Chapter 49 (1/2)
Chapter 49 – The Storm, Pt. 1
“Don’t say stupid stuff like that!” Tang Can rebuked Mazha severely. The younger soldiers in the group were already feeling unsure and restless. If they let Mazha’s superstitions get to their head, they would all panic.
One of the men named Dongzi commented, “Actually, in my hometown, we do have ‘ghost walls’. My grandfather has encountered them before. One time, when he was working at the district county office, he left work to go home in the fog. He didn’t live that far away from the office, maybe about ten blocks or so. He rode his bicycle and couldn’t figure out why he never got home. The next morning, he found out he had ridden in circles the entire night!”
Another soldier named Guoqing cried out in shock, “Oh my god! There really are phenomena like that! Have we met a ‘ghost wall’ right now?”
Seeing that the rest of them were about to start panicking, Shen Yu interjected, “The ancients often used the activities of ghosts and spirits to explain something they didn’t understand. Nowadays, with modern science and rationale, we know there are actual natural laws affecting many things. The same is true for “ghost walls”. In fact, it is very normal for any organism to travel in circles if they don’t have a set landmark in mind when they’re moving. If you don’t believe me, try walking straight with your eyes closed and using your intuition. You’ll think you were walking in a straight line but in actuality you would end up going in circles.”
Dongzi didn’t immediately believe her words, so he took out a handkerchief to cover his eyes and started taking large steps forward. The rest of the team watched the man and found out that he actually did travel in a large circle. Some laughed while others were incredibly intrigued. The soldiers pestered Shen Yu to explain the occurence to them!
Tang Can thought that this would be a good time for them to rest and allowed the soldiers to sit for a bit. The men sat in a circle around the young woman and waited patiently for her explanation.
Shen Yu smiled. “It sounds mysterious but there is a very simple reason why this happens. None of us have legs that are exactly the same length. Furthermore, there is a different in strength and tone between them as well. We’re all asymmetrical. Because of those minute differences, we actually walk forward different distances with each leg. For example, let’s say your left stride is longer than your right. When you add up several paces for each one, you’ll slowly end up moving in a circle because of those different lengths!”
Dongzi still looked confused and asked, ‘Then why is it that when we have our eyes open, we don’t walk in circles?”
Shen Yu smiled brilliantly. “That’s because we’re using what we see in our eyes as cues. Our brain corrects for our asymmetry and allows us to walk straight. We do it automatically. Now, in our case, we don’t have a sense of direction anymore because we’re lost. Since that is the case, our brain can’t correct our steps so we think we’re walking straight when in actuality we’re just going around in the natural circle!”
Some of the soldiers felt gratified after her explanation and said that they were now educated on the ways of rational thought and would no longer give into superstitions. Others were still morose. They sighed with despair and asked what they should do now. What if they were stuck here and doomed to die?
Shen Yu thought carefully before she let out a smile. “I can’t say for sure, but I think we actually encountered a good thing today!”
Everyone was mystified by her statement. They couldn’t figure out what ‘good thing’ they met today.
Shen Yu lightly cleared her throat and profoundly said, “I guess no one knows this anymore. But, in fact, the ancients were much wiser than us modern people. The Fengshui masters of the past had long discovered this interesting phenomenon. They knew that people generally used landmarks to guide their way. When there are no reliable landmarks around, people start wandering in a circle without realizing it. The more lost they are, the more likely this happens. Using this concept, the ancients deliberately designed their emperor’s tombs to take advantage of this. Those who went into the burial sites would find themselves wandering around in circles. Superstitions would overtake them, and they would think they were stuck in a ghost wall. Once the rumors got out, fewer people would try to rob the tomb. More likely than not, since we are currently lost right now, we’ve probably somehow stumbled into an old mausoleum that’s causing us to lose our way!”
Mazha grumbled at the side, “What the hell are you saying then? How is this fortunate?”
Before Shen Yu could retort, one of the soldiers suddenly discovered something buried in the sand near him. It looked like part of a bowl was sticking out of a dune.