But my tone earlier was too harsh, and I simply couldn't bring myself to ask. I figured I’d wait until Yanzi was no longer angry with me before finding an opportunity.

Yanzi was extremely pleased with Xu Zhiwu’s attitude. She stated, “Tang Minghao has already made clear what Mima Chama means.”

The moment I heard this, I was startled. Forgetting my brooding anger, I rushed to say, “Are we really going to swap heads? No way!”

Yanzi slowly glanced at me. “It could be an animal, too,” she said, glancing at the yak and other creatures lying on the ground. I was rather slow-witted and thought, They aren't going to use these animals, are they? They’re being so cryptic. But then I thought again: even if they could, they couldn’t possibly expect us to lop off Doctor Ciren’s head and attach it somewhere, could they? If that were the case, it would surely mean death.

Seeing that none of us spoke, Yanzi abruptly changed tack. “However, even if someone had the nerve to cut off Doctor Ciren’s head, how would they stitch it on? Who could do it? Besides, it seems to be more complicated than just severing one head. At the very least, Shepherd Ciren’s body is whole, entirely his own. As for Doctor Ciren—how he came to be inside Shepherd Ciren’s body—I think that’s something worth everyone’s study.”

I asked, “Is this what Tang Minghao meant when he talked about the flesh being incorruptible, about immortality? Putting one person’s head onto another body, and then the head and body coexist?”

Yanzi hesitated slightly. “That’s essentially the meaning, but this is something gods do. We are utterly incapable of it.”

The instant her words fell, Tang Minghao suddenly started shouting again, crying out, “You are devils! Doctor Ciren is dead! Haha! Shepherd Ciren is dead too! Haha… both are dead.”

A quick look confirmed it: Doctor Ciren couldn't even move his eyeballs anymore. He lay stiffly, completely still. I hadn't expected him to die so quickly. The man who had been so aggressive just moments before had become a cold corpse in no time. I couldn't help feeling a perverse sense of schadenfreude.

Tang Minghao continued his tirade. “Poor Doctor Ciren, you aren't actually dead. Pity.”

Hearing his ravings, I figured staying here any longer was pointless, unsure what new development might erupt from Tang Minghao. I urged everyone to leave quickly.

Xu Zhiwu stammered, “I think Minghao’s… his complexion looks normal… it’s just his eyes that seem off… Otherwise, maybe we could try an exorcism or a ritual to see if we can save him?”

Old Li took up the conversation. “But my peach-wood sword…”

At this point, I was wavering too. After all, everything happening seemed far more complicated than I initially thought. I had assumed Doctor Ciren was just mentally ill, only to have Yanzi reveal they were actually two different people, and the real Shepherd Ciren existed—that body—and the one speaking to us was Doctor Ciren inhabiting it. Of course, those cattle and sheep were certainly not simple things either. It all seemed beyond scientific explanation.

“Perhaps, just as Yanzi said, the peach-wood sword is only effective against things related to us Han people,” I conceded. “Let’s find a place to try a ritual; we must try everything while there’s still a chance.”

Tang Minghao stared at us with arrogant disdain. “You worldly people will never know Doctor Ciren’s joy. Nor Shepherd Ciren’s joy. I would rather…” He paused here, hesitating, “...rather… rather…” He repeated it twice, then closed his mouth.

I didn't want to deal with Tang Minghao anymore. He was malfunctioning beyond normal communication. Or perhaps, I preferred to believe he was possessed; as long as we understood that, all of us might be able to figure out a solution.

“Alright. Let’s see if we can find a place to invite Mima Chama…” Yanzi began. “Since someone like Doctor Ciren has appeared, there should be a place nearby where rituals can be performed.”

Even Xu Zhiwu didn’t know the way, so we had to follow Yanzi’s lead entirely. With a wave of her hand, she instructed Old Li and Xu Zhiwu to escort Tang Minghao away, cautioning me that Mima Chama cannot stand the sight of blood—it excites them, causing them to bite and devour flesh. Since I was injured, I should keep a safe distance from Tang Minghao.

Tang Minghao was incredibly vexing. Old Li and Xu Zhiwu struggled mightily to drag him. He resisted being moved, constantly looking back, muttering that Doctor Ciren could still live and should not have died. Then he wept, saying we would surely abandon him, just as we had abandoned Doctor Ciren.

Yanzi quickly spoke a long string of words to Tang Minghao in Tibetan, very devoutly. Tang Minghao was relentless, shouting back at her, “I don’t understand anything you say! Are you conspiring with them to abandon me to fend for myself? You whore! Just as I thought, betraying your own kin!”

Yanzi’s eyes nearly welled up with distress, but she continued to murmur something to Tang Minghao reverently in Tibetan. Xu Zhiwu could understand Tibetan but felt awkward asking, so he could only wildly speculate internally.

No matter how long Yanzi murmured, Tang Minghao completely refused to cooperate, insisting he didn't understand. Finally, Yanzi gave up speaking and led us through a series of twists and turns toward an unknown destination. Tang Minghao continued to wail that Doctor Ciren was alive and demanded we save him. No one paid him any mind anymore. Even Old Li’s face showed clear impatience.

After walking for an unknown length of time, and through an unknown series of turns, we unexpectedly arrived in a small, dim chamber. The room was bare, containing only a table, upon which sat three semi-circular black bowl-like objects. There was nothing else. It was unclear whether Yanzi already knew this place existed or had stumbled upon it by chance.

“Stop,” Yanzi commanded. She pushed Tang Minghao to sit cross-legged near the table and told Xu Zhiwu and Old Li to hold him down. She herself knelt reverently and kowtowed three times. First, she spoke something in Tibetan, then switched to Chinese: “Honorable Mima Chama, please instruct your follower, Bianzhen.” Tang Minghao was pinned down and unable to move, so he stared expressionlessly at Yanzi.

Yanzi’s expression shifted, and she trembled slightly with palpable fear. “Honorable Mima Chama, please instruct your follower, Bianzhen, through the mouth of this Han man, whether we should let Doctor Ciren go?” I was certain she believed Tang Minghao was divinely possessed.

Tang Minghao remained unresponsive. Helpless, Yanzi dared not rise and continued, “Then, please tell your follower, Bianzhen, where the treasure Zaxi spoke of is located?”

Tang Minghao showed no reaction. Yanzi was at her wit's end. She kowtowed again properly, saying, “Then, allow me to offer incense to you, venerable one. I apologize for the haste and crudeness; please do not take offense.”

Tang Minghao finally spoke. “Doctor Ciren is not dead. I will die sooner or later.” Yanzi dared not respond, yet she couldn't ignore him. She said, “Mima Chama, you are the supreme deity.” With that, she gently moved one of the black, semi-circular bowls on the table, then pulled out her strange little cloth bag again. She shook a small amount into the bowl and delicately lit it. As smoke began to rise, she knelt formally again before Tang Minghao and fell silent.

Wisping white smoke drifted past Tang Minghao’s eyes, and slowly, his expression softened, his gaze losing its vacancy. What Yanzi was chanting was probably scripture—Tibetan, which I still couldn't understand. Looking at Xu Zhiwu’s expression, he seemed quite perplexed.

After a while, as the ‘incense’ was about to burn out, Tang Minghao suddenly slumped, going soft and limp. If Old Li and Xu Zhiwu hadn't been holding him, he would have slid right to the floor.

Yanzi still dared not look up, remaining kneeling respectfully. She waited until the incense had completely burned down. Xu Zhiwu said, “That’s enough. Yanzi… no, Bianzhen, your great task is complete.”

Only then did I notice Yanzi repeatedly referring to herself as the follower Bianzhen. It seemed Bianzhen was her real name, and Yanzi was merely an alias. Still, I preferred calling her Yanzi; it felt less formal.

Yanzi didn't mind Xu Zhiwu calling her Bianzhen. She stood up and said, “If there were a certain type of blood, Mima Chama could be sent away faster.” She then bent down to examine the three bowls on the table. After staring for a long time, she added, “I had hoped Mima Chama would speak through Tang Minghao to tell us things, but it seems he is Han after all. Mima Chama is unwilling to speak.”

I… I felt a sudden doubt. How had she managed to send away the so-called Mima Chama so quickly, calming Tang Minghao down? Did the ‘incense’ she held possess such potent power?

“Perhaps…” Yanzi suddenly uttered something that made us all panic. “Perhaps you won’t believe it, but everything Tang Minghao said is true. Doctor Ciren is not dead, and he will not die. I’m unsure about Tang Minghao himself dying, but since Mima Chama said so, then I suppose… perhaps, maybe he will too.”

“Doctor Ciren isn’t dead?” I couldn’t believe my ears. “How can that be? He clearly… clearly…”

Yanzi’s face grew grave. “I heard that gods have a skill that allows one person to inhabit another’s shell, achieving immortality through this means. If the god is willing, he can also be merciful enough to make that shell eternally incorruptible.”

I don’t know if gods exist, but Yanzi’s words sent a bone-chilling terror through me, as if at any moment we might become someone’s shell or be possessed by someone else.

“Then… are you asking us to go back and save Doctor Ciren?” Xu Zhiwu asked slowly. “Can we even do anything about that?”

I asked, “It can’t be that we have to peel open Shepherd Ciren’s body to find Doctor Ciren inside, can it?” Imagining the scene sent a shudder down my spine.

Old Li interjected, “But Shepherd Ciren’s body is already ruined. Wouldn't that be a perfect opening for Doctor Ciren to emerge?”