My eyes could mostly manage without glasses now, but even through the swirling mist, seeing Elder Ji and Qin Bing'er climbing straight up made me gasp. Did this old man and young woman possess some kind of supernatural ability? To scale the near-vertical trunk of that tree—the change in them was astonishing! Yet, after being plagued by so many unbelievable occurrences, anyone would start to doubt their own eyes, growing jumpy. Only when I got closer did I realize there was actually a ladder fastened to the trunk. It wasn't perfectly regular, but certainly functional for climbing.

I sharply chastised myself in my mind.

Man Niao Niao’s brassy, grating voice continued to carry, one shout after another; I couldn't fathom where he found such lung capacity. That sound grated on my nerves and tested my resolve. Now, more than anything, I urgently needed to know what had driven him so completely mad. This man had only ever cared for money and women his entire life. Now I mostly understood why he had rushed ahead of us to the top of the Suoluo tree. There must be something up there he desired, something worth acquiring. What else could it be but something he could trade for money? He’d known poverty too well in his youth; that small vice was understandable.

Once I reasoned this out, the resentment over him abandoning me flew out the window. As the saying goes, a leopard can’t change its spots; everyone has their own desires, and it’s no great matter. Man Niao Niao was simply that kind of person. The crude saying, “A dog can’t stop eating shit,” holds a coarse but undeniable truth.

While inwardly cursing Man Niao Niao’s obsession with wealth, I began to ascend the haphazard wooden ladder.

This was the treetop. To call it the "top" was quite different from the common understanding of a treetop. The most striking feature was that this Suoluo tree didn't taper to a sharp point like ordinary trees; instead, it terminated in a platform about ten square meters wide, clearly formed by artificially cutting off the apex. The moment I saw this platform, a strange feeling washed over me. Generally, according to local superstition, one must never cut the top off a sacred tree, especially not for a young person. It was said that severing the apex portended a reversed path in life—bluntly put, it suggested the cutter would have a short life. As a youth of the new era, I certainly didn't believe such theories, but having been steeped in the lore passed down orally by the elders since childhood, these superstitious notions inevitably left faint traces in my mind.

My thoughts were well-founded. Logically, our most ancient ancestors settled here hoping this tree would thrive. It was their home, their sustenance, and their spiritual anchor. They should never have severed the tree’s crown to leave such a platform. If we followed the spiritualistic views, the superstitions of the old guard, wasn't this a clear signal that their descendants would die young? This contradicted their worldview back then!

However, I had no time to ponder this deeply. Through the hazy mist, I vaguely saw Man Niao Niao kneeling in prostration, his hands raised toward the sky, his head also tilted upward. That sound—a torrent blending high-pitched excitement, fierce passion, deep sorrow, regret, and hatred—erupted in waves. His posture strongly resembled that manic state he fell into whenever he gained a treasure only to lose it.

In front of Man Niao Niao lay a pile of strangely shaped rocks. They were as tall and long as a horse, somewhat resembling the incense burners found in temples. But this burner was cold and empty, utterly devoid of flame, clearly never intended for lighting incense or worshipping Buddha in the first place.

Curiosity stirred in me. Was this incense burner-like stone the very spot where we were supposed to place the Blood Soul Tablet? It was astonishing; aside from its peculiar shape, it was, after all, just a rock. Yet, I quickly reconsidered, feeling a fresh wave of doubt. How could a pile of rocks exist atop a tree? Why would our ancestors toil to haul such a load of debris from the ground to the treetop? Perhaps they lived in the trees their entire lives, made fearful by floods, reluctant to live on the ground, but still they moved these stones up top. In that distant era of primitive productivity, the only reason for such effort must have been some form of religious conviction, which in that age translated directly to shamanism. The deep imprint of "revering sorcery and believing in ghosts and gods" was etched onto their souls.

Thinking of it that way, the presence of these rocks on the Suoluo treetop no longer seemed so strange!

Our arrival didn't draw Man Niao Niao's notice. Hua'er, who had arrived earlier, stood silently behind him, tilting her head and watching the hysterical Man Niao Niao, her hazy eyes holding the familiar ferocity she reserved for him.

Elder Ji seemed unsurprised by Man Niao Niao’s demeanor. After climbing up, he simply watched him quietly. Qin Bing'er was clearly overwhelmed with curiosity, mirroring the feeling in my own heart. Just as she moved forward to ask Man Niao Niao what was wrong, Elder Ji refused to let go, yanking Qin Bing'er’s forward momentum backward until she stumbled.

I snickered inwardly. What was wrong with Elder Ji? Was Man Niao Niao going to eat Qin Bing'er?

Man Niao Niao’s laughter dissolved into whimpering, interspersed with what sounded like teeth-gritting curses.

I still hadn't grasped what was happening. I took a step forward and patted Man Niao Niao’s shoulder. “Why the hell are you crying? What’s there to weep about? Did you just find a priceless treasure? You weren’t fated to eat shit, so stop acting like a damn fool here. What use is all this crying?” This speech was actually quite affectionate despite its coarse phrasing. Normally, Man Niao Niao would have heartily cursed me back a few times, and his deep despair would have vanished quickly. He had behaved this way many times back in the Anle Cave; I was used to it. Usually, if he lifted his tail, I knew what kind of shit he was about to drop.

This time, however, Man Niao Niao’s reaction was entirely unexpected. My light tap caused him to spring up as if struck by lightning. He turned, saw me, and recoiled as if facing a ghost, stumbling back several steps, nearly crashing into the incense-burner-shaped stones. “You... you... you... aren't dead?”

I was startled too, completely bewildered by his neurotic reaction. “I... I... I... why would I be dead?” In my agitation, I too began to stammer inexplicably.

“That… that… that man in white didn’t… didn’t… kill you?” Man Niao Niao asked, his wide, terrified eyes pointing at me.

The man in white? A chill shot through me. So Man Niao Niao knew about the man in white. How did he know? What was his relationship with that man? Why did he say the man in white wanted to harm me?

“Do you know what happened to Bing’er and me last night?” I asked, bending over with my hands on my hips.

Man Niao Niao burst into loud laughter. “How would I not know? Do you know why I left you yesterday? It was because I didn’t want to watch you die at the hands of the man in white…”

Hmm? “So, when you told us to stay in the tree hollow yesterday, you had another motive?”

“Naturally.”

“Why?” I felt my brain wasn’t functioning fast enough.

“Why… why… you’re still asking me why now? I truly overestimated you. You always boasted about being incredibly smart, yet you’re nothing but a complete idiot… Haha, didn’t the teacher back then always praise you for being smart while calling me a stupid pig?” Man Niao Niao’s expression turned manic, and he actually laughed with his whole body, swaying back and forth like a young girl.

It was better not to mention it, but bringing it up reminded me how the elementary school teacher frequently compared me and Man Niao Niao—one brilliant, the other pig-stupid. Although the teacher’s conclusion wasn't my doing, constant comparison, coupled with my youthful naivete, led me to naturally cultivate a sense of superiority in front of Man Niao Niao later on. But this was years ago. Even though I often put him down, I always considered him my closest friend. Had the teacher’s words left an indelible mark on his soul, leading him to resent me? If so, this Man Niao Niao was truly not the person I thought I knew.

Man Niao Niao continued his frenzied monologue. “…Even my mother said your life was better than mine, always blaming me for not having ‘sealed’ that snake back then, or I’d be successful like you now… You went to high school and university; I went home to mend the earth, working jobs and enduring hardship… Your name is Ying Ying, and mine is called Niao Niao—even our names had to ride over me. I’ve always been held down beneath you, never able to rise…” Man Niao Niao’s words were disjointed, lacking any logic, rambling from his mother to the difference in our names. I was utterly confused, completely certain that he had suffered some shock that had thrown him into a nervous breakdown.

Man Niao Niao seemed to catch the meaning hidden beneath my facade and roared, “You think I’m crazy?”

“You’re not crazy, you’re not crazy, fine, I’m the crazy one,” I soothed him gently.

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch, you just love pretending! Why didn’t that man in white kill you last night?”

Hearing him curse my mother and bring up the man in white again ignited my temper. “Can you clean up that foul mouth of yours? Tell me, why did that man in white yesterday want to kill me?”

“You damn fool, you still don’t understand?”

Understand what? I felt utterly wronged, a bellyful of questions on the verge of bursting inside me. I hadn't gotten an answer yet. As soon as I reached the Suoluo treetop, I was subjected to Man Niao Niao’s foul tirade. Who had I offended?

“Man Ming,” Elder Ji unexpectedly called out Man Niao Niao’s formal name. “I actually knew who you were long ago!”

I was completely baffled, turning to stare blankly at Elder Ji, wondering if this old man had also lost his mind. “Who is he?” I asked, looking at Elder Ji pointing at Man Niao Niao.

“He is Man Ming, but… he is a descendant of the Saltwater Goddess! A descendant of the Cong Clan. He is someone who has been your sworn enemy for several lifetimes, and he is the one who has been using you to find and destroy the Blood Soul Tablet!”

Elder Ji’s words were delivered without a ripple, yet they struck my ears like a thunderclap ripping through a clear sky! This sudden bolt of thunder didn't just stun me into petrification; it affected Qin Bing’er too, freezing her in place like a sacred Bodhisattva statue, her face a mask of horror one might wear upon seeing a vicious demon in broad daylight.