The man then led everyone to the seashore and pointed at a faintly visible island not far from Mo River Commandery. "My great-grandfather lived there all his life. Later, my grandfather went there too.
"My grandfather said there was an old object placed atop the mountain there, something passed down from our ancestors. But he told me never to look at it unless I had to, and only to remember to pass this matter on."
Clerk Hu said, "Mr. Lan, are you saying that island had been there since your great-grandfather's time?" After the Mistfolk submitted to Celestial Xia, they all took Lan He or Lan as their surnames, and this man was no exception.
The man surnamed Lan stamped his foot against the ground. "Yes."
Clerk Hu said, "That isn't right, is it? After the Turbid Tide, the entire landmass changed. Some of the islands near the mainland had long vanished without a trace. How could this island still be here? And it is so close to the mainland—could it be that no one has ever gone up there?"
The man surnamed Lan said, "To be honest, even when the Turbid Tide came, that island could still be seen, and it never changed in any way. More than sixty years ago, my grandfather even took my father there to shelter from the Turbid Tide. But this damned place seems to be visible only to our family. If I hadn't brought you all here today, you would not have been able to see it."
The village elder spoke up then. "The lad from Lan He's family isn't lying. This old man has spent more than half his life here and never once saw that island. If not for benefiting from this esteemed cultivator and high official today, I fear this