In my ears, the tango music on the side of the crescent spring town came sonorously, announcing that this was a peaceful and prosperous night of carnival.

A few hundred steps away, Zuo Fengshou and I are also facing the serious problem of life and death.

One is far away and one is near, there is a world of difference.

"What is your grudge against the Great Demon Hand? She hasn't come to Dunhuang yet, so you first directed the disappearance drama in advance and completely hid yourself. You can see that you are very jealous of her, don't you? I asked.

Looking at the mirage incident alone, it seems that it can be regarded as a provocative attack by foreign enemies on the Yellow Flower Society, or it can be said to be an accident. However, on a longitudinal investigation, it can be seen that Zuo Fengshou chose to retire at this moment, precisely because of the presence of the Great Demon Hand.

"I'm not afraid of her, it's just that a study being conducted now happens to be at the critical point, and I don't want to be disturbed by her." Zuo Fengshou said.

"What kind of research can you tell us about?" I pressed step by step, hoping to force Zuo Fengshou to tell the truth.

"Well, speaking of which, my research is related to Mr. Long, which is the bouncing pipa diagram in Cave 112. To put it simply, I have already discovered that the bouncing pipa diagram is a three-story mural, and in addition to the dancing girl of the bouncing pipa diagram that we have seen so far, there are two layers underneath, which are- "He stopped, waiting for me to respond."

The multi-layered fit and different content are one of the obvious features of the Mogao Grottoes' murals, and I was not surprised to hear him say this.

When I was copying the mural in Cave 112, I noticed that the edges of the picture were very neat and undamaged. So, it is unknown how many layers there are and what each layer is about.

"Good." I only answered with two words.

"Mr. Long, the reason why the rebound pipa diagram amazes the world is because of its charm. The murals are extremely thin, and the pigment floats on the surface, so where does the charm come from? I can explain it now, and it's the second and third layers below. Zuo Fengshou sighed.

I turned my face and saw him sitting in a sand pit, holding a handful of yellow sand in each hand, gently upward.

On the surface, Zuo Fengshou is an honest, kind, steady, and calm person, but in the round of the petroglyph valley confrontation, I have deeply realized that all this is his surface disguise. This person is like a five-step snake hidden in a bamboo basket, seemingly deferential and gentle, but in fact extremely poisonous and extremely aggressive.

"Tonight, I can do the East." He raised his hands to the east, "Although the Crescent Spring Town is not as good as the high-end hotels on Hong Kong Island, there are a few local dishes that are quite authentic, and the taste is directly after the famous chefs of the Republic of China." ”

I smiled, held back my disgust, and whispered thanks, "Thank you, thank you." ”

"We can go there and talk while we eat." He said.

I've never tried to have dinner with a venomous snake, but now, I'm interested in trying it.

At the Valley of the Petroglyphs, we just had a tie. He didn't induce me to fall off a cliff, and I didn't get him alive and take him back to Luopan Village.

"Okay, then bother." I rolled over and sat up.

It was then that I found out that there were two people sitting behind the sand pile on the west side, one was Bao Toad, and the other was a picturesque, extremely young girl, no more than twenty years old.

Zuo Fengshou waved his hand, and Bao Chan and the girl floated eastward and went to arrange a dining place first.

"Mr. Long, please." Zuo Fengshou wrote elegantly and raised his hand to invite.

We walked east side by side, stepping on the soft yellow sand, and the distance between the two sides came and went.

"Mr. Long, don't you care what the two-layer painting under the rebound pipa diagram is?" Zuo Fengshou couldn't bear it anymore and brought up this question again.

"What is it?" I asked along his track.

"In the early Tang Dynasty, everyone's work, the second is 'Cold Crane Playing Plum Blossoms', and the third is 'Chaotic Snow and Spring Welcome'." Zuo Fengshou replied.

I have done research on the history of Chinese painting, and when I heard the names of these two paintings, I immediately felt that "the text is not right".

All the murals in the Mogao Grottoes have a story that can be interpreted, rather than simply a work of viewing. Take the rebound pipa diagram as an example, it tells about a feast of scenery, and you can't see the VIPs at the table, but from the lineup of dance and music, the level of VIPs must be extremely high.

If it is only a work of cranes, plums, snow, etc., it is not qualified to be depicted in the Mogao Grottoes, and it is gathered with various Buddhist theme murals.

The only explanation is that Zuo Fengshou lied and casually reported two names.

"Good, good." I nodded.

"Mr. Long, do you think these two paintings are also very good? Don't you think...... This kind of painting is not suitable for painting in the Mogao Grottoes? Zuo Fengshou asked.

I shook my head: "Mr. Zuo, that's not what I'm most concerned about. If you know me well enough, you should know what I care about and what I value. ”

In the face of the illusionist master, I had to set up many barriers on my face, body, and thoughts, and cover my sincerity, sincerity, and feelings, so as not to leave an opportunity for the other party to take advantage of.

Zuo Fengshou sighed and kept his mouth shut.

It was only when we stepped on the colorful stone road outside the Crescent Spring Town that he spoke again: "Mr. Long, the murals of the Mogao Grottoes are almost all multi-layered structures, and in the past, a great painter came here to trace and sketch, and once carried out a large-scale stripping of the outer layer of the broken murals, so that many buried masterpieces can reappear in the world. I've always thought, since the rebound pipa picture can trigger so much reverie in the world, why don't you peel it off and let the famous paintings below show their true faces, do you think it's okay? ”

I smiled and shook my head: "That's a crime, as long as Mr. Zuo is not afraid of iron and shackles, he can give it a try, it has nothing to do with me." ”

He laughed and finally finished spying on me.

In my personal opinion, once a mural is peeled off, no matter how well it is kept, it always loses its intrinsic value. In other words, the murals of the Mogao Grottoes are only authentic works of art if they remain in the Mogao Grottoes, and if they are moved to a high-level museum in Beijing, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, or Australia, they will become absolute fragments and lose their roots.

Regarding the incident of the great painter stripping off the mutilated murals, there is such a letter in the historical sources, which states that the local officials reported the matter to the central government.

The key verses of the original text of the letter are as follows:

A certain gentleman carved and copied in the stone room. However, the murals of each dynasty are not on a flat surface, but the earliest ones are in the innermost, and the later ones apply clay on the top layer and repaint them. A certain gentleman wants to copy the handwriting of all dynasties, so he first paints the top layer, peels it off after painting, and then paints the next layer, gradually painting and peeling off, hoping to get the painting method of each generation. This does not take into account the method of preservation of antiquities. Stripped of one layer, that is, the destruction of one layer, is a great loss for a gentleman as an individual, and for the whole culture, it is an irreparable loss......

As a descendant, I can't refute the actions of this great painter, but it would be indecent to destroy cultural relics in pursuit of skill. Just as the tomb robbers wantonly destroy the brocade, ornamentation, mortise and tenon joints, and carvings on the periphery of the coffin in order to obtain the burial goods in the coffin, they only see gold and silver treasures in their eyes, but they do not feel what they are doing, and they are destroying the precious historical heritage of the Chinese nation.

Just now, Zuo Fengshou mentioned that he wanted to remove the rebounding pipa diagram and observe the murals below, the purpose of which was of course not to improve his skills like the great painter, but to find the entrance to the "Jinshan Yinhai Jade Palace".

The country's cultural relics protection law clearly defines all kinds of criminal acts, such as the one mentioned by Zuo Fengshou, once shot, it will alarm the police and officials and cause great trouble.

I know he's not a radical and irascible person, and that's just talk.

Bao Chan booked a tavern called "Liaohuang Imperial Kitchen", and the neon lights at the door flashed in a rapid cycle, illuminating the word "Imperial Kitchen" very brightly.

The young girl was already waiting at the door of the room in the "Golden Bead Palace", and respectfully opened the door for me and Zuo Fengshou, and invited us to sit on the left and right of the jujube wood table.

The big dishes with Dunhuang characteristics were served one by one, but Bao Chan and the girl did not sit at the table, but only served beside them.

"As long as the Yuan Shen Gu is planted in the body, it is equivalent to burying one*. The Great Demon Hand's approach has already killed many Gu Miao masters, and it has aroused the anger of the public, so he will leave the country. Zuo Fengshou said.

I didn't notice anything unusual in my body, just a little tired and not particularly clear.

"Baoyue." Zuo Fengshou greeted the young girl.

"Yes." The girl approached.

"Take a picture of the Yuan Shen Gu in Mr. Long's body." Zuo Fengshou commanded.

The girl agreed, took a coarse porcelain bowl from the cabinet next to her, gently opened a jar of liquor, poured a full bowl, and put it in front of me.

It is the local Shazhou shochu from Dunhuang, brewed with pure grain, the alcohol content is as high as 65 degrees, and it is called "Northwest Burning Knife" by people who love to drink.

"Mr. Long, I have just observed that the Yuan Shen Gu in your body is at the lower edge of the left shoulder blade, and the effect is that the body is heavy, tired and sleepy, but it does not affect your work. Close your eyes first, and when I ask you to open them, you will look into the bowl. The girl said.

I said yes and slowly closed my eyes.

Ordinary people are afraid of Gu insects, which stems from the innate aversion of human beings to insects.

The characters in the rivers and lakes are used to licking blood with knives, and they still don't take a few ordinary insects in their eyes.

I closed my eyes and felt the girl's slender hand press against my back shoulder blades, pushing upwards and then to the right, and pushing faster and faster until a strange stream of heat entered the middle of my back.

"Mr. Long, the Gu worm is ferocious, and its appearance is brutal and weird, please don't be surprised. I'll count down ten times, and you'll open your eyes. Ten, nine, eight......" The girl slowly began to count down, and I felt the heat rush left and right, reaching near my right armpit, and suddenly jumped into my right collarbone.

The girl was very fast, holding down my collarbone while the countdown went on and on.

When she finished counting the word "one", I opened my eyes sharply and looked at the wine bowl in front of me.

The shochu is clear and mirror-like.

I saw a black, white, and gold worm about three inches long, with scales on its back and claws on its belly, peeking out of the girl's fingers, struggling desperately.