Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Cannibal Mural

Er Lao Taoist said that there is an ancient tomb in Laogou, and a Khitan woman’s corpse was buried there. Tomb thieves from all dynasties and dynasties inside and outside the Guan have never heard of this matter. Years ago, the Khitan and Liao Kingdom were deeply influenced by the Tang and Song dynasties, and the tombs and tombs also paid attention to Fengshui dragon veins. According to legend, Manggu, the daughter of Emperor Shizong of Liao Dynasty, was a shaman goddess who was buried in Laogou after her death. The unsurpassed murals are said to be buried with living people. At that time, this barren meadow was not so difficult to walk. It was a fertile prairie. The Khitan royal family usually chose dustpan-shaped depressions as tombs, thinking that there were walls in front of them and places to lean on in the back. The depression is a treasure land of geomantic omen, and the veins of the ancient cemetery in the old ditch are exactly the acupoints that the patriarch of the Erlaodao personally set. Khitan ancient tombs are well known.

In recent years, Er Lao Dao was so poor that he couldn’t afford to eat. Thinking of the location of the old tombs of Longmai handed down by his ancestor, he couldn’t help feeling greedy. He dug out several old tombs one after another and made some money, but not much. This time I focused on the ancient Khitan tomb in Laogouli, and I knew that there would never be fewer treasures buried in the tomb. After I got it, I wouldn't have to worry about it for the rest of my life. Although few people know about the ancient tombs in Laogou, since the end of the Qing Dynasty, there have been rumors that there are gold veins in Laogou. Many people who want money but not life listened to the rumors and went to the ditch to dig for gold. As a result, the gold veins were not found, but many people died. Not a lot.According to the survivors who survived the catastrophe, there are some very old murals in the ditch. There are people-eating things in the murals. The people who entered the cave at the bottom of the ditch were all eaten by the mural monsters. Earth ghosts are causing trouble, anyway, there are all kinds of rumors, and there are all kinds of rumors.

Er Laodao also doesn't know if these terrible legends are related to the Khitan ancient tomb, but these days, those who are bold and timid will die of starvation. Since they dare to dig graves, don't believe in evil. I can't eat this bowl of rice. This is the first time I and Sonnier have heard of the legend of cannibalism in ancient tomb murals. Back then, not many people were able to cross the meadow and enter the old ditch. Most of them died halfway, or got stuck in the mud , Let the swamp be swallowed, or feed the grass midges that infested in groups, we can't figure it out, and we are very curious. The murals are just patterns painted on the wall of the tomb, how can it be possible to eat people?

Er Laodao also heard the rumors and did not know the truth. He said: "Perhaps people think that the murals are old and strange, or the scenes depicted in the murals are very scary. People say that the murals are monsters that eat people. How can it be taken seriously? If you want to hear stories about monster paintings, the old Taoist can tell you one. In the Song Dynasty, there was an old fox by the Yellow River. A painter saw that the woman was beautiful, so he painted a picture of the beauty with a wonderful brush. The painting was almost alive. Later, the fox spirit sneaked into the palace to seduce the king. The tail of the fox was caught by the commander of the imperial forest army, and he slashed at the gate of Wuchao with a knife. After the fox died, a ray of ghosts remained, hiding in the picture of a beauty. Later, the picture of a beauty fell to the people. After burning incense and worshiping, the beauty in the painting can come down. There was a rich man who believed it was true and paid a high price to take it from the pawnshop. A ghost was killed by the ghost of the demon fox in the painting. It happened that our ancestor had walked down the street. Seeing the demonic aura in the house, people could not keep their eyes open. He went to the door with his sword and burned it down Yao Hua saved the common people."

I think what the Er Laodao said is all nonsense, but the most popular stories about ghost foxes in Northeast China are because people have seen so many cunning foxes in the deep mountains and old forests, and they can't believe it. I listened straight, but I was afraid and willing to listen, and I was still thinking about it after listening. I spent the night on the meadow that night, and I also felt that there was an extra person around me, and I was uncomfortable all over, and I didn’t know if I was thinking too much. I had several nightmares one after another, and felt that the extra person was walking back and forth , I didn't sleep well all night, I thought it was an illusion, but when it dawned, I saw clearly that there was such a person in the grass beside me, but it was not alive.

Before liberation, I heard rumors that there were quite a few people who risked their lives to seek gold in Laogou, but many of them didn't know what to do. Halfway through, they were sucked into mummy by grass midges. The mummy was only a layer of skin wrapped with dry bones, and the whole body was covered with black holes. , The state of death is horrific. These mummified corpses are lying in the weeds, and they have been exposed to wind and rain year after year. Some of them can still be seen today, and they have become road signs leading to the old ditch. Last night, they camped in the dark and were too tired to walk. After listening to the talk of the two old Taoists, I got into the tent and fell asleep. When I opened my eyes at dawn, I suddenly found such a person lying beside me. The surprise can be imagined, and I don’t want to eat anything for the next day.

On the second and third days, the weather was good and bad, whether it was scorching sun or pouring rain, which was enough for people. Some places couldn’t get around and had to wade through water, so they had to put on leggings , Beware of leeches, trudging in the big meadow like this, bypassing swamps and mires, white clouds, yellow grass, endless, it seems that there will never be an end, until the morning of the fourth day, the sky is full of clouds, The wind blows and the grass is low, and two black lines appear on the south of the horizon, like the backs of two big snakeheads emerging from the sea of ​​yellow-green grass.

Sonier said: "That is Kangyanzi Mountain in the barren meadow. There is a rock crack below it called Laogou. It is not too deep." After watching it for a long time, the second old Taoist said happily: "Kang Yanzi Mountain is high at both ends and low at the middle. The situation is like two ghosts guarding the door. It is exactly the same as the words passed down by the patriarch. It can't be wrong. It must be this place. But Wangshan is running dead. Look at this." Far and near, you can only go there in the afternoon at least, and it’s getting late, why don’t you go on your way after lunch.”

Now find a flat ground in the weeds and sit down, the four of them rest their feet, and eat two pieces of dry flour pancakes. The cat's claw is a wild vegetable in the grass, which looks like a cat's claw. You can't bring so much dry food into the meadow. When he saw edible wild vegetables on the road, he had to dig them out to satisfy his hunger. Er Lao Dao agreed to give half of the money when he went to the local area, and the other half when he went out. There are not enough people to rob the tomb in the ditch, if you two can help, then each of you can pick one thing from the coffin, and you two can pick whatever you want."

Sonier shook her head and said: "I thought there was nothing in the old ditch, so I agreed to lead you the way, but I heard you say that on the way, and then I realized that there really is an ancient tomb in this place. Now I regret it all the time, and let me When the Lord knows, he must beat me to death, my old face is so long that fifteen people can look at it for half a month." The old Taoist said: "As long as we don't tell the truth, no one will know? You have come here, why do you regret it?" He asked me again: "Old brother, what do you think? You two don't have the guts to get the money take?"

I couldn't control my curiosity, and wanted to go in with Er Laodao to take a look at the murals in the ancient tomb. I heard what he said before, that the ancient tomb of the Liao Dynasty was not small, and this kind of opportunity is too rare. Although I was blind Lao Yi said, you can’t eat this bowl of rice in Daodou, and stealing treasures from tombs can’t stop a word of greed. When greed is together, loyalty will not exist, and thieves will become more and more courageous. The business of exchanging life for money is to cut thighs to feed stomachs Sooner or later, I will let myself eat myself, but I am afraid to go, won't the Er Lao Dao and his disciples think I am timid?I couldn't afford to lose face when people talked about this, so I went to the side to discuss a few words with Suonier, and finally agreed to enter the ditch with the second old Taoist. The old man said: "My old brother is worthy of being from a big place. He is old and knowledgeable. I can't protect you for anything else. Just wait to open your eyes today. These days, we are drinking northwest wind and eating cat paw vegetables in the barren meadow. It’s hard, I’ll take you to eat it when you’re done, grilled bear’s paw with pine nuts, braised nose with matsutake, stewed deer tendon with beluga fish lips, what’s good, let’s make it with strength, okay?” Zhang Juwa's saliva flowed down when he heard it: "Master Daoist, what are you talking about? You can do whatever you want." The second old Taoist said: "Okay, this time I am the old Taoist in charge, you all have to listen to me, rest for a while, let's take a look in the ditch, and then figure out what to do next." At this time, the dark clouds were overwhelming, and a lone goose that had lost its flock flitted across the hazy sky. Immediately, a strong wind blew up on the barren meadow. The cold rain was sandwiched in the bitter wind, and the weather turned rapidly into bad weather. We ate a few pieces of dry food, and then Walking towards Laogou and Kangyan Mountain, I saw that the ridge is low, it can’t be called a mountain, at most it is a stone slope, and there is a long and narrow gully running from east to west in the mountain, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and the bottom is more than ten meters deep. The rain seeped into the ground along the cracks in the rock formation. Erlaodao led the way down the slope to the bottom of the old ditch with a flashlight. He found that there were many strip marks on the rock wall. The head was big and the tail was narrow, like a four-legged salamander. Legend has it that There are murals of cannibalism in the old ditch, which may refer to these traces, which were much earlier than the Khitan tomb. Zhang Juwa stared at the two big eyeballs and saw strangely: "It's not something that can eat people!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to touch the marks on the stone wall. I pressed Zhang Juwa's outstretched hand: "If I were you, I wouldn't touch it. As the saying goes, there is no wind without waves. I think the rumors of the murals in the old ditch eating people will not come out of thin air." Er Laodao said to Zhang Juwa: "My old brother is right, if you want to eat our bowl of rice, you have to be more careful." Zhang Juwa said: "That's all right, brother, Taoist priest, I will listen to you two." Sonier was also curious and asked me, "What do you think is painted under the ditch?" I said, "Maybe it's a pattern of a snake or a dragon, maybe it's a fossil, it's too old to be seen clearly." Totem worship such as dragons and snakes is not uncommon in Inner Mongolia. Where there are grasslands, wolves are worshiped, where there are forests, bears are worshiped, and where there are caves, snakes are worshiped. However, these traces of Laogou are natural, and they may not be man-made. These petroglyphs are much earlier than the ancient tomb where the Khitan female corpse was buried. The gold seekers were in danger in Laogou. It is rumored that there are murals of cannibalism here, which should refer to the rock paintings in the ditch, which has nothing to do with the Khitan tomb we are looking for. , carefully walked out of a section of the ditch, there were no traces of people or animals, the bottom of the ditch was damp and cold, exuding a foul smell. Er Laodao took out the compass to find the direction, and led the way in the middle and west of the ditch.On the south side of Kangyan Mountain is a dustpan-shaped depression, low in the middle, upturned at both ends, and the north end is higher than the south end.The location of the ancient tomb chamber is below the depression, and the entrance of the tomb passage is in the old ditch of Kangyan Mountain.The rocks at the bottom of the ditch collapsed, and even if we could see where the tomb passage was, the few of us couldn't dig it.Although Er Lao Dao's tricks of deceiving ghosts and gods are useless, his ability to identify acupoints is real. Seeing that the rock formation in the old ditch is so thick that it cannot be shaken, he climbed out of the ditch and came to Kangyan Mountain, holding a compass in his hand, left Looking to the right, Dong Bixibi measured the bottom of the hillside step by step, pointed to a rock crevice covered with silt and weeds outside the ditch, and said: "Look at it, digging down here is the tomb passage." Zhang Juwa listened to the instructions, took out a short shovel and pick from his backpack, and distributed them to Sonia and me. Under the guidance of Er Lao Dao, we dug out the silt and weeds in the rock cracks. Although the silted mud is easy to dig, the rock crack It is narrow, hands and feet cannot be used, and waterproof ditches have to be dug. It was not until midnight that the mud hole finally bottomed out, and then there were layers of large strips of bricks covered with red plaster mud. After digging out a few heavy bricks, he was so tired that he was panting heavily, and saw a hole that could be drilled under the mud hole. I saw that Er Laodao avoided the tomb door in the ditch and dug a hole directly from the top of the tomb passage. Due to the erosion of mud and water all the year round, the outer wall of the tomb passage made of strip bricks had already loosened. Er Laodao held back his greed. He said that the tomb passage had been closed for too long, and the atmosphere inside was so dark that it was impossible to go down for a while. Besides, it was late and everyone was exhausted. Let’s rest for a night before starting. If you have an inner door, you will be busy tomorrow. The night was rainy and windy, and Zhang Juwa said to us: "Believe it or not, when the tomb was robbed by wind and rain, it was the dead ghosts in the ancient tomb who were crying." Soni is quite courageous, but she really believes in these superstitions, and her face turned pale when she heard Zhang Juwa say so. I said to Sonier: "That's not the case at all. The dead ghost was buried in the ancient tomb with the wild smoke and grass. It has been deserted and lonely for so many years. It's hard for someone to come to see it. It's too late to be happy. How could it be possible to cry? ?” The second old Taoist said: "My old brother is still bold and does not believe in evil. Old Taoist, I have seen that you are not an ordinary person, and you are much more promising than my apprentice. In my opinion, no matter how terrible the lonely ghost is, it is not as terrible as the poor god. The old man is afraid of poverty, when our work is done, it will be enough for the rest of our lives to be popular and spicy, as long as you think about it, you will have no courage at all." We drank cold water and gnawed dry food, and after hearing what the old man said, we couldn't even open our eyelids. We were so tired this day, and the four of us took turns guarding the mud hole leading to the tomb to prevent water from pouring in. Hungry and cold until dawn. Turning around in the morning, Er Lao Dao lit a windproof and waterproof lantern. He asked me and Zhang Juwa to go first to explore the way. Er Laodao told me that the situation of this Khitan ancient tomb is that there is a huge mound under the dustpan-shaped depression, covered with meadows, the tomb chamber is dug in the mound, and the first tomb door is located in the old ditch. Without interruption, the tomb passage between the tomb chamber and the tomb door was connected with masonry and cement. There is a door-sealing stone inside the tomb door, and the rock wall of the tomb chamber is also extremely thick, and it is absolutely difficult to cut through. The most convenient way to steal this ancient Khitan tomb It is dug in from the top of the tomb passage, but there is no ventilation in the tomb passage, which makes it difficult to breathe. If the lantern suddenly goes out for no reason, it means that there is still Yin energy inside, so turn around and flee as soon as possible. , Then open the door of the tomb and go inside to get the treasure, and leave immediately after taking the things. We put on leggings and put a rope to drill down into the burglary. The terrain in the cold tomb passage was cramped, and it seemed crowded when two people walked side by side, and the soil was very loose. It may collapse and bury the tomb passage. The two walls of the tomb passage made of strip bricks are plastered with a layer of white plaster, and there are murals painted on the bottom. However, this section of the tomb passage is seriously damaged and soaked in mud and water. Only some messy lines can be seen. There were also some human bones, perhaps animal bones, too rotten to recognize. Zhang Juwa was tall and strong, but not very courageous, so he followed me and asked, "Brother, have you ever been to an ancient tomb before?" I said: "Before, I only drilled grave holes in the countryside. I even made a bet with people and slept in barren graves overnight. But they were all old graves that had been emptied long ago. Except for a few spiders crawling here and there. , there is nothing left, this is the first time I have seen such a Liao tomb, you are an apprentice of Er Lao Dao, have you never entered an ancient tomb with him?" Zhang Juwa said: "Although I have dug out several graves with the Taoist priest in the past six months, I have never entered such a big ancient tomb. The tomb passage is so old and deep. What can there be inside?" I thought to myself: "You are asking knowingly, what else can there be in the ancient tomb besides zongzi?" I heard from Er Lao Tao that there is a Khitan female corpse buried in the Liao tomb. Another shaman with an unusual identity. Zhang Juwa couldn't imagine: "Oh, what kind of beauty is that?" I asked him: "Think about it, among the women you have met in your life, who is the most iconic?" Zhang Juwa said: "Sonnie, she is so smooth and beautiful, she is rare to look at. I have never seen anything better than her." I said: "Sonil looks good, and she would be considered unworthy if you were to clear her up in the front. She is really comparable to this Khitan female corpse, but she is a hunter who grew up in the mountains. I'm afraid it's not as good as the Khitan goddess." Zhang Juwa said: "Anyway, the corpse of the Khitan woman is also dead, and the dead are incomparable with the living." I said: "Maybe death is immortal, and it is still lifelike after opening the coffin..." Zhang Juwa said: "Wouldn't that make me a zombie? My brother, don't say that, I'm cowardly." I said, "By the way, let's not talk about it. Don't mention it in front of Sonia, or she won't let me go." Zhang Juwa said: "Beating is pain and scolding is love. She only scolds you because she cares about you. All the old women here are like this." The two of us talked nonsense and became more courageous. We walked to the end of the tomb passage and held up a kerosene lamp to shine a light on it. It was a double wooden door with three rows of gilt copper nails on each door and a large rusty lock in the middle. , the first tomb door buried under Kangyan Mountain is a stone door, and the tomb passage is usually blocked with huge stones. Without cattle and horses, it is impossible to move the door-sealing stone, while the second tomb door is just wood wrapped in copper skin. It is also damp and rotten, which can't stop people at all. Zhang Juwa pried off the gold-plated copper bumps on the tomb door one by one, and then cut through the tomb door with a pickaxe, but the inside was full of sand, and the sand was filled with carbon deposits, which belonged to the moisture-proof layer in the ancient tomb. Behind the thick, sandy layer is the inner door. Zhang Juwa and I were covered in dirt and sweat. Thinking of seeing the underground palace, we couldn't help feeling nervous. Just as we were about to pry the inner door open, Suo Nier suddenly came in from behind the tomb passage. I said, "Why are you here? You're not afraid of Khitan." Is it a female corpse?" Sonia said: "Seeing that you two have been quiet for a long time, I'm worried that something happened to you. Why isn't it over yet?" I said: "Come on, there is another inner door, open this door, and the underground palace is inside..." While speaking, Zhang Juwa had forcefully pried open the door panel. The underground palace was just a cave dug out of the mound. The moment the tomb door was opened, I felt a suffocating black wind blowing from the ancient tomb. I just told Zhang Juwa about the appearance of the Khitan female corpse for a long time. Driven by curiosity, I involuntarily picked up the lantern and looked inside to see what was in the ancient tomb. The beast has white fur all over, golden eyes and fangs. The lantern caused the Yin Qi gushing out of the tomb to flicker, and at the same time, a monster with white hair and golden eyes, with bloody mouth opened, rushed out. The three of us were almost out of our wits. My hair stood on end, I was squeezed into the narrow tomb passage, and there was no way to escape. I watched the beast rushing towards me. When I panicked, I swung the pickaxe in my hand and swung it hard. Unexpectedly, the pickaxe hit the floor tiles hard. On the ground, there was a loud "clang" sound, the force was so strong that the tiger's mouth was shattered, and the evil beast rushed to us like a gust of wind, choking people so that we couldn't breathe, and there was nothing in front of us. We were startled and breathless, so we hurriedly backed out from the original road. Zhang Juwa told his master Er Laodao about the horrifying scene he saw in front of the inner gate. Misunderstood, if you go in again, you will have to be eaten by the evil beast guarding the tomb. Er Laodao is an old thief who eats the bowl of Daodou. He has so much experience. As soon as he heard Zhang Juwa's description, he knew that it was not some evil beast guarding the tomb. This ancient tomb has not been ventilated for thousands of years. The murals on the tomb are brightly colored, just like the ones just painted. The moment the tomb door is opened, the yin energy in the tomb will come out, and the colors on the murals will evaporate with the air. The ghosts seen by human eyes are the murals of the ancient tomb. Older people are superstitious about the color of the volatilized air, thinking that they have bumped into a ghost, and if this gust of wind touches them, they will be frightened at least, or their souls will be frightened at worst, which is equivalent to killing people. Proof of the well-preserved tomb. I remembered that Old Man Yi also said this kind of thing, and the Erlao Dao shouldn’t be talking nonsense, but Zhang Juwa didn’t dare to enter the ancient tomb no matter what he said. Er Laodao said: "This worthless tamper doesn't do anything all day. He just wants to wait for the pie to fall from the sky, and he doesn't even think about whether that wormwood grows on your ancestral grave? You can't be a general if you are too timid. Fear of death is not a real man, do you still want to earn money to build a house and marry a wife to live a good life?" The second old man knew Zhang Juwa's thoughts very well, so he played Zhang Juwa's mind with such a fool. Zhang Juwa was eager to make a fortune, after listening to the words of Er Lao Dao, she bit the bullet and packed up the axes and lanterns, and was going to enter the ancient tomb to get treasure later. Er Laodao turned back and said to me: "Old brother, my old apprentice is useless. This mountain cannon thing is useless in doing things. I still have to count on you to help me. Do you know that since ancient times Since then, there have been three religions of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Confucianism is common, and Buddhism is poor. Only Taoism teaches growth and immortality. The Taoist people before the master can also rely on divination and Fengshui to make a living, and they can’t die, but they can’t go hungry, but it has been passed down to my generation, the old Taoist, just catching up with the national liberation. , I can’t support my family anymore, and I don’t know how to make a living. What else can I do without digging out graves? I used to smoke opium, my body was broken, and I couldn’t bear the yin in the ancient tomb, so I waited. You will take my apprentice into the ancient tomb later, you have to take care of him more." I said in my heart: "You old thief is really good at calling people. If you don't go into the ancient tomb yourself, you will leave all these dirty and frightening jobs to Zhang Juwa and me." But I am a soft-hearted person. Tough, at that time he was young and energetic, knowing that it was difficult but unwilling to shirk it. At that time, he listened to the arrangement of the Er Lao Taoist, let Zhang Juwa carry an empty snakeskin bag on his back, and also brought gloves, rope, flashlight, lantern and axe. It’s past noon now, so the ancient tomb might be alive. Zhang Juwa and I put on our masks and were about to go down. Sonier brought an earthen shotgun and wanted to follow us into the ancient tomb. She was worried that something might happen to me. , Secondly, I am also curious, the more I am afraid, the more I want to see it. After all, I am still brave. Carrying a shotgun can not scare the dead, but it is enough to embolden the living. I didn't want to let Sonnie go down, and I don't really believe that there is a ghost of the tomb owner in the ancient tomb, but there may not be no fire, dark crossbow, quicksand and rocks. The ventilation time is not long, and it may suffocate people. It just collapsed, but Sonia insisted on following, so I had to let her stay behind me and not go forward. Before going down the tomb path this time, Er Lao Dao gave me a stick of incense and told us to move as fast as possible, and we must come out before the incense burns out.I asked him why, and he only said that there was a long delay and he was afraid that something might happen. Zhang Juwa was in front with a lantern and an axe, and Sonia and I were behind with a flashlight. The three of us climbed the ropes down to the tomb passage, and followed the same path to the tomb door. There are three tomb chambers in the front, middle and back. The front chamber is very narrow, only five steps away from the tomb door. On the facing wall is a mural in the shape of a tiger. The color has faded when the tomb door is opened, the color is dim, but the ferocious look can still be seen. The color of the murals in the depths of the tomb has not faded seriously. Let the beam of the flashlight shine, and the murals emerging from the dark tomb are still the same. It is bright and eye-catching, depicting the figures, birds, beasts, palaces, mountains and rivers, and the scenes of courtiers singing, dancing and drinking banquets. The techniques are superb and have the style of Tang paintings. Being in them, it seems to have entered a thousand-year-old painting palace. The front room of the underground palace is not large, but it is much wider than the tomb passage. The walls of the earth cave are lined with tomb bricks. Once you enter the lantern, it becomes dark, and the flashlight is not far away. The bad luck is still very heavy, and there is an unpleasant smell of earth. The fishy smell, we are afraid of being suffocated, so we dare not walk too fast. There is a mural of evil beasts guarding the door, and the patterns of cranes and auspicious clouds are painted on both sides and on the top of the head. In the front room, the four tomb figurines face each other in a half-kneeling posture. They all look like guards, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and long hair. She wears a shawl, wearing a tunic-flowered robe with a round collar, long boots, a belt around her waist, and holds a long hammer in her hand, and the boots of the tuanhua long hammer are all covered with gold leaf. I saw that Zhang Juwa wanted to scrape off the gold leaf and take it away, so I said to him: "The Er Lao Taoist explained that it is enough to take five treasures from the back room. There are too many funerary objects in the Liao tomb. If you even scrape the gold leaf, it will cost three days and three I can't finish my work at night." Zhang Juwa couldn't see enough, nodded and agreed: "Yeah, I listen to you, brother, why don't you say that these masters don't hold maces in their hands, but hold this thing that looks like a hammer but is not a hammer. Does it work?" I said: "What do you know, what Master Wa is holding is not a copper hammer, but a golden melon. You are not allowed to see the blade or the thorn before the royal driver, so the servants only use the golden melon. The emperor saw who was unhappy, so he ordered the guards to pull it out in the palace. Hitting the top of the gourd means pushing the sinner to the ground, and hitting the head with the long hammer is like smashing a watermelon." Zhang Juwa said: "My brother can do it, he knows even this." Sonia said: "I seem to have heard from my grandfather that this is called Guduo..." In fact, Sonia is right. The warriors in the Liao tomb hold bones. They were weapons of the Khitan people a long time ago, and they were also weapons for guarding ceremonies. What kind of object is that? Just rambling, I told Sonier Guduo is no different from pumpkin, but they are called differently inside and outside the pass. Talking into the middle room, the cave tomb with a domed roof in the round sky, the earth cave is the size of four private houses, the wall is three to four meters high, the flashlight can't reach the end, there is an ear room on each side, and there are stone pillars made of bricks in the corner , painted with red color as the base, and outlined in black and white with flower patterns, the surroundings and the top of the head are full of murals, with bright colors and vivid images. On the top of the dome-shaped tomb, the dark blue sky is painted in dark blue, dotted with white stars, there is a red-yellow sun disc in the southeast, and a three-legged golden crow lives in it, a bright moon in the southwest, and the jade rabbit and osmanthus tree are all in this moon palace. The distance, the sun rises and the moon sinks, makes people feel like a rabbit is flying away, time is like electricity, and life is fleeting. I looked up at the murals on the top of the ancient tomb that have been more than a thousand years old, and my heart was pounding. Also dumbfounded. I thought to myself: "This little Khitan girl really knows how to enjoy it. After she dies, she still has to look at such exquisite murals." Thinking of this, she shone the flashlight on the wall again, walked two steps forward, and found that there was a wall in the ancient tomb The murals of the tomb are arranged in an orderly manner, depicting the situation of the tomb owner during his life. There are banquets and singing in the palace, witchcraft rituals to worship gods and heaven, and scenes of shooting and hunting on horseback in the mountains. The guards are dressed in armor and stand solemnly. , the servants bowed their knees to deliver wine and meat, and there were even attendants holding neatly dressed horses, and they were very respectful, as if they were waiting for the owner of the tomb to go out at any time. Porcelain celadon bowls and plates, gold pots and silver pots, saddles and stirrups are inlaid with gold and jade, although a layer of silt has accumulated, but after dusting off, the yellow gold, white silver, and red agate are still dazzling. It is not comparable to the local chickens, tiles and dogs in the old graves. Although it has been thousands of years, when you look at these murals and funerary objects, you can immediately imagine that the owner of the tomb was rich and well-clothed, and lived a luxurious life full of servants. . Zhang Juwa said: "Compared to the owner of this tomb, my life is really useless. Why can others live like this?" I said: "Your master has a good saying, don't blame anyone for a bad life, if you want to blame it, blame the wormwood that didn't grow on our ancestral grave." Sonier said: "It's all things that you don't bring with you when you die. What's the use of having so many? Mang Gu had so many servants, guards, and horses, Jin Zhu. Didn't he die at a young age?" I asked her, "How do you know that the Khitan female corpse died at a young age?" Sonier said: "What's so strange about this? Manggu, the shaman goddess, was only in her twenties when she died. No one knows where she was buried, but when it comes to Manggu, many old shamanists know about it. According to legend, Mang Gu was able to communicate with ghosts and gods before he was alive, and he could clearly see thousands of miles away, and he was so beautiful that it is rare in the world." I said: "No matter how beautiful the corpse of the Khitan woman was, we will never see a living one. It is a pity that there were no cameras in those days, so we couldn't leave any images. However...the murals of the Liao tomb pay attention to realism, and the murals should be the real face of the ancients. " I want to see the real face of the Daliao princess shaman in the murals of the ancient tomb, but there are so many murals in the front room and the middle room, and there is no image of the owner of the tomb, but I know that the corpse of the Khitan woman who has been sleeping for thousands of years is not behind In this gloomy tomb, she is always watching every move of the three of us. I told Zhang Juwa and Suonier that they were very close to the Khitan woman's corpse, and the owner of the tomb was here. Zhang Juwa asked: "Brother, why isn't the owner of the tomb in the back room?" I said, "You have been an apprentice of Er Lao Dao for nothing. Most of the back room is used to put the epitaph and stele. Of course the owner of the tomb is in the main room in the middle." Sonier heard me say that the corpse of the Khitan woman was here, and she couldn't help being afraid, and complained why I didn't say it earlier. The legend of the shaman goddess in the Liao Kingdom was widely spread in the Northeast. Today's shamanism only has Tiao Dashener. In ancient times, there were really supernatural powers and spells, but she listened to the old legends until her ears became callused, and she was frightened, and she couldn't help but want to see the Khitan female corpse. As I walked deeper into the ancient tomb, the lanterns became darker and my breathing became more difficult. Standing by the wall, the flashlight could not reach the end of the tomb. In the front photo, under the wall at the end of the tomb, there is a stone platform corpse bed, about half the height of a person, carved in the shape of a dragon head and a fish body. It is a capricorn fish-shaped bed. There is only a corpse bed without a coffin. On the bed, the Khitan burial customs are different from those in the Guan. The ancient shamans paid attention to the theory of psychics, and it is forbidden to use coffins for burials. Behind Zhang Juwa and I, we also opened our eyes wide to see, we were all worried, and under the light of the flashlight, we carefully looked at everything in front of us. The lower part of the corpse bed in the shape of a Capricorn fish is also painted with figures. They are two women and a man, both in form and spirit. There is also an old man, dressed in a shaman robe, wearing a black gauze without edge, with a thin face, eagle nose and deep eyes, and a beard with sideburns. In front of the portrait on the mortuary bed lay three mummified corpses, two females and one male. Their costumes were exactly the same as those on the mural, and their bodies were covered with black spots. These three dead bodies must be the people who died in the burial. The paintings on the tomb bed show the appearance of these three people before they were alive. They belonged to the personal servants of the tomb owner. The living people were buried with mercury. The corpse is immortal. Look at the tomb owner lying sideways on the bed of the Capricorn corpse. The Khitan female corpse is covered with a gold mask, with two braids coiled behind her head. There are gold hoops on the braids, and a pillow in the shape of a tiger crouching under her head. Ruyi buckle, covered by a golden net funeral gown, is also covered with an eleven-layer robe, and the brocade quilt under her body is embroidered with a vivid peacock. The female corpse is wearing gloves, with golden flower cloud boots on her feet, and a pair of dragon head gold bracelets on her wrists , gemstone earrings, a gold seal ring, a jade knife with an amber handle on the waist, and a large string of amber necklaces hanging on the chest. It is hundreds of ambers and dragon plate pearl embossed ornaments. The whole body is made of silver thread. A gold box decorated with onyx.The golden mask may be made of gold flakes based on the facial features of the Khitan female corpse during her lifetime, but it is not a living face after all. In this gloomy ancient tomb, neither the glamorous beauty nor the serenity and dignity can be seen, but it looks extremely strange. I thought to myself, no wonder the corpses in the ancient tombs are compared to "zongzi", wrapped in so many layers from the inside to the outside, how can the original body and appearance be seen? Zhang Juwa stared blankly at the Khitan female corpse for a while, and said to me: "Brother, it's scary to look at, what am I talking about, this female corpse can't be as good-looking as my sister." Sonier didn't understand, she asked Zhang Juwa: "What did you just say?" Zhang Juwa said: "Sister, my brother said that you look similar to the Khitan female corpse, but I said it was impossible, how could the female corpse be as good-looking as you..." Sonnie got anxious when she heard it, grabbed my ear and said, "How do you compare me to a dead person?" I gasped in pain, and hurriedly broke away Sonier's hand, and said to her: "Don't believe Zhang Juwa's nonsense, he must have taken his dreams seriously." After speaking, I gave Zhang Juwa a look, and said : "Under the golden covering is the real face of the Khitan female corpse, do you dare to look at it?" Sonia said: "How about... don't look at it, the face of a dead person... what's so good about it?" I said that Er Lao Dao explained that there are countless funeral objects in this Liao tomb, but the real priceless treasures are all on the body of the Khitan woman, nothing else needs to be touched, only the agate gold box held in the woman's arms and worn on the chest The large string of amber necklaces, the gold covering on the face, these three things are extraordinary, especially the gold covering, carved with delicate and exquisite dragon and phoenix patterns, and the outline of the Khitan female corpse in life, there is no other thing that can compare over it. Sonier said: "The second old Taoist said it nicely, why didn't he go into the ancient tomb and pick off the golden covering from the face of the Khitan female corpse?" Zhang Juwa said: "My master really dare not come, he will surely die if he comes in." I asked Zhang Juwa: "What is this saying? The old thief will die as soon as he enters the Khitan ancient tomb?" Zhang Juwa told me and Sonier that the patriarch of Erlao Dao had seen the Fengshui of this Liao tomb and pointed out the layout of the tomb. Died unexpectedly. 我说你也是二老道的徒弟，你师傅怕死你就不怕？ 张巨娃怔住了，惊道：“哎呀我哥，我真没想到还有这骨节！” 我问他：“二老道都教过你什么？” 张巨娃说：“那可多了，道长从头教过我，盗墓起源于黄河流域，在民间发展到后来，融入了东北二人转的技术特点，一般都是俩人干活……” 我一听就明白了，二老道那个损贼，根本没把张巨娃当徒弟，这种话也只有张巨娃才会相信。 张巨娃没开过眼，见到裹在契丹女尸身上的金珠宝玉，不由得起了贪心，怕字抛在了九霄云外，让我帮他照着亮，这就要动手取宝，他跪地给女尸磕了个头，说道：“小老妹儿，你死后留这老多好东西也没啥用，匀给我们几件，也是阴功不小，我这多有得罪了。” 张巨娃念叨了几句给自己壮胆的话，伸手想去取女尸身上的宝物，碍于尸床前隔着三具干尸，他身量虽高，胳膊长腿长，却也够不到那么远，只好先把干尸拽到旁边，灌进水银的死人外皮枯干，但格外沉重，张巨娃拖得十分吃力。 索妮儿提着马灯和猎枪，跟在我身后，我把二老道给的那炷香插到墓砖缝隙里，撑起蛇皮口袋，举着手电筒给张巨娃照亮，此刻古墓里通风的时间已久，手电筒和马灯照明范围扩大了些许，能看见女尸身后的墓墙上，同样绘有壁画，内容十分怪诞，让人难以理解。 契丹女尸身后的壁画中，上方是天狼夺月，占据了整幅壁画的一多半，圆月变成了黑色，而且大得兀突，让人毛骨悚然，好像多看一眼就会被它吸进去，左上角有一条形态凶残贪婪的巨狼，在古代中原地区的迷信观念中，将月蚀当做天狗吃月，辽国则认为是天狼夺月，两者并无太大分别，指的都是一回事，壁画下半部分却是一座大山，山腹墓穴中有彩绘木椁，椁身有锁链缠绕，木棺周围侍立几十个金俑，围着这座山，躺有许多面无表情的人，男女老少均有，不知是死是活，这一切，都在无比之大的黑月之下。 张巨娃只顾着摸金取宝，我和索妮儿的目光却让这壁画吸引，辽墓里的壁画多以写实为主，唯有这幅壁画的内容怪诞诡异，又绘在契丹女尸身后，显得非常重要。 我凝视良久，想不出这壁画是什么意思，委实在让人难以理解。 索妮儿自言自语道：“这壁画多像契丹女尸做的一个梦……” 我闻听此言，不由自主地一愣，觉得索妮儿这话说到点子上了，契丹女尸罩着黄金覆面侧卧在摩羯鱼床上，配以身后的壁画，正如同展现着墓主人生前的梦境，让人感到契丹女尸并没有死，只是在阴冷的墓穴中沉睡不醒，若说是梦，这个梦可也够离奇了。 我对索妮儿说：“没准真让你说对了，古代人迷信，以为梦能通灵，且是左右吉凶的征兆，契丹女尸生前是皇室贵族，又身具萨满神女这重身份，生前做了这样一个让她念念不忘的梦，这个梦有可能很重要，以至于在她死之前，还不忘吩咐族人把梦境画在古墓中。” 索妮儿望着壁画中的黑月不寒而栗：“这一定是个无解的噩梦……” 张巨娃说道：“哥呀，你俩别瞅那壁画了，死人做过的梦，跟咱有啥相干，帮我一把行不？” 我回过神来，只见张巨娃正伸着两手，哆哆嗦嗦地托起契丹女尸的头部，想要摘下挂在女尸脖颈上的琥珀璎珞，可他两手抱着契丹女尸的头，没法再摘那一大串琥珀璎珞。 我对张巨娃说：“契丹女尸是萨满神女辽国公主，你个穷光棍是什么出身，也敢抱她？” 张巨娃颤声道：“哎呀我哥，你可别吓唬我了，我这都快吓尿裤了，亏得我这趟出门带了两条裤子。” 我看张巨娃真是怕得狠了，只好不再看古墓里的壁画，先把手电筒关掉，别在腰后的皮带上，让索妮儿将马灯往前提一些，然后从女尸脖颈上摘下琥珀璎珞，感觉分量沉甸甸的，顺手放进蛇皮口袋里，心说：“便宜二老道那损贼了。” 张巨娃轻手轻脚地将女尸头部重新放在兽形石枕上，明知这是个死人，可一看那黄金覆面上诡异的反光，就觉得稍有惊动，契丹女尸会突然坐起来，所以大气也不敢出上一口。 取掉琥珀璎珞之后，接下来要摘女尸脸上的黄金覆面，我想象不出黄金面具下有怎样一张脸，死去千年之久的契丹女尸，是和墓室三个殉葬的侍从一样，灌注水银变成了满脸黑斑的干尸？还是依然保持着生前的容貌？ 索妮儿以往听多了萨满神女的传说，一看我们要摘黄金面具，吓得捂住眼不敢看女尸的脸。 张巨娃说：“姐呀，你在后头可不能闭眼啊，万一你那猎枪搂走了火，一枪招呼到我和我哥身上，那我俩死得也太屈了。” 我告诉索妮儿不用怕，契丹女尸的脸，不会比墓室里三具殉葬干尸的脸更吓人了，按理说黄金覆面下应该仅是一具枯骨，莽古有倾国之貌，一定极爱惜自己的容颜，灌水银是能保持尸身不朽，可干尸和活人的样子相差太多，以往也只有殉葬的奴仆才用水银防腐，这古墓里又没有棺椁，契丹女尸已经死去千年，保存再好也只是一堆骸骨了，身上穿金罩玉裹了十几层敛袍，又以黄金面具罩脸，撑在尸床上显得还有人形轮廓，敛袍和覆面里头除了几根枯骨可能什么都没有了。 索妮儿却认为萨满神女莽古不是常人，至少看这契丹女尸的头发，仍是那么浓密乌黑，只是没了活人才有的光泽。 事到临头，张巨娃也没胆子取下女尸的黄金面具，他先伸手撸下几样金饰和琥珀柄银刀，递给我放进蛇皮口袋里，又将契丹女尸抱住金盒的手挪开，捧下那个嵌着玛瑙的金盒，这金盒有一尺多长。 我揭开看了一眼，盒子分为三层，头一层只装着几块刻有古符的兽骨。 索妮儿说：“我知道，这是莽古的噶啦哈。” 我听说在东北地区，姑娘们喜欢一种兽骨制成的玩物叫“嘎拉哈”，传到关内叫“羊拐”，关外是用猪膝盖骨制成，关内则以羊膝盖骨来做，但都不是这种的东西，这几块兽骨年代古老，表面光润如玉，又刻着犬形符文，各面有赤黑青白几种颜色，也许是萨满老教预测吉凶用的东西，金盒其余两层，分别装着玉璧和大如龙眼的明珠，我不知那玉璧价值几何，只看那珠子让马灯照得泛出异光，只怕灭掉马灯，凭着珠光也可以数清契丹女尸的头发，实再是非同小可，我想起瞎老义说过倒斗最忌讳贪心，凡事不能做绝，琥珀璎珞玉刀金匣皆是身外之物，取之无妨，至于黄金覆面和女尸头下的伏虎玉枕不拿也罢。 我正想叫张巨娃收手，忽听索妮儿说：“我瞅古墓里的壁画好像跟刚才不一样了！” 我掩上金盒放进蛇皮口袋，抬眼看向契丹女尸身后的壁画，盯得久了会觉得要被那轮黑月吸进去，可要说壁画在不知不觉间有变化，这我倒看不出来，反正那壁画中间只是黑乎乎的一个大片。 这时地上插的那炷香也快烧到头了，我本以为这炷香可以烧一个时辰，没成想至多能烧二十几分钟，我对张巨娃说：“差不多了，你要是不敢拿契丹女尸脸上的黄金面具，咱们就赶紧从古墓里出去了，这可不是留之地。” 张巨娃初时提心吊胆，等他接连从契丹女尸身上撸下几件金饰，一看没出什么事，贼胆更壮，拿一件是拿，拿两件是拿，全拿了也是拿，当取不取，过后莫悔，想来想去，他还是要摘契丹女尸头上的黄金覆面。黄金覆面后头有玉搭扣，张巨娃用手揽住契丹女尸的头，解开缠在发髻中的玉扣，粗手笨脚忙得满头是汗，解了好几次才解开，此刻地上那炷香早也烧尽了。 我不明白二老道为何非让我们在香灭前离开古墓，但这让我有一种很不好的预感，扯着张巨娃说：“别拿黄金覆面了，快走！” 张巨娃还舍不得撒手，那黄金面具已经被他揭掉了。我和索妮儿站在张巨娃身后，仅有一盏马灯照明，看不到契丹女尸的脸，也不知张巨娃看见了什么，黑暗中只听他叫了声：“哎呀我的哥呀，吓死我了！”惊呼声中，他如触蛇蝎般闪到一旁。 晃动不定的马灯光影下，我和索妮儿看到了契丹女尸的面容，这个被人们说成有倾国之色的萨满神女，在黄金面具下却只有一张枯树皮似的脸，深陷的两眼和嘴部像三个黑窟窿，如同壁画上的黑月一样可怖。 契丹女尸也许在生前受到那个噩梦的纠缠，死得格外痛苦，难怪把张巨娃吓得不轻，我看在眼里，也感到头发根子直竖，口中对张巨娃说：“让你别摘女尸脸上的面具你非要摘，把自己吓着了不是？”可侧过头一看，刚才躲到一旁的张巨娃却不在那，他如果逃出墓室，我不会听不到脚步声，活生生的人怎么会在一瞬间突然消失？ 索妮儿骇然道：“人呢？撩了？” 东北话说“撩了”，是说跑了的意思，我觉得张巨娃不可能撩得那么快，不知怎样作答，只好摸出手电筒照过去找人，猛然发现张巨娃让古墓里的壁画吃了。