Just as I finally scrambled out of the cave, ready to cheer, the Fatty suddenly yelled that a "human face" had grown on my back. That utterly nonsensical remark hit me like a bucket of freezing water, chilling me to the bone. I frantically twisted my neck to look at my own back, then remembered I couldn't see it. "What the hell are you babbling about?" I demanded of the Fatty. "A face on my back? Where? Whose face? Stop trying to scare me; I’m already suffering from severe nervous exhaustion."

The Fatty pulled the Big Gold Tooth over and pointed at my back. "Why would I scare you? Just let Old Jin take a look. See if I'm telling the truth."

Big Gold Tooth placed the "Fragrant Jade" he was clutching onto the ground. Having been in the pitch-black cave for so long, his eyes weren't focusing well, so he rubbed them before standing behind me to inspect my back. "Hmm... huh? Old Hu, right between your shoulder blades, there is indeed a palm-sized mark... kind of blurry... Is that a human face? Actually, it looks more like... more like an eye."

"What? An eye grew on my back?" My scalp tingled. The mention of an eye immediately brought to mind the ancient city of Jingjue buried beneath the Xinjiang desert. That nightmarish memory rivaled the horrors of my time on the battlefield—equally terrifying and profoundly sad. I bent my arm, trying to feel my back, but felt nothing. I quickly urged Big Gold Tooth to describe precisely what was growing there—was it a "face" or an "eye"?

Big Gold Tooth explained to me, "It’s a circular, dark red, shallow impression. You wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely. It has rings, almost like the layers of a pupil. Maybe I wasn't precise; it looks more like an eyeball than an eye—it lacks eyelids or eyelashes."

I turned back to the Fatty. "Little Fatty, didn't you say it looked like a human face just now? Why does Master Jin say it looks like an eyeball?"

The Fatty said from behind me, "Old Hu, when I first saw that circular mark on your back, my mind was still stuck on the human faces from the Ghost Mound. So, I mistakenly thought it was a face. But looking closely now... you know, it really does resemble the eyeball motif we saw in the ancient city of Jingjue."

The more the Fatty and Big Gold Tooth spoke, the more anxious I became. This was definitely not a birthmark; I knew my own body well enough to know if I had one. What exactly had grown on my back? The most frustrating part was the lack of a mirror so I could see it myself.

Suddenly, Big Gold Tooth exclaimed, "Fatty, you have the same birthmark on your back as Hu Ye! You two quickly check if I have one too!"

I looked over at the backs of Big Gold Tooth and the Fatty. I saw a circular, dark red mark on the Fatty's left back. It truly looked like a birthmark, vague and indistinct, not clearly outlined, about the size of an adult's palm. It bore some resemblance to an eyeball’s shape, but it wasn't definitive. The color, a dark red like dried blood, was particularly jarring in the fading twilight.

But Big Gold Tooth’s back was smooth; apart from some chafing, there was nothing there. At this, the Fatty and I were stunned. This couldn't be coincidence, nor could it have happened while we were with Big Gold Tooth. It was overwhelmingly likely connected to our trip into the ghostly caves of Xinjiang. Were all the survivors of that expedition cursed by that bottomless ghost hole?

I recalled that a couple of days ago, right after arriving in Gutian, we nearly drowned in the Yellow River. Once we reached the guesthouse, we all took a hot shower. At that time... I didn't recall anyone having such a strange red mark. That meant it had appeared within the last two days. Could it be unrelated to the ghost hole and instead an infection from some virus inside this Dragon Ridge tomb? But why didn't it appear on Big Gold Tooth? Did he have immunity to this virus?

The Fatty said to me, "Old Hu, don't overthink it. Relax. What's the big deal? It doesn't hurt or itch. When you bathe next time, find a rough scrub cloth and give it a good go; maybe it’ll disappear. We got a treasure this time; we should be happy! Hey... do you guys recognize this place? It looks a little familiar to me."

The moment I climbed out of the cave, the Fatty told me about the strange thing on my back, throwing me into a panic. I hadn't paid attention to where the cave exit was, only recalling that the entrance was incredibly narrow, made up of collapsed, loose loess soil. Hearing the Fatty say the surroundings looked familiar, I looked up and couldn't help but laugh. "Well, after all that turning around, it seems fate brought us right back here."

It turned out the exit from the Dragon Ridge was the exact spot where, when we first arrived at the Fish Bone Temple, I had climbed a ridge to examine the local Feng Shui. On my way down, I had stepped on a section of unstable earth halfway up the slope and nearly fallen in. The Fatty and Big Gold Tooth had rushed over when they heard the noise and pulled me from the collapsing earth. That section of the slope had caved in, forming a hole, and we had peered inside, thinking it was a fissure connected to the underground caverns. Now, it appeared this was directly linked to the huge cavern housing the Human-Faced Bronze Ding. After wandering through the interior for ages, we had finally emerged through this hole, collapsed accidentally.

Our gear and supplies were still safely tucked away not far off at the Fish Bone Temple. Most importantly, we needed clothes immediately, or if we encountered any local women in this mountain gorge, the three of us would surely be mistaken for hooligans.

I knew overthinking was useless, but the sudden appearance of the dark red mark cast a shadow over our victory, leaving me deeply unsettled. The main issue was not knowing what this mark on my back actually was. We needed to find a doctor first thing. Though I felt no unusual sensation, having something non-original attached to my body felt profoundly unsettling.

The wind in the gorge was fierce, and we were barely clothed. Carrying the raw Fragrant Jade, we hurried back to the Fish Bone Temple. We had been gone for almost a full day, and the treasure was still safe behind the altar of the Dragon King. We each found our clothes, put them on, and then took several swigs of the baijiu from our bags. Regardless of the strange mark, we had secured the Golden Fragrant Jade; selling it back in Beijing would net a considerable sum.

After eating and drinking his fill, Big Gold Tooth caressed the raw jade, feeling utterly triumphant. He couldn't help but sing: "I am not a highwayman or a thief, nor a villain sneaking into town... What account are the petty kings of the border tribes? I can hold back a million soldiers with a single sword..."

Though I felt a measure of joy from our impending wealth, the red mark on my back drained my spirits, and I remained silent, drinking.

I had a growing sense that something was very wrong. This eye-like imprint couldn't have appeared for no reason. The thought alone made my back feel incredibly heavy.

Seeing my mood, Big Gold Tooth tried to console me. "Old Hu, you've always been open-minded. Don't dwell on this. Go to a hospital for a check-up when we get back. If necessary, just have the skin surgically removed. The good news is it’s not very large, and it doesn't look deep; it shouldn't be a major issue. It might be best to consult a traditional Chinese doctor first; perhaps a couple of doses of herbs will clear it up."

The Fatty retorted to Big Gold Tooth, "This isn't a skin disease for either of us; what use is a doctor? If we see a doctor, we might as well just burn it off with a cigarette butt ourselves..."

I said to both of them, "Forget it, do what you want. We’re not dead today, so let’s drink our fill. Tomorrow can take care of itself."

The Fatty tapped his bottle against mine, tilted his head back, and downed the rest of his half-bottle of liquor in one gulp. "We just struck it rich; we need to value our lives now. We're counting on enjoying the latter half of our lives."

By the time we finished eating and drinking, it was dark. We crept back that night to the village below Serpent Coiling Slope, borrowed lodging for the night, and returned to Gutian the next day, preparing to cross the Yellow River northwards. However, we were informed that heavy rains upstream for the past two days had made the river too treacherous for boats; the ferry wouldn't operate until the day after tomorrow at the earliest.

We conferred: finding a boat at another crossing point would mean traveling at least a full day. It would be better to stay in Gutian county town for a couple of days, rest up, and perhaps browse around the town to see if we could pick up any Ming Dynasty artifacts.

So, we checked back into the same guesthouse as before. This time, however, the place was almost full, mostly with people waiting to cross the river. Gutian was a small town, with only two or three guesthouses and hotels, leaving us no choice. We ended up taking a communal bunk space on the ground floor.

The communal room slept eight people. After the three of us arrived, there were five occupants, leaving three empty spots. We were uneasy about leaving such a valuable item as the Fragrant Jade in a locker, so we wrapped it meticulously, layer upon layer, and took turns guarding it in the room, holding it if we stepped out.

That evening, while the Fatty and Big Gold Tooth watched the jade inside, I went to the washhouse in the guesthouse's backyard for a shower and happened to run into Old Man Liu, with whom we had shared drinks earlier.

I greeted him and made some polite conversation, asking if there was any famous traditional Chinese doctor in Gutian County who specialized in skin ailments.

Old Man Liu mentioned that there was indeed an old TCM master with miraculous skills whose cures were absolute, especially for psoriasis. He then asked me with concern if I was ill or where I felt unwell.

Since I was heading to the bathhouse and only wearing a shirt, I unbuttoned the top two buttons and let Old Man Liu look at my back, saying I had some kind of rash and was looking for a doctor.

After looking, Old Man Liu was greatly shocked. He said to me, "My brother, how did you get this? This doesn't look like a skin disease to me. It looks like a red mark, like dried blood, and the shape strongly resembles a character. And I've seen this character before."

I asked, "What? This on my back is a character? Can you make out what it is?"

Old Man Liu replied, "Back in '80, when our county was tearing down an old primary school to lay new foundations, they dug up some strange animal bones. The locals snatched them all up before they could be collected. Then the archaeological team arrived. Through the county broadcast system, they managed to reclaim all the bones. The experts from the team stayed at our guesthouse, and I saw this character on the bone plates when they were collecting them—more than once."