I was overjoyed, ignoring the twisting of every muscle and the dislocation of my bones, and stammered out, "Ping'er, is that you?" But then I realized that the fall had once again knocked the wind out of me; the words were stuck between my throat and collarbone, refusing to be coughed up. — Alas, no sound; even the best performance can't come out without a voice!

"Ying Ying, is that you?" The voice finally emerged, but the speaker had changed.

I heard Tan Ping'er's low, trembling voice. Mustering all my strength, I rolled over and sat up, pulling her fiercely toward me and hugging her tight, adopting a posture that wished to embed her into my very body, fearing she might fly away from me again if I loosened my grip. The traitorous "cat's pee" streamed down uncontrollably, letting out a muffled sob, and finally, a sound broke through. In an instant, the choking sobs turned into wailing—is this what they call "weeping tears of joy"?

"Ying... you... you're holding me... too tight! I can't breathe!" Tan Ping'er’s voice was as thin as a mosquito's whine, yet it carried boundless joy and relief.

I loosened my arms slightly, weeping incoherently, "Ping'er... this is wonderful... sob... are you hurt?... sob... thank heaven, thank earth, thank the infinitely powerful Jade Emperor... sob..."

But Tan Ping'er paid no mind to my emotional state, nor did she join in with a few sympathetic sobs. Instead, she burst into a giggle. "I'm fine, just scraped some skin and bled a little. I got winded when I fell and couldn't speak for a while. I actually heard you running down from above a long time ago and wanted to warn you to be careful, but I couldn't make a sound... Are you alright?"

"If you're alright... then I'm alright... sob... Did you fall from the roof too?"

"The roof? Is that obstruction above a roof?" Tan Ping'er sounded confused. "No wonder when I rolled down from up there, as I was dizzy, I felt my body snag, and then I crashed through a hole and dropped into this place..."

"You... you didn't land on the main beam... sob..." I asked hesitantly. In truth, the so-called "roof" and "main beam" were just things I imagined based on feeling; I still had no idea if that was what they actually were.

"Main beam? What main beam? I fell in through the roof you mentioned and landed directly here; there were no other obstructions at all?"

Strange, does this damned place favor women over men, making men suffer an extra calamity just for having two extra things? — To hell with its mother! By the way, this uniquely characteristic curse phrase was something I picked up from the folks I played cards with, like Man Niao Niao; it has both imagination and deterrence.

Thinking of Man Niao Niao, I felt a surge of resentment. That "ill-fated" creature only knew how to gamble all day, completely ignoring the serious business of coming to Tang Ya. He kept muttering about how "a scale cannot leave its weight, nor a husband his wife." Now that I'm in such a miserable predicament, he's probably comfortably hiding in some corner catching up on sleep. No wonder Old Man Xiang wants to chop off his head!

Old Man Xiang? My thoughts were finally returning to normal. Could it be that Old Man Xiang’s final instructions led us to this pitch-black place? I finally realized I had been acting entirely based on the cryptic and unfathomable instructions of the deceased Old Man Xiang. Just as I found an embroidered shoe, feeling utterly lost, a hole suddenly opened, and we fell in—hadn't the heavens already laid out every step for us?

However, this notion needed confirmation from Tan Ping'er. "Ping'er... sob... how did a pit suddenly collapse?"

"Ying, can you stop your whimpering? I know what you mean. Be careful, Flower might sue you for infringing on its sound copyright!"

"Huh? Where's Flower?" I had been in a state of mingled grief and joy, and hearing Tan Ping'er mention Flower suddenly made my heart leap. In terms of stamina, sturdiness, and agility, this companion shouldn't have been easily injured. Since I hadn't heard its cry, could it be... I dared not think further. Clutching the embroidered shoe in my left hand while holding Ping'er's waist, I stretched out my right hand and felt around the ground in a frantic search. In my panic, all I touched was a pile of sand and gravel, some wood-shaving-like debris, and the cold ground. There wasn't a trace of Flower anywhere! I desperately called out, "Flower... Flower, you son of a bitch, answer me so I know where you are..."

I listened intently for a long time, but still no response from Flower. The tears I had just managed to stop began to flow again, the whimpering growing louder. "You little turtle, I'm still alive and kicking, could it be that you..." I choked on the words, too heartbroken to finish.

As I was crying my eyes out, a beam of light suddenly shot out from where Tan Ping'er held me. The intense, sudden brightness made me unable to adjust for a long time, and I dared not open my eyes.

When I finally squinted and saw that Tan Ping'er was holding a flashlight, I was overcome with surprise and joy. "Ping'er, how do you have a flashlight?"

Tan Ping'er's face was hidden outside the beam of light, so I couldn't see her expression, but I heard her crisp voice say, "Did you forget? Isn't this the flashlight Brother Qiao lent us? We were planning to return it to him today, but it turned out to be useful in this place..." I broke into a relieved laugh, chuckling loudly. "Good deeds are eventually rewarded, it's just that the time hasn't come yet!" I realized only after saying it that the sentence was utterly nonsensical, like putting a donkey's head on a horse's neck!

I snatched the flashlight from Tan Ping'er's hand and first scanned her body. I found her clothes shredded into strips, haphazardly covering her snow-white skin in patches—describing it as "glimpses of spring" wouldn't be an exaggeration. The only flaw was the streaks of blood marring her skin, which was as white as tofu. Tan Ping'er understood my look and said, "You benefit again! But you’re not much better off; this time, we’re even..." I shined the light on myself and found I was worse off than Tan Ping'er; almost no muscle was intact. "Tattered clothes" and "a bloody mess" would suffice for a brief summary.

"Stop looking! Let's find Flower first! Isn't that what you call your beloved son?" Tan Ping'er didn't bother to cover her exposed skin, reminding me, the simpleton, who was staring blankly at her.

"Right... let's find our son first..." I averted my gaze and swept the flashlight around. To my delight, I saw Flower lying not far from us, its two bright eyes fixed on me, its large mouth opening and closing, its tongue flicking in and out.

"Damn it, why didn't you answer when you were fine?" Though I was scolding, my heart held no blame for Flower.

I dropped to my knees, handing the flashlight to Tan Ping'er to shine, and crawled over to Flower. I patted its hindquarters, examined its four legs, and flexed its joints. Everything seemed normal; there was no blood on its body, only that much of its fur was gone, revealing patches of skin and flesh here and there, making it look like it was wearing a heavily patched sweater.

Just as I was suspecting internal injuries, Flower suddenly stood up and nestled into my arms, trembling. I was greatly astonished. Flower's courage was far greater than that wretch Man Niao Niao's; why was it acting so timid and silent now?

Suddenly, a jolt hit my brain, and my facial muscles tightened. I remembered how Flower was silent like this when it heard the sound of that soul in the Cave of Eternal Peace. Could it be... there was some terrifying fiend or evil entity nearby, so powerful that even Flower's teeth were intimidated?

I quickly pulled Flower close and dragged it back to Tan Ping'er. Snatching the flashlight, I illuminated our surroundings. I was amazed to find that our little family of three was situated on a corridor barely a meter wide. The corridor was paved with blue flagstones, intricately carved with various rare birds and exotic beasts, flowers, birds, fish, and insects; the outer edge of the corridor featured a stone latticework railing about one and a half meters high, connected to several thick, grayish-white stone pillars. These pillars were carved with coiled dragon reliefs running from bottom to top. The inner wall of the corridor was built of hewn stones, featuring several windows whose latticework was inset with decorative relief patterns like splashing waves, daisies, goldfish, and magpies.

"Ping'er, look above and see if there are any large, blade-like beams?" My eyes weren't clear, so I had to ask Tan Ping'er. I was growing increasingly puzzled: why did this structure look exactly like a stilt house?

"Yes, there are. Look, there are also pieces of wood and tiles shaped like fish scales up there... Where are your glasses?"

I gave a wry smile. "They abandoned me! Take a look below the corridor and tell me if it's hollow."

Tan Ping'er took the flashlight, leaned over the railing, and shone it down. "Yes, it's completely empty below. These pillars aren't standing on the ground underneath; they're entirely suspended. There are four watermelon-sized spheres on the railing, with some unclear patterns on them..."

"A stilt house!" Before Tan Ping'er could finish, I exclaimed. This was absolutely a stilt house, exactly like the one my grandmother had, and Chen Lao's side room also followed this structure.