"Tenglong Cave is a very famous scenic spot in Enshi," I answered Tan Ping'er's question simply, then exclaimed excitedly, "Haha, my dearest darling, we finally found the exit!"

Tan Ping'er’s heart had clearly not yet recovered from the scene before her. "You mean, beyond that building ahead is the exit? What we saw wasn't the Hall of Yama?"

"Of course, it wasn't the Hall of Yama. Have you ever seen stereos and microphones in the underworld? Have you heard Ox-Head and Horse-Face or the Black and White Impermanence singing 'Sister Huang Si'? Have you ever seen the King of Hell using a laser beam in his own domain? This is a stage set up inside Tenglong Cave, modeled after the stilt-house stages of the Tujia people... Haha, my dearest darling!" By the end, I actually started singing.

Tenglong Cave, hailed as the largest single-chamber karst cave in the world, is said to cover an area of 69 square kilometers, integrating mountains, water, caves, and forests, renowned internationally for its grandeur, danger, strangeness, seclusion, and beauty. Within the cave, there are five peaks, ten large halls, and over ten underground waterfalls. Mountains rise within the cave, and caves are nestled within the mountains. Water caves and dry caves connect. There is no poisonous gas, no snakes or scorpions, and no pollution. The cave maintains a constant year-round temperature of 14–18°C with excellent air circulation. The underground scenery is varied and utterly mysterious. Outside, the landscape is lush and picturesque, with the Wolong Swallowing the River Waterfall at the entrance of the water cave dropping over 20 meters, roaring like thunder with magnificent momentum. Currently, the country’s largest natural ecological cave theater has been constructed inside, hosting a high-caliber large-scale Tujia folk song and dance performance, Yishui Lichuan, daily to let tourists experience the moving legends of the Tujia people.

Whether by sheer luck or fortune, Tan Ping'er and I had somehow followed the main dry passage of Tenglong Cave, and unexpectedly, we walked straight to its exit. This could only mean that having survived a great disaster, good fortune awaits us both!

We were currently behind that theater, so the light wasn't very bright. But now I finally understood why we had only seen a faint, dim yellow light from a distance earlier. This was naturally because we were right behind the performance area. This theater must mark the end of the developed section of Tenglong Cave. I had only heard rumors of such a theater before but hadn't seen it in person. Having survived this ordeal, I might as well tour Tenglong Cave while I was here.

Tan Ping'er and I quickened our pace, discarding the strips of fir bark, and moved around to the front of the theater amidst the booming music. Strictly speaking, this theater was just a courtyard; the performers stood on the open ground in front of the stilt house, singing or dancing. Because the theater was inside the cave, the entire atmosphere felt similar to night. The ground before the stage was hazy, occasionally pierced by flashes of light that dazzled the eyes. It seemed the number of tourists visiting Tenglong Cave wasn't small; they were chattering noisily in a tangled mass.

Tan Ping'er and I were thrilled to finally see fellow humans, moved to the point of tears. Unfortunately, those men and women, old and young, kept their eyes fixed on a graceful Tujia girl dancing in the center of the stage. No one noticed the pair of us emerging from the deep recesses of the cave. This brought a touch of disappointment to our excitement—why didn't anyone come forward to ask how we were? Why didn't the classic scenes often depicted in film and television unfold?

The sound of music and voices reverberated in the cave, making Tan Ping'er and me, who had been constantly bothered by the silence, very uncomfortable. I had initially wanted to watch the Tujia ecological performance, but my stomach was rumbling, and my ears were ringing. So, I quickly pulled Tan Ping'er toward the outside.

Moving forward became much easier. There were lights in the cave, and small groups of tourists were enjoying their visit. Although the scenery inside the cave was captivating, our minds were no longer focused on it. Due to the limited lighting, no one paid attention to the hurried couple, Tan Ping'er and me.

I spotted an electric cart catching up behind us and waved vigorously to flag it down. I pulled Tan Ping'er onto the cart, and it swiftly sped toward the cave entrance.

Stepping out of the cave, it took my eyes a good while to adjust before I found the small snack stalls outside. I took out a few crumpled, still slightly damp banknotes and handed them to an elderly woman selling 'Divine Tofu.' The old woman gave me a strange look a couple of times, then glanced at Tan Ping'er, her face full of disbelief. I didn't care; I took a bowl of the crystal-clear, jade-green Divine Tofu and handed it to Tan Ping'er, then swiftly scooped another bowl for myself and gulped it down like a pig eating slop.

Full and bloated, feeling an uncomfortable fullness, the scorching sun made me, already slick with sweat, feel even hotter and more irritable. I asked the old woman for two small stools and sat in the shade, intending to catch my breath and perhaps get her grandson, who kept staring intently at Tan Ping'er, to buy me a pack of cigarettes.

Smoking one cigarette after another, I made casual conversation with the old woman. "Elderly one, what day is it on the lunar calendar today? I only know the solar dates!" I employed a bit of strategy, not daring to ask the date directly, fearing that the already suspicious old woman would press us about where we came from.

"Oh, today is the first day of the seventh lunar month!"

The first day of the seventh lunar month? I remembered that Yumu Village was the twenty-ninth of the sixth month. Does that mean Tan Ping'er and I have been wandering around Tenglong Cave for two days already?

The old woman’s mention of the "first day of the seventh lunar month" stirred my thoughts again. The date agreed upon in the silk scroll—the seventh day of the seventh month—was fast approaching. Not only had we not even caught sight of the Suoluo Sacred Tree, but we had also wasted two full days. However, on second thought, I didn't feel the trip was entirely fruitless (even though coming to Tenglong Cave wasn't my original intention). At least through the cave murals, I had found a potential clue. That was certainly better than wandering everywhere asking where a giant tree might be.

Tan Ping'er was already getting restless and was engaging the old woman warmly. "Elderly one, how old are you?"

"Heh heh, girl, how old do you think I look?"

"I really can't guess, but looking at how energetic you are, I imagine you can't be much older than sixty cycles, right?"

Before the old woman could answer, her grandson, who hadn't spoken a word until now, piped up first. "What sixty cycles? You should have asked me first! I know exactly how old my great-grandmother is! Grandma says she's eighty-eight this year! I'm ten years old, in the fourth grade, and I'm the Chinese study group leader for the third small group in class..." The little brat kept chattering incessantly. If his great-grandmother hadn't chuckled and interrupted, I suspect he would have spilled every detail about which girl in class he liked. This shows that the allure of beauty isn't just effective on adult men.

Tan Ping'er laughed at the boy's antics and started chatting with him, glancing over at me as she did. I certainly understood her motive for asking the old woman's age, so I knowingly chimed in, "You've lived so long and you're still so robust; that’s truly remarkable... I wanted to ask you about something!"

The old woman replied while staying busy, "Mhm, ask away!"

"Do you know of any particularly large ancient trees around here?" I had originally intended to ask where one might find hanging coffins, but I swallowed the question and replaced it with asking about large trees, hoping to avoid raising more suspicion from the old woman.

The old woman didn't even look up. "Oh? So you two are asking about ancient trees too?"

I was instantly alarmed, and Tan Ping'er stopped teasing the mischievous boy, turning back to question the old woman repeatedly. "Who else has been asking about ancient trees? Were there two men, one older with a long, white beard, and the other about the same age but much darker skinned than him?" Tan Ping'er asked while gesturing toward me. I knew she was describing Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao. I was also wondering if the people inquiring about ancient trees were those two fellows. It seemed they must have thought Tan Ping'er and I were dead and decided to carry on with our unfinished mission.

As I was sighing in contemplation, I suddenly heard the old woman reply, "No. Everyone in their group had blue eyes, just like you..."

Blue eyes? Tan Ping'er and I exchanged glances. That mischievous boy interrupted again. "Yes! They spoke English, and I even said 'Gute bai' to them... My English is excellent! I can read so many words now; my teacher praises me many times! Sister, should I tell you a few to listen to?" The little brat was clinging to Tan Ping'er, which made me feel both amused and irritated.

However, I didn't have time to compete with this kid. Blue eyes, speaking English—does that mean the group asking the old woman about ancient trees was a group of foreigners? Why would they come to Enshi to inquire about some ancient tree?

"Then... what did you tell them?" Tan Ping'er asked.

"I told them there is an ancient tree in Modao Town, not far from here. Those people mumbled something amongst themselves for a while and then left."

"What kind of tree is that ancient tree?"

The kid jumped in again, "I know! It's a Metasequoia! It’s huge!"

Hearing it was a Metasequoia, my spirits immediately sank. I know about Metasequoia; it's a Class I national protected plant, a rare relict species in the world. Enshi is internationally and domestically famous as the "Home of the Metasequoia." Deng Xiaoping personally gifted two Metasequoia saplings to Nepal, and US President Nixon even named one of his yachts the 'Metasequoia.' You can imagine its value. According to the old woman's description, the Metasequoia in Modao is over 600 years old and extraordinarily massive. That group of foreigners was probably here to visit that Metasequoia King, I thought.

The kid was still rambling on about that cursed Metasequoia, and I was growing impatient. I quickly interrupted him to ask the old woman, "Elderly one, how far is Yumu Village from here?" My intention in asking this was to return to Yumu Village to rendezvous with Ji Ye and Man Niao Niao and hurry up to find the Suoluo Sacred Tree—that was the main thing.

"Yumu Village? Heh heh, it's over forty li from here! Are you planning to go there for fun?"

I nodded noncommittally, bid farewell to the old woman, and started walking in the direction she pointed. Not long after I left, I heard the old woman's grandson muttering, "That sister is so pretty, her eyes are mesmerizing! Much better than the blue eyes of that long-nosed old man who was asking about something called hanging coffins, right, Great-Grandma?"

Hearing the words "hanging coffins," I abruptly turned back and bounded over to the boy in a few steps. "Were those foreigners also asking about hanging coffins?"

The boy was startled by my sudden return and severe tone, stuttering, "I don't know what a hanging coffin is, I just heard that long-nosed old man saying something about needing to find a hanging coffin to another guy... Sister, isn't that strange? That long-nosed old man is clearly a foreigner, but he speaks our Chinese so well, tsk tsk!" I turned my head and saw that Tan Ping'er had also returned to the old woman's stall, but her face looked very pale, and her eyes were vacant. She didn't react at all to the little boy's questions.

While I was wondering what was wrong with Tan Ping'er, I suddenly recalled that when she recounted her background, she had mentioned a long-nosed foreign old man. A jolt went through me—how could I have completely forgotten this person? Tan Ping'er must have heard the boy mention the long-nosed foreign old man and been reminded of her tragic and bizarre birth, which is why she looked like that. Could it be...?

A long-nosed foreign old man; inquiring about ancient trees; searching for hanging coffins—what... what in the world is going on here?