The very thought sent a fresh wave of panic through me. The preconceived notion that Tan Ping'er had met with some misfortune had taken root in my mind like bedrock, sprouting and spreading through my entire body with a disconcerting gurgle, leaving my limbs ice-cold and trembling uncontrollably. The sweat coating my skin ceased to feel like perspiration; it was more like an entire bucket of ice water being dumped over my head.

Damn it all, I took a deep, ragged breath, bit down hard on my tongue's tip, and forced myself to regain some composure. There was no room left to survey the surroundings, assess the gravity of the situation, or plan subsequent steps. I resolved to deal with Ji Ye first. I hoisted the old man up and scrutinized his face. He was naturally dark and rough-looking, but now, a faint black miasma seemed to be gathering on his features. His face had turned as black as the bottom of a scorched pot—hell, it was a truly ghastly sight.

Seeing this, my heart leaped. This appearance clearly indicated poisoning! But what toxin could it be? Could the enormous cauldron beside us truly contain some form of subtle, life-sapping Gu? I released Ji Ye and sprang toward the massive cauldron. Mustering my courage, I leaned in for a closer look, and instantly recoiled as if struck by lightning—inside the cauldron was a huge, wide-open, elliptical eyeball!

I staggered back several paces, nearly stepping on Man Niao Niao’s belly. I clutched my chest, breathing heavily for a long moment. Seeing no movement from the object in the cauldron, I started thinking logically. Damn it all, I thought, it probably isn't a real eyeball, is it? Where would such a colossal eye come from? Besides, even if it were, it’s just a single eye floating in a massive vat, and there’s no sign of its owner. What in the world am I afraid of?

Once again, I cautiously edged closer to the cauldron, rubbing my eyes before peering intently. I finally let out a long, steady breath. The object was indeed not a real eye; it only shared a striking similarity in shape and color to a human iris. Overall, the eye-like mass was white, and the black pupil was merely a reflection of the treetop above. Since there was no wind, the reflection remained utterly still. If not for its sheer size, I thought it resembled nothing more than a dead fish's eye.

I stared at it for a long time before finally realizing the “eyeball” was some kind of viscous liquid. A fresh wave of confusion hit me: what kind of liquid was this, and why was it shaped spherically inside the cauldron? I snatched a dry twig from the ground and, my hands shaking, cautiously poked it into the cauldron. The “eyeball” shifted, and some of the sticky substance clung to the branch.

I brought the twig close to my face and was horrified to see that the tip of the branch had turned a silvery-white hue.

“Mercury?” I couldn't trust my own eyes. It turned out this enormous cauldron was filled with liquid mercury?

Suddenly, I recalled the lyrics of the Banshou Song Ji Ye had sung: "flowing silver." Could this "flowing silver" actually be mercury? And was this mercury the substance that Widow Qing had gifted to the Tujia people?

Having studied some chemistry, I vaguely recalled the properties of mercury. It was said to be poisonous, and in hot air, it could easily vaporize, poisoning anyone who inhaled it or made contact. Any more detailed knowledge eluded me. This wasn't entirely my fault; aside from a tiny bit in a thermometer, I had never encountered such a vast quantity of mercury. All I remembered was the saying: Mercury seeps into the ground, meaning it is inescapable.

It seemed clear that Ji Ye, Man Niao Niao, and Hua'er must have been poisoned by mercury! But the cauldron didn't look like it had been placed there recently, and the mercury certainly wasn't there for someone's amusement. Why did it only appear precisely when we arrived? Furthermore, mercury's toxicity wasn't supposed to be that rapid; symptoms often didn't appear for some time after exposure. Yet, the time since I separated from them had been short, but Ji Ye and the others were already in this state. This meant the mercury had to be anything but ordinary!

All these thoughts flashed through my mind in an instant. My immediate concern was how to revive the two of them and the dog, and then find Tan Ping'er. Knowing the cauldron held mercury and suspecting it was the cause of their affliction, I frantically searched my memory for remedies for mercury poisoning. After scouring my brain raw, my mind remained blank. Alas, I lamented the wisdom I lacked when I needed it most!

I was growing desperate. Seeing the life fading from the trio, my thoughts became increasingly chaotic. There was neither the time nor the inclination to clear my head. Finally, I gritted my teeth and decided to repeat a maneuver from the past—using water. Although I knew full well that oil and water don’t mix, my plan was to flush out their stomachs with water. Effectiveness aside, whether they lived or died would be up to fate. I had no other options.

No sooner thought than done, I heaved the two men and the dog into the pool, and then jumped in myself. Fortunately, the pool wasn't deep; the water barely submerged their bodies as they lay prone. In my panic, I overlooked a fatal error: their mouths were tightly shut, with only their nostrils occasionally sucking in shallow breaths. The pool water wasn't cold enough to shock their systems, so the clear water quickly surged into their noses. Alarmed, I realized that not only would this prevent water from reaching their stomachs, but it would also cause them to drown. I quickly assessed the situation: I pulled Man Niao Niao and Hua'er up to lean against a pillar on the veranda, and then, with all my might, stomped down hard on Ji Ye’s abdomen, heedless of how heavily I landed.

The force of my blow caused Ji Ye to involuntarily open his mouth, and water gurgled down his throat. I intended to wait until his stomach distended before dragging him up to expel the water, just as Man Niao Niao had done to me in the earlier ordeal—a full-scale purge. However, the old man’s Bafu Luojun robes were too voluminous, and his stomach wasn't particularly prominent. After nearly a minute, there was no sign of his belly swelling.

I dared not let any more water flood into him. I pulled him up and placed him alongside Man Niao Niao. With my left foot I continued stomping Ji Ye's belly, while both hands worked simultaneously, gripping Man Niao Niao and Hua'er by the fur and plunging their heads into the water. I repeated the process—stomping the abdomen to force the mouth open—to let the pool water rush in.

Perhaps because Man Niao Niao was younger, his survival instinct kicked in after just a couple of gulps. He suddenly coughed twice and opened his eyes, gazing dazedly at me, sweating profusely from my efforts.

Overjoyed, I shouted at him, “Drink! Drink more! When you’ve had enough, go save my Hua'er!”

Man Niao Niao’s face was ashen, but his eyes slowly tracked, registering the scene. He opened his mouth a few times, neglected to speak, and struggled to flip over to drink from the pool himself. I heard a rhythmic glug-glug-glug sound. When Man Niao Niao finally turned back, his midsection visibly swelled, suddenly looking a full circle rounder.

Seeing this, I roared, “Everyone find a spot and squat down!” Ignoring my command, Man Niao Niao clung to the veranda pillar, straining with a look of purple-faced constipation, veins bulging—clinging tighter than he would a beautiful woman. Streams of water began dribbling out of his mouth, nose, and an embarrassingly private orifice, dripping into the pool with a clear, pleasing drip-drop.

I stomped on Ji Ye’s belly as if treading on soft coal, sending a jet of water spurting out with every heavy pressure. Water splashed around Ji Ye’s groin, and huge bubbles rose and burst, releasing a pungent, foul odor.

The vigorous stomping paid off remarkably. When I had pressed Ji Ye’s stomach flat as a pancake, he finally groaned. As the last jet of water shot out of his mouth, a long-missed curse followed, “I’ll… damn… damn it all…” Though the words were broken, the sheer force behind them was the return of the normal, aggressive Ji Ye.

The weight on my mind lifted by a third. Seeing that Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao could breathe on their own, I quickly lifted Hua'er, who was still in the water, and balanced him on my shoulders. Ignoring my exhaustion, I began hopping and splashing through the pool. The water wasn't exiting Hua'er’s mouth very clearly, so I propped him against the pillar, laid him flat across the middle, and squeezed his body with extreme force in a posture that was both undignified and incredibly intimate, finally purging the water from his belly. Hua'er opened his eyes and managed two weak, grateful barks directed at me.

Seeing the two men and the dog revived, I urgently demanded, “Where’s Ping’er?”

Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao exchanged a look, their faces blank with confusion. Man Niao Niao spat several times, stuttering, “She… she… wasn’t she with you?”

“With me?” I was equally baffled. What in the hell was going on? Tan Ping’er had clearly been with Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao. When was she with me? I thought this and immediately asked, sounding as bewildered as I felt. Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao stared at me with looks of utter incredulity, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.