The old yellowed map had been spread out on the table, and according to the German markings and directions on it, it covered a vast area around the Himalayas, especially from Nepal to the southern face of Mount Everest, with very detailed notes, even tiny villages and dry streams. One of the most striking is a red dotted line that curves from the south slope of Mount Everest to the northwest, and at the end of the dotted line, a crooked question mark is drawn.

"I believe that this is the legendary axis of the earth." Tian Meng said wistfully.

Lin Xuan was not optimistic, because the Demon Hand of the King of the Plateau was everywhere. When the tiger is dead, there will be sharper enemies in the future, and they will never be at peace.

"My father dreamed of uncovering the secrets of the Earth's axis all his life, and when he died, as long as I still breathe, I would do everything in my power to fulfill his last wish." Tian Meng turned his head and looked at Lin Xuan, "You'll help me, right?"

Lin Xuan nodded: "Yes."

He doesn't want to sweep the interest of Tian Meng, a girl with responsibility and filial piety deserves the understanding and help of others.

Next, Lin Xuan, Tian Meng, Kong Sha, and Luo Yuan made a unanimous decision, immediately took the map south, crossed the border into Nepal, found the dotted line www.biquge.info on the map, and then moved forward according to the map instructions, and arrived at the place where the question mark was located.

Lin Xuan reported to the organization, and the organization also supported the operation, and appointed Lin Xuan as the supreme commander of the operation, who could command Kongsha and all the horses in Nepal under his leadership.

Within three days, under Luo Yuan's arrangement, they arrived at Kongxiabu Village at the foot of the southern slope of Mount Everest.

It is part of Nepalese territory, and any out-of-town mountaineering team will use the village as their last stop before climbing, and hire guides here to be prepared.

Kongsha had already informed his men in advance and rushed to the village of Kongshabu to rendezvous.

Luo called his Nepalese friends, found a Nepalese guide, and hired 15 workers to carry food, tents, water and other daily necessities.

In contrast, Lin Xuan and Tian Meng were very leisurely, reading the map all the time, and memorized the details of the route.

During this period, Lin Xuan told Tian Meng more than once: "The road ahead is full of dangers, at any time, you must put survival first, treasures or immortal secrets are things outside the body, and it is not worth risking your life for this."

He has always been haunted by Tian Yunong's death, if the other party did not betray the organization and insisted on going astray, then he would definitely not die, and he should have achieved fame at this moment and returned to the headquarters to retire with peace of mind. What kind of choice a person makes, what kind of result will he face, the cycle of cause and effect, and the blessing and misfortune depend on each other.

However, looking at Tian Meng's appearance, he didn't seem to listen to his words, but enjoyed the scenery of the snow-capped mountains with great interest, chatted and played games with the Nepalese aboriginal girls in the village, and completely regarded the trip to Mount Everest as an outing.

Once, Kong Sha quietly joked with Lin Xuan: "You must be in love with this girl!" Otherwise, with your tactical literacy, you will definitely not be in the company of this kind of girl. I found that when you look at her, your eyes seem to bloom - the flower of happiness. ”

Of course, it was a joke, because Lin Xuan would think of Donna more often.

He even thought that if Donna hadn't died, he would have made her the love of his life.

The guide's name is Baldur, which means "hero" in Nepali.

He was a dark, thin and capable Sherpa who was about one hundred and seventy centimeters tall. He has a pair of narrow eyes, dark eyeballs are deeply sunken under the hard brow bones, the bridge of the nose is slightly hooked, and the nasolabial folds on both sides are as deep as two vertical scars.

This is a stern and old-fashioned person, rarely showing a smile, even if he sees something funny, he only slightly pulls the corners of his mouth and makes a wry smile that is only a few seconds long.

The Sherpas live in the mountains above 5,000 meters above sea level on the border between China and Nepal, and many of them work as mountain guides. In the past 100 years, after the development of commercial mountaineering, some Sherpas have become professional mountain guides, helping many foreigners to fulfill their dreams of mountaineering.

Today, Sherpas are recognized as the best professional mountain guides in the world. There are 14 peaks above 8,000 meters above sea level, and on these peaks, only Sherpas are competent guides, and they are the best guarantee that climbers can achieve the feat of reaching the summit.

According to Luo Yuan's plan, everyone first took a helicopter to the No. 1 base camp at an altitude of about 5,600 meters, saving a lot of time and body, and then led by Baldur to the top of Mount Everest, slightly westerly.

"Baldur is the number one guide on Mount Everest, he knows every ridge and every glacier here, he can smell the storm when he catches the wind, and he can judge the future climate change by looking at the sky. The workers were all hand-picked by him, and all of them were experienced. With them, we will be able to move forward and retreat calmly. ”

In the early morning of the eleventh day when he arrived in Kongxiabu Village, Lin Xuan suddenly woke up from a nightmare, turned over and sat up, clenched his fists, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

He dreamed of death, real and close, as if he was really dead, with only his soul left, watching coldly as he fell to the ground.

The feeling made him creep and a cool breeze ran down his back.

He looked at his watch, and it was just half past three in the morning.

He didn't feel particularly nervous about the official climb after dawn, but this unexplained nightmare still made him unhappy.

He got dressed and went out into the courtyard.

The night wind was extremely cold, and the snow on the peaks of the distant mountains still glittered even in the dark night when there was no daylight, like an unquenchable sacred fire at the highest point of the ancient Greek temple.

He knew that by following the tiger's map, it would be possible to find the axis of the earth. Before he died, Tian Yunong said that when he reached the top of Mount Everest and then went west, he could see the stone wall engraved with German characters......

On the steps at the entrance of the courtyard, Baldur was sitting alone, silently smoking.

Lin Xuan walked over and sat down opposite Baldur.

The night narrowed the distance between people, and Baldur picked up the cigarette case and shook it at Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan shook his head: "Thank you, I never smoke."

He spoke Nepali, but Bardur replied in English: "Great, I saw during the meal that you don't drink a single drink." According to Nepal's oldest ascetic admonitions, only practitioners who do not smoke, drink, or eat vegetarian diets can reach the highest point of Mount Everest, get close to the gods of the mountain, and truly understand the profound meaning hidden in the embrace of the mountain. ”

Lin Xuan smiled, because Baldur's English was very fluent, which showed that he had taken a very advanced training course, and his literary expression completely exceeded that of ordinary translators.

"What is the meaning of the mountain?" Lin Xuan was interested in this topic.

The Sherpas have been with the snow-capped mountains for generations, and many have never left their villages from birth to old age. In addition to their daytime work, they will also count beads and chant sutras at night, meditating and practicing. Lin Xuan believed that if Snow Mountain also had friends or masters, Sherpas would undoubtedly be the most suitable candidates.

"One qiē." Baldur twitched the corners of his mouth and grinned wryly.

Lin Xuan thought about it and nodded silently.

There is a famous saying in ancient Chinese that "the benevolent person enjoys the mountain, and the wise person enjoys the water", and the benevolent person loves the mountain because the mountain is extremely broad-minded, and it can just be mutually tempered with himself, confirm each other, and become like-minded partners.

"For as long as I can remember, many mountaineers have come here every year, vowing to conquer the highest mountain on earth. Indeed, with the help of guides, many people climbed to the summit, planted flags, took pictures, and uploaded information to the Internet to prove that they had conquered Mount Everest, and then quickly descended the mountain and headed for another peak. In the eyes of the Sherpas, they are like a group of madmen, who have been chasing inexplicable things all their lives, and they are risking their lives considerably-" This time, Baldur laughed for a longer time, and his eyes were wide and narrow, staring at Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan felt that the dark, thin and silent guide in front of him was not simple, he must be a well-informed person with a splendid chest.

In fact, when they came to the village of Konshab, they were no different from the mountaineers who needed to do so.

"What you say is very philosophical, and I would love to hear it." Lin Xuan replied.

"No one can conquer the snow-capped mountains, and if this sleeping giant shakes his body and moves his ears, a large avalanche or ice storm will suddenly erupt on Mount Everest, destroying the climber in an instant. Therefore, every time I climb the mountain, I will burn sandalwood cigarettes for three days and three nights and pray to the mountain, asking it to be merciful and merciful, and give us a way to live. Baldur lit another cigarette, held it high above his head, and saluted in the direction of Everest for a minute, then took it to the corner of his mouth and slowly smoked it.

The night wind was extremely strong, and the sandalwood-scented smoke he exhaled was quickly blown away, and he didn't know what to do.

Avalanches and storms are the enemy's enemies of climbers, but no one has ever been able to predict avalanches and have to be dodged by luck. Every year, there will be news of avalanche killings, which has become a regular part of the Everest news.

"I remember many years ago, a senior in the world of exploration said that mountains are alive. I think you agree with that?" Lin Xuan asked.

Unexpectedly, Baldur immediately called out a name: "'Asian Eagle' Luo Kai - he is the one who said this."

The two suddenly found a common language, and their eyes met and they smiled.

"That's the only person I admire in this life, Sherpas have always called themselves 'descendants of mountain antelopes', and never admit defeat to anyone in mountaineering techniques, and Luo Kai is the only exception!" Baldur said.

He took out a bottle of foreign wine from his back, unscrewed the stopper, and handed it to Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan took the wine bottle and raised it with a smile: "To Luo Kai, to this greatest flying eagle in Asia and the world!"

He took a large sip and handed it back to Baldur.

Baldur also raised the wine bottle and followed Lin Xuan's example: "Jing Luo Kai, the number one hero in the world in my mind!"

After taking a big sip, Baldur raised the bottle to Lin Xuan again: "Respect to you - in the past ten years, except for the 'Asian Eagle' Luo Kai, you are the only person I have my eye on!"