Holy Bone

Chapter 584 Learn the latest clues from the old Taoist priest!Get ready to head deep into the Kunlun Mountains!
Dolma replied: "Everyone is waiting for the snow deep in the mountains to melt."

"Kunlun Snow Mountain began to melt in April and May, but the mountain where the avalanche occurred was deeper. Before the temperature rises, the glaciers will become brittle, and outsiders will not be able to dig deeper into the glaciers."

"So everyone is waiting."

Jin An's heart skipped a beat. The other party was a local, so he must know a lot.

"Dolma, you don't have to be so polite. You can call me Jin'an directly. She is Mr. Yiyun, and that one is Qibo."

Then, Jin An continued: "I heard that the Kunlun Mountains avalanche happened in February and March last year?"

"And I also heard some rumors that at that time, there were several venerables in large monasteries who rode snow-capped beasts and summoned the auspicious Buddha. They were the first group of people to enter the depths of the Kunlun Mountains. Later, these venerables had Bring any news?"

After hearing Jin An's words, Dolma's complexion changed slightly.

Jin An knew that there must be something going on here, and it seemed that he lived in the right place this time.

At this time, the sky outside the tent had already darkened. Before Zhuoma could answer, there was a conversation between a middle-aged man and Zhuoma's grandfather outside the tent. Zhuoma heard the voice of the middle-aged man and ran out in surprise: "It's me!" added back."

Hearing Zhuoma's shout, the middle-aged man outside the tent laughed loudly, and there was also a middle-aged woman's voice, all speaking the local language that Jin An could not understand.

Not long after, the curtain of the tent was lifted from the outside, and a middle-aged man with a solid figure, a stone knife hanging from his waist, a large curved bow on his back, and an animal skin coat tied behind his waist walked in.

The temperature difference between day and night on the plateau is extreme, the lake is still frozen in the morning, and at noon, the sun as big as a millstone overhead makes people dizzy.So I wear thick clothes when I go out in the morning, and I have to take off the heavy coat at noon to prevent heatstroke.

The coat is tied around the waist for easy wearing at any time.

Walking with the middle-aged man, there is also a woman who looks like a husband and wife.

The woman's appearance was ordinary, and she was exposed to the highland sun all the year round. Her skin was not as delicate and white as that of the women in the Central Plains. There were heavy marks of aging on her face.

Women living in the snowy plateau are not as fragile as women in the Central Plains, have no worries about food and clothing, and feel sorry for themselves all day long. Women living in the snowy plateau are strong and strong, and they are proud of being able to ride horses and hunt wolves. The body is stronger than the men in the Central Plains, the bow can hunt wolves, and the knife can protect the tribe.So they never look in the mirror and lament that the years have destroyed people's old age.

With that time of self-pity and self-pity, it is better to cut more winter grass and think about how to survive the winter.

For example, this Tibetan woman carried tens of kilograms of huge cow legs on her shoulders, walked into the tent with ease, and came from afar to Jin'an, Mr. Yiyun, and Qibo with two red faces on the plateau. The guests showed a simple smile.

"Tashi Delek."

The woman greeted the three of them one by one.

Then she sat at the side and skillfully scraped the bones and deboned the meat. A complete beef leg of several tens of catties was quickly deboned and tendon removed in her hands, just like a Pao Ding dissolving a cow, and Zhuoma also carried a few The wooden basin is by the side to help.

Tashi stands for auspiciousness, and Dele stands for good. Together, it means welcoming guests and blessing auspiciousness. This is a friendly greeting from the locals.

The middle-aged man took off his coat, first hung the coat, stone knife, and big curved bow on the tent, and then greeted Jin'an and Tashi Dele one by one.

"Welcome... Han people..."

"You can call me... Dorje Tso..."

This middle-aged man did not speak Tubo, but Chinese. He did not speak fluently. It seemed that he had learned Chinese but lacked communication with Han people.

Looking at the warm picture of this family, this is a simple and kind-hearted Tibetan family. Although Zhuoma is a picked-up Han Chinese, not their own daughter, two generations of the family treat Zhuoma as their own. Chinese should also be learned from Dolma, looking at Dolma's eyes, full of doting and paternal love.

Dorje means Vajra in the local area, and Cuo means lake. This man is as brave as a Buddhist Vajra, and as broad-minded as the lake at the foot of the holy mountain.

"It's a coincidence that you came today...on the way back...we happened to meet a yak that fell off the cliff and died. This is the Zan God who lives in the snow-capped mountains and welcomes you..."

After Dorje Cuo warmly greeted him, he went outside to replace his father, and let him take care of the cattle, horses and sheep, feed the grass, and let his elderly father go back to the tent to warm up and rest.

Soon after, a sumptuous meal of Cordyceps Roasted Pork, Sheep Blood Sausage, Ginseng Cold Beef, Air-dried Beef, Air-dried Horse Meat, and Stir-fried Pork with Mushrooms was spread out on the mat.

Cordyceps and ginseng, which are valuable in Kangding, are the least valuable in the snowy plateau.Even ordinary people can't always afford the beef and mutton. Everyone here is tired of eating it. They even use gold, caterpillar fungus, and high-quality fur to buy tea from the Han people. They often make tea and drink it to scrape their stomachs. oil and water.

Zhuoma's family was very careful, worried that the Han people in Jin'an would not be used to the local air-dried meat, so Zhuoma's mother and Zhuoma's grandmother specially cooked two more pots of hot dishes, and paired them with steaming butter tea. Very rich.

This family is very hospitable and treats Jin An and the others as honored guests. Jin An feels that if they eat a few more meals, they will be able to pay back their accommodation expenses.

This also shows from the side that Cordyceps, livestock meat is indeed worthless in the local area, not to mention that the rotten streets are as cheap as grass, but it is not much different from eating cabbage and radishes.

Even the silly sheep followed suit, gathered around the stove, roasted the fire, gnawed on the fresh grass, and occasionally ate some caterpillar fungus and mushrooms to improve their meals.

It is that it is always vigilantly watching the sheep blood sausage, preventing Jin An from stealing it behind its back.

It made Jin An very depressed.

During this journey, he smelled the smell of kebabs every day, but he didn't smell a bit of oil, and he couldn't eat it just by looking at it, which was the most tormenting person's spirit.

Being tempted by desire all the time, he felt that his state of mind had improved a little.

The girl had a small appetite, so the sensible Dolma hurried out of the tent to exchange for Dorje Tso after finishing her meal.

"This child is filial and sensible at such a young age." Qi Bo praised.

"It can also be seen that Uncle Dorje Cuo's family sincerely raised the girl as if they were their own daughters. Dolma met a good family. This is called good people meeting good people, great kindness." Jin'an sandwiched two slices of fried pork with mushrooms , the taste buds on the tip of the tongue have endless aftertastes.

Although this season is not yet the peak season for eating mushrooms, you can gradually eat some mushrooms in June.

After listening to Mr. Yiyun's translation, several family members of Dolma showed clean and simple smiles, saying that they could meet Dolma, who was the child bestowed by the gods, and they wrote their best blessings in the name of Tedan Dolma inside.

Cedars imply eternal life.

Zhuoma means the incarnation of Bodhisattva.

When it was almost time to eat, while Dorjiecuo's wife was packing up the bones of cattle, horses and sheep, Jin'an showed everyone the portrait of the old Taoist priest again, and asked about the whereabouts of the old Taoist priest.

Drolma's grandfather, Drolma's grandmother, and Dorjetso's wife all said that they had never seen it. When it was Dorjetso's turn, Dorjetso shook his head at first to express that he had never seen it.

Faced with this result, Jin An was already prepared in his heart. He lost his eyes and was about to put away the scroll again. At this moment, Dorje Cuo suddenly said with some hesitation: "Daoist Jin'an... that... scroll... just now... can be used again. Shall I take a closer look..."

Although Dorje Tso could speak Chinese, he stumbled when speaking, but it was like the sound of nature in Jin An's ears, and he said excitedly, "Uncle Dorje Tso, did you think of something?"

He hurriedly handed the picture scroll with the portrait of the old Taoist to Dorje Tso, saying that I am not in a hurry, Uncle Dorje Tso, please take a look, the more carefully the better, this person is very important to me.

Dorje Tso: "I just thought about it...I always feel that this person looks familiar...like, where did I meet..."

Next, Dorje Cuo took the portrait of the old Taoist priest and looked at it repeatedly. He always felt familiar no matter how he looked at it. He was sure that he must have seen it somewhere, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen it.

Jin An thought for a while and said: "Could it be that there is only one meeting, so I don't have a deep impression, and this meeting was seen recently, so I still have a little impression."

"Everyone has never seen the old Taoist priest, only Uncle Dorje Tso has seen the old Taoist priest, which means that only Uncle Dorje Tso has been to this place in a short period of time, and no one has been there..."

"Uncle Dorjetso, think carefully about where you have been recently. No one else can go. Only you can go. The time will not exceed half a month to a month."

"Please, Uncle Dorje Tso, this person is really important to me!" Jin An looked at Dorje Tso sincerely.

"Dorje Tso, if we can help others, we should do our best." Although he couldn't understand the Han people, Dorje Tso's mother, that is, Dolma's grandmother, could still understand some of the meaning through her expressions and eyes.

Dorje Tso, who was sitting cross-legged on the mat, nodded: "I will definitely try to remember."

Next, Dorje Tso recounted all the places he had been to these days. About the time a cup of buttered tea became cold, Dorje Tso finally gave his answer: "If I say that the most special place I have been to recently... None of them can go... only I can go... that is, I was a guide not long ago... leading a team into the snow-capped mountains and glaciers..."

"If I've ever seen the person in the painting... most likely I've seen it there..."

Jin An was startled when he got the answer.

Did the old Taoist run into Kunlun Mountain?
……

In the desert Gobi at night, strong winds are gradually blowing.

The elderly, weak, women and children in the tent gradually fell asleep, and Dorje Cuo was on duty at night to watch the cattle, horses and sheep outside the tent.

It was cold and windy. If you pour a puddle of water into the Gobi sand at this time, it would not take long for frost to form. Even the hot air exhaled from people's mouths would form frost in the cold night.

The plateau climate is like this, the temperature difference between day and night is very extreme.

But at this time, it is the most comfortable thing to squeeze together with cows and horses.

Jin'an glanced at the brightly lit little Tucheng in the distance, took a sip of the highland barley wine from Dorje Tso, and then gave it back to Dorje Tso: "Uncle Dorje Tso, can you tell us what is going on in Kunlun Mountains?" what happened?

Young Master Yiyun and Qi Bo on the side also looked at Dorje Cuo curiously.

Dorje Tso is used to the cold of the plateau, he is as strong as a brown bear on the plateau, and the cold wind at night cannot blow him down.

"You are good people... Listen to my advice... There is a god of praise living in the depths of this snow mountain... God of praise is a good god, and he is afraid of encountering demons of praise, who will get angry and eat people..."

In Tubo, there are two kinds of gods believed in.

One is the lamas in the monasteries and the Dharma protectors enshrined in the monasteries.

Lamas and Dharma protectors are the most supreme in the eyes of the local people.

Esoteric Buddhism is different from Mahayana Buddhism. In Kangding, although people respect monks when they see them, they only regard monks as eminent monks with practice, and they do not worship monks as gods.

In Tubo, lamas, like Buddhas, are supreme gods.

Divine power is above secular kingship.

In addition to believing in lamas and Dharma protectors, the local people also believe in Zan Shen.

Praise God does not refer to only one kind of god, but the guardian god of the world who lives in the wilderness of snow-capped mountains and valleys.

This god is not a Buddha.

Zan Shen has three heads and six arms, with an angry face.

People who don't have a deep understanding often regard Zan Shen as the angry-eyed Vajra Protector of Tantric Buddhism.

It’s easy to understand if you praise gods and demons. Gods, like people, have good and evil sides. Praise gods are righteous gods that can bring blessings. Cows and horses are fat. Praise demons are evil gods who are irritable, capricious, and like to eat people.

Jin An's eyes were firm: "If the old Taoist really enters Kunlun Mountain, no matter whether he is a dragon's pond or a tiger's den, I will go there."

Looking at Jin'an, who values ​​love and righteousness, Dorje Cuo looked a little more respectful. He stopped persuading him and began to talk about Kunlun Mountain: "You know that during the avalanche last year, several venerables rode white bulls into the snow mountain. Deep down, what happened?

Because he is not fluent in Chinese, this time Dorje Tso said in Tubo: "When you go, you never return! You don't know if you live or die!"

Dorje Cuo said that Mr. Yiyun translated, and Jin'an gradually knew the ins and outs of the matter.

No wonder why he didn't see a few lamas in Xiaotucheng today. It turned out that all the monks who could come from the nearby monasteries were participating in the rescue in the mountains at this time, trying to find His Holiness.

Those few missing venerables can be said to be all the top masters in Tubo, and they are also the spiritual beliefs of the Tantric practice circle. The masters at the top of the pyramid disappeared in the depths of the Kunlun Mountains. of.

Regardless of life or death, in life one must see a person, and in death one must see a corpse, but now neither the person nor the corpse has been found.

Digging along the ancient ruins from the avalanche collapse, from last year to the present, the missing venerables have not been found.

Moreover, the place that was finally cleared was covered by heavy snow again after October. During the snow season, some people ventured into the depths of the snow mountain glacier and almost died inside, but the missing venerables were still not found.

Before the snow melted this year, several monasteries began to organize a large number of manpower to enter the snow mountain glacier in advance, just to find people before the next heavy snow closed the mountain.

In fact, outsiders are not optimistic about the situation of the missing venerables.

It’s been a year, and if people really want to live, they should have come out long ago. The living can’t stay in the snow-capped mountains and glaciers without food for a year without coming out, can they?
And it has been a year, and no one has come out, even if they were alive at the beginning, they have starved to death inside, and the possibility of surviving is very low.

Even several venerables fell into the depths of the Kunlun Mountains and never came out. What kind of monuments did this Kunlun Mountains avalanche produce?

Could it really be the Palace of the Queen Mother of the West?

Yuanshi Tianzun Dojo?
But the more this is the case, the more mysterious Kunlun Mountain is, the more the outside world is rushing to the secrets deep in Kunlun Mountain. Therefore, as soon as the temperature has risen a little this year, various forces can't wait to gather here, and no one wants to be one step behind.

It was under such circumstances that Dorje Cuo earned more money to fulfill his mother's wish, to go to a temple to face the Buddha once in his life, to be a guide for others, and to take the risk of leading a team into the depths of the snow-capped mountains.

Jin'an and Mr. Yiyun looked at each other, it seemed that they would have to work tomorrow, and Uncle Dorjetso would also be their guide.

Ever since I got close to the Kunlun Mountains, the Luogeng jade plate in my hand has been malfunctioning and has been spinning in circles. I don’t know if it is affected by the huge magnetic field in the mountain, or it means that the old Taoist is in the Kunlun Mountains...

(End of this chapter)