Though my eyes swam with drink, my mind remained startlingly clear. Back when Boss Ma had buckled under to Qin Ping'er, calling her "Big Sister" and christening her "Qin the Undefeated," I had already called the Xidu Hotel to secure two rooms. After Boss Ma was utterly flattened—the first time in his life—Qin Ping'er and I half-dragged the massive, yet thoroughly inebriated, Man Niao Niao to the hotel. Qin Ping'er, though slightly breathless from exertion, was still brimming with energy, while I felt like Man Niao Niao’s sheer bulk was making my veins pop and stars dance before my eyes.

Upon entering our rooms, Qin Ping'er murmured a brief "Good night," gave me two profound looks, and retreated to the other room to rest.

Man Niao Niao flopped onto the bed, exhaling gusts of wine fumes, mumbling, "Eagle Bro... how 'bout that? I... brought you a huge surprise... eh, pretty good... right?"

"A surprise? She's the surprise you brought me? Bullshit," I scoffed. "Where did you run into her?" (Bullshit: Ribai /)

"Picked her up."

"Picked her up? Where did you pick her up?"

"Feng... Fengcheng Station!"

"How did you pick her up?"

"..."

Just as I was about to press for more details, Man Niao Niao decided, on his own authority, to fall asleep. In the blink of an eye, his thunderous snores began to rumble with the force of an army charging across the nine provinces. I ground my teeth in frustration—he always choked at the crucial moment. I seriously considered strangling him right then. Instead, I gave him a couple of hard kicks, fetched a basin of hot water, and, suppressing the stench of alcohol emanating from him, washed his face and feet.

I scrubbed my own face haphazardly, chugged two huge glasses of cold water, and collapsed onto the mattress, expecting to drift off immediately. But Qin Ping'er’s lovely features, and the knowing look she gave me, washed over my mind like a relentless tide. I was intensely curious: Who exactly was Qin Ping'er? How was her capacity for alcohol so immense that she could drink three Tujia men under the table? And after consuming that much liquor, she showed no sign of intoxication, as if the corn wine were mere boiled water? No wonder Boss Ma was ready to concede defeat and call her "Qin the Undefeated"—this beautiful young woman was far from simple!

My mind churned with assorted thoughts; a dull ache began to throb in my temples and around my eyes. Man Niao Niao’s snoring relentlessly drilled into my ears, grating on my nerves, making me fantasize that if I could just bang my head hard enough, I could expel the remaining alcohol haze and dull pain like so much trash.

I pulled out my phone; it was already past one in the morning. I sighed, and just as I was about to set the phone down, I caught a faint white glow from its screen and suddenly saw a figure clad in white standing silently before my bed.

I shot up from the mattress like a spring-loaded trap, every hair on my body standing on end. Just as I was about to yell "Ghost!", a soft, warm, gentle hand clamped over my mouth, and a voice, clearly suppressed, whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's me, Qin Ping'er!"

I let out a long, shuddering breath—she had scared me to death. Confirming it was Qin Ping'er, I wiped the cold sweat from my brow, recalling my grandfather's words that ghosts were cold to the touch. That hand had been so warm and supple; it clearly didn't belong to any spectral apparition. It made sense; I’d lived over twenty years and never seen a ghost!

"You... why are you looking for me?" I asked, glancing nervously toward the door.

"Come to my room!" Ignoring my question, Qin Ping'er issued the command in a tone that brooked no argument.

"...?"

As the old saying goes, wine is the go-between for lust. The alcohol had already muddled my rational thought. Hearing Qin Ping'er’s words, in this time and place, my first reaction was astonishingly: Finally, my chance has come!

I scrambled to put my clothes on, glanced at the deeply sleeping Man Niao Niao, and followed Qin Ping'er out, feeling an intense mixture of anticipation and furtive guilt. The moment the door clicked softly shut behind us, I faintly heard Man Niao Niao let out a soft sigh. This near-inaudible sound struck me like a thunderclap, shaking me with shame and making me hesitate. Was Man Niao Niao faking sleep? Was that sigh a warning not to steal his woman? From their conversation at the table, they didn't seem to have that kind of relationship, did they? Didn't Man Niao Niao himself say she was the "huge surprise" he brought for me?

I pushed the door ajar just enough to listen, hearing only Man Niao Niao’s unyielding, rattling snores.

Seeing my hesitation, Qin Ping'er took my hand and leaned close to my ear, murmuring seductively, "What? Are you afraid I'll eat you, or are you afraid Man Ming will eat you?"

Teasing! This was exactly what Man Niao Niao had described as "naked" teasing when we were kids! I suddenly understood—after all that guesswork, how could I have missed the possibility that Qin Ping'er might be that kind of person? But then, a new puzzle arose: why seek me out? A "poverty alleviation" project? If so, I wouldn't be polite! I might not be a beast, but I certainly didn't want to be worse than a beast—not eating meat offered on the chopping block would be idiocy!

I entered Qin Ping'er's room with a thrill, already planning my approach. Having trained troops for a thousand days only for one day of battle, I now found myself completely flustered when the moment for "live-fire exercise" arrived. I deeply despised my own uselessness.

Qin Ping'er looked at me twice, bit her lip, and slowly turned her back to me. After a slight pause, she began slowly unfastening her sleepwear. In an instant, her jade-smooth, snow-white shoulders were completely revealed to my gaze.

My eyes widened in astonishment, feeling the blood throughout my body become unusually energetic. The wicked fire I had been suppressing roared to life. My thoughts broke free of my control; glorious fantasies raced unchecked through my brain. That unruly part of me showed a clear upward trend. My entire body felt numb and tingly, my hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

As her sleepwear slowly slid down, revealing more and more of her pale, tender skin, my fragile heart pounded faster and faster. My blood surged like a mighty river flowing east, increasingly unrestrained. My body shook slightly, and my mind went utterly blank, filled with a strange, indescribable sensation.

Just as Qin Ping'er's sleepwear was about to slip past her shoulder blades, I saw a splash of green on her back! Holy smoke, this girl was into body painting—original, I like that!

My trembling hand reached toward her, but then my heart gave a sudden lurch. I rubbed my eyes and was shocked to see that the green mark wasn't paint at all. It was a small patch of green fuzz! Under the harsh glare of the incandescent light, the fuzz emitted a startlingly bright green sheen.

The moment Qin Ping'er’s white sleepwear stopped at her slender, narrow waist, all the voluptuous fantasies in my mind were instantly extinguished, like fireworks after they’ve burst. The joyous blood flow halted as if an emergency brake had been slammed on. My entire body instantly turned icy cold. My limbs still shook, but this time from sheer terror—her smooth, tender back was covered in green fuzz. On closer inspection, the fuzz extended from her shoulder blades all the way down to her tailbone, layer upon layer, each strand about two millimeters long, densely packed, emitting a soft, greenish glow. Faintly, I could discern that these green hairs formed a pattern resembling a landscape painting.

The entire green pattern stood in stark contrast to Qin Ping'er’s pristine white skin, looking bizarre and arresting.

Noticing my stunned silence, Qin Ping'er turned to look at the petrified me. Mist gathered in her eyes, and she whispered softly, "What? Did I scare you?" Then, keeping her back to me, she slowly turned and lay down on the bed.

Qin Ping'er lay on the mattress with her bare back exposed, making her curves even more exquisite. Unfortunately, I was gripped by terror and had no desire to appreciate the alluring scene of a "beauty reclining sideways on an ivory bed."

My limbs trembled, my gaze was fixed, unable to look away from the pattern of green fuzz covering Qin Ping'er’s smooth back. Although I was staring at the green hair map, my vision was blurred. Consequently, I couldn't clearly make out what the landscape painting depicted. I just perceived a mass of green spread across her tender white back, and it felt like the menacing devil from my memories, savagely tearing at my nerves, violating my senses, and trampling my intellect—in my experience, I had only ever seen foreign men with black hair on their chests on TV; I had never seen a person, let alone a devastatingly beautiful young woman, covered in green fuzz on their back.

Qin Ping'er turned to look at me again and murmured, "Come closer!" Just as I was lost in a trance, her gentle voice struck me like a bolt from the blue, jolting me out of my stupor. Qin Ping'er stared at me with her bright blue eyes, which were filled with sorrow and helplessness.

Gathering my courage, I bit my lip hard and slowly approached her bed, kneeling on one knee to examine the bizarre pattern formed by the green fuzz on her back. This time, I saw clearly: what the green fuzz comprised was indeed a landscape painting.

Those shimmering green hairs were not growing randomly on Qin Ping'er’s back; they formed continuous green lines, and these numerous lines coalesced into a perfectly visible mountain scene. Strictly speaking, the image contained mountains but no water. The prominent feature was a towering, unique peak that seemed to scrape the clouds—the mountain's shape perfectly resembled a radio antenna, extending straight upward in segments that narrowed with each section. The mountain was barren of all vegetation, except for a single, solitary, small tree at its apex, which, compared to the mountain, was as conspicuous as a single hair on a bald man's head. Behind this mountain stretched an endless range of ridges, resembling a galloping steed, with the mountain peak serving as the horse's nose. Regrettably, the horse's nose had been pierced, creating a massive stone aperture. In front of the mountain were several small, mound-like hills, arranged in a row, effectively blocking the horse’s path of flight—Wait... isn't this the Tianjiao Mountain from my hometown?

Recognizing the exact location depicted by the landscape, I was so shocked that I fell backward onto the floor, staring intently at the pattern with unbelievable eyes. After half a minute, I cursed myself inwardly, steadied my mind, and sat up to confirm the landscape again. Suddenly, I noticed something I had missed before: halfway up the Tianjiao Mountain, near the belly of the horse figure, there was a red, coin-sized dot. This red dot was composed of a ring of red fuzz. My entire focus had been on Tianjiao Mountain previously, causing me to entirely miss this detail. Seeing the red dot now filled me with even greater shock and dread!—because the position of that red dot was exactly where the An Le Cave was, the cave Man Niao Niao had crawled into as a child and where he had encountered evil!

As my hand moved as if guided by a spirit to touch the red dot, I was horrified to find that before my fingers could make contact with Qin Ping'er's skin, the green and red hairs swayed like soldiers defending against an invasion, moving with my hand, their tips always pointing directly at my palm. I snatched my hand back in terror.

Staring at the Tianjiao Mountain and the An Le Cave on the map, my mind exploded like cold water poured into hot oil. I pinched my thigh—I wasn't dreaming. Faintly from the distance came the sound of a few drunks cheering while playing knuckle-bones ("Good brothers, good, good!"), which brought a stark realization: I was looking at a topographical map that defied reality.

"Did you see it clearly?" Qin Ping'er's voice sounded surprisingly choked. I nodded, remaining silent, forgetting that she had her back to me and couldn't see my movement.

Qin Ping'er turned to face me. I nodded again. She then rose, pulled up her sleepwear, and concealed her delicate, fair back and the green map. After she dressed and stood up from the bed, facing me again, I was startled. Her eyes were brimming with glistening tears, and her face was pale, making her appear heartbreakingly fragile.

Trembling, I pulled a cigarette from my pocket and fumbled for my lighter, trying to ignite it, but the lighter refused to spark no matter how many times I tried. Qin Ping'er walked over, took the lighter from my hand, lit the cigarette in my mouth, and gently patted my chest a few times. My mind was a tangled mess; I failed to react to her intimate gesture.

After taking a few puffs and calming my shocked nerves slightly, I gradually realized I had made a monumental mistake. Qin Ping'er was not the woman I had imagined. Her coming to find me late at night wasn't an invitation for a quick liaison; her sole purpose was for me to see the green map on her back—a map that likely brought her immense pain and trouble. Her streaming tears made that clear. Alas! It's not the daily drinking that's frightening, but the sight of a beautiful woman weeping!

"Tell me! What is the story behind this map?" If it’s fate, I can’t avoid it. Since I believed my own eyes, I might as well calm down and figure out why this bizarre green map was growing on a girl’s back before making any further plans.

"I don't know! It's been on my back since I was born!" Qin Ping'er leaned close to me, her voice fragile enough to break one's heart.

"On your back since birth?" I widened my eyes again, simply unable to trust my ears.

"Mhm...!"

"Meaning, when you were born, this map clearly showed Tianjiao Mountain?"

"I only learned that mountain was called 'Tianjiao Mountain' recently from Man Ming. Is there really such a mountain?"

"Yes, it’s in my hometown, Xiama Kou Village!" I nodded. The green map on Qin Ping'er’s back was an exact replica of the terrain in my hometown, and Tianjiao Mountain in the map was incredibly lifelike. Even more astonishing was the red dot clearly indicating the An Le Cave—the only cave among the many around my village that had an ancient seal script name carved at its entrance, traditionally regarded by my ancestors as an eerie and dangerous place few dared enter. In the vast mountain ranges surrounding Xidu, there must be countless caves like this; the An Le Cave was just a drop in the ocean of Xidu’s unique topography. But how could such a cave have grown on Qin Ping'er’s back? And grown there since her birth? What secret was this green map hiding?

Thinking of this, I asked Qin Ping'er, "What do your parents think about the map on your back? Did they ever tell you anything?"

Qin Ping'er pursed her pale lips, shook her head slightly, and whispered quietly, "...I don't have parents!"

"...Hmm?"

"I don't know who my birth parents are; I never met them. I was raised by an old monk named Master Qinghe. He refused to tell me where my parents went, nor would he explain this map. He only instructed me to go to this location on the map and find a person with a very peculiar appearance, and then I would understand the map!"

"A person with a peculiar appearance? Did you find him?"

"I did. It's... you!"

"Me? What's peculiar about me?"

"There is! Truly peculiar! Exactly as Master Qinghe described!" Qin Ping'er suddenly seemed excited, as if she had finally completed an important mission, her tone light and playful.

I was completely bewildered. I looked myself up and down, left and right. Other than a mediocre build, I truly couldn't find anything on my body that Qin Ping'er would label as "peculiar."

Seeing my confused expression, Qin Ping'er pulled me toward the dressing table mirror, pointed at my forehead in the reflection, and asked, "See it?" I looked at my reflection and sighed inwardly. This face was too... common, and there were a few thin scars on my forehead. Could these scars be the "peculiar" feature Qin Ping'er mentioned?

"Didn't you notice? The scars on your forehead form a character?" Qin Ping'er smiled sweetly, her expression relaxed, leaning close to me, entirely unlike the pitiable state she was in before.

"A character? What character?" I was even more confused.

"Clumsy! It’s the character for 'earth' (Tu)!"

Hearing her words, I leaned close to the mirror for a better look and realized the scars indeed vaguely formed the character ''. Normally, no one paid attention to it, and I had grown accustomed to it myself. Now, with Qin Ping'er pointing it out, I saw it clearly. I felt intensely awkward and indignant. Although I was indeed a genuine member of the Tujia people, I never expected heaven to gild the lily by branding me with an extra label! However, it was a small comfort that it was the character ''; if it had been reversed, who knows how many false accusations might have arisen!

"You mean, this '' character on my forehead is the 'peculiar' feature you mentioned?" I mumbled, ashamed, to Qin Ping'er, "You came looking for me in the middle of the night because of this '' character?"

"That's right!" Qin Ping'er said, her cheeks flushed, her eyes flickering, "Do you think I would strip my back bare in broad daylight for a stranger to see, for a stranger to... touch?"