Chapter 10 Chapter Ten: The Wolf and the White Deer

After finishing this tomb-robbing internship, I continued to do odd jobs for Old Man Qiao at Zhengtianzhai in Liulichang, and whenever I had free time, I devoted myself to reading the books left by my family.What is unexpected is that afterward, the old man Qiao gave me a Quanzhen magic weapon, and it was my favorite dagger. He said this-"A gentleman keeps his promises, and half of them must be fulfilled. Although you didn't do anything. Remember, this evil sword must not be sold, even if you want to sell it, you can only sell it to me..." The old guy is getting more and more elusive.

And the little piece of wolf skin I brought back made me exhausted. Except for a few lines, one of which was in the shape of an "S" with a black dot mark, the rest were five weird characters.In order to understand the meaning of these annotations, I asked around for experts who understand Mongolian.Of course, the person who asked the question was someone outside the antique industry, and these five words were also copied separately, and then asked different people separately, just to avoid leaking the secret. I don't know if it's because I copied it out of shape, or these fonts are too old, and no expert can recognize them, let alone explain them, and finally nothing happens.

In the blink of an eye, it entered the middle of winter. Although there was no obvious difference between the boom and bust of antique sales, few people really wanted to come out in this kind of weather.Ms. Qiao was afraid of the cold, so she huddled in the warehouse reading a book all day long, and there was a small stove to keep warm.After all, I was employed by someone, so I had to fight hard no matter what, so I had to pace back and forth in the store rubbing my hands and feet. Of course, the books left by my ancestors never left my hands for a moment, and I would not let go of those who did not understand. I went in and asked Ms. Qiao, and she answered every time in detail, which made me feel a little more grateful besides admiration.While chatting, he actually briefly told her about the family being cursed by the wolf...

This afternoon, there was light snow in the sky. Seeing that the business was fetching water from the bamboo basket again, suddenly the store door squeaked, and a man in his forties or fifties came in with a gust of cold wind. He smiled and nodded. After saying hello, I wandered around the shelves alone, stopping from time to time to take a closer look. To be honest, based on experience, such a person is not worth talking about. Judging from his clothes and appearance, as well as his honest and dull demeanor, it can be seen that he is a poor intellectual. This kind of person generally has no oil and water, and most of them are knowledgeable. People, it is very difficult to earn even a penny from him.

After turning around, the visitor walked slowly to the front of the counter, raised his hand to adjust his glasses, and said something that surprised me—— "Your name is Geng?" I was stunned on the spot, wondering who else would know me in this foreign country, except my grandfather and mother.Could it be that he is a student of my grandfather, and he came to find out about my recent situation? "Your father's name is Geng Qifei, and he used to work in the archaeological department of the Cultural Institute?" Seeing me silent for a long time, the visitor asked again, his eyes full of expectation.

"Yes! What's the name of this uncle?" I asked back quietly, but countless guesses flashed in my heart. When the man heard this, he immediately showed a shy smile and did not answer. Instead, he took out a document from his pocket and opened it in front of me trembling.What's the meaning?I took a closer look, and saw his headshot photo on it, with a big red seal covering one corner, and the words "Institute of Ancient Chinese Culture" could be seen faintly, and there were three lines of labels printed under the photo—namely, Institute of Archeology, Director, Wang Mian.

I was taken aback, really "you can't judge people by their appearance", the honest and friendly uncle in front of me turned out to be the director of the Archaeological Institute and my father's former boss. "Your father and I are colleagues. You...you father and son really look alike, and your accent, so...that's why I recognized it." It can be seen that this man named Wang Mian is usually not sociable, and he stammers about one thing, but he is obviously lying, because our father and son are not alike at all, but I am more like my grandfather.What is his purpose?

"So it's Uncle Wang. I often hear my father mentioning you." I have a lot of experience in dealing with such an honest person. I can't rush to ask questions. I have to let him relax before I can hear what you want to know. "That's right! We were transferred to the archaeological department at the same time, and we often do field archaeology together, old friends." That director Wang was very excited at once, he paused, and suddenly became sad again, "That time your father went deep into Mobei, I didn't expect it to be a farewell. I am very sad about his death. I have always wanted to condole you, but I just couldn't." Get in touch, and I even went to Dabagou for this.”

What he said was true. After my father passed away, my mother and I were taken back to Beijing by my grandfather. Not long after, we moved to my stepfather’s house. It’s normal that we couldn’t get in touch.Suddenly, I remembered something that Master Li had mentioned. Could it be him who came to Dabagou to ask for my address?If so, why break the door lock and replace it with a new one?This is really strange. "Are you two okay now?" Director Wang adjusted his glasses and took the opportunity to secretly wipe away the overflowing tears.It seems that he really had a close relationship with my father, and he was a sweetheart.

Although my unfortunate background has created a cunning and sophisticated character, I don't trust anyone, and I don't easily express my emotions, but Director Wang's behavior at this time made me a little bit uncontrollable, and I said excitedly: "Thank you for your concern, we are getting by." Director Wang stuffed the documents back into his arms, and couldn't think of what to say for a while, and stood at a loss, and the scene was suddenly very embarrassing.Suddenly, as if he had made up his mind, he raised his head and said hastily, "Do you want to take the position of your father? This way you can inherit your father's business and have a stable life. I can help you apply for this."

"I don't know anything, what can I do?" "You can learn while doing it! I heard that the 'top job' will be canceled in two years, so don't miss this opportunity!" Director Wang said more and more energetically, "Your father and I are like brothers, and I will take care of you. I have always wished to stay by my side when the time comes, and I will take you well." "Thank you, Uncle Wang, let me think about it!" This happened so suddenly that I couldn't react. "Okay then! You think about it." Director Wang adjusted his glasses again, was silent for a while, and said earnestly: "Your father is a talent! It's a pity that fate is ill-fated and your ambition is unfulfilled. I really hope you can complete his dream." last wish." Director Wang obviously meant something. Could it be that he also knew about the Wolf Curse?I was trying to find a topic to ask, but I heard him continue to say: "Your father still has some things left in the dormitory of the unit, come here when you have time, stay if you want to take up the job, I will apply for you, if you don't want to, it's okay Bring back the relic." After saying this, Director Wang took out his notebook, wrote an address and put it on the counter, turned around and walked out of the store.Watching his figure gradually disappear in the wind and snow, I sighed, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty for my indifference just now. "Who is that person?" Miss Qiao stood behind me at some point and asked with a puzzled face.I was about to answer, when the store door squeaked again, and the old man Qiao, who was bloated into a ball, came in. He patted the snowflakes on his body and smiled wretchedly, "The set of four seasons is finally here." It’s time to go home, hey! It’s closed! Let’s have a drink tonight, the three of us.” The old guy can't change his virtue, and he became incoherent after buying and selling. I didn't bother to talk to him, and said to Ms. Qiao: "The man just now was the leader of my father's unit. He wanted to take care of me to take over the post, but I haven't agreed yet." "Go, I'll go right away." Before I finished speaking, the old man Qiao rushed to say: "This is a great opportunity, and you can't find it even with a lantern. To put it bluntly, it is equivalent to taking a Taosha pass. Digging in the ground, learning while practicing." Old man Qiao’s words are quite reasonable, and my heart beats when he said them. Of course, it’s not for the convenience of tomb robbery, but because, in this way, I have a better chance of finding the golden coffin of the Huns and breaking the curse of the wolf as soon as possible... "What about the business in the store?" In fact, this is also what I am concerned about. After all, they have taken good care of me in the past few years, and they treat each other as a family in their hearts.I looked at Miss Qiao, she lowered her head, unconsciously fiddling with the abacus with her hands. "Guys, you can ask for another one. This is an opportunity! If you lose it, it won't come again." Old man Qiao leaned over, patted me on the shoulder and said, "Work hard, and we will have many opportunities to cooperate in the future. You explore, and I discover. Hehe !" Only now did I understand why the old guy is so keen on this matter, he just wants to take advantage of that layer of identity, which is too unreliable! "Sister Niyue, what do you think?" I think she is more reliable than the old man, and her advice is more solid. "Go! When the time comes, we will be prosperous, don't forget about us." Ms. Qiao said coldly.Seeing her listless look, I felt very uncomfortable, and I couldn't tell why. ... After dinner, the snow stopped, and I suddenly wanted to visit my mother. I hadn't contacted her for several months. I should tell her what happened today, and I wanted to hear her opinion. On a winter night, there was no one on the street. I turned up my collar and strode towards Xuanwumenwai Street. My stepfather lived near the Xiaochangkou Hutong.What should I say when we meet later?I organized all the way, and soon came to the downstairs of my stepfather's house, but I saw it was pitch black.Someone should be there at this time!Where did they go?I was suddenly at a loss, and this time, I missed my mother even more deeply.After standing stupidly for half an hour, I still staggered back to Liulichang. The next morning, I got up early, changed into a more simple set of clothes, borrowed a bicycle from old man Joe, and set off with mixed feelings.The address given by Director Wang is Wangfujing Street, which is not too far away. It took only ten minutes to bypass the Forbidden City, and I stood at the gate of the Institute of Ancient Culture. This is a very ordinary building. If it weren't for the somewhat faded plaque, it would be hard to believe that this would be a courtyard, without the imaginary high house and deep courtyard. Except for the walls, it is no different from the nearby houses. I looked at it for a while, then pushed the car over, and just approached the gate, an old man with a red sleeve leaned out half of his body from the gatehouse, "little comrade, who are you looking for?" "My surname is Geng. Director Wang of the Archaeological Institute called me here." The old man with the red armband retreated into the room. Through the glass, I saw him picking up the phone and dialing. He came out after a while and said with a slight smile, "He is waiting for you at the stairway of the dormitory at the back. Come in quickly!" Stepping into the place where my father worked before his death, I felt a little sad. I was feeling emotional when I saw someone waving to me in the distance. Director Wang's thin figure was very recognizable, so I walked over quickly. "You are here, go, go up and talk." Putting down my bicycle, I followed him up the stairs step by step. At this time, no one made a sound, and I didn’t know how many floors I had climbed. He finally stopped and took me into a narrow room. . "This is the dormitory where your father lived." I was taken aback for a moment, and turned my head to look at this room of less than ten square meters.In fact, the whole room is simple and clear at a glance - on the left is a small wooden bed with a washbasin and an iron bucket under the bed, on the right is a desk with stacks of books and materials, a bottle of ink, and a magnifying glass ... Facing his father's relics, a feeling of "things are people and things are not everything, and tears flow first" came to my heart, and my eyes were involuntarily moist. "Sit!" Director Wang pointed to the small wooden bed, pulled a wooden chair and sat opposite me, and looked at me quietly. "I know about your family's wolf curse, your father said it." "You also believe in superstitions like witchcraft?" I looked up in amazement, and the two looked at each other, and found that his eyes were full of love. "You are wrong! Things that cannot be explained for the time being may not necessarily be superstitions. For example, 'Feng Shui', the qi, numbers, and images listed in it have been considered to be non-existent before. Recently, experts have found that these are exactly the same as energy, information, and form. Correspondingly. Maybe the so-called wolf curse is just an unknown infection." At this time, Director Wang was obviously more talkative and relaxed. Maybe it was because he was in a place he was familiar with, talking about topics he was familiar with?This virtually relieved my depression. "Your father once said that if you want to break the wolf curse, you must find Bei Shanyu's tomb and find his bones. Although I don't know the cause and effect relationship inside, I believe this is not superstition, so I support it from the bottom of my heart. It's a pity It didn't work out as he wished, he spent his whole life looking for it, but in the end it was fruitless..." Regarding the secret of being under the wolf curse, the Geng family has always kept it secret. Since Director Wang knows so much, it shows that his father trusts him very much, and the friendship between the two must be very close.Thinking of this, I gave him a grateful expression, "Uncle Wang, did you accompany my father when he went out for archaeology for the last time?" "Yes, oh! No..." Director Wang took off his glasses and tilted his head to recall memories. After a while, he said with a solemn expression: "Back then it was reported in Inner Mongolia Hanlar Banner that a batch of Liao tombs were unearthed. So we sent the two of us to give guidance to the place. Only when we arrived did we realize that those tombs had been destroyed to such an extent that they were completely worthless. At this time, your father asked me for leave, and he wanted to visit the north side by the way. It was not in compliance with the rules, but considering he had little time left, I agreed." "Is he going alone?" "No! There was also a Mongolian guide who went with us at the time. This person is an old partner of ours and has participated in archaeological excavations many times." Mongolian guide?I searched my brains and thought back, from my father's records, to everything and every word he mentioned before he was alive, but there was no sign of it.This is really strange, ordinarily they have such a close relationship, something should be left behind. "I originally wanted to go with him, but I had to complete the work of collecting records from the Liao tomb. Besides, this old guide is a very capable person. Don't worry. But it wasn't until half a year later that I learned from the old guide that the two of them separated not long after they set off. As for your father's last experience and where he went, no one really knows." After Director Wang finished speaking, he lit a cigarette and looked at me silently.And I was completely confused——didn't my aunt say that my father went to Mongolia with Master Liu?Could it be that he deliberately left the guide halfway, and then ran to meet Liu Ye?Did they finally find the golden coffin?What disaster did Liu Ye encounter again? The more I think about it, the more entangled I am, and I am afraid that no one can answer these.As soon as I looked up, I realized that Director Wang was paying attention to my expression, as if guessing my psychology, I was a little embarrassed, and asked, "Uncle Wang, is Bei Shanyu's coffin really made of gold?" "Of course you have to see the real thing before you can draw a conclusion. Judging from the examples unearthed in the past, the coffins of the Huns are divided into three layers. The outermost layer is wrapped in iron, and there is a silver layer in the middle, and the inner layer is indeed gold. Building." When talking about archaeology, Director Wang was naturally enthusiastic, and said with gestures: "The Huns are very particular about coffins. Even those with limited financial resources have to make three layers of coffins, inlaid with gold and silver pieces. If it is a noble Or shaman, all in gold..." "What's a shaman?" I had to change the subject before he would go on and on. "Shamans! They are nomadic wizards, people who claim to be able to communicate with gods. They were called Huwu in ancient times. Their status is about the same as that of tribal leaders, and they even have more authority." In fact, I still know something about shamans. It is said that the ancestor Geng Kui was bitten by the wolf curse, and the family has collected a lot of information about the Shamans of the Huns. "Although the history of the northern nomads is complicated and constantly changing, their religions are very similar. They all belong to nature worship. The status and functions of shamans are also similar, and the only change is in gender. Shamans in the Huns period were formed by Female inheritance, but when it comes to Mongolia, it becomes an elderly male in charge... That's right! There are a lot of information on this on your father's desk, let me show you." Director Wang became more and more excited as he spoke. He threw away the cigarette butt, turned around and took out a picture album from the table, flipped through it and handed it over.I caught it and looked at it, and suddenly it seemed that someone had hit an acupuncture point, and I was completely stunned, and a chill rushed from the soles of my feet to my forehead.The illustration above is an old man wearing a Mongolian robe, a leather hat with two horns, and an iron ring on the brim of the hat... Isn't this the strange thing I saw in the royal tomb? movie?So he was a shaman? "These are your father's personal belongings, you can take them home and study them slowly." Director Wang looked very happy, I really don't understand why, maybe, because I am interested in archaeology, he felt very impressed comfort! From this conversation, I can see that Director Wang has a fairly high level of understanding of nomadic peoples, and he analyzes things with a professional and rigorous attitude, which is more authoritative, unlike the Geng family's hearsay.Thinking of this, I was a little moved, why not ask him about the wolf fur map?After hesitating for a while, I tentatively asked: "Uncle Wang, which ethnic group are these wolves and deer related to?" "Mongolian." Director Wang replied with certainty.He lit another cigarette, took a deep puff and said, "Although wolves are the totems of most grassland peoples, only the Mongols are the ones who add the deer together, to be precise, only the tribe of Genghis Khan. The first paragraph of the opening chapter of "Secret History of Mongolia" is written like this - "Bortechina", who was born under the destiny, and his wife "Huoai Malanle", crossed the "Tengji Sihai" together to come to "Nan In front of the "Buerhan Mountain" at the source of the river, after the two lived together, they gave birth to a son named "Bata Chihan", who was the ancestor of Genghis Khan... Although this passage is difficult to pronounce, it is not difficult to understand. It was always considered to be a true account of the origin of the tribe before. However, in the fifteenth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, when someone spelled and transliterated the original Mongolian pronunciation, they found that the names listed above were not personal names. "Ertechina" means gray wolf, while "Huaimalanle" means white deer, so it has become a tribal myth.However, it can be seen from this that the ancestors of the Genghis Khan tribe worshiped the wolf and the deer as their ancestors as early as the totem culture period. They considered the wolf as their grandfather and the white deer as their grandmother. " wolf!White Deer... It suddenly occurred to me that Baotou, where the royal tomb is located, has been called the City of Lu since ancient times. Is all this just a coincidence?Or is there another reason?And the Xiongnu called themselves the sons of wolves. Could there be a connection between the two? "Uncle Wang, do the Huns and the Mongols have the same ancestry? Could the Genghis Khan tribe be the descendants of Bei Shanyu?" I tried again. "Hehe! This is the first time I've heard of it. So far, there is no direct evidence to show that there is a connection between them. You must know that these nomads have very few written records, and they are used to mixing myths. In the story, the names are repeated, so it is difficult to tell clearly. However, there are signs of the same clan between Mongolia and Khitan, and they are all separated from the Rouran tribe." Director Wang saw that I was very interested, and continued: "Your guess is not completely impossible. Mongolia was formed by the merger of many tribes, and the Genghis Khan tribe is just one of them. The Northern Huns were destroyed in the first century AD. If the Huns who later swept across Europe are regarded as their remnants , it was only toss until 486 AD, and decades later, Mengwu Shiwei, the ancestor of Genghis Khan, began to appear in the Ergun River Basin. After a long period of life and reproduction, he became a powerful nation and eventually unified Mongolia. From In terms of time, the two can still be connected.” It was difficult for me to understand what Director Wang said for a while, and I didn't want to delve into it. Seeing that the time was ripe, I took out a paper and a pen, and skillfully "drawed" the most out of the five Mongolian characters on the wolf fur map, "Uncle Wang, you See what is written in Mongolian characters?" "Oh! These are not Mongolian words in the true sense, but coded symbols popular among Mongolian nobles." Director Wang stared at the words on the paper with a strange expression. Suddenly, he looked up at me and said: "This refers to Jin Weishan." Jin Weishan?Isn't that the place where the Northern Huns were annihilated?I was stunned again, but saw Director Wang showing a reluctant smile, adjusted his glasses and asked, "This kind of code symbol rarely appears, where did you see it?" I was at a loss for words when he asked this question, and I didn't know how to answer it. At this time, Director Wang said: "Your father once said that the family has collected a lot of materials for generations. Did you copy this from it?" "Yeah! How do you know?" I pretended to be surprised, and said smoothly, "I've been looking at these materials recently, and found a map inside, which is written in such fonts." "Oh! Then what are the other words? Write it down and see." Director Wang said calmly, but I could see that he was very nervous, because the cigarette in his hand was only butts, and it was still rattling. ground pumping. At this time, I was full of contradictions, because I felt from the very beginning that this wolfskin map was related to the curse of the family, and Director Wang was an outsider after all, and they just met each other and still lacked understanding, but right now he can explain the above notes. After some thought, I traced the top two words, along with the one below, concealing only the note of the black dot above the central "S". "Ah! These two are ancient Khitan characters, meaning 'ancestor' and 'sacred land'... This... this is another Mongolian code word - 'Boletu River', messed up..." Director Wang was surprised As he spoke, he suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly, "Draw the map!" "Uncle Wang, I only remember these fonts, but I didn't pay much attention to the picture." "It's really strange. This Jinwei Mountain has nothing to do with Khitan Mongolia! The birthplace of Khitan is Laohahe Muye Mountain, while the Mongols are in Burhan Mountain. What's going on?" Director Wang kept nagging, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes were fixed on the note, as if possessed by a demon.I didn't know the history of nomads at first, so I didn't feel anything at this moment. I just thought in my heart, could this cemetery referred to in Khitan be the place where Bei Danyu was buried?If so, then the words marked with black dots on the central "S" line are very important... "Uncle Wang, I'm going back first, it's about my job..." "All right, all right! I'll help you apply right away." Director Wang came back to his senses, stuffed the note into his pocket, and said kindly, "It may take a while to complete the procedures. I'll notify you as soon as I have any news. By the way ! Tomorrow I will go to see your map." "Uh...I didn't bring the map with me, I put it with my relatives in my hometown." Maybe it was out of instinct, I lied casually, "I will definitely show it to you next time I go back." "Okay! These things of your father's are all required materials for archaeology, so let's study first during this time!" Director Wang turned around and helped me pile up the books on the table and put them into nylon bags.