Chapter 11 Chapter 10 In Kashgar

As usual, four people in one car.Just let me drive tonight. When Yuan Ye was picked up, the blood had already flowed dry, and there was a puddle of red sand.The blood dries quickly in the desert, when the wind blows, the blood sand will fly away and bury it, and it won't take long before there are no traces. I was in a hurry and the car was going fast.At ten minutes to five, he had already left Tazhong behind by 70 kilometers, braked, slowed down, and turned off the road. The car performed well and didn't get bogged down.I drove into the desert for more than half an hour, about 30 kilometers deep, stopped in front of a large sand dune, dug a hole with the marching shovel in the car, and threw the three corpses and their luggage into it buried.It looked like the weather was going to be strong, and it only took a few hours for the sand dunes to move a little closer to the corpse, and now the thin sand covering would become a few meters or more than ten meters deep.This is a no-man's land, maybe tens of hundreds of years, no one will find the body.

I went back to the road along the wheel marks when I came here. It was still dark at 6:30, and I was the only car on the road without being seen.The wind has picked up and the wheel marks are fading. When the car arrived at Minfeng, I went down to have breakfast and then went to sleep in a small hotel two streets away. Wake up from sleep, the sun has risen to the middle of the sky.I walked to the parking lot and took a look from a distance, the car was gone.I left the keys in the car when I left, and the window was half down, and sure enough someone got the point.In a general sense, I didn't leave much of a mark in the car (there's always some hair and skin debris), and the car thief would have done the changing of the plates and repainting for me.

Yuan Ye was still receiving text messages on his mobile phone.I read a few, and couldn't help but help him back. There was a sense of relief over there, and it became more enthusiastic.I wrote back every few hours, as if I was still driving and could only use my rest time to answer letters.I haven't said sweet talk for a long time, I'm not used to it, and the effect is very good.This will cause some trouble for the police investigation in the future, but I understand that I am not entirely for this reason.This strange relationship lasted until two days later, and I knew all about the cause and effect, so I played it perfectly.In fact, several times, I wanted to reply with some vicious words so as to end this relationship, but I didn't do it after all.At night in Hotan, she called and was very persistent. The bell rang again and again for five or six minutes, as if I would not stop if I didn't answer.This old-fashioned mobile phone has been used for 50 to 60 hours in my hands, and finally started to report the lack of power. The beep sounded three or four times in the middle of the ringtone of the incoming call, and then the screen went dark all of a sudden.I took out the SIM card and broke it, took out the battery and smashed the phone and threw it in the trash.

Sending you off for thousands of miles, you have to say goodbye. I traveled all the way west, or took a ride on the side of the road, or took a long-distance bus, just depending on my mood.At the beginning, it was quite leisurely, with the intention of walking slowly, but as Kashgar got closer and closer, I felt restless.It's not that I'm going to lose the game... just a little bit at most.People say that being close to home is timid. Kashgar is not my hometown, but it is the place where I was born again. The old boy was burned underground, and the devil came out of the blood.In the past twelve years, I have never returned to Kashgar. For me, there is the sole of Agrus' foot, and now I want to fill it up.

So I speed up. At noon on the third day after killing three people, I entered Kashgar.One day earlier than what Zhong Yi promised. The Kyzyl River is like a critical line. After crossing the river, the beating of my heart becomes a little abnormal. From time to time, a beat will be missed, a huge crack will leak out, and some memories will be sucked out from the abyss.Just like the black, oily and fertile soil is turned over, many black or red, hard-shelled or soft-bodied, long or short insects will naturally be seen. The old man and I sat on a flatbed cart and chug across the Kyzyl River.He led me up the dais and into the house.He pointed me to a house, outside... where the trail forks.

These images circled one after another, forming a series.They were there, but I never turned them.In the past, what I repeatedly recalled was the underground where the candlelight was flickering, and I held a knife, how blood was filled with it.Memories are like knives, carving out paths, they intersect each other and become a maze. That's the only part of my five years where my memory is hazy.The blur is not due to lack, but is so strong that it feels like a bloody dream.I don’t know now what was the picture in my mind when I left Kashgar and recalled it for the first time after waking up from the shock.I have written too many novels over the years, and the scenes in the novels are mostly written with reference to that piece of blood.Over and over again, the memory of that moment is getting thicker and thicker until it overflows, doubling, doubling, and tripling, as if there were many mes killing people at the same time, each with a subtle way of killing s difference.Or cut horizontally, or split vertically, or carve carefully...

As we get closer to the Kashgarakhan Palace, the memory of twelve years ago is getting stronger and stronger. It is not only the picture, but also the ubiquitous smell in the air.However, in these memories, there is no her.Of course she is, I know, but I didn't see her in those exact pictures. On the flatbed, I remember the old man sitting behind me with his feet on my waist, and she; She opened the door with a thick layer of dust, saying that you live here, and she.I remember she was there, but I couldn't remember exactly where she was, which was odd.When I had such a thought, I couldn't help thinking about her in the blood. After I killed the old man, I said you are a profane and filthy goddess. Let me see if your stomach is also so white and pure. .Then I chopped it down with a knife...?

Or I finally didn't cut it down.did i let her go Here we go again, here we go again.I've always been confused about her life and death.If she survived, why didn't she come to me all these years?Put it down, I said to myself, don't think about it, the focus now should be Zhongyi. Far away, I have seen the high platform. I sat down at a restaurant and made a phone call.The phone was given by the driver who took me to Kashgar, and I was able to contact his friend—a bastard who lives in the Kashgar Khan Palace, sells some fake jade on weekdays, and spends most of his time wandering around or gambling.

Set out good wine and good food, even though it was an indirect relationship, this bastard came here excitedly.My identity is a Han Chinese who came to Kashgar from Korla to make a living. If I want to be a tour guide, especially the tour guide of Kashgar Khan Palace, I need the guidance of knowledgeable friends who are familiar with the place. The wine was pouring to the point of intoxication, and I began to ask about the new things in the Kashgar Khan Palace these days.He rambled and said some irrelevant things, but it was enough for me to judge that the surrounding area of ​​Kashla Khan Palace has not been paid attention to by the police.Ethnic issues in the Kashgar area are sensitive, and the police's every move is watched by too many eyes, and even plainclothes police officers will be recognized immediately.

Zhong Yi didn't dare to call the police, which is what I expected.I described her appearance and asked if I had seen her in the past two days.He laughed and asked if it was my woman. I said that I hadn't caught up with her yet. He was already drunk and didn't have the brain to ask. He even said that he had seen her before, and he had been wandering around the Kashgar Khan Palace from morning till night for two days. "Beautiful!" He grabbed my shoulder, smelling of alcohol, "Absolutely beautiful. Hurry up...bring it out for a drink next time." I asked for more specific information, but he stammered to persuade him to drink, and he looked like he was about to pour down at any time.

I'm afraid I won't be able to ask any more questions, I thought.Tourists need to buy tickets to enter the Kashgar Khan Palace. A conspicuous and beautiful woman like Zhong Yi has a great chance of being remembered when she entered, when she left, and even what means of transportation she took. While investigating, she also left her traces behind.The more carefully she investigated, the more traces she left behind.It won't take much effort for me to catch her. The one lying on the table in front of me can no longer help me.I stood up and wanted to go out to pay the bill, but he suddenly raised his head, grabbed me and said, "Yes, you go find her, you bring her." I patted his hand and wanted to say something to let him go, but I saw him laughing furtively. "I know where she lives." Twenty minutes later, I was standing in front of that house. This is neither a hostel nor a hotel, but an ordinary dwelling in the Kashgar Khan Palace.In the past two days, Zhong Yi has not been out of the Kashgar Khan Palace.It's a good idea. I need to leave my identity information when staying in a hotel. If I have a certain way, I can know where she lives.There is no such problem in borrowing residential buildings.But for me, it makes no difference. The Kashgar Khan Palace was built on a high cliff. After thousands of years of Uyghur residence, the appearance of the palace is no longer visible. It is no different from the famous Gaotai residence on the opposite cliff.In fact, the Kashgarhan Dynasty in the ninth century AD was small in scale, and the scale and style of its royal palace were completely different from the concept of the Central Plains people's palace. From today's perspective, it is so ordinary that it is almost crude.Part of the palace is underground, and local buildings have a tradition of building upper and lower floors according to the terrain, especially when the palace was built.However, due to earthquakes over the years, the underground part has been blocked and collapsed, and later generations have rebuilt it, so the access to the ground has gradually been cut off.If you can see through the high cliff, you will be able to see the briquette-like structure in it, such as an underground labyrinth, which seals many secrets. The house that Zhong Yi stayed in was on the western edge of the cliff, and seemed to have three or four floors.The top floor can be entered from the high cliff, while the bottom floor is the road at the foot of the cliff directly after pushing the door. The door is closed.I looked up for a while, took note of the location of the house, and walked around to the high platform from the path not far in front.Tourists need to buy tickets to go to Kashgar Lahan Palace, but as a living area of ​​Uyghurs, there are many private trails to come and go. The trails on the cliff are criss-crossed, usually only two meters wide.People who are not familiar with it will lose their sense of direction after a few turns and go to a dead end. "Look at the bricks on the ground. The hexagonal bricks mean the way to live, and the rectangular bricks mean the way to die." This is what the old man told me twelve years ago. The tip I gave Zhong Yi was where the path forks.When I was in the cellar, I slipped out that the bones were under the Kashgar Khan Palace.If she still remembers this section, she can guess that this reminder is directly related to the location of the bones.In fact, where the trail forks, there is an entrance to the subterranean labyrinth. But here and there are trails branching everywhere, so my hints to Zhongyi are useless.Not only that, but also suspected of being misleading.Between life and death, how can there be so much politeness? If she really believes it, it can only show that she is stupid. Still no change here.Perhaps compared with twelve years ago, this house built an extra floor, and that house built another building across the street, but nothing changed, the same earthen walls of poor houses, brick flowers of rich houses, fig trees in the yard, Most houses open their doors to welcome guests. Of course, today, guests are more welcome to go in and buy things. After turning a corner and walking a short distance, I saw two open indigo doors. This was the house where Zhong Yi was staying.From here it looks like there are two floors, but if you calculate the height you just walked up, it should actually be four to five floors. I walked in, the door of the side room was open, there was a sale of jade inside, a customer was picking, the owner was lazily crossing his legs and didn't say hello.I went straight into the main room, the roof is light-transmitting, a long piece of glass skylights put together, the sun shines down and falls on the winding stairs, and there are pots of plants on both sides of the stairs. It was deserted inside, and no one greeted me.The rooms along the fence on this floor are open, and several women are concentrating on weaving blankets inside. The woven blankets are hung on the wall one by one, and there are no guests.I went down the stairs. Based on my experience, guests like Zhong Yi would not be arranged to live on the top floor, but would probably be in a room on the first or second floors. When I went downstairs, I had a strange feeling, my heart skipped another beat, and I almost missed my foot, and the old scenes that seemed to exist and disappeared again shuttled back and forth.I stood on the stairs for a while before I realized that the layout in front of me was very similar to the old man's house. Of course, the layout of the original houses here is similar, for example, there are only two or three styles of stairs, and it is not surprising to encounter the same ones.But as soon as the idea came into my mind, I couldn't help but have some other ideas. So I didn't stop on the second floor and went straight down. Yes, it is really the same pattern. The atrium on the first floor is a very grand hall. Looking up, you can see a glass skylight more than ten meters high and a three-story square fence surrounded by plants.The stairs on each floor here are straight along the side without turning. The stairs from the second floor to the first floor are different. The length is only two-thirds of the upper floors, and the lower opening is on the center line of the north wall of the house. Up, facing the gate.When you go down the stairs, you will find a wide platform, connected to the fence on the first floor, which is four steps higher than the central living room, like a half-floor. I went down to the platform on the first floor, walked a few steps forward, and then went down four steps, which was the atrium living room. To the left or right, there was a corridor half narrower than the platform, leading to the rooms on this floor. The first floor of the old man's house also looks like this. This is where the trails fork! Where the trails branch off is indoors, not outdoors.Anyone who walks up the high platform and walks into the area of ​​the ancient Kashgar Khan Palace will be misled when he sees the forked paths every few dozen steps, and it is impossible to think of the truth.In fact, logically speaking, I killed two people in that way, and I was covered in blood. Of course, I needed a place to bathe and change clothes before I could leave calmly. But I didn't expect that Zhong Yi's borrowed house happened to have such a layout.Can she think of it?I suddenly regretted the reminder to her. I go to the back of the stairs on the west side, and there is a small door here.Since the general pattern is the same, it doesn't surprise me that there is such a door in the same position.This is the location of the storage room, but after opening the low door of the old man's storage room, he removed the toolbox and rolled up the torn blanket, revealing the cover of the entrance to the secret passage.What's in this storage room now? I continued walking and stopped in front of a closed door.Twelve years ago, the old man pointed out this room to me to live in. Now, Zhong Yi probably lives here too. Things happen by chance in this world, and sometimes they don't make sense. Most of the doors in this house are open or half-closed, and the room that the guest lives in must be among those with closed doors. Of course Zhong Yi will not be inside, it is afternoon now, she should still be walking the streets outside, looking for where the paths branch off.Would it be a good idea for me to stay in the house and wait for her? With such a lock, I only need a minute. "Hi." Someone said behind me. Startled, I turned around quickly. It was a Uighur woman in her fifties, one of the blanket weavers on the third floor. "Hi." She greeted me again with a smile. "Hi." I replied in Uighur. "I'm looking for a friend who lives here these two days." She looked surprised. I muttered in my heart, did I get the wrong information or did I find the wrong person? "There is one, but she's gone." Zhong Yi left today, and in the morning she specifically inquired about the train ticket agency from the owner's house. I arrived one day early and she left one day early. escape?Could it be that she is really planning to live in the shadow of death and not have the courage to fight me head-on in Kashgar? No, she is not such a person!This woman has both brains and guts. Why take the train and not the plane?Where is she going by train, Urumqi?If you really want to escape, you should undoubtedly take a plane to reach your destination directly. The only advantage of the train is the difficulty of tracking.Is that why you took the train? No.No no no no no. Asking the owner's house for a train ticket agency is an odd behavior in itself.You can check it online, or you can buy it directly at the train station. As a woman who plays death games with me, is it necessary for her to reveal her whereabouts so clearly? She is so suspicious.She guessed that I could track it down here, and the words were for me. So she wasn't on the train.So is it the plane? I left from the third floor and returned to the labyrinth on the surface. Regarding the words and deeds of this temporary tenant in the past two days, I, who continued to pretend to be a suitor, had already asked the host clearly.There are two things that make me feel a little cold.First, Zhong Yi lingered at the stairs on the ground floor for a long time; second, she asked what the small door under the stairs was.These two things happened last night, and early this morning she decided to stay one night less than originally planned, and asked about the train ticket agency. I found a good opponent. She didn't run away.She figured I'd find it, maybe even arrived early, and countered it—misleading me and buying herself time. I have already figured it out clearly, since she has resorted to the strategy of delaying, it means that she has a direction.This is the most critical moment of her life, between life and death, the greatest energy and full wisdom will inevitably erupt.It would be foolish to count on the opponent's mistakes at such a time. If I was in that position and suspected that the so-called bifurcation of the path was the stairway on the indoor ground floor, what would I do? I will inquire how many similar houses have been closed over the years, because if the house is later occupied by people, the secret passage leading to the underground palace will always be discovered.How to enter those houses, unlock and kick the door or climb the window?It's not something I should worry about for her. She left around 11:30 am, and it's been more than three hours now.I don't have much time left, how many empty houses are there on this high platform?Three or five?As for the house that has been closed for twelve years, if she asks, will someone answer her, there is only one building, go from here, go forward, turn left, and see a rectangular dead end, turn right, go through a road Cross the street building, on the right. Has she entered now? Step by step, I walked towards the center of the maze.Sweat seeps into my fake beard and it feels sticky and heavy.My whole body seemed to be wrapped in paste, and I had to use a knife to cut through it, and I had to be drenched in blood to get free. Saw it, a rectangular dead end stone, turn right and enter. This fork in the road was empty, and I saw a transparent figure leading me in front, it was an old man from twelve years ago.Still can't see her. I didn't expect you to have a home, I seem to have said this sentence.I also didn't realize until that moment why I was thrown by the old man in a small hotel in Kashgar for a few days every other year or half a year.I thought he was going to meet an important jade merchant secretly, because he always returned to Kashgar when he found the best materials. The old man took me for a lucky job and never took me home.It doesn't matter, it really doesn't matter.I'll remember him breaking one of my ribs, remember him slapping me deaf for half a month, remember him touching her with his dirty neck, dirty face, dirty lips, what the hell don't take me home thing. But why did he take me to live at home that year? It's the cross-street building in front.Go through it and you can see it.Will I arrive earlier than her, then I will watch her under the stairs. The sky suddenly turned cloudy. what smell? I stopped suddenly, and there seemed to be a sudden openness behind the street-crossing building, a desolate and quiet openness, not at all like the scenery that should be in the Kashila Khan Palace. A local man pushing a two-wheeler passed by the intersection on the side and back. I heard the sound and ran back to ask him. "What's going on there?" "What's the matter?" He glanced in the direction of my finger, and answered casually, as if the scene behind the building crossing the street was a very ordinary scene, not surprising. Then he came to his senses and said, "There, I've already had a fever." An earthquake four years ago flooded a house behind the building across the street. The fire spread and was not brought under control in time because the house next to it was unoccupied.After the fire was extinguished, the government flattened the house and wanted to build it again, but there was no money, and until now, it was a desolate ruin.Many people just throw their garbage there, and as time goes on, the smell becomes more and more unpleasant. No one wants to go there, and it becomes a "restricted area" in Kashgarhan's palace. No one lived in the building across the street, and when passing below, there was a smell of urine. I walked into this restricted area. That's great, I thought, looking at everything in front of me, the old man's house has been pushed to the ground.Moreover, when Zhong Yi inquired about the empty house, no one should have told her about the house, because the house was no longer there. I stood in the middle of this open land, and the pale sky did not appear high, but sank low.I stepped on the soil mixed with brick chips and began to look around to identify the location.There is a sky-blue mosaic hanging on a remnant wall, and there are a few niches next to it, and there are a few touches of unpeeled blue wall covering between the adobe.Slowly, at that position, a three-story building broke through the ground. It rose, rose, and rose to the height I needed to look up at. Its body floated like waves, and it was as dark as a tomb, as if within reach. I walk towards it. It was about the same time that day, three or four o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was not strong, and the house was overcast.I woke up from my nap and still remembered the voice that woke me from my dream.I opened the door, and the room was extremely quiet, as if I was the only one left.I recalled the sound in my dream, and stood where the path forked.In front of him, the padlock on the small door was open.So I opened the door, and saw the rolled up felt blanket, the removed toolbox, and the rectangular secret passage cover leaning aside. I took a step forward, walked through the outer wall of the memory house, and stood in the living room on the ground floor of that year.Among the broken walls, pieces of furniture and utensils emerged, which really surprised me, and I remembered them clearly!I looked around and thought I might be on the verge of insanity. I turned to the right and forward. There is a gentle slope here, and the ground is slightly higher. If you dig the soil, you can probably see the concrete platform and several steps below.At the corner of the slope, several collapsed cement slabs leaned against the remnant wall, creating a small space, which is the location of the storage room.A thin bent door panel is placed in front of it, half-covered, as if it is the last guard for the underground secret passage. I walked to the door in two steps, and when I looked in, all the illusions around me disappeared in an instant. The entrance to a black hole! It was the same rectangular cement cover, this time it was laid flat and the drag marks were new. After all, he was one step behind Zhong Yi. It's not too late, she's still inside. A cowardly voice in my heart urged me to close the lid, but I ignored it and climbed down with hands and feet. I crawled very carefully, trying not to make any noise.The smell of dry earth penetrated straight into the nostrils, as if the dust raised by the previous visitor had not yet fallen back to the ground.The first section was very narrow, not much wider than the hole dug by the tomb robbers, and the steps were shallow and narrow.After moving down for more than two meters, it suddenly became more spacious, and it was reinforced with regular long strips of granite stones, which was completely different from the previous section of the earth wall. The underground labyrinth of Kashgarhan Palace is not actually a complete system.Every house will dig a basement. When a new generation replaces an old building, the basement will either be used or abandoned. The deep holes that emerge together form a complex underground world.Of course, another important component is the underground passage dug under the palace by the Kashgarakhan Dynasty.Whether it was used for treasure hiding, defense or escape is unknown, and the specific scale is not recorded in detail.These three have been squeezed and interlaced by earthquakes over the years, many places have collapsed, and a few places have connected with each other. Where I am now, in terms of scale and shape, it belongs to the underground passage dug when the Kashrahan Palace was built.This was originally a passage exit, but after more than a thousand years, the original exit has been buried two meters underground. It was discovered during the construction of the building, and it took a lot of effort to re-open it. Foot hit the ground.The passageway is only two meters high, which is already considered spacious. Of course, it is incomparable with the underground tombs of the Central Plains dynasties. If you walk a little further, it will gradually become lower.I unloaded my backpack and threw it on the ground. I only had a flashlight and a knife in my hand.I'm in the middle of a passage, either forward or backward.In fact, I have only one choice, because I can't go far in the other direction, and the road ahead is blocked.I tried it twelve years ago. With a knife in my left hand and a knife in my right, I slowly moved forward.He listened carefully, but there was no special movement, Zhong Yi seemed to have gone very far away, or was holding his breath and guarding in the dark.After walking a few steps, small forks appeared on the left and right, only about 1.5 meters high, and much narrower.In comparison, what I'm walking now seems to be the main road.There is no need to walk these two trails, because they were also blocked because of the collapse. I followed my memory, and the front bent to the west. There used to be a tungsten light bulb hanging on the roof here. Of course, the light bulb is still there now, but the electricity has long been cut off and can't be turned on again.The flashlight shakes, the light spots move around, and the stones and soil walls enclosed have the illusion of coming alive.This undoubtedly exposed me to the public. If Zhong Yi wants to attack me, she will have a first-hand advantage, but I am not very worried. Killing people without professional training is ruthless. I don't believe she can be so ruthless as the first blow Just kill me. I remember that after walking a few more steps, you will arrive at a rectangular secret room of more than fifty square meters, which is the treasure room of the old man, with many wooden shelves on which are his best jade.Twelve years ago, I took a small stone from the shelf at the entrance of the treasure room - our biggest harvest of that year, which I personally found in the upper reaches of the Yulong River, is now hanging on my chest. Twelve years ago, I was in my early twenties, bumping around in underground tunnels in an adventurous mood in the afternoon.I tried all the forks one by one, and finally came to the treasure room. At that time, I understood that this section of underground secret passage was blocked in all directions, and it was not connected to other places. It became an underground passage completely belonging to the old man's house. space, so he can safely use it to hide treasures.Three generations of my ancestors have been jade visitors. In those years, I traveled all over the world, and my knowledge is not too small, but the jade in the small room still amazes me.The yellow light of the tungsten lamp plus a dozen candles can't make me distinguish the whiteness of those jades, but the warm texture of the light alone is enough to make people intoxicated.After taking that piece of suet white jade, I wanted to find other small pieces of jade that were easy to steal. Some voices diverted my attention. A deep, muddy, and hasty voice came from the deepest part of the secret room.There were shelves blocking my view in that direction. I held my breath and walked through the shelves to the breathing space. The memory suddenly broke. Because the way forward is broken. The main road that originally led to the treasure room completely collapsed and was tightly blocked.If you can't get to the treasure room, of course you can't get to the corpse scene.It must have been because of the earthquake a few years ago, which destroyed the house above and the secret passage underground, as if deliberately trying to let this past pass forever. That's fine, Zhong Yi won't be able to find any evidence. But wait, what about Zhong Yi?She got down before me, and she clearly hadn't left yet.Now that the way forward is dead, where has she gone? Fork in the road.I react immediately.Because of my memory from twelve years ago, I know the correct route, but she needs to try one by one.She must still be on a fork in the road. So I turned off the flashlight and started waiting for her. Where I am now is only 20 or 30 meters away from the entrance of the secret passage. Although there is a bend of about 45 degrees in the middle, I can still see some sunlight.I am in the darkest place, and if Zhong Yi appears, I will see her before she sees me. If you stare at it for a long time, you will have an illusion. The faint white light on the other end shakes slightly, and it returns to its original state when you look closely.There were no other light sources, but Zhong Yi must be using a flashlight like me.The two low forks didn't go very far before turning back, and even if she came down only five minutes before me, moving slowly like a turtle, she should have appeared by now. The surrounding area was terribly quiet, except for the beating of my heart and the occasional gurgling of my stomach and intestines, there was no other sound. Where did Zhong Yi go? I finally woke up, since the original unobstructed place was blocked by the earthquake, will the originally blocked place be loosened by the earthquake? I turned on the flashlight and walked back and forth. There were two forked roads, one on the left and one on the right, and I chose one at random, arching my back and shrinking my neck to get in. The main road I walked just now used pieces of granite to reinforce the zenith and sides. The branch corridors I walk now are just earth holes. At most, some clay ramming projects were done back then. Collapsed through years of stratigraphic changes. The path turns left and right for a while, like a python drilled out.At the end after three bends, it is still blocked, and more soil has collapsed to form a slope than I remember.The biggest change is the left side wall three meters away at the end, where a new collapse has formed, and the upper part has cracked.I took a photo with the flashlight, and the opposite was a wide unknown space. The crack was about three meters deep, and I climbed without worrying that the upper layer of soil would suddenly collapse and bury me in it.If there is a destiny, I think that one will be very happy to see the end of the matter, it is definitely more interesting than getting me stuck halfway. I squirmed forward a little bit in the gap, and heard the sound of some rodent creatures in front of me.When I was about to climb to the opposite side, a fat black mouse suddenly appeared less than a foot away from my face, illuminated by the flashlight, motionless, with its eyes fixed on me.I think it was probably the Mouse King who came to check on the situation, bared his teeth to frighten it, and then disappeared with a whimper.Then there was a rush of noise, and many little paws were running hard. When I climbed out and looked around with the flashlight, none of the mice had disappeared. I figured there must be plenty of exits here, at least for the rats.Then I found out that it's the same with people. This is obviously a basement, with decaying tables and chairs, and some wooden boxes. I took a flashlight to look around, but I didn't see any modern equipment such as electric lights, and I don't know how many years ago it was built.The four walls of the basement were more collapsed than not. I didn't care to look at the furnishings carefully, and checked the collapsed places with a flashlight, and found that there were two cracks that could lead to other places.I chose the one closest to the old man and walked through it, and entered another corridor. In fact, I am not sure that I am following Zhong Yi closely. She may not have taken this path. The last earthquake seems to have brought about a huge change in the underground world, and many new "branches" have grown. .She might have taken another crack in the basement, or she might have taken another path before that.Only I know exactly where the dead old man is, like a Big Dipper shining in a certain direction, so that I can go along with death.For her, this underground world is a complete maze, and when she encounters more than one branching road, she can only guess and try her luck. But I'm afraid Zhongyi is lucky.So I better hurry up there and wait. Moreover, since he is here at this moment, killing Zhong Yi is not everything.I miss the old man a little bit. It has been twelve years, and I want to go back and see him.I also want to see her, to see if she is lying quietly with rotten bones like the old man.She is dead, I just want to double check.Now I am so close to her, the straight-line distance is less than 100 meters, but her image fades into a mist in my mind. Since I entered Kashgar, I was destined to face the me I was twelve years ago.I think, I have to admit, what happened that afternoon after I walked through the treasure room, what I did, had a great impact on my spirit.So much so that in the past twelve years, I can no longer live without that memory, repeatedly dismembering it, causing the memory to start to distort, and I am even more and more uncertain whether I killed her or not. I need a cleanse, top to bottom, inside and out.Then I will be another person. near. I am like a wall-penetrator who knows Maoshan Taoism, one wall, two walls, three walls; approach, detour, and approach again.After nearly half an hour, I was sure I was very close, maybe only a dirt wall remained.But the place where I stopped is already at the end, and there is no way to go left and right. I struggled to suppress my frustration, wondering if I would step back and try the few forks or cracks I had given up on.But those who are obviously not in this direction, the possibility of reaching the destination is too low. The spot of the flashlight flickered. illusion? I suddenly turned off the flashlight. There was a flash of light, which did not belong to my flashlight. I waited silently for a few seconds, and the light from elsewhere flickered again.It comes from the right wall. There was a tiny gap in the wall that couldn't be reached with a finger. I looked at the slit, and slowly backed away until my back touched the opposite wall.Then, push forward. In one fell swoop, I thought, bumping my shoulder into the crack.The wall came down and the shock to my shoulder wasn't even as bad as it was in the cellar.I staggered and fell over there, and a ray of light immediately enveloped me.I rolled over, and when I turned my face up again, I felt the flashlight was extremely dazzling. Zhong Yi's face was hidden in the darkness behind the light, and his expression could not be seen.I took the flashlight out of my hand, but the most important knife was still out of its sheath. I put my left hand on the ground, and I threw myself at her chest, and handed out the knife. stab. until it reaches the handle. I knelt in front of her on one knee, a drop of warm blood on my cheek was her blood. Her flashlight fell to the ground, but she held a knife tightly in her other hand and stabbed at me.The pain made the movement slow, I turned my head aside, punched her wrist, and the knife fell out of my hand. She backed away screaming in pain, and I drew out the knife.The stabbing in her abdomen was not in a vital position, she couldn't die for a while, she needed to make up the knife. 她退了两步，坐倒在地上，我却已经站了起来，一步就跨到她面前。落在地上的手电对着我，我踢了一脚，手电转了一百八十度，照亮了她和身边的干尸。 她果然好运气，找到了地方。但我的运气也不坏。 她捂着肚子，嗅到了死亡的味道，神色惨淡。 这是她的最后时刻，我有许多话想讲，但最终作罢。作为一个要了结她性命的人，多说什么既无益又可笑。我紧了紧手中刀，放低肩膀，背弓起来。 “等一下！”她叫。 “我已经找到了。这游戏是我赢了。”她用发抖的声音说。 “你太慢了。” “是你早到了一天。”她又叫道。 我不禁笑起来：“所以是要我说对不起吗？对不起。这样可以了吧。” “等等，这里只死了一个人，你看，就一具尸体。” 我心里一沉，好像有什么东西就要崩溃，我努力维持着，用脚尖顶着地上手电筒的尾巴，让电筒慢慢变换方向。呈扇面铺出去的白光一点点移转，扫过这片空间的每个角落。 我又瞧见了架子，当年它们如灯塔般一座一座矗立着，顶端盛放着一块或几块美玉，而今它们尸体一样倒在地上，头颅滚落四周。 还有那张折叠躺椅，它被摆在藏宝室最内侧，坐在上面，欣赏那些灯塔，那些属于自己的宝藏，恐怕是老头子最得意的时刻。如果觉得钨丝灯的亮度不够，把灯塔上的蜡烛点亮，整间密室就充斥了迷离的宝光。 钟仪倒在躺椅边，在我突袭之前，她正在研究躺椅上的人。老头子歪坐在躺椅上，他没有如我所想化作白骨，而是成了具干尸。也并不特别令人意外，这儿太干燥了。 我的视线没有在这具黝黑的裸尸上停留很久，手电光继续移动，照见了坍塌的土墙，照见了一处能容人通过的缝隙，最后照在我的脚上。 手电筒已经三百六十度转了一圈。钟仪说的没错，只有一具尸体。 “我一直以为你当年杀了两个人，老人和他的女儿。可是这里只有一具尸体，那个女儿没有死在这里。所以你是对的，她没有死，她逃走了，她总有一天会回来找你的。” 我很清楚，钟仪在拖延时间，这是她最后时刻的自救，扰乱我的心神，寻找一线生机。 但是……他妈的这里真的居然只有一具尸体！ 我脑袋里乱极了，一些气泡从深处冒出来，我使劲地摁住它们，但没用，我快要压不住了，我的脑袋就要开锅了！ 我拿着刀傻站着，有一个声音提醒我，不能发呆，先把面前这个杀了再说。但我所有的力气都被用来捂盖子了，那锅沸腾的脑浆如果把盖子顶开，天知道会发生什么。 我终于注意到钟仪的动作，她的手在动，一寸一寸往旁边摸，那儿是刀，被我击落的刀。 一瞬间，我把那些乱七八糟的想法压了下去，叫道：“去死吧你。” 我高高扬起刀，她尖叫起来，涕泪横流。 这让我心里舒坦了一些，我把刀扎下去，她翻了个滚躲开了。这当然是我故意放慢了速度，我想多看几眼这个美丽的多智的坚强的始作俑者在生命最后阶段的本能反应。 我一脚踹在她屁股上。 “再躲啊，想拾刀，你试试。” “不是的不是的，不拾刀那不是我的刀。” 我冷笑着看她语无伦次，踢了一脚电筒，让光对着她，然后又扬起了刀。 “等一下，等一下，死以前你能不能告诉我，当年是怎么回事？事情很奇怪，你不觉得吗，她如果装死等你离开后逃走，怎么会不报警，怎么会没有邻居看到？” 她强作镇定，但其实害怕得发抖，还流着眼泪，模样可笑极了。 但她说的话让我很不舒服，她在掀我的盖子！ 她没死，为什么不来复仇，她没死，为什么不来复仇，她没死？ 我得快点杀了她！ “等你死以后我会研究这个问题。” “其实你不是那么残忍的一个人，对不对。” 这样的话用气急败坏的语速说出来真好笑。 “你是说来吓唬人的，对不对。” 我看着钟仪捂着肚子上的伤口说出这样的话，开始对她感到失望。 让一切结束吧。 “你看你说杀了两个人其实只有一个啊。你说你杀人手段很残忍其实老头子只挨了浅浅一刀啊。你根本不是那么残酷的人你为什么要……” 第二句话像道闪电，从里到外把我照得惨白。我忽然就再听不清她在说什么。她的嘴被手电光打到一半，活鱼般一张一闭，像场默片。在她一侧的阴影里，仿佛有一颗巨大的行星把它斑驳的背面缓缓转了过来，我忍着不去看不去看，但那引力实在太强，我的头终于还是一寸寸转了过去。 那张躺椅，和躺椅上的老头。 先前要努力抑制的所有纷乱的记忆片段和闪回画面，此刻全都寂静，那张躺椅在黑暗边缘的阴影中，我不需把电筒照过去，它自在我的眼中越来越明晰。 赤裸干尸斜靠在躺椅上，微张着嘴，露出黄黑的牙齿。可以看出，自死之后，他就没有被挪动过，哪怕是地震，也没能将他从椅子上震下来。他竟就是这么死的？既没有被捆绑，全身上下又都很完整。钟仪说的伤口在胸前，一道斜斜的刀痕，因为浅，不注意的话很容易忽略。 没有我记忆中的十刀百刀，只有这浅浅的一刀。 我盯着刀痕，眼睛剜进伤口。我又看见鲜血，自刀痕里溢出来，这血牵着我，穿过无数扭曲的记忆。 我终于又回到了那个下午。 藏宝室里，我从架子之间走过，走向深处的喘息。 我看见了，老头子坐在躺椅上，光着身子，衣服脱在一边。他手握白玉雕像在脸上摩挲，另一只手在胯下套弄。他闭着眼，张着嘴，脸涨得黑中泛红。 我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛，我还记得第一次在槐树下看见老头端详这尊妖娆的玉雕少女时，他说这是玉之精灵，时时刻刻带在身边，可以保佑淘到好玉。后来他要我尊敬她，拜她。我照着做了，发自内心的。我把她当作心灵的寄托，她显然比老头子更能胜任这点，我时常把她从老头子那儿请来，用一块干净的棉布托着，从不会用手去碰，只是和她说说话。 终于有一天我发觉，精灵只是老头子随便说说，他自己一点都不虔诚。但我依旧喜欢她，我总觉得她是有生命的，微阖的眼皮后边有一双灵动的眼睛在看着我。 但我从没想到这个肮脏的老头子会做出这种事情，他现在到底在干什么？ 我吃惊得发抖，撞到旁边的架子，上面放的洒金皮大白玉籽料跌落下来，发出沉闷的声响。我看见老头子抖了一下，僵住不动了。粗重的喘息变作细且尖锐的抽气声，很快也断了，喉咙“咯咯咯”地响。 我吓得呆住，看着他非常艰难地想要把头抬起来，开始呜呜地嚎。我怕极了，扭头就跑，撞倒了几个架子，跌了一跤。爬起来的时候，身后那吓死人的嚎停了，然后听凶老头子用很哑的声音叫我的名字。 我回头，看见他的脸终于抬起来了，青白得吓人。他叫我过去，我慢慢靠近，其实没几步，我走了好久。到跟前的时候，他不知从哪里拿了把刀直直捅过来。 他知道活不了，死都不愿我得了他所有的藏宝。他要让这些玉和他一起埋在地底下！ 他真的不行了，大概已用尽所有力气，但慢得足够让我在一阵惊恐之后，还来得及把他的手推开。他没有一点劲道了，被我一推，刀就反转过来，在自己胸前划了长长的一道，然后脱手掉在地上。 我看见血从他胸口涌出来，我从未见过这样触目心惊的血色，因为那红色里是静静的死亡气味。他对此毫无反应，软倒在躺椅上。我摸了他的鼻子，没气了。 血不停地流，几乎占满了我整个视野，我往回逃，逃出密室，逃出房子，逃出喀什。 我往躺椅边看，一眼就瞧见了“她”。那抹白色。她自老头子的手里跌落，十二年来，一直躺在那儿。 原来从来就没有她，只有“她”。 现在的我，当然明白老头子死于马上风。但当年的我只以为自己杀了老头子，那片血色在我心里无限弥漫开来，给我以绝大的冲击。很长一段时间里，我回想时，眼前便只有血，满天满地满眼的血。 强烈的恐惧感，让我必须为自己找出杀人的理由。我需要一个强有力的理由，让我可以面对自己，开始新的人生。 五年里的点点滴滴，一桩桩一件件，被我汇集起来。仇恨从回忆里一丝丝抽取出来，拧成一只怪兽，跳进我心里。我发现老头子完全该杀，认定他绝对该死。渐渐地，每次我回忆那无边的血，都能生出复仇的快感，我开始觉得，一定有许多刀，才能流出这么多的血，一定要许多刀，才能斩杀老头子背负的肮脏罪恶。我开始写小说，写罪恶，写死亡，那一个又一个虐杀故事让我解脱，我的记忆也被这些故事慢慢扭曲，直到……我再次看见老头子。只有一道刀痕的老头子。 原来我在十二年前并没有杀人。 我没有杀人。有个声音在心里反复强调，我没有杀人。这就像一道巫咒，我被咒困住，动弹不得，直到眼前有寒光闪动。 那是钟仪捡起了刀，手电筒的光照在刀锋上，血污之间的钢像破碎的镜子。 她刺得很慢，几乎比中了马上风的老头子还慢。 我看着它接近，触碰我的衣服，切开皮肤，从左胸第四和第五根肋骨间刺进去。 我并不觉得痛，只觉得一切如此可笑。 嘿，我在想象中对她露出一个笑容。 这会是一部好小说，我说。 但我不知道她有没有听见。