounan and No. 27 Lounan Jia."

"So, do you believe Jia Shouguang or not? You can't just choose what to believe based on your own wishes, unless you have evidence to prove it."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:54

"Yes, yes, so I scheduled another interview."

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 22:57

"I met a friend when I was doing a program two years ago. He works in the publicity department of the Wangshan City Religious Affairs Bureau. I asked him to help me make an appointment with Master Mingyuan, the abbot of Zhenru Temple, the oldest known temple in Shounan Mountain. I will go and ask him the day after tomorrow. Maybe he can confirm the legend of Miaoyao Pagoda and the Lou family."

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 22:58

"Maybe? But what if it can't be proven? Besides, even if he did say it, isn't it still just witness testimony, still just word-of-mouth information that's neither entirely reliable nor entirely unreliable?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 23:02

"Yes, so I need more evidence, more compelling evidence."

"I think this is like pulling up a tree. The ancient castle in the dream world is a branch; if I touch the branch, I can follow it to find the fork. The Nanshan Pavilion and Miaoyao Pagoda in the county annals are the forks. Since I've touched the fork, I can also follow it to find the trunk. And as long as I grasp this evidence, it's like grasping the trunk:"

"Trust me, I can definitely uproot this tangled tree!"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 23:03

"Oh? So smug? Does that mean you've already touched the trunk? What's the trunk?"

Nomads Go on a Party 2012.01.13 23:05

"The tree trunk? The tree trunk is that half-overturned stone tablet on the gravel beach of Shounan Mountain! I actually touched the tree trunk a long time ago, but pulling up a tree requires not only touching the tree trunk, but also the strength of a giant!"

"Hahaha, this divine power, I've finally 'accepted' it today! Tomorrow, tomorrow I'll pull it out!"

Mao Xigu Master 2012.01.13 23:06

"Sign for it?"