Chapter Thirty-Three: Ghostly Shadows

Snow Maiden stepped through the doorway and looked back, asking, "Are you coming?"

Ding Jun hesitated slightly, unable to answer for a moment.

"Very well, I understand." There was neither joy nor sorrow in her voice. She turned and headed forward without looking back, her white figure dissolving into the deep, murky gloom.

Ding Jun tapped his foot lightly, still unable to resolve his internal conflict.

"Is there nothing left for me here? Can I go now? I promise, I absolutely won't talk, I won't cause any trouble, and I’ll leave Tolin Town immediately and quietly..." the one-eyed man stammered.

"What did Shi Miaoshou promise you?" Ding Jun asked.

The one-eyed man shook his head. "We follow Old Mother Ge. Whatever she arranges, we do. She said that as long as we finish the work at Tolin Temple, each of us will get millions, and then the Ten Eagles will disband, and we can go our separate ways. There are ten of us—four follow Old Mother Ge, four follow Old Jin; we were always two separate groups. Old Mother Ge is close with Shi Miaoshou; she was willing to help him, and we had no objections, as long as the money was there."

Ding Jun frowned; he had not expected such a deep schism within the Ten Eagles.

"Let me go. Your enemies are Shi Miaoshou and Old Mother Ge; it has nothing to do with me. Just let me go, can you?" the one-eyed man pleaded.

Ding Jun could see that the man was quite cunning and possessed immense adaptability. Letting him go would be like pinning a time bomb to his own back, one that could detonate at any moment.

"You cannot leave yet. Wait until Snow Maiden returns," he replied.

The one-eyed man sighed. "I’m just a pawn taking orders; I don't know anything. It’s useless to deal with me. I suspect Shi Miaoshou is inside the maze, and if something happens to Snow Maiden while she's alone... Fine, I’ll stay here honestly. You go in and help her—that works, right?"

That remark struck a chord. If Snow Maiden were to confront Shi Miaoshou, he didn't even know which side he would stand on.

"Hey, I hear Snow Maiden calling—" the one-eyed man suddenly yelled.

Ding Jun was startled out of his contemplation and stepped into the dark passage.

In that instant, the one-eyed man lunged forward, straining his hands until his shoelaces snapped. His hands moved with frenzied speed, pushing the dark stones on the wall in the exact reverse sequence required to open the door.

Ding Jun fired a shot without looking. The bullet seemed to have eyes of its own, tracing an arc and boring into the one-eyed man’s right temple. The man had chosen his own path to death; there was no choice but to kill him.

The hidden door slammed shut, and Ding Jun was plunged into darkness.

"So, even though I refused to move forward, my heart was still tethered to her safety. With the one-eyed man’s interference, at least I’m spared the agony of making a choice," he thought, offering a self-deprecating smile in the dark. He steadied himself and began to walk slowly forward.

After twenty-five steps, the corridor, three meters wide and five meters high, narrowed to two meters wide and three meters high. Twenty steps later, the walls, ceiling, and floor all turned into mirrors. With every step, shifting reflections appeared in front, behind, and to the sides, infinitely nested between the surfaces, multiplying his shadow into countless versions of himself.

"Snow Maiden? Snow Maiden..." he called out softly, but received no reply.

Beyond the mirrored corridor, he faced a mirrored room. On the left, front, and right walls were three identical arched doorways. He entered the room and peered into each; inside every door were layers upon layers of mirrors and portals, deep and intertwined, with no end in sight.

Every maze in the world has only one correct path; all other passages are designed to confuse intruders, leading only to dead ends.

This structure was, in fact, based on the principle from the Chinese classic *Tao Te Ching*: "The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced All Things." Two mirrors facing each other instantly completed the process of "One, Two, Three, All Things, and Infinity." It was faster than a spark; no human thought process could keep pace with this infinite growth. One could only become lost, swayed by the illusions in the mirrors, like a leaf in a whirlpool, with the only possible end being the destruction of one's soul.

Ding Jun recognized the treachery of this mirror maze and did not rush forward. Instead, he stayed in the first room at the entrance, observing and slowly sorting through his thoughts.

If not for the upheaval at the Scripture Pavilion, Shi Miaoshou should still be inside Tolin Temple, waiting for Si Qin to give birth. So, what was the crying of the infant he heard in the pipes? Whose child was it? Why bring it here? The one-eyed man took orders from Old Mother Ge, who took orders from Shi Miaoshou. He was the sole architect of this—what was he trying to achieve?

In the mirror opposite, there was initially only Ding Jun’s shadow, but after he lingered for a few minutes, another figure began to emerge on the mirror's surface. The mirrors themselves emitted a faint white glow—the room's only light source—making the illumination exceptionally dim.

Ding Jun stepped forward, peering closely. The shadow was that of a one-armed, one-horned, blood-drenched, terrifying demon with disheveled hair, glaring at him with deep, sunken, monstrous eyes. Simultaneously, he heard the wailing of ghosts and the howling of wolves; the screams of "woo-ao-ah-wei" rose and fell, as if the eighteenth level of hell were just ahead, where the damned were enduring inhuman torments in mountains of blades and vats of oil.

"What is that? A fierce ghost within the maze?" He gripped his pistol tighter, taking a deep breath to control his turbulent emotions.

Mirrors do not manifest shadows without reason; where there is a reflection, there must be a physical source. If the shadow was in the mirror, where was the true body of the demon? Should it not be right beside him?

He scanned the narrow mirrored room slowly. Through the haze, the room appeared empty, save for his own solitary figure. In the mirrors, he held his pistol horizontally, his face as still as water, his eyes cold and sharp, like frozen icicles hanging from eaves, looking down with pride upon the icy mountains and frozen streams.

If a person with ordinary, linear thinking were here, they would turn their gun and smash these eerie mirrors with the butt of the weapon to shatter the illusions.

"The most direct idea is often the most wrong, especially when facing a series of strange, devious traps," Ding Jun thought silently. Resisting his revulsion for the demon's image, he slowly pressed himself against the right-hand mirror and listened. Behind the mirror, he heard the rustling of venomous insects crawling slowly, the rapid hissing of snakes flicking their tongues, and the rhythmic tapping of scorpions impatiently striking the surface with their venomous tails.

He sighed, realizing he had narrowly avoided another disaster.

The architect had calculated everything; if he had broken the mirrors, he would have died a much more miserable death. The pervasive stench of venom in the maze was released by the insects hidden within the layers of the mirrors.

"If it becomes necessary, I will stop killing with killing, no matter who the opponent is!" he warned himself coldly. Since the architect’s every step was malicious and every link lethal, he too had to make the right decision. As a master of individual combat, he possessed the superhuman courage of "walking through a thousand mountains alone." Kill those who stand in his way, even if they were Buddhas. With indomitable courage, he would break through this desperate situation.

The ghost's shadow stood silently and alone. On the other two walls, the ceiling, and the floor, there were four identical ghost shadows.

"Something is not right—" Ding Jun’s sixth sense warned him. "Shadows cannot be exactly identical. Just as I stand here, in the five mirrors, the shadows should be different, reflecting my front, side, back, top, and bottom. Why are the ghost shadows in the mirrors completely identical—same angle, same size, same movement? Only a copy of the same original would look like that, wouldn't it?"

Slowly, the demon's shadow flickered, and after a while, it gradually vanished.

Ding Jun was covered in cold sweat. When he relaxed his grip on his gun, his palms were damp, and the handle began to slip.

"Snow Maiden?" He heard footsteps coming from the door on the left. Judging by the lightness of the tread, it was her.

Sure enough, Snow Maiden appeared. When she saw Ding Jun, her eyes lit up, and a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

"How is it? Did you find the correct path?" Ding Jun asked.

Snow Maiden nodded. "I have a few clues—so, you finally decided to come in?"

Ding Jun gave a wry smile. "The one-eyed man tried to trick me; he’s dead now. However, the entrance is sealed, and we have no way back."

This was bad news, but after the two locked eyes, they smiled in unison, as if they felt a secret, quiet relief at such an outcome.

Snow Maiden’s smile was breathtakingly beautiful; the tiny lines that crinkled beside her nose were like a breeze rippling a small lake. No matter the expression on her face, her eyes remained bright, like pearls that would never lose their luster.

"We can cooperate to move forward. The copper pipes that collect gas from the copper spheres are embedded in the stones above us. Beyond a distance of one meter, my sixth sense fails. So, help me, and I will find the way. If we follow the copper pipes, we can traverse the maze," she said.

Ding Jun offered a bitter smile and looked down at his feet. The floor reflected his face—weary, tired, and full of helplessness. To traverse the maze meant destroying Shi Miaoshou’s final line of defense, forcing his opponent into a dead end. What would follow would be a fight to the death.

Even if he let go and refused to help either side, it was a profound torment for him.

"I want to ask you, is it true that anyone who receives the 'Guge Silver Eye' death warrant must die?" he asked.

"Yes," Snow Maiden replied.

"Are there exceptions? Does it distinguish between good and evil?" Ding Jun asked again.

"Do you think Shi Miaoshou is a good man?" Snow Maiden retorted.

Ding Jun shook his head. "I don't want to judge him or Si Qin, but the infant in the womb is innocent. It was born into this world without a choice, and it has done no harm to anyone. Does it deserve to die, too?"

Snow Maiden answered, "Guge never kills indiscriminately. Those who must die have brought it upon themselves."

Ding Jun shook his head again. "Snow Maiden, the infant is innocent. Do you agree with that or not?"

Snow Maiden lifted her chin slightly, then shook her head gently. "I do not agree, because some infants are born with sin, or rather, their birth is intended for some evil purpose—like the child in Si Qin’s womb."

Ding Jun bit his lip until a trace of blood appeared on his tongue. "You won't even spare that infant?"

Snow Maiden sighed slightly. "You don't understand. Why bother interfering?"

Ding Jun gave a bitter smile again. "Am I interfering? I have already taken many steps back; I only want the baby to live. Even if Shi Miaoshou and Si Qin die, I can entrust someone to raise the child and help him become a good person."

This was the only thing he could do. If Shi Miaoshou had committed dark deeds, he would face death; Ding Jun would never deliberately shield him.

"I don't have the authority to promise you that. We can only take it one step at a time. Does that answer satisfy you?" Snow Maiden asked.

Ding Jun thought for a moment, then slowly lowered himself into a horse stance and patted his right knee, signaling his agreement to cooperate.

Snow Maiden stepped onto his knee, her head reaching toward the ceiling. She listened quietly for a while, then dropped to the floor and took the lead toward the right. After passing through three rooms, they repeated the same process, this time changing to a straight path. After more than twenty stops and starts, they finally entered a vast, empty chamber.

It was ten meters long and wide, with a deeply recessed ceiling forming an inverted hemisphere with a ten-meter diameter. On the gray inner wall of the sphere were hundreds of silver spotlights, all pointed toward a stone platform in the center of the room.

The moment he saw that platform, Ding Jun felt it was an "altar."

The platform was square—two meters long and one meter wide, resembling a single bed. At one end stood a stone stele, two meters high and one meter wide, acting as a headboard.

Since it was a stele, there had to be text on it, but when Ding Jun walked closer, he realized he didn't recognize a single one of the hundred or so characters.

A swaddled infant lay flat on the platform, its head resting against the stele, motionless, as if it were asleep.

"Is this where the crying we heard through the copper pipes came from?" Ding Jun muttered to himself.

An infant cannot walk; it must have been brought here by someone. This meant someone was likely lurking nearby.

"Regardless, taking this baby out of here counts as saving a life," he added.

Snow Maiden sniffed the air and circled the stone platform. Her expression grew increasingly grave.

Ding Jun reached out to pick up the bundle, but Snow Maiden stopped him: "Wait, don't move!"

At the same time, Ding Jun heard a piercing, chattering sound coming from beneath the bundle. It was the sound of countless hard-shelled insects gnawing on one another; the winners feasted on the bones of the defeated, creating that noise.

Judging by the source, the insects were inside the stone platform.

In the depths of the maze on the other side, there was a sharp *click*—the sound of someone chambering a round.

"Shi Miaoshou, come out. You’ve lost," Snow Maiden called out softly.

There was no response from that side. The only thing awakened was the infant in the bundle, who began to wail again.

"This is a sacrificial ritual. Do not easily disrupt its current form, lest you bring fire upon yourself and become the target of the sacrificer's curse. The one who tied the bell must untie it; we must find Shi Miaoshou first," Snow Maiden said.

The two stood on opposite sides of the altar, not daring to make a move.

Ding Jun looked down and suddenly noticed a red birthmark in the center of the infant's forehead, just slightly above the space between its brows. The mark was vertical, a clear, diamond-like shape, three centimeters long and one centimeter wide. "That birthmark looks like an eye—do you see it?" he whispered.

Snow Maiden saw it too and gasped. "An eye? It really is the 'Vertical-Eyed Man' of the Tibetan Three-Eyed Demon Tribe... Don't move, let me handle this!"

Ding Jun could not describe his current state of mind. The legends of the Tibetan Three-Eyed Demon Tribe had circulated for centuries, but he had never believed them as he had never seen them himself. Now, he could only smile bitterly and remind himself: "That must just be a birthmark, it doesn't count as a third eye..."