Everything about Sister Ying has always been a curse that has clung to me.
She was like a riddle, and an enchanting one at that.
I've always wanted to understand everything about her, just as I've always wanted to find out who those people were who went to see my father back then.
After all the trouble I went through to find Mao Guizhi, was I going to back down now?
It's like knowing the answer is on the next page, and choosing not to look?
I don't think I could do that.
"I'm ready. Otherwise, I wouldn't have come all the way here to find you," I said to Mao Guizhi.
"What do you want to know?" Mao Guizhi asked me.
"Do you have a tattoo too?" I asked.
She nodded and rolled up her sleeve.
Looking at the familiar tattoo, I asked, "What does this tattoo signify?"
Mao Guizhi said, "This is the mark of Suo."
"Suo?"
"Suo is an organization that has existed for thousands of years... My ancestors have always been members of Suo."
"Is the Eldest Miss the leader of Suo?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi shook her head, "Suo has no leader... The purpose of Suo's existence is only to seek."
"To seek?"
"That's right, Suo means to seek."
"Seek what?"
"I don't quite know..."
"Then why do people with this tattoo obey the Eldest Miss's orders? And why do you all call her Eldest Miss?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi replied, "There's no 'why'... Because it's a tradition passed down through generations. As long as she finds us, we must obey her orders... As for why we call her Eldest Miss, it's because our ancestors always addressed her that way."
Mao Guizhi hesitated and said, "At first, I didn't understand either, and I investigated her for it..."
"What did you find out?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi said, "It should be similar to what you already know. She seems to have always been alive. In other words, she doesn't die..."
"Do you really think so?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi replied, "It's not that I think so, but the facts are right before our eyes. My grandfather left behind many notes and photos... Before he passed away, he instructed my father to destroy those things, but my father didn't do it..."
She paused, "My father spent his whole life waiting for the Eldest Miss to appear. He really wanted to know if such a remarkable person truly existed in the world, but he waited his whole life without seeing her. It wasn't until the second year after his death that that woman found me."
"At first, I didn't believe any of this, until..."
"Until what?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi didn't continue, but looked at me, "We who have these tattoos are called Suozhe. No one knows how many Suozhe there are in the world or where they are, except her."
"And who are those people who are causing her trouble?" I asked.
Mao Guizhi said, "They are members of a mysterious organization. I'm not quite sure who they are yet, but they are incredibly powerful. They have people not only domestically but also globally."
"What is their purpose in looking for her?"
Mao Guizhi smiled, "What do you think?"
"Is it for eternal life?"
"Isn't that enough to drive people mad?" Mao Guizhi asked.
Eternal life could indeed drive people mad. Thinking back, countless talented individuals throughout history have sought the secret to immortality.
I was still conflicted. Even though I had obtained a lot of information now, and all of it kept confirming that Sister Ying could indeed live forever, I still couldn't quite believe it.
If it were anything ordinary, I wouldn't be so troubled, but this matter was simply too unbelievable, too exaggerated.
Mao Guizhi didn't tell me everything; she avoided discussing many crucial pieces of information.
For example, how the "Suozhe" came to obey Sister Ying, or how Sister Ying contacted them.
Whenever I asked these questions, Mao Guizhi would steer the conversation elsewhere, clearly deliberately concealing something. 138 reading network
Time ticked by. About three hours later, I woke up from a nap to find that Fu Honglang still hadn't returned.
Wang Yang's condition had also become unstable, his breathing weak.
He was clearly suffering from excessive blood loss. If we didn't get out soon, it would be very dangerous.
Waiting here was not an option. I decided to take Wang Yang out first, and then come back to find Fu Honglang.
I told Mao Guizhi my plan. She said, "You all go out first. I'll stay here."
"What about him?" Fatty pointed at Xiao Liu nearby and asked.
Mao Guizhi said, "You don't need to worry about him..."
"What's wrong with this Xiao Liu?" Fatty asked.
"He's likely poisoned by the Corpse Bee. When I came in with someone before, one person was bitten by a Corpse Bee, and his symptoms were similar to his," Mao Guizhi said.
I had suspected this earlier.
Xiao Liu's sudden madness must have a reason. It was unlikely to be possession; if it were possession, it would have happened much earlier, not now.
"Brother Xiang, can we leave?" Fatty asked with a mournful expression. "There are quite a few Corpse Bees at the stone bridge, what if..."
Hearing him say that made my head ache. I said, forcing myself, "If we don't go out, are we just going to wait here to die?"
Then I glanced at Mao Guizhi again, thinking about asking her to come out with us as well.
I saw her staring into the tunnel not far away, her eyes holding something new.
I thought, could she be going in to find Fu Honglang?
No!
If she were worried about Fu Honglang, she might have gone in earlier...
"Sister-in-law, there's actually a question I wanted to ask you," I said.
She turned to me, "What?"
"What exactly are you here to find?"
At my question, a flicker of hesitation crossed her eyes, and she fell silent.
"From what I see, you're not worried about Brother Fu, you still want to find something inside, don't you?" I added.
She sighed, "That's right. I must obtain that item before I can leave here."
Fatty said, "Sister-in-law, at a time like this, you still want to go back? Why don't you come out with us? That thing won't run away. After we go out, rest up, and prepare, we can come back in..."
Mao Guizhi shook her head, "This underground palace has a self-destruct mechanism. If we don't take that item out this time, we might never be able to enter again."
"What exactly is it?" I asked.
She looked at me and said, "An ancient corpse."
"An ancient corpse?"
"Mmm." Mao Guizhi clearly didn't want to explain further. Instead, she said to us, "You all should hurry and go out. I'm afraid Old Fu might trigger the self-destruct mechanism inside, and then it will be too late."