When I first laid eyes on this embroidered shoe, what captured my attention were only the two phoenixes spreading their wings as if about to fly on the vamp; I hadn't paid much attention to the plum branch with its golden-yellow trunk and bright red petals on the sole, nor had I bothered to count exactly how many plum blossoms there were. Now, connecting it to the lyric that Ji Ye sang, I indeed discovered many strange things about those plum blossoms: logically, plum blossoms usually bloom at the tips of the branches, yet these twelve blossoms, viewed in sequence, were all embroidered directly onto the main trunk of the branch. After each blossom, the trunk took a turn, either slow or sharp, making the trunk resemble a winding, obstacle-ridden path. From an artistic perspective, generally, the plum blossoms embroidered near the root should be larger, and those at the tip smaller. However, this branch inverted that rule: the blossom nearest the thicker root was relatively small, while the other eleven blossoms grew progressively larger as they extended up the trunk, with the largest one precisely embroidered at the very tip. The strangest thing was that tip blossom; from an aesthetic viewpoint, anyone would have embroidered it to look vibrantly fresh and blooming defiantly in the wind, yet this one’s petals drooped slightly, as if it had been exposed to the sun for a long time, displaying a listless state.

Judging by this awkwardly embroidered plum branch, the phrases "Flowers will eventually wither" and "The end of the branch's extension" were perfectly interpreted. The next task was to resolve "Blooming towards the sun" and "The cycle pursued for a thousand years." After a moment of thought, it struck me: "Blooming towards the sun" must mean either facing East or facing West, or perhaps along the arc the sun traces from East to West. If combined with the Tujia people's sun-worshipping customs and the uniform eastward orientation of the graves at the Tusi Imperial City ruins, one could reasonably conclude that "Blooming towards the sun" referred strictly to the East. As for "The cycle pursued for a thousand years," this line was trickier to crack. We came to the Tusi Imperial City to find the Tusi King, Qin Cheng; assuming this undertaking implicitly matched the meaning of "pursuit," why preface it with the qualifier "a thousand years"? And what did "cycle" refer to? If one insisted on a realistic interpretation, this phrase was inexplicable and illogical. But recalling that the Soul Entity in the Anle Cave had waited for "me" for over two thousand years, I suddenly felt this lyric covertly encompassed the entire cause and effect of the Blood Soul Tablet incident.

I wiped the sweat and grime from the sole of the shoe and confirmed again that the clearly black and white plum branch was embroidered in a strange and awkward manner. After a brief thought, I walked to the central gate of the stone archway, placed the embroidered shoe perfectly beneath the carved tiger on the gate, its toe pointing in the direction opposite the central gate, and stepped back to look. The toe pointed directly toward an unremarkable stilt house situated near the "Pot Bottom." To call it unremarkable had its basis: compared to the towering stone archway, that stilt house was the difference between a great shaman and a minor one. While it retained the structure of a stilt house, it appeared tiny, almost the size of a common pigsty, looking especially small and stunted against the slope covered in other houses. At the location of that stilt house's entrance—the "throat"—was a pitch-black cavern, about four feet high and two feet wide, unlike a standard, formal doorway; it resembled the door of a haphazardly assembled pigsty. This cavern, compared to the surrounding environment, was like a small "sand hole" piercing the bottom of a pot.

Seeing this dark cavern, the excitement in my heart bubbled up like a geyser. If the plum branch on the sole of the embroidered shoe indicated a path, then this cavern might be the starting point of that path. Judging by its size, it matched the meaning conveyed by the first blossom on the branch—small. I secretly congratulated myself; if not for this embroidered shoe, if not for Ji Ye’s incredibly obscure lyric, how would I have noticed this mysterious spot? When Qin Bing'er and I first descended into the "Pot Bottom," our gaze was immediately drawn to the majestic stone archway behind us. Later, we were terrified by the bizarrely aggressive crisp snakes and fled like cornered dogs, too preoccupied with survival to carefully examine our surroundings, let alone this inconspicuous "sand hole."

This "sand hole" also gave me inspiration—why should I continue to struggle to decipher the ensuing riddles? Our arrival at this place involved some element of luck or destiny. Since that was the case, why not entrust everything to fate? Why not cast aside all trivial details and simply follow the path indicated by the embroidered shoe? Perhaps the many mysteries in my heart would find perfect answers at "the end of that branch's extension." Maybe, at that end, there was more than just the Tusi King, Qin Cheng!

"Yingying, are you still standing there like a wooden stake 'cucu'ing,' this torch is almost done..." Man Niaoniao bellowed. The ball of white light seemed to struggle fiercely in response to Man Niaoniao's shout, then vanished. Of course, for me, it didn't matter whether there was a torch or not; I could still see everything before me, albeit only in shades of black and white.

Say what you will, the tears of flowers are sometimes truly good things!

As the white light disappeared, Man Niaoniao and Qin Bing'er instantly became "blind," staring wide-eyed with dark sockets, their hands flailing about, standing frozen, afraid to move. "Yingying... Yingying..." Qin Bing'er's voice betrayed anxiety and fear, yet Man Niaoniao, surprisingly, was not panicked. That fellow's courage seemed to have significantly increased after Ji Ye struck him hard on the head with the Si Knife.

"I'm here... I'm fine!" I replied, remembering the flashlight that had fallen from the stone archway earlier and been swarmed by those crisp snakes. Searching around, I surprisingly found the helpless object in that eaves trough, and by then, the ditch full of crisp snakes had retreated and vanished without a trace. Since I had decided that the encounter on the suspension platform was a dream, there was naturally no blood-soaked water in the trough either.

I picked up the flashlight and found the switch was still in the 'on' position; the bulb showed no light whatsoever—the batteries were obviously completely dead. I picked up the embroidered shoe, walked over to Man Niaoniao and Qin Bing'er, took the cigarette lighter from Man Niaoniao's pocket, lit the stub of the fire torch, took the batteries from the flashlight, and roasted them in the torchlight until the flame was about to burn my hand. Only then did I toss the torch aside, put the batteries back into the flashlight, and turn the switch. A faint beam of light finally flickered back to life.

While I was heating the batteries, Qin Bing'er and Man Niaoniao looked at me with utter bewilderment, repeatedly asking how I found the flashlight. I didn't have time to explain. I instructed Man Niaoniao to bring over the snakeskin sack that Ji Ye had left behind and dumped it onto the ground. To my surprise, my backpack appeared! The backpack contained the Blood Soul Tablet and some miscellaneous items. Clearly, Ji Ye had gone to Old Man Chen's house first to retrieve our luggage before coming to find us at the old man's house. Besides my backpack, about ten mud-caked raw sweet potatoes were scattered on the ground. What was most unexpected was that when I picked up the backpack, I actually found a pair of six-eared straw sandals lying there... How did Ji Ye know I needed shoes the most right now?

I didn't have time to dwell on it. Overjoyed, I snatched up the straw sandals and immediately put them on my feet. In high school, our teachers educated us to study hard and strive for improvement daily; the college entrance exam was the crucial factor determining whether you wore straw shoes or leather shoes. I never imagined that after finally wearing leather shoes, they would turn into slippers, the slippers into "cloth" shoes, and the "cloth" shoes into straw sandals—life is truly ironic!

Man Niaoniao is extremely particular about food. As I was putting on the straw sandals, he picked up a sweet potato and muttered, "Brother An is really something, why bring so many sweet potatoes? Why not bring some corn cakes or rice cakes? Doesn't he know eating too many sweet potatoes makes you fart..."

I secretly laughed; this clown added fuel to my rising spirits. I chuckled, "Niaoniao, too much complaining breaks the heart, too much water floods the field..."

Man Niaoniao froze. I sharply ordered, "Hurry up and pack the sweet potatoes back into the snakeskin sack! Later, during the Long March, you won't even have anyone to pass gas for you if you want to defecate." Man Niaoniao hastily stuffed the sweet potatoes back into the snakeskin sack.

"Yingying, where are we going?" Qin Bing'er, having heard talk of a "Long March," quickly asked.

I pointed to the dark cavern opposite. "Into the hole!"

"Into the hole? Where is a hole?" Qin Bing'er and Man Niaoniao, their eyes dark, looked utterly bewildered.

"Just follow me," I said, throwing my backpack over my shoulder and calling to Hua'er. I strode purposefully toward the "throat" of the miniature stilt house opposite, walking with long, firm steps. Qin Bing'er and Man Niaoniao dared not delay, clinging to the hem of my clothes as they followed close behind.