My Left Eye Sees Ghosts, and My Heart Rejoices III

In an ancient village of shamanic Nuo traditions in western Hunan, photographer Lao Zhou catches sight of a bluish-gray "drifting shadow" clinging to a Nuo opera mask with his left eye, stirring an inexplicable joy in his heart. Following the clues, he investigates and discovers a talisman from the Guangxu era hidden in a secret compartment in the ancestral hall. He deciphers the cryptic phrase "Five Plague Gods Show the Way" and uncovers the century-old tale of a Nuo priest who summoned Yin soldiers to protect the village.

At Lop Nur in Xinjiang, a geological survey team encounters a "glowing ribbon" among the Yardangs of Dragon City. The team leader spots with his left eye that its position matches that of the ancient Loulan ruins. After tracking it for three days, they find a stone house deep in the Yardangs, covered in star charts, confirming the strange legend that "a priest's spirit fire guided people to water."

Along the ancient Tea Horse Road in Hunan, book conservator Lin Yan sees a "caravan shadow" hauling goods at an abandoned horse inn with his left eye. Following the fading sound of a copper bell, he digs up a diary recounting how "Yin soldiers helped a merchant caravan cross the Nujiang River" during the Daoguang era. Traces of mud from hoofprints still remain between the lines.