My heart sank, and I quickly extinguished the cigarette butt and went over to watch. The black donkey's hooves were just exhausted, and Shirley Yang was pulling out a black nail of flesh from the lama's fingertips, and he didn't know what it was. Although the skin of the Iron Rod Lama has returned to normal, his face is getting more and more blue, and his breathing is faint but still stable, but it is difficult to determine whether he can save his life.

I picked up the nail from the ground and looked at it, and there was a very small black piece of flesh hanging from the back, which was probably the hard thorn that pierced the lama's finger. This is not a good thing, and it is ominous to stay, so it is thrown into the fire and burned, and those stinking black hairs are not left, and all of them are completely burned.

In the end, he called Ah Xiang over again to see that there was indeed nothing abnormal on the iron rod lama, so he was relieved.

That night I could not close my eyes, and the next day the Iron Rod Lama woke up, wilted, and seemed to have aged twenty years overnight, and his right arm was completely unable to move. It seems that his eyesight has also been greatly affected, the most important thing is that his qi and blood are exhausted, and he can't stand the movements, with his current condition, if he wants to recover his health, it will take at least a year or more, and it is impossible to enter the high-altitude area of Karamir in the Kunlun Mountains again.

The Iron Rod Lama also knew that this was the will of God, and even if he reluctantly wanted to go, he would only become a burden to others. But the lama's greatest concern was that it would be too difficult to find another singer from God, so he finally consulted with me and went with us to Karamir, but did not enter the Kunlun Mountains, and waited for us to come back at the mountain pass. And during the period of our preparations, he will try his best to narrate the long poem of the martial arts of the world's enemy Baozhu Xiongshi King to Shirley Yang in Chinese. Fortunately, Shirley Yang has the ability to remember and will definitely be able to memorize a large part, and he may be able to use it when looking for the Demon Kingdom Demon Tower in the Phoenix Divine Palace.

In order to let the lama rest for a few more days, he asked Uncle Ming to take his people to Gazebuqing near Karamir in the Kunlun Mountains first, and the equipment would also be consigned there. There are large wastelands and uninhabited areas nearby, and there are many poachers, and the task of the advance team is not only to buy weapons and ammunition in their hands, but also to find suitable guides, hire porters, and in short, there is a lot of preparatory work to be done. The fat man and Shirley Yang and I waited for the iron rod lama's condition to improve before we went. Far from Kunlun Mountain, there have been one death and one injury, which inevitably casts a shadow on the road ahead of us.

Uncle Ming expressed his resolute opposition, and if he wanted to act, he would act together, and he could not divide the troops into two ways. I knew that this old Hong Kong farmer must have been afraid that we would dump him and go it alone, but no matter what I said, it didn't work, so I had to give him the fat man as a hostage, and Uncle Ming was relieved.

I was afraid that the fat man would not want to, so I had to deceive the fat man, saying that he would be sent to be a liaison officer, and Uncle Ming's four people were commanded by the fat man. Uncle Ming knows a lot about navigation, but he doesn't know what supplies are needed to go into the mountains and fight, what kind of guides are needed, etc., although Peter Huang has fought jungle warfare for a few years, he doesn't understand what it means to fight backwards, and he has never been to the mainland, so they naturally listen to the fat man.

The fat man held my hand before setting off with Uncle Ming and the others and said, "Old Hu, the friendship between us has long been incalculable, I just remember that it is higher than the mountain and farther than the road." This time, I first led the troops to open up a new base area, and my daughter-in-law for many years became a mother-in-law, and the position of the deputy commander of the fat man was finally turned into a regular position, but I was reluctant to part with you, and I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. ”

I said to the fat man, "Why the do you say so much when you don't know what to say?" Our team has always been equal to officers and soldiers, you don't have to put up any stinky stalks with Uncle Ming, of course, if the Hong Kong farmers dare to offend you, you don't have to be polite. After some entrustment, I sent them on their journey.

When the Iron Rod Lama was ready to move, he first performed a ritual for Ah Dong to save his death, and then, accompanied by Shirley Yang and me, rode slowly on a yak to Senge Zangpo to take a car.

Along the way, the Iron Rod Lama kept telling Shirley Yang about the poems about the Demon Kingdom, and Shirley Yang listened while writing and drawing in his notebook, so that we arrived in Gazebuqing more than 20 days later than the fat man and others. The fat man and Uncle Ming had been waiting for a long time, and when they saw that we had finally arrived, they immediately arranged for us to rest and eat.

We stayed at a herdsman's house, and before dinner in the evening, Uncle Ming told me about the preparations. Among the herdsmen was a man named Benji, less than forty years old, a typical Kham man, shrewd and capable, and his name means "first day of the first month". Uncle Ming and the others hired this Jidang guide, because he was the only person in the area who had ever entered Karamir. There were also fifteen yaks, six horses, and five porters.

To enter Karamir from Gazebuqing, you first have to cross the uninhabited wilderness, where there are many ravines, there are no traffic conditions, and there is only an old-fashioned truck nearby, two-wheel drive, and you don't want to drive out. The wasteland refused to even go to poachers, so they brought in a large amount of supplies, and had to rely on yaks to transport them. The equipment transported from Beijing was purchased by Da Jinya according to Shirley Yang's orders, and it was ready to set off at any time.

I asked Uncle Ming how the weapons were, we can't just bring two Remington, more than 70 rounds of ammunition, let's go into Kunlun Mountain, there are many beasts in the mountain.

Uncle Ming led me and Shirley Yang to the back of the herdsman's tent, where the fat man and Peter Huang were fiddling with firearms, both long and short, and the pistols were of relatively uniform models, all poached from Southeast Asia, probably leftover from the US military. The American single-action standard pistol M1911, the model is relatively old, but the point four or five caliber is large enough, and the sex can be stabilized, which can be regarded as the classic of the classics among the American military pistols, the legend of the legend, and the masterpiece of Browning, which is definitely a weapon for self-defense.

The spears are a little worse, there are only two small-caliber sporting rifles of different models, and there are no guys who are really handy, but with the addition of those two shotguns, it can make do with enough, after all, it is to fight backwards, not to fight.

I looked at the rest of the equipment, and it was all in order, not only the Allison assault suit worn by the American mountaineering team, but even the diving equipment had been shipped. The water system formed by the melting of snow under the Kunlun Mountain is criss-crossed, all of which are prepared, the most important thing is that the traditional instruments such as black donkey hooves, glutinous rice, and pubic claws, and the tools that cannot be bought on the market are made separately, with these, there will be more confidence.

I left some money and asked the local herdsmen to take care of the Iron Rod Lama, and then we would pick him up when we came out of Karamir. If he does not return for two months, the herdsmen are asked to send the Iron Rod Lama to a nearby monastery to recuperate. The Tibetans are very religious, and even if I don't say it, they will take good care of the lamas.

As soon as I saw that I was ready, I decided to leave early tomorrow morning.

That night, Uncle Ming invited everyone to gather for dinner, which is located at the intersection of Qinghai, Tibet and Singapore, and the food is inclusive. Our dinner was very rich, cold salad yak tongue, cordyceps roast pork, Tibetan steamed buns, lung enema, enema, milk rice, roast lamb chops, ginseng and mutton tendon, ghee tsampa, and everyone drank a lot of barley wine.

Uncle Ming drank a little too high, and said something out of place, and he actually said that he hoped it wasn't the last supper. Disturbed by his words, everyone lost interest, and after eating hastily, they all went back to sleep.

Early the next morning, we said goodbye to the Iron Rod Lama and prepared to assemble and set off. The Iron Rod Lama draped a hada over my shoulder: "Bodhisattva bless, may you all be auspicious and safe all the way to the Phoenix Shrine." "I hugged the lama tightly and tried to say something to him, but my heart was so moved that I couldn't say a word.

People drove a procession of yaks and horses to the northwest. The northern Tibetan plateau, deep inland, has a dry and cold climate, with vertical variations in temperature and rainfall, with cold and long winters and cool and short summers. It's the end of summer, and it's the time of year when temperatures are at their most volatile.

The desolate wilderness is the no-man's land known as "Chihuo", although it is uninhabited, but there are many creatures in nature, flocks of birds, wild animals from time to time, and the mountains in the distance stretch endlessly. Behind the mountain and the clear blue sky, there is a large area of snow white, but the distance is too far to see whether it is a snow-capped mountain or a cloud piled up in the sky.

After walking for five days, I passed through no man's land, and of course, the mountainous area that I was about to enter was even more desolate than the no-man's land wasteland. There is a lake at the pass, and there are many black-necked waterfowl in the lake, which fly south in flocks without being disturbed. These birds are not migratory birds, they fly away from the lake, probably frightened by an avalanche in the mountains; There is also a reason that it may be a sign of an impending cold spell. The superstitious porter said that this was an unlucky sign and urged us to go back, but we were determined to go and were not moved in the slightest.

I discussed with my guide, the altitude here is very high, and if you go up the mountain again, there may be people in the team who can't bear it. There are countless ancient glaciers in this mountain, and there is a lot of snow on them, and it is easy to cause avalanches when walking from the valley, but since the beginning of the first year, he went into Karamir with monks to collect medicinal herbs, and he is very familiar with this area, and knows that there are several deep depressions that can be safely passed through guò, so he asked everyone to take a temporary rest in the mountain pass, and led the team to the "Tibetan Bone Valley" after 20 minutes.

Along the way, Shirley Yang has been sorting out the materials dictated by the Iron Rod Lama, and taking the time to restore the Bible map of the Portuguese priest, and finally gradually sorted out some clues. At this time, I heard that the next step was to pass through the Tibetan bone ditch, so I asked the guide in the first year, why there is such a place name "Tibetan bone ditch"? What human bones are hidden? This mountain range is called Karamir, so what does that mean?

Chu Yi told everyone: "It is not clear whether there are human bones in the Tibetan bone ditch." The reason for this name is that it is a place where hundreds of beasts in the mountains commit suicide, and every year, a large number of yellow sheep, bison, Tibetan horses and bears run there and jump to commit suicide. The bottom of the ditch was covered with the bones of wild beasts. No matter how bold a person is, he will not dare to go there at night. As for Karamir, which means the sea of calamity, why it is called this ominous name, even the longest-bearded herdsman does not know. ”

Shirley Young and I looked at each other's faces, but she, like me, couldn't imagine the truth behind this ancient legend. Suicides by wild animals in groups occur all over the world, especially in the sea, but it is almost never heard of animals of different populations mixing together to commit suicide. And in this Tibetan land where mountains and lakes are worshipped, how can this mountainous area be named after such an ominous word as "sea of calamity"? It's kind of incredible.

The guide Chu Yi explained that the legend of the Tibetan bone ditch, which was told by the old people many generations ago, whenever the full moon was like a basin, the wild beasts in the mountains would look at the moon, jump into the ditch from a high place and fall to their deaths, and appease the wrath of the gods with their deaths; There is also a legend that any animal that jumps into a deep ditch and dies can break away from the animal path and be reincarnated as a human.

But no one who is still alive in the world has ever seen a beast jumping off a cliff there, and I don't know whether those ancient legends are true or false, but in the Tibetan bone ditch, you can also see the bones of many wild beasts, and there will be ghost fire flashing at night, and the terrain there is complex, and it is connected with the ancient glacier of Shenluogou. If you want to find a place surrounded by four snow-capped mountains, it is in the Shenluogou Glacier, and it will take more than five days to get there.

The complex terrain of Shenluogou is rare in the world, this northern Tibetan plateau, the place is sparsely populated, the living environment is harsh, the vicinity of Karamir is almost all uninhabited, and most of the areas are difficult for people to reach. Chu Yi himself has only been to Shenluogou to collect medicine, and he has never been there. Karamir has snow-capped mountains and ancient glaciers, but the glaciers surrounded by four snow-capped peaks are only the Shenluogou Glacier, and all the first day of junior high can do is lead us there.

The expedition rested in the pass for more than half an hour and continued on its way. The guide Chu Yi put the shotgun and Tibetan knife back on his body, and took out a leather bag full of barley wine, poured a few large mouthfuls, and then threw the leather whip three times in the air to tell the mountain god, and then said to everyone: "If you want to enter the Tibetan bone ditch, first turn over the Ga Qingpo and go." With that, he shook the prayer wheel in one hand and carried a leather whip in the other, and led the way into the mountain first.

The rest of the people and horses followed him, turning around seven times and eight times in the mountains, and finally arrived at Gaqing Slope (also known as Gaqing High), although there is a slope in the place name, but compared with the high mountains and mountains, it is not much inferior. The clouds and fog are locked here, and the first and other Kangba men still don't think anything about it, and Uncle Ming can't hold it anymore. In the past, people from the mainland could not adapt to altitude sickness when they came to the plateau, and they would die if they stayed on the plateau for more than 60 days, because the air pressure would gradually increase the heart, and after a long time, it would exceed the load of the body.

I always felt a little strange before, according to a person like Uncle Ming, his money has already been enough to spend, how can he be willing to throw this old bone into this Kunlun Mountain, and fight for his life to find the glacier crystal corpse. Later, I learned from Han Shuna that Uncle Ming's current family was only the house in Beijing and those few antiques, and all the family property was lost by his two sons in Hong Kong, and he owed a lot of debts. Uncle Ming wants to take advantage of the fact that his legs and feet can still move, and fight again, otherwise he will return to the west in the future, and his two sons and goddaughters will have to drink the northwest wind. After knowing this, I also felt a little sympathy for Uncle Ming.

I was worried that if I went further up, Uncle Ming and Ah Xiang might have an accident, so I caught up with the first year of junior high and asked him how far he was going to enter the Tibetan bone ditch.

Hatsuichi suddenly stopped, beckoned to me, and pointed diagonally down to signal me to look there. I looked in the direction he pointed, the surrounding clouds and mist were being blown away by the mountain wind, cracking a deep ditch in the ground, overlooking the deep stream from a high place, only to see a breath of emptiness, unpredictable, let alone jumping from here, just a glance, I felt afraid, if the clouds and mist on the top of the mountain were thicker, people who did not know the terrain here would definitely continue to walk forward, fall into the deep ditch and fall to pieces.

Below this is the Hidden Bone Ditch, where we are located, where the legend says that countless wild beasts jumped to their deaths, and the locals call this place the Beast Terrace.

Chu Yi handed me a leather bag containing barley wine, asked me to take a few sips, drove away the cold of the mountain wind, and said to me: "How about I call you Duji in the future, Duji means Vajra brave in Tibetan, and only a true warrior dares to look down at the Tibetan bone ditch from the Yanbeast Platform." Brother Duji, you are good. ”

I took two sips of wine, grinned at Chu Yi, and thought to myself, you don't know, just after a few glances, my legs and stomach are really a little tendoned. Now go around the road, you can also rush out of the Tibetan bone ditch before dark, we are about to urge the yak to pass, at this time the mountain wind rises again, the thicker clouds above the head slowly move away, a dignified snow peak from the sea of clouds revealed, this is like the silver snow peak in the sky, as if within reach, no wonder the locals say: "To Gaqing Gao, reach out and grasp the sky." ”

Chu Yi and the five porters were used to seeing each other, while we, the mainlanders who were not familiar with snow-capped mountains, looked at it with straight eyes, and wandered for a long time, until other clouds drifted over to cover the snow peaks, and then turned back and left step by step.

At the entrance of the Zanggu Gully, I looked at the time, and because of the misestimation of the speed of travel, it was too late to cross this deep ditch before dark, and it seemed that I had to camp outside the ditch for the night, and wait until dawn the next day before setting out.

But the altitude at the entrance is also above four thousand five, just over the Gaqing slope, some people who are not in good shape have strong altitude sickness, although they have taken medicine, they have not seen much better, they must find a place with a lower altitude for them to rest for a night, then they can only enter the Tibetan bone ditch.

The guide said that things like hauntings and beast suicides are legends a long time ago, and to be honest, I don't believe it, but it's still dangerous for us to go in at night. Although there is no threat of avalanches, if there are loose rocks on the cliffs on both sides, even if a small piece falls, even if the iron pot is buckled on the head, it will be smashed through, which is one of them; The second is that there were thousands of wild beasts that had died inside, and the bones were full of white bones, and the yaks and horses were easily frightened. Yak kind of guys, although they usually look very honest and honest, once they start a madness, where the bone ditch is so narrow, we will all be trampled to death by it.

I looked at Uncle Ming's family of three lying on horseback, and felt more difficult, and finally Shirley Yang thought of a compromise solution, so that the yaks were in front, and the rest of the people and horses were behind, and there were a lot of dead trees in the bone ditch, and camping behind the trees would minimize the danger factor, and some details were discussed, and finally decided to camp in the ditch.

After going around the Tibetan bone ditch, which is less than 3,000 meters above sea level, those who have difficulty breathing finally get a chance to breathe. The reason why it is called a ditch and not a valley is because the terrain is too narrow, and there are cliffs on both sides like knives and axes, and when you look up, there is only a line of sky. The ditch was full of rocks and weeds, and there were countless bones in the middle, the most of which were some horns of cows and goats, which have been immortal for thousands of years.

It is said that the Shenluogou that is connected to this place is completely different from the environment here. The primeval forest there is dense, there are many rare plants, and the mountains are especially rich in medicinal materials, so it has the nickname of medicine mountain.

About a quarter of the way through, night had fallen, but we still had not found a suitable place to camp, and the yaks had begun to get a little irritable, so for the sake of safety, they had to find a few dead trees nearby, stopped, set up tents, and buried pots to boil water.

Everyone sat around the fire to eat and drink, and the bold guide told everyone about Tibetan folklore on the first day of the new year. I hurriedly ate a few bites, then left the campfire and sat alone on a broken tree stump not far away to smoke.

As soon as he took two puffs, the cigarette was snatched and trampled by Shirley Yang who came over: "Smoking on the plateau is very dangerous to the body, so you are not allowed to smoke." I have something to discuss with you. ”

I originally wanted to say to Shirley Yang how you are as open as the fascists, but then dispelled this idea, since entering the Tibetan bone ditch, there is a strange feeling, Shirley Yang must also feel some unusual signs, so he came to me to discuss, this is related to everyone's life safety, or don't joke yet, say that the business is important.

Shirley Yang really came for this matter, a large number of beast bones in this ditch caught her attention, those bull horns, sheep horns, bear head bones look the nearest age, two or three hundred years old, if it is really like the legend, why no more beasts have jumped into the ditch to commit suicide in recent years?

I thought about it for a moment and said to Shirley Young that the legends handed down from ancient times may only retain some shadows of the truth, and cannot be regarded as real things. Those beasts that jump off the cliff to seek death, may be surrounded by wolves, or it may be because of the temptation of some natural factors, although those things are incredible, but they do exist in the world, but I think at least there is no zài here.

The half-volume book left to me by my grandfather was written by a master of touching gold in the late Qing Dynasty, and it even mentioned the structural layout of the nine-story demon tower in Tibet. Like that kind of tomb in the form of a demon tower, there must be two dragon-shaped burial ditches of the same size, maybe the Tibetan bone ditch where we are located is one of them, and the remnant reincarnation sect of the demon kingdom may have held unknown sacrifices here.

I kicked the half-dead stump next to me, and there was a very vague three-eyed human-headed ghost face on it, at least it was left over from hundreds of years ago, and it was almost weathered. Since I entered the Bone Gully, I have seen several similar totem marks, which should be good news for us, indicating that we are not far from the Phoenix Shrine.

I was studying the layout of the sacrificial ditch and the location of the demon tower with Shirley Yang when I heard a burst of exclamations from the people gathered around the fire, their voices full of panic and confusion. I hurriedly turned my head to look, and the scene in front of me was unbelievable, in the hazy moon shadow, a huge Tibetan horse bear, falling from a thousand meters of air with its teeth and claws.