"Xu Fu?" Mourning chewed the name time and time again. "Could it be true that Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu to the East China Sea to find the elixir of life? How did Xu Fu come to Hachizhang Island and Blue Island? Are Xu Fu's descendants really on the two islands?"
Mourning can’t wait to visit Hachijo Island and Aoshima Island immediately, but Shimazu Kuji doesn’t know exactly where Hachijo Island and Aoshima Island are, how far they are from Tanegashima Island, and Tanegashima provides some Fresh water did not provide food and vegetables, so Mourning had to travel around Tanegashima for a week, and after recording the location of Tanegashima, he started to return.
When returning to the voyage, in order to correct Tanegashima's position on the Daming Chart, Mourning returned to Qingdao in accordance with the corrected position, but the original labeling was incorrect.
When Mourning went east for the second time, in order to shorten the voyage, he first drove the fleet to Songjiang Mansion (now Shanghai) in Jiangnan Province. After completing the supply in Songjiang, he headed east directly.
After sailing on the sea for two days and two nights, the fleet once again came to Akaogi Port on Tanegashima Island. After replenishing some fresh water on the island, the crew rested on the island for another night, then left after daybreak and continued to sail east.
After sailing for two days and two nights, an unknown island appeared in front of him at sunrise.
Mourning took the interpreter and his soldiers to land on the island.
There are scattered residents on the island. Their dress looks very special in Mourning’s eyes. Both men and women, their clothes are all top and bottom. The neckline, cuffs, and hem have thick ring decorations. I don’t know that it is the costume of that ethnic group. But it is definitely a world away from the Japanese kimono.
From the naked eye, they seem to be slightly taller than the Japanese, and they don't have the round legs like the Japanese, which looks much more eye-catching.
Mourning asked the interpreter to speak up, asking the name of the island and where they were.
What shocked Mourning was that the translator was speaking to the islanders not far away, but he could understand part of the content of their words, and he clearly heard the words "Hachijo Island".
"Is this really Hachijojima that Shimazu Kuji said?"
The enthusiastic islanders took Mourning and them to find the island owner. The owner of the island was named Wang Yongqing, who seemed to be the name of a Han Chinese. Mourning presented him with some porcelain, silk and Han costumes. Wang Yongqing happily stayed with Mourning for a meal.
"Island Lord King, why does your name resemble a Han Chinese?" Although Mourning was somewhat prepared, he was still very surprised by the name of the island owner.
"I was originally a Han Chinese." The island owner's answer made Mourning even more surprised. He stroked the beard of his chin, "I don't know how many years, I finally saw the Central Plains."
"Island Lord..." Mourning had a thousand words, but didn't know what to say for a while.
"Mo Tuanzuo must be very interested in the aging experience, right?" Wang Yongqing seemed to understand Mourning's mind.
"Yes, the lord of the island king is a Han Chinese, how come he came to such a remote island?" Mourning seemed to have seen the legendary dragon and phoenix, and his eyes were fixed and staring.
"Has Mo Tuanzuo heard of the story of Qin Shihuang and Xu Fu?" Wang Yongqing's kind face showed some haze, as if worried about the Han Chinese in the Central Plains, they had long forgotten them.
"Have heard, is this legend true?" Mourning was so excited that his voice trembled, as if entering the bridal chamber, the moment he was uncovering the bride's hijab, his main goal was to find The descendants of the legendary Xu Fu.
"Of course it is true." The old man seemed a little displeased, his eyes narrowed, as if immersed in memories thousands of years ago, "We are the descendants of those virgins back then."
"Island owner, then you can tell us about the island!" Mourning felt that it would be better for Wang Yongqing to speak out by himself, so as not to violate other taboos.
"Hey, it's been many years. At that time, we can only know a rough idea through word of mouth from our ancestors." Wang Yongqing seemed to have met a confidant, and the unhappiness was wiped out. "Back then, Xu Fu took five hundred The virgin, after crossing the sea east, came to Kumano. He sent the virgin to look for the fairy medicine in the legend."
"Have you found the fairy medicine?"
"No," Wang Yongqing shook his head slightly. "On the way to find the medicine, the ship was blown away by the sea breeze. It floated to Hachijo Island in a virgin boat, and floated to the nearby Blue Island in a virgin boat, so Hachijo Island was again It’s called Hunu Island or Girl Island, and Blue Island is also called Tong Nan Island or Nan Island."
"What about Xu Fu? Didn't he look for the virgins?" Mourning blurted out. After speaking, he regretted it. Xu Fu and these virgins were Wang Yongqing's ancestors, and he didn't seem to be respectful enough for them.
"Of course, it took Xu Fu a long time to find the virgins on Hachijo Island and the virgins on the Blue Island, but he could not return to the Central Plains because he did not find the elixir of life." Wang Yongqing's eyes suddenly became clear. "What dynasty is it now? Is it the Qin dynasty?"
"The Qin Dynasty is innocent, it has long been perished. I don't know how many dynasties have been changed. Now it is the Ming Dynasty and the emperor is the surname Zhu." Mourning estimated that Wang Yongqing still had some taboos against the Qin Dynasty, and simply dispelled his doubts.
"Ao, too, after thousands of years, no dynasty will last so long," Wang Yongqing returned to the era thousands of years ago, "As time goes by, these boys and girls gradually grow up. Adults, they should talk about marriage and marry, so Xu Fu laid down rules for them: every year when the south wind blows, the virgins on the Blue Island will cross the sea to Hachijo Island to socialize with the virgins. Those who are interested can live together, but After a while, the boy boy must return to Blue Island."
What kind of marriage is this? Although somewhat romantic, but separated by Tianhe like Cowherd and Weaver Girl, Mourning still doesn't like this kind of watch life, "Island Lord, what if they have children?"
"The next year when the south wind returns, the virgin comes to Hachijo Island again. If the virgin of the previous year gave birth to a boy, the virgin will take him back to Aoshima Island. If the girl gave birth to a girl, he will stay on Hachijo Island. "
Mourning exclaimed: "Is this to keep the same gender on each island?"
Wang Yongqing nodded slightly. He did not speak, and seemed to be immersed in the memory of the past. Although he was not the experiencer of the past, he was the inheritor of the past.
"Island owner, why make it so hard for them? Isn't it much more convenient to let people who agree to live together directly?" Mourning felt that this kind of annual marriage was too troublesome, and the children on the Blue Island Males, they are like queen bees, they seem to live to pass on from generation to generation.
"This, the old don't know, maybe Xu Fu is worried that the population is too large and the island will not be able to support it!" Wang Yongqing then added: "Maybe they still want to prepare the medicine for immortality."
"Island owner, did Xu Fu and the others formulate the elixir of life?" This is one of the questions that Mourning is most interested in. After asking, he regrets it. If the elixir of life is really found, then the people on the island , Are they all immortals, and that Xu Fu should still be alive.
"Where is the elixir of life?" Wang Yongqing seems to have understood that what happened back then was purely a farce. In order to avoid misfortune, Xu Fu lied about the immortal medicine in the East China Sea, and he took the opportunity to escape.
"..."
"However, there is really a kind of grass on Hachijo Island. We call it hamcho. The leaves are shiny and edible. The vitality of hamcho is particularly strong. After the leaves are removed, new leaves can grow again in less than a day. Therefore, it is also called'Asuka'. Hamcho is delicious and rich in nutrients. It may prolong your life. It is not the season, otherwise you can pick it for Mo Tuanzuo to taste."
This is really a beautiful story, but for the protagonist, it is a bit sad, and Mourning suddenly found a problem, "Island owner, since the virgins live separately, how come there are men on Hachijo Island now?"
"At the beginning, everyone wanted to find the medicine for immortality, so they deliberately kept some virgins, but over time, they could not find the medicine for immortality, and the hearts of the people were weakened. Hundreds of years later, virgins The descendants of the virgins gradually began to marry, so there are men and women on both islands."
"Oh."
"However, until now, the number of men on Hachijo Island is less than 20%, and there are very few women on Hachijo Island. We have intermarried for generations between Hachijo Island and Aoshima Island." Wang Yongqing kept smiling, obviously. A very open-minded person.
"So for so many years, have no outsiders bother you?" In Mourning's view, these two islands are simply the legendary paradise.
"Originally, this was a deserted island, and there was never any disturbance from outsiders. Although the people on the island were very miserable, they were comfortable. However, more than ten years ago, this place became a place where Japan's major criminals were exiled, and the island has gradually become restless." Wang Yongqing's face showed a bit of bitterness, and they were obviously disturbed by these Japanese exiles.
"Exiled criminals?" Mourning felt that exiling criminals to such a paradise was a crime in itself. "We are Han Chinese and come from the Central Plains. Do we need our protection?"
"Protection? Central Plains is so far away, can you provide protection forever? This matter should be considered in the long term." Wang Yongqing seems to be accustomed to the original way of life, as long as the Japanese exiles are not excessive, they can barely endure it.
Mourning was speechless. He didn't know whether the North Sea Fleet would be stationed here. It was far away from Daming. "Is the island owner considering moving all the islanders back to the Central Plains?"
"This matter is difficult to decide at the moment, they are used to their current life."
"..."
Wang Yongqing asked, "Since Mo Tuanzuo is a native of the Central Plains, how could he come to such a deserted place?"
"I was instructed to find an ocean-going voyage, and I came to Tanegashima. After listening to the owner of Tanegashima, I thought it was a joke after drinking..."
"Tegashima Island?" Wang Yongqing thought for a moment, then shook his head, apparently he had never heard of this island, "Since someone knows this place, it seems that our quiet days are coming to an end."
"Does the island owner have any ideas?" Mourning thought that Wang Yongqing agreed to return to the Central Plains.
"I don't have any thoughts yet," Wang Yongqing glanced at Mourning, his head moved a little, not knowing whether he was shaking his head or nodding, maybe it was nothing, "If Mo Tuanzu cares about overseas Chinese, I will accompany Mo Tuanzu another day. Visit the Blue Island."