The Yueshang Thirteen

With regards to “Yueshang”⁽¹⁾ and “Rotating Moon”, these words frequently appeared in the Western Archives’ records after 1920. According to Zhang Haike, these documents expressed the Western Archives’ vigilance and concern regarding a large number of strange events that occurred in southern China at that time.

It was not uncommon for there to be an overlap of this kind of information between archives, but at that time, the Southern Archives was already swamped and the Western Archives had also encountered very complicated problems. As a result, these strange events were eventually swallowed in the long river of history.

Out of all the other archives in China, only the Western Archives is still currently in operation. Based on a previous agreement I made with them, documents would be sent to me on a regular basis. Poker-Face would also read them, but it didn’t seem to be a big deal. The situation in the west was also coming to an end and the old people were passing away one by one. Although the south was ambitious to rebuild, it appeared nothing had come of it yet.

This was a kind of helpless desolation. All that history was about to disappear into the void of time and space, which would make it impossible to trace back. As a result, I worked harder to organize all the files I could get my hands on.

There were too many people worth remembering in these small pockets of time and space, but like a curse, it seemed that the fate of this family was to forget.

So, when I saw the words “Yueshang” again, I finally became interested. This was because it was probably an organization related to the Zhang family.

I had very few clues to go on. All I knew was that Yueshang was founded around 1920, its members were all women, and there were thirteen of them in total so they were called the Yueshang Thirteen. Zhang Haiqi was probably one of the leaders, which was the earliest clue I had.

I also knew that not all of its members were from the Zhang family. The latest clue I found said that a woman with a phoenix tattoo appeared among the Yueshang Thirteen. I was completely shocked when I read about the description of her appearance because I thought I might know this woman.

She was a long-lost friend.

Yueshang’s plan from the very beginning was called “Rotating Moon”, but no one knows what the specific plan entailed.

Whatever it was, I instinctively felt that this plan was very important. This was because I had detailed records of Little Brother Zhang’s experience but Zhang Haiqi didn’t reveal anything about “Rotating Moon” to him during that time.

They experienced thrilling adventures in which they faced death countless times but Zhang Haiqi didn’t reveal anything at all.

It’s difficult for me to understand why Zhang Haiqi didn’t disclose anything—did she think that it was unnecessary to talk about it, did she just not want to talk about it, or maybe she couldn’t talk about it?

Then, one night, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Maybe this plan had nothing to do with men.

Maybe this was a top secret plan only related to women that had been going on for so many years.

Moreover, judging from various clues I had found, it seemed that someone had been investigating Yueshang. The reason I thought this was because based on my experience, the information the Western Archives sent to me this time looked like it had been deliberately released by someone in the hopes that I would see it.

Naturally, I wouldn’t respond. If they wanted to spy on me so badly, I hoped that they would give me more sincere clues that would attract my attention. In other words, I was tired of these spies and their desire to exploit my capabilities at investigating and revealing the mysteries behind large conspiracies.

These thirteen women paid particular attention to a respected old Shanghai gang. The context behind their scrutiny was probably the first batch of people from Anhui’s Grain Boat Gang, which accounted for a large proportion of Shanghai’s underground culture in the last century.⁽²⁾ It appeared these women were implementing a plan.

“Rotating Moon”…what was it?

We all know the laws regarding the moon’s rotation—since its rotation and revolution speed are matched, that means that we can only see its front side forever.

In other words, its back is always facing away from us. If we hadn’t been able to launch moon-orbiting satellites, we would have never been able to see it.

But the so-called concepts of front and back are just wishful thinking on our part. It’s only natural that we regard the side that humans have seen for tens of thousands of years as the front while the opposite side is regarded as the back.

“Rotating Moon”, which I feel carries the meaning that people will never be able to figure out what the secrets are, is an extremely confident plan with a strange amount of certainty that absolutely no one knows about.

Just like the Zhang family in its heyday.

But it has nothing to do with me. This is the legend of another group of people.

<About the Western Archives><Table of Contents><Fei Kun Balu – Zhang Chuntao From The Zhang Family>

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TN Notes:

(1) Yueshang (月上) can mean something like “on the moon”. Baidu says it’s usually a name or nickname for a girl.

(2) I think “Grain Boat Gang” was another name for Shanghai’s infamous “Green Gang”, which was prominent in criminal, social, and political activities in the early to mid-20^th century. They mostly focused on opium, extortion, gambling, and prostitution.