After returning to her room, Ding Liu couldn't fall asleep, lying back and forth. She listened carefully and noticed that Ye Liuxi hadn't either. Deciding on the spot, she wrapped herself in the blanket and climbed onto Ye Liuxi's bed. Ye Liuxi said, "What a scene! Do you think I'll kick you off and you'll believe me?" Ding Liu stubbornly insisted, "Western Sister, if you kick me, I'll hit my head. Then it'll become unstable again..." Ye Liuxi grew impatient and didn't bother to respond. Ding Liu trembled slightly, her body pressed against the edge of the bed, and actually enjoyed the sense of being precariously balanced. She gently rested her hands on her chin, speaking carefully to Ye Liuxi, "Western Sister, actually, I think it doesn't matter whether we remember the past or not—after all, life just keeps moving forward. But without hands, doing things becomes so inconvenient... This is something we'll have to deal with for life. You really need to think it through." Ye Liuxi sighed, "Who told you I'm going to have my hands amputated?" No am "Ye Liu Xi glanced at her: 'Didn't you say the storm couldn't depend on a butterfly?' Ding Liu stammered: 'That was just what we said on the surface.' Ye Liu fell silent for a moment, then asked: 'So tell me honestly—if you were Chang Dong, how would you see me now?' Ding Liu lost her composure, speaking in a disorganized way: 'I... I should be able to understand you, after all, it was an accident, not something you personally killed with a sword. As for the feeding... from your point of view, maybe the dead are just dead, usable resources, but personally, I'd feel a bit uncomfortable—after all, it's my own family members.' Ye Liu nodded: 'Then, do you still want to be friends with me?' Ding Liu's tongue seemed to tie itself in knots: 'Well, that... depends on the circumstances.' Ye Liu reached out, curled her fingers, and lightly tapped her forehead: 'Go to bed now.' Ding Liu carried a full heart of melancholy, climbed back to her bed, lay down, and covered herself with the blanket—suddenly, she felt life itself had become so difficult. — The next day, another full The cars arrived early by the lake, arranged in a straight line along the shore. At first, the waves were small, only dampening the car tires and fronts, but gradually grew stronger—until the crests nearly reached the height of the vehicles. Then, as the waves surged, the water bubbles emerged, shielding themselves beneath the larger waves, quickly enveloping and submerging the cars. From the windows, several vehicles floated in various positions—some ahead, some behind, some tilted, some submerged—forming a miniature submarine formation. He closed the book. Ye Liuxi walked over and sat by him. Chang Dong asked her, "Is there something?" Ye Liuxi looked up at him, "I just wanted to know what your current thoughts are." Chang Dong indicated the direction of Li Jinao, "I actually do have a thought now." "Based on the route, we should reach the area near the pile of bodies and the Yadan formations by tonight. From what I gather in Dragon Zhi's words—your body and soul are naturally suited to enter and exit the pass. Each time you enter or exit, a small-scale separation of body and soul occurs at the Yu Men Pass, triggering a sandstorm that helps conceal your movements." Ye Liuxi was still a bit unclear about his intentions. "So what?" Chang Dong lowered his voice, "Therefore, the method we originally developed to enter the pass—our initial exploration—was actually incorrect. We simply stumbled upon it by chance, thanks to good fortune." At first, he thought it was Ye Liuxi’s blood that summoned the wind and opened the Yu Men Pass—blood was the essential procedure for entry, so we had to draw blood every time. Now he understood: it was because her blood interfered with the seal of the Bogu妖jia, which was the main gate of the Yu Men Pass. Whenever that seal was disturbed, the spirit city would shift and drift, triggering sandstorms. Ye Liuxi realized: "That explains it. I always thought I had to go through the gate so many times while transporting goods—each time drawing blood, I’d have long since exhausted myself." Chang Dong continued: "Remember now that you’ve forgotten everything—specifically, you no longer remember the routes in and out of the pass. When we first entered, we were simply lucky to find our way. Now, as we prepare to leave, unless guided by Long Zhi, we don’t know where the gate is." Ye Liuxi replied: "Yes, that’s exactly what we’ve been struggling with—we truly don’t know where the gate is." Chang Dong shook his head, his voice soft, almost a whisper: "We do know." Ye Liuxi was puzzled. Chang Dong Ye Liuxi came to her senses. Yes, she knew! At that time, when her blood triggered the drifting of Huncity and created a gray zone, the two of them had only managed to locate the exact position of the door by making use of the small bites moving in and out. Chang Dong said, "Long Zhi has asked me to kill you, and I haven't yet replied to her. Therefore, once we reach Shibi Juyan, she will surely seek me out. I'll use this opportunity to negotiate with her—this is the window of time you need to seize: locate the main gate using Li Jinao's small bites, bring Ding Liu and the others out through that door first. Once they're safe, we'll be able to ease our concerns significantly." Ye Liuxi frowned, "That sounds promising, but currently, Gao Shen is so weak that he needs to be carried—moving him would be too conspicuous." Chang Dong nodded, "That's a challenge. We may have to find ways to create some chaos to mask our movements. Don't worry—details will gradually take shape as we go." "As they were speaking, a signal sounded from afar—this was the custom of the Yulin Guard: one whistle meant preparation; two whistles meant to count passengers on board; three whistles meant departure, with intervals of three to five minutes between each signal. Ye Liuxi stood up and returned to the vehicle, walked a few steps, then turned around and said, 'Changdong, is there now a problem between us?' Changdong was puzzled, 'What problem?' He grasped Ye Liuxi's hand and stood up, slightly leaning to block the view from outside, then gently kissed her forehead and whispered softly, 'Don't worry—there's nothing wrong between us at all.' ... Ding Liu had already left the vehicle, even sending the accompanying doctor down, in order to create a quiet space for Changdong and Ye Liuxi to talk. Seeing how well they were getting along, and eventually exchanging handshakes, she was genuinely delighted. Finally, when Ye Liuxi approached, she suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her path, with a smile full of meaning: 'Xiao Ji, have you two settled now?' "Yexiaoxi said, 'You're traveling with Changdong. Over the past few days, pay close attention to him—I think there's something off with him.' Ding Liu was startled, her words stumbling: 'What... what's going on? Isn't it because Kongyang hasn't forgiven you?' Yexiaoxi shook her head: 'No. Changdong's demeanor suggests that Kongyang's situation hasn't had much impact on him.' Ding Liu stomped her feet: 'Isn't that good news? It means my elder brother is generous and understanding. It means he values you more than Kongyang, so he's willing to let go of the past.' Yexiaoxi said: 'Changdong is a man of deep sentiment. I say he's sentimental—not just that he treats me well. After the mountain tea incident, he sold his entire estate to compensate the families of the victims, and for nearly two years he withdrew from public life. For a single photograph, he decided to come with me to Lop Nur. He brought eighteen body bags—not just because of Kongyang. A person's character doesn't change. So don't you find his current behavior a bit unusual?" “Ding Liu was puzzled: ‘Unusual? Isn’t Dongge always like this?’ He never showed much joy nor sorrow—despite having snapped Kong Yang’s neck in the remote village, he had merely quietly carved shadow puppets for two days. The horn sounded again, and there was no time to explain. Ye Liuxi pushed her onto the vehicle: ‘Just keep an eye on Changdong, all right.’ …… Ding Liu almost stepped onto the vehicle right on top of the horn’s sound. On the way, the vehicle rocked gently, Changdong unconscious and unresponsive, the doctor dozing off in the corner. Ding Liu kept glancing at Changdong from time to time. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary—only occasionally, she would flip through the notebook in her hands. Ding Liu had wanted to see what was inside the notebook. When Changdong opened it again, she pretended to be gathering something, deliberately bent down, then looked up to catch a glimpse. It was all just text—dense and continuous. As the vehicle rocked, the characters swam like tadpoles, making her feel dizzy. What was it? A letter? A diary?” It's no wonder Xī Jiě always calls Dong Ge an old artist—how many people these days have the patience to write one stroke at a time? —— That evening, for some reason, they must have taken a wrong turn and failed to find the Hónghuā Tree, so everyone pitched camp outdoors. Ding Liu felt a bit tense and clutched the officer in charge of the Yǔlín Wèi, asking, "Will it be all right to stay on the ground? What if there are spirits or monsters?" The officer replied, "There shouldn't be any. Our route was officially assigned by headquarters. Besides, there hasn't been any warning of spirit winds recently." What on earth? If headquarters has assigned the route, can they really protect us from spirits? Then why don't they build a safer road to benefit the people? And what exactly is a spirit wind warning? Ding Liu wove through the bustling crowd watching shadow plays and rushed to the main tent to find Ah He. Ah He couldn't speak and could only write one character at a time. Ding Liu tilted her head, watching closely. Ah He wrote: "Spirits are intruding—there's a spirit wind." Ding Liu was Ding Liu was stunned: "Your phoenix wind warnings—aren't they just predicting whether a spirit will arrive? If everyone knows spirits are coming, why not send geomancers to drive them away?" Ah Hu added: "Yes, but phoenix winds vary in intensity. Some are manageable by local geomancers; others cause casualties; and the most severe cases require geomancers from Black Stone City to resolve." Pausing, she wrote again: "For instance, at Shui Dui Yadan, because of the rigid structures there, there's always a phoenix wind warning." Fei Tang, observing from the side, suddenly recalled: "Wait—during the small Yangzhou incident, why wasn't there any warning?" Ding Li looked at him and said: "You're silly—during that incident, it was the Scorpion Eye that caused it, after all, a human-made event." Fei Tang stood there, puzzled, asking Ding Li: "Am I silly, or are you? Can a spirit invasion be distinguished between natural and human-caused? Surely this phoenix wind warning system works just like our meteorological forecasts—once spirits become active, the local magnetic fields change, and that's what gets detected… Sister Xi, don "Ye Liuxi said, 'I have no idea. I've never even worked at the meteorological station.' Chang Dong carefully read the few lines of characters written by Ah He, and suddenly asked, 'Has Black Stone City ever issued a warning for gale winds?' Ah He shook her head and added: 'There are many fangshi in Black Stone City; the ying-gei dare not come.' Chang Dong turned to Ye Liuxi: 'Have you noticed that every spirit ghost we've encountered on this journey has been acting under someone's orders—Yan Zhong was deliberately left untouched by Black Stone City, Qi Niang Grass was driven by Scorpion's eyes to carry out the "city massacre," the only spirit ghost that managed to break free, Jin Jia, was held down by the golden mine; Liu Guang used his light to guide us, acting as a guardian when there were no thieves, and in the grand museum, each exhibit was neatly arranged, categorized and displayed for the public to view... Have you ever truly seen a spirit ghost completely uncontrolled, free from any command?' "Actually, it seems not—its human-like demeanor is just a derivative trait. It's nocturnal, with limited mobility, essentially confined to the area around the pile of corpses and the Yadan formations. Ye Liuxi's heart suddenly began to race. What Chang Dong then said was precisely what she had been thinking: "It's possible that the realm of demons and spirits within the region is actually under control. The warnings of demon winds and the reports of demon sightings might be orchestrated—what we perceive as chaos, disorder, and panic are, in fact, deliberately manufactured." Ding Liu was momentarily stunned: "You mean the Yunlin Guard and the Fangshi are behind this? But what could they possibly gain from doing so?" Chang Dong smiled: "They gain so much. Black Stone City is so highly sought after precisely because it is the safest place. The Yunlin Guard and the Fangshi remain the privileged elite precisely because they possess the very ability to protect the people." Occasionally, when demons or ghosts intrude, they can emerge as saviors of the world, showcasing their importance and grandeur—perhaps the stability of their rule within the fortress region is closely tied to their skillful use of such supernatural phenomena. "Ah, I see!" Fat Tang realized. "With ghosts and demons, the Yulin Guard and the scholars of divination become essential. The common people are willing to support them because they rely on them for protection. But once the ghosts vanish..." Once the ghosts vanish, will the scholars then lose their value? He shivered. "Then it means all the cases where ghosts have harmed people were deliberate..." Ah Hu held the stone tightly, already stunned by what she had heard. Chang Dong nodded. "The one who benefits most from this model is also its most passionate defender—hence, it's no surprise that the scholars hold the highest status within the fortress region, while the Yulin Guard merely serves as a supporting player." I remember Zhao Guanshou saying that on some day, when these demons and spirits had all perished, the great gate of Yumen Pass would naturally open—now that the demons and spirits were under control and gradually being extinguished, the scholars merely needed to exert a little more effort to truly fulfill Emperor Han Wu's ambition of eradicating the demons and spirits at Yumen. Yet to this day, the gate has not opened. That means someone fundamentally does not want it to open, because once it does, the good times will come to an end.