"This is a secret, a secret that belongs to us Sherpas." Tenzin Kava's tone carried a hint of mystery, "The arrival of these friends has helped to uncover this secret, and in return, I give them the privilege of witnessing the secret." ”

Tenzin Kava's voice grew: "And we, all the Sherpas here, will be grateful to me when the secret is revealed, and we will be honored to be part of this operation!" Because this secret has been longed for by countless generations of our Sherpas. I am convinced, convinced! Now is the time to really unveil it! ”

"It-" Tenzin Kava raised his right hand and pointed to the top of Dhaulagiri, "here it is!" ”

The audience was silent.

The wind howled on the mountain, and the tremors in the hearts of all the Sherpas present were probably worse than the wind.

"Is that secret—" Yali, who was sitting next to Poche, suddenly stood up.

Maybe it was Yale-China's prompt, maybe it was all the sudden thought of the truth, and with the exception of the four of us and the two Northern Irishmen who were a little unclear, there was a "buzzing" around them—and everyone else began to whisper to each other in Nepali, with excited and incredulous looks on their faces.

"That's right."

When the discussion became quieter a little, Tenzin Kava's eyes swept over each of the faces of the Sherpas who were confused and excited, and then he nodded and smiled with satisfaction: "It's the secret that has been passed down from generation to generation by our ancestors, but has never been proven. ”

With a look of shock and excitement on his face, Yale-China sat back in his seat.

Not only Yale-China, but also Lob, Poche, Gililla, and Larry, but the expressions on the faces of other Sherpas were incredibly complex.

"You can think about it, but I'm sure none of you will regret coming to this mountain."

Throwing these words, Tenzin Kawa beckoned Siko and Jiajie to his tent, and also called the two Northern Irishmen, who had been puzzled by the meeting, to discuss other matters.

As soon as Tenzin Kawa left, the others immediately began to talk to each other - Tenzin Kawa must have understood that it would definitely take time for everyone to digest such a bombshell he released, so he chose to leave and took other unrelated people aside.

The old knife bumped my elbow into me and pouted, "Hey, Aji, what the hell do you say this Tenzin Kava is playing?" Looking like you're going to leave us behind? ”

Before I could answer, Shen Tangzhi spoke first: "It seems that your negotiations with him were not successful. ”

After I single-handedly rescued people from the Herruba snakes, Tenzin Kava once talked to me alone, and of course I told Shen Tangzhi and them about the content, but at that time we thought that Tenzin Kava would at least be afraid of me, and because of this, he would regain a little initiative.

But now it seems that the situation is not promising.

"What the hell was in that box that the two Northern Irishmen brought to Tenzin Kava? That thing caused Tenzin Kava to change his attitude, and the dumb riddle he was now planning to play with the Sherpas, the so-called 'secret', should also have something to do with the contents of the box. I said.

Shen Tangzhi thought for a while and glanced at the old knife: "Are you sure that the person Ji Guang saved from the group of snakes is the fake Yu Wei who deceived you." ”

The old knife nodded: "It's impossible for me to look away, like a fake." ”

I'm a little unconfident: "Is it possible that they are twin sisters or something?" ”

It's not like this hasn't happened in previous cases, but this time, it shouldn't be so bloody, right?

The old knife gave me a blank look: "She has some small marks on her body that are more private, even if she is a sibling, it is impossible to even be exactly the same." ”

"Could it be the one that was stolen from Yoshimitsu?" Shen Tangzhi said suspiciously.

"This ......" I didn't think about this possibility, but there was a small question in it, "How could Tenzin Kava recognize my thing?" ”

If that fake Yu Wei is because there is an organization similar to K behind it, then it is not unimaginable for her to know the existence and role of blood jade, and her actions are just to serve the organization.

However, Tenzin Kava's identity and experience, whether it is mountain collaboration, mercenary, marrying a princess, becoming a knight, etc., has nothing to do with the occult realm, and with his status, it is unlikely that he will be controlled by a single organization.

And judging from the meeting between Tenzin Kava and the two Northern Irishmen, they had no contact with each other at all, but only a temporary relationship of mutual exploitation – just like our relationship with Tenzin Kava, except that it is clear that there is a honeymoon between them now.

Shen Tangzhi and Lao Dao also couldn't say why, but they still tended to believe that the contents of that box were my blood jade.

The old knife even said to me, "Aji, you've been wearing that thing for so long, isn't there anything ...... Telepathy or something - can you feel that? ”

I gave him a "fuck off" look: "You've seen too much of the fucking fantasy, haven't you?" ”

We spoke in a low voice, very quickly, even under disguise, but at this point the people around us did not care to eavesdrop on our conversations, because they were discussing more intensely.

"Yali, is that secret that Sir Tenzin Kawason talking about really the secret that we Sherpas have been passing down for generations?" After thinking about it for a long time, Poche was still a little unsure, so he asked Yale-in-China beside him a question, which was not actually a question, maybe just a desire for an affirmation.

"Sir Tenzin Kava hasn't ......said it yet," the expression on Yali's face was hesitant at first, but soon Yali reassured, "But what else could it be?" ”

Without waiting for Polche to answer, Yale-in-China immediately asked himself, "It must be this secret!" ”

“……”

"Poche! If it is really for this secret of our Sherpas, are you willing to follow Sir Tenzin Kawa on his adventure? Yale-China asked rhetorically.

"I ......" Poche was stunned, then lowered his head, "Do we have a choice?" ”

"I do!"

Yale-in-China said categorically, and he stood up.

"Fellow citizens who have Sherpa blood in their veins!" Despite the howling of the night wind, Yale-in-China's voice was clearly heard in everyone's ears, "Don't think about it anymore! We all know what Sir Tenzin Kawa means by that secret! Think about the lives of our Sherpa predecessors! Think about it, everyone here, why can we only do the work of 'alpine cooperation' in this country, which is exchanged for money?! ”

"Just because we don't belong here! We don't belong in this country! What else can we Sherpas do but be mercenaries, or mountain collaborators? Yale-in-China's gaze was dark and determined, "I wonder where our Sherpa roots are!" Even if it costs me my life, I am willing! So, if Sir Tenzin Kawa wants to pursue this secret, I am willing to give my life to follow it! ”

The heavy words pierced the heart of every Sherpa guide like a cold and unforgiving mountain wind—yes, in order to live, perhaps everyone must work all their lives, and have no time to think about the meaning of life: where did they come from, and why did they come from?

To forget history is to betray it.

Are we traitors?

"I, Gillila, have counted three generations of my ancestors, all of them are mountain workers, my grandfather, my father, they all died because of the mountain disaster - I want to know why!" Gililla also stood up, "So, I want to too!" ”

"The cost of life? Hehe, which of us don't tie our heads to our necks and beg for a living? The eldest Lobu also stood up and said with a smile: "You dolls have this heart, and my elders can't lag behind." ”

"I do!"

"I do, too!"

The voices of Ying He became more and more, and I soon saw the third and fourth people stand up, and then, more people stood up, including Larry, who was sitting next to us......

The last Poche stood up, perhaps it was not long ago that his encounter on the frozen lake had made him feel a little depressed, or maybe he had something else in mind?

Suddenly, there was a burst of applause, and everyone realized that at some point, Tenzin Kawa had come out of his tent and was standing not far away.

The old knife whispered in my ear: "This guy knows how to control people's hearts, and next, he should start to give a speech, inciting these fools to work for him." ”

"Good. You are all warriors among our Sherpas, and you have not disappointed me. Tenzin Kawa stepped forward, stopped beside Yale-in-China, patted Yale-in-China on the shoulder, and said, "He's right. I, Tenzin Kava, want to take you to see for yourself where our Sherpa roots are! ”

The old knife flew at me with a smug look, which means: Look, Lao Tzu guessed correctly!

Just listen to Tenzin Kawa continue: "The Gurkhas, Newars, Gurungs, Majas, Rayi, Limbu, all see us Sherpas as foreigners! But where do we Sherpas come from, and where do we have roots? Historians argue endlessly, and the elders of the clan have left us only ambiguous legends...... Are we so content? It's muddy, and you don't even know who your ancestors are, so it doesn't matter? No wonder people of other nationalities look down on us! ”

When Tenzin Kava said this, he shook his fist fiercely: "In my life, Tenzin Kava has been down, and I have also had infinite scenery, which can be regarded as a wanton and free life!" But there is only one thing that makes me linger! I don't even know who my ancestors are, and I don't even know where my roots are! I'm not reconciled! You, you, who are also Sherpas—" Tenzin Kawa snapped out his hand and pointed at everyone present, "—willingly?!" ”

"No!" Yale-China was the first to shout: "We are not reconciled!" ”

"We are not reconciled!" Everyone shouted.

"Then show me your determination!" Tenzin Kava is the final word.

……

Tenzin Kava's speech was so successful that the morale of the whole team, which had been depressed by the tragedy on the frozen lake, was immediately lifted, and everyone Sherpa was in high spirits with hope and confidence in their eyes.

I've seen people with this kind of sparkle in their eyes before, and they can be roughly divided into the following categories: successful people who are confident in a certain field, insane, or fanatical believers (mostly cults).

Right now, I feel like I'm surrounded by cultists.

I told Shen Tangzhi about them, Shen Tangzhi just smiled, Hyde nodded to show that he felt the same way, and the old knife sneered and added: "They are a different kind of people - fools who have been fooled and lame!" ”

At 11 a.m., a snowstorm arrived as scheduled.

Due to the accident on the ice lake, the team lost some supplies, including three tents, so the four of us could no longer occupy two tents, but could only squeeze into one.

There were only a maximum of two people curled up in the tents, and the other two could only sit, and when the storm began, we informed us that each tent had to be manned for the night.

We decided to let Hyde and Shen Tangzhi sleep first, and Lao Dao and I were in charge of tonight's shift.

Despite the shelter of the tent, we could still hear that the wind was blowing stronger and stronger, and the tent was starting to be covered with snow - and then Larry came to us and told us that if the snow covered the tent, we had to go out and dig up the snow, otherwise the tent would be completely buried by the snow and the people in the tent would suffocate to death in their sleep.

The first to go out was the old knife.

Fifteen minutes later, Old Knife returned to the tent, and he scolded and told me that the snowstorm was so violent that Old Knife had wanted to follow the rope that connected the tents to see what was going on in the neighboring tents, but the strong wind made it difficult for him to open his eyes, and the frighteningly large flakes of snow completely obscured his vision.

Eventually, he had to remove the snow on and around the tent.

"We can only wait for dawn." The old knife finally said so.

I had a different idea: I thought about the tropical storm that had the biggest impact on mountaineering this season.

Larry said that before coming to Koang, he had found that at least three or more tropical depressions were forming over the western Pacific Ocean, and that if these tropical depressions were said to be forming tropical storms fast enough, they would have enough energy to affect the alpine weather of Dhaulagiri Peak.

Obviously, like the traps of the glacial belt, Tenzin Kava is hiding this dangerous message – a brief blizzard caused by a change in the alpine climate and a violent blizzard caused by a tropical storm are two different concepts.

Every twenty to forty minutes, Lao Dao and I took turns going out to dig up the snow, and the blizzard showed no signs of abating.

Outside, as the old knife said, the wind and snow were so heavy that it was hard to open my eyes, and I could only dimly see in the night snow that there was a faint light in the tent of Larry, which was closest to us.

I didn't dare to go far, but even when I opened my mouth to shout, it was quickly muffled by the sound of the howling wind and snow.

On the night of this blizzard, the tent of the four of us turned out to be like an isolated island in the midst of a storm and tsunami.