The young girl rattled off the explanation in a rapid stream, leaving me utterly dumbfounded. It turned out I had been targeted ever since Lhasa, and here I was, completely oblivious to the goodwill extended to me!

“Alright…” I managed to choke down a gulp, “Then what happened next?”

“Next?” The girl suddenly let out a cold sneer. “Next, you were at the Niyong house, and the Germans tracked you down, boring their way into the underground tunnels first. You thought you’d had a good sleep, but that was a blessing in disguise. If those Germans had encountered everything you did, even ten Luo Lians would have been wiped out.” She began counting on her fingers as she spoke. “Look, they only encountered things from the Hungry Ghost realm—and only one of them got bitten to death. Only one of the Six Paths has appeared, and it already scared them witless… let alone the Heavenly Path, the Asura Path, the Human Path, the Hell Path, the Animal Path… I really should have misled them then. Letting them all perish in the Six Paths—that would have been satisfying, and we wouldn’t have had so much trouble later.”

I had sensed some oddities regarding the Six Paths before, but hearing the girl detail it still sent a chill down my spine. Of course, she noticed my troubled expression, flashed a dismissive smile, and immediately switched topics. “What are those things? You’re terrified by such small matters. Look at you… I really don’t understand why Gong… why she cares for you so much. Timid as a mouse.”

I truly had no energy left to argue; the truth was, my courage had indeed shriveled.

The old woman shot the girl another glare, clearly intending to offer me some defense. The girl stuck out her tongue, made a face, and dropped her condescending air. “Actually, you haven’t seen the most potent things yet, or perhaps what you saw wasn't fully developed.” Seeing my confused look, she added, “For example, that Cocoon Person the Germans repelled—it wasn’t fully grown. The parasites on it had only just emerged; it posed no real threat. If you had just had a bit more fire, burning its cocoon shell would have been more effective than any weapon. Too bad you foolish people—not entirely foolish, though. Your friend, Li Zeng, did set a fire once. But he forgot about it later… And that German guy, what was his name? When he was ambushed by the Cocoon Person and rapidly started growing filaments, the German who could speak Chinese stupidly went to pull him away. Whether we offered help or not, every single one of them would have turned into a round, fuzzy cocoon.”

She spoke so casually, but only those of us who had lived through those heart-pounding moments knew just how dangerous it had been.

After the girl finished, the old woman added a few more sentences. She translated them for me: “Our Head Steward asks if you want to see your friend first, or if we should take you straight to the final layer to fend for yourself—we are unfamiliar with that last layer. None of us are familiar with it. If there are any demons or monsters there, don't blame us for not warning you beforehand.”

This young girl spoke like beans pouring from a bamboo tube—a crisp cascade of sound, and before I could catch my breath, she was done. And her tone made it clear she expected me to go see Old Li.

“Fine, I’ll go see Li Zeng first,” I stated without hesitation. The girl looked at me with another trace of disdain. “Still timid as a mouse, scared off just by my words.”

I was momentarily speechless, unsure how to retort. After a moment’s thought, I decided it wasn't worth arguing with a girl. I just smiled and said nothing. The girl, along with four or five Tibetans, immediately stood up straight in two neat lines. The old woman bowed slightly, gestured for me to proceed, and turned to lead the way.

Judging by the formation, they were highly disciplined and adhered to strict protocol. I dared not slight them and hastily bowed in thanks as well. The old woman seemed quite pleased with my gesture, nodding with a faint smile.

In the gloom, my already poor sense of direction worsened. I could only follow them blindly, having no clue what direction we were heading.

After walking for a while, the young girl seemed bored with the silence. She asked me with a playful smirk, “Who do you think your friend is?” I looked at her expressionlessly and shook my head. Finding it uninteresting, she pouted and stopped talking. The old woman turned back and glared at her sternly, clearly rebuking her for her impudence.

I lost track of time as we kept navigating back and forth through the darkness. I even began to suspect they were just messing with me.

“How much further until I see my friend?” I asked, growing impatient.

“Almost there, almost there,” the old woman said with a warm smile. “We’re arriving.”

Indeed, after not much further, I saw a faint light emanating from somewhere ahead. It looked like a room, but not quite—if you were going to build a structure here, wouldn't it be an obvious target for monsters? As I pondered this, the old woman pulled something from her robe, twisted it a few times toward the source of the light, and then beckoned for me to hurry over.

As soon as I approached, the remaining four people filed in behind me.

Entering the structure—it really was a room—it was pitch black inside; I couldn't make anything out. In the darkness, the old woman exclaimed in surprise, “The Princess? Where is the Princess?” Her voice was laced with tension.

Someone immediately switched on a flashlight, illuminating the room. But it was empty; there wasn't a single person inside. The old woman’s face changed drastically, and she cried out, “The Princess!”

Everyone else was shocked, shouting, “Princess! Princess!” but they didn't descend into chaos, clearly well-trained.

I listened, bewildered. What was all this? What era was this where they still had a Princess? Just as I was wondering, the young girl suddenly switched to Mandarin: “Here, here! Written in Han characters! Someone come look quickly.”

The old woman rushed over to examine the writing on the floor, and I immediately followed. Scrawled roughly on the ground were some Tibetan characters, followed by a few Chinese characters: Luo Lian. How have you been? Li Zeng is safe. Then followed another string of Tibetan script.

I read the Chinese characters aloud, then asked the old woman what the Tibetan script meant.

The old woman looked extremely anxious. “The first few Tibetan characters are our names. The rest are telling us to hurry to the sixth layer.”

Everyone’s expression shifted again, clearly showing apprehension regarding this so-called sixth layer.

The girl muttered to herself, “I really don’t get it… why run off to the sixth layer for no reason? If anyone should go, it should be us servants. How can a body of golden branches and jade leaves run around like that? Isn't she just causing trouble for us?” Even as she said this, the anxiety and worry radiating from her face surpassed even the old woman’s.

“Go,” the old woman commanded with a wave of her hand, and everyone immediately followed. Without leaving the room, she somehow activated a mechanism without a sound. I felt a wave of dizziness, a sensation of falling, and when I opened my eyes again, it seemed we had arrived somewhere else entirely. Before I could assess the situation, the young girl shrieked, her face contorted in panic: “Blood…” she screamed, “The Princess!”

Someone immediately crouched down, dipped a finger into a small pool of blood, and sniffed it. The old woman watched him anxiously, waiting for his response. The man reported, “It’s not the Princess.” Everyone instantly breathed a collective sigh of relief. Especially the young girl, whose face immediately lit up with smiles upon hearing it wasn’t the Princess. The old woman also relaxed. She scanned the surroundings, then fixed her gaze on me. “Go find the Princess.”

I blinked, thinking to myself, How am I supposed to know who your Princess is? I haven’t even found Old Li yet. The old woman said no more. Everyone dispersed in an orderly fashion. She beckoned for me to stay by her side.

...We were again moving through darkness, surrounded by what seemed like countless jagged stones; the ground was uneven. I gradually adapted to the dimness and could make out some shapes.

But when my vision cleared completely, I was stunned by the sight before me: Old Li was locked in a fierce grapple with the German, Hans. Zhuoma Yangjin, disheveled and panting heavily, looked as if she couldn't muster the strength to intervene.

“Princess!” the old woman shrieked. “Why are you here!” (The Tibetan the old woman spoke was only translated later when I inquired; I didn’t understand it then.) As she spoke, she rushed over, constantly rubbing Zhuoma Yangjin’s back to help her catch her breath. Seeing Old Li in peril, I couldn't hesitate. I sprinted over, and without a word, I hammered Hans repeatedly in the head and back.

Hans cried out in pain and immediately let go of Old Li. He spun around, saw me, and his face turned extremely awkward. I paid him no mind, rushing instead to ask Old Li if he was injured or alright. Old Li shook his head, pointed toward Zhuoma Yangjin, and told me to check on her first.

I quickly turned to ask Zhuoma Yangjin if she was okay. She looked at me with complex emotion, and after a long pause, murmured softly, “I’m fine, Luo Lian, are you alright?”

The old woman gently stroked Zhuoma Yangjin’s hair with a hint of chiding, asking why she couldn't take care of herself. Zhuoma Yangjin shook her head, replying in standard Mandarin that she was fine—she must have assumed I didn't understand Tibetan while caring for me.

It was then I realized: Could the Princess they kept mentioning be Zhuoma Yangjin? No way! She looked like nothing more than a delicate young lady from a good family; where was the bearing of royalty?

Zhuoma Yangjin was still catching her breath, finding it difficult to speak. After I pulled Hans away, he stood there with surprising deference, not daring to even glance sideways at Zhuoma Yangjin. “...” He bent his head and muttered something to her in German.

Zhuoma Yangjin gave a cold laugh and replied to him in German. Hans’s face immediately turned ashen.

Old Li stepped up to explain to me: “Zhuoma Yangjin understands German… Hans got separated from his comrades. He lost his mind and rushed at me the moment he saw me, trying to fight!”

Hearing him mention Zhuoma Yangjin, I couldn't help but ask, “She’s—the—Princess? A princess of which dynasty or nation?”

Old Li looked at me in astonishment and countered, “Who said she’s a Princess?”