＝＝＝＝＝The update for today is delivered when I could sneak some time＝＝＝＝＝ The idea was this: smear Flower’s tears onto my eyeballs!

Making this decision was psychologically difficult, because my grandfather had once warned me that you could eat and sleep with a dog, get intimately close, even dabuo (kiss), but you must never touch a dog’s tears; if they got into your eyes, something entirely unexpected would happen.

Something unexpected? I had asked Grandpa at the time. He said he’d never tried it, only hearing from many Daoist masters and old practitioners that if a dog’s tears entered a person’s eyes, it would allow one to see things normally invisible. The principle behind dogs barking madly at midnight was precisely this. The things a person couldn't see, of course, were the legendary "Half-Phantoms."

And now, if I was to find my beloved Qin Ping'er, I absolutely had to be able to see my surroundings. I had already lost my glasses—truly, I was a blind man riding a blind horse, approaching a deep pond in the dead of night. Besides, even if I had my glasses, what good would they do? Science offered me absolutely no help in this pitch-black environment.

Human fear stems from the unknown. When I decided to smear Flower’s tears onto my eyeballs, I hesitated again. This idea had never been personally practiced by anyone, so no one could clearly articulate the results, let alone leave written evidence for reference. I only had a vague impression gleaned from my grandfather. Back then, although Grandpa had dramatized this legend to be terrifying, in my heart, I had only treated it as a story, never imagining I would actually attempt it myself one day. Of course, there was another reason no one had tried it before: who had ever seen a dog cry tears? Even if curiosity sparked the thought of being the “first to eat the crab,” obtaining dog tears would take a wait spanning a thousand years.

But now, firstly, the situation was pressing; secondly, Flower’s tears were readily available; and thirdly, I had my grandfather’s solemn warnings as theoretical justification—even if this justification was steeped in superstition. Despite my inner resistance to the atmosphere woven by Grandpa’s mystical stories and legends, I had always unconsciously followed his instructions, always adopting the attitude that it was better to have less trouble than more, never daring to cross that line.

Speaking of which, I seriously began to suspect that every warning Grandpa gave me during his life seemed to hold some deeper meaning.

To hell with it, if I’m going to die, I’ll die spectacularly; if I don't, I’ll live forever.

However, as I once again used my finger to wipe a tear from Flower’s eye corner and brought it close to my own eyeball, my heart was still filled with fear and doubt—what would I see if I put this on? How would the world before me change? Would I be able to see exactly where Qin Ping'er was? If I truly saw the so-called "Half-Phantoms," would I immediately faint from terror? Would they attack me as a pack, as the legends claimed? And, if I really saw another world, would my eyes ever return to normal? If not, would I have to live my entire life seeing two worlds simultaneously? … I thought of many things, ultimately remaining indecisive. The tear on my fingertip was slowly being swept away by my blinking, darting eyelashes…

I grew anxious again. If I delayed any longer and Flower stopped crying, it would be a huge problem. First, I couldn't bear to hurt Flower; second, even if I cruelly inflicted pain, who could guarantee it would cry again? Therefore, Flower’s tears at this moment were priceless!

Thinking of this, I hesitated no longer. Stroking Flower’s head, I held the embroidered shoe in my left hand and quickly moved my right index finger toward Flower’s eye corner to wipe away a tear. The moment my finger touched Flower’s eye corner, I abruptly recalled another thing Grandpa had said: If a "living person" wanted to avoid being recognized by "yin entities," they must cover their nose and mouth to prevent their exhalation of vital energy from being detected by the "yin entities"... To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools; Chairman Mao also said never fight an unprepared battle. To hell with what that bastard might see, I’d better rip off a piece of cloth and cover my mouth and nose first. I searched my whole body and found that the only thing remotely substantial enough was my pair of unwashed "Shaky-Pants." Everything else was already so filthy, torn, and ruined by mud, sweat, and grime that it was useless.

While consoling myself that the potent odor emanating from these "Shaky-Pants" was just my own body odor, and besides, it wasn’t the first time I was using this most incredible piece of cutting-edge weaponry in history, I used the relatively cleaner part to cover my mouth and nose. At the same time, I considered that Flower hadn't been barking incessantly all this time, indirectly suggesting that perhaps there weren't any unclean things around as rumored—it seemed I might not have to die spectacularly after all!

I took a deep breath and actually found the smell coming from the "Shaky-Pants" quite familiar.

I had intended to test it by smearing Flower’s tear on just one eye, but then I thought, if the eye smeared with Flower’s tear truly could see the other world, wouldn't I be looking at the "yang" world with one eye and the "yin" world with the other? Wouldn’t that be even more confusing? Forget it, if I’m going to do something, I should do it completely… With that thought, I no longer hesitated and smeared the tear from my finger onto my own eyeball. However, as soon as this act was completed, I quickly shut both eyes, intending to calm my mind first.

“Flower, tell me, can you really see another world?” I asked softly, my eyes closed, stroking Flower’s head.

“Woof~!!”

“Can’t you say something clearer? Always just using that emotionless ‘woof’…”

“Woof! Woof woof!! Woof woof woof…” Flower suddenly began barking furiously, shaking the heavens.

My heart tightened. Did Flower see Qin Ping’er? The moment this thought surfaced, I instinctively opened my eyes…

Guess what, you doggone son of a—it’s the absolute truth, I could genuinely see through the darkness, and my vision wasn't blurry at all. Where was that previously hazy, dreamlike sense of seeing flowers in the mist and the moon in the water? I saw the scattered clusters of buildings on the slope, the flat ground etched with various exquisite patterns, the long perimeter wall, a magnificent stilted building, several tall trees, Flower’s silhouette, the embroidered shoe in my hand, and my feet wrapped in cloth strips… Everything was sharp and distinct, without a single phantom image!

However, while I could see, I was completely trapped in a world divided strictly into black and white. My own skin was white, and my clothes were black; the embroidered shoe in my hand, which was originally vibrantly colored and mottled, was now only black and white; Flower was entirely black, with black eyes and tongue, while the few tufts of white fur on its neck and legs, along with its teeth, were white; the ground was alternating black and white—the parts without patterns were white, while all the designs were black; those tall trees were black, and that imposing stilted building was also black; the dense buildings on the slope were black within white, and white within black… The rest of the scene was equally starkly defined by black and white, white as snow, black as ink, with absolutely no transition shades or variation in depth of color. In short, the only two colors left in the world before me were black and white—pure white and pure black.

Despite my vision being entirely monochrome, the sense of three-dimensionality remained, so I could distinguish how far away the stilted building was and exactly how tall those trees stood…

I secretly congratulated myself. Thank goodness I smeared Flower’s tears on both eyeballs, otherwise, based on visual principles, I wouldn't have this crisp sense of depth. Wouldn't the scene before me just be a flat black-and-white painting? I might trip and fall without even knowing what happened!

I stared blankly at everything before me, carefully absorbing the sensation no one else had ever experienced!

“Woof…” Flower let out a cry. I looked down; Flower’s head looked as if it had just crawled out of a coal pit, with only two black eyes rolling around, and teeth blindingly white… The more I looked, the more I loved it. Man, you are infinitely cuter than our national treasure, the Giant Panda.

“Hmph… hmph…” Flower grumbled unhappily when it saw me staring dumbly.

I snapped back to reality and suddenly realized that although I could see the entire situation clearly, I hadn't seen any sign of Qin Ping’er. I heavily patted the head of my covered mouth, thinking the most urgent thing now was finding Qin Ping’er, not savoring this bizarre feeling.

With no phantom images blurring my vision, my thoughts were no longer muddled. Although I felt it impossible for Qin Ping’er to have fallen outside the wall, I decided to open the gate of the stone archway first, planning to start searching from the outside.

Glancing back, there were no bolts or anything similar on the snow-white central gate of the archway. Instead, there was a huge black carving of a human figure. As I approached for a closer look, I saw this figure with hair and beard flying outward, a leopard's snout and bulging eyes, gripping a snake-shaped long spear, legs braced and body hunched, poised to pounce—Damn it, isn't this gentleman Marquis Huan, Zhang Fei, Lord Zhang? How did he end up here as a gate guardian?