In the moss, there is a stone-carved statue of a figure with a human face and a bird body, resembling the carvings we found on the pottery from the ancient sunken ship. This is truly the sculpture of the Kingdom of the West Queen Mother. After a thousand years of corrosion, the surface of the stone carving was covered in dendrobium, making it appear vague and unclear.

After I removed all the dendrobium from the top, the overall sculpture emerged. It is a standing figure, carved directly from the cliff face, with the bird’s head resembling a grotesque female face that is neither human nor animal, featuring two pairs of eyes, expressionless and extraordinarily cold. Beneath its two feet are five skulls, with the bird standing atop the skulls of two of them, as if these skulls are the remains of its leftovers.

The胖子 looked up from below and exclaimed, “Oh my God, Xiao Wu, isn’t this…?”

When I jumped down and saw the entire stone carving, I also gasped in shock. It turned out that the human-faced bird statue in this cliff cave was almost identical to the strange bird we saw in the underground crevice of Changbai Mountain.

The carving is extremely vivid; looking at the surface of the rock, it seems that it was painted when it was carved. If it weren’t for the moss covering it, one would surely think that the strange bird had flown here from Changbai Mountain in this dark jungle.

Everyone showed expressions of astonishment, even the usually taciturn 闷油瓶 appeared surprised. Everyone here had been to Changbai Mountain, and seeing these stone carvings inevitably reminded them of the terrifying situation back then.

The胖子 and I quickly got to work, scraping off the carvings in several other caves, discovering that they all featured the same human-faced bird sculptures, varying in size and form.

阿宁 took a deep breath and said, “It seems our previous conjecture was correct; the human-faced raptor in Changbai Mountain is indeed the prototype of the West Queen Mother’s totem—the Three Green Birds. The West Queen Mother might have possessed some ancient technology we do not understand, allowing her to tame this bizarre raptor. The underground tombs in Changbai Mountain should be related to the disappearance of the Kingdom of the West Queen Mother and the mysterious eastward migration of its remnants. Those strange birds may have originally inhabited this oasis and were later brought to the east by those splintered remnants, serving as guardians of the tombs.”

I replied, “That’s right. I have always felt that the terrain here is remarkably similar to that of the underground royal tomb in Changbai Mountain; both are situated in a vast meteorite crater-like basin. It seems that this place could be a replica of the West Queen Mother’s palace, and our experiences in Changbai Mountain can only be considered a rehearsal—this is the real nest.”

Upon hearing this, the胖子 wiped his sweat and said, “Damn it, if what you’re saying is true, is this the hometown of those ghost birds? Aren’t we walking into death by coming in here?”

It’s hard to say. I turned back and smiled wryly, while 阿宁 said, “It shouldn’t be that serious. After so many years, the climate here has changed drastically; large areas of grassland have condensed into this oasis, and food is scarce. These birds may have already gone extinct here; the ones we saw in Changbai Mountain might be the last surviving few. However, regardless of the situation, the Kingdom of the West Queen Mother regards the green bird as its guardian deity. The presence of such a totem here indicates that we have already entered the domain of the West Queen Mother’s palace. This stone cave totem carved here serves both as a marker for outsiders and a warning; we need to be doubly cautious from here on.”

We all nodded, and the胖子 said, “Damn it, I appreciate your kind words. It would be best if these ghost birds really went extinct; otherwise, it would be a problem for me, and the tomb raiders would be wiped out.”

The胖子’s worries were also our worries. We exchanged glances, and none of us spoke; our expressions were quite complex.

After a moment’s delay, 阿宁 took some photos of the stone statues and looked around, but found nothing besides the stones. 闷油瓶 then urged us to move on.

We took one last look at the caves, shook ourselves out of our stupor, and left the cliff behind, continuing deeper into the canyon. Perhaps due to the influence of those cave statues, at that moment, I felt a sense of unease beginning to envelop the jungle; it was as if we were stepping into a bizarre world that no one could comprehend.