Chapter 17 Chapter 15 Badain Jaran

The jeep was speeding through the Populus euphratica forest on the edge of Badain Jaran, at noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the dust raised by the jeep ahead was flying all over the sky. The Badain Jaran Desert is located on the Alxa Plateau in western Inner Mongolia. It is a plateau desert. The sand dunes are extremely mobile. It is said that most of the sand dunes are mobile sand dunes, and sand blowing is very frequent. Wu Xie, Wang Meng, Li Cu and another man named Marila were in the same jeep.Li Cu felt that there could be many explanations for the name of Marira, some of which were quite amusing.

Along the way, Wu Xie started to talk about some things, and told Li Cu some information he should know.For example, in this team, Wu Xie used the pseudonym Guan Gen, and he pretended to be a travel writer, while Li Cu was his photography assistant.Wang Meng used his real name as his life assistant.Ma Rila is a translator who is responsible for communicating with other people. Ma Rila is a Mongolian and can speak several local dialects. They set off from Beijing, and after the plane landed, they changed cars. There were three cars in total. In the car in front of them were several professors from the Department of Archeology and their students, and in the car behind them were the joint investors of the expedition team. people.Before the three vehicles there was an assistance vehicle of the local forces.The convoy of four vehicles has now entered the government's jurisdiction. This is the Populus euphratica protected area, and others cannot come in at will.

They will not drive directly to the destination, because the outer edge of the destination is surrounded by a large number of huge sand dunes.They needed to find the camels at the former military depot. Li Cuo had heard from the soldiers that the camels were ready. Wang Meng read some basic knowledge to them along the way, and he didn't know which broken webpage he collected from the Internet.He said that Badain Jaran is characterized by tall sand dunes, generally as high as 200 to 300 meters, and the highest peak of Wuzhumu is 528 meters high. It is the desert with the highest sand dunes in the world.There are more than 140 small inland lakes distributed among the tall sand dunes, which are called Haizi by the locals.Most of Haizi is salt water, but there is also fresh water, which is very rare, and this Li Cuo is puzzled.There are a large number of swampy meadows and saline meadows around Haizi. These low green lands are important grazing spots and settlements for herdsmen.

Most of the herders are Erut Mongols, which is a fairly ancient nation.Badain is the name of the discoverer of the desert. When Badain entered the desert, he found sixty seas. Jilin means sixty in Mongolian, so later generations named the desert after "Badain Jaran". Haizi here is a miraculous landscape. In many cases, the sight of travelers is blocked by sand mountains, so when they turn over the sand dunes and see Haizi surrounded by sand mountains, the water surface is actually blue. Many people think that they are Saw a mirage.Even in the sandstorm season, the sky is full of dust in the sandstorm, and the sea surrounded by sand is still crystal clear and will not be buried by the sand.

Many people should have seen a picture in the Microsoft operating system. The sand hills formed by the wind blowing and flying sand are undulating and patchwork. Under the light of different color temperatures, they show light yellow, orange and fiery red color blocks, which are colorful and dazzling.And the wave-like smooth sand patterns, under the action of light and shadow, change into various beautiful patterns, some are like flying apsaras in Dunhuang, some are like Egyptian pyramids, some are like human figures and Buddha faces, some are like birds and beasts, and some are like birds and beasts. Some are figurative, some are abstract, like a large-scale art exhibition of various genres.Among them, Miaozihai, Nuoertu and the surrounding sand mountains in the hinterland are considered to be the most magical and beautiful (this description comes from the Internet).

But the place they were going to called Gutongjing seemed to have nothing to do with these.Gutongjing is said to be a very strange area, which is regarded by the local Erut Mongols as "the place where the devil lives." According to the information Li Cu saw, the purpose of their trip was archaeological and geological investigation.Obviously, after Wu Xie asked him to pretend to be a photographer, it was very convenient for him to mix into this kind of team.This kind of plan made by this person is still very shrewd. The desert stretches as far as the eye can see, and he does not know what fate awaits him.

The dry air made the wound on Li Cu's back itchy unbearably.The strange graphics on his back, the tomb robbers mixed into the expedition team, Wu Xie's seemingly serious words made him feel inexplicable anxiety from time to time. They arrived at the military depot seven hours later, and with the help of the officers and soldiers, they organized a caravan of camels, joined by locals who helped guide the camels. When he got on the camel and walked into the sand dunes, Li Cu was so bored that he plucked up his courage for the first time and asked Wu Xie a question. "Boss, I'm obedient, let's have a chat, tell me something, why don't you come by yourself, come with this team?"

"It just so happens that such a group of people is also going to Gutongjing, and they are there for inspection, which can get considerable support from the local area. It is much more convenient for me to join their team than to act alone." Wu Xie said, "Of course I became one of them. Anyway, I know much more than them, and what I want doesn't conflict with them. It would be nice to have a care." "It's that simple?" "Not necessarily. To a large extent, what they are looking for is still somewhat related to what I am looking for. I follow them, and they also hope that I can protect them as much as possible. The place we are going is very dangerous. If something I don’t know, it’s easy to get into trouble.”

Li Cu looked at Wu Xie and felt that what he said was true.This is his intuition, but his rationality always feels that Wu Xie has reservations.Is it possible that the tomb robbers will protect the archaeological team? "I'm an antique trader, not a tomb robber. I haven't been a thief for a long time." Wu Xie said, "No matter how much wealth I have, I can't buy back what I want." He sighed as he spoke, seeming very depressed look. Then you are still tossing around like that, Li Cuoxin said, if you don’t want to be a thief, you’re just tossing around, let’s figure it out earlier and go back together.

"I didn't come here for money, you're underestimating me." Wu Xie said, "I'm looking for this place for other things." "What is it?" "I'll tell you when I'm in a good mood." Wu Xie looked at Li Cuo, and suddenly touched his back, which made him tremble with pain. "Okay, let's change the subject." Wu Xie said. "Do you have a plan? I can't take your money for nothing, and I can help you do what I can. Otherwise, I'll just walk around all day, and I'll go crazy if I don't go to Gutongjing." Li Cuo was really fast It's so boring, these people really don't say a word when they walk, don't say a word.

"My plan..." Wu Xie thought for a while, but didn't continue. He paused and said, "I'll tell you when I get to the first campsite. I can't explain clearly in a few words." After finishing speaking, Wu Xie suddenly revealed tired expression. This made Li Cu a little puzzled, he vaguely felt that this Wu Xie seemed calm and composed, but there seemed to be something pressing in his heart.Of course, with his current situation, he has no obligation to care about other people's affairs.Seeing Wu Xie speeding up and passing him on a camel, he obviously didn't want to talk to him anymore.