Doctor Ciren trembled, trying his best to put on a gentle facade as he addressed Yanzi, "Little girl, do you know if the Princess's daughter has grown up? I've asked you several times, and you still haven't answered me."

Yanzi spat onto the ground with a "Pah!" and retorted, "You don't need to remind me again and again that we used to be from the same path! Let me be perfectly clear: Zhaxi ordered me to bring them here to find the treasure. If I can't find it, I won't have the face to return to him. Likewise, if anything happens to these Han people, I won't have the face to see him either. Also, don't even think about laying a hand on them. Since you brought up the Princess, I have nothing left to hide. The one in the middle..." she pointed at me, "...is the Princess's intended. If you have the guts, go ahead and try something with him, and see how the Princess deals with you!"

I paused, surprised. Was Yanzi also one of Zhuoma Yangjin's people? This... this... did it mean we might encounter something like the 'Big-Mouthed Monster' again, which is why she sent a maid to follow us?

"Yanzi, what did you say? Are you talking about Zhuoma Yangjin?" I could no longer gauge the tone of my own voice when I spoke that name.

"Did you hear me?" Yanzi didn't look at me, addressing Doctor Ciren with disdain, "You've heard the Princess's name now, what else do you want?"

Doctor Ciren's voice suddenly became desolate. He lamented mournfully, "It's been so long since I've seen a living person. I am terribly weary of the shepherd Ciren's body, yet I cannot escape it. Can't you show some kindness and give me one? I don't want that young Han fellow; how about the one next to him? Is that acceptable?" Next to me was Old Li.

"Impossible! Don't even dream about laying a hand on any of these Han people!" Yanzi declared flatly. "One is the Princess's intended, another is a national-level Tibetan studies scholar, and the third is... is..." She looked at Old Li, seemingly unable to find the right word for him, "is someone Zhaxi specifically told me to look after!" After a moment's thought, she added, "Of course, the remaining one, I won't mention; I presume you understand the implications." The remaining one was naturally Tang Minghao, but I had no idea what made him so significant.

Upon hearing Yanzi's words, Doctor Ciren's voice grew even more mournful, his eyes seemingly brimming with tears. "Little girl, can you truly be so heartless to Doctor Ciren? Look at the shepherd Ciren, his hands, his feet..." As he spoke, he stretched and flexed his limbs. "Look, I've been using this utterly broken body all along. He doesn't deserve to possess my intellect! Won't you have pity and help poor Doctor Ciren?"

I finally understood what Doctor Ciren meant. He meant that his body belonged to the shepherd Ciren, but his thoughts and consciousness were his own! Because the shepherd Ciren's physical condition was terrible, he was tired of it and wanted one of us to replace the shepherd Ciren. This was either a joke or Doctor Ciren was suffering from multiple personality disorder, thinking he was two people! Don't tell me he was a ghost possessing this so-called shepherd Ciren standing before us. Despite encountering so many almost entirely supernatural events, I still couldn't bring myself to believe in genuine ghost possession.

"Let's go, let's go." I immediately lost heart. It turned out we had run into a lunatic. Perhaps he was being held underground by some perverse individual, and upon encountering us living people, he started talking nonsense. "Go, go, go." I waved my hand at the others. "Such a waste of emotion. Let's leave. If we find the exit, we'll take this poor man back to the surface with us. I think his mind is disturbed."

Doctor Ciren said nothing, but Yanzi gave me a strange look and remained silent. Old Li, Xu Zhiwu, and Tang Minghao naturally followed my lead, saying they would make a mark here and bring him back if they found the exit.

Just as we were about to leave, Doctor Ciren suddenly called out to Yanzi, his voice chillingly clear, "I was speaking politely just now to ensure the vessel remained intact, to live up to the title of the clever Doctor Ciren. Since you don't understand, fine, I don't need to be polite anymore."

Yanzi's expression shifted instantly. "What do you want?" she asked, hurriedly pulling the rest of us close, deliberately positioning Old Li and Xu Zhiwu near her.

Doctor Ciren remained still, not moving, nor making any discernible action, yet Yanzi became tense as if facing a great enemy. I initially wanted to urge everyone to hurry up and ignore the lunatic, but Yanzi gripped Old Li and Xu Zhiwu tightly, staring fixedly at Doctor Ciren with an expression of sheer terror.

What fools. Even if he made a move, given his appearance and sluggishness, what could he possibly achieve? At first, I thought there was a shepherd Ciren secretly lying in ambush, but it turned out this was all just Doctor Ciren having a delusion during an episode. If that was the case, what was there to fear?

"Let's go..." As the word left my mouth, Doctor Ciren suddenly ducked low, and then the entire ground seemed to shift slightly, before everything immediately settled back into calm, as if nothing had happened.

Doctor Ciren muttered a few words in Tibetan to himself, his tone suggesting he had encountered something unexpected. Simultaneously, Yanzi and Xu Zhiwu both exclaimed in unison, "Beast?!" Their surprise was palpable.

Doctor Ciren remained half-crouched, trying to stand up but his body was incredibly stiff. Angrily, he spat towards Yanzi, but lacked the strength, managing only to hit himself. "Go on, you treacherous bitch!"

"You!" Yanzi grew furious, taking a step forward, raising her hand to slap him. Old Li stopped her in time. "Forget it, forget it. He just has some mental issues, don't pay him any mind."

"Mental issues?" Yanzi questioned Old Li, "Is that what you think?"

Old Li nodded. "Yes."

Yanzi let out a cold laugh. "You think too simply. It seems you all haven't learned anything... If it weren't for the long passage of time causing some mechanisms to fail, Doctor Ciren would have already ended all your lives. Forget all that; let's quickly change direction and find the treasure."

I immediately corrected her: "We've said this many times, we don't care about gold or jewels, we want the exit, the exit! We need to get back to the surface!"

"Fine, let's go then," unexpectedly, Yanzi didn't argue and quickly conceded, turning us around to head back. But this time, she still kept Xu Zhiwu and Old Li firmly linked on her left and right sides, for reasons unknown.

A faint, persistent unease lingered in my heart, though I couldn't pinpoint what was strange. Still, I followed Yanzi.

The truth was, none of us knew the way, and I suspected Yanzi was also just guessing... But what choice did we have? We were all headless flies.

While struggling with this frustrated thought, a thick, overwhelming stench of animal excrement and urine suddenly wafted from behind us. I turned my head—good heavens—next to Doctor Ciren, an entourage of at least ten cattle and sheep had gathered, the source of the foul odor.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, still not grasping the severity of the situation.

Old Li also looked bewildered. "A few cows and sheep... Where did these come from?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Yanzi shrieked, "Ah! Ciren, what are you doing! You're insane! What are you doing!" As she spoke, she frantically pushed us to one side, shouting for us to run quickly.

The cattle and sheep stood obediently beside Doctor Ciren, paying us no mind whatsoever; there was no abnormal movement. Although we had previously encountered the monstrous Man-Handed King Fish, its appearance was inherently terrifying. The monsters we met before were all bizarrely shaped. These creatures, however, looked exactly like ordinary cows and sheep. There was nothing to fear; I was just intensely curious about their origin. Down this deep, beneath the lake-bottom ancient city and the water, who had the patience to bring them here?

"Yanzi, don't be afraid," I said. "He's just a lunatic; no need to fear. After all, we have four grown men here."

Yanzi's face was deathly pale, leaving her speechless as she tried to drag people away. "Quickly, quickly!" she urged.

Doctor Ciren and his herd remained motionless. I genuinely didn't understand what Yanzi feared. Furthermore, I was considering that if we managed to drive one or two of these sheep away, we could throw them as a distraction if we ran into a monster like the King Fish. "We..." Before I could finish the second word, Yanzi roared, "Do you want to live or not!" Immediately following her shout, Doctor Ciren let out a strange cry, and dust billowed everywhere as the cattle and sheep charged towards us, brandishing their sharp horns.

Doctor Ciren was shouting incessantly in Tibetan, seemingly directing the herd. What was initially a chaotic rush towards us suddenly disciplined itself after he spoke: they split into four groups. One group, with lightning speed, cut through our middle, blocking our retreat. Two other groups flanked us simultaneously from the left and right. The final group formed a horizontal line in front of us, instantly squeezing us into a tight circle, surrounded by a few beasts.

Isn't this absurd? A few livestock—what could they possibly do?

Yanzi's face was drained of all color. She clutched Old Li tightly, trembling like an aspen leaf, pointing a shaking finger at Doctor Ciren, unable to utter a single word.

Doctor Ciren still stood there unmoving, not even glancing at us, slowly saying, "You arrogant Han people, you deserve this! Heh heh..." he sneered, "I advise you not to harbor any fantasies about escaping now or otherwise. If these beasts go mad, I have no control over them. Though I desire your complete shells, if you refuse to cooperate, then so be it."

Frankly, if a couple of sentences like that were enough to scare us, then Old Li and I would have been soldiers for nothing our entire lives. I remained silent and tugged at Old Li's hem. He looked at me; I pointed to the dagger in my hand, then glanced at the beasts nearby. He instantly understood my meaning and drew his own dagger.

There was no need for Xu Zhiwu and Tang Minghao; after all, there was the delicate girl Yanzi who needed looking after.

It was as if Doctor Ciren saw our actions. He sneered a few words in Tibetan. Yanzi immediately burst out cursing, "You beast! You... you... aren't you... afraid..." both angry and fearful, she kept swallowing hard, her face flushed crimson.

Xu Zhiwu translated, "He just ordered those animals in Tibetan that as long as they don't damage our faces, anything else is permitted."

I found it somewhat comical. Just these beasts? He must be underestimating us too much. So, I let out a couple of cold laughs and said nothing.