Chapter 13 Chapter Ten The Third Team

I finally entered the Daxue Mountain, thinking about the unknown journey ahead and the dead brothers, I was a little excited and a little sad.After the Giant Eagle battle, there were only a dozen or so people left in the team.Before going up the mountain, Jinsi glasses asked people to pack all their luggage in a few leather bags, which were also brought up by the giant eagle.Now there are so many fewer people and more equipment. It was gradually getting late, and everyone briefly inspected the mountain, and found that although there were many bones piled up here, it was an empty small valley, and there was no sign of wild animals.And Scarface also said that since this is the lair of the giant eagle, no other beasts would dare to break into it.Instead, we need to light more bonfires to prevent other giant eagles from attacking.

Since the discovery of the hairpin, Jinsi glasses has been restless, searching the valley repeatedly.I can understand his mood. Since Aunt Song's hairpin fell here, it means she must have been here.If not here, where could she go?Although I don't want to admit it, the fact is like this. If there is no such thing as a secret passage here, I'm afraid she has already encountered an accident. There was no firewood in the valley, so Scarface tore down a few tents with his own hands, poured a little kerosene on them, and the bonfire burned brightly.A few giant eagles were dragged by the rake, and they were roasted on the campfire, and everyone shared the food.When I thought about how many people these giant eagles had eaten, I was so disgusted that I refused to eat eagle meat, so I honestly hid aside and ate dried yaks.I breathed the unique cold air on the snow-capped mountains, and looked at the stars in the clean sky, but I was not interested.

Scarface came over with a bottle of wine, sat down beside me, didn't speak, just handed me the bottle.I didn't say anything, and the two of them handed each other the wine bottle, and the half bottle was empty after a while. Scarface lay on the ground with his hands on his pillow and looked at the starry sky, feeling a little emotional, saying that he liked to lie on a wooden house and watch the stars when he was a child.It's the same with the pimple, the sky looks like it has been washed, it's blue and blue, and the stars are fucking like wolf eyes! I didn't speak, just looked at the night sky quietly.The snow-capped mountains under the night sky are otherworldly, like a fairyland.After a long time, Scarface suddenly sighed, propped himself up on his arms, and said to me with a mouthful of alcohol: "Xiucai, you really shouldn't have come up with us!" I laughed: "If I didn't come up, I would have been killed The snake bit me to death." Scarface said seriously: "It's better to be killed than to be here." I said, "Ah, it's better to be dead than alive?" Scarface smiled wryly: "Sometimes, this person It’s not easy to die!” He raised his neck and drank the rest of the wine in one gulp, as if he had made a decision, and said to me in a low voice: “Xiu Cai, be careful, brother!” I said: “ It's okay, he probably won't strangle me again." Scarface sneered: "Hey! What do you know! Our brothers have been with him for almost ten years, and they are dead." I was puzzled: " Aren’t those brothers killed by the giant eagle?” Scarface sneered: “It’s the elder brother! The pills that the elder brother gave them were poisonous, and the giant eagle ate those people’s intestines and stomachs before they were poisoned to death!”

Only then did I suddenly realize that it was no wonder that after those people rushed out of the cowhide, they turned around one by one, as if they were drunk; it was no wonder that those extremely fierce giant eagles died one after another in just a few minutes-it turned out that the gold-rimmed glasses He actually used such a ruthless trick, using his brother as poison bait to poison the giant eagle to death.No wonder the scarred face is chilling! Seeing the dejected look on Scar's face, I also felt a little emotional. I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn't find anything to say, so I froze there for a while.Recalling again, when I was about to swallow the poison bait, Professor Xie specifically reminded me not to let me swallow it.Did he know the pill was poisonous from the beginning?

After thinking about it, I got up and looked for Professor Xie.Things have developed to this point, and I don't want to hide it anymore.I just wanted to ask him directly, what is going on?What is their purpose in coming to the snow mountain?Why does he have such an old photo with the abyss cauldron as the background in his hand? Professor Xie also stayed away from those noisy people. He got some diesel oil and poured it on a sunken stone, twisted a wick with cotton thread, made a simple oil lamp, and was carefully taking notes under the lamp.Seeing me coming, he got up and let me sit down, and kindly asked me if I was not injured this time.I felt uncomfortable, and I didn't say anything polite to him, but directly threw out the question, thinking that he probably wouldn't answer.Unexpectedly, after thinking about it for a while, he actually told me the whole story.

He said: "I still remember what I told you last time. My surname is Xie. My ancestral home is in Anyang, Henan Province. I am a descendant of the prominent Xie An family. The power spread all over the country. Later, when the Manchu Tartars entered the customs, some old people in the Xie family relocated a large part of the family’s power overseas because they were disdainful of the Han people being seized power. Even more powerful. "Actually speaking, nobles like our family who have been passed down for dozens of generations will never like common things such as wealth and sex. They all have some special hobbies. For example, some people like to collect antiques, some like to collect beauties, and some like to collect All kinds of gold coins. The ancestors of our branch have a strange hobby, like collecting big turtle shells, the bigger the better, the weirder the better."

I was a little curious, and asked him why his ancestors were so keen on collecting big tortoise shells, was it because of oracle bone inscriptions? Professor Xie turned to me and asked me: "Xiaobai, what do you think of the nobles in ancient times?" I said: "According to the book, the nobles in ancient times were people who did not work hard and were ignorant... Well, of course, Professor Xie, of course you are not..." Professor Xie waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's okay, the society really views us big families like this." He looked at the dark green sky and said slowly, "But I want to correct this mistake. In China Among the people, there is a very absurd view that the children of famous families are stupid and stupid, ignorant and incompetent. This is wrong. The children of real aristocratic families are actually very particular about inheritance. Almost every generation will have champions or military generals. After the Manchurian Tartars entered the customs, the Xie family moved out and developed many industries overseas. These are the connections and roots passed down by the family. They are so huge that they are unimaginable. They are not just any party. A regime can be shaken. Think about it, many nobles in Europe have declined, but many nouveau riche still desperately want to marry them. Why? It is because these ancient nobles inherit not only money, but more importantly, family accumulation The secret culture that has been cultivated for centuries. These things are absolutely incomparable to nouveau riche, and they cannot be bought with money.”

He asked, "Xiaobai, who do you think is the biggest noble in each dynasty?" I was stopped by him and asked, "Who is it?" Professor Xie smiled: "It's the emperor!" I also suddenly realized that indeed, the emperor is the biggest nobleman in every dynasty. Professor Xie said: "Since Qin Shihuang, emperors of all dynasties in China have been keen to find the elixir. Do you know why?" I shook my head and said: "The emperor enjoys all the glory and wealth, of course he wants to die. Anyway, the power is overwhelming, so let's be a dead horse as a living horse doctor!"

Professor Xie said: "No. What I want to say is that the crown prince was taught by the most knowledgeable people as soon as he was born. Any dynasty attaches great importance to the crown prince's teaching. If the crown prince does not study hard, he will not only be punished, but may even be the emperor in the future. I can't even keep it. Think about it, how could an emperor who has been educated so strictly spend a lot of time trying to catch wind and shadows?" I thought about it, and it was the same reason, so I asked him why. He said: "In our ancestors of the Xie family, there has been a saying that the reason why Qin Shihuang sent boys and girls to the east to find the elixir was because a strange thing happened that year. After Qin Shihuang ascended the throne, he went to Mount Tai to worship. At that time, a giant white tortoise floated from the shore of the Bohai Sea. The giant tortoise was tens of feet long, and its armor was as hard as iron, with strange characters carved on it. The strangest thing was that it was tied with an iron chain The dead body. The old man with white hair and childlike face has been dead for a long time, but his body is not rotten, and his complexion is still lifelike. Later, Qin Shihuang widely distributed the emperor's list, looking for an expert to decipher the text on the turtle armor. Later, a group of the most learned Confucian scholars gathered and deciphered the text. The general idea is that this giant turtle was adopted by an overseas alchemy master when it was the size of a palm. The master lived alone for hundreds of years, and finally couldn't bear the loneliness, so he tied himself to the turtle armor, hoping that the giant turtle could carry himself Returning to the homeland. Later, Qin Shihuang sent people to find the elixir. In order not to leak the secret, he burned all the notes of the Confucian scholars and buried them alive. This is what later generations call burning books and burying Confucian scholars. .”

I didn't take it seriously in my heart. Could it be that Professor Xie would believe such an Arabian Nights story?I carefully worded my words: "Professor Xie, isn't this incident...a bit too legendary?" Professor Xie nodded: "I understand what you mean. This incident is indeed very similar to a folklore, and it is unbelievable. But I I want to tell you that everyone in our Xie family believes it, including me." I didn't understand: "Why?" Professor Xie tapped his finger on the stone wall and said, "You forgot that we What is Zhi Zu’s favorite collection?" "Big tortoise shell." I was taken aback, and said in surprise: "Ah, could it be that the big white tortoise shell—" Professor Xie nodded: "Indeed, later on that big white tortoise shell By chance, it was collected by our ancestors of the Xie family, and it is still in the hands of the overseas descendants of the Xie family."

I was so excited that I stood up all of a sudden, and couldn't help walking back and forth a few steps there.Once this story comes true, it will be a shocking event!I originally wanted to ask Professor Xie what was recorded on the big white tortoise shell, and who was that old man, but I endured the words.Now is not the time to ask these questions. After thinking about it for a long time, I returned to the original question: Why did Professor Xie come here? Professor Xie said, "Remember the big white turtle shell you gave me earlier?" I nodded.Of course I remember this, it was dug out by me and the monkey from a coffin in the Dragon Cave of the Yellow River.Professor Xie nodded and said: "Our ancestors collected large tortoise shells, and I know a little bit about it. You know, there are very few white tortoises in this world, because there is no such species as white tortoises in this world. No one knows. Where did the white tortoise come from? I don’t even know whether this kind of thing really exists, or it only exists in ancient books. You must know that in ancient times, the white tortoise was called a sacred object and was deified. According to ancient books, After the human ancestor Fuxi established his capital in Huaiyang, he got a rare white tortoise from Caishui, looked at it day and night, and finally got the inspiration from the pattern on its back, and then drew the picture of innate gossip. Although we have a big white tortoise in the Xie family collection Shell, but that thing is too precious, I only heard about it, but never saw it in person. I was shocked when I saw your white tortoise shell. I studied ancient religious culture, and I also did some research on ancient characters. At that time, I I wondered if the pattern on the white tortoise shell was an ancient writing. So I asked you later, where was the white tortoise shell excavated from.” Indeed, Professor Xie was a little excited when he saw the white tortoise shell , asked us where the tortoise shell was excavated, and if there was anything else.As a result, the monkey said that there was a dragon tied up with an iron chain. After hearing this, Professor Xie hurried away with the white tortoise shell. Professor Xie felt a little embarrassed when he said this, and said: "This white tortoise shell is indeed very precious. I wanted it so much at the time, but I was afraid that you would not give it to me after knowing its value, so I didn't tell you..." He hurriedly said: "It's okay, it's okay. If you didn't find out, I might have been thrown into the Yellow River." Professor Xie said: "After I went back, I studied it carefully and found that those patterns seemed to grow naturally. In fact, there is still a difference." I hurriedly asked what was the difference. Professor Xie said: "Look, in the ancient books, the white turtle was deified, and the five elements, eight trigrams, heavenly stems and earthly branches were placed on its head. It is said that its carapace is covered with five pieces of carapace in the center, which symbolizes the gold of the 'five elements'. , wood, water, fire, and earth; there are eight pieces along the five shells, which symbolize the eight trigrams of Qian, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Kun, and Dui; there are twenty-four pieces on the edge of the tortoise shell One piece of hard shell symbolizes the twenty-four solar terms; the twelve tortoise shells at the bottom of the abdomen represent Zi, Chou, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu, and Hai." I heard him talk like a cloud. , finally finished listening, and asked him: "Professor Xie, what is going on on the white tortoise shell?" But I suspect that these are not formed naturally, but carved by people." I said, "Carved?" Professor Xie nodded and said, "Yes, I didn't pay attention to these at first. Once, when I was cleaning the turtle shell by the Yellow River, I found that after the turtle shell was immersed in the water, after the refraction of light and water flow, a line of snake-like patterns would appear, twisting and twisting. I suspect that this should be an ancient Word." "Snake-shaped characters?" I was so dizzy, I felt like I had seen it somewhere, but I couldn't remember it for a while.Professor Xie got up and opened his work diary and showed it to me.On one page of the diary, there are strange patterns drawn, which really look like little twisting snakes. It looks very awkward, but it feels very familiar to me. Professor Xie showed it to me, closed the notebook, and said: "Thirty years ago, I came here with a Yellow River expedition team, and found a very mysterious place under the Daxue Mountain. There is a tall stone tablet standing under it. , such strange serpentine characters are engraved on the stele. It is also for this reason that I am willing to join this team this time and once again break into the Daxue Mountain." Professor Xie has indeed been here, but his statement is not the same as that of the knife. Scarface is different.Scarface said that Professor Xie took the initiative to find them, and they came here all the way.And judging from Professor Xie's current tone, he should have joined the team passively and came here as a last resort.Of course, I can't check with Professor Xie about this kind of thing, I can only think about it in my head, I don't know who lied to me.However, Professor Xie said that a Yellow River exploration team came here 30 years ago, which aroused my interest, because that Yellow River exploration team is probably the one in the photo.If Professor Xie had really joined that exploration team back then, many of my problems might have been solved.I asked him excitedly: "Professor Xie, what did the team come here thirty years ago?" I have made an oath, and I will never let this matter out. I hope you can understand." I was very frustrated, mother, seeing that I finally had some clues, but I was suppressed by his words.I asked him roundabout: "Professor Xie, can you tell me, who are the expedition members?" Professor Xie sighed and said, "Sorry, Xiaobai, don't say I don't know, even if I I know, but I can’t tell you. Let me tell you the truth, the expedition team was assembled suddenly. Everyone came from all over the world, and there were people from all walks of life, and everyone’s information must be kept strictly confidential. Everyone is independent. I am only responsible for my own part, and I am not allowed to inquire about other people's information. So until now, I don't know who the members of the last exploration team were, or even what the target of the operation was. People mysteriously disappeared every day, and Every day we change people to lead us to move forward. I don’t know where we ended up, I just remember that someone took me to see a stone tablet and asked me to study the words on the stone tablet..." I opened my mouth in disappointment. It seems that what happened to the mysterious Yellow River exploration team in Daxue Mountain 30 years ago, and what they were looking for, I am afraid that I will never know.But not necessarily, maybe Aunt Song would know something, and the monkey should know something too.That's why they broke into Daxue Mountain desperately this time, and continued to search for that thing.Seeing that I hadn't spoken for a long time, Professor Xie pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind to speak, and said, "I can't say anything else, I can only say one thing. In our current team, there are members of the exploration team from thirty years ago. .” I was taken aback, the first thing that came to my mind was the dead face, and then the gold-rimmed glasses.Besides the two of them, who else might have been here?But no matter how I asked, Professor Xie was unwilling to utter a single word, waved his hand and said that it was late, and asked me to go back and rest quickly. I walked back on the way back, still thinking wildly in my mind.Thinking about it, I was suddenly taken aback.Damn, I finally remembered where I've seen these little serpentines!It was in the abyss under Taihang Mountain, where six big tripods were suspended with thick iron chains, and such strange patterns were carved on the big tripods!And, also, the white stone that grandpa often looks at, from a certain angle, you can also see twisted small snake patterns like this! Professor Xie said that he had also seen such strange snake-shaped characters in the Daxue Mountain.In this way, this kind of serpentine characters appeared in several places, namely Sanmenxia Ghost Cave, Taihang Mountain Dragon Cave, Zoige Daxue Mountain, and appeared on the ancient tripod, the big white turtle shell, and the stone tablet under the Daxue Mountain.Another one is the white stone in our house. I don’t know where my grandfather found it. Thinking about it again, I was first confused and involved in the mysterious educated youth team in Sanmenxia, ​​then I went to the Taihang Mountain Yellow River Expedition Team with the monkey for no reason, and now I followed Dead Face and the others to Zoige Snow Mountain.If there is any connection among them, I am afraid that this kind of weird snake-shaped writing was found in these places.Is there any connection between these things?Could it be that the few times I participated in the expedition in a daze, and the trip to Ruoergai Snow Mountain, were all secretly arranged by someone?If this is the case, this force is really too powerful, it knows almost everything about me—my family, my friends—and it has infiltrated every power center, and can easily control everything. Thinking about it again, it seems that there are dead faces involved in these places.Needless to say, Sanmenxia; that night when the camp was bombed at the foot of the Taihang Mountains, I clearly saw him walk into the water; and this time, after I got separated from the monkeys, he suddenly appeared mysteriously and asked me to join their team, which made me feel like a coincidence incredible.Could it be that all of this is really like Dead Face said, and he is the manipulator behind the scenes?