Daomu Biji

The group of people were quiet for a while before they heard Boss Wang say: "This matter has something to do with my ancestors. To tell you the truth, I am not a Han. My ancestors were Manchus with yellow flags. At that time, there was a special department in the Eight Banners Army. It’s called the Iron Head Cavalry Battalion. It has only three thousand people, but it is directly affiliated with the Military Aircraft Department. Do you know what this unit does?”

Uncle Tai smiled and said: "I have heard about this a little bit. I don't know what the Iron Head Cavalry Battalion does, but in the end it was recruited by Zeng Shatou and went to fight the red-haired bandits. I still listen to what my uncle said. Is it possible? Is your ancestor an iron-headed knight?"

Boss Wang also smiled and said: "You guessed it right. My ancestor was not only an iron-headed knight, but also a general soldier. Their army has very special responsibilities. It is neither marching and fighting, nor building bridges and paving roads." , but to help emperors of the past dynasties collect rare folk treasures, especially antiques. A certain number of treasures must be turned over every year, but believe it, there are fewer and fewer things in this world that can impress the emperor. This treasure is getting harder and harder to find every year. They can't find it in the living, and in the end they have to look for it in the dead."

The young voice shouted: "Oh, from what you said, could it be that this iron-headed knight is also in the business of reverse fighting like us?"

"Exactly, exactly. But although they were defeated by officials, they were different from the ancient Mojin Colonels. The reason for the Mojin Colonels to fight was for military pay, so they were defeated one by one and nothing was left. But this iron As for Tou Xiaoqi, there was neither fighting nor turmoil. It was not cost-effective to offer up all the treasures in a bucket, so they found many fights but did not touch them. They also recorded them and used the records when needed. After rediscovering these ancient tombs, the book that records the location of the ancient tombs is called "Hemuji". I have half a volume of this book, which is a family heirloom. The bucket we are going to dump now is the one with the most detailed records. ." Boss Wang said proudly: "My ancestors also said that this fight is not a trivial matter. Don't touch it unless it is absolutely necessary. This shows how good the treasures here are. I have seen everyone cooperate for so long this time. That’s why I’m willing to take it out.”

When Lao Itchi and I heard this, we couldn't help but sigh. Lao Itch lowered his voice and asked me: "You - do you think what this man named Wang is really - really? Can there be so many good - good things in the world?"

I shook my head and replied: "I can't say for sure, but you see how confident he is in what he said, and he is probably right. It seems that there is a way this time. Even if we pick up the leftovers from them, we can still get half full. "

When Lao Itch heard this, he immediately became excited, "Then I - we really did follow - right this time. But - but these people are so energetic, we can still - still follow today, and then... ——In a few days, I’m afraid I won’t know where I’ll be thrown by them.”

He stuttered very hard because of his nervousness, and he spoke a few words very loudly. I heard it badly, so I quickly covered his mouth to stop him from getting excited, and at the same time I strained my ears to listen to the reaction on the other side, but It's too late. It suddenly became quiet over there, and it was obvious that something strange was noticed nearby.

Lao Chi and I held our breath,

We tried our best not to make a sound, our heart was beating like a drum, but we were definitely not sure that there was anyone nearby. For a while, both sides were silent, and it was like this for several minutes. The old man couldn't stand it any longer, and said softly: "Er Mazi (Young man, there seems to be movement behind you, go and see what it is."

After hearing this sentence, I heard two clear shots of pistols being fired, and I suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. It looked like he was indeed a gangster, and he was probably going to be killed by Lao Itch now. The last few times I saved my life under Zongzi’s nose, the main reason was that Zongzi had no ideas. It would be different if I changed people. If I ran away now, I was 80% sure that I could escape. It would be troublesome for me to follow him in the future. If I don't run now, I'm really not sure I can hide under their noses.

When I was hesitating, there was suddenly a noisy sound from a distance. I looked towards the place where the sound came from and saw a row of four or five flashlights approaching us. It was the mountain patrol team coming. At this time, I heard Uncle Tai call out softly: "There's an eagle-claw grandson here, pull it." After saying that, several people hurriedly stamped out the fire, picked up their equipment, and ran deep into the forest.

Lao Itch was scared to death just now, but now that he saw the person running away, he became anxious again and asked me hurriedly: "What - what should I do? Chase - chase or not?"

I carefully looked around and found that none of them had flashlights. The forest was completely dark and no one could be seen. I cursed in my heart. Lao Itch was unwilling to give in, so he pulled me and wanted to catch up. I said: "No, look at this fool, we might be able to follow them with this tracking method. Let's rest first and follow their footsteps tomorrow. I believe they won't go too far and they have to stop." Come down and rest.”

Lao Itch was worried and said: "What other footprints are there on this ground? If we don't chase them now, there will be no chance."

I said: "If there is no chance, there is no chance. No chance is better than no chance."

At this time, the mountain patrol team members were already very close to us. If we didn't leave, we would probably be caught. I told the chattering Lao Itch to shut up and pulled him hurriedly in another direction. He burrowed deep into the forest and hid behind a bush. He waited until the mountain patrol left before running out. By this time I was very sleepy, so I huddled together with Lao Chi and leaned against a tree to survive the night.

The next day, we woke up early in the morning. The bird droppings on one end were so smelly that I wanted to vomit. Lao Itchy didn't care about it. He scooped it up a few times and shouted to find those people quickly. I couldn't stand running around in the forest carrying bird poop, so I had to sacrifice half a bottle of water to rinse it.

I followed Lao Itch and ran back to the place where I stayed yesterday, praying in my heart that there would be some clues left on the ground, but after going in circles for many times, we couldn't even find the remains of yesterday's bonfire. Lao Itch was very dissatisfied with me and kept nagging in my ear: "So - I asked you to follow - yesterday. Look - look, now it's better to cook - the cooked duck - —The ducks have all flown away.”

I was furious: "Damn it, how come there are so many opinions? Look, here is just a mountain road. Wherever they can go, if we keep going forward, I don't believe they can't find it."

We walked along the mountain road to catch up. We walked for a whole morning. We had finished walking the stone steps, but we still couldn't find any trace of them. Further ahead, there was a trail that had been trodden by people. It had twists and turns and only led to the forest. the deepest part. I felt a little scared when I looked at it. This meant that not even the mountain patrol team would go down the road behind this. It would be considered as truly entering the deep mountains and old forests.

We took out military daggers from our backpacks and hung them on our waists. Each of us broke off a big branch. There are many wild animals in the Qinling Mountains. For big ones, there are tigers and bears. For small ones, there are wolves and wild boars. If not If we are unlucky enough to encounter one or two, Lao Itchi and I can feed them several meals.

Lao Itch asked me what my plan was if I couldn't find them today, and I thought about it in my mind. According to the information I checked before coming here, there are many temporary shacks built by herb collectors in this mountain, with cooking utensils inside. If we can find firewood and dried meat, we can have a good rest tonight and then make plans. Although we are far away from the tourist area now, we are still a long, long way away from the real depths of the Qinling Mountains. I believe there should be some villages ahead. Only after we pass those villages can we Find an ancient tomb that has not been robbed.

I told Lao Chi about my thoughts, and his face turned green, and he asked me: "Do you still have to go in - go? You - you see there isn't even a ghost around here, do you have to - Why don't we look around here first? Don't tell me, we are lucky and can really find one or two funnels for me."

I laughed at him and said: "Where did that ambition go when you first came? Damn, you are just an armchair strategist. Look, there is still a road under our feet. Where there is a road, it is not dangerous. Our destination , I want to go to a place where there is no road, do you understand?"

"Okay, you - you are an expert, I - all listen to you, then let's go." Lao Itch didn't bother to talk to me, and took the lead to knock on the grass on the roadside with a branch. Not far away, we saw a ruined temple. There were a few middle-aged women in front of and behind the temple. We didn’t know what they were doing. I walked up to them and asked them in a very sincere manner: " Sister, I am a tourist from out of town. I would like to know how far there is to the village." A woman in a red coat said: "Are you talking about our village? You came all the way to our village. What are you doing here in the village?"

When I saw it, the women here were very vigilant, and they said nonchalantly: "I'm looking for someone. I came to your village two years ago, and there was an old man who entertained me at that time. This time I came back to see him, but it was only two years ago." The New Year has not come, and the road will no longer go."

The middle-aged woman glared at me and cursed: "Damn, you are just a thief. Who knows what you are worried about? I have seen people like you many times. They are either fighting or poaching." , If you want to deceive me, you are not hot enough."

I was dumbfounded by her scolding and didn't know how to reply. Lao Itch pushed me aside, slapped a piece of 100 yuan and handed it to the middle-aged woman, and said: "What - there is so much nonsense, bring us In the past, this - this - one hundred yuan was yours, damn, if you dare to say another word - I will chop you up."

I thought the middle-aged woman would get angry, so I took a step back and was about to run away. But when the middle-aged woman saw the money, she immediately took it with a smile, and instantly turned into an amiable rural aunt and said: " Don't be angry, don't be angry, I'm kidding you, look north and keep walking along this intersection until you see a three-way intersection, take the left one, cross a stream, and you'll reach my village."

Lao Itch grinned and asked again: "Have five people passed by just now? An old man plus a few years - young ones?"

The middle-aged woman became vigilant and asked, "Aren't you a police officer? What happened? What did those five people do?"

Lao Itch looked at me and winked at me, and I pretended to say: "How did you know that we are the police?"

The middle-aged woman thought she had guessed correctly, and suddenly became nervous, and said quickly: "Comrade Public Security, I still can't guess this? You have had seven or eight groups of people come this month, and they all live in my village. I saw that you just left The five people who passed by didn't look like good people, and the old man was a familiar face. He stayed in our village for four or five months every year, and I had already suspected them. What? Did they commit a crime? "

As soon as I heard this, I immediately felt relieved. These five people must have entered the village. They needed to prepare before entering the mountains. They could not leave without staying in the village. So I said to the aunt, "Don't be too busy." Don't tell anyone about this matter, you know? You will naturally know it by then."

The middle-aged aunt said: "Does this count as providing clues? Will you write me a letter of praise or something?"

Lao Itch and I couldn't laugh or cry. Lao Itch pushed me away and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely remember you when I go back."

The middle-aged woman still wanted to be nagging, so we ignored her and ran north.

When I ran to the three-way intersection, I was about to go to the left lane. Lao Itch suddenly grabbed me and said, "No--no, you shouldn't take this way. I--let's go to the middle--middle." "

I wondered: "What are you doing? Didn't that woman just say to go to the left?"

Lao Itch glanced at me and asked: "Do you - do you really don't know - know, or are you pretending not to know? There is something wrong with that woman."

I was stunned for a moment, but I really didn’t see anything wrong with that woman, so I quickly asked him what was going on. He pointed at me with disdain and said, “Actually, you don’t know and I can’t blame you—I blame you. I—I I also heard what the bosses said in prison. There are mountain ladies in this mountainous area. They guard the intersections and help guide people. They will cheat anyone they see. Look at the road on the left. There will be a village on the left. , it goes all the way to the mountain - the mountain, there must be a scam there, maybe there are people waiting for us to fall into the trap. "

I was dubious after hearing this, thinking that this was a tourist attraction, how could something like this happen before liberation? If they want to kill or rob, they have to go further in. I told Lao Chi about this concern. After hearing this, he immediately cursed: "You - you said you ran across the rivers and lakes with your third uncle, this - I don’t even understand this. These tourists are all outside, and those who come here are not good people. Look at the two of us, they are called black and white."

I thought it made sense when I heard it, so I followed him towards the middle road.

We were cut by thorns until dusk. The more I walked, the more I felt something was wrong. The grass on the roadside was too lush, and it didn't look like someone would often step on it. I hurriedly grabbed Lao Itch and said anxiously: "Wait a minute, this road must be wrong. There will be no road if we go further. We'd better go back while it's still dark."

Lao Itch turned his head and looked at me silently and said, "Let's go forward. It's too late to go back now."

I saw a strange expression on his face, and felt a strange feeling in my heart. When I looked back, I suddenly found that the road I came from had been submerged in large patches of weeds and shrubs. I couldn't find any trace of it unless I lowered my head. If I didn't look down now, If we go back and wait until dark, we will probably get lost in this forest, but Lao Itch is right. Even if we go back now, we may not have enough time to walk back to the three-way intersection, or to the village. Possibly, it looks like we'll have to spend the night here.

We walked in for about an hour with the setting sun on our backs. It was getting dark, and suddenly we found a wooden shack for herb collectors in front of us. Lao Itch opened the door and walked inside. He turned around and said to me: "Come and see, there is a stove here. We can have a hot meal tonight."

I followed him in and found that it was a two-story shack connected by a ladder. There was an attic above. There was no furniture in it, but it was covered with several large wooden boards. There was a pit in the center of the room, which was filled with charcoal ash. I believe it was. It is used to light a fire for warmth. We put down our equipment, randomly picked up some firewood outside, and quickly lit a fire to keep warm. Then we took out the dry food from the bag and baked it directly to eat. By the time we finished eating, it was already dark outside, and there were the sounds of wild beasts all around. I don’t know if they were wolves or something else.

Lao Itch lit a cigarette, smiled bitterly, and said: "It seems that we can only sleep for half the night tonight. Someone has to watch the fire and prevent it from going out, otherwise I'm afraid the "friends outside" "Coming in."

I didn't comment. I was very tired from the day's journey. Thinking that I might have to live like this for several weeks in a row, I couldn't help but regret that I had promised him. He kept talking for a long time, talking about how he came here three years ago. The more I listened, the more drowsy I became, and I said to him: "You've been singing like a fucking opera for a long time. I can't listen anymore. I'll take a nap first. You wake me up in the middle of the night to change the shift." As soon as he finished speaking, he He protested loudly, saying that I couldn't wake up even if I was asleep and firing cannons, but I was so confused that I didn't know what he was talking about, and fell asleep after a while.

I didn't sleep peacefully this time. I'm always itchy and lazy, so I probably couldn't help myself and fell asleep. I tossed and turned. In the second half of the night, I woke up on my own. When I opened my eyes, I saw that there was a hole in the dirt. The fire was still burning, but Old Itch was not in the room. I cursed in my mind and wanted to stand up and go out to pee. Just as I turned around, I suddenly saw an eye in the crack of the attic floor on the second floor, staring blankly. Looking at me blankly.