My gaze met Ji Ye’s again, and we nodded almost imperceptibly. I had already decided to tell Elder Chen about the Blood Soul Tablet. This old man had lived in Tangya for a long time, guarding the Tusi Imperial City that bore witness to Tujia history. He must have a vast store of knowledge, perhaps enough to offer us a clue in finding Tan Cheng. Of course, prying more from him was impossible without mentioning the Blood Soul Tablet itself. The Tujia people have always valued directness; they prefer matters stated plainly, disliking anything shrouded in mystery or approached with veiled suggestions that leave those offering help confused and uncertain.

Elder Chen’s home was situated halfway up the slope, nestled within the ruins of the Tusi Imperial City itself. It was a distinctive stilt house, meticulously clean inside and out, possessing an ancient elegance amidst the surrounding lush green mountains. The elder warmly invited us up. We saw several bamboo lounge chairs and a bamboo tea table, all polished to a gleaming sheen. The old man smiled, saying, “This place is practically a small reception area for visitors. Many who come to the Tusi Imperial City like to sit upstairs, rest their feet, and have tea. Plus, the location is superb; I can clearly see most of the Imperial City ruins and the Tangya River below.”

“Then… does your home charge an entrance fee?” Man Niao Niao asked the rather mundane question.

“Heh heh, many people have advised me to charge a symbolic fee, but I refused. If I have guests visiting the Tusi Imperial City, I’m happier than anything; why charge money? My old lady and I may not be rich, but we live quite leisurely—Hey! Old woman, why aren’t you making tea yet? Is your skin itching again?” Elder Chen suddenly shouted downstairs with the impishness of a child. Before the shout had fully faded, a robust, white-haired old woman ascended the stairs, carrying an earthenware tea jar and balancing a red lacquered tea tray upon which rested several scrubbed-clean, coarse ceramic cups. The old woman set down the jar and tray, shot Elder Chen a look, and scolded, “This old thing, what are you wailing about? Haven’t I come?” Elder Chen chuckled heartily, poured four cups of tea before us, and said, “Don’t let the look of this old woman fool you with her plain face; the tea she brews is excellent. You all try it!”

We thanked Elder Chen’s wife, and she hurried back downstairs to her duties.

After sipping a few mouthfuls of the fragrant, rich tea, Ji Ye pulled out a stick of grass tobacco, respectfully offering one to Elder Chen. “Please light your smoke first, Elder. We do indeed have a difficult matter we need your counsel on. The situation is this…” Ji Ye recounted the entire story of the Blood Soul Tablet and Tan Pinger’s background to Elder Chen.

Listening, one could tell from Elder Chen’s expression that he was internally shocked. He gazed at Tan Pinger for a long moment before saying, “What about the Blood Soul Tablet? Let me see it.” I quickly retrieved the tablet from my backpack and handed it over.

Elder Chen took the Blood Soul Tablet, tilting his head back to examine it thoroughly. Finally, he stated, “This object is likely what you suspect—it belongs to our Tujia ancestor, Lord Linjun. These two carvings indeed depict how he became the chieftain of the tribe back then. In my view, the items within those two small holes are the most crucial part. The Blood Soul Tablet itself may only be a vessel, functioning much like a box…” This conjecture aligned perfectly with our own thoughts.

“In your estimation, what material is this Blood Soul Tablet made of?” I asked respectfully.

“Black pottery,” Elder Chen replied without hesitation.

“Black pottery?” We were overjoyed. We had braced ourselves for the possibility of receiving no definitive answer, yet Elder Chen stated the tablet’s material with such certainty. Those two simple words solved a mystery that had troubled us for so long—it was an unexpected delight.

Ji Ye slapped his thigh, his footfalls thudding against the floorboards. “Damn my thick skull! How did I not think this thing was made of black pottery? I remember now—one of the old heads mentioned that Lord Linjun’s boat that could float on water back then was also made of clay pottery.”

“That’s right,” Elder Chen nodded. “In Lord Linjun’s era, the techniques for creating both black pottery and painted pottery emerged; this has been confirmed by many historians and archaeologists, and the level of craftsmanship was quite complete and superb. Therefore, this Blood Soul Tablet should indeed be made of black pottery. The assumption that Linjun’s boat was clay pottery is likely correct, but how he alone mastered that technique while others couldn't replicate a pottery boat might forever remain an unsolved mystery.”

No wonder the Blood Soul Tablet felt neither too heavy nor too light, neither cold nor hot—it was actually earthenware. My face flushed slightly. I usually prided myself on my vast knowledge, only to find myself outperformed by a frail old man.

The elder was sharp; seeing my scholarly, fair-skinned appearance, he knew I was a man of letters. Noticing my embarrassment, he smiled and said, “It’s normal that you don’t know; you people nowadays don’t use things made of clay pottery anymore. I’m different. Look, isn’t my tea jar here just a pottery jar? Haha…” The elder laughed heartily.

After chuckling for a moment, the elder continued, “As for the string of strange events you’ve encountered—like the strange dream on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month, Master Qinghe’s cryptic verses, the character for ‘earth’ on this young man’s forehead, Miss Tan’s parentage, the Sixteen Fiends of Anle Cave, the giant python spitting out the Blood Soul Tablet, the vengeful spirit that spoke with you, the Seven Stars alignment feng shui formation—I cannot clarify these interlocking mysteries. But there is one thing I can be certain of…” Seeing our spirits beginning to droop, the elder deliberately created suspense.

“Certain of what?” Tan Pinger was immediately intrigued.

Elder Chen pointed at me and said, “This young man’s guess that the eight characters, ‘To solve the Blood Soul, one must seek Tan Cheng,’ are correct…”

“Really? Why?” My spirit lifted instantly.

Elder Chen chuckled, “You all know the legend of Lord Linjun transforming into a White Tiger after his death, right? Do you know the origin of that legend?”

We all shook our heads, staring intently at Elder Chen, waiting for him to continue. “According to the old stories, after Lord Linjun died, his soul transformed into a White Tiger, and it was a person surnamed Tan who first discovered it. Back then, the character ‘Tan’ had a radical for ‘Sun’ on the left side; the current ‘’ was originally ‘.’ Later, somehow, it evolved into ‘.’ The original Suo clan lived in the Black Cave of Wuluo Zhongli Mountain and belonged to the same era as Lord Linjun’s Ba Wu lineage. It’s highly likely they came from the same indigenous tribe; the two families must have been very familiar with each other. And the Tan clan of the Tangya Tusi officially migrated from Wuluo Zhongli Mountain. Therefore, Lord Linjun leaving behind those eight characters—‘To solve the Blood Soul, one must seek Tan Cheng’—is not baseless; it has a historical foundation. However, what I can’t figure out is why Lord Linjun would leave these eight words in such an extremely cryptic manner, rather than telling his descendants plainly?” Elder Chen narrated the answer to the mystery, simultaneously posing a question that intensely occupied our minds as well.

Finally learning that the origin of the Blood Soul Tablet could indeed be uncovered through the Tusi King, Tan Cheng, I was ecstatic and urgently asked, “You say these eight characters were left by Lord Linjun, and you explained the relationship between Linjun and the Tan family. But how did he know there would necessarily be a descendant named Tan Cheng among the Tan family? Did he possess foresight?”

“Heh heh,” Elder Chen exhaled some smoke and smiled. “This might not be as mystical as you make it sound. As you know, we Tujia people have no written script of our own, so we cannot use writing to record Tujia history. Many past events have been preserved only through oral tradition, passed down generation after generation, retaining only fragmented pieces of history. Furthermore, these fragments are not only incomplete but not necessarily accurate. The matter of Lord Linjun turning into a White Tiger after death is just such an example. By our current understanding, how can a person turn into a White Tiger upon death? Yet historically, there is only this simple sentence: ‘When Lord Linjun died, his soul became a White Tiger, and the Ba clan, drinking its blood, thence offered human sacrifices.’ This single line has left much confusion for later generations. As for how Linjun actually died and what arrangements he made before death, that is long lost. In my estimation, before Linjun died, he might have left a final instruction with the Tan family of that time, directing them to pass down the secret of the Blood Soul Tablet through generations. Linjun was the tribal leader then, so his words naturally carried absolute weight; the Tan family would certainly have complied. As to why the message ended with Tan Cheng, that question is unclear. And have you considered this: perhaps ‘Tan Cheng’ does not refer to a person named Tan Cheng, but rather to the city belonging to the Tan family? Or maybe Tan Cheng’s predecessor deliberately named his son ‘Tan Cheng’ to emphasize the meaning of ‘the city of the Tan family’?”

This idea had never crossed our minds. Hearing Elder Chen voice it suddenly, we all froze, looking at each other speechlessly. What we had considered utterly mystical now carried a distinct flavor of plausibility under Elder Chen’s analysis.

“How about this,” Elder Chen said, looking at our stunned faces. “I’ll take you to see Old Man Xiang! He probably knows about the Blood Soul Tablet matter…” he suggested.