He kept scrutinizing my wound while murmuring, "Sin, oh, sin." Then he began to chant in a low voice, the language Tibetan, utterly incomprehensible to me.

I felt an indescribable lightness, a profound sense of ease, as if my entire body had been flushed with new blood—a comfort beyond words. But then I looked at Tang Minghao; the small cloth pouch in his hand seemed to be teeming with countless dark red, almost black, worms writhing within.

"You..." I pointed at the pouch in terror, urging Tang Minghao to throw it away immediately. The sight raised every hair on my body. "Throw it away! What is that thing?"

Tang Minghao kept his eyes tightly shut, his lips moving rapidly as if bracing for a massive confrontation. I dared not let my guard down and prepared myself fully. After a long moment, layers of something resembling thin, blood-caked skin began peeling and dropping from the pouch, falling to the floor in a dense, dark mass, all tinged with crimson. Within seconds, these scab-like pieces of blood began to spread outwards, moving on their own accord. Tang Minghao continued his chanting uninterrupted.

This time, I saw clearly: it was blood—bright, blood-red liquid! But it moved, crawling like the blood that had flowed from Section Chief Wang and Officer Liu on Mount Qiangbake!

Understanding hit me like a cold wave, chilling me to the bone—we had stumbled back into that same nightmare cycle. No wonder there was a skull lamp here; of course, these things were intrinsically linked to what happened on Mount Qiangbake!

I quickly hauled Tang Minghao to his feet, grabbing Old Li along the way, and bolted like a headless fly in sheer panic. "Go... go... we can't stay here!"

Old Li looked at me with vacant confusion, utterly expressionless. Tang Minghao wrenched his hand free from mine. "Young man, that is what came out of your body. Did you not notice?"

I froze, drawing out the word, my disbelief palpable. "Out of my body?"

Tang Minghao opened his eyes, his tone calm. "You knocked over the incense burner and angered the deity. It placed something inside you that binds you to its will." He immediately resumed his quiet chanting.

A prickle of dread ran down my spine. If those things truly crawled out of my wound, and if he chose not to help, or worse, if more remained inside me, what then?

The realization, coupled with the memory of what happened to Wang and Liu, shattered my composure. "M-Master, save me..." I almost lunged forward to grab his robes and cling to his legs, begging. Tang Minghao slowly raised his head, glanced at me, then lowered it again, saying softly, "You are fine... you have already been saved." He then brought the small cloth pouch close to my face for me to examine. I could make out nothing clearly, only the dense, dark red, blood-like mass, though tiny blood droplets continued to fall. Strangely, these droplets, upon hitting the floor, also began to crawl automatically toward the main cluster, yet not a single speck moved toward any of us.

But fear still gripped me. Section Chief Wang had been controlled by the Faceless One, his eyes completely white—the mere thought sent shivers down my spine. "Save me, Master! Inside my body..." I pointed haltingly at my wound, stammering, "I beg you... save me, I don't want to become... a faceless fiend!"

"A faceless fiend?!" Tang Minghao’s expression snapped, and he exclaimed sharply, "You have seen the Faceless Fiend?"

I nodded frantically. "Seen, seen... Please, Master, save me! One of my companions was in the exact same state as me, he... he..." Recalling Section Chief Wang's appearance made my speech stumble in my panic. "He nearly turned into a faceless fiend..." As I spoke, my wound began to itch again, faint, almost imperceptible.

Tang Minghao approached and grasped my wrist, examining the wound closely. He remained silent for a long time. My heart leaped into my throat; I feared he would confirm something still lingered inside me, especially as I could still feel that phantom itch. "Master... I..." I took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and asked, "Am I... alright? Will I turn into a faceless fiend?"

Tang Minghao extended a finger and gently pressed around my wound. A piercing pain shot straight to my chest. "Hiss..." I gasped, unable to suppress the cry, "It hurts!"

Tang Minghao released his grip, pressed a few more times, and then said slowly, "Pain is good. You are fine now."

It couldn't be that simple. Feeling uneasy, I cautiously asked again, "Is there... nothing left inside me?"

Tang Minghao nodded. "Yes... you are lucky."

I hesitated. "But I still feel a little itch here on my wrist?"

Tang Minghao smiled. "Then your mind believes it is itching, and so you feel it. If you believe it doesn't itch, then there is certainly nothing wrong."

Sensing hidden meaning in his words, but prioritizing my wound, I focused my senses inward. It truly didn't feel like pain anymore. I reasoned that at least my eyesight was intact, and no one had mentioned my eyes being all white, so I must be safe, for now. The anxiety gripping my chest eased slightly.

Tang Minghao sighed again. "A pity... we saved you. But by defying the deity's will, I fear we all... alas... at least the Swallow and I must answer to the deity." Then, shifting his tone, he added, "It doesn't matter; as long as you manage to get Doctor Tshering out, you will surely find a way."

Only then did I notice the smooth, black object clutched in his other hand—presumably Doctor Tshering. A fresh chill ran through me. Did he expect us to find someone and implant this object into their brain?

I dared not respond to that implication, muttering instead, "Good... good... So what do we do next?" I truly wanted to confirm my own safety, but seeing the impatience etched on his face, I refrained, resolving only to find a way to escape immediately if anything felt wrong.

Tang Minghao glanced at Yanzi and the others. "Naturally, I will lead you out." He then placed the small cloth pouch over the object identified as Doctor Tshering. In an instant, the mass of writhing black material vanished without a trace.

I stared dumbfounded, pointing at Doctor Tshering. "What was that?"

Tang Minghao answered calmly, "The deity's decree. We can only obey." As the words left his mouth, the small cloth pouch fell to the ground with a soft thud. I instinctively bent to pick it up, but Tang Minghao stopped me. "No need, it is useless now."

Yanzi watched the pouch hit the floor, her face flushed scarlet, tears welling up. After a moment, she finally burst into loud sobs. "Wuwu..." she looked mournfully at Tang Minghao, wanting to speak, but unable to form the words.

Tang Minghao moved to gently stroke Yanzi's head, saying with paternal kindness, "This too is the deity's will. No one can defy it."

Yanzi cried out, "Does that mean Mima Chagma?"

Tang Minghao shook his head, sighed, and remained silent. He cast a long look over the group, then spoke after a pause. "Let's go. I fear my time is short. Otherwise, if that other evil one inside me gains control of this young man's body, you will never get out."

The memory of the evil entity inside Tang Minghao, clamoring for my blood, and Old Li and the others assisting him by slicing my wrist, was terrifying. "Alright, alright, hurry, hurry," I urged.

However, Tang Minghao then added, with a completely guileless expression, "I don't remember the way out."

Damn it! I wanted to strangle him. I had assumed that since he was so anxious to lead us out, the old man must know the exit route!

Most infuriating were Yanzi and the others, all looking utterly detached, as if none of this concerned them. Yanzi, apart from her initial outburst of tears, had composed herself; she simply stared ahead, her eyes vacant and lost. Old Li stood there woodenly, regarding Tang Minghao with the deference of a servant. Xu Zhiwu was even worse, frozen in place like a statue, looking anything but alive!

"Fine," I sighed, forcing down my rising frustration, and said to Tang Minghao, "Then let's think together. There are so many strange objects and furnishings in this room; we must be able to find some kind of clue."

Strange objects and furnishings—I was referring to the Bagua mirrors and Yin-Yang fish inside the room, as well as the offering table and skull bowls in the outer chamber. As I spoke, the memory of Old Li and the others cutting my wrist and drawing blood made me resolve that if trouble arose again, I would not hesitate to abandon them and flee alone. They had wronged me first; I was not the forgiving type, and they shouldn't expect mercy.

A whirlwind of thoughts flashed through my mind. Tang Minghao, unaware of my internal calculations, asked with slight confusion, "What strange places?"

I pointed to the Bagua mirror on the wall. "Most of the furnishings in here are Tibetan style. Isn't it strange that a Bagua mirror suddenly appears here?"

Tang Minghao paused in thought, then slowly replied, "It seems someone used that thing back then." He added, "Not a Han Chinese, but one of our Tibetan people. However, he was very knowledgeable about Han culture, and the Chief specifically asked him to guide us."

Back then? Guide? What did that mean? But this wasn't the time to get caught up in minor details. Seeing that Tang Minghao might recall something useful, I quickly followed his lead. "Think hard. How did you leave? Think carefully about how you entered, which passage you used, and what monsters you encountered to get in here."

Tang Minghao looked down at the black, gleaming Doctor Tshering in his hand and said mournfully, "The first place was the doorway of Doctor Tshering's home. Shepherd Tshering went forward to retrieve his bundle for him."

These two people again. Fine, I wouldn't question it now; it wasn't the crucial point. "And then? What places did you pass through after that? Think carefully. Think about how you came in, which entrance, what method, and what monsters you faced before entering."