As I noticed the strange look on Qin Ping'er's face, I knew something significant—and not just minor—had happened to me.

I carefully examined myself, only seeing my clothes torn by thorns and my skin raw with bloodied abrasions, nothing else seemed amiss.

I walked past Qin Ping'er. "What's wrong with me?"

Qin Ping'er backed away two steps, creating some distance between us. "You... on your forehead..."

I froze, suddenly recalling the intense throbbing pain from the previous night. Had I acquired another scar on my forehead? It shouldn't be a big deal; I already had four, which coincidentally formed the character "" (niú - ox). What was a few more scars? After all, I was basically a fighting ox now—not a decent patch of flesh anywhere on me.

I managed a wry smile for Qin Ping'er, about to offer some comfort, but then abruptly stopped. I quickly raised my hand to touch my forehead and felt a shock of horror in my heart. The scar shaped like "" felt rough under my fingers, like several thick, prominent veins. Not only that, but I felt two more scars that hadn't been there before. These two were also raised like veins, and strangely, they formed a left stroke and a right stroke, sitting right under the "" character, completing the character "" (zhū).

Realizing this, I started pacing anxiously, desperate to know how a "" character had appeared on my forehead. I reached out to Qin Ping'er for a mirror, but she retreated another two steps, frantically patting down her own clothes before shaking her head at me helplessly. "My mirror is gone!"

Growing more anxious and frustrated, I scanned the area, hoping to find a pond to glimpse my forehead. After circling a few times, I had to admit with sorrow that there wasn't a single puddle nearby.

Both anxious and crestfallen, since I couldn't find water, I pleaded with Qin Ping'er, "What on earth is wrong with my forehead?"

Seeing my pathetic state, Qin Ping'er couldn't bear it. She pointed at my brow and told me, "Ying, there's a '' character on your forehead..."

"I know that," I interrupted her irritably. "What's so special about this ''?"

"This ''... this ''... it's turned red... and it's gotten bigger!"

Turned red? How could the scar on my forehead turn red? Was this the result of that flash of white light I vaguely recalled last night? What in the hell was going on now? No wonder it was burning like fire! No wonder I felt like a red-hot iron poker had just raked across my forehead!

Fidgeting like an ant on a hot pan, I continued my futile search for anything that might reflect my face. Finally, my eyes landed on Ji Ye's gleaming, cold Si Dao ( - ceremonial/commanding saber). I rushed over to Ji Ye and reached out to snatch the mysterious Si Dao, but he instantly tucked it behind his back.

"I don't want your damn knife, why are you being such a miser?" In my panic, a phrase from my local dialect slipped out. Then, like a whirlwind, I flashed behind Ji Ye and leaned close to his Si Dao to examine my ill-fated forehead. (Gou Jia: stingy/miserly)

What did I see? In the polished surface of Ji Ye’s Si Dao, I saw a distorted face. A perfectly clear "" character was branded on my forehead, vivid crimson—a captivating shade of red, as if the blood in the thick scar might burst forth at any moment and stream down to cover the face, twisted beyond recognition.

I collapsed onto the ground, touching my forehead, which still throbbed intermittently, feeling such despair I briefly wished for death. Damn it all, who had I offended to deserve this bizarre, bloody mark? I knew clearly that the earlier "" (tǔ - earth) and later "" characters, while certainly present, were nowhere near this obvious; they were just ordinary scars. But now, a stark "" sat on my brow. How could I possibly show my face in public?

No, I had to ask Ji Ye about this, because I distinctly heard him call me "Zhu Que" ( - Vermillion Bird) earlier. Based on my meager knowledge, I knew "Zhu Que" represented a cardinal direction—"Front Vermillion Bird, Rear Black Tortoise, Left Azure Dragon, Right White Tiger." Could I possibly be the incarnation of a divine beast? Hell, was this world still the one I knew? Was I even still that Tujia man named Man Yingying?

"What did you just call me?" I planted my hands on my hips, leaning forward, glaring menacingly at Ji Ye.

"Zhu Que!" Ji Ye remained unmoved, his tone still calm.

"Why?"

"No reason, because you are Zhu Que!"

"?"

"...We don't have time now; we must leave quickly. We can talk while we walk." Ji Ye ignored my murderous gaze, putting away his Si Dao and his Eight-Treasure Bronze Bell, while calmly straightening his soiled Eight-Panel Silk Skirt.

"Leave? Go where?" My gaze could surely kill; I could even hear the oppressive killing intent in my own voice.

"To the top of the Suoluo Tree."

Hearing those four words, my thoughts seized up again. I stood there dumbfounded, feeling my mind about to go blank. But Ji Ye paid me no mind. He beckoned Qin Ping'er over, took her small hand, and called for Hua'er to lead the way toward the end of the stone beam, not waiting for me to press for more questions.

I watched the pair and the dog walk further away, seemingly floating into the horizon, before my scattered soul snapped back into my body. Had I heard correctly? Ji Ye had mentioned not long ago that we were currently standing on the Divine Suoluo Tree. Damn it, this was nothing like the Divine Suoluo Tree I imagined; it was like comparing the heavens to the underworld—where was the shape of a tree?

My senses slowly returned, and I stopped caring about the "" on my forehead, or even who I was. I even tossed aside the nagging pain, hurrying to follow in Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er's wake.

I had just heard Ji Ye say that everything was about to end. Ending was good; if it ended, I could finally sort out the entire sequence of events, restore the real me, and go back to being the tangible, visible Man Yingying living out his mundane life.

I stopped caring whether this was a mountain or a tree; I didn't have the mental capacity to ponder these damned things anymore. I picked up my pace, one foot high and one foot low, sprinting after Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er.

Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er walked ahead. Qin Ping'er kept looking back every three steps, being dragged along by Ji Ye, her footing unsteady. Just as I was feeling sentimental, Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er suddenly vanished from the stone beam. Terrified, my soul nearly drifted away again, and I sped up, rushing toward the spot where they disappeared.

To my shock, as soon as I approached where they vanished, I saw Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er pop their heads up again, though their bodies appeared extremely small. In truth, their bodies hadn't shrunk; they were simply emerging from a ditch, only their heads visible above the rim.

I patted my chest, letting out a light sigh of relief, and quickly jumped into the trench. After landing, I realized the ditch wasn't deep, only about waist-high. However, its unique feature was that the interior formed a perfect rectangular cavity, somewhat resembling the inside of a coffin... A coffin? Cold sweat immediately broke out on my brow!

I recalled again what Ji Ye had said about us being on the Divine Suoluo Tree. Actually, his concept of "here" was very vague. Because of the bizarre "" character on my forehead, I had become jumpy and hadn't paid close attention to the environment. Seeing this rectangular ditch now, and thinking of a coffin, which then made me think of cliff coffins, forced a question upon me: Was this rectangular ditch an unfinished cliff coffin? Cliff coffins were indeed hollowed out from entire sections of thick branches. Although this place was filthy, messy, and unpleasant, the shadow of a cliff coffin was clearly discernible.

With this line of thought, contrasting it with Ji Ye's words, I finally began to examine the rectangular ditch with intention. Since the daylight wasn't very bright, and the area was quite dark, I hadn't seen the stone beam clearly before. Now, with my focus sharpened, I reached out to touch the seemingly cold stone. To my surprise, my hand encountered a handful of rotten, damp wood scraps that carried a heavy, fishy odor.

Damn it all, was what I perceived earlier as a stone beam actually something else? If Ji Ye was correct that we were now beneath the Divine Suoluo Tree, then this so-called "stone beam" must undoubtedly be a branch of the Suoluo Tree.

But if it was a tree, and this was the height of summer when everything flourished, why wasn't there a single leaf in sight?

I suddenly remembered the task described in the silk manuscript: we were required to find the Suoluo Divine Tree that was close to death. Looking at the evidence, could it be that this Suoluo Divine Tree was truly near death?

Another baffling problem remained: no matter how wide I opened my eyes or where I looked, I couldn't see the overall topography. It had rained last night, and now it was early morning; the mountains were damp, causing clusters of white mist to drift through my field of vision like clouds—this was the fundamental reason why I couldn't discern the terrain. Both sides of the ditch were shrouded in mist, and this single, slippery path stretched out beneath my feet into the distance like solitude itself.

However, I could confirm that this solitary path was definitely not the stone beam I had initially assumed. It was certainly a thick branch, evident from the dark, rough texture and the increasingly pungent woody smell.

In that short pause, Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er had already disappeared into the thick fog ahead. I felt a strange sense of unease. I distinctly remembered the sun being out just moments ago, but ever since arriving here, the space had become dark, damp, and heavily shrouded in fog, creating a distinctly dreamlike atmosphere.

But I dared not dwell on it. I quickly climbed out of the rectangular ditch and hurried along the direction of the trunk to catch up with Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er.

Fortunately, this time it wasn't as eerie as last night. I heard Qin Ping'er calling out to me from afar, "Yingying, hurry up!"

Hearing that real voice, I quickened my pace and soon caught up with Ji Ye and Qin Ping'er. Qin Ping'er visibly relaxed when she saw me arrive, but since Ji Ye was still dragging her along and refused to look back, she clearly found the situation strenuous and frustrating.

I had no idea what that old fox Ji Ye was thinking, or why he was in such a rush. What did he mean when he said "time is running out"? Seeing his haste, the questions poised on my tongue had to be swallowed back down—pestering him now would certainly earn me nothing but a cold shoulder.

Despite holding back, my mind was churning, much like the heavy mist surrounding me. My thoughts were a tangled, unbreakable mess—damn it all!