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The cries echoed through the valley, a gentle mountain breeze rustled through the air, and tears blurred Master Jia's vision. He silently picked up the pair of embroidered shoes that the girl had worn for less than a day. Endless regret gnawed at his heart. For the first time in his life, Jia Shiming felt the excruciating pain of losing a loved one...

After a long while, Master Jia slowly turned around, his blood-red eyes filled with murderous intent. He walked heavily towards the old nun from Emei and the Mao brothers, slowly raising one palm and channeling all his "innate qi energy"...

The old nun from Emei and Mao Da and Mao Er lay on the ground, their terrified eyes fixed on Master Jia as he approached step by step.

"Old bastard..." the old nun from Emei cried out in despair, "That child fell down by accident, it has nothing to do with this nun..."

Master Jia remained silent, his gaze utterly cold.

"You old bastard, you can't lay a hand on a woman... I, Mao Da, am willing to die in her place!" Mao Da struggled to sit up and shouted hoarsely, displaying a heroic spirit of a man willing to sacrifice himself.

“Master Mao, you…” The old nun from Emei was deeply moved upon hearing this, her eyes already brimming with tears.

"Brother, you are truly touching. Go in peace. I will take care of the old nun..." Mao Er said excitedly.

Master Jia laughed loudly, his voice cold as ice, "You three adulterers, do you think any of you still want to live?"

"You...you want to kill us all?" Mao Er said in a terrified voice.

"Hahaha..." Master Jia shouted in a voice filled with grief and indignation, "You killed my beloved disciple, how could I possibly keep you alive?"

"Waaah..." Mao Er sobbed softly twice, then turned his head and said plaintively, "Old nun of Emei, which of us brothers do you really like?"

Mao Da immediately became alert and pricked up his ears to listen.

After a long pause, the old nun from Emei let out a series of eerie laughs: "You two ugly monsters? Bah! Would this old nun like you? Now that we're about to go to the Yellow Springs together, I might as well tell you both, so we don't die without knowing why..."

Mao Da and Mao Er were speechless upon hearing this, and the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"There is someone in my heart, with a square face, a tall and imposing figure, high position and great power, kind and righteous, especially in bed, sigh..." The old nun from Emei sighed and said softly, "It's simply heavenly."

"Then the two of us..." Mao Da and Mao Er asked in unison.

"He's not even worthy of being at the bottom," the old nun replied coldly.

"Ah..." The Mao brothers felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their whole bodies turning cold.

"Hmph, enough nonsense, it's time for you to get going!" Master Jia raised his hand.

Just then, several dazzling flashlight beams shone on them, and a series of chaotic footsteps sounded. More than ten dark figures climbed to the top of Jade Pillar Peak and surrounded Master Jia and the others. "Don't move! We are from the Yongji County Public Security Bureau!" one of them shouted.

A middle-aged man strode forward, pointed at Master Jia, and said, "That's him. He bought two sets of girls' clothes from my clothing store this morning."

Section Chief Chu nodded, shining his flashlight directly at Master Jia, and asked as he looked him up and down, "What's your name?"

Master Jia slowly lowered his arm. He knew that going against the Public Security Bureau would be very troublesome; they would stick to you like glue.

“Jia Shiming,” Master Jia replied.

"Occupation?" Section Chief Chu then asked.

Master Jia hesitated for a moment, then said, "Unemployed."

Section Chief Chu snorted, pointed at Liu Er, the clothing store owner beside him, and continued to ask, "Do you know this person?"

Master Jia nodded and said, "I recognize him. He's the shop owner who sells clothes at the market in Yuxiang Town at the foot of the mountain."

"You bought two sets of children's clothes for little girls from him, right?" Section Chief Chu said.

“That’s right,” Master Jia admitted.

"So, where is that little girl now?" Section Chief Chu shone his flashlight on Master Jia's face, carefully observing his reaction.

Upon hearing this, Master Jia felt as if his heart was being torn apart. He pointed hatefully at the old nun from Emei lying on the ground and said, "She pushed him off the cliff..."

"What!" Chief Chu was shocked, thinking to himself, "Isn't this going to result in someone's death?"

"Don't listen to this old bastard's nonsense! That little girl fell down by accident!" the old nun from Emei shouted.

"Who are you?" Section Chief Chu moved his flashlight beam over and saw the woman lying on the ground. He could see that there were bloodstains and scratches on her face, and blood was still dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Police officers and joint defense team members all shone their flashlights on the old nun from Emei and Mao Da and Mao Er.

"Hey, there's a big rooster and a fat eel here!" a member of the joint defense team exclaimed, then asked Captain Yu, "Captain, we've got our midnight snack sorted for tonight, haha."

“Those iron roosters and poisonous eels can’t be eaten, they’re poisonous…” Mao Da said, struggling as he lay on the ground.

"Who exactly are you?" Section Chief Chu sensed that something was amiss tonight. The two men and one woman on the ground were clearly seriously injured; something must have happened here.

"Comrade, are you from the Yongji County Public Security Bureau?" The old nun from Emei cleared her throat and asked in return.

"What's wrong with the Public Security Section of Yongji County Public Security Bureau?" Section Chief Chu asked, staring at her.

"What is your name?" the old nun from Emei asked.

"His surname is Chu." Section Chief Chu frowned, feeling quite puzzled.

"That's Section Chief Chu from our county bureau," Captain Yu chimed in from the side.

“Oh, Section Chief Chu, comrades, you’ve arrived just in time. If you had come any later, the three of us would have been killed by this old bastard. Please arrest him immediately…” The old nun from Emei said with a serious expression, “I will report this matter directly to Vice Minister Li after I return to the capital. In short, the work of your Yongji County Public Security Bureau is excellent.”

"What Vice Minister Li?" Section Chief Chu was puzzled, thinking to himself, "Is this woman mentally ill?"

"Of course it's Li Meng, the deputy minister of public security who is in charge of local departments across the country," the old nun from Emei said smugly.

"You know Vice Minister Li? What's your relationship?" Section Chief Chu asked suspiciously. He knew that there was indeed a Vice Minister surnamed Li in the Ministry of Public Security, but as soon as he said it, he immediately felt that something was amiss.

"Relationship? Hehehe... You really are something, how could you ask such a question..." The old nun from Emei chuckled coquettishly, her eyes full of alluring charm.

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

Section Chief Chu hesitated, pondering that this alluring woman who spoke with a Beijing accent seemed to be no ordinary person. What if she really was... As a grassroots cadre in the county bureau, he couldn't afford to offend her. However, he couldn't tell whether what she said was true or false in a short time, so he had no choice but to take everyone back for questioning.

"How badly are the three of you injured?" Section Chief Chu asked. In fact, it was obvious that they were all seriously injured.

"Alas, that old bastard is too ruthless..." the old nun from Emei said pitifully.

"Men, prepare three stretchers and take all four of them back to the county bureau for questioning," Chief Chu ordered.

Chapter 107

After an unknown amount of time, Nizi finally awoke, opening her eyes to a bright moon hanging high in the night sky, dotted with countless stars, and a gentle mountain breeze whispering in her ears. She shifted her body, suddenly feeling a ache and numbness throughout her bones. The ground beneath her felt soft and trembling. Turning her head slightly, she was instantly horrified to discover that she had fallen from Jade Pillar Peak and landed on the canopy of a large pine tree halfway up the mountain…

On the mountainside of Jade Pillar Peak grows an ancient pine tree that is thousands of years old. Its canopy stretches out diagonally, covering several meters in diameter. The pine branches are layered on top of each other, like a soft cushion. It was because Nizi was young and light that the canopy was able to support her and save her life.

"Meow..." With a soft groan, Nizi noticed that "Little Cui'er" was still tightly hugging her.

After lying down for a while, Nizi regained some energy and then carefully sat up. Through the gaps between the pine branches, she could still see the abyss below, pitch black and bottomless. Looking up, she saw sheer cliffs, and the summit of Jade Pillar Peak seemed impossibly far away.

"It's over..." Nizi thought to herself, "I'm doomed this time." She regretted not listening to Youliang's advice. If she hadn't gone with Master Jia, she wouldn't be in this predicament... "Mother, where are you? I'll never see you again in this life..."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of the painful memories, and Nizi began to sob softly.

"Meow..." The big black cat "Xiao Cui'er" broke free from Ni Zi's arms, staggered along the pine branches towards the horizontally growing tree trunk, and then turned back to meow at Ni Zi.

Nizi understood that "Little Cui'er" was signaling her to follow. Sigh, since she was just lying here waiting to die anyway, she might as well climb over and take a look. With that thought, Nizi propped herself up and carefully moved her hands and feet along the treetop. The moment she slowly approached and grasped the thick, ancient pine trunk, she felt much more at ease. Led by the big black cat, Nizi used both hands and feet to climb little by little up the flat, thick trunk towards the cliff face.

Under the moonlight, a cave was clearly visible on the cliff, about ten feet high, and pitch black inside, its depth unknown.

At the entrance of the cave, there was a smooth, large blue stone, and on the stone lay a huge golden-headed turtle, stretching its neck and breathing in and out towards the bright moon...

The golden-headed softshell turtle, according to ancient books, is "the largest of all beetles, hence the character includes the radical 'yuan,' which means 'large.'" Although it is not particularly attractive, it possesses immense strength, can carry heavy objects, and feeds on yin energy. Its neck is covered with wart-like protrusions, hence it is also called the "warty-headed softshell turtle." This creature has an extremely long lifespan, reaching over a thousand years, but it is now nearly extinct in the Central Plains.

Nizi's eyes widened. She had never seen such a big turtle before. She was a little nervous and gripped the tree trunk tightly with both hands, not daring to disturb it.

Little Cui'er wasn't afraid. She swayed over to the golden-headed turtle, stuck out her tongue, and gently licked its wart-like protrusions on its neck, meowing as if they were old friends.

The golden-headed turtle turned its head, its eyes revealing a kind look, and looked at "Little Cui'er" with its mouth open, making a "whoosh" sound.

"Little Cui'er" turned around and meowed at Nizi several times, calling her over. Nizi then carefully climbed down the tree trunk and landed on the blue stone at the entrance of the cave, but her body went limp and she sat down on the cold blue stone.

The golden-headed turtle stared curiously at Nizi. Perhaps because it had lived in the cave for thousands of years and had never seen a human before, its pair of egg-sized black eyes scrutinized Nizi repeatedly, making "whoosh whoosh..." sounds.

Children are naturally inclined to love animals. Nizi forgot her pain and predicament at that moment and reached out to touch the golden-headed turtle's neck, just like "Little Cui'er." The turtle's gaze softened even more, making it seem exceptionally approachable.

It was nearly midnight, and the moonlight was about to fade. The golden-headed turtle seized the opportunity to breathe in and out of the night sky. Nizi watched its breathing with great interest and found that it was very rhythmic: nine shallow inhalations followed by a deep exhalation with a "shh...", repeating the cycle.

Ni Zi wondered, how was the difference between Master Jia's words about absorbing the yin energy of the moon—"reversing the flow leads to immortality, the middle way is upside down"—and the breathing exercises of this old tortoise? So, she sat cross-legged, facing the bright moon, and mentally guided the qi through her meridians in reverse. She then imitated the golden-headed tortoise's rhythm of inhaling nine times and exhaling once, taking nine shallow breaths and then exhaling once. Soon after, she felt refreshed and her body was no longer numb or sore.

In fact, the breathing patterns of the thousand-year-old golden-headed turtle subtly align with the original principles of heaven and earth. The "Commentary on the Appended Phrases of the Book of Changes" states, "The alternation of yin and yang is called the Dao." The earliest inscription on the Hetu (Yellow River Map) also says, "Nine on the head, one on the feet." This corresponds to the principles of the "Eight Trigrams of Fuxi," where the number nine corresponds to the Qian trigram in the south, and the number one corresponds to the Kun trigram in the north. Qian represents old yang, and Kun represents old yin. This breathing method of nine yang and one yin is a natural law. Later, during the Song Dynasty, some enthusiasts incorporated it into sexual techniques, saying, "Nine shallow, one deep, three on the right, three on the left, swaying like an eel, advancing like a leech." This led to a widespread trend of lust in the world.

Nizi already had the foundation of the Quanzhen School's innate Qi Gong within her body, and after learning the ancient breathing method of the Golden-Headed Turtle, she felt her true Qi circulating smoothly throughout her body, and her mood became more pleasant.

As midnight approached, the golden-headed turtle finished its breathing exercise, absorbing the yin energy of the moonlight. It slowly retracted its neck and made a "whoosh" sound as it looked at Nizi.

"Meow..." The big black cat "Xiao Cui'er" jumped onto the back of the golden turtle and meowed at Nizi a few times, gesturing for her to sit on the one-meter square turtle shell.

Nizi then climbed onto the back of the golden-headed turtle, hugged "Little Cui'er" tightly in her arms, and the giant turtle raised its head and slowly crawled into the cave.

The cave was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Nizi simply closed her eyes and let the giant tortoise carry her deeper into the cave.

She didn't know how long she had been climbing, but Nizi gradually heard the sound of flowing water, the air became more humid, and she smelled a strong, fishy odor of moss.

With a "plop," a drop of icy water splashed onto Nizi's body. It turned out that the giant turtle had jumped into an underground river and was drifting along with her and "Little Cui'er" slowly down the dark underground riverbed, heading deeper into the earth.

Nizi opened her eyes wide, but it was still pitch black. She couldn't see anything around her. She reached out and touched the walls. They were wet stone walls covered with fuzzy moss.

Where would she end up drifting like this? Maybe she'd never make it back to the surface... she thought.

The interior of Yuzhu Peak is composed of limestone, which, over millions of years of erosion, has formed countless underground caves, underground rivers, and fissures, forming a labyrinthine network. The underground river into which the golden-headed turtle jumped flows in a southwest direction.

Nizi yawned. The constant shock since the fall had left her utterly exhausted, and she drifted off to sleep…

When she opened her eyes again, she felt slightly sweaty, and the temperature seemed much warmer than the ground. In her vision, pairs of red dots appeared ahead. As she got closer, she discovered that the red dots were moving. Besides the sound of running water, she could hear some hissing and grinding sounds…

At this moment, there was a greenish light in the distance, like stars embedded in the night. As we got closer, we could vaguely see the scenery around us. It was fluorite, a mineral on the rock wall, probably left over from volcanic lava eruptions during crustal movements tens of millions of years ago.

The grinding sound grew louder and louder, and pairs of red dots moved back and forth on both sides of the underground river. Nizi finally recognized them as giant brown rats.

Brown rats, also known as ditch rats, are generally only 10 to 20 centimeters long, but these rats are all about half a meter long. Their blood-red eyes are bigger than a human's. They bar their two rows of sharp teeth, threatening Nizi, and drool drips from the corners of their mouths.

"Splash, splash..." Several young and strong ditch rats could no longer contain themselves and jumped into the turbulent underground river, swimming towards Nizi without regard for their own safety.

The ditch rats can swim and are aggressive. They often fight over food and mates. When they smell the raw human flesh of Nizi, they can't wait to pounce on her and tear her apart. If it weren't for the rapid current, they would have already swarmed her.

Nizi was terrified. She curled up on the hard shell of the golden-headed turtle, hugged "Little Cui'er" tightly in her arms, and stared in horror at the ferocious rats that were pouncing on her in the water.

"Whoosh..." The golden-headed turtle opened its mouth and spewed out several streams of yin energy, which hit the two or three rats swimming at the front. After a few miserable cries, they floated stiffly on the water and were swept away by the current.

The other giant rats were immediately stunned. They stopped paddling and looked at each other in dismay. Suddenly, they turned around and pounced on their dead companions. Then, they engaged in a frenzied tearing and biting, splashing water everywhere and staining the underground river red with blood.

Nizi was overjoyed; she had no idea that the old tortoise was so powerful.

Chapter 108 of the main text