Into the Deep

North of the East Sea lies the Bohai Sea. Zhang Shoujie of the Tang Dynasty wrote in the Correct Meanings of the Shiji's Records: "Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou are the three divine mountains in the Bohai Sea." But this place is not known for myths alone. Bounded by the Yellow River to the south and the Hutuo River to the north, it is a grand spectacle where countless rivers converge. It has always been a famous destination for seeking immortals and a prime route for sightseeing. Lately, however, the weather has turned vicious. Wind and rain tear across the sea. Under the raging waves, even the local fishermen have halted their work, dropping their anchors and putting away their oars. Yet, right at a time like this, two young men from nowhere took a small skiff and headed straight into the turbulent depths of the Bohai Sea. The one at the bow, wearing a scholar's cap, sang into the wind and rain. The one at the stern, draped in a crane-feather cloak, rowed through the crashing swells. "The sea's color stirs the distant hills; the celestial rooster has crowed before dawn. Silver terraces rise in mirrored light; white waves roll the great whales!" The boy at the bow sang so brightly that his voice pierced the thunder and lightning, reaching into the heavy black clouds above. "Brilliant! Even the storm cannot drown out your voice!" The boy in the crane cloak laughed aloud from the stern. Looking toward the dim, misty reaches of the Bohai Sea, he thought of how they ended up here. They were returning from their academic travels when, on a sudden whim, they detoured to this sea in search of a specific thing. The whim belonged to Lin Xiansheng. The one indulging it was Xiao Heyi. Still, he could not help but wonder what exactly Lin Xiansheng had come all this way to find in this empty stretch of ocean. An immortal mountain? No, surely not. Lin Xiansheng was not the sort to chase ethereal tales. They had visited the Luo River and set foot on Mount Zhongnan. Stories of immortals were just passing sights to him, fading like mist the moment he turned away. Exotic treasures? No, not that either. Leaving aside that neither cared much for pearls or jade, they traveled light wherever they went: one scroll, one long sword, one brush, and one inkstone. If it were money he wanted, there were plenty of people seeking his calligraphy. Why brave these monstrous waves for wealth? But Lin Xiansheng liked to keep people guessing. It was a common trait among the learned scholars of the Inkbound Order. And the less he said, the more curious Xiao Heyi became. Yet when he looked around, all he saw was the vast, misty sea, with absolutely nothing in sight. Lin Xiansheng knew exactly what was on Xiao Heyi's mind, but he would not answer. He only kept singing lines like "Waves sweep Luoxing Bay," and "The moon is ringed, wind and mist seal the sky." What he wanted was indeed in the sea. He had read about it in books and historical records but had never seen it with his own eyes. Since the mood had struck, why not witness it to his heart's content? What he sought was no ordinary object. It was the legend of the sea: the whale. On his way back to the Inkbound Order, he had happened to hear an old farmer speak of this creature. Thus, he turned north to chase the giant whale. Lin Xiansheng had read widely since childhood. From the ancient Zuo Tradition to the poems of Li Bai, Du Fu, Han Yu, and Meng Jiao, many wrote about whales. But when it came to truly understanding them, scholars might not match the coastal fishermen. When the wind and waves are at their highest, they said, whales are easiest to spot. He had wanted to make this trip for a very long time. He wanted to see the scenes from the poems. He wanted to see "Reaching out to pluck the whale's teeth, raising a gourd to drink the heavenly nectar." He wanted to see "Scooping the moon by the whale's mouth, who could avoid being swallowed?" He wanted to see "The sea whale newly grown its tail, testing the whirlpools of Penglai." Even when the fishermen ran after him shouting, "Young man, that giant fish is dangerous!", he did not stop. Youth rarely listens to warnings. A restless passion surged from his heart, fearless even in the face of these deadly waves. He had imagined meeting the whale in many ways. He imagined brushing past the giant beast, or even being swallowed into its belly. Hearing the poetic lines Lin kept muttering, Xiao Heyi finally understood what he desired. "Xiansheng, you're looking for a whale?" Xiao Heyi's eyes suddenly lit up as he pulled the oars. "Tell me, what do you think a whale actually looks like?" Lin Xiansheng thought it over, then said, "Cui Bao of the Jin Dynasty wrote in Notes on Antiquity and Today: The great whales are a thousand miles long, and the smaller ones measure thousands of fathoms. They beat the waves into thunder and blow spray into rain. All water creatures fear them and hide, and no fish dares stand in their path." "Ren Fang of the Southern Dynasties wrote in Records of Strange Tales: There are pearls in the Southern Sea that are actually the pupils of whales. They shine at night and are called night-luminous pearls." Lin Xiansheng paused, then continued, "As the saying goes: Only after hearing real thunder do you realize how weak a cloth drum sounds; only after seeing a giant whale do you know how tiny a shell is. No matter how the books describe its appearance, in the end, you have to see it for yourself." Xiao Heyi looked out over the boundless sea, then back at his friend chanting at the bow. Deep down, he too began to crave the sight of the whale. Thunder, giant waves, heavy rain, and howling winds! Come, let the storm be even fiercer!

Nothing could quench the two boys' desire to find the whale. On that storm-dark sea, their lone skiff drifted like duckweed, until the rain stopped and the waves fell still. By then they had been adrift for more than ten hours. Their packs were soaked through, their shoes and socks drenched. They had seen storm-tossed sea beasts leaping from the water, seen a long rainbow laid across the horizon, seen schools of fish chasing the swell. But none of it was the whale. Then, suddenly, black shapes began drifting down from the north. For a moment Xiao Heyi thought they had found it at last. But when the wreckage drew near, he saw broken lamellar, splintered timber, fallen banners—debris swept all the way out from the mouth of the Hutuo River and carried here by the tide. Once again, war had broken out in the lands of the Central Plains. And on one torn banner, a single character still showed clear: Jin. "Brother Xiao," Lin Xiansheng said, "I know where the whale is now." "Where?" "In the Central Plains. In Yanyun. At the northern passes." Lin Xiansheng spoke as he always did, reaching into the old texts as easily as drawing breath. "The Commentary of Zuo says: In ancient times, when wise kings marched against the defiant, they seized the great threats among them and put them to death as a warning to all." He paused, then said, "There is a whale in the north." "You mean..." Suddenly, Xiao Heyi felt as though some vast thing had risen above them. It was something neither of them had ever truly seen before—immense, dark, and terrible. A whale, yes, but not one of flesh and blood. Xiao Heyi thought he finally understood what a whale was. A thing vast enough to swallow heaven and earth was coming down from the north, swallowing southward, meaning to devour this place as well. But the great whale that meant to swallow the Central Plains had yet to ask a young man's sword whether it would permit it. Lin Xiansheng said, "Come. Let's go find the whale." Xiao Heyi nodded and turned the oar north. Beneath the skiff, a dark shadow a hundred zhang long passed once under the hull, then vanished without a trace. Under clouds split open by the breaking light, the two boys lifted their voices and sang together. The boy at the bow laughed and asked, "Do you know which poem about whales I like best?" The boy at the stern laughed back. "Of course. Li Taibai. The one you're always quoting—" Sunlight fell across their faces as the two of them sang aloud: "The wind howls over the sands by the Xiao and Xiang Rivers; a loyal man grieves in autumn, his tears falling like rain. The bright sun stands at heaven's heart, by its light one may serve a worthy lord. When a true man burns with anger, a mighty wind begins to rise. If only I had a sword to lean against the sky, I would cross the sea and cut down the mighty whale!"