Yan Tuo was a bit dazed but didn’t rashly ask questions. He felt that with Pei Ke’s personality, she would speak when she wanted to; he just needed to listen.
Pei Ke continued: “Saying this, you all might not give up. Let me explain more clearly. Do you know why I went underground?”
Yan Tuo nodded: “I heard you were dragged away by ground hawks while traversing Qing Rang.”
Pei Ke said indifferently: “More or less. I was dragged into the Black and White Ravine but didn’t die. Firstly, I wasn’t that easy to deal with; secondly, they quickly discovered my blood wasn’t delicious at all – what they bit into was a poisonous mushroom.”
“But once you enter the Black and White Ravine, there’s no turning back. The change doesn’t start with appearance, it starts here.”
She raised her finger and pointed to her forehead.
“Like being addicted to drugs, there’s an irresistible craving for darkness, for the underground. Even though I knew I had a daughter above ground, I still had to go underground. That place was my true home.”
Yan Tuo felt a chill throughout his body.
No wonder she said those who were kidnapped couldn’t return – those people had already recognized their foreign land as their homeland.
What about Nie Jiuluo? How was she?
Perhaps fearing the answer wouldn’t be what he hoped, he held back from asking.
“I traversed the Black and White Ravine. Along the way, I was often immersed in illusions, feeling like Kua Fu chasing the sun, pursuing a black sun. Then, fortunately, at the shaded edge of the Black and White Ravine, I met the… ancestors of the Chantou Army.”
Yan Tuo’s lips were slightly dry: “White Pupil Ghost?”
Pei Ke gave a cold laugh: “So that’s what you call us? Quite the name you’ve chosen. Call us whatever you like.”
“My arrival was a big event for them, after all, for thousands of years, no new members had joined. After that, I became like them.”
Yan Tuo asked carefully: “Was it the Nüwa statue that helped you… transform?”
“Yes, they requested the Nüwa deity statue enshrined on the Divine Mountain for me.”
It was hard to imagine that there was a “Divine Mountain” underground – was that what people commonly imagined as the netherworld?
Yan Tuo recalled a line he’d read in a book.
—This is a black kingdom, thus it is called “You Du” (Dark Capital).
“Integrating with these ancestors was extremely difficult. For a while, I was like a mute, only able to gesture. Their language, accent, and way of making sounds were all too…”
Pei Ke paused here, then continued: “But there was no choice, I was forced to learn, to listen.”
A drop of water can only conform to the river.
“However, language communication wasn’t the hardest part. The hardest part was here.”
She pointed to her forehead again.
“I’m a modern person, separated from their era by almost two thousand years. Our thoughts and ways of doing things are completely different. Underground is a survival-of-the-fittest animal world, both primitive and savage, absurd and bloody. There, there’s no feeling of being human; everyone lives like beasts.”
Yan Tuo could roughly understand Pei Ke’s feelings.
They say three years make a generation gap, but between Pei Ke and the Chantou Army ancestors, it was probably more like an ocean trench. Although the Qin Dynasty was feudal, it still had remnants of the slave system. The Chantou Army of that time probably didn’t speak of universal love, freedom, or equality. After staying in such a bestial world for so long, probably little humanity remained…
Yan Tuo dared not think further.
Pei Ke said: “I could never adapt, my mood was gloomy, and I often went to the Black and White Ravine to clear my mind. Actually, for ones like us, entering the Black and White Ravine is going against the grain – the higher we go, the more discomfort our bodies endure, but this gave me a kind of masochistic pleasure.”
At this point, she looked at Yan Tuo: “However, thanks to this way of venting, I met Xinxin. Otherwise, she would have been torn apart and eaten, consumed until not even bones remained.”
Yan Tuo shuddered.
At this moment, he was so grateful to Pei Ke: thank heavens, Xinxin still had some luck – after being abandoned in the Black and White Ravine, she hadn’t suffered too much.
Since they were talking about Yan Xin, Pei Ke decided to say more, knowing Yan Tuo wanted to hear it.
“Xinxin was heaven’s consolation to me. She was about the same age as my daughter, largely filling the void of missing Xixi. At that time, she could already talk, could say her name, remembered her mother and brother, and remembered there was a bad woman who abandoned her here.”
“Of course, I facilitated her transformation. I was happy – with her around, I wasn’t lonely, had someone to talk to. However, children’s learning ability and adaptability to the environment are stronger than adults. She learned to speak the underground language much faster than I did, accepting it very quickly. Instead, her original language became increasingly unfamiliar, despite my frequent practice with her. Have you spoken with her? Talking to her is frustrating – her language ability is worse than a three-year-old’s.”
“Also, this might upset you, but sometimes hatred lasts longer than love. After several years underground, Xinxin no longer remembered her mother or brother, but she remembered the bad woman very clearly, and could even describe her general appearance.”
“I told her if one day she saw this bad woman again, to bring her to me. I could help her find out what exactly happened back then.”
The bad woman, Lin Xirou, Aunt Lin.
Yu Rong had already told Yan Tuo about Lin Xirou being a blood sac. Yan Tuo’s feelings toward Lin Xirou were complicated. He hated her for feeding on his family’s blood, but then again, his sister Yan Xin underground also needed blood sacs, wasn’t she playing a “Lin Xirou” role too?
“That Lin Xirou, did you question her later?”
“Yes, and I learned about you and your relationship with Xinxin. Otherwise, why would I have the patience to tell you all this?”
“Then… what happened after? Did you kill her?”
“No, Xinxin wanted to keep her for entertainment, so let her accompany Xinxin and keep her amused.”
The word “entertainment” made Yan Tuo’s hair stand on end. After a long pause, he asked: “Someone like Lin Xirou, isn’t she unable to go underground?”
“Yes, she suffers greatly down there, ages quickly, her bones have softened, her back is hunched. Don’t you like this? She harmed your whole family, and heaven has placed the knife of revenge in your sister’s hands. Aren’t you happy?”
Yan Tuo couldn’t quite express it.
Not happy, no joy from revenge finally being served, nothing much to be sad about either, closer to numbness.
What good was Lin Xirou’s tragic fate? His father, mother, and sister had all, in their ways, permanently “left” him.
He asked: “Can I see Xinxin?”
Pei Ke replied neutrally: “You could, but there’s no point. First, she doesn’t like coming up; second, I’ve told her everything I learned, she knows about you, but she doesn’t remember you and doesn’t particularly want to see you.”
She added: “You’re not thinking she’ll be teary-eyed or throw herself into your arms crying, are you? That won’t happen. To her now, you’re no different from a stone. I heard you’ve been wanting to find your sister, but what’s lost is lost.”
Yan Tuo forced a smile but said nothing, as bitterness slowly crept into his heart.
What’s lost is lost – that Xinxin who spoke with a baby voice, who protected him and wouldn’t let mother hit him, was long gone.
He had finally found Xinxin, and also finally lost her forever.
In his daze, he heard Pei Ke’s voice: “Now that we’ve finished talking about your sister, let’s return to the main topic.”
“You might know that we have a pit field underground. The so-called descendants of Kua Fu underground, some are wild, but most are captured and penned like livestock. They have only two uses: food and breeding blood sacs for us.”
“But the trouble is, they’re not livestock, they’re people – they have thoughts, plans. So over time, conflicts kept escalating, and confrontations became inevitable. Escapes happened frequently. The Chantou Army naturally didn’t want this happening – who would like their resources flowing away?”
“That’s why hawk ghosts were placed in the shaded side of the Black and White Ravine as a barrier to prevent ground hawks from escaping. Why have outsiders gained so little from traversing Qing Rang all these years, why did Jiang Baichuan return empty-handed several times? Because it was controlled at the source. In the Black and White Ravine, with so few roaming outside, the chances of encountering them were even lower.”
“But accidents happen, Lin Xirou is an example. This woman was clever – not only did she escape herself and establish a foothold outside, but underground, she also had her channels, something like smuggling, moving ground hawks out one by one like ants moving house.”
In Yan Tuo’s mind, that Excel spreadsheet suddenly flashed – so that group of people hadn’t escaped all at once.
Pei Ke said: “I dislike this situation. Why are things so complicated? Those ground hawks, if you’re just a bit clever, show them some kindness, and treat them slightly like humans, they’ll be grateful and content with their situation. After all, fundamentally, they are human.”
“Being human, they have all kinds of slave mentalities. Many are willing to be slaves, many take pride in breeding blood sacs for you – if you’re smart about managing them. Everything would be orderly. We’ve all been to school, studied history, studied politics – when contradictions become too intense, why not change the system? It doesn’t benefit us if all the ground hawks die. Why not appropriately share profits, give them some sweeteners, let them serve us better?”
“Those brainless Chantou Army members made life hell down there. Two thousand years, standing still, no development or progress at all. That place is my home – am I supposed to live forever in such a hopeless place?”
A hint of an arrogant smile slowly appeared at the corners of Pei Ke’s lips: “One day, I suddenly understood. Since these useless ones don’t have the ability, they should make way for me. Let me handle it.”
Yan Tuo suddenly understood: “You want to fight them?”
Pei Ke asked him in return: “Where do people not fight?”
Underground, how could differences be resolved through reason? What a joke – before you could finish two sentences, you’d be eaten alive.
She needed to cultivate her power inconspicuously, slowly building her forces, step by step, to change the underground world.
“Of course, I didn’t just rush into fighting hot-headed. I don’t do things without certainty. To fight, you need sufficient power. As you can see, I’ve done well these years. Xinxin is my confidante, and besides her, I can now command some people, and give orders, but it’s far from enough. Those people aren’t my people, don’t share my thoughts.”
A chill ran through Yan Tuo: “So, you kidnapped those people…”
Pei Ke nodded: “Who else would come to Qing Rang? I’d had my eye on the Chantou Army for a long time. But back then I didn’t have enough influence, no one would follow my orders. Also, I didn’t know when the Chantou Army would come. Jiang Baichuan only came once every few years – I couldn’t just have people waiting outside, could I? Besides, even if we kept watch, by the time we got the news and rushed up from underground, it would be too late.”
So this idea had lingered in her mind, waiting for the right moment.
At this point, Yan Tuo suddenly felt like laughing.
He almost pitied Jiang Baichuan and Xing Shen.
All these years, they thought they were guarding an unknown secret, leaning on their money tree, even harboring ambitious dreams of going further, obtaining some Nüwa flesh.
They considered themselves extraordinary, thinking they were an exceptional group, not realizing that in this thousand-year game, this long-term scheme, they were at the bottom of the food chain, the most insignificant bunch, busy running around, pitiful and laughable, marked not only by ground hawks but also as Pei Ke’s “prey.”
“Then this time…”
“This time, circumstances aligned, the timing was right. It started with unusual activity among the ground hawks in the Black and White Ravine. Lin Xirou was trying to summon ground hawks, did you know?”
Yan Tuo shook his head, then suddenly remembered something and hesitantly nodded.
He recalled when he was among the figurines, he had knocked out a beast-form ground hawk with his gun stock.
Just as White Pupil Ghost could command hawk ghosts, someone like Lin Xirou must still have some connection with beast-form ground hawks. When she arranged to meet Xing Shen in the Black and White Ravine to exchange people, she likely tried to summon these ground hawks for absolute advantage.
“We were alerted then, and did some cleaning up. She probably didn’t manage to summon many. Then the Chantou chimes were struck, indicating Chantou Army members were outside.”
This was interesting – ground hawk activity, Chantou Army signaling to hawk ghosts – something rare must be happening in Qing Rang.
By then, Pei Ke had gained significant influence among the White Pupil Ghosts. She felt the time was ripe for her plan to begin.
So the White Pupil Ghosts came in force, crossed the ravine waters, killing hawks they encountered, and kidnapping people they found.
Yan Tuo felt conflicted: “You kidnapped so many people – didn’t you think they might be unwilling?”
Pei Ke said dismissively: “Once they enter the Black and White Ravine, unwilling becomes willing.”
“Besides, why wouldn’t they be willing? Up there, are they people of achievement and career?”
Her tone turned increasingly sarcastic: “Those who run to Qing Rang are just after money. If they had any real ability up there, they wouldn’t need to seek this kind of wealth.”
“It’s crowded up there, hard to stand out. Why not come underground? They’re nothing up there, wouldn’t be missed, but down here it’s different – they immediately become elite, top predators. Once things are settled, they’ll live comfortably, and sustainably. Isn’t that good?”
“Pass my message to those in charge now, whether it’s Jiang Baichuan or whoever else. I’ll arrange for cleaning of the Black and White Ravine and stricter border sealing. There shouldn’t be any more ground hawks surfacing in the future. I don’t want ground hawks constantly crossing boundaries, causing trouble, drawing unwanted curiosity about the underground from irrelevant people, and disturbing our peace. I’ve destroyed the Chantou chimes, there’s no need for further entanglement. From now on, what’s above ground stays above, and what’s underground stays underground. You live your lives, I’ll live mine. Am I clear enough?”
Clear enough.
Yan Tuo’s heart sank: “What about A Luo? Has she also… changed? Never wanting to return?”
Pei Ke fell silent.
***
A sinister premonition suddenly crossed Yan Tuo’s mind. Since the meeting, he had asked about Nie Jiuluo several times, but each time, Pei Ke either gave irrelevant answers or remained silent.
She finally spoke: “You mean Xixi? How is she – haven’t you seen for yourself?”
What did that mean? Yan Tuo didn’t understand: “Didn’t she come back to life?”
“Who told you she came back to life?”
Something in Yan Tuo’s mind started buzzing, like bees flapping their wings, getting faster and faster.
“You have the Nüwa flesh…”
Pei Ke’s tone was harsh: “We never had Nüwa flesh. The so-called Nüwa statue is just soil from where, according to legend, Nüwa’s corpse collapsed and decomposed, where her blood and flesh seeped into the earth.”
Realizing he’d been imprecise, Yan Tuo’s lips went dry: “The Nüwa statue, it can bring people back to life…”
“The Nüwa statue only allows us to live underground in human form, and ground hawks to live above ground in human form. It has never been able to resurrect the dead.”
Yan Tuo stared at Pei Ke, his mind blank.
He desperately tried to find something to refute her.
“But I saw with my own eyes, ground hawks, as long as their skull or spine wasn’t injured, could come back to life after dying…”
“You said it yourself – ground hawks. Ground hawks have strong regenerative abilities, it’s their nature. But that’s ground hawks, not us. We die from fatal attacks. Why can we be the top predators underground? Because we only have one life – only by being the strongest, the most elite, can we live long.”
Yan Tuo’s legs suddenly felt weak.
He remembered some things.
—Chen Fu had come back to life in the suitcase without the help of a Nüwa statue. Pei Ke was right, regeneration was inherent to ground hawks, not granted by the Nüwa statue. Gou Ya had indeed been immersed in the soil, but the soil’s function was only to speed up recovery.
—When Pei Ke kidnapped people, she injured many, but only injured them, never killed anyone, except that time with Nie Jiuluo…
He stammered, asking once more: “Then what about A Luo?”
For the first time, Pei Ke’s tone carried a note of desolation: “When I recognized her, it was too late. At that time, she was trying so desperately to save you. I thought, you must be someone she loved, so I spared you.”
He understood each word, but couldn’t grasp what Pei Ke was trying to express.
“She’s your daughter, didn’t you revive her?”
Pei Ke looked at him calmly: “She is my daughter, but I’m not the Great Goddess Nüwa. I don’t have the power to resurrect the dead.”
She reached for her collar and plucked off a flower, handing it to Yan Tuo.
A black flower.
Yan Tuo stared at it blankly, accepting it in confusion.
It felt cold to the touch. Were there flowers underground? He didn’t know, he’d never been there. The flower was the same color as Pei Ke’s clothes, and with the weak luminescence, he hadn’t noticed it before.
What did this flower mean? Was it like white flowers used for mourning?
Pei Ke said: “I’m leaving. Let’s leave it at this. I kept thinking you might come back to look. And you did come back. That’s good. It shows that Xixi didn’t love the wrong person. She had better judgment about men than I did.”
Yan Tuo mumbled: “Why?”
Why did A Luo have to be the one to die on this journey?
Jiang Baichuan, Xing Shen, those who were kidnapped, even Lin Xirou – all those deeply involved were still alive. Why was Nie Jiuluo the one who died?
Pei Ke didn’t speak. She turned toward the riverbank, feeling the cool jade and platinum necklace against her neck.
The jade would warm up quickly against the skin, but every time she thought of Xixi, that piece turned cold, and her throat felt chilly too as if a huge hole had been carved through it.
Why?
She wanted to ask too – why did it have to be Xixi? And why was it her, the mother, who acted in that moment?
Pei Ke leaped onto the rope.
Yan Tuo snapped out of his daze, chasing after her like a madman, asking: “Then what about her body? Where did you take A Luo’s body?”
Pei Ke stopped, standing on the quivering rope.
She didn’t speak, just lowered her head to look at the rushing ravine waters below.
An icy chill ran through Yan Tuo’s body as if he too were immersed in the frigid water: “You… threw her into the water?”
Pei Ke said: “Why do you think I came up here, why am I here?”
“I came to see Xixi. This is where the Great Goddess Nüwa’s body collapsed. Legend says her blood became the river, flowing endlessly day after day. Being at peace with the ancestral goddess – isn’t that the best resting place for Xixi?”