"That sand scorpion originally only existed in legends, but I didn't expect it to be true. Lop Nur in the Tarim Basin was originally a very mysterious place. Here, legend has it that there are many supernatural phenomena, and this trip seems to be extremely dangerous, so everyone should be vigilant and never go it alone. From now on, everyone is going to keep their walkie-talkies and whistles on their chests and keep in touch. The fourth master said with a frown.

Thinking of Da Zhuang's tragic death, everyone was not in a good mood. I suddenly remembered that the legends of Lop Nur, nuclear tests, sand people, Pisces jade pendant and other legends that were rumored on the Internet at that time were originally very exciting, but now there is only fear left, fear of nature, fear of ethereal fate.

I was thinking about it when the scholar suddenly said: "I said, Fourth Master, Linglong Sister, you two have no opinion on being a 'palm eye' Sprinkler, raise your hands and feet in favor." But, you two have to tell the Sprinkle family, where are we going? What the hell are you going to do? ”

Linglong took out the dagger from her leg pocket and kept wiping it with the corner of her clothes: "Brother scholar, you should still ask the fourth master, don't be embarrassed for me as a little girl."

The fourth master was silent for a while, and did not answer directly, but turned his head and asked Lao Xu: "Lao Xu, you should have heard of Loulan, right?" ”

"Loulan? Of course I know. Loulan is located in the northwest of the Lop Nur area and is one of the 36 ancient kingdoms in the Western Regions. Legend has it that it was founded during the Han Dynasty, but it suddenly disappeared about 800 years later. Known as Shanshan during the Han Dynasty, this ancient country was one of the post stations on the ancient Silk Road, and was originally thought to exist only in classical records. Unexpectedly, in 1900, when the Western explorer Sven Heding was exploring the Taklamakan Desert, he accidentally discovered the ruins of this sleepy ancient country. Later, a 3,800-year-old Loulan female corpse was found in this area, which set off a wave of Loulan archaeology fever around the world. We in China have also stepped up our archaeological work on Loulan. "Lao Xu is still very good at his profession, and when it comes to archaeological history and events, he is like a few treasures.

"Yes, Lao Xu is really an archaeological expert, and you are very right. Scholar, your answer has actually come out, the place we are going to is the Loulan ruins near Lop Nur, and our purpose is to find a monument there. The fourth master said to the scholar.

"Loulan Monuments?" The scholar asked.

"Yes, according to my information, this monument should be an ancient tomb or an ancient city, the location is within the jurisdiction of the ancient country of Loulan, I only know the general location now, where it is, I can only explore." The fourth master replied.

"So, Fourth Master, why do we have to go anywhere?" This time, I'll ask questions.

The fourth master was silent for a while, as if thinking about something, and then said slowly: "Originally, I didn't want to tell you. But this operation is extraordinary, and the guy from the Cao family is an example. So, I don't hide it from you, you all sit down, listen to me slowly, and then you think about whether you want to continue to participate in the action. If you don't want to, let Linglong arrange someone to send you back tomorrow. ”

Then, the fourth master began to tell us the ins and outs of this trip.

According to legend, before the founding of the ancient kingdom of Loulan, the inhabitants of this area basically belonged to the Tocharian people and lived in the form of tribes. The Tocharians were very brave and intelligent, and generally preferred to live as nomads from grass to grass. But there is a tribe called the chieftain, which gradually evolved into building cities and living in the process of civilization development. The largest administrator of the chieftain tribe was the king, and there was a high priest under the king, who had a number of priests under him, and below him were the tribal nobles, who had a large number of slaves composed of poor people and prisoners of war. Maintain the king's rule through layers of management. In the twilight of the year or under special circumstances, the king will hand over the management power in the form of Zen concession to realize the transfer of royal power. And the high priest, as a messenger of man's communication with God, is the spiritual leader of the tribe people. To a certain extent, even the king had to listen to the advice of the high priest. This tribe continued to expand its territory and population by force, and its strength grew stronger and stronger, and its culture, technology, knowledge, and wealth were all developed unprecedentedly. However, when Guloulan was officially founded, the chieftain tribe suddenly disappeared, and no one knew where the people and animals of this tribe had gone. It was as if overnight, entire tribes and city-states had evaporated.

"Fourth master, I am a student of history and archaeology, with all due respect, among the historical information I know, there are indeed Tocharian people and ancient Loulan culture. However, this is the first time I have heard of the 'chieftain' tribe you are talking about. Lao Xu asked.

"During the period of the existence of the chieftain, the writing, language and even territory of the Chinese nation have not been unified, and the inconvenience of transportation and geographical restrictions have caused many ancient civilizations to be lost in the long river of history. And how much more about a tribe? This tribe of chieftains is originally very mysterious, so little information about it is known, so it's normal that you haven't heard of it. The fourth master paused and continued: "The purpose of our trip is to find the ancient city of Chieftain and find a bronze box hidden in the ancient city. ”

I, the scholar and Lao Xu glanced at each other, and the three of them all understood that in the bronze box that the fourth master was talking about, there was the second half of the golden silk book that was originally placed in the azusa wooden bowl and recorded the path to the "ultimate".

"But, Fourth Master, how did you determine the existence of this chieftain tribe? How can you be sure that the bronze box must be in the ancient city of Chieftain? Lao Xu continued to ask.

"At first, I didn't know, but then I looked up a lot of information and relied on the help of Mr. Cao to finally settle on a piece of information, one that made me feel that this adventure was worth it." The fourth master turned his head, looked at us, and said word by word: "The last king of the chieftain tribe is called Zhuli, and his high priest is called Ming Tu. ”

"What's the matter? The Sprinkle family doesn't know him! The scholar said.

"Ming Tu is a native of the Holy Dragon Gate, the eldest disciple of Long Fengdu!"

"Ahh Everyone said in unison. I was shocked, firstly, because the information that the fourth master said was indeed very impactful, and secondly, I found that Linglong actually "ah". At first, I thought that as the palm of my hand, Linglong should be in charge of the whole operation, but from this point of view, a lot of information Linglong may not be clear. The actual commander of this operation is only the fourth master! It seems that Linglong was not originally a participant in this operation, but was added later.

The fourth master continued: "Back then, the first patriarch of the Holy Dragon, Old Ancestor Long, was full of high-ranking disciples, especially the eldest disciple Ming Tu. According to the rules and situation, Ming Tu should be the successor to the position of the second patriarch. But at some point, Ming Tu suddenly disappeared, and there is no record of this in the history of the Holy Dragon Clan. Some people say that he turned his back on the Holy Dragon Sect, and some people say that he died violently overnight, in short, there are many theories. Master Long Zu never mentioned this, and over time, people slowly forgot about this person. ”

"Then did this Ming Tu come to Lop Nur? In the pre-Qin era, the transportation was inconvenient, why did he come to such a place where birds don't? The scholar asked.

"I don't know about that." The fourth master said lightly.

I looked at the expression of the fourth master and knew that there should be moisture in his words, maybe because Linglong was present, and it was inconvenient to say some things. Whatever the reason, at least I can deduce a few points of information from it: First, the fourth master is prepared and has ideas for this operation. Second, Linglong or the Cao family is not completely clear about the purpose of the whole operation, it is likely that they were just called by the fourth master to help or just to make money. Third, in the ancient city of Chieftain, where Ming Tu is located, there may be another bronze box containing the second half of the silk book. And the fourth master's purpose this time is to find this box.

It seems that the fourth master is not, as he said before, just went to Beijing for a spin after saying goodbye, and "nothing to gain". It is likely that he has traveled to many places and consulted a lot of information, and the real situation may be that he has "gained a lot".

"This trip is very dangerous, Miss Linglong is here to ask for money, and Xia Nan, Scholar, and Lao Xu are here for me, so I must tell you this information in advance. If anyone has an idea, they can bring it up, and I'll get you out of here at dawn. ”

"Fourth master, brother, is this going to pick up someone's family? I'm not an embroidered pillow. Besides, if you don't have a brother, you'll put my sister in danger? Linglong said with a giggle.

I, the scholar and Lao Xu naturally would not be deserters at this juncture, and categorically rejected the advice of the fourth master. What's more, the ultimate secret has always weighed on our hearts, and everyone wants to know what it is.

After talking like this, the sky was getting brighter. Ah Shun commanded the Cao guy to bury the pot and cook, and everyone hurriedly ate a few bites, then packed their luggage and continued on the road.

The fourth master is still leading in front, and it is too peaceful all the way, and there is nothing abnormal. Needless to say, the hard work in the middle, except for a few breaks in the middle and two meals, has been bowing his head and hurrying, no one speaks, the desolate road of the Gobi makes people feel depressed from the heart, and at the same time, it also keeps reminding everyone to conserve their physical strength and speed up the march.

As the stars rise, we find a sand dune and prepare dinner. Everyone was exhausted from the high-intensity march of the whole day, and everyone took off their shoes and rubbed their feet that had worn out blood blisters. I sat with the scholar and Lao Xu smoking a cigarette, Linglong lowered his head and said something to Ah Shun, and the fourth master silently looked at the bonfire and was stunned.

The fourth master suddenly spoke: "According to ancient records, we should be near the ancient city of Chieftain now." It's just that thousands of years have changed dramatically. The fabled ancient city may have been buried deep underground. ”

"Quite possibly. According to historical records, Lop Nur was still a water anchor in the Warring States Period. The surrounding grass is fertile and the trees are strong, and many nomads live here. Later, factors such as geographical movement and human change caused the rivers here to stop flowing and dry up, and gradually formed the Gobi and desert. Lao Xu said.