He reached behind him, felt for his diving knife, gently drew it, and carefully picked away the silt.
As the silt gradually cleared, he saw the porcelain vessel in its entirety.
It looked somewhat like a porcelain jar, though not a large water vat.
This porcelain jar appeared much more compact.
When the flashlight beam shone on it, the light passed lightly through the jar wall to the other side, making the porcelain jar appear translucent.
Lu Ao gently pulled the porcelain jar out of the silt.
The jar looked to be over thirty centimeters tall, with a diameter of more than ten centimeters.
It was probably white with ink paintings, its sides decorated with images of pines, cranes, and the like.
No one knew how many years this porcelain jar had lain on the seabed. It was covered in barnacles, and many areas could not be seen clearly.
Lu Ao was not an expert himself, so after one glance, he did not try to judge it further.
There seemed to be something else beside the porcelain jar.
He continued searching nearby.
Since he had not brought any handy tools, he could only use his diving knife to slowly sweep aside the silt.
After searching for quite a while, he found a piece of rotten wood.
It bore clear signs of human craftsmanship.
He did not know whether this wood had once been part of the ship's hull.
Lu Ao set the wood aside and continued rummaging.
Just as he was concentrating on his search, the communicator beside his closed-circuit rebreather suddenly transmitted an anxious voice. "Lu Ao?"
"Received."
The person on the other end of the ultrasonic communicator breathed a sigh of relief. "You've been down there for more than two hours. How are things? Did you run into