Chapter 12 Chapter 11 Mutations

Seeing the strange expressions of me and Lao Wei, the whole team suddenly turned into a deadlock, and all followed our gaze. Old Wei and I stared blankly, dazed and bewildered. All the people who stared with us were also stunned. After about a few seconds, Li Dazui was the first to react and ran away.Old Wei and I followed closely behind, and everyone followed suit. For a brief moment, I thought I was seeing a vision again, but quickly dismissed the idea.This is something that is real and actually happening right in front of your eyes. Kilometers to the northeast of the camp, a puff of black smoke drifted slowly.

This is where the ruins of the ancient Moshan Kingdom are located. Because everyone was so engrossed just now, no one noticed when the black smoke was rising from the ruins hundreds of meters away from us.In the vast twilight, this small column of black smoke is like a stranger knocking on the door, which makes people feel confused.Li Dazui staggered and fell into the sand, he didn't realize it, got up and continued to run wildly.We ran with ashen faces, not knowing what that column of black smoke meant to our ill-fated archaeological team. There is already a country of death. Human traces were lost there 1,500 years ago.

And now, on this uninhabited Gobi, a column of black smoke floated there. I closed my eyes and ran blindly, as if there were thousands of voices and guesses floating in my mind.When I wanted to grasp something, I realized that everything was actually blank.Fate smiled at that moment and shut me out. Li Dazui was the first person to run to the ruins of the ancient city.This round city with a diameter of 180 meters, because of thousands of years of desertion and wind and sand erosion, is already a flat land that can be seen at a glance.Can Huan, who stood upright from time to time, lingered in the wind and sand in vain.An abandoned home is more eerie and lonely than a desert.

Li Dazui stood upright by the remaining city wall, without any movement.His eyes were fixed on the center of Yuancheng, expressionless. I looked at Li Dazui worriedly, his lips didn't tremble, but the expression in his eyes made me extremely scared.Everyone gathered around one after another, and even Professor Tan ran there panting.Everyone's eyes focused on the center of Yuancheng, where the black smoke rose. Twilight is over.Exhaled white gas began to fill the air.No one acted rashly, no one spoke, and everyone stared at the place where the black smoke rose while panting.Faintly visible in the darkness, the smoke was due to burning.The dark red ashes in the center of the round city, like the eyes of evil spirits, shone with unpredictable light.About three meters away from the ashes, lay a person.The man was dressed in black and could not be seen clearly.

In an instant, it seemed that everyone was timid.The first moonlight shrouded the Gobi desert, and the grayish-white dim light made people panic.Professor Tan left the crowd and walked forward slowly.Her back looks very thin in this vast night, but there is an undoubted firmness.I vaguely remembered that I had seen many backs in many places, and those graceful, hasty, tottering, anxious backs flashed before my eyes.Where did those figures go?What phantom of fate are those steps chasing?What is the answer to those destinations after the figure arrives?Of course, these are all nothingness in an instant, and the backs that are related to me and irrelevant overlap in the river of time, but they are just the whispers of the time traveler.

We followed Professor Tan and walked over silently. Professor Tan turned over the charred object, and a remnant skull appeared in front of him.Those black holes whose eyes had been gouged out looked straight at the sky, as if they were innocent souls who were unwilling to leave, questioning the sky.I heard the sound of someone gasping for air beside me, and someone backed away in horror and fell to the sand. "How could this be...why?" Xiang Zhiyuan's voice trembled, but no one answered. Everyone stood beside the charred female corpse in black, unable to comprehend the unbelievable fact in front of them.The woolen cloth on which the incantation was written was completely burned, and only a thread of fire breathed on the edge of the fragments.The desert wind passed by my ears, and I seemed to hear the whispers of the undead who had been chattering for thousands of years.I shook my head in boredom, trying to isolate the weary hallucination, only to realize it was futile.The surviving relics erected black shadows under the moonlight, like a gloomy stage theater.

In the silence, Old Wei suddenly ran towards the burning corpse.With the determination and speed of waking up from a dream, he rushed towards the figure lying on the ground three meters away. I was startled, and I followed Lao Li together. The man was dressed in black, lying prone on the sand, and could not be distinguished from behind.My first thought was that Lee In Hee had found it, but then I realized I was wrong. Li Renxi was not tall, but the person in front of him was slender.Lao Wei and Lao Li frantically turned the man over. I suddenly stopped breathing, and my eyes stared straight.

To be precise, what I saw directly was not the face, but a layer of plastic covering the face.Li Dazui tore off the plastic sheeting, and his blurry face, which was originally covered by the plastic sheeting, suddenly became clear. This face has a frightening power in the dark night, painted into a pale face, exaggerated and fierce bright red lips, like a ghost wandering in the dark.If it weren't for those familiar glasses, I would hardly recognize him. "Zhou Qian!...Brother, brother, wake up! Are you still doing it?!" Wei Datou shook Zhou Qian vigorously, calling out eagerly.

People from the archaeological team surrounded him.Chen Wei recognized Zhou Qian, and made a hoarse and indistinct cry, like a cry of premature death.Professor Tan immediately squatted down and put his hand on Zhou Qian's carotid artery. "Temperature, but no pulse." Chen Wei pointed at Zhou Qian's body, stepped back, and murmured indistinctly: "He is possessed, he, he is that female ghost!" Chen Wei's breath seemed to be choked, and at the end of the whisper, he suddenly let out a sharp scream.He squatted down, buried his head in his arms, trembling constantly because of fear, and muttered "scared, scared" in his mouth.

At the same time, Li Dazui had already dropped his coat, knelt beside Zhou Qian, and leaned over to do artificial respiration.He pinched Zhou Qian's nose and blew into his mouth forcefully.After blowing a few mouthfuls, taking advantage of Li Wenchang's gasping for breath, Old Wei put his hands on the lower half of Zhou Qian's sternum, straightened his arms and squeezed.They alternated, and Li Wenchang checked Zhou Qian's pulse from time to time. "Wake up! Brother! Damn it, fuck it, don't die in front of me!" The veins in Li Dazui's neck bulged, and he roared at Zhou Qian's body, "You have the ability to run from the hospital to the hospital!" Here, just give me some face and don't die!"

He leaned down again and blew into Zhou Qian's mouth, and his chest heaved violently due to the large amount of air. In the darkness, Zhou Qian's eyes were wide open, as if he was staring at the starry sky.Like a troubadour resting for a short time, or a traveler en route obsessed with beauty, his eyes are open stiffly to the sky. Professor Tan slowly closed his eyes, and opened them after a while, his eyes filled with deep sorrow.She reached out to stop Li Wenchang, and said in a low voice, "Stop it, he's dead." Li Wenchang shook off her hand, pointed at Chen Wei who was still trembling and said, "Shut up! Possess your mother!" After he finished speaking, he continued to bury his head into Zhou Qian's mouth, with a ferocious and frantic expression. Wei Datou stopped trying to massage his heart, and stretched out his hand to hold Li Wenchang: "Stop blowing it. He's dead." Li Wenchang turned a deaf ear to it, still struggling in vain.Wei Datou hugged Li Wenchang's waist and pulled him back from Zhou Qian's body.Li Wenchang's mouth was covered with bright red lipstick. At first glance, he looked like a demon who had just sucked blood.He struggled hard in Wei Datou's arms, with amazing strength, Wei Datou was thrown by him and fell on the sandy ground. "There is still help! Zhou Qian, I won't let you die, did you hear that?! Damn it!" Li Dazui's cry was like howling a wolf, piercing the night.I saw that Xiang Zhiyuan couldn't help shivering. Wei Datou got up from the sand, and hugged Li Dazui's arms from behind again, preventing him from pounced on Zhou Qian's body again. "He's dead! He's completely cold! No matter how hard you blow, he won't survive!" Wei Datou yelled out, and when he yelled to the last sentence, he choked up. Yu Yanyan looked at me, as if she thought that I was the only one who could calmly answer the questions among the insiders present.She asked in a low voice, "Liang Ke, what's going on?" In fact Zhou Qian's name and his empty eyes kept replaying in my mind.I muttered his name, and there was a loud roar in my ears from the pressure.This makes everything so unreal, like a long coherent montage.I saw Li Dazui distorted his face in pain, and fell to his knees on the sand.His fists hit the ground again and again, and he seemed to be shouting something, maybe asking why, maybe out of anger or tiredness played by fate.The sand was lifted up under his fist, and then fell again. Each grain of sand was like a falling meteor, ups and downs in the sea of ​​sand. I saw Zhou Qian's stiff body.Three meters away from him is the black-clothed female corpse we dug up.He burned her, along with the oath that covered her body.I saw Professor Tan walking towards Li Dazui and wrapping his arms around his shoulders. He was crying like a child in her arms.Professor Tan hugged him and shook him gently, like a mother comforting a sad child.I saw Wei Datou walking towards me, holding my hand tightly, pale lips, moist eyes, and shaking shoulders because of the utmost restraint.I saw Gao Hong stretch out his hand to Chen Wei, pull him up, and pat his back hard to comfort him. I saw a small figure coming from the depths of the desert, he was exhausted and crumbling.He didn't know where the end was, so he made one himself. At least he's free. "Liang Ke! Where are you going?! Without my approval, you are not allowed... Liang Ke!" Yu Yanyan and Professor Tan helped the collapsed Li Wenchang, while shouting loudly behind me. I didn't realize it, at that time there must have been a pair of wings growing out of my back.I saw the sand wetted by the moonlight flying under my feet, and the sound of stepping on the sand was like the soft maracas in Sophie Zelmani's singing. I floated lightly and softly, and I couldn't even feel the shortness of breath. .The strange dunes and rocks on the ground receded behind me one after another. With a clear goal, I ran towards the ruins of the ancient temple outside the Yingpan Remains City. The ancient stupa is still standing silently, as if knowing that I will come back.It whistled softly in the wind and sand at night, and the sound was like a bone whistle on the Silk Road thousands of years ago.The dark monk's rooms were already visible from a distance, and I ran over impatiently.I can no longer recall the exact state of mind at that time, I just pursued with the only thought.The huge ruins of the ancient temple are like a dying passerby, melancholy embracing me in his arms. In the monk's room, which can no longer be called a house, I found an almost empty travel backpack, a down jacket thrown on the floor, and cosmetics scattered all over the floor. The unscrewed lipstick looked like a budding rose on the crystal sand, responding to the soft moonlight, which broke my heart. I close my eyes and look up. Why? From the golden altar to 409, from the tearful collection of corpses under the pharmacist pagoda to the blood-splattered walls, from the fortified mental hospital to this deserted desert—Zhou Qian, how long have you walked, how far have you traveled, and how much suffering you have suffered? ?What are you seeking, destroying, saving? Zhou Qian, why did all this fall on you?What torments are you bearing in your spiritual world? Zhou Qian, why did you choose this place as the end of your life? Despair or ecstasy surfaced on Zhou Qian's face before he died.It baffles and hurts me. Wei Qifang finally caught up.He lightly pressed his hand on my shoulder and was silent for a moment, as if trying to calm himself down. He looked at the scattered objects around, and said softly: "That black shadow is indeed not a female ghost, but Zhou Qian." I turned around and stared blankly at the person in front of me.A little dizzy, the moment I closed my eyes and opened them again, the sky was filled with black sea water as high as ten feet high.I didn't even have time to do a decent struggle in the sea water, and I saw my body floating in the sea water, and the rotting flesh and blood peeled off into pieces and drifted with the current. I saw my eyes come out of their sockets and fall into the depths of the sea.I must have moaned out then, and fell into the boundless darkness for an instant. This is the longest night of my life.Wei Datou carried me back to the camp with his weak body.I have never fainted as far as I can remember.Even during military training, I looked enviously at those classmates who passed out and sat in the shade of a tree drinking a drink comfortably, but I never succeeded in being with them.And this time, I succeeded. Old Wei's legs were trembling, probably because he was really struggling.I was awakened by the bumps behind him, and silently fell on his shoulder.Old Wei didn't look back, but he seemed to know that I woke up. "Feeling better?" My throat was a little hoarse, and I took a deep breath to let my chest clear: "I'm fine." I struggled behind his back, but Old Wei didn't let go, and my whole body was so weak that I seemed to lose strength, so I stopped insisting on walking by myself. "Big head." "Say." "I want to cry." "Not promising." "But I have no tears." "You cried in the library." "That exception... What exactly did you say that made Zhou Qian accompany him with death?" After Wei Datou heard my question, he stopped and put me down.I looked at him questioningly, thinking that he would answer questions professionally as before.Wei Datou wiped the sweat from his brow, and replied: "First, I don't know. Second, I really can't bear you anymore." The camp is close at hand.Professor Tan and the others came back here first, and brought back Zhou Qian's body.Zhou Qian's body was placed in a warehouse tent, where Yu Yanyan performed a simple autopsy on Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian's clothes were stripped off, revealing a shocking emaciation.There was no obvious trauma on his body surface, and some tissues on his toes were necrotic.His feet were almost scarred, with blood blisters piled on top of each other, all of which had dried up.When Old Wei saw Zhou Qian's suffering feet, he turned his face away, and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve while no one was paying attention. Yu Yanyan turned Zhou Qian's body with her gloves, and after examining her whole body carefully, she raised her head and said in a low voice, "It should be mechanical asphyxiation. He committed suicide." Gao Hong walked back and forth quickly with his arms folded, and suddenly raised his head to Lao Wei and Lao Li and said, "This is wrong. Your classmate is still mentally ill. Why did he suddenly come here to burn cultural relics? What is hidden here? , What do you know? Why didn’t you have any symptoms before?” Old Wei said coldly: "He's not mentally ill, he just has thoughts that we don't understand." Gao Hong interrupted him impatiently: "Professor Tan has already briefly talked about the situation of the deceased. Wasn't he persuaded to leave the hospital when he was in S University? Isn't the person who lives in the mental hospital mentally ill?" Li Dazui took a step forward, stared into Gao Hong's eyes and said: "He is not a dead person, he has a name, and his name is Zhou Qian. When you talk about him, please be respectful." Gao Hong took a step back, turned his head and said to Professor Tan: "Teacher Tan, can you explain? I have long felt that something is wrong here. I signed the agreement, but it does not mean that I want to be involved in such a complicated situation." Professor Tan shook his head: "I'm as confused as you, I can't explain it." Yu Yanyan took a step forward and patted Gao Hong on the shoulder: "Hey, relax. Everyone should go to bed early, and we will continue to look for Li Renxi tomorrow." Gao Hong moved away hastily, and brushed the place touched by Yu Yanyan's glove with his hand. "The only major achievement these days has been burnt out by mental illness. During the day, I have to look for Koreans who disappeared inexplicably. This archaeological excavation work is so exciting, let me tell you," Gao Hong put one hand in his trouser pocket , the other hand waved violently in the air, "I will not accompany you. Go ahead and play, I ask to quit. Captain Yu, I want to borrow a desert vehicle, and I will set off for Korla tomorrow." Before the words fell, Chen Wei's voice sounded: "Me too. I will go with Gao Hong." Yu Yanyan looked at Professor Tan, then turned to ask everyone, "Is there anyone else who thinks the same as them?" Both Dou Miao and Xiang Zhiyuan were silent.The two senior brothers and I looked at each other and shook our heads. Professor Tan pondered for a moment: "Yu Yanyan, I thought about it. The current situation is not suitable for the work to continue. Can you and Xiao Qi send them all back to Korla?" Yu Yanyan asked, "What about you?" Professor Tan whispered: "I will stay here and continue to look for Li Renxi. After you arrive in Korla, bring someone back to meet me earlier. I have a hunch that Li Renxi must still be alive. I need your help." Dou Miao suddenly said, "I'm not leaving. Professor Tan, I'll stay and find someone with you." Li Dazui pushed Wei Datou's shoulder, meaning to ask him to speak on behalf of the three of us. Wei Datou coughed and sniffled: "We're not leaving either. There are no cowards in the Department of Archeology of S University." The three of us all looked at Chen Wei, Chen Wei lowered his head and shrank back.I suddenly remembered that Chen Wei had just been married not long ago. His new wife was a petite and lovely woman. Everyone who knew him in the department had eaten his wedding candy.From the initial impassioned to the current eagerness to go home, it is probably because there is someone waiting for him. Professor Tan reached out his hand to stop Li Dazui who was still about to speak, and said calmly: "I have already decided, except for me, the whole team will retreat. This matter cannot be disputed." "But Professor Tan," I couldn't help calling out, "how can you stay here alone?" Professor Tan smiled slightly, and there was some sadness in his smile that I couldn't understand: "There are supplies and camps here. It's okay for me to stay here. I'm familiar with this place." Professor Tan seldom gave decisive orders, and once he gave them, he could not go against them.Zhou Qian's body will be brought back to S City by us.Perhaps he chose this vast and desolate cemetery for himself, but we cannot leave him here. The night was as cold as ice, and everyone went to sleep.Since they were going back to Korla early the next morning, Gao Hong and Chen Wei packed their bags early.Professor Tan told us to load all the cultural relics into the car, and when we arrived in Korla, people from the XJ Museum would come to pick us up.She carefully assigned all excavation report records, cultural relic number lists, recording pens, cameras, and video cameras to the heads of the people for designated storage to ensure that nothing was lost.I faintly felt that Professor Tan seemed to be asking for help. She was doing these things in an orderly manner, with a peaceful and firm expression. The two great gods and I squatted at the door of the tent warehouse, except for Zhou Qian's body, it was already empty.We insisted on keeping vigil for Zhou Qian on the night he left, and we insisted on putting his body in the carriage tomorrow morning.We persisted ridiculously, preserving the last dignity of the deceased for Zhou Qian. The night was large and silent.Li Dazui took out a cigarette, lit it, stuck it in the sand, and said in a low voice, "Brother, this cigarette is for you, so go all the way." He lit a second cigarette, took two puffs and handed it to Old Wei.Lao Wei usually doesn't smoke, but now he took the cigarette without saying a word, took two strong puffs, held back his cough and handed it to me.I took the cigarette and held it between my fingers.Cigarette butts were half-lit in the dark, and the smell of inferior cigarettes rushed straight into the nostrils. A cigarette lasts seven minutes.The three of us smoked a cigarette in seven minutes, and Zhou Qian lived his life in 27 years. The ancient Moshan Kingdom in front of us has been silent for thousands of years, and the land under our feet has undergone hundreds of millions of years of changes. piece of the Gobi Desert. There is no eternity in the world, even life and death are instantaneous.I thought about our work again. Archeology is to excavate the relics of time and explore the footprints of those human beings who have walked hard.And what's the point of all this?Zhou Qian died. What I didn't expect was that this eccentric senior brother who was usually kept at a distance would make us so sad. All three of us were silent.Neither remembers Zhou Qian's words, nor has the willingness to explore various mysteries.We just accompany Zhou Qian quietly like this, and accompany him to spend the last night on the Gobi with us.We feel so humiliated by frustration and failure that we can reach out without even knowing what it is to fight.I thought wildly for a long time, and unconsciously fell asleep next to Li Wenchang and Wei Qifang. I woke up in the early hours of the morning. After a short nightmare, I woke up with a start and opened my eyes. In front of me, against the muzzle of a black hole. It took me a few seconds to comprehend what was in front of me.Li Dazui and Wei Datou stood in front of me with their hands raised high, one gun pointed at them and the other at me. The stranger in front of me tilted his head to me and said softly, "Get up." I slowly got up from the ground.Is it really difficult for criminal gangs to beg for food now, and even have to go to the Gobi to do business?Li Dazui saw that my eyes were sleepy, so he tried his best to make a lip expression, and motioned for me the three words "grave robber". The two people in front of them were both wearing military overcoats, which already looked very worn out.Presumably, life in this Gobi is not easy, they all look disheveled. "Don't fight back, we won't hurt you." The man I was talking to looked to be about forty years old, with obvious nasolabial folds around the corners of his mouth, he was very thin, with an unshaven beard, and his face was as green as an eggplant.He looked ferocious, but his voice was very gentle, as if he was afraid of scaring me.Another man next to him who looked like a tragic potato smiled. I don't know if it was because he was born stuttering or nervous: "Old, you, the sixth, you just love women." When I was a child, I used to fantasize countless times that I would transform into a female Ultraman. When I met a bad guy, I would first say an impassioned speech to persuade him to surrender unconditionally.Then when the other party was stubbornly resisting, he said coldly: "I have given you a chance, now you are looking for your own death!" After saying that, he unleashed his fists like lightning, subdued the bad guy, and faced the flowers and applause of the audience Smiling calmly, he floated away on the road facing the setting sun. I sized up the two tomb robbers for a while, wondering if Yu Yanyan and Professor Tan would find something wrong and come to rescue them, and said in a low voice, "What's the situation, can you give me an explanation?" Altman also has moments of humility, because the opponent has a gun in his hand. The sixth child grinned: "Obviously, we are..." Before the words were finished, a gunshot was suddenly heard from the tent in the accommodation area of ​​the camp.In this quiet and empty place, the sound of gunfire was particularly abrupt and shocking.A few seconds later, another gunshot was heard. A hog-killing howl rang out: "Lao Liu! Come here quickly! Something happened!" Lao Liu ran over at a gallop, and the two masters and I followed suit.Tragedy Potato shouted from behind: "Hey, hey, don't run away. I, I have a gun!" The few of us ignored him, even running faster than Lao Liu.The sixth child didn't seem to be worried that we would escape from his control, and ran behind with a gun in his hand. As soon as I arrived at the tent area, I saw a shocking scene.The soldier Xiao Qi fell to the ground, his face could not be seen clearly, and his life and death were uncertain.Yu Yanyan clutched her right arm, blood was gurgling from it.Professor Tan and Gao Hong leaned beside Xiao Qi with angry and anxious expressions.Dou Miao, Xiang Zhiyuan, Chen Wei and others gathered around. In front of them were two men with guns.A man in his early forties, with a thin scar on the corner of his eye, a round face, and a cold face.I didn't pay attention to the other person at first, and my eyes were all on Xiao Qi who was lying on the ground. Wei Datou's veins bulged, and he roared angrily: "Beast!" Li Dazui who was next to him hurriedly hugged him, and said in a low voice, "Calm down, they have guns." At the same time, Li Dazui reached out and pulled me behind him, blocking me. I. We looked at Xiao Qi, who was motionless, and at Yu Yanyan, who was gritting her teeth and glaring at the tomb robber, our hearts were beating wildly.Lao Liu and Tudou also arrived, pointing guns at our backs. Professor Tan stood up slowly, and said in a deep voice: "Xiao Qi is dead. Now you have changed from stealing and robbery to murder. It is not too late to rein in the precipice. Stop, don't hurt anyone anymore." The round-faced man immediately raised his gun and pointed it at Professor Tan.He didn't speak or move, obviously waiting for instructions.Professor Tan looked up at him with clear contempt in his eyes.Chen Wei trembled violently, knelt on the ground and said, "Please, don't kill people. The cultural relics are all in our car, just drive away." "Go and bandage this woman first." When this voice sounded, there was a strange dullness.I looked up, only to see a man of not tall stature who looked to be in his fifties.The most shocking thing is not his unusually calm aura or the MP5 submachine gun in his hand, but the hemp mask on his face.The mask was stiffly starched, leaving spaces for eyes, mouth, and nose.The mask is so chilling that I seem to remember seeing it somewhere but can't. "M15." Dou Miao whispered next to her.This sentence may not make sense to others, but it is nothing more than a thunder in our ears.It was in the Xinjiang Museum that I once saw the M15 tomb owner's mask, which was quite similar to the one worn by the person in front of me.The difference is that the facial features of the mask of the owner of the tomb of M15 are drawn, but the facial features are not drawn on the mask of this person. "We are not here to kill or rob, and even," the masked man spoke slowly and in a muffled voice, "we are not the grave robbers you imagined. As long as you don't resist, we promise not to hurt you. " "Then who are you guys?" Gao Hong asked tremblingly. "It doesn't matter who we are. What matters is that you must obey our orders unconditionally for the time hereafter."