The Altai Mountains, one of the largest mountain systems in Central Asia, stretch for more than 2,000 kilometers across the territory of China, Mongolia, Russia and Kazakhstan.

The part of China belongs to the southern slope of the middle section of the mountain system, and the large desert at the foot of the mountain is the Altay region of China.

This is the northern end of the Junggar Basin and the gap where the northwest monsoon enters. A monsoon wind blew in mid-October, bringing the first snow of the second half of the year.

The herders here live on water and grass, and they travel thousands of kilometers every year so that their livestock can eat forage.

The snow is coming down to signal the end of the fattening season, and the herders are counting this year's harvest before finding a place to set up camp and survive the long winter.

Along with this snowfall, there was also a teenager in a leather jacket.

After the boy walked out of the Gurbantungguta desert in the south, he hung far behind a family of migratory herders.

The relatively harsh natural environment has created a fierce folk customs here.

This herdsman family has been in the same house for four generations, with more than 20 people, old and young, and in order to prevent wolves and bandits, they have their own weapons all year round.

In the early years here, horse thieves were rampant, and the boy's unusual behavior of falling far behind him attracted the attention of the herdsmen.

The elders of the herdsmen said that before the horse thieves started, they would send a scout to follow the herdsmen and observe them for a while. The first is to find out the details of the herdsmen's property, and the assessment value is not worth doing, and the second is to observe the herdsmen's living habits and calculate how to do it.

Once the herdsmen are targeted by such scouts, it will be a big problem.

However, after the establishment of New China, the horse thieves here have been exterminated by the government one after another, and in the past 20 years, the horse thieves have almost disappeared.

However, this lonely teenager awakened the herdsmen's memories of the horse thief, and the horror and depression experienced by generations shrouded the hearts of this herdsman.

This kind of horse thief is a scout of the stomping point. You can't kill them, and once you kill them, they will annoy the horse thieves, and they will become more and more cruel when they move.

The better way is to invite the scout over, discuss, probe the other party's tone, feel the details of this horse thief, and see whether the other party is just extorting money, or really wants to kill people and goods. If it's the latter, let's talk about whether we can break the bank and avoid disasters.

So the head of the herdsman's household, a middle-aged man in his forties, led his three sons and surrounded the boy and invited him to the tent for a cup of tea.

The boy did not refuse, so the guest and the host were soon seated.

Compared to the cold outside, the makeshift tent was steaming, but the atmosphere inside was very awkward.

In addition to the fact that the boy's identity is unknown, the herders do not know whether he is friend or foe, but also because the boy seems to be mute.

He couldn't speak, and the two sides compared for a long time, and the communication was very unsuccessful.

The master's family was a little panicked, like a horse thief.

Sending a mute over completely broke the idea of negotiating with the herdsmen, that is, let this kid see clearly and go back to draw a picture, and then start it.

Or the old man in the family has experience, and he is dumb and can't speak, but he is also a human being, and everyone will be hungry.

If you eat it, see if he eats it or not.

As a result, he was given tea, but he didn't drink it.

Serve him wine, and he doesn't move.

It was only when a plate of hand-caught sheep was served that he first folded his hands and thanked the master's house, and then he feasted on it.

This young man is not tall and looks a little thin, but this appetite for meat is very scary.

And he eats very fast, basically does not chew, and swallows directly into his stomach. A plate of four or five catties of boiled mutton is like a whirlwind, and the plate will be empty in two or three minutes.

"This is the appearance of a wolf. The herdsmen muttered in their hearts, but they put it down.

If you are willing to eat, then you have something to talk about.

Then let's go ahead and feed the boy, and then it's not too late to inquire about him.

As a result, the decision of the herdsmen made them regret it for a winter.

Because this kid is so good at eating.

As the saying goes, half the size eats away from Lao Tzu. This young man was alone, and he killed three sheep in one meal.

So whether to keep him for a second meal has become a question.

The diet of the herders here is different from that of most parts of the country, and the staple food is meat.

Meat is highly nutritious and digested slowly, so it's impossible to talk about three meals a day, and often only one big meal in a day or two.

But even if it is a meal a day or two, with the amount of food for this young man, a week's stay, the herdsman's flock will have to be reduced by half.

If the boy is a guest, then the host's family will not feel distressed.

The nomadic way of hospitality, which has been passed down since ancient times, the more unkind the guest, the happier the host.

But now the question is, is this kid a guest?

The family was troubled for two days, and it was not until the evening of the third day that the answer was finally known.

Because that night the wolf came.

The wolves here are timber wolves living in the Altai Mountains, and they are much larger than the steppe wolves in the Mongolian steppe, each like a donkey.

However, it was the first time that the herders had seen such a big wolf.

It was a big wolf with a shoulder height similar to that of a human, about 1.7 meters long, nearly 5 meters long, snow-white, and blue eyes, just like sapphires.

This white wolf was big and beautiful, facing majesty but not hideous, so that the herdsmen could not afford to raise their guns.

But when it walked into the herdsman's camp slowly, the more than a dozen sheepdogs raised by the herdsmen's family were all lying on the ground shivering, and their feces and urine were pulled all over the ground.

It walked outside the tent door and met the boy.

At this time, the master's family knew that the boy was not mute, he could speak.

I saw him gently touch the white wolf's head, whisper something in his mouth, and then turn over and ride on the white wolf's back.

On the back of the wolf, the young man clasped his fists with his master, smiling brightly.

Then he let out a shout, and a man and a wolf roared away.

The owner vaguely saw that there was a slender Tang knife stuck in the blanket on the wolf's body.

At the gauntlet of the knife handle, a gilded Chinese character is unusually eye-catching.

"Chapter".

This is the last descendant of the Saibei Zhang family, the first action of "adult hunting" at the age of eighteen.

He protected a group of herders for three days until they were away from the threat of a beast of prey.

......

"What kind of deal?"

The inpatient department of the Third Hospital of the Capital was over, Lin Shuo looked at Anne who was half-lying on the hospital bed and asked softly.

"According to the information provided by the International Biological Research Association, a village in Mongolia located in the foothills of the Altai Mountains has all 123 people in the village, and the death pattern is strange and unusual, all of them are cardiac arrest. After inspecting the scene, the Mongolian police have ruled out the possibility of manipulation. We have reason to believe that this village has been attacked by strange creatures. Anne said.

"Cardiac arrest?" Lin Shuo frowned slightly, faintly understanding in his heart, but he still asked, "Is that all?"

"No more. Anne shook her head with a wry smile, "More stuff, we'll have to wait until we go and have a look." ”

"Do we still want to bring in scholars like He Zihong in this operation?" Lin Shuo said, "If I still carry them, I will increase the price." ”

"There are no scholars. "The last operation in the Outer Khingan Mountains gave us some experience. So in this operation, we reduced the personnel, and there were only four people: you, me, Team Wei and Team Liu. ”

"What about my brothers?" Wei Xingshan asked at this time.

"We have other arrangements, a member of the Presbyterian Committee of the International Research Society is going to Africa for a scientific research expedition, and he needs to be protected. Anne said, "Don't worry, Team Wei, the pay is still good." ”

"That's good. Wei Xingshan nodded, "Okay, I'll take this job." I just don't know what Lao Lin means. ”

"There's him here. Lin Shuo pointed at Wei Xingshan and looked at Anne, "I want to raise the price." ”

"Lao Lin, you can leave some affection in your mouth. Wei Xingshan rolled his eyes and Lin Shuo said, "If you go up again, with the strength of the research society, I have to post it upside down." ”

"Okay. Lin Shuo nodded, "Old price." ”

"Yes. Anne bowed slightly, "I don't know what Mr. Lin needs to prepare, or will we leave right away?"

"There's no hurry. Lin Shuo shook his head, "Your body is not good yet, raise it for two more days." I'm going to visit somebody, and we'll leave in two days. ”

"Okay. ”