Chapter 9 Chapter 7 Longjing and West Lake

September 19, 2009, at 9:30 am. Shawshank State Prison, Cell 58, Block C. In my notebook, I just wrote that I am going to Hangzhou tomorrow—that was in May 2008, so what about tomorrow in September 2009? Tomorrow, my tomorrow, will have a new plan. Looking up at the sky outside the iron window again, Shawshank State Prison covers an area of ​​tens of hectares and is under the jurisdiction of Arsland State in the western United States.This is the poorest and most remote state in the United States, sandwiched between the Colorado Mountains and the Rocky Mountains, with an average altitude of 2,000 meters, and more than 90% of them are mountains and deserts.The highest temperature here in summer can reach 50 degrees Celsius, while the coldest winter is only minus 20 degrees Celsius. In such a harsh environment, almost no grass grows.In the era of the gold rush in the west in the 19th century, a large number of desperadoes poured in, and this Arslan state was established-the root of this word comes from the Turkic language, which means lion.

There is an old cemetery in the corner of the playground, and everyone dare not approach it when they are out in the wind.In the more than 100 years since the establishment of this prison, every prisoner who died here will be buried in that cemetery.It is said that when there is a strong wind at midnight, there will be miserable cries from the cemetery-the mysterious dead souls want to occupy the bodies of living prisoners. Only one man, who disappeared forever in prison many years ago, was not buried in the cemetery. Nobody knows where he is, except the man. Therefore, people die here for no apparent reason every year. Although there are also people who have committed the most heinous crimes, even sitting on the electric chair a hundred times is not enough to pay for the crimes they committed.But I still have a fear of it, for fear that in the middle of the night when I am sleeping soundly, a hand will suddenly drag me into hell.

I don't want to die in Shawshank State Penitentiary, let alone die here. Because, I didn't kill anyone. Sorry, I don't need to defend myself in front of you guys, let's just get on with my story. Pencil wrote "tomorrow" more than a year ago in a small notebook——
Saturday. I got on the long-distance bus to Hangzhou. Before going out, I lied to my parents that the company asked me to go to Suzhou for a two-day business trip.Seeing that my mother was a little worried, I said that I went with my colleagues from the sales department, and I had to negotiate this business, otherwise I might be laid off at the end of the month.In order to keep my job, my mother had no choice but to let me go—if I told her to go to Hangzhou, she would do her best not to let me go.

That's right, I'm going back to the place where the car accident happened a year and a half ago, as I wrote in the blog: "I have made a choice, I believe in my own courage, and that is my true destiny." In the autumn evening of 2006, with such courage and forgotten secrets, I quietly went to a certain corner of Hangzhou.This irresistible temptation - which led to my accident, and the death of another, wiped all memory from my mind.But I still go to the other side of time, back to the deadly place, back to the hour of destruction.I am no longer the person I used to be, I have encountered all kinds of incredible things, and I have an unbelievable ability: mind reading.

At noon, the bus arrived in Hangzhou from Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway. I had no time to visit places of interest such as the West Lake, so I ate some fast food near the station, then took a taxi to Longjing.I don’t have this city in my memory, it looks so strange through the car window—except for going to the island for training in April, I haven’t left Shanghai in the past six months. You can see the West Lake from a distance, but soon you drive out of the city, and there are hillsides and forests on both sides - Longjing is a mountainous area with many small villages, which are now part of the West Lake Scenic Area. The most famous one is "Longjing Wencha ".I asked the driver to stop at the exit of a road tunnel and cross a steep mountain called "White Deer Mountain Tunnel".

The car accident happened at the exit of the tunnel, with dense forest on one side and hillside on the other.On the right side of the tunnel exit, a huge rock protrudes from the mountain, and normal driving will not be dangerous.But at night one and a half years ago, the taxi I was riding in deviated from the direction and hit this rock the moment it rushed out of the tunnel entrance.The car bounced to the other side of the road, and I was thrown out, my head hit the ground, and I was unconscious on the spot.The passenger on the other side was thrown down the hillside and died in the hospital after rescue efforts failed.The driver of the black car is missing, so far there is little news.

Eighteen months later, when I returned to the place that almost killed me, goosebumps appeared all over my body, and a chill ran through my head to the soles of my feet.I ventured across the fast-moving road and came under the huge rock. There was no sign of a car accident. I could only touch the grass growing in the crevice of the rock—is it the crack caused by the car?It seems to see fresh blood oozing from the roots of the grass. Is that my own blood, or is it left by the ancients? There were no pedestrians or bicycles at the entrance of the tunnel. The car rushed out quickly, and the sound of wheels whistling filled my ears, with a gust of cold wind whirling across the face, like the bitterness of the twelfth lunar month.

No, it's not just the wind, but—the murderous aura. A sense that doesn't need eyes and ears, just a sixth sense. Many fragments flashed in my mind, as if the traffic was rolling in, rolling over my chest.I lean on that deadly rock, keeping my balance and not falling. The murderous aura does not come from this cold space, not from that cruel time, but from myself. Fleeing from the tunnel in embarrassment, he climbed up a steep slope along the grass on the side of the mountain.The feet seemed out of control, leaving the road far behind.Walking into a forest path, there is a sloping tea garden below, and some roofs can be seen faintly below, probably the teahouses of Longjing villagers. There must be many tourists tasting and buying tea.

But on the mountain a hundred meters away, it is another world. There are no people in the deep forest, only the startled birds.Going deeper and deeper in the forest alone, I can't even see the tea trees, and the road under my feet is becoming more and more barren, just like stepping into a hermit's manor. Is it the hidden West Lake Meizhuang? I am not Linghu Chong, let alone Xiang Wentian, but there is indeed a mysterious visitor behind me. It was footsteps, ghostly footsteps, following me through the dense bamboo forest.When I walk quickly, the steps are also running fast, and when I stop suddenly, the steps also stop abruptly.But as soon as I took a few steps forward, it sounded behind me again.

Suddenly, I felt real danger, because I was so lost that I couldn't even see the way I had come.That guy is hiding in a corner that I can't see. If he suddenly attacks now, then I can only sit and wait for death. I turned around and yelled at the silent bamboo forest: "Hey! Who are you? Come out quickly! You coward!" The densest part of the leaves shook for a while, and indeed a figure flashed out. It's him again! In just a few days, I saw him face to face for the third time. The first time was at a ramen restaurant in Lanzhou, and the second time was in a crowded subway car. Both times, I saw his innermost thoughts, but he timidly avoided me—and even made me faint from excitement in the subway past.

Did Lu Haikong also die because of him?There are also the missing Yan Han and Fang Xiaoan.Now that he appeared for the third time, he actually followed and chased him to Longjing, Hangzhou, in the deserted mountains and forests. "Who are you?" I rushed forward with my fists clenched, and the man turned and ran away, never giving me a chance to look directly in the eyes.In the mountains with dense forests and rugged terrain, start a fierce chase.It is difficult to run here, and you will hit the bamboo if you are not careful. "stop!" Shouting and cursing loudly in the back, but feeling farther and farther away, made me anxious. After finally catching up to a mountain trail, the adrenaline was secreted violently, and the throbbing blood rushed to the top of the head again, and the figure gradually blurred, as if the black sky had fallen down. I can't see anything anymore, sinking into the bottom of the endless black water...
Longjing. I am resurrected. Opening my eyes again, I saw a face of mixed race. Are you dreaming?I subconsciously raised my arms and rubbed my eyes—it was indeed the face of that young mixed-race woman, with bright lips on fair skin and deep black pupils staring at me. "Meng-ge?" He hesitated to call out her name, but felt a burning pain in his throat.She picked up a cup of herbal tea and carefully fed it to me.The tea nourished me, and I gained some strength. When I turned my head and looked out the window, there were still tea trees everywhere, like terraced fields stretching up to the mountain.This is the private seat of the tea house, which is isolated from the outside by a curtain. I am half lying on the seat, and across from me is a mixed-race Meng Ge in a skirt, whose English name is Monica. "Please call me Monica, feeling better?" "I'm sorry, Monica. Why are you here? Me? How am I here? What is this place?" A series of questions made me confused. She frowned and said in Taiwanese Chinese: "Hangzhou Longjing. Today is my first weekend working in China. My colleague said that the nearest resort to Shanghai is Hangzhou. I will take the train." Come play." "Then why am I here?" "In the afternoon, I came to Longjing to drink tea alone. I ran to the tea garden on this mountain and saw you lying on the forest path. I couldn't wake you up no matter what. I thought you were drunk again, so please come down the mountain. The villagers carried you back to the tea house." "Drunk?" I smiled wryly, "Even if I was really drunk, I would never be in Longjing. By the way, how long did I sleep just now?" Monica looked at her GUCCI watch: "It's three o'clock in the afternoon, and I found you half an hour ago." I shook my head, thinking of the mysterious man in the bamboo forest. In the process of chasing him, I passed out—as long as extreme emotions and violent movements would make me unconscious intermittently. How could it be such a coincidence?Met her again - the new assistant to the company boss.On the huge Longjing Mountain, there are so many tea gardens, so many forests, and so many tourists at the foot of the mountain, why did she find me?The odds of this happening are extremely slim! But I didn't dare to express my doubts, and I didn't dare to look directly into her eyes. I could only look at the forest outside the window: "When you found me, did you see anyone else?" "I went up the mountain alone, and I saw you lying there, and there was no one else. The villagers said that no one went to that mountain road, and I just walked around and found you. You are lucky!" "It's...what a coincidence." I took a sip of the freshly brewed Longjing, "We meet again." "Gao Neng, I remember your name correctly, right?" "Yes, of course I remember you. I was just dispatched from the US headquarters, and you are the biggest besides the general manager. I am just a small salesman, and many colleagues can't pronounce my name. Thank you for remembering me .” The assistant to the general manager is a fat job that many people snatched up, but unexpectedly, it was taken by this little girl in her early twenties. Many senior directors were outraged, and some people speculated that she had some high-level background. "It's break time, we're equals." "I hope so." When talking to Monica, I became much more courageous, and I said some things that I usually dare not say.She is too unlike a company executive, more like a college student who has just graduated. "Gao Neng, I found that you have a bad habit." "what?" "I was born and raised in the United States, we have to look into each other's eyes when we speak, otherwise it is considered impolite." Only then did I realize that I never dared to look directly into her eyes. As long as she stared at me, I would panic to avoid it. This is also a habit I have developed in the past six months.Forced himself to turn around and look into her dark eyes. Monica smiled: "Don't mind too much, this is our habit in the United States, and we speak more directly." When she said "we are America," I felt a little uncomfortable.But she has a face of mixed Chinese and Western, and she no longer feels awkward. She is originally an American. "By the way, you came here by train. How was the train station in Hangzhou today?" Since she likes to look into other people's eyes, why not just look at her directly to see what she is thinking? "There are too many people in China's railway stations!" The answer on her mouth was very natural, but her eyes were saying another sentence—— "Why did he ask me about the train station? Although I came by a tourist bus, it is always true that the train station is crowded." My eyes and brain accurately captured her true thoughts—she was lying! Monica's half-breed eyes gave away the secret, she didn't come by train at all, but the tour bus, maybe the one behind me, the buses were only a few minutes apart, she could easily follow me at the bus station. But I asked calmly: "Yes, I'm afraid you are not used to traveling in China." "No Problem! I'm not afraid." "Have you been to the Bailushan Tunnel near here?" "White? Deer?" Monica frowned and shrugged. "I've never heard of it." However, I saw something in her eyes saying—— "What is he trying to do? I saw him at the exit of the tunnel, but I absolutely cannot admit it." Sure enough, he was playing stupid again! She clearly followed me all the way to the entrance of the White Deer Mountain Tunnel, and then followed me into the depths of the dense forest, only then did she find that I fainted on the ground. It was not a coincidence at all. Could it be that she and that mysterious man were accomplices? "Oh, I mean, I went to the Bailudong tunnel in the afternoon, and then I climbed up this tea mountain, and I met a man who was following me. After I found out, I went back and chased, and just passed out on the path, you Have you seen that man?" I didn't express my doubts about Monica, I just asked the question out of my plan, trying to find out the secret in her heart.I didn't expect myself to become so cunning, haven't I always been honest, introverted and shy?How come facing her is like a different person? "No, as I said just now, when I found you, there was no one else around." But at the same time, her eyes revealed what was in her heart—— "I found a man following you, but I don't know who he is? He ran away immediately, so I had to ask the villagers to carry you down." Strange, this is what Monica really thinks in her heart. The mouth can lie, but the eyes can't deceive me.She didn't know that mysterious man?It seems that there are more than one group of people who are interested in me, and the situation is even more complicated. I bowed my head and remained silent for a moment, when the phone rang, and it turned out to be a call from my mother.I said a few perfunctory words casually, saying that I was negotiating with the client in Suzhou, don't worry if everything is normal. "Gao Neng, why did you lie to your mother?" Monica's expression and eyes did not match her age at all, more like a mature woman. I took a sip of tea anxiously, "She doesn't want me to come to Hangzhou." "Why? You're an adult." "No." I stared into her eyes, but found nothing unusual, "There is no reason." "Because you had a car accident here a year and a half ago." She said this out of the blue, and I jumped out of my seat in panic: "You? How did you know?" "Yesterday, the sales director told me—he said that your car accident was very strange, and no one knew what caused it. You were in a coma in the hospital for a year, and when you woke up, you completely lost your memory. You still remember it now. ?" Damn it!I looked into her eyes. This time, what she said in her heart was almost exactly the same as what she said on her mouth-it must be Monica asking on purpose, otherwise why would the sales director say it to more than a hundred people in the company? Think of me as a small employee. "Yes, what he said is correct, and my memory has not recovered yet. Well, I admit that it was to find out the truth about a year and a half ago that I sneaked to Hangzhou without telling my parents." "Did you find anything?" "No, the Bailudong tunnel I mentioned just now, the car accident happened at the exit of that tunnel, but now there is no trace of it, only that mysterious man, he has been following me recently." "Strange, why did he follow you? Who is he?" Monica's eyes told me that this sentence was also in her heart, which disappointed me: "I want to know the answer too!" "Your experience is so bizarre, can I help you?" Her bold plea puts me in a bind, I never thought of asking for help from others, and she's so hard to trust me, why did she lie to me in the first place? Seeing that I was hesitant and unable to answer, she simply asked directly: "Do you know why you came to Hangzhou a year and a half ago?" "No, I forgot everything." "Then you must have stayed in a hotel in Hangzhou." "That's right, I've been missing for many days, at least I stayed in a hotel for the first night." "Do you know which hotel you're staying at?" "No, I don't remember—why are you running after me?" Do you really want to get her involved?I'm afraid she has already been involved?Monica smiled slightly, and added hot water to my teacup. The mixed-race face was extremely attractive, and she opened her dark eyes and said, "Because of my curiosity. I heard that Hangzhou is a tourist city, and hotels usually have to wait in advance. Reservation, through what channel do you usually book your room?" This sentence reminded me that a year and a half ago I set off on Friday evening, and the room must be reserved for the weekend, but I shook my head: "I said I forgot, maybe through the Internet." "If you booked online, you should have an email confirming your order in your mailbox." "Email?" I still scratched my head, "I forgot all the passwords before, and I have re-applied for the email I use now." "Although I have only been in the company for a few days, I found that you like to register with the company email address. I can help you retrieve your password." Monica turned on her laptop and logged in to our company’s server through wireless Internet access—only the authority at the director level, and quickly found my two mailboxes, one registered in 2004 and the other registered in 2007 . Tapping her fingers quickly on the keyboard, she found out my earliest registered password: 82free00hero. This is the password I forgot? 82free00hero——82 represents my year of birth, free is the life I yearn for, 00 may be the year when I first registered my email address, hero may be the person I wanted to be back then—did I ever want to be a hero? She pushed the computer in front of me: "You can enter the password to enter the previous mailbox." Looking into Monica's exotic eyes, I hesitated with my fingers, and lightly entered this set of forgotten passwords to enter this mailbox registered in 2004. I haven't logged in for at least a year and a half, and my mailbox is full of all kinds of spam. I directly flipped to 2006 when the accident happened.There was a "Forum User Activation" email in the inbox, which was received in October 2006.I noticed that the sender was "Lanling King's Secret BBS". King Lanling's secret? This email informed me that I registered as a forum user of "Lanling King's Secret BBS" on October 7, 2006, and my registered name was "Lanling King's Successor". I looked into Monica's eyes and asked, "Do you know King Lanling?" "WHAT? LAN—" She shook her head and said blankly, "My history class is the worst." But her eyes told me - she lied again. She knows King Lanling, and she wants me to ask this question.But her answer is not smart. If you really don't understand history, it is difficult to immediately think of ancient times when you hear the pronunciation of these three words for the first time. I stopped asking, but she leaned her head closer and said, "Prince Lanling's secret? What is it, open it and see!" Click on the forum address in the email, and enter a BBS page. The webpage design is very strange black, dotted with some red patterns, and a hideous mask hangs on the top of the webpage. It may be the Lanling King imagined by later generations. mask. But when I clicked on the next page, a line of text appeared on the screen: "The secret of King Lanling is an internal forum. Only registered users have the right to enter. Please log in or register first." Click on the login page, enter "Lanling Wang Chuanren" in the user name, and enter the email password I just recovered - 82free00hero. Most people will use the same password to register different email addresses and websites, and I hope I did the same back then . That's right!Successfully logged into the forum.There are not many posts on this BBS. In the last month, there were only a dozen main posts in total.The only top post is a comprehensive introduction about King Lanling, most of which I have read online.The rest are basically irrigation, and there are many stickers - but most of them have nothing to do with Lanling King. They are nothing more than pictures of humor and beauties. They are all boring passers-by. They don't even know who Lanling King is?But there have also been some odd posts, stamped with rows of meaningless numbers and letters that look like cipher codes. "Have you ever spoken? Can you search for a username?" Monica reminded me, I clicked on the search function and entered my ID "Heir of Lanling King". A few seconds later, the posting records of "Heir of Lanling King" popped up on the webpage, and there were dozens of them densely. First, I looked at the publication time of those posts. They were all concentrated in October 2006. In just one month, there were 26 main posts and 103 follow-up posts. Arrange the posts in chronological order, and I clicked on my earliest post, and the title was "I am the 49th grandson of Lanling King Gao Changgong"!The content of the post is only two words - "such as the title". That's when Monica squinted at me and said, "You?" I? The 49th grandson of Lanling King Gao Changgong? The only thing I have in common with King Lanling is that we have the same surname Gao—but there are too many people surnamed Gao in the world, how could it be such a coincidence? "Who is the King of Lanling?" Facing Monica's questioning, I didn't answer, and I didn't care about her question, because I could tell from her eyes that she knew who King Lanling was! Continue to read my second main post in the forum, the title is: "Who can tell me the secret of King Lanling?" The content of the post is still two words "such as the title". The next dozens of posts were published almost at a rate of one post per day, and they were nothing more than asking for advice from the real King of Lanling in history.However, due to the limited historical records, even if someone replies and speaks, the content can still be found online. For example, to my question "The Brilliant Martial Arts of King Lanling", there is an answer with the ID "Martial Soul of the Northern Dynasty"—— "Lanling King Gao Changgong, the most valiant general in the north during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, 'courageous and good at fighting', 'courageous to crown the three armies, victorious in every battle'. We all know that most of Lanling King is because of his handsome appearance and fierce mask, but in the battlefield Who is not vicious? Who cares what the opponent looks like when killing red eyes? He became a famous general because of his wisdom and courage. The most famous battle of King Lanling was the "War of Mangshan" in 564 AD. With a ferocious and ferocious mask, he led five hundred elite cavalry into the Northern Zhou army, killing several generals of the enemy army. When he reached the city of Luoyang, he took off the blood-stained mask, revealing his well-known handsome face, The morale of the officers and soldiers defending the city was greatly boosted, and they rushed out of the city to defeat the Zhou soldiers. "Northern Qi Book" records: "In the defeat of Mount Mang, Chang Gong was the Chinese army. , the people in the city are unrecognizable, and Chang Gong exempted him from showing his face, so he rescued him with a crossbowman, and he won a great victory. The warriors sang a ballad together, which is "The Song of Lanling King Entering the Battle".'" Monica watched from the side and said, "Oh, so it turns out that King Lanling is such a person. Gao Neng, are you really his descendant?" I can't answer such a question at all, maybe a thread in the forum will have the answer.I saw my other question: "Who knows "Lanling King Enters the Battle Song"?" An ID called "Facebook" replied—— ""The Song of Lanling King Entering the Battle", because of the illustrious military exploits of Lanling King, Northern Qi warriors imitated his heroic posture of wearing a mask to kill the enemy, singing and dancing with masks to celebrate the victory, becoming a solo dance of a man wielding a sword and stabbing. "Lanling King Entering the Battle" is full of the heroism of war and the spirit of a man. It was widely circulated in history and was performed in the court of the Tang Dynasty many times. It was gradually lost after the Song Dynasty. This song was introduced to Japan in the Tang Dynasty and has been passed down for thousands of years. "Kasuga Taisha", the annual Japanese classical music and dance performance, "Lanling King Entrance Song" is still used as the first solo performance. Japan regards it as Gagaku, and has strict "success" and " The inheritance system of "secret biography". On September 6, 1992, organized by the Chinese cultural relics department, the Ya Orchestra in Nara, Japan performed "The Song of Lanling King Entering the Battle" in front of the tomb of King Lanling in Ci County, Hebei." My ID continued to follow the post below, and actually posted a poem by Xin Qiji——