Chapter 9 Chapter 6 Dead Face Appears

Aunt Song decided to walk the Long March with us this time, once again through the snow-capped mountains and grasslands, to completely get rid of the knot in the past, otherwise she would not be able to feel at ease for the rest of her life. Although I think Aunt Song's sudden decision is a bit reckless, but think about it, she has been tortured by that incident for decades. It is also understandable to be freed from this matter. I looked around for bushes to make a fire, but Aunt Song said that there was plenty of wood and asked me to dig out a layer of soil from the ground.I found that there were layers and layers buried under the ground, all of which were thick logs.

The pine wood is thick and big, and the monkey and I carried out a short piece of wood together, and found that it was still a pine wood with bark, about the thickness of a thigh, and more than one meter long.The pine wood is a bit damp buried in the ground, but it is covered with a layer of grease, which is very resistant to burning.As soon as the fire was lit, the pine resin dripped into the fire, and a two-foot-long flame sprang up, which made us warm all over. The monkey asked Aunt Song if she knew why there were so many pine logs buried in the ground. Aunt Song also shook her head, saying that when Duoji was herding the sheep, she said that a lot of wood was buried in the ground, and a lot of rotten wood could be dug further down. It was also pine wood mixed with other things, which was very strange.Dorji thought it was a kind of sacrificial thing in ancient times, so she didn't dare to touch it, and she never looked at it carefully.

I said casually, "If these pine logs are used for sacrificial offerings, the cost would be quite high. There are no pine trees around here, and these pine logs may have been transported from other places." The monkey nodded and said: "If it is a sacrifice, the sacrifice must have lasted for thousands of years. Look at these newly buried pine logs, it seems that it is only a few decades. What kind of sacrifice is it? How about until now?" Aunt Song said: "Speaking of this, I just remembered that when the monks of the monastery went to our place to give lectures, they said that when the rain flooded the valley, a huge white eagle would fly from the grassland. The white eagle would guide the people from afar. guests, go to a mysterious place."

The monkey looked serious, and asked, "The white eagle guides people to a mysterious place?" Aunt Song nodded and said, "Yes, it's a very mysterious place." I was also curious, and said: "What mysterious place is so evil, and the white eagle has to guide the way?" Aunt Song shook her head and said, "Then I don't know." The three of them discussed for a long time around the fire, but they couldn't understand it.Then my eyelids gradually became heavy, and I unconsciously fell asleep with my head on my knees.In a daze, I heard the monkey and Aunt Song discussing something quietly and fiercely, talking about snow mountains or something.I tried to prick my ears to listen, but I couldn't hear anything, and then I fell asleep completely and couldn't hear anything.

When we woke up the next day, we ate something and started heading towards the snow-capped mountains. After walking not far, the monkey suddenly stopped and said, "There are still a group of people on the grass." "There is another group?" I couldn't figure it out. Aunt Song looked around and found a burnt fire.She pushed the fire away with her feet. Inside the fire was a large charred log with some bones scattered about.She judged that there should be more than a dozen people in this group, and they also went to the snow mountain from the footprints. I was excited and said: "That's the best, we can catch up with them and go together!"

Monkey looked at Aunt Song noncommittally, and asked, "How long will it take us to arrive?" Aunt Song also looked worriedly at the vast snow-capped mountains in the distance, and said, "Is there still time?" "Is there still time?" This sentence flashed in my mind like lightning.It suddenly occurred to me that the monkey had said the same thing in the tortoise burial city, saying "there is not enough time".Damn it, it looks like the two of them are hiding something from me! The more I thought about it, the more confused it became. At some point, these two people had reached a consensus to go to the snow mountain together.But the bastard monkey, why didn't he tell me?

I wanted to ask him, but I was worried about Aunt Song who was beside me. She was so anxious that she couldn't show it, so I had to vent my dissatisfaction in my heart. But the monkey was still checking around. After searching for a while, he said, "Someone is injured!" He kicked away a pile of buried earthen bags, and there were many clods of blood congealed in the earthen bags that rolled down.The monkey poked open the dirt bag with a stick, and a dead man rolled out of the dirt bag. Aunt Song recognized his attire, and said calmly: "People from the caravan are like Han Chinese."

I said, "Why are people from the caravan here?" Monkeys scoured the nearby grass.I didn't take his actions seriously, and kept persuading him: "Since there is danger here, let's retreat quickly! I heard that after many monsters killed people, they buried them in the soil for fear that they would not be able to eat them, and continued to eat them at night. We are not happy. Go quickly, maybe the monster attacking people will come over later." The monkey ignored me and searched the nearby grassland with a stick, picking up grasslands from time to time, and carefully inspecting the swamp below.

After a while, he pointed to the grass seriously and said, "Old Bai, look!" In the swamp of the grass, a row of strange footprints was clearly printed.The row of footprints was twisted and crooked, circled there a few times, and then staggered towards the direction of the snow mountain. I looked curious, smacked my lips and said, "I didn't expect there to be such a strange animal in the swamp. It looks like this guy is not small, probably as big as a deer!" But the monkey didn't speak. He looked at the footprints coldly, then raised his head and looked worriedly at the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Aunt Song next to her came over, took a look at the footprints, took a breath, took a few steps back, and said in horror: "He's here, he's here again..." I supported Aunt Song and found that her shoulders were trembling because of fear, so I hurriedly asked her: "Aunt Song, Aunt Song, what's wrong with you? Who is he?" The monkey also asked: "Aunt Song, do you mean..." Aunt Song calmed down, nodded with an ugly expression, and said, "It was the same with us back then. People kept dying in the team, and then I saw that... shadow..." The monkey asked, "Could it be the zombie we saw?"

Aunt Song shook her head: "It was the shadow that attacked us first...the zombies appeared later..." I asked, "What's the relationship between zombies and shadows?" Aunt Song paused and said, "People who are killed by shadows will become zombies..." Aunt Song's words simply made me unacceptable. I can't believe that there is such a ghostly "shadow" hidden in this dangerous swamp, and this "shadow" is the culprit of zombies. I checked with Aunt Song again and again, is this "shadow" the same thing as a zombie, or is the shadow an animal like a wild monkey? Aunt Song told me with certainty that this "shadow" must be a flesh and blood thing, but not an animal, because she had seen him several times in the thick fog when she was marching.He will sneer like a human, think, and even design some traps to harm people according to the environment. She even suspected that the conflict with the monkey mother was created by this shadow. But what exactly was this shadow, she was still unable to confirm. The monkey asked: "Could it be the remnants of the KMT?" Aunt Song said that some teams also found the shadow back then. At that time, food was extremely scarce, and the soldiers regarded it as a wild beast and directly used submachine guns to shoot at it.As a result, during the final cleaning, it was found that all the bullets had been shot deeply into the soil, and nothing had been hit.The shadow seemed to disappear into the air suddenly, leaving no trace behind.The team was terrified, packed up their equipment and moved forward.As a result, this shadow kept appearing on the marching road, sometimes sneaking behind the team, sometimes lurking in the water passing by, and sometimes even appearing suddenly in the barracks.No matter how he appeared, in short, every time he appeared, someone in the team would die inexplicably.He is like a god of death, and he can't be driven away. Many unbelievers volunteered to chase the shadow, but they all died in the grass for no reason, and even their bodies turned into zombies.Gradually, everyone regarded this thing as an ominous thing and tried to stay away from him as much as possible.They also avoid this thing very much, and call him shadow in private. I still couldn't believe it, wondering if it might be because of the high humidity in the grassland, there are miasmas in many places, and miasmas can easily confuse people's minds.The troops were under too much pressure during the continuous march of lack of clothing and food, so they had such an illusion.From this point of view, the zombies encountered last night may also be hallucinations produced in the miasma near the water, but they do not actually exist. I was just about to tell everyone this idea, but the monkey leaned down in front of it and shouted: "There are footprints here!" I went over to see that the patchy land was bare and there was no grass growing.There is stagnant water in each small pit, which is extremely muddy. On this muddy land, there is clearly a row of strange traces, winding and leading to the depths of the grassland. I knelt down and asked, "Could this be the trace of a snake crawling?" The monkey said flatly, "This is the walking things we saw yesterday." The monkey used the bland word "something", but it couldn't stop the surprise in my heart.It turned out that the footprints mentioned by the monkey belonged to the group of living dead last night! I was surprised: "Impossible, impossible, this footprint is so small, how could it be a human footprint?" Looking at the footprints, the monkey seemed to have made up his mind, and said slowly, "Old Bai, if a pair of feet are rotten until only the bones are left, they will be about this size." The more flat the monkey's voice, the more creepy it made me feel, and even the hairs on my body stood on end. Of course I understand what the monkey means. He means that the body of the living dead we saw yesterday has rotted away. I am afraid that only a skeleton is left, hidden in a broken military uniform. That is why he walks like drunk. The road was staggering.All the flesh on their feet has rotted away, leaving only a pair of bare foot bones, which of course will be very small, about the same size. I looked at the footprints again, the footprints were full of tiny traces vertically and horizontally, it really looked like a skeleton skeleton walked over it. I couldn't help shivering. If the monkey's conjecture is correct, I'm afraid we are really facing a creature from hell-a human skeleton that can walk freely and can hurt people. Aunt Song looked at it very openly. She said that when the Red Army crossed the grass and climbed the snow-capped mountains, what difficulties and obstacles did they not encounter?The soldiers died pile after pile, and they just stepped on the corpses of the soldiers, what's the big deal?She reassured me that the shadow never attacked a single person or a few people, he only attacked groups.It's just the three of us, and we should be fine. Although she pretended to be indifferent, when I saw her eyes looking at the grass, I was still worried.When she looked at the snow-capped mountains in the distance, her deep worry was even more obvious. The same is true for the monkey. He basically can't speak a few words a day now. He either walks with his head depressed, or stares straight at the snow-capped mountains in the distance. His eyes make me a little scared. They seemed to be expecting something, but also seemed to be worried about something. I can't figure it out at all, two people who are not even afraid of shadows and zombies, what are they worried about on the snow mountain? With the addition of Aunt Song, the road ahead is obviously easier to walk. In her words, tens of thousands of soldiers died here during the Long March. Even if you don't know the way, you can walk out by following the bones left by the soldiers. When camping at night, we encountered those weird zombies several times, so we followed Aunt Song's suggestion and set fires around the camp.Zombies are afraid of fire, and no matter how fierce they are at night, they will disappear at dawn, and they don't know where they are hiding during the day. I was still worried about those strange white mist along the way, but fortunately, as Aunt Song said, the white mist only appears when the moon is full, and it doesn't usually come out, so there is no need to worry. In this way, the three of us trekked through the grass and mud for several days.Aunt Song kept urging us to leave quickly, saying that it was the rainy season in the Ruoergai Grassland and it might rain at any time.Once it rains on the grassland, it may even last for several weeks.When the grassland turns into a lake, we may have to row a boat to the snow-capped mountains. Although we didn't encounter such a terrible heavy rain, there were a few sporadic rains along the way, which almost tossed us to death. The weather on the prairie is very weird and can change several times a day.The sun came out very late in the morning, but once it came out, it would burn people to death.In such a hot weather, it is often covered with dark clouds, thunder and lightning, and hail and rain all over the face within a few minutes.On this empty grassland, there is often no place to shelter from the rain.The three had no choice but to squat down and cover their heads with both hands to prevent being injured by the hail.Fortunately, the hail and heavy rain did not last long, and it would end in a dozen minutes at most, otherwise we might be crushed to death here. There are water bubbles everywhere on the grassland. It looks like a thick pile of meadow seeds. When you step on it, black water will burst out, and it will even sink to waist depth.The two feet were soaked in muddy water all day long, and they were almost soaked. Aunt Song told us to pay attention to our legs and feet, and to bandage any wounds as soon as possible.The rotten black water in these grasslands is poisonous. During the Long March, the wounds on the legs and feet of many soldiers festered when they touched the black water. A pile of bones.Aunt Song said that it was because too many people died on the grassland, and the corpses were rotting in the water bubbles, and the water was poisonous. I believe what Aunt Song said.When I was fetching water by the side of a stream, I saw a rusty-dead horse lying under the stream, as well as scattered animal or human bones. I was sick for a long time and didn't dare to drink the water. Fortunately, Aunt Song thought about this in advance and brought a lot of shochu and chili.When it was cold, each of us drank shochu and chewed a piece of dried chili in our mouths, so we could survive at least. This trip to the prairie became a nightmare. Every morning when I opened my eyes, I wondered when I would finish this horrible prairie road, and wondered whether I could survive it. Monkey and I are fine, after all, we are young people with great firepower.Aunt Song was obviously out of energy, shivering from the cold in the rain, which made me feel very sorry. I really don't understand why a person of her age would have to escape from death and go to the snow-capped mountains to suffer. Monkey and Aunt Song went to the snow mountain, obviously there were other important things, it was definitely not just a commemoration.What agreement should have been reached between them, but for what, I do not know.Also, what is the origin of the other group of people in the grassland, and what does it have to do with us? Monkey and Aunt Song didn't talk about these things, nor did I ask. Things became more and more complicated, but I became an outsider, and I didn't even know why I was like this. The thought scares me. The reason why I am afraid is also because of the change of the monkey. As we walked deeper into the grassland, the monkey became more indifferent. It was completely different from the monkey I knew before.This monkey is not as joking as before, a little timid, a little greedy for money, laughing and joking all day long, but he looks like a cold and indifferent person.He was starting to look a little like Dead Face, but not quite. Although the dead face is also cold, with a dead face, it makes people feel at ease.Because no matter what danger he encounters, he will never give up on you and will rescue you. But the monkey made me feel scared like this, and his cold words also made me feel cold.This person is like a piece of ice, a machine, quick in thinking, decisive and quick in doing things, but it also reminds people that after encountering danger, he will always think for himself and throw you away. This also reminds me of my experience in the mountains of Sanmenxia.At that time, the danger I encountered was far more than here, but because of the dead face, I was not worried. Dead Face is indeed cold, and he needs to be beaten when he speaks, but you will feel at ease when you are with him, because he will never abandon you. This feeling made me very lost, and I walked along the way without talking. The monkey checked for a while, then looked at the sky, and said, "We'd better drive through the night, because there will be heavy rain tonight." Aunt Song didn't have any doubts, yelled at the horse, and immediately started to act. I didn't react for a while, and stood there blankly.The monkey glanced at me indifferently, walked forward without saying a word. Their backs are getting farther and farther away, and they have no intention of stopping to wait for me.After thinking twice, I still dragged my tired body and chased after him.No matter what, I want to live.Survive, this is already the only goal that supports me to go on. Leaning on the ground with a stick, I walked in the waistless grass with deep feet and shallow feet, and my heart was dark.Now I just stepped on the ground and fell into the swamp. I am afraid that the monkey will not even look back, let alone come back to save me! I stepped into the muddy water loudly, and the muddy water splashed and ate me.I scolded "Damn it" fiercely, and my eyes became hot for a while.I rubbed it hard, trying not to let the tears flow. Where did that giggling monkey that I grew up with go? I even began to wonder if the person standing in front of me was a real monkey... In this way, we finally came to the foot of the snow mountain, and when we looked up, we could see the blurry shadow standing in front of us.There is a saying that "looking at the mountain and running to death", the majestic snow mountain is in front of us, but it took us a long time to reach the foot of the snow mountain. That night, we went to a cave halfway up the hill, ready to rest for the night and enter the mountain the next day. Both the monkey and I were a little excited, no matter what, we could finally stop falling into that disgusting swamp, and our feet could finally step on solid ground—although it might be on solid ice. Aunt Song reminded us that snow-capped mountains are no more than grasslands, and this place is actually more dangerous than grasslands.The main peak of the snow-capped mountain is more than 5,000 meters above sea level, and the snow does not melt all year round; and the climate is volatile, with strong winds of magnitude 7 or 8 blowing at any time; there may even be a sudden rainstorm, which will wash people down the cliff, and even the bones and dregs cannot be found. arrive.There is a saying among the local Tibetans: "Climbing up the Daxue Mountain is like entering the gate of hell. If there is no great courage, it will be difficult to return." Here are the snow-capped mountains on the outskirts. If we really reach the peak of the highest Daxue Mountain in the center, not to mention us, even the local Tibetans will not be able to climb it, and they will not dare to climb it.In the eyes of Tibetans, these snow-capped mountains are sacred, where gods live.They do not allow anyone to climb, to desecrate the mountain. In Tibet, many snow-capped mountains are regarded as sacred mountains by mythology, which are not open to the outside world, and are not even allowed to be publicized by the outside world.It is said that in the depths of those continuous snow-capped mountains, in hidden caves, there are some monks living in seclusion, where they study secretly.What secrets are hidden behind the vast snow-capped mountains, no outsider knows. On these lonely towering snow-capped mountains, you will find that many monks and Tibetans are turning prayer wheels and walking tenaciously along the turning path. Sometimes, they are so tired that they curl up and fall down on a leeward slope, never getting up again.Many years later, there is only a pile of dead bones left, still tenaciously guiding the direction of the snow mountain. Some people say that this is faith. In short, there are many strange customs and traditions on the snow mountains, which are unexpected, incomprehensible, and of course unclear.I have been to Tibet many times in my life, climbed many snow-capped mountains, seen many unbelievable things, and even experienced many weird and unimaginable things, but I still can't say that I like it here. Recently, Tibet is popular. Many young people like to travel and explore in Tibet, and go to some remote places, even some closed snow-capped mountains, grottoes, ancient temples, and caves. This is not a good thing.You'd better not go there, it's dangerous. These dangers do not only refer to the dangers of the natural environment. That night, we slept in a cave on the hillside, lit a bonfire, ate something, and rested early.I lay on the hay with my arms under my head.The campfire crackled, no one spoke, and the air smelled of burnt wood. I looked at the bright moon in the sky for a long time, I didn't want to talk, and I didn't want to go to sleep immediately. The moon slowly rose into the air, watching me tenderly like a mother.I was suddenly moved in my heart, wondering if this trip was safe, and whether I could see such a peaceful night in the future. Open your eyes, the sky is already bright.I looked left and right, and there was nothing around, except for a pile of burnt bonfires emitting white smoke.I lazily stood up and looked around, no, why are Monkey and Aunt Song missing? I jumped up suddenly, turned around and ran out, but suddenly bumped into a person. The man grabbed me.I looked up, and a familiar face appeared in front of me, looking at me expressionlessly. I was excited all of a sudden, and stammered, "Damn... dead face!" Dead Face didn't speak, just squatted on the ground, looking at a note. The dead face in front of me was still so aloof, with a poker face, it was indeed the dead face I knew.I looked at him, suddenly a little excited, I had a lot to ask him, but I didn't know what to say.What should I say, should I ask whether he is a human or a ghost, and whether he jumped out of the abyss like Sun Monkey? Later, I still couldn't help asking him what the hell was going on. Why can't I find any records even though I have been to Shanghe Village? Why did he send me to the hospital, where did the monkeys go? Dead Face seemed to be in a good mood, and it was rare for him to reply.He said lightly: "These things are a long story, so I won't talk about it." He handed me a cup of hot buttered tea.I shivered from the cold, so I quickly picked up the mug and took a sip of buttered tea.Hearing what he said, I almost spit out a mouthful of tea.This kid is really talented, if he doesn't speak, it's enough, as long as he speaks, a word can make people suffer from internal injuries!But no matter what, after seeing the dead face, I was still greatly relieved, thinking that there would be no problems with him around. I suddenly remembered, and hurriedly asked him: "Monkey, where did they... go?" Dead Face returned to its indifferent look, looking at me expressionlessly.He handed me a note and said, "That friend of yours has gone." I accepted it suspiciously.The note was left to me by the monkey, which said: Lao Bai, I have thought about it for a long time, and I decided to solve this matter alone.No matter what, you have to understand that I never wanted to harm you.In fact, I have always regarded you as a brother. Below, there is another line of fine print: Do you still remember the parting message I wrote to you? Parting words? I froze for a moment.After I came back from Turtle Burial City, I was so bored that I casually flipped through some old books and work notes left by my father—one to pass the time, and the other to see if I could find some relevant clues.When looking through these materials, I also carefully looked at the notebook that the monkey left me, and his broken poem. That poem was so badly written that it was no longer a poem, at most it was a jingle that was not very smooth.Also because the poem was written so much like a jingle, I read it several times and could even recite it.At that time, I felt that something was wrong. It is said that a monkey can be regarded as a half-talented scholar if he has read more than ten thousand volumes. How could he write such nondescript and completely meaningless jingles as a parting message?This time the monkey specifically mentioned this poem, which made me suddenly vigilant. I didn't want to think about it, I suppressed my messy thoughts, tried my best to recall and read the poem again, only to find that it was an acrostic poem. Small bamboo rafts in the middle reaches of the river, Chairman Mao will always be in my heart, He is like the red sun, I hate God, I'm in charge, Huangshan and Taishan are hard to stop, The river wandered eastward and was exhausted. The first few words hidden in this poem are: Be careful, he hates the Yellow River. I was stunned for a moment, what the hell does this mean? "Be careful, he hates the Yellow River"? I was suddenly puzzled, who is this "he"? Regardless of who he is, what does "hate the Yellow River" mean? I thought hard, could it be that the monkey knew the whole thing from the beginning, and deliberately hinted at me in the notebook to make me beware? Looking back now and thinking about the whole thing, at the very beginning, Monkey suggested that I join the Yellow River Expedition Team as a river worker, but the leader refused.Later, because of Huang Xiaoli's intercession, I was able to join. Now that Monkey and Huang Xiaoli are both missing, is there any secret between Monkey and Huang Xiaoli?The more I think about it, the more confused I become.In Turtle Burial City, the monkey dragged me to swim desperately.After I woke up, according to the nurse, it was not a monkey that sent me to the hospital, but a dead face. But why did the dead face suddenly appear and send me to the hospital?Also, who is the shadow that attacked us underwater?Could it be that Dead Face has been stalking us from behind? I looked at Dead Face, he still had that detached look, as if nothing in the world could enter his eyes.I shook my head secretly, no matter what, the person who attacked us underwater is absolutely impossible to be a dead face.The reason is simple, if he makes a move, we will never come out alive. But why did the little nurse say that it was the hospital where the dead face sent me? I thought about it again and again, and decided not to ask about Dead Face.This person is too mysterious, and he always likes to talk half and leave half.Rather than listening to him say some mysterious words, which made me more and more confused, I might as well save it and ask the monkey later. Damn it, I swore bitterly: If I trust him again in the future, I will be his grandson! This grandson, if I bump into him next time, without further ado, I'll beat him up first! Dead Face stood there with his arms around his shoulders, indifferently, not answering my questions at all.He kicked away a big rock next to him, revealing a section of the dry food bag, and mockingly said: "Your friend treats you well, and left you all the food, it seems that he knows that he is in danger. " After he reminded me, I found that under the stone was a dry food bag, a thick wool felt, and even a simple hand-painted map, which should have been left to me by the monkey.I became anxious. At that time, Aunt Song only brought two pieces of wool felt, and the monkey and I covered one together along the way.Now that he has left it to me, he still wants to continue walking up the snow-capped mountains. Isn’t that courting death? I hurried out of the cave, but I didn't know where to go.I looked around, at the foot of the mountain, there was a layer of mist floating on the grassland, and the dewdrops sprinkled on the top of the grass. It was white, and it seemed to be covered with a layer of snow from a distance; The mountain was covered with a thick layer of snow, and it really turned into a big snow mountain.The climate on this grassland is really changeable. It was fine yesterday afternoon. Unexpectedly, there was a heavy snowfall on the mountain last night, but there was not a single snowflake on the mountain.Now this big mountain is covered with heavy snow, wet and slippery, and the top of the snowy mountain is shrouded in white mist, who knows where this dead monkey has gone! Dead Face also came over, stood side by side with me, squinted at Daxue Mountain, and said, "You don't have to worry about him, your friend's life is much harder than yours." I'm furious, my mother's dead face will make sarcastic remarks from the sidelines!I insisted on finding the monkey, but Dead Face held me back and told me not to drag others down even if I was in a hurry to die.He took out a bottle of white wine and some beef jerky from the package left by the monkey, let me drink a few sips of the wine first, and then eat some dry food.After drinking the hot white wine and beef jerky, I gradually calmed down. A layer of sweat broke out on my body, and I felt a little more comfortable.After eating, I still couldn't help telling Dead Face what happened at the foot of Taihang Mountain, and finally asked him: "Why did the Educated Youth Office say that they didn't send anyone to Shanghe Village? Did I meet someone on the ancient Yellow River road in Taihang Mountain?" You? Why did my father say that you came out of the abyss cauldron?" I thought that Dead Face would pretend to be stupid, or continue to say some inexplicable words, but unexpectedly he looked at me and smiled happily.His poker-like face really rarely smiled, and even when he smiled, it was a sneer.At this time, I saw that my heart was up and down, and I didn't know what this kid meant. Unexpectedly, after he finished laughing, he analyzed several possibilities for me in a serious manner. The first possibility is that the last trip to Shanghe Village was actually arranged by him.The Yellow River ghost cave, the abyss cauldron, etc. are all blindfolds arranged by him.Not only that, he was also the person I met on the ancient Yellow River road under Taihang Mountain and in the Turtle Burial City.He knows my every move, and he is everywhere, always by my side. The second possibility is that I have never been to Shanghe Village, nor have I been to the Yellow River Ancient Trail in Taihang Mountains.I had terrible hallucinations, and those experiences were all imagined by me, including the monkey, Huang Xiaoli, and even him, which didn't actually exist. The third possibility is that everyone is lying to me because the truth is so horrible that I can't accept it, and it's for my own good. He looked at me seriously: "Which one would you like to choose?" I dare not answer, I am afraid that it is difficult for me to accept any possibility, but it is also difficult for me to refute these possibilities mentioned by Dead Face. The dead face pressed my shoulder and said: "No matter what the reason is, until you understand that person's intentions, you'd better keep this situation. Don't get in or get out easily." I looked at him and he looked at me seriously. I nodded heavily.Looking at it now, I don't know how big the situation behind this incident is, and what terrifying conspiracy is hidden.If it was all one inning, it would be the biggest in history.It takes the Yellow River as the line, and it has been laid out hundreds of years ago, or even thousands of years ago, and I am afraid that it hides a big secret. I thought about it for a while, and the atmosphere became more serious.I broke the deadlock and pretended to ask him unintentionally, "By the way, why are you here?" Dead Face asked me back, "Why are you here?" I shook my head self-deprecatingly, and smiled.Why do I come here, who can tell? Dead Face walked a few steps outside, looked at the vast white grassland outside, and said flatly: "Someone made such a big game, of course it's only interesting if someone comes to break it." I was surprised: "No way? Are you here to break the game?" Dead Face said, "What do you think?" I said, "I think it's... no, no, and it's not..." Well, my mind is in a mess, and I don't know what the hell is going on. The dead face smiled, with an inscrutable smile, without saying yes or no, and began to walk out slowly. Looking at his weird smile, I don't know if this kid is joking or what he means.He is a very strange person, as if he has experienced many things and has no interest in anything.No matter how mysterious things are, in his eyes, they are like trivial matters, which can be solved with a wave of his hand.But he is usually very cold, even indifferent, basically ignoring other people's difficulties, and always looks down on others.Sometimes, I even have an illusion that he is like a person watching a show off the stage, admiring other people's performance leisurely.He knew exactly what was going to happen next, and he knew what danger they would encounter, but he just didn't say anything, but kept a distance from the people in the situation, appearing weird and indifferent. Fortunately, although he has a strange personality and hides his head and shows his tail, he treats me well and has saved me many times along the way.I really had no reason to lose my temper with him, so I couldn't help sighing: "Each of you came here for your own purpose. Only I, like a fucking fool, ran around behind your ass without knowing it what are you doing!" Dead Face said with some sarcasm: "Maybe they have been running behind your ass!" I don't know what he meant by this sentence, but when I was about to ask him, he stood up and walked out: "Let's go, everyone has their own way of life, this is what you call fate." I raised my middle finger behind his back, and cursed bitterly in my heart: "Damn, my fate is to meet you! Go to his mother's fate!" Dead Face didn't come by himself, there was a Tibetan outside, leading a mule, waiting for him on the mountain.Dead Face gave a brief introduction, saying that he is a local Tibetan guide named Raba.This time he came to the snow mountain with Laba to explore the road, but he picked me up by chance. It seems that this time is really not suitable for going up the mountain, and his luck is too bad.Laba couldn't speak Chinese, so he smiled at me vigorously and gestured with "ohh" and "ohhh".Fortunately, Dead Face is so talented that he can even speak Tibetan.He and Raba said a few words briefly, and asked Raba to take us up the mountain to see if we could find the monkey going to the snow mountain. Raba looked worriedly at the sky, and then squinted at the white mist lingering on the top of the mountain, looking very worried.He chatted with Dead Face for a long time, probably saying that the current weather is not suitable for going up the mountain.可是死人脸根本不为所动，摆出那副死人面孔，径自往山上走。拉巴没办法，只好垂头丧气地牵着骡子，带着我们绕着雪山走了一圈，找到了一条地势平缓的地段，开始往山上走。 山脚下的积雪大多化了，并不很难走。我们又往上爬了几百米，积雪越来越厚，岩石上覆盖着一层厚厚的积雪，脚踩上去，又湿又滑。我滑倒了好几次，还有一次差点儿从山上滚下去，还好有后面的拉巴把我拉住了。向上看看，虽然走了很远的路，但是离山顶还很远。山上白茫茫一片，已经分不清楚雪线在哪里。如果这次要爬过雪线，那实在太可怕了。雪线上存着厚厚的坚硬的积雪，有些甚至已经有上万年的历史，用冰镐使劲儿敲下去，可能只留下一个白点，冻得像铁一样硬。现在虽然没到雪线上，但是山腰上的气温也不高，黑压压的云压得很低，不知道山上还会不会下雪。风像刀子一样往脖子、脸上刺来，我的两只手被冻成了胡萝卜，几乎连登山杖都拿不住了。但是为了寻找猴子，我也不好说离开，一面诅咒着天杀的猴子，一面又怕他出事。 到了雪线上，我们开始分头搜索。不一会儿，拉巴就手舞足蹈地嚷嚷起来，招呼我们过去。原来这里刚下过一场雪，厚厚的雪壳上还有一层积雪，很容易留下痕迹。 在雪地上清晰地印着一排脚印，我比了比，脚印和我的差不多大，应该是猴子的。这行脚印很明显，深深浅浅地一直朝山上延伸，一直到视线尽头。 我仔细找了找，始终没有找到宋姨的脚印。这让我很疑惑，猴子为什么会一个人跑到雪山上？宋姨为什么没跟他去？那她又去了哪里？我叫着死人脸，想和他商量了一下，要不要跟着脚印走，看看能否找到猴子。他却根本不理睬我，自顾自地往前走。我也赶紧跟上，趁着这个灾星在，赶紧找到猴子是正经。 走了一段路后，前面的脚印开始变得凌乱，歪歪扭扭。这说明猴子已经体力不支，身体已经渐渐控制不住，随时可能跌倒。 我很着急，在草原上奔波了这么多天，猴子的身体已经很差了。加上他把吃的都留给了我，还走了这么远的山路，身体坚持不了多久，可能随时都会倒下。 又走了一会儿，我觉得有些不对，猴子的脚印又发生了变化。 他的脚印本来是一直朝着山上走，虽然到了后面有点儿歪歪扭扭的，但是路线很明确，就是要上雪山。但是在这里，他的脚印突然变了个方向，开始朝着悬崖的方向走。脚印也越来越浅，有的只剩下前半个脚印，步距也开始变大，朝着悬崖走过去。 我愣住了：“猴子是不是体力不支了？” 死人脸眯起眼，看着远处的悬崖，淡淡地说：“他在逃命，吓得连方向都顾不上了。” 我吓了一跳，回想猴子的脚印突然变浅，步距也越来越大，确实像是受到了惊吓，拼命往前跑，连方向都顾不上了。在这半山腰上，又会有什么危险呢？我向四下里看看，周围皆是厚厚的积雪，雪线下连个人影都看不到，整个雪山安静得连呼吸的声音都没有。越是安静，才越显得这片雪山中危机四伏。这些厚厚的积雪中，还不知道隐藏着什么怪物。 我的心里乱糟糟的，猴子到底遇到了什么，让他吓得连方向都顾不上了？ 我急忙朝着猴子的方向走，向导拉巴却拉住了我，面色恐惧地看着悬崖那边，哇哇叫着。 死人脸说：“拉巴说那个悬崖是魔窟，住着吃人的妖怪，不能去。” 我说：“不行，我要去找猴子！” 拉巴继续哇哇叫着，手舞足蹈，作出了好多奇怪的姿势，好像是在描述那个魔鬼有多可怕。最后他俯身跪在地上，朝着悬崖方向虔诚叩拜着。 死人脸看了看拉巴，跟他用藏语简单说了几句，对我说：“走。” 我问：“拉巴不去吗？” 死人脸说：“有我就够了。” 我感激地看了看他，也没说什么，忙小心翼翼地跟他走了过去。 猴子明显是在这里遇到了危险，不知道他遇到的是不是拉巴所说的雪山魔鬼。我有点儿紧张，不过死人脸好像丝毫不在意，依旧很快地向前走着。我也安了心，紧紧跟在他的身后。 又走了一会儿，我们发现前面有一处乱糟糟的雪坑，看来是猴子摔倒在了地上。但是接下来，猴子的脚印就让我看不懂了。 不仅是我，连死人脸都一下子愣住了。 因为，猴子的脚印就到这里，再也没有了。 我左右找了找，周围的雪地平平整整，一点儿被破坏的痕迹都没有。 确确实实，猴子凌乱的脚印在这里完完全全消失了。What exactly is going on?难不成猴子突然消失了？ 我焦急地到处找着，想看看能否发现猴子的踪迹。走着走着，脚下突然踏空了，身子一下子跌了下去，狠狠摔到了一个雪坑中，摔得我头昏脑涨。还好雪坑虽然挺深，但底下积了不少雪，人没被摔伤，只是上不去了。我喊了几声死人脸，仔细看看这个大雪坑。雪坑差不多有五六米深，下面估计能有一间房子那么大，不知道是怎么形成的。我也有些奇怪，雪山那么高，下面几乎全是坚硬的寒冰和岩石，怎么会突然冒出来这样一个雪坑？猴子的脚印突然间消失了，难道他也是落到这种雪洞里了吗？ 我还想四处看看，死人脸却抛下一圈牛毛绳，在上面瓮声瓮气地叫我，让我别乱动，抓住绳子，他拉我上去。我答应一声，把绳子在腰上缠了几圈，喊了一声，让死人脸拉我上去。绳子很快被拉了上去，我两手紧攥着绳子，同时两只脚使劲儿地蹬在雪坑壁上。在蹬掉了一块块积雪之后，雪坑壁终于露出了里面的坚冰。奇怪的是，那些坚冰中好似包裹着什么东西，黑糊糊的一块。由于雪坑里的光线太暗，一时之间我也看不清楚。 我怕是猴子被裹进了寒冰里，忙大喊了一声，让死人脸先停下，用手使劲儿扒开身边的积雪。那黑糊糊的东西很大，显然不是猴子，模模糊糊，看起来倒像是艘破船什么的。 我这才放了心，换了个角度，借着外面的光线仔细一看，却一下子愣住了，紧接着浑身一片冰冷，血液都仿佛在一瞬间凝固了。 在那雪坑的岩壁上，是一块巨大的坚冰。坚冰不知道已经有多少年了，冻了一层又一层，布满了一道道饱经风霜的花纹。在这块巨大的厚厚的冰块中，包裹着一个巨大的黑色物体，那竟然是一个巨大的怪物！ 那怪物实在太大，在我这里只能看到一个部位，应该是它的爪子。它的爪子朝着外面伸出来，粗糙、锋利，看起来仿佛随时要破冰出来一样，却被永远凝固在那个瞬间了。 这个发现让我大吃一惊，这冰壳中怎么会封有这样的怪物？这个怪物又是什么？我差点儿摔下去，使劲儿摇动着绳子喊着：“死人脸！死人脸！” 死人脸冷哼一声：“什么？” 我说：“冰下面……有东西！” 死人脸问：“什么东西？” 我说：“看不清楚，好像是个什么东西的爪子。” 死人脸愣了一下，然后说：“你别管它了，快点儿上来！” 我有些不甘心，想着反正它已经死了，索性看看它到底什么样吧。我快速扒开冰上的积雪，露出了那个怪物身体的其他部位，敷衍着死人脸说：“再等等，马上就能看到它完整的样子了。” 一向冷静的死人脸却催我：“别动它，你快上来！” 见他难得这样谨慎地说话，我只好答应着，手下却没停。我推开最后一块积雪，一截完整的怪物肢体终于暴露在了我的眼前。那是一截毛茸茸的手臂，大约有十几米长，两米多宽，上面覆盖着一层厚厚的鳞甲，有着尖尖的爪子。古怪的是，在这只毛茸茸的手臂上，竟然还绑着一根手臂般粗的铁链。铁链不断往下延伸着，不知道一直通向哪里。 我倒吸了一口冷气，挖了那么久，原来这竟然只是一截断臂而已。那这具完整的古生物，到底有多大呢？ 死人脸听我说在下面发现了一截巨大的断臂，命令我马上上去，一点儿回旋余地都没有。 他突然严肃起来，也让我觉得大事不妙，赶紧听他的意见，拽紧了绳子，开始往上爬。 我蹬着雪坑壁，手脚并用，又往上爬了几步。雪块被我蹬掉，大块大块滚进雪坑里。我爬了一半，突然觉得周围有些不对劲儿。 这种感觉很奇妙，就像是周围有人死死盯住你，并发出了一声沉重的叹息，但是你就是看不到他。 我叫了一声“停”，又在雪坑四周仔细看了看。那巨大的坚冰里，除了那截巨大的手臂外，并没有什么异常。但我还是觉得周围很压抑，仿佛时间都凝固了一样。 我有些冲动，想下去看看。但是死人脸在上面催我，让我赶紧上去，不然就来不及了。 死人脸很少用这样严肃的口气跟我说话，我不得不听，也不敢耽误，忙抓紧绳子，叫了一声：“走！”死人脸一截一截地将我提了上来。 就在我被拉离雪坑的一瞬间，我突然觉得雪坑下有一个影子闪了一下。接着我就看见那截巨大的断臂旁突然出现了一副大得惊人的面孔，那双血红的眼睛死死盯住了我。 我大惊失色，叫道：“脸！脸！” 死人脸猛然一发力，将我从雪坑中拉了出来。 我扑倒在雪中，一时间惊得说不出话来，只朝他比画着：“脸！脸！” 死人脸却像早知道雪坑下有什么一样，什么都没问，拉着我就往外跑。我不知道那雪坑下面到底是什么，但肯定是一个非常邪门的东西，便也跟在他身后拼命跑。 只听见身后传来一阵咔嚓咔嚓仿佛破冰的声音，好像下面有什么东西钻出来了。我头也不敢回，甩开两条腿一直跑到山坡处，看见拉巴在那儿紧张地守着牦牛。见我们跑回来，他哇哇喊了几声，也牵着牦牛跟着我们拼命跑。几个人跑到山下，累得心脏几乎要跳出来了。 高原氧气不足，稍微急走几步，氧气就有些跟不上。这样跑了一会儿，别说是我，连藏民拉巴都累得蹲在地上上气不接下气，差点儿把喉咙给咳破了。只有死人脸还像没事人一样，依然稳稳站在那里，朝山顶看着。 在下山的路上，我一直想着冰下那张可怕的面孔。那张面孔虽然很大很恐怖，但是确确实实是一张人的面孔。 只是，人又怎么会有那么大的面孔，又怎么会被封在坚冰之下呢？那个突然出现的“人”，他是否还活着？还有，失踪的猴子又去了哪里？ 我心里乱成一片，一路上不停催问着死人脸。他却看着皑皑的雪山，眼神有些古怪，过了好久才说，封在冰下的那个东西并不是人。 我说：“不是人怎么还长着人脸？” 死人脸冷笑着：“很多像人的东西，都不是人。” 我说：“那你怎么能肯定它不是人？” 死人脸淡淡地说：“我见过它。” 我一愣，死人脸竟然见过冰下那个人不人鬼不鬼的东西，难怪他当时那么着急。我又问他那东西到底是什么，他却又不肯开口了。 最后，我问他猴子怎么办，是不是失踪了。 死人脸说：“你不用担心他。” 我听他还是满不在乎的口气，顿时气急了，转身就要上山。 死人脸却在后面淡淡地说：“你那个朋友可比你精明多了，他不会有事的。如果猜得不错的话，他现在应该已经和他们会合了。” 我有些不明白：“他们又是谁？” 死人脸看着高远的雪山，淡淡地说：“在你们来之前，还有一支队伍已经进入了雪山，猴子应该和他们会合了。” 我这才松了一口气，说：“那太好了，咱们赶紧去找那队伍吧！” 死人脸冷笑着：“这支队伍，你不用找，他们自然会来找我们。” 我不明白了：“找我们？” 死人脸点点头：“对，他们一定会来。” 我问：“他们为什么一定会来？” 死人脸古怪地微笑着，说：“因为有许多故人。” “许多故人？”我还想问什么，他却淡淡地说了句“回去吧”，转身走了。在回去的路上，死人脸又一次恢复了从前的石化状态。无论我怎么追问，他都再没有吐出来半个字。