Sand Sea Magic Nest

It turns out that Huang Baldzi happened to know a professor from the Beijing Institute of Archeology and Museology, and they often had horizontal exchanges. An incident happened recently, and the details of the incident are as follows.

Activities such as archaeological protection of cultural relics that were suspended during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution have been restarted after the reform and opening up. The past three years have been a peak period for archaeology, and a large number of ancient tombs and relics have surfaced.

The exchange and trading of antique collections is also extremely popular. Various tomb-robbing gangs, large and small, have taken advantage of the news and dug up mounds of soil whenever they saw them. This is especially true in Shaanxi, Henan, Hunan and other places, and it is likely to become more and more intense.

Since the discovery of the Loulan Creek tombs in Xinjiang, people seem to have suddenly woken up. In the great desert of Xinjiang, there was the glorious Silk Road, the thirty-six countries of the Western Regions along the Peacock River, Huhu, Loulan, Milan, Niya, Luntai, Pulei, Gumo, Xiye... a paradise for adventurers, where countless treasures and prosperity are covered by the vast yellow sand.

For a time, countless expedition teams, archaeological teams, and tomb robbers rushed into the Taklimakan Desert to hunt for treasures. This was the second wave of exploration after the desert exploration boom in the early 19th century. However, this vast desert was a challenge for most inexperienced explorers. Speaking of it, just as the famous Swedish explorer Sven Hedin explained Taklimakan, it is a place where there is no return, the Sea of ??Death, hence the name.

The protection of ancient tombs in Xinjiang is urgent. However, the government does not have enough human and financial resources to excavate and protect the ruins in the Taklimakan Desert. A large number of archaeologists are racing against time in Henan to excavate ancient tombs that have been robbed or damaged by construction.

The professor Huang Bald knew had been studying the culture of the Western Regions for a long time. He was worried about the destruction of ancient tombs in Xinjiang and had been applying to the leaders. He hoped to personally lead a team to the desert to conduct an on-site assessment of these relics and then apply to the relevant departments. Excavate or protect.

The superiors used the excuse of insufficient funding and repeatedly pushed back. In fact, funding is secondary, mainly because too many people have had accidents in the desert recently, and they are worried about what happened to the professors if they go there. China's officialdom has been baptized by the Cultural Revolution. Nowadays, there is an unspoken rule that you don¡¯t seek merit, but seek no faults. If you don¡¯t make mistakes, you will make great achievements. It is only a matter of time before you get promoted and become rich.

It wasn't until recently that a Chinese-American came forward to provide full financial support to the professor's archaeological team, which made the trip possible. Currently, the archaeological expedition team is still undergoing preliminary preparations. They also need to find a leader with rich desert survival experience. In addition, there is still a lack of an expert who knows the art of Feng Shui and stargazing, because most of the archaeological team members are nerds chewing books. Without a leader, they will definitely not be able to get out of the desert. Without an expert who understands Feng Shui, they will not be able to find one. To places like ruins and ancient tombs.

Finding such a person is not easy. Some people come to apply, and most of them are people who deceive the world and steal their reputation. When the two parties talk, they show their cowardice, so the professor also asked Huang Baldy to find such capable people among the people.

Huang Baldy asked me if I wanted to go. The price offered by the Americans was quite high, and they could go to the desert to see if there were any big tombs. It was just a trip there, so that I could have a reference for future actions.

I said: "This opportunity is good. It is a rare practice for us. We have never dealt with archaeologists. If we can go together, we can learn a lot from them. I have been to the desert. In the past, the troops have entered the depths of the desert twice for military exercises. The team leader is the team leader. If you want to enter the desert, you must find a good local guide. In addition, I know the starry feng shui. As long as there are stars in the sky, I can lead them to find them. The place they want to find. But I don¡¯t quite understand why this American is sponsoring our expedition in China? What is his purpose? Americans are not Lei Feng. Americans are very pragmatic and value practical interests above all else. They won¡¯t do it.¡±

Daikin said: "I don't know the details of this matter very well. I only know a rough idea. The American who funded the investment is a female and Chinese. Her father is a Wall Street tycoon. He usually likes exploring archaeology and the like. Activity, last year, her father, her fianc¨¦, and a group of Chinese explorers went to Xinjiang to explore together. Her father seemed to be particularly interested in some exquisite culture. They went there to find the temple hidden in the hinterland of the sand sea. The ancient city of Jingjue, but she never came back, and no one came back. The local garrison sent out planes to look for her, but in the end they couldn't find her. There were no clues at all. She inherited a large inheritance from her family, and she was afraid that her father would not be able to find her. I don¡¯t want to give up on the matter. I am sponsoring this time because I may be doing my best to find her relatives. Although she is an American, she is of Chinese descent after all. According to our Chinese tradition, after death, After that, I have to bury it in my hometown and leave it to the wind and sun in the desert. My relatives at home will not be at peace either."

The three of us drank until the evening, and we agreed that Huang Baldy would contact the buyer and introduce us to Professor Know, the organizer of the archaeological team that was about to set off. Whether we could join in, we also needed to interview Professor Know.

Two days later, Huang Tuzi took us to Tianjin. On Shenyang Road in Tianjin, there was a small antique store. The owner was a fair-skinned woman in her thirties. We all called her "Sister Sun". Sister Sun is a Hong Kong artist. The mistress kept by a big boss. The boss is one of the few major antique collectors in Hong Kong. He opened such a shop for Sister Sun in Tianjin, firstly, to find something to do in her boring life, and secondly, it can Acquire antiques and artifacts.

Sister Sun is a woman who doesn't like to talk much, but she has a high level of knowledge in antique appraisal. After seeing our antiques, she generously paid 60,000 yuan: "The current market price is 50,000 yuan at most, more than 50,000 yuan." I pay you 10,000 yuan in the hope that we can make friends. If there are any good things in the future, please bring them here.¡±

I took the thick banknotes in my hands. I was so excited that my hands were trembling a little. I cursed myself for my worthlessness: "Old Hu, Old Hu, you can be considered a person who has seen the world. Back then, Chairman Mao inspected the red banknotes at the Tiananmen Gate Tower. Guard, were you excited when you participated? Frankly speaking, you were excited at that time, but not as excited as you are now. You can be regarded as someone who has climbed trees in the forest, dug holes in the Kunlun Mountains, and shot against Yue. Why are you so excited that you can¡¯t even hold on to money? Oh, this is the power of money. There is no way. You can disrespect money, but if you don¡¯t have money, you can¡¯t pull wires for the folks in the mountains, and you can¡¯t give money to those comrades who sacrificed their lives. To improve the lives of our family members, money is so great. We go through life and death for nothing, just for money.¡±

After going back, I divided the money into four parts, one for Yingzi, one for Monkey, and one for the party secretary to share with everyone. The remaining one was reserved for purchasing equipment and funds for the next operation.

The monkey didn't ask for his share. He said that the money this time was a lot less, but it was not much. It would definitely not be enough to build roads in Ganggangyingzi. We wouldn't have much left. I heard that Lao Hu There are many martyrs from the countryside in your company, and their families are large. Although they receive government subsidies, their lives are very difficult. Some mothers even lost their sons and did not have money to buy a bus ticket to Yunnan to see their son's grave. Hearing you say this, my eyes are sore and I feel very uncomfortable. You might as well send my share to the martyrs and the injured and disabled brothers. My biggest wish in this life is to serve as a soldier and fight on the battlefield. But My father died early and I don¡¯t have that chance anymore. Lao Hu, just help me fulfill this wish. It won¡¯t be too late to share it with me when we have more money in the future.

Speaking of this, tears welled up in my eyes, and I patted Monkey on the shoulder: "Okay, now I am becoming more and more aware. There will be many opportunities to make money in the future. This time we will try to go to Xinjiang and make American money." money.¡±

After resting for a few days, Huang Baldy came to notify me that he had made an appointment with Professor Dong from the archaeological team. He took Monkey and I to Professor Dong¡¯s office. The professor was quite old, so I couldn¡¯t help but worry about him when we met. Old Bones still wants to enter the second largest mobile desert in the world?

Along with Professor Miao, there is also his assistant Hao Aiguo, a middle-aged intellectual about forty years old, with hair as messy as a chicken coop. At first glance, he lacks experience in dealing with people. His profound myopia glasses show that , he is a person who has a rigorous, pragmatic and hard-working attitude towards studying, and does not pay much attention to his own image. There were many people like him during the Cultural Revolution, but after reform and development, with the popularity of new knowledge, new trends and other new values, there are not many such old-school people anymore.

Hao Aiguo looked at us carefully, without being polite, and said straight to the point: "Two comrades, we already know your purpose of coming, and you must also know the requirements of our archaeological team. This is an exception among exceptions. The exception is the exception. What we need is talent. Do you two have experience in desert survival exploration, or do you know the science of constellations and feng shui? This cannot be careless. If you don't have this ability, we will never use the back door." He glanced at Huang Baldy and said, "It doesn't matter who cares."

Professor Ming thought that Hao Aiguo was too straightforward. He was also very familiar with Huang Baldy's father and often asked them for advice on antique appreciation. He didn't want to make the relationship too tense, so he stood up from the sofa to smooth things over and invited us He sat down, chatted for a while, and asked some things about Monkey and I. After listening, he smiled and nodded: "It's not easy. I have been a company commander of the People's Liberation Army, and have experience in wars. I have also been to the desert. It's really rare." Ah, it is more than enough to be the leader of the nerds like us. Most of the ruins and ancient tombs in the desert are buried under the yellow sand. The ancient Kongque River Road has long dried up and is difficult to find. If you don¡¯t know the Tianxing Feng Shui technique, you may not be able to find it. I can¡¯t find it. I wonder if you two understand this Feng Shui?¡±

I know that this kind of Tianxing Feng Shui, also known as Tianqiongqingsang Technique, is the most obscure episode in the Tianzi Volume of "Yin Yang Burial Sutra". I have never actually used it, but at this time, I can only bite the bullet and blow it. , I scratched my scalp and replied: "Old sir, I am not bragging. I am familiar with the Feng Shui technique of astrolabe and moon engraving, but where do I start..."

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 2

In order to get this job paid in U.S. dollars, I poured out all the inventory in my stomach, hoping to convince them. Thanks to my ancestral secretary, Hao Aiguo thought I was young at first. I am a relative of Huang Baldy, and I came to eat with them through the back door. I said a few words, and I spoke eloquently. He couldn't help but look at me with admiration, and listened attentively.

This Feng Shui is called the best of earth science. Feng Shui can be simply summarized as: a place where wind is hidden and a place where water is obtained. The "Book of Burials" says it well: "Those who are buried take advantage of the Qi. The Qi will be dispersed by the wind, but will stop by the boundary water. The ancients gathered it to prevent it from dispersing, and moved it to stop it, so it is called Feng Shui.

Later generations expanded Feng Shui infinitely, and it was not limited to the earth veins and acupuncture points of tombs, but gradually extended to the art of guanyu. Those who guanyu are the heaven and the earth. To put it bluntly, it is a science that analyzes the relationship between heaven, earth, and people.

But today I will only talk about a branch of Feng Shui called "Star Feng Shui" to the professors and teachers here. In ancient times, emperors and nobles attached great importance to things after death. The treatment they enjoyed during their lifetimes should continue to be enjoyed after their death. Not only that, they also believe that the rise and fall of the world all originate from the dragon's veins, so the tombs must be set up in geomantic treasures. Emperor Yongzheng once gave an incisive overview of the imperial mausoleum. He said: The area where the heaven and earth gather together, where yin and yang meet, the dragon The sandy water in caves is beautiful, the situation is in order, and all auspicious things are well prepared. The water method in mountain ranges is well-organized, and it is the soil of good auspiciousness.

Although there are only a few sentences, this is undoubtedly the most direct, vivid and vivid description of the location selection of the imperial mausoleum. However, he only said half of it. The ancients pursued the realm of the unity of nature and man, not only mountains and water Dharma also requires the sun, moon and stars.

Since ancient times, people have often watched the sky and studied the changes in the stars to speculate on good and bad luck. When choosing Feng Shui treasures, they will also add the essence of astronomy. The distance between heaven and earth is eighty-four thousand miles, and the human heart The kidneys are divided into eight inches and four points. The metal, wood, water, fire and earth of the human body correspond to the five heavenly stars. There are also twenty-four stars corresponding to the mountains and rivers in the world. The stars have good and evil, and the earth has good and bad luck.

Any auspicious soil must echo the sun, moon and stars in the sky, and the technique of Qingwu, which uses the flow of nebulae to determine acupuncture points, is the most difficult star feng shui to master.

There are twenty-four constellations in the sky, twenty-four hours in the day, and twenty-four solar terms in the year. Therefore, Feng Shui also has twenty-four directions and twenty-four positions. Which twenty-four? They are: Tianhuang, Tiangang, Tianguan, Tianyuan, Tianshi, Tianchu, Tiancan, Tianhan, Tianlei, Tianfu, Tianwu, Tiangui, Tianyi, Shaowei, Tianhan, Tianguan, Tiandi , Antarctica, Tianma, Tianping, Taiyi, Taiwei.

If we can understand the good and bad arrangement of these stars, and then use the compass to locate the place we are looking for, we can find the place we want to find. However, there are many schools of this kind of star feng shui, each with its own set of methods, some of which are contradictory. Monuments in the vast sea of ??sand , after a thousand years, it would be good to have a 23% chance of finding it.

When Professor Dong heard this, he stood up happily and said: "What Comrade Hu said is so good. It's an eye-opener for God to finally send us a talent like you. In the great desert of Xinjiang, after a lapse of thousands of years, even several Thousands of years have passed, and the former oases and cities have turned into vast seas of sand. Mountains and rivers have disappeared. If we want to find those tombs on the ancient Silk Road, relying on the art of Tianxing Feng Shui is the simplest and most effective way. Yes. I announce that you two will officially join our archaeological working group from now on."

Hao Aiguo also came over and shook hands with us warmly, apologizing for being inhumane just now: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, intellectuals like us are all stinky old people. We have been squatting in earthen kilns for so many years during the Cultural Revolution. We are so stupid. No." Too talkative, please don¡¯t pay attention.¡±

I secretly rejoiced: "Hey, that's all I know. If I go any further, I'll have to expose myself. Tianxing Feng Shui is so rare that I can't imagine it. I can't quite understand it, but I guess you intellectuals wearing myopia glasses must be doing it." , I couldn¡¯t stand the test of the cruel environment in the desert. I had to run back within two days after entering. In addition, I exaggerated and made the probability of finding the ruins extremely low. If I couldn¡¯t find it, it wouldn¡¯t be because I didn¡¯t understand Tianxing. It¡¯s Feng Shui¡¯s responsibility, but we can¡¯t lose even a cent of our wages.¡±

Just as I was thinking proudly, another young woman came into the room. Professor Zhixian quickly introduced us: "This Miss Yang is the fundraiser for our activity. She is also going with us. Don't think she is a woman." The kid is a famous photographer for National Geographic magazine.¡±

I acted like a gentleman and shook hands with her. I thought since the other party was an American, I had to speak English to her. How do you say hello? It seems to be: "Ha...ha...haha."

Miss Yang smiled slightly: "Mr. Hu, I can speak Chinese, let's talk in Chinese. You can just call me Miss Guo from now on." Unexpectedly, she spoke Mandarin very well, without any American accent. As for the United States I actually have no idea what her accent is like. Anyway, I think she is no different from a Chinese person.

Miss Guo shook hands with the monkey again, and then asked a question. Mr. Wang Kaixuan (Monkey) came with Mr. Hu. Mr. Hu is very capable. He has commanded troops and knows the Star Feng Shui. However, Mr. Wang has What skills we have, we haven¡¯t learned yet. There's a lot at stake on this desert adventure, and we don't need people without unique skills.

I didn't expect the Americans to speak so directly. Everyone looked at the monkey, and I quickly said for him: "It's not peaceful in the desert. This friend of mine has good marksmanship."

Seeing that the American woman looked down on him, Monkey curled his lips and said angrily: "Xinjiang is nothing. When I went to the Xinjiang desert to suppress bandits, I killed the bandits in Niya Oasis and even killed the bandit leader with my own hands." , look at it, this is the trophy." After that, he took out the jade pendant and waved it in front of everyone: "Have you seen it before?" This jade pendant was given to Monkey when he was a child by his father's old comrade in the Red Army. The gift was obtained from a group of bandits he eliminated in the Niya Oasis in Xinjiang.

I grinned beside me, thinking to myself, this idiot, you can¡¯t even tell a lie. You put all the heroic deeds of your father¡¯s generation on your own head, and you went to Xinjiang to suppress bandits. At that time, you were suppressing bandits. You are still wearing crotchless pants, and you said that you have eaten Xinjiang mutton skewers and they are not bad. Now that things have happened, it seems that I can only cheat. If I don¡¯t take the monkey, I won¡¯t go. I guess they will have to compromise in the end.

However, no one refuted it. Both Professor Miao and Miss Guo's eyes were attracted by the jade pendant in the monkey's hand. Wherever the monkey's hand holding the jade pendant went, their eyes followed them, even blinking.

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 3

Miss Guo originally disagreed with the monkey¡¯s participation in the archaeological team, but after seeing the monkey¡¯s jade pendant, she agreed without hesitation to give us both a reward of 10,000 U.S. dollars each. If we could find the exquisite ancient city in the hinterland of the desert, we would pay more. Pay twice. However, the money cannot be cashed until we return from Xinjiang.

Huang Baldy has also seen a monkey's jade pendant. Even with his sophistication, he can't tell the origin of this jade. In this regard, he is not as good as Professor Understanding and others who know the goods. After all, Huang Baldy is a messer, and Professor Understanding is immersed in the Western Regions. He has been studying ancient culture for decades. Miss Guo¡¯s father and he are good friends. Miss Guo has been influenced by his family environment since he was a child. He is also an expert on the history of the Western Regions and other things, so the two of them immediately looked at this piece of jade. The doorway is here.

Professor Dong believes that this piece of jade has a history of at least 1,500 to 2,000 years. The characters engraved on it are from Guidong. Guidong was an ethnic minority in the Western Regions in ancient times. This ethnic group has long since become extinct. According to Dunhuang Some unearthed classics record that the queen of the Jingjue Kingdom is a member of the Ghost Cave tribe. However, the content of the ten ghost cave characters on the jade requires further research.

Professor Guo and Miss Guo's father were both obsessed with the culture of the Western Regions, and they were very fond of this once prosperous and gorgeous city. It could be said that it was the best among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions. In its heyday, it was rare in the Western Regions. Later, it seemed that There was a catastrophe, the queen died, and the ancient city disappeared since then.

Its former glory has been buried by the yellow sand. There are only sporadic records in some ancient documents to prove its existence. It is said that Queen Jingjue is the most beautiful woman in the Western Regions. She is like the sun in the sky. Her appearance makes the stars and the moon shine. Eclipsed.

Miss Guo's father was searching for the queen's tomb. An expedition team of five Chinese and American scholars carried top-notch equipment and entered the depths of the sand sea, but never returned.

In this operation, one was to conduct an on-site assessment and survey of the ancient tombs in the desert, and the other was to try their luck to see if they could find the remains of the five explorers and bury them properly.

Miss Guo wanted to buy the jade pendant in the monkey's hand. The monkey and I thought it was a rare commodity, so we bit her to death without selling it, and secretly calculated how much money we could get from her. We joined this expedition team composed of scholars and photographers. I became the leader, and Monkey became the deputy leader. The matter of going to the desert was finalized.

The westbound train was speeding across the vast western land. Monkey and I slept in darkness in the sleeper car. Our first stop was Xi'an, where we had to meet up with a few students from the professor, and then Urumqi, where the expedition team Equipment will be shipped directly there.

As soon as Hao Aiguo came in, I almost fell down because of the monkey's smelly feet. He pushed me awake: "Comrade Hu, wake up, wake up, the professor wants to discuss something with you, come here."

I looked out the car window and saw that it was still bright. I didn¡¯t know what time it was. I was so sleepy that I put on my clothes and followed Hao Aiguo to the next door.

Professor Guo and Miss Guo were looking at the map. When they saw me coming in, they asked me to sit down. Hao Aiguo poured me a cup of hot water. I asked them what they wanted.

Professor Dong said: "We will arrive in Xi'an tomorrow morning. We will pick up my three students. Even if everyone is here, you are our captain and I want to discuss the route with you in advance."

Miss Guo also said beside him: "Yes, Mr. Hu, I discussed with the professor and planned to start from Bosten Lake and go south to find the ancient Kongque River channel. Then, we will go through the ancient Kongque River channel into the depths of the desert and follow the Duan River to the south. Next, look for the ruins of the ancient city of Jingjue. We would like to ask for your opinion."

I find it funny in my heart. These intellectuals and rich people are just talking on paper and thinking too much. If you go this way, you are going in circles in the Gobi desert. How can anyone dare to take a Z-shaped route in the desert? Even if they don¡¯t die of thirst, starvation and sunburn, in the end It¡¯s exhausting, but I¡¯ve always thought that these people are those who have too much money to burn, and have enough to eat. They can¡¯t live a good life, but they have to go to the desert to suffer, and it won¡¯t take more than two or three days, and they have to go back crying. , so it doesn¡¯t matter what route you take, just give me the money when you go back.

I said to Miss Guo: "Miss Yang, although I am the team leader, I am not qualified to participate in the decision-making of the marching route. After you have determined the route and goal, I will be responsible for leading everyone to the place. In other words, you It¡¯s the shopkeeper¡¯s work, ours is the coolie¡¯s work.¡±

As soon as I said those words, I felt a little regretful. As the saying goes, use people's money to eliminate disasters. They paid me to hire me, so of course I had to fulfill my duty. So I told them that the route must wait. After arriving in Xinjiang, I will find a local guide who is born and raised and ask for his opinion before making a decision. It is a bit too early to say now. The matter of finding a guide is left to me.

Everyone discussed some more details, and then went to rest. After the conversation on the train, I vaguely felt that these people were very determined, and they might not necessarily have to run back within a few days of entering the desert.

In Xi'an, I met the other members of our archaeological team, all students taught by knowledgeable professors, the simple-looking Zheng Yonghai, the tall Chu Jian, and the female student Ye Yixin.

Including the previous five people, a total of eight people arrived in Xinjiang. I contacted a comrade in the army, Liu Gang. He is a descendant of the 359th Brigade of the army that entered Xinjiang. He was born and raised in Xinjiang, but he did not get along well with the locals. It was not easy to find a local Uighur guide who was familiar with the desert geography. Finally, through Liu Gang's friends, he found an old man who was in the livestock business.

The old man's name is "Asheti Amati", but no one calls him this name anymore. People call him "Anliman", which means the living map in the desert.

The old man An Liman held his pipe in his mouth and kept shaking his head: "No, no, it's not possible. It's the windy season. If you go into the desert, the old man Hu Da will be blamed."

We talked hard, and I asked Professor Dong to show him the documents. I explained to him that we were cadres sent by the state to work, and the local comrades must cooperate. If An Liman doesn't act as our guide, we will call the police. Confiscate your camels and donkeys so that you can no longer do business.

Miss Guo also told him that as long as you come to be our guide, I will buy all your animals at double the price. When you come back from the desert, these animals will still be yours, and the money will also be yours.

The old man An Liman had no choice but to agree, but he made a request: "Don't drive the car. Hu Da doesn't like machines. Bring more camels. Hu Da likes camels."

On this link, old man An Liman and I agree. Camels are much more reliable than cars in the desert. Camels are known as the boats of the desert. They are not only animals with carrying capacity, they have many functions. The skills left over from ancient ancestors can help them avoid desert storms, quicksand and other natural threats, and they can also carry heavy loads under the scorching sun without eating or drinking. Their broad and fat soles have a large area of ????force and will not easily sink into the sand. , the old and experienced camels will lead their owners to find water sources in the vast desert. At night, the alert camels can also act as sentinels, alerting their owners when wolves and other wild beasts sneak up on them in the dark.

Old Man Anliman selected twenty camels. On the day of departure, he loaded all our equipment and materials on the camels' backs, and brought a large amount of bean cakes and salt. While the monkey helped him move the things, he asked: "Old man, where are we?" Just eating bean cakes and salt in the desert? Doesn¡¯t the more you eat, the more thirsty you become?¡±

The old man Anliman laughed: "Oh my Wuli Anjiang (strong friend), you can eat this if you want, but Hu Da thinks these should be left to the camels."

Old man An Liman told us that the current season is the most dangerous time in the desert. The previous section of the road from Bosten Lake to the ruins of Xiye City included desert and Gobi Desert. Fortunately, the ancient river channel of Kongque River connected it, and It's not difficult to identify, but if you want to go deeper, whether you can find the Zidu Anhe River depends on Hu Da's will.

Our team of nine people is more like an ancient camel team than an archaeological team. The amount of food we carry is enough to last for less than a month, and the water is enough for more than ten days. We stopped at several places along the way. Oasis and underground rivers can also replenish drinking water. In addition, there are several large leather pockets of yogurt soup. When you are unbearably thirsty in the desert, one sip can quench your thirst, which can be worth ten mouthfuls of water. Coupled with the various equipment and equipment of the expedition team, each camel carried a heavy weight. When traveling, the personnel could only walk half of the way on two legs and half of the way on the camel.

The first section of the itinerary starts from Bosten Lake to the southwest and walks westward along the Kongque River until you find the ancient river channel going south. Bosten can be translated as standing. The origin of this name is because there are three channels in the center of the lake. The mountain stands in the lake. In ancient times, this lake was also called the Fish Sea. It is the largest inland freshwater lake in China. The Kongque River originates from here and flows to the depths of Taklimakan. When we passed by the lake, we looked at the vast and far-reaching blue lake. It's dizzying, and inadvertently creates the illusion that you've reached the end of heaven and earth.

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 4

In the first two days after departure, the three students of the professor were in high spirits. They were all young and it was the first time in their lives to enter the desert. They found it both fresh and fun. One moment they were imitating the whistle of old man Anliman commanding the camels, and the other moment they were chasing after him. I was busy playing and singing.

I was eager to give it a try, and I couldn't wait to join them in the tossing, but as the leader of the archaeological team, I still had to be more serious. Thinking of this, I straightened up and rode on the back of the camel, trying to look strong and wise. Some.

According to the words of the old man An Liman, this initial section of the journey is not considered a desert at all. This section of the ancient channel of the Kongque River existed before the river changed its course. The riverbed in some areas has not completely dried up, and the surrounding sand is also very shallow. There are sporadic small lakes and seas everywhere, and occasionally a small group of red-billed gulls and red-billed pochards swim on the water. Along the bend of the Kongque River, there are small patches of oases with sandy trees growing there. Jujube, Populus euphratica and some shrubs.

After crossing this river bend, we have truly entered the desert. The Kongque River changes its course to the southeast, towards which are Loulan, Lop Nur, and Danya. We then travel southwest and enter the "Black Desert". Old Man An Liman said that the Black Desert It was created by Hu Da (Allah, Allah) to punish the greedy pagans. There are countless cities and treasures buried in the desert, but no one can bring them out from the black desert, even if you only take one. Gold coins will also lose their way in the black desert and be buried far away by the wind and sand, never to be found again.

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This is a large mobile desert. The sand dunes are blown by strong winds. The landscape changes day by day without any features. The ancient rivers have long disappeared. Thanks to Anliman, most of them were buried by the yellow sand and only half of them were exposed. The old castles, houses, and towers on the roofs, the Populus euphratica that were tilted by the strong wind at an angle of thirty degrees with the ground, and the few small Haloxylon ammodendron plants in the desert could not escape the eyes of old man Anliman. When these things are connected, they form a line, which tells us that the ancient Kongque River once passed through here. At the end of this disappeared ancient river is the legendary ancient city abandoned by Hu Da.

The thing that impressed us the most in the desert was the thousand-year-old Populus euphratica. If we hadn¡¯t seen it with our own eyes, who would have believed that there were trees in the desert. Every tree looked like a vigorous flying dragon, and all the branches stretched out crookedly. To the east, it seems like this dragon is running in the desert. In such a harsh environment, it has lived for thousands of years and has long since withered. The trunk was blown by the wind and sand until it was almost flat to the ground, but it still did not fall.

The first ray of sunshine in the morning rises from the eastern horizon, reflecting the clouds on the horizon red. The rising sand dunes in the desert are shrouded in a layer of glow, and the dry Populus euphratica and corrugated yellow sand are all reflected. The golden-red color, with its strong colors, forms a magnificent picture between heaven and earth.

In order to avoid the scorching sun at noon, everyone walked all night and were tired. Seeing this scenery, they couldn't help but feel refreshed. Miss Guo praised: "The desert is so beautiful. God, look at that Populus euphratica tree. It's so beautiful." It¡¯s just a golden dragon in the desert.¡± He took out his camera and clicked the shutter repeatedly, hoping to preserve this beautiful scenery.

When everyone was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, I found old man An Liman staring at the rising sun in the east, with a faint uneasiness on his face. I walked over and asked him: "Old man, what's wrong? Is the weather going to change?" "Because in the Mainland, I have also heard that if you don't go out during the morning glow, then if you travel thousands of miles with the sunset, the fiery red clouds in the morning are not a good photo.

Old man An Liman nodded, and after a long while he said, "Yes, the clouds in the sky are bleeding. Mr. Hu is probably angry. The wind is going to blow again in this desert."

I smiled and said, "My surname is Hu, and Hu Da is also surnamed Hu, right? We, the old Hu family, have good tempers and never like to get angry."

The old man An Liman was so angry that his goatee started to blow out: "Why is Mr. Hu's surname Hu? If you say this, Mr. Hu will be angry. There will be a big wake-up call in the Black Desert tonight. The wind is blowing, so we won¡¯t rest during the day. Let¡¯s move forward quickly.¡±

This is already the fifth day of our departure and the third day of entering the Black Desert. In front of us are the ruins of the ancient city of Xiye. We were originally expected to arrive tomorrow, but Old Khan Anliman said that the storm will be very big this time. Even building a wall of sand can't stop us. If we don't rush to the ruins of Xiye City, we will all be buried alive in the desert.

I heard what he said and knew that this matter was no joke. It was still more than half a day's journey from the ruins of Xiye Ancient City. If something happened to delay it on the way, it would be troublesome, and we had to walk all night. , everyone is exhausted, it is hard to say whether those old, weak, women and Confucians can hold on.

I jumped on the back of the camel and wanted to tell everyone to leave, but I saw old man An Liman slowly getting off the camel, taking out a blanket, spreading it on the yellow sand slowly, kneeling on it, his eyes slightly closed, with a pious expression. He stretched his hands toward the sky, then covered his face and said loudly: "Allahu."

He was praying to God. It was something he had to do every morning. Seeing how calm and calm he was, I thought it was not serious that he said there was going to be a big storm at night, so I relaxed accordingly and went to talk to the monkeys. , Miss Guo and others watched the beautiful scenery of the desert together.

Who would have thought that after An Liman finished praying, he seemed to be a different person, his body seemed to be full of clockwork, he rolled up the blanket, jumped up on the camel like a spring, and whistled long: "Oh yo yo "Hey... run quickly, if you run too late, you will be buried in the black sand of purgatory." He urged the big camel on his crotch and started running first.

I yelled, "This fucking old man." In such an emergency, he had been praying slowly and leisurely just now, but now he was running so fast, and he immediately called everyone to leave.

The camels also felt the danger signal from the sky, and like crazy, they threw away their four big hooves and ran wildly in the desert. Normally, sitting on a camel and walking around, it is quite fun, but once it starts running, it becomes bumpy. It was so bad that we lay tightly on the camel's back, for fear of falling off if we lost our grip.

The camel caravan was speeding through the desert, and the rising yellow sand rolled up a giant yellow dragon. Everyone wore goggles on their eyes and covered their noses and mouths with scarves. I looked around and became more aware of the situation. No, the camels were out of control. They were following the old man Anliman¡¯s big camel with eyes wide open and panting, running like a whirlwind. It seemed that things were more urgent and dangerous than I expected.

What I was most worried about was that some members were thrown off the camel. They wanted to shout to An Liman in front of them to slow down, but they had no time to open their mouths, and there was no way to open their mouths. When they opened their mouths, a mouthful of sand was poured into them.

I could only keep looking left and right, counting the number of people on the camel hump, until noon. Even though the camels were good at walking, they were tired and sweating profusely, so I had to slow down. Fortunately, no one was left behind.

An Liman asked everyone to take advantage of this moment to eat some dry food and drink more water. Don't worry about running out of water. Under the ruins of Xiye City, you can find the underground veins of the ancient Kongque River, where clean water will be replenished. After eating and drinking enough, let the camel recuperate its legs a little. Fortunately, it is not far away, but it is better to continue running immediately, otherwise it will be too late.

Everyone took out naan and dried meat and ate a few random bites. Monkey and I were worried about these intellectuals and asked them one by one if they were okay.

Although Professor Qing was quite old, he was knocked out of breath by the camel and could not utter a word. Ye Yixin, the youngest female student, vomited a few times and the two of them only drank some water. I can't eat it either.

The most terrible thing is Hao Aiguo. His glasses for severe myopia fell off and he couldn't see anything clearly. He was so anxious that he was spinning around. Thanks to graduate student Zheng Yonghai, who was also myopic, he had a spare pair of myopia glasses. Their degrees were about the same, so he solved the problem. Hao Aiguo's urgent need.

Miss Guo has nothing to do with Chu Jian, another tall student. Especially Miss Guo, maybe it¡¯s genetically related to her adventurous father, or maybe it¡¯s because she grew up in the United States. She has a strong adventurous spirit. Her physical fitness is also very good. She didn't sleep all night and ran in the desert for most of the day. She didn't feel tired at all. She was still in high spirits and was busy helping old man An Liman to reinforce the supplies on the camel's back.

A gentle breeze blew through the sand dunes, rolling up wisps of fine sand. The sky in the distance gradually turned into a dark yellow. Old man Anliman shouted: "The trade wind is coming, don't rest anymore, God bless us, we are like this There are many people, please run away quickly."

The members of the archaeological team dragged their tired bodies and climbed on the camels again. At this time, they no longer cared about the camels' physical strength and shouted to urge the camels to run.

The sky that was just clear just now seemed to have darkened in an instant. The wind came too fast, and more and more fine sand was swept into the air by the wind. The surrounding area was shrouded in overwhelming sand and dust, and the visibility was getting lower and lower. , in the chaos, I secretly counted the number of people in the team again. Including me, there were eight people in total. Who was left behind?

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 5

The wind was getting stronger and stronger, the sand was raging, and everything was dark yellow. I couldn't see who was left behind, but the camel team had just descended a hundred meters from the sand dune, and it was still too late to go back and find people.

The first thing I thought of was the American Miss Yang. If she were to die, our money would be wasted. But then I gave up this idea. The idea just now was a bit selfish. Their American lives are precious. The lives of us Chinese people are not exchanged for salt particles, and no one can be left behind.

Next to me was the monkey, the only person I could recognize. I wanted to talk to him, but the wind and sand were so strong that I couldn't open my mouth. I rode on a camel and gestured to him, asking him to stop and run ahead. Anliman old man.

After such a delay, the twenty-peaked camel ran tens of meters away. I didn't have time to confirm whether the monkey understood what I meant, so I turned over and fell off the back of the running camel.

The footprints of the camels in the desert have been blurred by the wind and sand, and will soon disappear. I ran against the wind in the direction I came in. I felt that my body was like a piece of paper, and every step I took was involuntary. You will be swept away by the strong wind at any time, and you will hear nothing but the sound of wind.

After staggering for nearly two hundred meters, we finally found a man lying on the ground on the dune beam where we had just rested. The man's body was half covered by the sand. I didn't know whether he was dead or alive. I rushed over and pulled him out of the yellow sand.

It turned out to be Professor Qing. His situation just now was not very good. Maybe when everyone got on the camel to escape, he was knocked off by the camel in the rush. I know Professor is still alive, but he was too frightened to speak. When he saw me coming, he fainted in excitement.

Although the wind and sand at this time were fierce, I knew that this was just the prelude to a big desert storm. The real violent storm could come at any time and could not be delayed for a moment. I carried him on my back and turned around to see that he had just been stepped out by me. A series of footprints can still be identified. God bless, the monkey must stop that greedy old guy An Liman.

I wanted to carry the professor on my back and walk down the sand dune. Unexpectedly, the wind behind me was too strong. I couldn't stand my ground after taking the first step. The two of them rolled down the sandy slope. In the dim wind and sand, someone helped me up. , it turns out that the monkey understood what I meant, stabbed the camel's butt with a knife, caught up with An Liman in front, and threw him off the hump. The camels stopped when they saw the first camel, and the rest also stopped. The one with only its butt injured ran forward like crazy and immediately disappeared into the vast wind and sand.

That is to say, thanks to the fact that they did not run too far away, otherwise they would not be able to find them back at all. At this time, no one could speak, they could only make gestures. If you can understand, you will understand it. If you don't understand, just follow it. Everyone was ready to climb on the camel again and escape. .

But the camels seemed to be frightened and would not run away. No matter how much the old man An Liman beat them, they would not listen to the command and lined up in a row, squatting on the spot and burying their heads in the sand.

We have seen many camel bones along the way. When they died, they all remained in this posture, as if they were sinners receiving punishment. An Liman said that these were camels frightened by Hu Da's black wind and sand. They knew that the black wind and sand would come soon, and there was no use running, so they simply knelt on the ground and waited to die.

This situation suddenly occurs, and we are helpless. Are we all waiting to be buried alive by the yellow sand? It's not a pleasant feeling. Just when I was at a loss what to do, Miss Guo pulled my arm and pointed to the west, gesturing for us to look over there.

I saw a huge white shadow running towards us in the wind and sand. It was very close, but the wind was too loud and no one heard it. I subconsciously took off the sports rifle on the hunchback. This small-caliber sporting gun is what we are going to use to deal with the wolves. Everyone no longer cares about the wind and sand, and focuses on the white shadow. What is it? Not like a human being.

Like a devil, the white shadow came to us in an instant. It was a camel that was twice as big as an ordinary camel. There was only one hump on its back. Its whole body was white, and it stood out in the yellow sand.

"Wild camel!" Several people who knew this kind of camel shouted in their hearts at the same time.

In addition to the difference in body size between ordinary camels and wild camels, the biggest difference between them is that the camels raised by people have two humps on their backs, while the wild camels only have one hump on their backs.

Through the goggles, I seemed to be able to see the eyes of old man An Liman shining. It was a light of joy that he had survived death. An Liman was so excited that he waved his arms to praise the true God Allah. The camel kneeling on the ground They also seemed to be summoned by some kind of call and raised their heads buried in the sand again.

Although I don¡¯t know what happened, I intuitively understood their actions. We still have a chance to survive. Just follow this snow-white wild camel. It is an animal in the desert. It should know where to hide from Hu Da. of black wind and sand. He immediately signaled to the rest of the people to climb on the camel's back and follow the white camel in front.

The camels lowered their heads and ran so fast that they were almost frothing at the mouth. They used all their remaining strength to follow the white camels in front closely and turned around a large sand mountain. The terrain of the desert suddenly rose here, and the white camels The camel's figure flashed and then disappeared in a single jump.

I secretly thought something was wrong, it had disappeared, and we would be in trouble. I saw the surroundings getting darker and darker, and I could no longer distinguish between the sky and the earth. In a minute or two, the life-devouring black sandstorm was coming.

Before we could understand what was going on, the camels they were riding on turned around and bypassed the towering sand mountain. I looked to the left and right and saw that there was a broken city wall on the sand mountain with rammed earth underneath. The big fortress turned out to be the ruins of a small ancient city.

Most of the buildings were more than half buried by the yellow sand, and some houses had collapsed. Only a strong section of the city wall stood out. It has been exposed to wind and sun for countless years, and has long since turned into the same color as the desert. From a distance, you will only think it is a big sand dune. If you don't turn in from the side, you will never find this castle.

The snow-white wild camel originally ran here to take refuge, but the ruins of the ancient city blocked the view, so we couldn't see where it had gone.

The city wall is like a high anti-sand wall. If we can rely on it to block this rare sandstorm, in the words of old man An Liman: "It depends on Hu Da's will." In short, here In this case, having a place to hide would be an eye-opener.

The members of the archaeological team survived the disaster. Everyone's face turned yellow. It was unclear whether they were frightened or had dust on their faces. Everyone got off the camels, and An Liman directed the camels to stand beside the wall. After lying down, he led a group of others and descended from the broken roof of a big house one after another.

Although the ancient city has walls to protect it from the wind and sand, those walls are broken in some places. Over the years, a large amount of sand has been blown into the city by the wind. In the damaged houses, the ground is filled with fine sand, which is more than two meters thick.

The big room we took refuge in was probably a facility like a government office or a city hall. It was relatively tall. Even so, we still had to bend down. If we raised our heads even slightly, we would bump into the wooden beams above.

People with poor health such as Ye Yixin, Hao Aiguo, etc. went in and lay down on the ground, took out the water bottle and drank. The rest of the people helped Professor Dong in. He had recovered his consciousness, but his legs were weak. The monkey let out a sigh of relief: "Our life is finally saved."

After An Liman entered the house, he immediately knelt down on the ground. The devil from the black hell blew up a black sandstorm. Thank you Hu Da for sending the auspicious white camel to save us from the nightmare of disaster. The old man An Liman said. The white-humped camel is the most magical elf in the desert. Genghis Khan, Xixia King Li Yuanhao and others all have white camels, but those have two humps. Although rare, they are not magical.

If there is even one person in the team that Hu Da does not like, we will not see the white camel. It seems that we are devout believers favored by God. From now on, we will be like brothers, breaking bones and connecting tendons. An Liman patted his chest and promised: "If there is danger again, I will never look at everyone before running away for my life."

I cursed in my heart: "Damn it, I'm sorry, you old man, you didn't take us seriously before. If anything happens, you'll run faster than a rabbit."

While we were talking, a big sandstorm came outside, with howling winds shaking the earth and the earth. We couldn't help but feel frightened in the ruins of the ancient city. What if the exit of the house was buried by the wind and sand, would we be suffocated to death? So I arranged for Zheng Yonghai, Hou Hou, and Chu Jian to take turns staring at the holes in the roof of the house. If anything happened, they would quickly notify everyone to run out. However, everyone knew very well that if the storm moved the desert, the city wall in front would be destroyed. If it is swallowed up, even if we run out, we will just be buried alive in another direction.

The outside wall of the house was covered with wormwood, which is a kind of hay. I reached out and pulled out some, took out the solid fuel, and lit a small fire to keep everyone warm.

The dark old house was illuminated by the fire. Ye Yixin suddenly jumped up and hit her head on the beam. She was almost knocked unconscious. Countless fine sand fell from the beam. The people below were not wearing goggles and could not face. Blinded.

Everyone rubbed their eyes and asked Ye Yixin what happened? What's going on?

My eyes were filled with sand and I couldn't see anything. In my ears I could only hear Ye Yixin's trembling voice shouting: "There is a dead body lying in the corner on the right!"

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 6

"Dead body?" Hao Aiguo asked while rubbing his eyes: "You Xiaoye, why are you so surprised? Are we archaeologists still afraid of dead bodies?"

Ye Yixin also had sand in her eyes, covering her head that hit the roof beam and apologizing: "I'm sorry, Teacher Hao, I... I just didn't expect there would be dead people in this room, and I wasn't mentally prepared... I'm sorry, sorry."

I heard a secret recipe. If you are confused, just spit on it and it will be cured. I have tried this trick many times before, so I quickly spit out a big mouthful of saliva. The feeling of blurred eyes was relieved immediately, and I shed a lot of tears, but it was already gone. Can open it.

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked. It turned out that the spit I just spit happened to be on Miss Guo's head. She is a clean person. Even if she travels day and night in the desert, she still maintains good hygiene. As she was used to, she was confused by the sand and was rubbing her eyes non-stop. In the confusion, she didn't notice that someone was spitting on the top of her head.

I had to pretend that this was not the case, and hurriedly took out the flashlight from the portable geology bag and looked at the wall. Sure enough, there were human bones. The climate in the desert was extremely dry. I couldn't tell how long they had been dead. There was only one left. A small part of the bones were buried by the yellow sand blown in by the wind, and most of them were still exposed. At a cold look, they were really scary. No wonder Ye Yi's heartbeat was so high due to fright.

At this time, the rest of the people opened their eyes one after another, took out the kettle, and rinsed a few people who were seriously confused with water. I told everyone not to worry, it was nothing, it was just a human skeleton, and I don¡¯t know how many years it had been dead. Now, after we eat something and rest for a while, we can dig a hole and bury it for him.

The members of the archaeological team, except for the old man An Liman, often deal with ancient corpses, and no one is afraid. They are just a little confused that this human skeleton died here. The dead in the desert rarely rot, and most of them are buried. It was naturally dried and turned into a mummy, but there was no skin or flesh on the white bones, so they might have been eaten by sand wolves.

An Liman thought this was not surprising. Didn't that white camel run in to avoid the big sandstorm? Thanks to following it, we survived. This desert is different from the semi-desert and semi-Gobi with the wonders of Loulan ruins and Yadan. People enter In the black desert to the west, we dare not deviate from the route of the ancient Kongque River. It is impossible for us to find the ruins of this castle on our own, but the animals in the desert are different. The city must be a refuge given by Hu Da to the animals in the desert. We didn't see it. There might be many sand wolves, yellow sheep, and sand leopards hiding behind those broken houses and broken walls... The sky was blowing at the moment. In a big sandstorm, all the animals on the ground are frightened, and no one cares about the other. After the sandstorm passes, you may find wolves and gazelles hiding in the same room. At that time, wolves should show their teeth. If it is a yellow sheep, it is time to stretch out the horns on its head.

I heard that there were many wild beasts hiding in these broken houses. Ye Yixin and other timid people were a little nervous. An Liman was also worried about the camels hiding behind the broken city wall. He had to brave the sandstorm to go out and put them away. The camels were tied up. It seemed that this big sandstorm would not stop for a while. I didn¡¯t know how long it would last in this big house, so I asked Monkey and Chu Jian to go out with him, and by the way Food, fuel and sleeping bags were brought in.

The three of them put on goggles, wrapped their headscarves over their mouths, noses and ears, and climbed out through the hole in the roof. After smoking two cigarettes, the three of them came back, their bodies covered with sand and soil. The monkey took off his turban and goggles, and sat down on the ground: "Fuck, the wind is blowing, if it weren't for the three of us... If you pull it, it will blow us into the sky, but the old man didn't fool us. When we passed a broken wall, there were six or seven yellow sheep hiding behind it. When the wind calms down, I will get my gun. Shoot two, and let¡¯s have a meal of fresh meat. We¡¯ve been eating dried meat these days, and we¡¯re tired of it.¡±

An Liman heard this and expressed his firm disagreement: "No, no, as soon as you fired, the sound of the gunshot scared away all the beasts hiding in the city, and they would If you run out, you will be buried alive in the devil's black sandstorm. We are the same as those animals. It is because of Hu Da's mercy that we can hide here. You can't do this. "

The monkey said: "Come on, stop it now. Isn't that what I said? After you talk so much, can I continue to eat dried meat? Mr. Hu Da, he won't even let us eat dried meat." ?" After that, he took out the dried meat and canned liquor from the bag and distributed them to everyone to eat and drink.

I have been running on the run in the desert for more than half a day, and now I am trapped in the ruins of this unknown ancient city by a sandstorm. Except for the monkeys and the old man An Liman, the rest of the people are not in the mood to eat. I care about Professor, I am an older person. There was a shortage of medical treatment in the desert, so it was better not to have any accidents. I took the wine bag and walked up to the professor and persuaded him to take a few sips of wine to relieve his fatigue.

Miss Guo and Hao Aiguo helped Professor understand sit up. In addition to Chu Jian's turn to watch the hole in the roof, the students also gathered around the professor with concern.

Professor Dong seemed to have recovered. He took a sip of wine and said with a wry smile: "Think about how I used to work in the field, and then was locked up in a cowshed for more than three years, and then went to a labor camp to dig mountains and dig rocks. What kind of crime have I not suffered? , I have survived, but now I am no longer useful. Alas, thanks to Brother Hu today, without you, my old bones would have been buried alive by the sandstorm. "

I comforted him a few words and said that I can't take Miss Yang's share of US dollars in vain. These are all my duties. If you always feel unwell, let's go back as soon as possible. It's still too late. After passing the Xiye Ancient City, that's We are in the heart of the Black Desert, and the environment is much more cruel than this. It will be too late to regret it by then.

Professor Ding shook his head and said that he was determined to go on. Don't worry, everyone. This kind of rare sandstorm does not happen in a hundred years and does not happen often. Since we escaped, we will be lucky if we survive the disaster.

I was about to persuade him a few more words, when Miss Guo pulled me aside and whispered to me: "Mr. Hu, I used to think that you were a bit too young to be the leader of the archaeological team, and I was worried about whether you had enough skills. Ability and experience, today I finally know that you are the one to choose as the captain. I still need your help with something. We have experienced the power of nature, and the morale of the team members has suffered a big setback. I hope you can. Cheer everyone up and cheer everyone up.¡±

This was a difficult problem, but the shopkeeper said something, so I had no choice but to do it. Everyone gathered around to eat, and I said to everyone: "Well... Comrades, our atmosphere is a bit dull now. Marching and singing all the way, yes The fine traditions of our army, shall we sing a song together?¡±

Everyone looked at me and I looked at you, and they were all a little confused, thinking when did we become soldiers? What does the fine tradition of our army have to do with us people? Singing at this time and on such an occasion? No one reacted for a moment.

I was thinking bad and confused again, why did I use the tricks I had in the company, so I quickly changed my mind and said: "No, no, what about that, let's just chat, I will report to you all about my experience on the front line. A small thing.¡±

When everyone heard that I was going to tell a story, everyone became interested and gathered around a little tighter. They listened to me while eating: "Once, we were involved in a difficult task. We had to capture Highland 306 by force. How many people were there on the high ground? They are a Vietnamese firepower point. They are in a very good position. They rely on each other and are in a blind spot. Our army's artillery fire cannot directly destroy them. We can only let the infantry attack hard. The company I led was the sixth company, and we attacked three times in a row. , all failed, seven were sacrificed, and more than ten people were injured. Our company is a famous heroic company in the division. We have never fought such a useless battle. The soldiers were very depressed and couldn't cheer up. I was I was anxious, and suddenly the regiment leader called me. He scolded me on the phone and said, "Can your company give up your position? Give up the title of Hero Company, and send another company to the regiment." As soon as I heard what was going on, I hung up the phone and thought of a way. I told the soldiers that the Central Military Commission called me just now and said that Uncle Deng knew about the deeds of our Sixth Company on the front line. He said that the Sixth Company was really good and could definitely take down the position. When the soldiers heard this, they thought, "What? Uncle Deng already knows about our company?" Take down the position."

Everyone in the archaeological team felt a little excited when they heard this, and they all asked about the detailed situation of the battle on the front line.

I said to everyone: "Comrades, what I mean by telling this story is that no difficulty can stop us. Our biggest enemy is ourselves. As long as we can overcome our own fears, as long as we overcome our own weaknesses, we will be successful." can achieve final victory.¡±

Under my guidance, the previous depressing and dull atmosphere was finally greatly relieved. Although the big sandstorm outside was violent, these people were no longer as nervous as before.

After eating, it was Zheng Yonghai's turn to take over Chu Jian's sentry duty. Monkey and I went to pick up the human bones of the victims in the corner and left them there like that. The people in the room were not feeling very well. Before going to bed, we put them away first. It would be better if the human bones were buried.

In such bad weather now, it is impossible to bury outside, so we can dig out the sand on the spot. After digging for a few times, the engineer's shovel hit the stone. I felt a little weird. This house is very high, and the wind has blown in for hundreds or thousands of years. The yellow sand is piling up higher and higher. The sand is at least two or three meters thick. How come it only took a few digs to find rocks.

He pushed aside the sand and looked at it. The stone was black. He dug a few more times on both sides, but there was no stone. When Hao Aiguo and others saw it, they also came over to help. Together, they dug more than half a meter deep into the fine yellow sand. , actually revealed the head of a black stone statue.

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Sand Sea Magic Nest 7

We only dug out its head. This stone statue was completely carved from black stone without any other colors on it.

The size is as big as the two heads of an ordinary person put together. The eyes are olive-shaped and long. They appear uncoordinated among the facial features. The proportions are too large. There is no crown on the top of the head, and only a flat arm. The hairpin has a very peaceful expression, with no obvious expression of joy or anger. It looks like a statue of a god worshiped in a temple or a stone figure on the mountain path of some large mausoleums. However, judging from the position of the stone statue in this big room, it is the former. The possibility is relatively high.

I lit a gas lamp to illuminate them. Professor Dong looked at it and said to Hao Aiguo: "Look at this stone statue. Have we seen it somewhere before?"

Hao Aiguo put on his myopia glasses and looked carefully: "Ah, it's true. A thousand-coffin tomb was unearthed in Xinjiang. There was also a stone man exactly like this one in the tomb. The eyes were very protruding and different from ordinary people. This should be called a giant. Eye stone statue."

Such giant-eyed stone statues have been found in the Tianshan Mountains, Altay, Hotan River Basin, and Mongolian grasslands in Xinjiang. The origin of the stone statues cannot be verified. Some scholars once pointed out that this should be a certain god worshiped by the Mongolians. According to According to historical records, Kublai Khan had a secret palace in the desert of the Western Regions, called the "Fragrant Palace". The earliest statue of this stone man was enshrined in the Xiang Palace.

But a few years later, with the discovery of several older tombs and ruins, stone figures with giant eyes were also discovered, which overturned that assumption. Some people said that these were the remains of the ancient Turks. In the end, there was no definite explanation for what came down, and it became one of the many unsolved mysteries in the history of archaeology.

Several students in the archaeological team had never seen giant-eyed stone statues. They took out their pens and wrote and drew in their notebooks. They discussed digging out the sand underneath to see the whole body of the stone figures. Hao Aiguo told them Some related knowledge said that everyone is tired today, so let¡¯s rest first. When the sandstorm stops tomorrow, we will clean up the sand in this big house and see if we find anything.

I changed a place, dug up the yellow sand, and buried the corpse of the victim. He had no clothes or anything to prove his identity. I couldn't even make a simple tombstone for him. Alas, okay. How much time do you stay at home, why go to the desert to toss, just rest here.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was already evening. The black sandstorm outside had not stopped yet. Instead, it was getting stronger and stronger. It might even last the whole night.

Except for Sa Peng, who was on guard, the rest of the people rubbed their feet with fine sand and lay down in sleeping bags to rest. This was what An Liman learned. In the desert, water is gold, and you can only use fine sand to wash your feet. I found Zheng Yonghai who was guarding under the hole in the roof and asked him to go to sleep for a while while I guarded the place for him.

I sat in the corner, holding the sports air rifle in my arms, just in case a wild beast suddenly jumped in and hurt people. I smoked and listened to the wind outside. The thought of Professor Qiao and the others going further into the desert really made me sad. It's a headache, who knows how many dangerous traps are hidden in the depths of the black desert.

The desert is like this. It looks very calm on the surface. When there is no wind, the entire land seems to be covered by golden silk satin. But under this calm surface, there are quicksands and ever-changing windsands that swallow up countless people and animals. , all kinds of animals and plants in the desert are factors that threaten the safety of the expedition team. It is hard to predict whether something unexpected will happen. Today we encountered a big sandstorm, but the team members did not suffer any casualties. This can definitely be regarded as a miracle.

I was lost in thought, and I smoked one cigarette after another. I don¡¯t know how long it took. It was already dark outside, but the wind was still so loud, like countless devils howling, and sand fell into the roof from time to time. There are holes. If the wind doesn't stop, I'm afraid the broken city wall in front will be swallowed up by the sand.

At this time I found that Miss Guo was awake. When she saw me sitting in the corner watching out, she came over to see that she wanted to talk to me. Usually, I rarely talk to her, mainly because she and Monkey don¡¯t get along well. We didn't like each other, so we didn't talk to her very much except for necessary exchanges. We said she would deduct some money from us, which was enough for us.

Out of politeness, I said hello to her, and Miss Guo came over to me and asked, "Mr. Hu, you also go to take a nap, I'll take over for you for two hours."

I said no, I would ask the monkey to take over my post later, and I asked her to go and rest, but she sat opposite me and started chatting with me about nothing.

One thing I have always wanted to ask her is why she had to look for that ancient city. Maybe that city has disappeared long ago and no one has seen it for so many years. Her father and those explorers may not have died there. It¡¯s an ancient city. You may encounter any danger in the desert. It¡¯s really difficult to find the remains of those lost victims. Moreover, there are still many unsolvable mysteries in this black desert. I have seen some The tabloid said that three explorers also came here to explore and then disappeared. After a long time, people found their bodies on the edge of the desert. These three bodies all died of dehydration. The strange thing was that their water bottles It also contained most of the drinking water. There are countless similar things. We humans know too little about deserts. There are many types of animals and plants in the desert, some of which are undiscovered species. We just try our best to look for it. Even if we can't find it, we don't have to blame ourselves too much.

Miss Guo nodded: "Mr. Hu, what you said makes sense, but I always firmly believe that my father and the others have found the ancient city of Jingjue, because since he disappeared in the desert, I have dreamed of a big black hole more than once. , there is a big coffin hanging at the entrance of the cave. The coffin is covered with ghost cave inscriptions and wrapped with many large iron chains. There is also a huge thing lying on the coffin, but I can¡¯t see clearly what it is. Every time I try my best to I wanted to see clearly what was on the coffin, but as soon as that time came, I woke up from my dream. For more than half a year, I dreamed about the same scene almost every night. I believed that it was what my father had given me. According to the dream, that coffin must belong to Queen Jingjue.¡±

I thought to myself why Americans are so superstitious and still believe in dreams, but seeing her solemn expression, I didn¡¯t dare to say anything to refute her. I just comforted her a few words, changed the topic, and asked her what happened to the wonderful country. what's going on.

Miss Guo said: "My father and Professor Dong have been good friends for many years. They were classmates when they were young. They were both obsessed with the ancient culture of the Western Regions. In 1948, my father and his family went to the United States. After the Cultural Revolution, he returned to China again. , when he was in the United States, he bought a batch of cultural relics, which were all precious cultural relics excavated by European explorers in the Xinjiang desert in the early 19th century. Those European explorers once discovered a place near the Niya Oasis. According to research, the ruins and cultural relics of the ancient city are from the Han Dynasty. Based on some clues, it is speculated that there are probably the ruins of the Jingjue Kingdom, the most powerful among the thirty-six kingdoms in the Western Regions. After many years of research by my father and Professor Dong, It is inferred that the ruins of Niya are just a subsidiary city of Jingjue Kingdom. The real main city of Jingjue should be north of Niya, downstream of the Ziduan River. My father hopes to find the ruins of the ancient city of Jingjue himself in his lifetime. , took the risk to organize an expedition into the desert. He has been deeply attracted by the ghost cave culture of Jingjue all his life. There are not many existing records about this once extremely glorious ancient city. Jingjue was an alliance of small countries in the Western Region at that time. Chief, those small countries are actually just a number of cities of different sizes naturally formed on some trade routes. Each small city also considers itself a country, and the most powerful among these small countries is Jingjue, Jingjue. The people are mainly Guidong tribe, with other ethnic minorities mixed in. After the death of the last queen of Jingjue Kingdom, the city disappeared in the sea of ??sand. Whether it was destroyed by natural disasters or wars, there is no way of knowing. It was as if this country had never existed at all, but until the eve of World War II, there was a British explorer who led an expedition team into Taklimakan. In the end, he was the only one to come out alive, and his sanity had not been lost at all. However, the few photos in the camera and the diary confirmed the existence of Jingjue Ancient City.

Later, some people wanted to search based on this clue, but then World War II broke out. It was only in the past three or four years that various expedition teams had the opportunity to enter the desert to search for treasures and relics.

Miss Guo took out a small bag and showed it to me. I took it and opened it. Inside was an old yellowed black and white photo and an old diary written in English. The picture in the photo was very blurry and could be vaguely distinguished. The photo captured a city in the desert, with a tower standing in the middle, and the details were almost unclear.

I asked Miss Guo if this is..., Miss Guo said: "Yes, my father bought this from England. This is the diary and photos of Mr. Walter, the explorer who once visited Jingjue Ancient City in person. , which also gave us some clues, but the diary only stated that they saw a huge ancient city in the lower reaches of the Ziduan River, and prepared to explore in the morning, but nothing happened after that. I don¡¯t know that they met in the ruins of the ancient city. What happened? In the end, only one insane person survived."

As I was chatting with her, I accidentally discovered that in the corner of the wall illuminated by the gas lamp in the house, the giant-eyed stone statue with a big head dug out, its eyes seemed to move. I spent one day and two nights. I couldn't sleep. Could it be that I was dazzled by what I saw?