"No, no, that's not it. Doctor Tsiring, you've misunderstood," Xu Zhiwu quickly explained. "We haven't even seen the shepherd Tsiring, so how could we possibly disrespect you because of him?" I certainly didn't want to offend him—after all, we were counting on him to lead us out—so I rushed to agree, apologizing for our perceived lack of etiquette.

Doctor Tsiring was unimpressed. A bit of the yak butter tea had already spilled into the silver bowl, and he let out a cold laugh, pushing the bowl toward me. "Then why aren't you drinking the yak butter tea from shepherd Tsiring’s home! If you drink this, I’ll believe you cunning Han people have sincerity."

I looked at the so-called tea. It was a murky, grayish-black, disgustingly oily substance, and I thought I saw tiny things wriggling inside. "I..." I started, instinctively wanting to step back, but realizing that might only anger him further, I stood my ground, turning my face away to avoid looking at the bowl. "I—I just wanted to ask how long you’ve been here." My real goal was to gauge how long his tea had been sitting out.

"How long?" Doctor Tsiring paused, then grew irritated. "Are you looking down on shepherd Tsiring's yak butter tea?" Without waiting for my explanation, he continued, "Yes, you must be! You detestable people. Perhaps, considering you're still breathing, shepherd Tsiring wouldn't be so polite to you."

I had no desire to continue this standoff over the tea; I was desperate to leave. So, I simply said, "Yes, I truly cannot drink this bowl of tea. But please understand, you know I usually only drink regular tea." After a moment, I pleaded, "Please, take us out first, alright? Once we are out, we will repay you however you ask."

Old Li and Xu Zhiwu quickly chimed in, promising they would do everything they could to repay him, no matter what. Then Xu Zhiwu launched into a torrent of wonderful promises, including building Doctor Tsiring’s family a beautiful Western-style house and acquiring thousands of cattle and sheep for him. In our view, these were likely the only things Doctor Tsiring desired—with clothes so tattered, what higher ambitions could he possibly harbor beyond food, clothing, and shelter?

Doctor Tsiring remained silent, the silver bowl still held before me. The smell of the rancid tea, coupled with the sight of things visibly crawling within, was revolting beyond measure. Having no choice, I stepped back. Doctor Tsiring didn't follow, but he didn't withdraw the hand holding the tea either. Only then did I realize he hadn't moved his feet an inch since the very beginning.

I decided to change tactics and asked Doctor Tsiring, "Where is shepherd Tsiring? Should we ask him to come out and return to the mainland with us? We will build him a house and raise horses and cattle for him too."

At this, Doctor Tsiring let out a sinister chuckle. "You're actually afraid shepherd Tsiring will suddenly kill you, aren't you? Trying to trick information out of me? Do you think you’re clever? Hmph... I will absolutely not tell you where he is. Unless, unless... each of you drinks a bowl of yak butter tea."

Yanzi suddenly cut in, her tone icy and far from pleading: "If you don't know the way back, then just let us go." Doctor Tsiring seemed unbothered by her sharpness, even speaking gently to her. "Do you know if the princess's daughter has grown up? Have you met Bian Zhen? I've been busy talking to these irritating Han people and neglected you. My apologies."

Yanzi bit her lip, glancing at each of us, then countered, "If you want to know those things, tell us where the treasure is first."

"Treasure?" Doctor Tsiring seemed genuinely surprised. "What treasure?"

I quickly interjected, "We don't want any treasure anymore; we just want to leave right now." I shot meaningful glances at Old Li, Xu Zhiwu, and Tang Minghao. "Right?" The three immediately agreed—yes, no treasure, just a safe return.

Yanzi ignored us and pressed on, "Zaxi said there was treasure here and told me to bring these Han people to look for it." Doctor Tsiring murmured, repeating the name: "Zaxi... Zaxi... Zaxi... Ah, I understand now." Whatever he thought he understood, Yanzi pressed her advantage: "Good that you understand. Hurry up and tell us where the treasure is." She completely disregarded our assertion that we wanted nothing to do with gold or jewels.

Doctor Tsiring’s laugh sounded like a small snake burrowing into the ear, making the hairs on end stand up. "Treasure? Of course I know where it is—jade, agate, emeralds, silver, and gold piled high as mountains. You can take as much as you like, enough to build ten houses, raise thousands of cattle and sheep, and own countless serfs. But..." His tone shifted abruptly. "...you won't even drink a single bowl of yak butter tea to show me respect. And you, young lady, you surely know something about the princess's daughter, yet you refuse to speak, instead growing close to these Han men. Why should I lead you anywhere?"

I was starting to suspect Doctor Tsiring was mentally unstable. He kept forcing us to drink that spoiled tea crawling with tiny maggots, while simultaneously pressing Yanzi about the princess's daughter. The only princess I knew was Zhuoma Yangjin; ridiculous! Zhuoma Yangjin wasn't even married, how could she have a daughter? Moreover, Zhuoma Yangjin was of such high status, the King of Guge—with Yanzi's looks, did she even qualify to associate with Zhuoma Yangjin? She’d be lucky to be a handmaiden; that smiling young woman, Wangmu, was tens of thousands of times sharper and smarter than her.

I truly felt the impulse to put a bullet in this 'Doctor Tsiring,' or just ignore him and try to find an exit ourselves! But the thought that none of us knew which way to go or what to do forced me to crush that impulse. "Then what exactly do you want us to do?" I managed to ask, forcing down my rising temper and impatience.

Yanzi also stated, "I don't know what you mean about a princess's daughter; I don't understand. Ask a different question."

Doctor Tsiring let out two cold laughs. "You Han people truly lack sincerity; I knew it all along. Fine. You’ve seen that shepherd Tsiring is incapacitated. I’ll compromise. You all come over here and sit beside me. This is a simple request, surely that’s acceptable?"

His robes were so filthy the color was indiscernible; I suspected a gentle pat might shake loose a shower of dirt and grime. His face was wrinkled and looked nothing like a normal person's, his back so hunched it was nearly ninety degrees. Asking me to sit leaning against someone like that—his face hanging over your head, perhaps his saliva might accidentally drip onto you... I felt this would require a great deal of courage.

"Old Li, Brother Xu, Brother Hao... what do you think?" I asked, seeking their counsel first. They also hesitated, unsure whether to agree or not, though it seemed significantly preferable to drinking the tea.

"The young lady and that young Han man don't need to come over," Doctor Tsiring pointed at Yanzi and Tang Minghao. "The young lady is afraid of dirt, and as for that young man, it makes no difference whether you come or not. So, I'll make an exception for the two of you."

Tang Minghao seemed disbelieving and pointed at himself. "Me?"

"Yes, you," Doctor Tsiring confirmed. "Everyone else, please come over. Don't waste our time." As he spoke, his voice suddenly turned soft and mournful. "I am just a poor, solitary, unarmed Doctor Tsiring. I have never had so many Han friends. I only wish that by leaning against shepherd... no, leaning against Tsiring's body, he might feel a little warmth from the human world. Is that too much to ask?"

Hearing this, my heart softened. While he was certainly soiled, I recalled training so hard I had once slept on a pile of sheep dung. Compared to that, he was relatively cleaner.

"Old Li, look..." I thought my expression had already conveyed my agreement. Old Li’s eyes wavered slightly, and he looked to Xu Zhiwu, who looked at Doctor Tsiring with hesitant distaste—who wouldn't be disgusted? But when you need a favor, you have to bow your head; there was no alternative.

"Poor Doctor Tsiring? Haha..." Yanzi suddenly sneered derisively. "Are you pitiful? At least you can talk! I know exactly what you’re up to. I was just wondering if you might tell us where the treasure is. But after all this humming and hawing, you’ve only managed to push people to drink strange things or scheme in other ways, never getting to the point. Why should I bother with you? If you like it, stay here yourself. We are leaving. We can’t explain to Zaxi if we don't find the jewels!" With that, she turned and started to walk away.

I stared at Yanzi, exasperated, wondering what fit of madness had seized her to suddenly turn on Doctor Tsiring. Besides, what we needed now was to get back! Back to normal life on the mainland! Not piles of gold and silver!

"Yanzi..." Except for Tang Minghao, the other three of us called out to her almost in unison.

Doctor Tsiring spoke with a tearful quiver in his voice: "Young lady, can't you pity Doctor Tsiring? Shepherd Tsiring's condition makes me wish for death. Can't you help? Can't you help your pitiful compatriot, Doctor Tsiring? I haven't felt human warmth in so long..."

Doctor Tsiring’s words... "Alright, alright, stop, we'll come over." I couldn't stand an old man weeping like that and quickly agreed to lean against him.

Doctor Tsiring was overjoyed. "Wonderful, wonderful, you are kind. Young man, I won't mistreat you. Come over and give poor Tsiring a hug."

I hesitated, remembering how dirty he was, but a single hug couldn't hurt. I took a step forward. Unexpectedly, Yanzi rushed over like a madwoman and yanked me aside, shouting, "Are you insane!" Then she turned on Doctor Tsiring, "I gave you an inch, and you took a mile without me exposing you—is that it?!"

Doctor Tsiring looked innocent and wronged. "I... what did I do? I was just..."

Yanzi snarled, "Shut up! Do you think I don't know what you are?! I wasn't sure at first, but after you’ve repeatedly tried to coerce and trick these Han men, how can I still not understand what trick you’re playing?!"