The subterranean canyon felt like the very depths of hell, a sprawling panorama of jagged, colossal prehistoric skeletons. The surrounding collapsed stone pillars seemed insignificant beside these bones, most of which were buried in the grayish-white soil, so at first, the group noticed no trace of human architecture. It wasn't until Xiang pointed out the massive black statue behind us that we realized the extent of the stone columns nearby.

Every column was carved with what looked like ox-nose holes, and some still held stone rings as thick as a man’s forearm. Most striking, however, were the tiered eye totems etched into the stone. We had seen these markings countless times; they were utterly commonplace. Seeing them again here elicited no surprise. All the eye carvings were virtually identical, save for those flanking the altar: one end featured a closed eye, the other a bleeding eye. The markings on these pillars were the most conventional sort, and I could discern nothing distinct about them.

But upon seeing the totems on the pillars, Shirley Yang seemed to sense an anomaly. She insisted on examining Xiang’s eyes closely. Perhaps to keep Xiang from becoming nervous, Shirley Yang used a tone of suggestion, much like her usual manner of speaking.

Xiang nodded in agreement, her expression timid. She probably found it bewildering—what was the point of looking closely at her eyes? So Shirley Yang held her breath, standing at a very close distance, gazing intently into Xiang’s eyes, as if trying to locate something within them.

I understood that although Shirley Yang spoke lightly of it, there must have been some issue we hadn't considered. Xiang’s behavior was indeed strange—she had suddenly developed a dissociative fugue, taking a sharp stone to stab her own eyes. Perhaps it was just as Uncle Ming had said: she was possessed, and she might no longer be the Xiang we knew. It was even possible her eyes held some connection to Eluocheng, and perhaps she was a demon concubine to a Ghost Mother right here among us.

I wildly speculated through several possibilities, none of which seemed quite right. Seeing Shirley Yang scrutinize Xiang’s eyes, Fatty and I leaned in for a look too, trying to see what was so special about Xiang’s eyes, but after staring for a long time, we couldn't spot anything unusual.

By then, Shirley Yang seemed to have found her answer in Xiang's eyes. She first told Xiang not to worry, that nothing bad would happen, then directed us to look at the eyes on the pillars. While they looked very similar to the other totems in Eluocheng, one detail was unique: the depicted pupils here all possessed a ring of thin, reddish protrusions around the edge. Shirley Yang said, "Look into Xiang’s eyes; you’ll see something similar."

Only then did I notice the subtle difference I had missed. If one looked closely at Xiang’s pupils, one would indeed find a trace of blood, like a fine circle surrounding them. This blood trace was finer than the blood vessels in the whites of the eyes, so faint it was almost impossible to see without close inspection. If Xiang hadn't burst into this cavern, we might never have found this place, and yet her eyes resembled the totems here. Was she deliberately leading us here? Still, I kept the thought unspoken in front of Xiang.

Shirley Yang knew that what had just happened could easily create suspicion toward Xiang. Shirley Yang had no faith in reincarnation theories based on eyes, so she explained, "The bio-electricity emitted through human eyes accounts for only about seven percent of the body’s output—it's very weak. However, everyone’s constitution is different, and so is their sensitivity to bio-electricity. Xiang’s eyes can sense things that ordinary people cannot capture. While this is special, there are many people in the world today who possess similar sensitivities. That’s why she was subconsciously drawn here; the totems on the pillars are the best evidence."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Ming quickly said, "It’s good she’s fine. Let's hurry north and get out of this place quickly. Let’s not worry about whatever ghostly things are here..."

Uncle Ming hadn't finished speaking when Xiang suddenly interrupted, "It’s no use, God-godfather. There’s no way forward. Lots of venomous snakes are chasing us from behind. We’re all going to die. I... I’m afraid of snakes, I don’t want to be bitten to death..." As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Xiang's words shocked everyone. How could this happen so suddenly? The memory of the black snakes in the white tunnel on Thunder Mountain was chilling enough. In this underground canyon, if they encountered a swarm of snakes, there would be nowhere to hide. Running forward was out of the question; how could their two legs outrun those black snakes moving like the wind? The ancient walls on both sides were sheer as if sliced by a blade; even apes couldn't climb them.

Just then, the slithering sound of snakes emerged faintly from the eastern caves and cracks in the crystal veins. Uncle Ming’s face turned ashen. He grabbed my arm, "Brother Hu, it’s all up to you this time. Thankfully, I listened to you and decided to go north; north means water, and water means a chance at life. If we had turned back earlier, we’d likely be snake food now. Let’s hurry north to escape for our lives!" Saying this, he tried to pull me forward.

I quickly put my hand on Uncle Ming’s: "Don't panic. It’s an open field ahead; fleeing means certain death. I think our only option right now is to get inside that black statue, block the entrance to hold back the snakes, and then figure out how to escape."

The sound of the approaching snake swarm surged like a tidal wave. Before we saw them, the noise alone chilled our hearts to the bone, allowing no further delay. I told Fatty to carry Xiang, grabbed Uncle Ming, and we dashed toward the entrance at the base of the black statue. The interior of the towering statue had been hollowed out. It was very dim, so we swept our flashlights around to survey the surroundings. There was wooden and stone architecture inside, rising in multiple tiers, seemingly leading straight to the statue's head.

The mass of black snakes was closing in; there was no time to examine the interior closely. Fatty dropped Xiang on the ground, and together with Uncle Ming and me, we shoved two large stone slabs over the doorway. The tension didn't ease at all; our legs felt weak. Fatty and I had caught snakes outdoors many times before, but these black snakes were not only numerous, but they moved like lightning, and their venom was so potent that mere contact meant death.

We worried about other openings within the statue. After a quick consultation, we decided it was safer to move higher up. To conserve our light sources, we kept only one headlamp and one flashlight on. Climbing up, we discovered the interior was far from secure. The statue was hollowed out into many separate stone chambers. The overall layout resembled the honeycomb structure of Eluocheng, though less complex. The small, cavern-like rooms were pathetic in size. I thought this wasn't a place meant for living; it was far too narrow and oppressive. Anyone staying inside for long would likely suffocate.

Dust covered everything, and the air circulation was poor. If the five of us lingered too long in any small area, we would start feeling suffocated and breathless.

Only when we climbed to the fourth level did we feel cool air blowing in. Following the chilling current through the dark passageway, we found a square opening, about a meter wide. This was a ventilation shaft in the lower-middle section of the statue. Because the statue itself was black, this opening was invisible from the ground. If it weren't for the collapsed stone pillars, even the entrance at the base would have been hard to spot.

I crawled up to the opening and peered out, leaning over the edge. Below, the luminescence was faint, showing only tangled masses of writhing black snakes gathered beneath the statue. The largest were as thick as a human arm, the smallest like willow leaves, and each had a black, fleshy eye on its head. Some snakes lay lazily coiled, while others wrestled and bit each other. The numbers kept growing. Looking at the mass of movement for too long made one feel sick.

Shirley Yang observed and told us, "The behavior of these snakes is strange; they don't seem like they are trying to climb in and attack us, but rather seem to be waiting for something to happen."

Fatty set Xiang down, took a breath, and said, "I think they’re waiting for us to go down and be their meal. They look like they’re waiting for feeding time." He checked the time on his wristwatch. "Isn't it exactly feeding time?" Xiang was badly frightened by Fatty's words, sitting on the ground hugging her knees and trembling. Uncle Ming looked utterly terrified and asked what they should do now. They didn't have food, and the water in the canteens was running low. They couldn't hide in the statue forever, especially since the stone rooms inside gave everyone the creeps, even Xiang complained of headaches here. They were truly trapped now; they couldn't escape even if they had wings.

I was deeply uneasy. Getting out was impossible, and the architecture inside the black statue didn't seem habitable. Who knew what else might be in here? But for now, I had to stabilize everyone’s mood. I found a pretense to rally the troops and told them, "It’s not just the north that belongs to Water; in the Five Elements, black also represents Water. This enormous statue is entirely black, so it naturally belongs to Water too. Therefore, I believe that by hiding here, we won't be in any mortal danger."

Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I told the group, "Down at the bottom of the canyon, we all saw that layer of volcanic cocooning on the stone pillars and fossilized bones, and there were many raised mounds on the ground. Those should be ejected volcanic bombs from a past eruption, and the temperature there was noticeably higher than elsewhere. These signs indicate there's a volcanic belt here. While we found a dead volcano in the lake, that doesn't mean the entire belt is dead. Snakes prefer cold and damp; they came from the eastern cave and wouldn't dare approach the north too closely. The further north we go, the thicker the sulfurous smell will be. If we can manage to lose the snake swarm and escape a mile or two north, we'll be safe. I think we can use materials here to make some torches to repel the snakes."

Uncle Ming noticed a major flaw in my logic and said, "That’s not right. All the snakes here are black, so they should belong to Water too. Even though I don’t understand I-Ching that well, I know Water conquers Fire, so even if the snakes like cold and damp, they still dared to come here. Moreover, we find life in water, so how can we dare light torches? Wouldn't that violate the taboos of mutual restraint?"

I thought to myself, this old Hong Konger is truly annoying, daring to debate the principles of Five Element generation and restraint with me. The logic of the Five Elements is like the spokes of a wheel; you can twist it to make sense of anything. Can Old Hu really be defeated when he's arguing without losing an inch of ground? So I told Uncle Ming, "Heaven produces One, which births Water; Earth produces Two, which births Fire; Heaven produces Three, which births Wood; Earth produces Four, which births Metal; Heaven produces Five, which births Earth. The Five elements combine through Five. Therefore, in the River Chart, odd numbers are Yang (male) and even numbers are Yin (female). In the greater numbers, Yin and Yang exchange roles, so the female is formed by Five. Modern people only know Water extinguishes Fire, but they don't know Water is the 'male' of Fire, and Fire is the 'female' of Water. Today people only know Water is strong in the North and Fire rises in the South, but they don't know the waxing and waning of the Five Elements is related to the Jupiter year cycle. Uncle Ming, you only know Water conquers Fire, but you don’t know that if Fire is strong and Water is weak, strong Fire can still overpower weak Water. This shows you don’t understand the ancient ways. We have strong Water here, and those snakes are weak Water. Therefore, our strong Water can borrow Fire to repel the weak Water. But this Fire cannot be stronger than our Water, or we’ll be in danger too."

Uncle Ming stared blankly for a long moment before saying, "In... incredibly brilliant. That’s why I always tell Xiang, when you marry in the future, marry a grave robber... otherwise, there’s no future."

Shirley Yang suddenly raised a hand gently, signaling everyone to stop talking. There was movement outside, and we immediately tensed up. We tiptoed to the opening to peek at the activity below, but Shirley Yang wasn't pointing out the snakes on the ground. She indicated the high cliff face above, where a long string of small, white lights had appeared at some point, swaying gently in the distance. There were quite a few of them.

But the distance was too great, and the crystal veins on the cliff face were growing sparse, their luminescence dim. What were those things? I rubbed my eyes hard, still unable to see clearly. They didn't look like lights; they seemed like countless small figures in white clothing standing there. Suddenly, a white shadow flickered before my eyes. On the cliff face was a somewhat gentler stone slope, and several large clusters of white, fluffy things rolled down from it, dropping onto the canyon floor.

The snakes on the ground immediately slithered towards those white objects that had fallen. We were only about ten meters above the ground. We could see the things below quite clearly: those large clusters were sticky, globular masses, the size of grapes. The black snakes rushed forward, jostling for position, and then stopped moving around them. Suddenly, many bright red things sprouted from the white objects, like red flowers blooming out of nowhere, but they vanished in an instant, flashing red and then dark. As everyone stared, intrigued, we finally made out the scene: coiled within a fossilized skeleton embedded in the rock was a black snake several times larger than its brethren. It must have slipped out from some rock fissure, flicking a blood-red tongue. The snake’s scales were jet black and dazzling, bizarrely beautiful. It drooled profusely; wherever a drop of its saliva hit the ground, a small clump of bright red poisonous fungus instantly sprouted from the rock, only to wither away in moments—a process of instant growth and decay. The toxicity of this snake surpassed human imagination. The great snake slid down from the fossil, moving toward the center of the white objects. It swallowed one by one, while the other black snakes waited silently beside it, not daring to move, seemingly waiting until their leader had eaten its fill.

Fatty asked in surprise, "What is that? Eggs?" Although I couldn't see very clearly, those large white masses were surely some kind of egg, very similar to those of giant termites, with many dead insects and animals encased within. I glanced back up at the row of small white figures and guessed the truth, telling the group, "Those up high are Earth Gūanyīn. No wonder these black snakes tolerate this hot environment; Fatty was right, they’re here to eat. Once they’re full, they’ll disperse. Let’s wait patiently for our chance. Earth Gūanyīn are inherently cruel and cunning, and very greedy. They like to hoard food, and even if they don't eat it, they'll hide it deeper inside. I didn't expect the snake swarm to benefit from this."

Upon hearing my explanation, everyone relaxed slightly. At least the snakes weren't after them, and they likely hadn't discovered their hiding spot. They would be able to escape soon. But Xiang suddenly spoke, "No, they saw me... I can feel it." She lowered her head, falling silent, looking utterly helpless.

I heard Xiang speak with such gravity that I knew she wouldn't joke about something like this. Thinking of the poisonous snake’s blood-red saliva, sweat immediately beaded on my forehead. I furtively glanced out the cave opening again. The giant snake coiled on the Dragon King Whale fossil was now raising its head, flicking its tongue directly toward our opening.

I quickly pulled back. Yes, I could feel it too. The snakes below definitely knew we were here, but whether they were waiting to finish the ant eggs before attacking, or whether they dared not enter the statue because it was a restricted zone, I didn't know. I instructed Fatty to stay at the entrance to monitor the snakes, while Shirley Yang, Uncle Ming, and I hurried to make some torches. I ducked into one of the stone rooms next to the entrance, using the flashlight to look for any oil containers. Though time had passed, yak grease or pine resin in ancient stores could last for a very long time; perhaps they could be used for kindling. We had noticed during our ascent that there seemed to be no lamps here; the absence of light in a place that never saw the sun was highly unusual.

Holding onto a slim hope, I swept the flashlight around. The stone room was empty on all four walls, except for an ancient jade mask without eyeholes tucked into a corner. Shirley Yang had found the exact same thing in another room. I asked Shirley Yang if this might be a mask belonging to a Ghost Mother of the Demon Kingdom and if those people needed masks to show their faces. Could the architecture inside this statue be for the Ghost Mothers?

Shirley Yang replied, "No, the Ghost Mother of the Demon Kingdom held very high status; she must have lived in the temple of Eluocheng, which is completely destroyed now. Look at the poor environment here; it could even be called a prison. And the eye markings are very specific, similar to Xiang's eyes. That kind of eye shouldn't be a ghost eye. It takes several generations of Ghost Mothers to produce one who can truly see the Ghost Cave. I wonder if this place was used... used to imprison candidates whose eyes didn't meet the requirements? The ox-nose holes and stone rings on the pillars below clearly indicate cruel corporal punishment. Those who were eliminated might have been locked in the canyon to feed the snakes."

I nodded. "By that logic, this place really does look like a jail. However, on that point, I still have one major question I can't figure out..." I had barely spoken when Fatty scrambled back from the entrance, asking anxiously, "How are the torches coming along? I see the snakes are starting to crawl toward us. If we’re lighting them, we need to hurry." Before Fatty could wait for my answer, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to me and Shirley Yang, "Look what that girl is doing over there?" I turned to look at Xiang behind me. She was in a dark corner, her back to us, facing the black wall, gently stroking the stone with her hand, trembling all over. Suddenly, she turned back toward us, two streams of black blood running down her cheeks, and slowly raised her arm, pointing her index finger at the wall, saying, "There is a woman in here."