I wholeheartedly agree with the term Ji Ye, where else could we possibly go? That bird’s head is the zenith of what we can reach. The dog-bone trees, those that thoroughly conceal the bird’s head, hung low and submissive, clutching the immense, robust head close, etching a strikingly vivid silhouette against the azure, washed-clean sky.

My curiosity about this place surged like a tide. Although the region of Xidu is vast with sparse population, truly untouched areas are rare. No matter how remote or perilous a location, there are always industrious Tujia people who have left their mark out of necessity; achieving absolute desolation is nearly impossible. Naturally, this excludes the numerous sinkholes and karst caves beneath Xidu. Yet, this place, exposed under the blue sky and white clouds, somehow looks as if no one has ever set foot here. At least, there are absolutely no signs of modern humans; the bizarre creatures submerged beneath the pool are proof enough of that.

Ji Ye, shaking her eight-paneled silk skirt, holding the Si Dao and the Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell in her hands, led the way forward along the covered walkway above the pool. Qin Ping’er and Man Niao Niao followed in succession. The flower on my back also hopped down, darting ahead to the bird’s head at the center of the pool.

As for me, my steps faltered due to the questions swirling above. I wasn't in a hurry to see the horse statue in the bird’s mouth and head yet. I have a habit: when I'm close to achieving a goal, I feel most relaxed and tend to savor the pleasure of impending success for as long as possible. That was exactly my mood now; it felt as if the bird’s head were a mushroom I had sought my entire childhood, and it would soon be mine.

“You go ahead, I’ll check the way back,” I called out toward Ji Ye’s receding back. Then, I squeezed out of the dense thicket of dog-bone trees by the pool’s edge. Upon surveying the area, good heavens, no wonder this cursed place was uninhabited! Beneath my feet was a sheer, treacherous rock face, smooth as a mirror and barren of any vegetation. After walking along the edge a few times, I was horrified to realize this place was actually a solitary peak, shaped remarkably like an upright writing brush. The dog-bone trees and other scrub on top resembled the inked bristles, and its sheer perilousness was equal to, if not greater than, Tianjiao Mountain... Imagine such a strangely jagged and towering peak, soaring into the clouds—how would an ordinary person ever climb it?

To the east of the peak was the gorge we had climbed up through. Standing within it, one feels utterly minuscule, so it was perfectly normal not to see the full profile of this mountain. Besides, we had no time to carefully examine our surroundings then. Now, looking down on all mountains, I realized that the gorge was formed by this brush-shaped peak confronting another, much larger peak. The formation was somewhat akin to two straight, closely spaced fingers.

When I finished circling and cautiously arrived at the west side of the brush-shaped peak, what I saw stunned me into silence—below lay the basin encircled by Vermilion Bird Mountain, White Tiger Mountain, Azure Dragon Mountain, and Black Tortoise Mountain. The ruins of the Tusi Imperial City were clearly visible, interspersed among the green trees. From this height, the tombs on Black Tortoise Mountain, all facing east, did not appear haphazard but formed some kind of pattern, resembling a city blueprint, lending definite structure to the massive slope of Black Tortoise Mountain. And shining right in the center of that slope was the “Consort’s Spring”!

Because the elevation was so high, the scenery below was not perfectly clear; the houses and building clusters appeared vague. Conversely, the graves, thanks to their grayish-white tombstones, seemed much clearer and more distinct.

After observing for a while, my gaze accidentally caught the two Husband-and-Wife Fir Trees, which stood out strikingly in the sunlight, like two silent figures watching my direction.

A thought struck me: could we have actually arrived on Vermilion Bird Mountain? Was this brush-shaped peak called "Vermilion Bird Mountain"? With this consideration, I vaguely sensed that perhaps the enormous bird’s head was the legendary Vermilion Bird. But how had we gotten here?

I didn't have time to ponder further. I turned and hurried back through the dog-bone tree grove, wanting to catch up with Ji Ye and the others. For some inexplicable reason, a vague dread had settled in my heart. Was it the embroidered shoe that inadvertently led us into the deeply buried Tusi Imperial City? Or was it the same shoe that brought us through countless near-death experiences only to land us on the summit of Vermilion Bird Mountain? Thinking about it, this couldn't be mere coincidence; it felt as if everything were predestined. Although Ji Ye had mentioned that many of the dangerous places symbolized by the twelve plum blossoms had vanished due to the wheels of history, I distinctly remembered the last plum blossom on the embroidered shoe was exceptionally large. Had we passed that “plum blossom” or not? Considering all the abnormal sights here, I had a bad feeling.

This premonition proved correct. When I returned to the pool’s edge, there wasn't a trace of Ji Ye and the others. The surroundings were eerily silent, and the various aquatic creatures at the bottom of the pool had vanished without a ripple. No wind, no fallen leaves, no dew... In short, the entire environment was quiet, unsettlingly quiet. Yet, my sightline was wide, the area wasn't large, the walkway was the same walkway, the bird’s head was the same bird’s head, the stone horse was the same stone horse, but the three of them and the dog were truly gone.

Panic seized me. I drew breath and roared, “Ji Ye... Niao Niao... Ping’er...”

No reply came, and my own voice sounded muffled and dull.

I shouted several more times, still met with absolute stillness. Fear gripped me. I reasoned that even if Ji Ye and the others couldn't hear, Hua’er’s hearing was exquisitely sharp, and she had been with me for ages; it was highly irregular for her not to bark in response to my urgent calls.

There was only one explanation for this situation: Ji Ye and the others had met with disaster!

Once a person forms an initial assumption, they tend to believe events align perfectly with that guess. That was my state of mind now. Thinking they were in trouble made me even more anxious and unsettled. Loneliness was secondary; the crucial thing was how I would account for them to their families if I returned alone.

Since calling them failed, I hesitated no longer. Shouldering my pack, I set off down the walkway in the direction they had taken. I paid no mind to the lifelike sculptures adorning the balustrades; my sole focus was finding them quickly and reuniting.

As I walked, regret clawed at me. Damn it, did I get cowardly earlier? Why did I break away from the revolutionary team? Why did I let my curiosity run so wild? Look at the result now—no answer when I call heaven, no help when I call earth, goddamn it!

Since the walkway depicted the Tujia Tiger totem pattern, the most direct approach was to follow the straight path. This was the second time I had experienced this; the last time, after first entering this pattern in Anle Cave, I remembered following the straight path only to get hopelessly lost and nearly lose my life. Once bitten by a snake, one fears a well rope for ten years; facing such a path again, I was far more cautious, shouting anxiously as I walked.

When my heart pounded like thunder, as if walking over landmines, I reached the base of the bird’s head and was horrified to see Ji Ye, Man Niao Niao, and Hua’er lying fanned out on the ground, eyes shut tight, motionless, breathing shallowly. Before their feet stood an ancient-looking, immense tripod whose original material I couldn't discern, its four legs buried deep in the earth. Due to the distance, I couldn't see what the tripod contained, only vaguely catching the shimmer of several strands of snow-white silver light within. And Qin Ping’er was nowhere to be seen!

This shock was profound; fear and urgency flooded me, sweat pouring down my back. My brain buzzed wildly, and I couldn't help but wonder in astonishment—had Ji Ye and the others fallen victim to some kind of Gu poison again? But that seemed unlikely. Even if the careless Man Niao Niao were susceptible, how could the astute Ji Ye, a young-generation Tima of the Tujia people, be so careless as to fall for such a trick?

Of course, what worried me most was Qin Ping’er’s whereabouts. Logically, if she were safe, she wouldn't have left Ji Ye, Man Niao Niao, and Hua’er alone. Her disappearance could only mean one thing! I dared not dwell on it. Like an arrow loosed from a string, I shot toward the two people and the dog, intending to wake the two companions first. Although my dilemma was like that old story—“If your mother and wife both fall in the water, whom do you save first”—my mind was clear enough. Whether it was a sesame seed or a watermelon, I had to pull one out first.