As he spoke, Old Li deliberately kept something back. He said, "Technician Luo, you aren't usually dense; guess what I saw?"

"There was a serpentine body... could it be... Nüwa? Doesn't she have the head of a human and the body of a snake?" I managed to keep a straight face, barely stifling a laugh. Old Li gave me a look of utter disdain and scoffed, "I knew you couldn't guess it. Though, to be honest, even I didn't expect it to be that kind of creature at the time." Here, he gave a self-mocking chuckle, "Look at me, I even pulled out my peach-wood sword! I really thought it was some ferocious ghost..."

Being impatient, I quickly cut off Old Li's theatrical suspense: "Old Li, just tell me in one sentence what was in there. I’m getting anxious listening to this."

"Heh heh..." Old Li grinned happily, his mouth splitting wide. "Technician Luo, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you. The snake... that little white python, it was incredibly cunning. It burrowed itself inside the human skin and pretended to be a person to scare me. It was the Lion that was smart enough to discover the secret, which is why it started tearing at the skin."

"Old Li, you're making that up, aren't you?" I started looking at him with unconcealed skepticism. "A fantastic fabrication, truly. You should write stories... What a waste of my tension just now; it was all for nothing." As I spoke, I glanced around, unable to spot the Lion. Hadn't that beast been following Old Li everywhere? "Where is the Lion?" I asked.

"He went down the mountain. He was injured and couldn't follow us." As he spoke, Old Li tossed me a piece of cloth, stained dark with blood. "Keep this safe. It’s a treasure." He then explained, somewhat resentfully, "Technician Luo, I swear... it really was the python that crawled into the human skin. Think about it: there were animal pelts scattered everywhere in those rock crevices, and the White Python is a mutated creature with spiritual awareness. What's so strange about it burrowing into a human hide..."

True enough, how many strange things had we encountered on this journey? We'd seen things far more bizarre, so I nodded, signifying my belief. "Right, what is this scrap of cloth?" I weighed the piece Old Li had thrown me. It was palm-sized, feather-light, and held no discernible treasure.

Old Li glanced at me sideways. "That's the Lion's blood on it. The Lion's mother was fed special herbs by Master Banqin himself, the kind specifically used to deal with monsters from the Hells. The Lion carries some of its mother's blood in its system. That's why the White Python feared the Lion and failed several times when it tried to bite me for food. This cloth can ward off some of the less ferocious Hell monsters..."

Hell monsters? My mind spun rapidly, trying to process the meaning. "Old Li, stop, stop! What Hell monsters?"

Old Li suddenly slapped his thigh as if recalling something. "Ah! I forgot to tell you about this. Have you ever heard this saying? 'Below Mount Qiangbake lies the gate to Hell, and faceless devils reside within.'"

This? I had heard it, and not just once. Section Chief Wang had mentioned it along the way, and Zhuoma Yangjin too. Many local residents had spoken the same words. After uttering this phrase, they would usually warn me with grim seriousness never, ever to enter Mount Qiangbake, for it truly contained Hell and devils.

Old Li then told me that from the moment he saw Section Chief Wang’s eyes become completely devoid of pupils one night, he knew something was wrong, though he dared not confirm it. It wasn't until they reached the communications station on the mountain and saw the spring of blood that he finally believed what Master Banqin had said about the Hell monsters truly having appeared. The scorpion with a black crystal inside the faceless body was one such monster, and while there might be other varieties, the exact situation would only be known by proceeding further. The strange insects and the White Python encountered along the way were merely minor minions to those Crystal Black Scorpions.

Old Li added that the White Python's attack on humans had been out of sheer desperation, as it had eaten everything edible nearby and could not venture further from its territory, leaving it no choice but to risk attacking humans.

What he said—there was a strange similarity to what Zhuoma Yangjin had asked me to relay to the chief of Beast Mountain. Did this mean that Zhuoma Yangjin was more than just a mere accompanying translator? Thinking of this, my teeth started grinding audibly, and I wanted nothing more than to curse out loud—it turned out that I, Luo, had been the ultimate idiot all along, knowing nothing, and nearly losing my life several times!

Old Li, sensing my anger, quickly changed the subject. "Technician Luo, it’s not cold here at all, have you noticed?"

I had already noticed this long ago but never found a chance to ask. Though my heart was currently full of resentment, it wasn't Old Li's fault. So, I tried my best to soften my tone. "What's going on?"

"This place, and the cave where you were ambushed earlier, strongly resemble the description Master Banqin gave me of the entrances to Hell. Master Banqin said that at the entrances to Hell, the temperature in each cave varies. Some openings drip water that freezes into ice unmelted for ten thousand years, while others remain warm as spring, unchanged for a thousand years... When I saw you at that time..."

Hearing Old Li say this, I inwardly cursed my own dullness repeatedly; I hadn't even managed to thank Old Li for saving my life, only dwelling on my curiosity. So, I quickly forced a smile and thanked him profusely.

Old Li waved his hand. "No need for thanks. I also have a favor to ask of you. I need you to continue tracking the Japanese with me. I suspect they know the secret of the Hell monsters. If that’s true, this concerns the life and death of many people, and we absolutely cannot let them succeed. I promised Master Banqin..."

Naturally, I couldn't refuse the words of a man who had saved my life. Though I was deeply reluctant, I agreed immediately.

Old Li nodded, then said, "Let me explain the whole story clearly, so you aren't blindly following me into danger."

It turned out that after emerging from the rock crevice, Old Li had finally managed to find the cave where we were, only to discover me unconscious from the cold. The weather was bitter, and he hadn't brought extra clothes; the only way to save my life was to find a heat source quickly. Seeing that the cave was unusual, and spotting the human-skull lamp—so many clear signs of human presence—he figured he might find firewood or something to warm up. While searching for firewood, he stumbled, by sheer luck, into a very inconspicuous small side tunnel branching off the main cave—the very cave we are in now. He discovered this cave was unusually warm and immediately carried me inside...

The rest, naturally, was me waking up; that needed no questioning.

Combining Master Banqin's words with all the encounters on the road, Old Li was now almost certain that this was an entrance to Hell.

Saying this, I suddenly felt a disconnect. Master Banqin was a Buddhist, and Old Li was a Taoist disciple. While Buddhism and Taoism weren't mortal enemies, one wouldn't typically seek protection from the other sect... especially here in Tibet, where the entire population was devoutly Buddhist. Finding a reliable disciple shouldn't have been difficult!

I voiced this thought to Old Li.

Old Li grew solemn. "Master Banqin stayed below Mount Qiangbake his entire life precisely to keep any disciples away from this place. Hell monsters are ominous beings; once they manifest, if they become known to sects big and small, it will inevitably lead to endless conflict, and Tibet will never know peace again. It was for this consideration that he sought no one else besides me. Furthermore, he didn't even tell me the exact location of the entrance; he only gave me related knowledge and instructed me to absolutely prevent anyone from entering Hell by all means."