In this excruciatingly difficult predicament, Man Niao Niao actually had the leisure to joke, calling me a monkey, his voice piercing the heavens like tearing silk. Could revenge arrive so swiftly and at such an inappropriate moment?

Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of curses on Man Niao Niao, I noticed his expression shift unnervingly. Hua'er started yelping wildly at me, Tan Ping'er’s face went bone-white, and she involuntarily took a step back. Ji Ye frantically began rummaging through his basket.

Huh? Has what was coming finally arrived? A half-ghoul monkey? Behind my head again?

A string of unanswered questions tore at my heart. Steady! My mind raced, and I made a swift decision. Gripping the flashlight tight, I let loose, no longer holding back: "If you're a ghost, then show yourself! Let me get a good look. Let me tell you, I grew up eating food, not being scared stiff!" As I roared, I launched myself forward like a legendary jiangshi, twisting around in a single, sudden motion.

A colossal monkey face hung diagonally above my head!

My entire body seized up, my stomach dropped with a sickening thud, my limbs went weak, and I nearly dropped the flashlight. This was the supposed "ghost"? Unbelievable!

I tightened my grip on the flashlight, locking my gaze on the monkey face, slowly backing up two paces. I rubbed my eyes, scrutinizing the massive visage.

At a glance, it was indeed a monkey face, though one belonging to an ancient ape, seemingly on the verge of death. It was the size of a bronze gong. The face was apple-shaped, crisscrossed with deep wrinkles. Two cavernous, black eye sockets were jarringly positioned high on the face, consuming a third of the surface area. A nasal bridge ran straight down the center, occupying the middle third. Below the bridge, where a nose should be, was a short, sickle-shaped, sharp beak, completely mismatched to the scale of the face, hidden amidst a thicket of yellowish fur. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't spot it at all.

Seeing that sharp beak, I gasped, "That’s not… a Monkey-Headed Eagle?" I was utterly astonished; why was I encountering things of such extraordinary size today? I had seen photographs of the Monkey-Headed Eagle in the Xi Du Zhi, and none possessed a face this enormous. Could it truly be creating that "deterrent" effect I suspected? Even stranger, how did such a huge Monkey-Headed Eagle sneak up behind me without me sensing a thing?

The beam of my flashlight and my gaze remained fixed on the "monkey face." Ji Ye was further away, his bamboo lantern casting a flickering, dim, yellow light. Consequently, I couldn't gauge the true size of the eagle's body; the immediate impression was of something immense and utterly black.

Man Niao Niao let out a long, shuddering breath when I called out the creature's name, a breath that seemed to have been held captive in his chest for ages.

My flashlight beam pinned the Monkey-Headed Eagle’s face, and I noticed two eyes, each the size of a glass marble, glinting from the black sockets, shooting out an eerie, chilling red light. The eagle did not flinch from the intense flashlight beam. It stared back, cold and silent, a stark contrast to Hua'er’s frantic shrieks.

I couldn't fathom the creature's intent. Just as I prepared to move the flashlight to gauge its full dimension, a violent rush of wind roared to life. The eagle’s wings, vast as a pair of door panels, clamped shut like lightning. Before I could react, I was enveloped by a crushing darkness. I was caught squarely between them, and then felt as if countless rods were whipping my sides. With a cry of pure agony, the flashlight tumbled from my grasp with a thud, and a sensation of my entire body being drained washed over my brain like a rising tide. I collapsed backward onto the jumbled rocks, unable to stay upright.

The gust from the Monkey-Headed Eagle's wings instantly extinguished Ji Ye’s bamboo lantern. The space plunged into absolute blackness, leaving only Hua'er’s futile, wild barking.

Ignoring the throbbing aches across my body, I started to roll over and rise when a fierce wind swept past my nose. Immediately after, a great claw from the Monkey-Headed Eagle pressed down onto my chest, and the world dissolved into a flash of dazzling stars.

"Aaaah—!" A scream, utterly heartbreaking, was the last sound I registered before everything went black.

After an indeterminate time, I slowly regained consciousness.

"Ping'er!!" The first thing I did upon waking was search for Tan Ping'er. In my fragmented memory, that final scream had been hers.

No answer came!!

Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao stood over me, their faces etched with deep sorrow and grief. Man Niao Niao was bruised purple in spots, drenched in cold sweat. Ji Ye was no better; a section of his beard was missing, and his face was smeared with blood. Hua'er stood near my head, its long tongue snaking out and retracting like a waterfall, emitting soft, mournful whines.

"Where is Ping'er?" Seeing the bleak expressions on Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao, and their silence, an ominous premonition instantly surged through me.

Both men avoided my gaze. Witnessing their demeanor, a wave of profound sadness washed over me—a feeling I had only experienced when my grandparents passed away. I knew then: Tan Ping'er was gone!

Struggling to sit up, I snatched the bamboo lantern from Ji Ye’s hand and swept the light around, but found no trace of Tan Ping’er’s body!

"Where is Ping'er?" I roared at Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao. "Answer me now, or I'll start talking with my machete!" Man Niao Niao sighed at my frenzy and said softly, "The Monkey-Headed Eagle you mentioned… it carried her off!"

"Carried her off? How?" My voice suddenly doubled in volume. I advanced on Man Niao Niao and Ji Ye, clutching my machete. Hua'er, frightened by my crazed state, shrank back, hiding behind Ji Ye and watching me timidly.

"We heard Ping'er scream, but we didn't know what happened. An-ge’s bamboo light went out, so I reached out to grab Ping'er based on feel. I couldn't move her. My hand brushed against the Monkey-Headed Eagle’s claw, gripping Ping'er’s hair tightly. I quickly grabbed the creature’s foot, trying to pry its claws open, and yelled for An-ge to help pull Ping'er away. But then… that thing flapped its wings, knocked me tumbling, and I couldn't get up for a long time…" Man Niao Niao, unable to meet my unwavering stare, kept his head down. "I’m sorry! I failed to protect Ping'er!"

"Sorry? What good is sorry now?" I had lost all reason. Hearing Man Niao Niao’s words, resentment boiled over. "Didn't you boast about your superhuman strength? Didn't you claim you could fight off any venomous creature or beast? Why were you cowering and retreating then?" Man Niao Niao kept his head bowed, not daring to speak.

"Ying Ying, you need to calm down…" Ji Ye couldn't bear it any longer and stepped in to mediate.

"Calm down? Calm down my foot! Tan Ping'er is missing, no body in sight—how can you ask me to calm down? It’s not your kin that’s missing; you can just chew on a lamp wick and talk lightly… By the way, what were you doing at the time, eh?" Ji Ye hadn't expected me to turn on him, and my tone was thick with barely suppressed fury. His imposing presence wilted immediately, and his lips trembled as he said, "I was trying to find something in the basket…"

Searching for something in the basket? No wonder I faintly heard a jingle-jangle sound when Ping'er screamed! Could he be trying to use that broken gong for some esoteric mystical technique involving 'metal conquering wood overcoming fire overcoming earth'? Good heavens, at a time like this, still fiddling with such nonsense! Why didn't he just grab Tan Ping'er along with Man Niao Niao? Couldn't two grown men handle one feathered beast?

I swallowed my rage and forced myself to listen to Ji Ye continue: "…I searched for a long time without finding anything. By the time I was ready to free my hands to hold onto Miss Tan, the Monkey-Headed Eagle had already seized her shoulders with both claws. With a flap of its wings, it flew away carrying her. In the confusion, the beast’s claws scratched me twice, ripping out a tuft of my beard…"

"Then why didn't you follow to save her?" I demanded sharply.

"Save her? How could we? Where would we even go?" Ji Ye snapped back, his voice suddenly rising. "You were lying there half-dead, and you expect us to abandon you?"

"You…!" I was so angry I couldn't speak. Seeing Hua'er standing nearby, with nowhere else to vent my fury, I instinctively swung and slapped it. Hua'er whimpered in distress and bolted far away, looking back at me with innocent eyes.

"Take your anger out on me, why hit Hua'er? When it reached that stone ledge up ahead, it dared not go further. Why? Below the ledge is the Hemp Forest. You think it didn't want to chase?" Ji Ye's temper flared too.

"Which direction did that beast fly?" Hitting Hua'er made me instantly regret it, and I felt a surge of guilt. I walked over and hugged Hua'er, then turned back to ask Ji Ye.

Ji Ye pointed—it was toward the other side of the ravine leading into the Hemp Forest.

"Ying Ying, don't panic. I divined that Miss Tan shouldn't be in mortal danger—what are you doing now?"

I let out a contemptuous, silent laugh, ignored Ji Ye’s words, grabbed the flashlight from Man Niao Niao’s hand, gripped my machete, and walked silently toward the stone ledge bordering the Hemp Forest.

Standing at the edge, I shone the flashlight down. The Hemp Forest was bordered on both sides by sheer cliffs, offering no foothold, let alone a small pathway like the one on the other side. It seemed the most direct way to pursue them was straight through the Hemp Forest.

I pulled up my collar to cover my face, took the red rope, wrapped it once around my neck, wound the remainder around my waist and legs, shouldered my pack and bamboo bow, held the machete, glanced back at Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao, and leaped forcefully into the Hemp Forest. I faintly heard Ji Ye’s cry of alarm and Hua'er’s distressed wails echoing behind me.

My feet hit the ground, but I couldn't stop my momentum. I landed hard on my rear, and a dense swarm of hemp stalks surged toward me like a sea wave.

Ignoring the pain in my shins, which felt like hairline fractures, and the numb, itchy, painful sensation in my hands, I snatched up the machete and flashlight that had fallen nearby. I rolled up, stood, and began hacking wildly at the hemp stalks before me. Broken branches and leaves rained down on my head and hands. The exposed skin instantly broke out in red rashes. The sensation, like a thousand needles stabbing me, was so intense it temporarily erased all other thoughts. My mind held only one conviction: I had to find Tan Ping'er!

When Tan Ping'er was by my side, I hadn't realized how much she mattered to me. Now that she was carried off by the Monkey-Headed Eagle, her fate unknown, my heart felt hollowed out, as if I had lost a cherished treasure. I needed to find her immediately, even if it was just a mangled corpse. If I could crawl out of this vicious place alive, I would bring her to a sunlit spot outside this dark, eerie Anle Cave and bury her there.

Under my relentless slashing, the dense thicket of hemp stalks slowly yielded a small clearing. I didn't pause, continuing to hack. I trod on the fallen stalks, carving a path forward inch by painful inch.

At that moment, I desperately wished my flashlight were a laser sword from an animated cartoon—one swing to clear a vast swath of hemp, carving a straight path. I wished even more that this laser sword were mightier still, capable of cleaving the damp, cold stone wall in half with one strike, and lifting the entire hilltop with a flick to let the beloved sunlight pour in and illuminate my path.

But these were just fantasies. The hemp stalks showed no mercy, clinging relentlessly to my skin. The progress in carving a path was agonizingly slow, even though countless stalks snapped in half before me, whipping through the air.

"Ping'er, where are you? How are you now?" I shouted as I chopped, and chopped as I shouted, hoping to hear her reply, even a faint moan. But in the pitch-black space, only my shouts, my gasps, and the dull thud-thud of the blade hitting the stalks echoed back. These sounds mingled, absorbed by the Hemp Forest, becoming muffled and heavy!

The itchy, painful spots on my body multiplied, and the sensation grew more severe. I estimated that significant patches of skin were already dotted with red rash. Soaked by my sweat and the chilling dew on the hemp, the irritated areas felt as if a thousand fine ox hairs were fiercely pricking me. Yet, ahead of me lay only more dense hemp, showing no sign of an end!

Fear was no longer my dominant emotion. My sole focus was to find Tan Ping'er, by any means necessary. I no longer cared about the supposed venomous beasts; let them come! At worst, I would leave my hundred-plus pounds here as fertilizer for the hemp!

I silently pleaded with the Monkey-Headed Eagle, hoping that since I was also an 'Eagle,' perhaps we shared an ancestry five hundred years prior, that it wouldn't harm Tan Ping'er. At least, I prayed it would leave some bones for me to carry out, honoring our friendship and the trust she placed in me—my thinking then was naive, but under such duress, one clings to the hope of a miracle, not logic.

Amidst my pleas, I inwardly cursed the Monkey-Headed Eagle: Since we are both 'Eagles,' we should uphold the code that a gentleman does not steal another's love…

Wait! Love? The word 'love' actually crossed my mind? Was the anxiety I felt for Tan Ping'er the stirrings of affection? I was startled and thrown into confusion by my own realization.

I stopped hacking madly and stood there, stunned. Every memory shared with Tan Ping'er burst forth like a fountain: her beautiful face constantly shifting in my mind, sometimes charming and sweet, sometimes contorted in agony…

I let out a loud cry, "Ah!" The sound rebounded off the dark walls of the space, echoing long and lingering.

I shook my head violently, trying to banish the image of Tan Ping'er’s face twisted in fear. I then pulled out a cigarette, placed it in my mouth, attempting to settle my tumultuous thoughts. Just then, a faint rustling sound came from directly behind me.

A sudden warmth shot between my legs, and recalling the "Dragon Bridge" in the Hemp Forest, I wondered: Has that venerable presence arrived? Simultaneously, I was gripped by confusion: Why was I so inherently afraid of that thing? A primal, innate fear?

I strained to hold back the urge to release the flood of water and waste products, turning to face the direction of the sound.

The rustling noise quickly reached me. I mustered my courage and pointed the flashlight. "Hua'er?"

Seeing Hua'er brought immense relief. After hacking through the dark, silent Hemp Forest for so long, I finally had company.

Hua'er was covered head-to-toe in the white fuzz of the hemp stalks, its body swollen, tears streaming from its eyes from the discomfort. Its blood-red tongue stretched out nearly a foot. Upon closer inspection, I saw its tongue was also swollen. It was likely that in its pain, it had licked the white fuzz off its body, or perhaps its tongue had been scratched by the hemp stalks while running, causing it to swell like a steamed bun.

Seeing Hua'er in such a pathetic state, and with Tan Ping'er’s life hanging in the balance, my heart was torn apart.

I crouched down, ignoring the hemp fuzz on Hua'er, and hugged it tightly. Hua'er’s eyes shone; it didn't bark or cry, attempting to lick me, but found its tongue was no longer flexible. After several tries, it failed, and the tears in its eyes grew heavier, rolling down unchecked. I kissed Hua'er’s cheek, patted its head to signal I understood its sentiment, and only then did a flicker of joy appear in its eyes.

I stood up and looked back the way I came. Seeing no sign of Ji Ye or Man Niao Niao, my heart sank. I turned and resumed hacking at the hemp stalks. "Life is like a [censored word], you have to rely on your own two hands"—at that moment, this phrase perfectly captured my feeling.

To conserve battery, I switched off the flashlight. The surroundings became darker and quieter. For a moment, it seemed only my dog and I remained in the Hemp Forest, blindly pushing forward.

With Hua'er beside me, my courage bolstered, and my hacking became even more frantic…

With a dull thump, the shock of impact numbed my hand right up to the handle of the machete. Sensing something was wrong, I quickly switched on the flashlight. The thing I had struck wasn't hemp; it was a stalk of water bamboo. I looked up and realized the environment was no longer completely black. A few faint traces of daylight filtered down from above, illuminating the cavern hall with a hazy, dim light, like dusk after a rain shower.

I realized Hua'er and I had somehow emerged from the Hemp Forest into another cavern.

"Ping'er! Can you hear me? Answer if you can!" I didn't waste time examining the cavern. I shouted. The cave echoed "He—e—e" several times before silence returned. I listened intently, but beyond the echoes, I heard nothing else. I scanned the area, finding no trace, not even a shadow, of the Monkey-Headed Eagle or Tan Ping'er.

Tears streamed down my face instantly! I thought that Tan Ping'er must be beyond help, perhaps already reduced to scattered bones!

Thinking this, I couldn't hold back. I burst into loud sobs, the sound resonating booming and desolate in the empty hall. As I wept, I thought that if Tan Ping'er had truly perished, I wished for a mythical time machine to take us back to yesterday, so we would never have entered this cursed Anle Cave. I even desperately wished I hadn't had that strange dream; this current reality was the true nightmare. Upon waking, I would still be lying on my cot in my small dwelling, content, and Tan Ping'er would never have come to Xi Du, still living carefree in her proper place…