The wind is like a paintbrush in the desert, blowing serpentine patterns on the sand year after year. It is as vast and rugged as the sea, yet also profound and delicate. The monotonous desolation at first glance can be appreciated from another angle, revealing its unpredictable nature.
The morning sunlight was exceptionally soft and bright, painting the desert in various colors from different angles. Only in such a place could one witness such a beautiful natural spectacle as a mirage.
Because this place is not too far from Dunhuang, you can often see a few low-growing plants that look like cacti in the sand. They are so eye-catching in the desert, adding a touch of green vitality to the barren desert.
"Alright, stop running around like that. If you keep doing that, you'll feel like throwing up whenever you see sand in a couple of days..."
Dr. Ren smiled slightly. When he first came here, he didn't perform much better than these young people. However, after working in the desert for several days, you realize how fortunate it is to live in the city.
Water shortage is the first problem to face in the desert. Taking a bath here is an absolute luxury. After work every day, you can't even wash your clothes. You can only throw your sweat-soaked clothes on the sand to dry. After a few days, everyone is covered in dust and dirt. When you return to the city, you will be mistaken for a beggar without even dressing up.
Therefore, there are very few women in many archaeological teams. Dr. Ren originally wanted Xiao Lei to stay in Dunhuang, but the little girl was very stubborn and eventually followed him into the desert.
"Brother Ren, how much longer until we get to that place you mentioned?"
Only two vehicles entered the desert this time, and there is still a path. Zhuang Rui is afraid that if they continue forward for a while, they will not be able to see the path at all.
"It will take another hour or so. We need to drive to Qiujiawo first, then ride camels towards the northern Gobi Desert. It will take another hour or so to get there..."
Five or six years ago, Dr. Ren accompanied Professor Meng to investigate a desert site. It was originally a small town on the Silk Road, but it was abandoned and gradually buried by sandstorms.
Not many things were unearthed from that site, but Dr. Ren learned from some related documents unearthed from the site that more than a thousand years ago, this place was once as prosperous as Dunhuang on the Silk Road. It was during the time of Wang Daoshi more than a hundred years ago that there were no humans living here. It was only later that the conditions became increasingly harsh that they moved away from here.
The site has now been transformed into a tourist attraction for domestic and international tourists who enjoy adventure. Dr. Ren's purpose in taking Zhuang Rui there was certainly not to be a backpacker, but to conduct an exploration of the surrounding area to see if they could find any ancient tombs that had not yet been discovered by the world.
Qiujiawo has a small natural oasis that never dries up and can provide drinking water for hundreds of people. As a result, it has developed into a small town with dozens of households. It is also the closest inhabited place to the ruins. Beyond Qiujiawo lies the vast Gobi Desert.
Although the site is not far from Dunhuang, it is completely in the desert area, and vehicles cannot pass through. The only way to get there is by camel. Therefore, Qiujiawo became a transit point for exploring the site. When Zhuang Rui and his group arrived at Qiujiawo, there were already many tourists gathered there.
As you approach the outskirts of the town, you'll see that almost every household raises camels. Many tourists are already riding on camels, gesturing and making their way into the desert. The jingling of camel bells and the laughter of the people echo through the town.
"Uncle Liu, are you home?"
Dr. Ren had worked here for several months. After parking the car outside the town, he led Zhuang Rui and the others directly to the front of a house. Dr. Ren had been living here during his archaeological work a few years ago.
On the way there, Dr. Ren introduced the owner of the house to Zhuang Rui and the others. Uncle Liu was originally from Xi'an. His ancestors moved to this sparsely populated place during the Qing Dynasty because they could not bear the government's exorbitant taxes. Although the arable land here was scarce, it was still a place where people could survive.
Old Liu has three sons, two of whom have moved to the city. Only he and his youngest son are still keeping up with the family business. However, with the development of tourism at the desert ruins in recent years, more and more people are coming to visit, and Old Liu is living a pretty comfortable life.
"Yes, yes, who is it?"
A voice answered from inside the courtyard, and the gate opened, revealing a wrinkled, thin old man. "Qiangzi, it's you, kid! Come in... come in quickly..."
The old man was overjoyed to see Ren Chunqiang and quickly invited everyone into the yard. His yard was very large, with a hand pump well in the middle. Trellises were set up all over the yard, covered with grapevines, and small, yellow-green, cone-shaped flowers grew on the vines.
Although it's not yet grape season, the lush greenery in the courtyard brought a sense of coolness to everyone who had been staring at the yellow sand for over an hour.
After welcoming everyone into the courtyard, Old Liu walked to the gate, looked around, and turned back to Dr. Ren, asking, "Xiao Qiangzi, what's wrong... Brother Meng didn't come this time?"
Old Liu was a few years older than Professor Meng. Several years ago, when Professor Meng lived here, the two old men formed a deep friendship. This time, seeing that Professor Meng hadn't come, he couldn't help but look a little disappointed.
Dr. Ren took out some gifts from his bag and placed them on the table, saying, "Uncle Liu, the professor couldn't come this time, so he asked me to bring you these gifts. He asked me to give his regards to you and invite you to stay with him in Beijing for a while when you have time..."
"Alright, alright, I'll definitely go when I have time. Brother Meng is such a learned person and he still remembers me. I must trouble you to come..."
Upon hearing Dr. Ren's words, the wrinkles on the old man's face smoothed out, and he busied himself taking out a thermos from the house and brewing tea for everyone.
"Uncle Liu, don't bother. We've come here to ask you to come out of retirement..."
Dr. Ren stepped forward and snatched the thermos from Old Liu's hand, saying to Zhuang Rui, "Uncle Liu is a living map of this area. With him by our side, we won't get lost in this desert. When we were conducting our research, it was Uncle Liu who served as our guide..."
The terrain of the desert is unpredictable. One moment there is a sand dune in front of you, but the next moment it may become a flat plain. Therefore, if you want to carry out archaeological activities in the desert, a good guide who is familiar with the terrain is essential.
Chapter 1099 Ancient City Ruins
The place Dr. Ren was taking Zhuang Rui to was far from the already excavated site. The vast Gobi Desert has always been a no-go zone for humans, and only experienced guides familiar with the terrain dare to enter these areas.
Old Liu, who was standing in front of me, had lived on this land since birth. The desert, which seemed mysterious to outsiders, was nothing special to him. He had measured almost the entire area within a hundred miles on foot.
After Dr. Ren finished speaking, he suddenly noticed a hesitant look on Uncle Liu's face and asked curiously, "Hmm? Uncle Liu, what's wrong? This trip must have been nothing for you, right?"
The old man shook his head, looked apologetically at Dr. Ren, waved his hand to interrupt Ren Chunqiang, and said, "If this were two years ago, it wouldn't be a big deal, but now... Uncle Liu is getting old, Xiao Qiangzi, don't flatter your Uncle Liu. I'm over seventy years old, and I haven't been inside since last year. My arms and legs aren't what they used to be..."
The old man looked somewhat disappointed. Last year, when he was leading a tour group, he encountered a desert storm. One of the girls in the group did not follow his instructions to hide behind a camel, but instead shouted and went to take pictures of the sandstorm. In order to save her, he was buried under the sand and almost lost his life.
Since then, Old Liu's health has been deteriorating. If he didn't still cherish the land where he grew up, he would have gone to his son's home in the city to enjoy a comfortable life long ago.
Seeing Ren Chunqiang's disappointed look, Old Liu suddenly laughed and said, "I can't go, but my son can. Your brother Mengzi is a well-known desert guide for miles around. But he's out with a group and won't be back until tonight. Xiaoqiang, you two stay here for the day and go early tomorrow morning..."
"Hey, how could I forget about that? Okay, let Mengzi come in with us, we can discuss the fees..."
Dr. Ren was overjoyed when he heard what Old Liu said. They would be staying in the desert for several days. With Old Liu's son with them, they wouldn't have to worry about the guides running out of energy. Moreover, Mengzi was one of the best guides in the area, not much worse than the old man.
"Alright, that's settled then. Mengzi, you can talk to him yourself tonight. I'm going to slaughter a sheep, and we'll have a whole lamb feast tonight..."
Old Liu didn't mince words with Dr. Ren. Being a guide is all about making money. No matter how good the relationship is, it's not like he would risk his life to lead them across the desert.
However, business is business, and personal relationships are personal relationships. When guests come to visit, it is essential to entertain them. After letting the men rest in the yard, Old Liu went off to catch sheep with great enthusiasm. Although he couldn't venture deep into the desert, Old Liu was still quite adept at handling these small tasks.
"Brother Ren, what's the typical cost of hiring a tour guide?"
Feeling a bit bored sitting in the courtyard, Zhuang Rui and Ren Chunqiang started chatting.
"That's not necessarily true. Sometimes a guide can take a dozen or so people into the desert and earn over 1,000 yuan a day if each person pays 100 yuan. If there are fewer people, some people are willing to do it for a few hundred yuan. But Uncle Liu's son is a well-known guide, so don't be stingy with your money, kid..."
Dr. Ren joked with Zhuang Rui, saying that the group had already spent fifty or sixty thousand yuan on food and lodging along the way, and Ren Chunqiang knew that Zhuang Rui didn't care about such a small amount of money.
"Okay, then it'll be 2000 yuan a day, let's start with five days..."
Zhuang Rui nodded. From here to the Northern Gobi Desert, there was an area of about a hundred miles in radius, which was originally inhabited. Even with Zhuang Rui's supernatural ability, it would be impossible to survey such a large area in less than a few days. ...
Mengzi also lived in this small town, but he lived separately from Lao Liutou. Around seven or eight o'clock in the evening, Mengzi brought his wife and children to Lao Liutou's house.
Unlike Old Liu's withered and thin build, Mengzi was very strong, about 1.8 meters tall, and around 35 or 36 years old. He spoke loudly and was very generous. When he saw that guests had come to his house, he didn't even sit down on a stool. He immediately went home, slaughtered a sheep, and brought it over.
A bonfire was lit in the courtyard. Two whole sheep were skewered on iron bars and roasted over the fire. The flames licked the sheep, making a sizzling sound. Mengzi's wife rolled the mutton back and forth, sprinkling various seasonings on it. Mengzi's two children played around the bonfire. Old Liu squatted on the ground, smoking his pipe, occasionally scolding his grandson, but his face was full of happy smiles.
"Brother Mengzi, we don't come here unless we need something. We've come to ask you to be our guide..."
Before Dr. Ren could explain his purpose, Mengzi had already gone off to slaughter a sheep. Only now did I have time to talk to Mengzi about asking him to be my guide.
Mengzi paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked, "When? Can it be a couple of days later? I promised a client I'd accompany him into the desert for the next two days..."
"What? We're also going into the desert tomorrow, Mengzi, what... what are we going to do?"
Ren Chunqiang hadn't expected someone to intercept him, and he couldn't help but feel anxious. If he had to wait in this godforsaken place for two days, he would suffocate.
Mengzi thought for a moment, stood up, and said, "Well then, since I didn't take his deposit anyway, I'll go to Erdan's house and tell him to go in with them..."
"Okay, okay, Mengzi, whatever that guy offers, we'll give you double..."
Dr. Ren is being generous with Zhuang Rui's money; after all, it's not his money, and Zhuang Rui won't care.
"Well, that won't be necessary. Let's talk about it when we get back..."
Mengzi waved his hand and walked straight out of the courtyard. This was a matter of business reputation, so it was better to tell others as soon as possible so they could find another tour guide.
There were only a few dozen households in the town. In just seven or eight minutes, Mengzi returned and started treating Zhuang Rui and the others to food and drink. However, to Zhuang Rui and the others' embarrassment, the four of them, all grown men, couldn't outdrink Old Liu and his father. In the end, they were all knocked out and didn't even know how they ended up in bed.
The next morning, around 5 a.m., Zhuang Rui and the others were woken up. Mengzi led ten camels to the parking area. Six of the ten camels were for people to ride, while the other four were for carrying supplies and could also be used for riding in emergencies.
It took them more than half an hour to move all the tents, shovels, drinking water, and other supplies from the three vehicles into the baskets on both sides of the camel's hump. These would be all their logistical supplies in the desert, and their lifeline in the desert.
Everyone, regardless of gender, had a scarf wrapped around their face and wore a hat to protect themselves from the sand. Almost everyone in the desert wore this attire, and the locals were used to it. Only the tourists pointed and whispered about Zhuang Rui and his group.
"Let's go..."
With Mengzi's rough shouts, the six men sat upright on camels, swaying and walking slowly into the depths of the vast desert, the clear sound of camel bells echoing through the desert.
Unlike horseback riding, riding a camel is very stable. Camels have thick skin and fleshy pads on their feet, making them well-suited for walking in the desert. The dense hair inside their ears can block sand from entering, and their double eyelids and thick, long eyelashes can also prevent sand from getting into their eyes. Even their noses can be closed freely.
These special "equipment" made the camels move with ease in the desert. Seeing how steadily the camels walked on the sand, Zhuang Rui and the others gradually became bolder. With a sudden shout, more than ten camels started to trot, causing the people riding on them to scream.
After walking for nearly two hours in the desert, a row of low city walls suddenly appeared in the distance. Upon closer inspection, Zhuang Rui discovered that the ruins covered a considerable area. The layout of the former streets and alleys could be seen from the crumbling walls of the buildings inside, and there were also traces of field ridges and ditches outside the ruins.
The soil here has not been completely desertified. Soil can still be seen in some corners of the walls. Low-lying plants grow tenaciously in the ruins, adding a touch of life to these broken rocks and walls.
It's not far from Qiujiawo, only a four-hour round trip, so no one stayed here overnight. Zhuang Rui and his group were the first tourists to arrive today.
"We're here. This is the ruins. Qiangzi, brothers, do you want to come down and take a look?"
Mengzi reached out and patted the neck of the camel he was riding. The camel obediently lowered its body, just enough for his feet to touch the ground.
Zhuang Rui followed Mengzi's example, patted the camel's neck, and got off, saying, "Come down and take a look..."
Dr. Ren walked over to Zhuang Rui, looked at the place where he had once worked, and said, "Zhuang Rui, the desertification here isn't very severe. Basically, the ruins of the houses are exposed. They were all excavated back then..."
"Well, the value of this excavation isn't that great anymore. By the way, Mengzi, you grew up here, have you heard of any other ruins around here?"
Zhuang Rui walked around the ruins, sensed the underground with his spiritual energy, and returned to the camel's place with some disappointment. Although there were some ceramic jars with spiritual energy left in this half-sand, half-soil underground, those objects were very ordinary and had no value for excavation.
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Mengzi thought hard for a moment and said uncertainly, "I've never heard of the ruins, but the old people in the town say that there seems to be a Buddhist temple near the northern Gobi Desert. In the early 20th century, monks and Taoist priests from Dunhuang often went there..."
Chapter 1100 Devil's Forbidden Zone
Zhuang Rui was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then said with a wry smile, "A temple? It's normal for monks to go, but what would a Taoist priest do there?"
Zhuang Rui's purpose for this trip was to excavate valuable ancient tombs. He wasn't particularly interested in temples, unless they were special places like Famen Temple that housed the finger bone relic of Shakyamuni Buddha. However, it's conceivable that a temple in such a desolate place wouldn't have such a Buddhist treasure.
"What's so strange about that? Isn't Wang Daoshi also a follower of Taoism? Isn't he practicing at the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang? Monks and Taoists are all one family..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Dr. Ren couldn't help but laugh. In China, Buddhism originated from foreign monks, while Taoism originated domestically. Both religions experienced periods of prosperity and decline. Although Buddhism and Taoism have had many open and covert struggles throughout history, compared to the bloody massacres between foreign religions, they have maintained a relatively harmonious relationship.
In ancient China, many people practiced both Buddhism and Taoism and achieved profound mastery in both. For example, Wang Yangming, a great Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty, was not only proficient in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, but also integrated the three schools of thought, earning him the title of "True Three Immortals." His academic thought has had a significant and far-reaching influence in China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, Southeast Asian countries, and even globally.
"Wang the Taoist priest?"
Upon hearing this name, Zhuang Rui's heart stirred. Wang Daoshi had built the Taiqing Palace Taoist temple in Mogao Grottoes for his practice. Why would he go to this remote temple in the desert? Even if desertification wasn't so severe back then, probably not many people would be willing to come here.
"Could it be... that Taoist Wang went there for some other reason?"
Zhuang Rui felt there was something about that temple that attracted him. After thinking for a moment, he looked at Mengzi and said, "Brother Mengzi, have you been there? I'd like to go and see it..."
"Brother Zhuang, I've never been there either. I've only heard old people talk about it, saying it's where demons live, and it's very dangerous..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Mengzi, who was usually known for his forthright personality, actually showed a troubled expression. This was because even his father had warned him never to go to that place, as it had been taken over by demons.
"Devil? You mean Devil City? That's just a geological phenomenon, a type of wind-eroded landform formed in arid and windy conditions. There's nothing dangerous about it..."
Zhuang Rui laughed when he heard this. He guessed that the place Mengzi was talking about was the Yardang landform area. This type of terrain is often bizarre and strange, as if it was created by the devil, but it is actually not harmful to people.