No toques a mi hombre

Capítulo 30

Tibetan temples all look quite similar, and since we were all exhausted, we didn't have time to properly examine this particular monastery. As soon as we reached the campsite designated by Tashim, we pitched our tents and rested. When we woke up, it was already afternoon. Tashim and we ate some dry rations to stave off hunger, and he told us that after completing this last day's journey, the entire pilgrimage would be finished. Next, we would head towards our final destination on this Tibetan journey: the ruins of the Guge Kingdom. Hearing this news, we were all incredibly excited. During the past few days on this snowy plateau, the food was poor, and we weren't warm enough. Our faces and hands were covered in frostbite, and we were eager to leave this extremely harsh place. Now, hearing that we only needed to persevere for one more day to leave, how could we not be happy?

Over the next period, the road became smoother, and the temperature seemed to rise. After a day's trek, we returned to the small plaza south of the sacred mountain. When we got back to our campsite outside the monastery, our car was still parked in the same spot, though covered in a thick layer of dust. In the open space outside the monastery, guided by Tashim, we performed another pilgrimage ceremony towards the sacred mountain before getting back into the car and heading towards our other destination—the Zanda Earth Forest.

Although we didn't encounter any major difficulties or obstacles during our pilgrimage, nor did we discover any unusual phenomena, the stories of the Dakini Tara, the Yinshan Demon Mother, and the sudden red light emanating from the summit of the sacred mountain remained deeply etched in my mind. I always felt that there was an intrinsic connection between these seemingly unrelated events, but I couldn't quite grasp what that connection was. My intuition once again told me that those mysterious events must be related to the mystery of immortality in the esoteric scriptures we were trying to unravel.

The car had been traveling across the vast plateau for two days. Now, we had entered Zanda Prefecture along a newly paved road. The environment here was vastly different from what we had seen two days prior at the foot of Mount Kailash. Here, there were almost no towering snow-capped mountains or crystal-clear lakes; everywhere was yellow sand and natural slopes and gullies eroded by wind and rain. The entire area felt like a desert. Apart from mounds and sandstorms, there was practically nothing else.

About an hour later, the paved road turned in another direction shortly after entering this desert. Following Zashim's directions, we drove off the paved road and continued westward along a natural dirt road formed by other vehicles on the loess soil. The deeper we drove into the desert, the more numerous and larger the surrounding earthen slopes and gullies became. Finally, our car seemed to have entered a modern city built entirely of loess and natural deposits. Towering earthen slopes, walls, and fortresses surrounded us like modern architectural complexes. If it weren't for Zashim, who knew the roads well, guiding us, I think we would have long since lost our way in this vast loess maze.

Around five or six o'clock that afternoon, we saw a winding stream flowing through the desert and disappearing into the distant horizon. Zaximu told us, "Look, that's the beautiful Shiquan River. Also known as the Sengge Zangbo, it's the upper reaches of the Indus River, flowing through the arid, high-altitude region of northwestern Tibet, with a total length of 430 kilometers. Its source originates on the north side of Mount Kailash, at an altitude of 5,164 meters, in a periglacial zone. The lower reaches flow into the desert, passing through places like Geji and Shiquanhe Town, finally merging with the tributary Gar Zangbo at Zaxigang. Then it flows into India." The old man paused, then added, "The four rivers originating in the Ngari region—the Shiquan River, Xiangquan River, Maquan River, and Kongque River—are called the four sacred rivers by the Tibetan people. The Shiquan River is the first among them, which shows how important this river is in the hearts of the local Tibetans."

We'd been driving all day, and it was getting dark. Seeing that we weren't too far from our final destination—the ruins of Guge—we decided to find a place to spend the night, rest up, and continue our journey to the ruins the next day. After discussing it, we spotted what appeared to be a dilapidated earthen fortress on a small hill not far ahead. Although it was mostly collapsed and in ruins, the remaining earthen walls could at least offer some shelter from the wind and sand. So, we decided to use those remaining walls as our campsite for the night.

It was around 7 PM when the car arrived at the foot of the earthen slope where the fortified village was located. The massive slope before us, estimated to be about thirty meters high, resembled a colossal beast lying silently on the ground. The sun was already nearing the horizon, and the western sky was tinged with a crimson hue. To set up camp before sunset, we quickened our pace, rapidly unloading tents and other equipment from the car's trunk and then making our way up the slope.

The sandy slopes here are different from typical desert slopes; they aren't loose and unstable. Over a long geological process, the sand here has become quite firmly bonded, so even when we were carrying equipment and walking on the slopes, our feet didn't sink completely into the sand. The outer surface of the slopes isn't smooth like other ordinary sandy slopes either; instead, it's full of pits and holes of varying sizes. Walking on these slopes felt like suddenly arriving in an alien space like Mars or the Moon.

Thirty-five, soil cave

I stood on an earthen platform inside the fortress, looking around. All around us, countless mounds of varying sizes and heights stretched out. Some resembled steadily standing tall buildings, others towering maisons rising from the ground. Bathed in the setting sun, they were all gilded with a golden glow, like a prosperous and powerful metropolis, a dazzling golden city unfolding before my eyes. I couldn't help but marvel at what I saw.

"Well? Captivated by the magnificent sight before you?" Zahim appeared beside me without me noticing, smiling as he spoke. I nodded and replied, "Yes, I never imagined such a majestic sight could appear in such a barren, sandy land." "Don't underestimate this land," Zahim said proudly, "Many famous ancient civilizations once existed here, such as the Zhangzhung and Guge cultures. These cultural relics and the mysteries they left behind still deeply attract the attention of archaeologists from all over the world."

After eating some dry rations, Jenny crawled into her tent and, as usual, began writing in her adventure journal. Abao and Zasim went into another tent to rest. Only Dunzi and I remained wide awake, lying on our backs by the campfire, gazing at the twinkling stars.

"Dunzi, do you think we can finally unravel the mystery of immortality in this mysterious scripture?" I asked softly, gazing up at the night sky. Dunzi smiled and sighed, "Ah, it's hard to say. Every time we get to the last minute, unexpected clues appear, leading us down a different path, and we still can't solve the mystery. To be honest, I'm starting to lose heart." Hearing this, I felt a pang of sympathy. I was genuinely worried that after all the effort we'd put in, the legend in the mysterious scripture might not even exist. The two of us lay quietly on the earthen slope, silent, each lost in our own thoughts. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet. Apart from the occasional gust of wind, there wasn't even the chirping of a cricket.

I don't know how much time had passed, but I started to feel sleepy. Just as I was about to close my eyes and rest for a while, I saw Dunzi hurriedly stand up and run towards the downwind side of the earthen slope. "Where are you going?" I asked casually. "My stomach hurts, I must have eaten something stale," he said with a laugh as he jogged over, "If you don't want to be bothered by the smell, stay away." I was about to retort when I suddenly heard him cry out "Ouch!" as if he had tripped and fallen. I couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "Did you hurt yourself? Why are you running so fast?" But after I asked, there was no answer. I felt a little strange, so I called out again, "Dunzi, are you there?" But there was no response, only the sound of the gentle evening breeze. Suddenly, I had a bad feeling. I immediately got up from the earthen slope and quickly jogged in the direction Dunzi had run.

After running about a hundred meters, by the moonlight, I vaguely saw a large hole suddenly appear in the ground about four or five meters in front of me. The hole was about fifty centimeters in diameter, just big enough for a person to enter. Fine sand and yellow soil around the hole were falling into it with a "rustling" sound, clearly indicating that it was a newly formed hole. Seeing this, I understood about eight or nine out of ten things; Dunzi must have accidentally fallen into this hole while running.

Thinking of this, I quickly lay down on the ground and looked into the cave. The cave was very deep and pitch black; I couldn't see the bottom at all. So I shouted loudly into the cave again. Apart from the echo returning from inside, I didn't hear Dunzi's voice. Such a deep cave, and Dunzi had suddenly fallen in without any warning—I wondered if he was alright? The more I thought about it, the more worried I became, so I simply went back to the campsite to find my other companions to think of a solution.

Perhaps my shouts had alerted Jenny and the others, because when I returned to the campsite, they were already out of their tents. "What happened?" Jenny asked, looking bewildered. "Dunzi accidentally fell into a hole in the ground. We need to go rescue him quickly," I explained hastily. Upon hearing this, Abao quickly grabbed some AK47s, ropes, headlamps, and other equipment from the tent, haphazardly stuffed them into several backpacks, and distributed them to us. Then he hurriedly followed me to the entrance of the hole to investigate.

We first shone our powerful wolf-eye flashlights into the vertically descending burrow, and found that it was indeed very deep, almost impossible to see the bottom, with sand constantly falling down around us. I looked at my companions and said, "I'll go down first, and you can follow me in after I've scouted the area." Jenny, while putting a headlamp on my head, whispered, "Be careful, we'll wait for your news outside." I nodded and replied, "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Ah Bao had already lowered a rope into the cave, then handed me an AK47 and patted me on the shoulder. Although he didn't say anything, I could see the concern in his eyes. I nodded to him, slung the weapon over my back, grabbed the rope, and began to slowly slide down into the cave.

The cave was very dry and quiet; apart from the slight sound of sand sliding down the walls, there was no other sound. I slowly climbed down the rope I was holding onto. I don't know how long I climbed, but only under the light of the overhead lamp could I vaguely see the bottom of the cave. I saw what looked like scattered pieces of wood and strips of cloth lying haphazardly on the ground. Apart from that, I didn't see anything else unusual, and I didn't see any mounds.

My mind was filled with doubt. I clearly saw Dunzi fall into this hole, and I never saw him climb out. How come I couldn't find him inside? Thinking this, I quickly slid down the rope to the bottom of the hole, let go of the rope, and picked up the wolf-eye flashlight to carefully examine the bottom. I then discovered that there was a hole about a meter in diameter on one side of the bottom, winding its way out. Dunzi must have gone in through this hole. Thinking this, I checked the surroundings and found that there was nothing particularly dangerous for the time being. So, as we had agreed before, I pulled the rope three times to get the others down as well.

After Ah Bao was the last to descend into the earthen cave, I said, "Look, there's a pile of broken wood chips on the ground. I reckon these chips sealed the entrance to the cave. Dunzi accidentally stepped on them, and the chips broke under his weight, pulling him down into the cave." I paused, then continued, "I've already carefully checked this place and found no bloodstains or signs of a violent impact, so I don't think Dunzi was seriously injured. There's only one side cave here. Since he's not here, I'm pretty sure he went down this passage to find another exit." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find him!" Ah Bao said. I looked at the old man, then at the narrow side cave, and said to him, "Uncle Zaxi, this passage is very narrow; you have to crawl to get in. You're old, and I don't think you can handle bending over for a long time. Why don't you wait for us here?" Zaxi nodded and told us to be careful. "Don't worry," I said, taking the gun from behind me, gripping the barrel with one hand, then bending down and being the first to crawl into the passageway on the other side of the cave. Jenny and Leopard followed closely behind.

The deeper I climbed, the more certain I became that Dunzi had entered through this passage, because there were scrape marks he had left behind. Unsure of the oxygen levels in the passage, we lit a lighter every so often to test the oxygen levels, which slowed our progress. We called out Dunzi's name as we climbed, the sound echoing eerily in the dark passage, adding to the chilling atmosphere.

“How did such a cave suddenly appear in this earth forest?” came Ah Bao’s voice from behind. “It doesn’t look like it was formed naturally, nor does it look like the dwelling place of any wild animal.” Jenny replied, “You’re right, I think it should be a tomb raider’s hole.” “A tomb raider’s hole? Did we accidentally stumble into an ancient tomb again?” Ah Bao said in surprise.

36. Ancient Tubo Tombs

“Yes, it’s definitely a tomb raider’s hole,” I said, looking around the earthen cave. “Look at those excavation marks inside the passage; they’re very obvious and not naturally formed. And these marks are distributed very evenly, it looks like they were made by an expert.” “Maybe we’ve been dealing with ancient tombs for too long, we seem to encounter tombs everywhere we go, even in this remote Zanda Earth Forest in Tibet,” Ah Bao joked. “Alright, alright, let’s hurry up and keep going. Dunzi is alone and didn’t bring any lighting equipment; I’m worried he’ll get terrified if we stay here too long,” Jenny said. So, at her suggestion, we quickened our pace and crawled forward.

After moving forward about a hundred meters, we began to see fragments of wood and broken clay pots in the dirt passage ahead. Because these objects were scattered throughout the passage, it was painful to put weight on them, so we had to clear them as we went. As we went deeper, the number of items in the passage gradually increased. Besides broken pots, we occasionally found turquoise, animal bones, and bronze and silver artifacts, although most of them were already broken and incomplete.

I reached into the passage and picked up a Tibetan-style white bronze wine cup that had fallen into the tunnel, examining it closely. Its antique shape and rugged lines, along with the distinctly Tibetan decorative patterns, made it easily identifiable as an artifact from the Tubo (Tibetan) period. "What did you find?" Jenny's voice came from behind me. I replied, "Nothing much. Just found a white bronze wine cup from the Tubo era. Looks like we've stumbled into a Tubo tomb by accident." Ah Bao said, "Hopefully, we won't encounter any more strange zombies or monsters, otherwise I'm afraid Dunzi won't be able to handle it alone." Just then, I suddenly heard a faint call coming from the depths of the passage. Because the sound was sudden, not very loud, and very brief, I didn't hear it clearly.

"Did you hear anything just now?" I turned around and asked Jenny and Abao behind me. They both shook their heads, indicating they hadn't noticed anything. Maybe I just misheard? I asked myself with a hint of doubt. So we continued crawling forward, and as I climbed, I kept wondering why Dunzi wasn't waiting for us to rescue him instead of continuing to crawl into that dark passage. Usually, he was the laziest and most timid one. Now, he seemed like a different person. Not only was he tirelessly crawling forward, but he also seemed no longer afraid of the darkness in the passage. Otherwise, he would have been too scared to get up. Where would he find the strength to crawl forward?

After climbing for a while, my spine was aching from being bent over for so long. Just as I was about to free one hand to rub my back, the light from my headlamp suddenly shone on an object half-buried in sand by the side of the tunnel. I gently brushed away the layer of sand covering it and saw that it was a worn-out watch. I handed the old watch to Jenny behind me and said, "It seems this tunnel was recently dug. Look at this watch; it looks like an old model from the 1990s. I guess the people who dug the tunnel must have accidentally left it behind."

Jenny held the watch up to the light of the wolf's eye and examined it closely. Then, as if remembering something, she suddenly said, "By the way, do you remember those three armed men we encountered on the way before we went to circumambulate the Holy Mountain?" "You mean those three corpses that later turned into glowing beetles?" Ah Bao asked. Jenny nodded and replied, "That's right. I remember the three of them. Two of them were wearing similar watches, and the third one, although he didn't have a watch on his wrist, had a faint mark on it, so he must have worn a watch before, but I don't know when he accidentally lost it." "You suspect that this watch is one of the watches that one of them accidentally dropped here?" I asked. "It's only a possibility," Jenny replied thoughtfully, "If that's the case, we're in big trouble." Ah Bao and I were both stunned, not understanding what Jenny meant.

Jenny seemed to sense our confusion from our expressions, and then added seriously, "If these watches really are theirs, then judging from the watch marks still on that person's wrist, this place is very likely the final point where they met their end. The reason they became so terrifying at the end, I estimate, must be because they encountered some unusual event in this ancient tomb."

After Jenny explained, we suddenly understood. It seemed this place wasn't as peaceful as it appeared. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but worry about Dunzi, who was alone deep in the passage. I hoped he wouldn't encounter any danger before we found him. This thought made me break out in a cold sweat, and I gripped my AK47 even tighter.

“In that case, we still need to be careful,” I said. “It’s a pity Uncle Zashim isn’t here, otherwise we could ask him if those legends about the Ghost Mother are related to this ancient tomb. Last time, he mentioned that the mysterious deaths and the ‘phosphorus beetles’ crawling out of their corpses were somewhat related to the legend of the Silver-Eyed Ghost Mother.” “Then let’s hurry and find Dunzi. It seems this place is really not so peaceful. We need to find Dunzi as soon as possible and leave this place. We’re about to unravel the secrets of the Xuanjing; we can’t afford any trouble at this final moment,” Jenny replied.

Just then, another strange sound came from the depths of the passage. This time, I no longer doubted myself, because Jenny and Ah Bao also clearly heard the sound. It sounded like a shout, but probably because of the distance, it sounded very faint and muffled. We couldn't immediately tell if it was Dunzi's voice, but under the circumstances, I estimated that there was an 80% or higher chance it was. Hearing Dunzi's shout, in order to reassure him as quickly as possible, I immediately shouted loudly, "Dunzi, is that you? We've come to find you. Stay here and don't go anywhere. We'll be there in a bit."

However, after I shouted, I only heard a long echo coming from the earthen passage, but no reply from Dunzi. Not knowing what was happening over there, we could only hurry along the direction the sound came from. As we moved forward, we no longer cared about clearing away the remaining burial objects in the passage. After crawling a considerable distance, our knees and hands ached terribly. But at this point, we couldn't care less about our pain; we only wanted to find Dunzi as quickly as possible.

After climbing for another few dozen meters, we suddenly entered a wide passageway made of earthen bricks. I knew we had finally entered the main tomb passage of the ancient tomb. Having climbed bent over for so long, suddenly being able to stand up was surprisingly difficult. Ignoring my aching back and knees, I gestured for everyone to hurry forward.

The tomb passage is about two meters high and three or four meters wide, making it quite spacious. The passage is constructed entirely of adobe bricks, a common building material in Tibet. These bricks are said to be made from a type of red clay native to Tibet, and a mixture of lamb's blood and tallow was added during the manufacturing process. This results in extremely sturdy and durable bricks that have survived for hundreds or even thousands of years. In ancient Tibet, these adobe bricks were generally reserved for nobles, and some city walls and fortresses were also built using them, in addition to stone. This demonstrates that these adobe bricks are indeed much stronger and more durable than ordinary mud bricks.

37. Sandy Mummies

After walking about thirty meters forward, I suddenly heard a sound of sand collapsing behind me, followed by a terrified scream from Jenny. I immediately realized the gravity of the situation and quickly turned to see what was happening. What I saw shocked me greatly. In the light of my headlamp, I saw a shriveled corpse suddenly appear in the passage between Jenny and me. Brownish-brown skin, gray hair, prominent ribs, sunken eye sockets, and long iron chains around its hands and feet—all of this looked so eerie and terrifying, the entire mummy exuding an aura of death. This corpse and the collapsed sand had now blocked most of the passage in front of Jenny.

What surprised us even more was that although the mummified corpse had sunken eye sockets, the entire eye area appeared to have been painted with silver paint, giving it a silvery-gray color under the flashlight beam. Upon seeing these silver eyes, I immediately thought of the story of the Silver-Eyed Demon Mother told by Zaxim. It seems this Tibetan tomb truly has some connection to the Silver Eyes of Guge.

"How did a mummified corpse suddenly appear?" Ah Bao asked in surprise. Jenny replied, "I don't know either. As I was walking, I heard the sound of sand sliding down the side wall of the passage. Then this silver-eyed mummified corpse fell out of the earthen wall with a 'thud,' blocking my way. It really startled me."

I examined the mummy closely and found no signs of artificial preservation. It appears to have been naturally preserved by burying the body directly in the sand under cold, dry conditions. Unlike typical mummies, sand mummies are not artificially preserved. Furthermore, they differ from frozen corpses. Frozen corpses are preserved because the surrounding temperature remains below zero, preventing decomposition. In contrast, sand mummies, besides the low ambient temperature slowing decomposition, are preserved primarily because the sand environment is extremely dry. In this cold, arid environment, the body's internal moisture is quickly absorbed, causing it to dry rapidly and thus preserve it for a long time. Because this type of dry climate is widespread in my country, sand mummies are among the most common types of ancient corpses discovered domestically, especially in desert regions like the ancient Loulan.

"Judging from the iron chains on the hands and feet of the mummy, this mummy should be a prisoner of war or slave from the Tubo period, a human sacrifice buried here," I said softly. "In that case, the owner of this Tubo tomb must have been either very rich or very noble. Even if he wasn't from the Tubo royal family, he must have been a prominent figure in the Tubo dynasty. Because in that period, it would have been impossible for ordinary people to use human sacrifices for burial."

Jenny nodded after listening to me and said, "Yes, judging from our current location, this should be a passageway inside the tomb. Considering the structure and scale of this passageway, it was quite a grand undertaking in Tibet during the Tubo period. The tomb's owner must have been a very influential figure." "Unfortunately, we're not here for archaeology this time. Our immediate priority is to find the location of the mound as soon as possible, lest something unexpected happen," I said.

“Yes, then let’s hurry up.” Ah Bao urged from behind. So we moved the dried-up corpse on top to the side, making way for a narrow passage, and then Jenny walked out of this narrow space.

After walking for a while, two paths appeared before us, extending to the left and right respectively. This confused us greatly. We didn't know which way to go. Which path should we take to find the stump? I anxiously asked myself. Looking at Jenny and the others' anxious expressions, I knew they felt just as anxious as I did.

I walked to the entrance of the passage on the left. I shouted Dunzi's name loudly inside, but apart from my own intermittent echo, I didn't hear any other sounds.

After that, I called out a few more times into the passage on the right, but there was still no response. Just when I was almost giving up, I suddenly heard Jenny shout, "Si Nan, come quick and see what this is!" Hearing Jenny shout like that, it seemed like she had some new clues, so I quickly ran over.

Just then, Jenny was crouching at the entrance of the left-hand passage. Seeing us approach, she pointed to the corner of the wall and said, "There seems to be a clue here. Look, the color and material of this strip of cloth are very similar to the clothes Dunzi was wearing." I looked in the direction Jenny was pointing and sure enough, I found a thin strip of cloth hanging on the earthen wall. "So, Dunzi must have gone this way," I said to myself. Abao nodded at me and said, "That should be it. Let's hurry over there."

As we entered the left-hand passage, the air gradually became less plentiful. The flame from the lighter wasn't as bright as before. I realized that if we didn't find Dunzi soon, we would all be in grave danger. "Dunzi, where are you?" Jenny called out loudly as she walked, but there was no answer. It was pitch black all around; apart from the beams of light from our headlamps and handheld devices, we could barely see anything else. The further we went, the colder and more chilling it became. And for some reason, walking through this passage, I felt as if the path ahead was endless, that we would never reach the end.

After walking about four or five hundred meters, Ah Bao inadvertently discovered several murals on the earthen wall that were beginning to peel away. Judging from the content, they seemed to be related to Tibetan religion. Initially, they mostly depicted wrathful deities like Vajra and the Thousand-Armed Buddha, but later, many bold and vividly colored images of Tibetan Tantric sexual practices appeared. Although these paintings were hundreds of years old, they still looked incredibly lifelike. Even adult men like Ah Bao and I were embarrassed to look at them anymore, let alone Jenny, who was not yet young. She was already blushing deeply, her head bowed, unable to look at the murals on the earthen wall any longer.

After walking a while longer, Ah Bao, as usual, took out his lighter and lit a flame to test the air content in the passage. This time, as soon as he lit the flame, it flickered in the darkness before quickly going out. Everyone was startled. Ah Bao tried a few more times, but the flame couldn't last long. "It seems we've reached the final stage. If we go any further, we'll likely run out of oxygen," Jenny said, panting. I looked at the seemingly endless dark passage ahead, then at Jenny and the others with their anxious expressions, and said, "Going any further is too dangerous. Rather than risking it all, I'll go alone. You guys tie me up with ropes, and if anything seems wrong, pull me out immediately." "No, Brother Si Nan, I'll go. You and Miss Jenny stay here," Ah Bao said. "Stop arguing. Just do as I say. There's no time left. The air will soon be depleted. Quickly tie me up with ropes!" I said firmly. Perhaps they had never seen me so angry before, and knowing that I was truly determined to leave, and that arguing further would be a waste of time, they had no choice but to do as I said.

Ah Bao took out a rope, about to tie it around me, when suddenly I seemed to hear a very faint cry for help coming from the front of the passage. It was Dunzi's voice, I was absolutely certain. And judging from the sound, he seemed to be no more than forty or fifty meters away from us. Jenny and Ah Bao must have heard Dunzi's cry too, because they both stopped what they were doing. We all turned to look into the depths of the dark passage. What we saw shocked us all. Jenny couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

Thirty-eight, Ideas

In the dark tomb passage, many bright red lights had appeared out of nowhere. These lights immediately reminded us of the phosphorescent beetles we had encountered before, like red will-o'-the-wisps, flickering and drifting deep into the tomb. "Could it be phosphorescent beetles?" Ah Bao asked in surprise. "If that's what you mean, we're in trouble," I replied. "Last time, we escaped their attack because everyone hid in the car. But now, we have no protection at all. If they all rush in, we'll have nowhere to run."

As we were talking, we heard Dunzi's faint cries coming from ahead again. Hearing my companion's voice, a fierce internal struggle raged within me. No, I couldn't leave Dunzi alone in this tomb passage no matter what; I had to try and rescue him, even at the cost of my life. With that thought, I didn't bother explaining anything further to Jenny and the others, and suddenly rushed into the dark, cold depths of the tomb passage.

"Si Nan, you..." Jenny and the others' voices came from behind me, but they seemed to suddenly become very distant, gradually disappearing from my ears, and the surroundings became eerily quiet. What surprised me even more was that not only was my hearing impaired, but my vision was also becoming blurry. Moreover, my consciousness was becoming sluggish. It was as if I had entered a strange and unusual space, where everything was very different from the space we had lived in before.

The red lights before my eyes gradually grew larger and brighter, eventually forming crimson ghost faces that floated around me. I kept telling myself not to be afraid, that these were all illusions. So I silently recited the "Guardian Heart Mantra" from the exorcism manual. This prevented me from being easily frightened. After struggling to move forward a short distance, I began to hear Dunzi's distorted cries, extremely slow, one word at a time. I followed the direction of the sound, carefully searching the passage with the light from my wolf-eye flashlight. Suddenly, a terrifying scene appeared before my eyes. Dunzi lay limply on the ground, his clothes torn and tattered, and around him, a large group of terrifying red-glowing ghost faces surrounded him. They neither attacked nor retreated. When they sensed my arrival, they seemed slightly startled at first. But after realizing that I was the only one who had rashly entered their world, they rearranged their formation, quickly surrounding me with a "whoosh." But for some reason, despite their ferocious appearance... It seemed ready to attack me immediately, yet hesitated to rush forward, maintaining a certain distance from me.

I waved my wolf-eye flashlight, shooing away some of the crimson demons in front of me, then struggled to move closer to Dunzi, helping him to his feet so we could walk back together. Just as I was helping him up, a pale green object suddenly fell from his tattered pocket. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was the turquoise that the ascetic near the holy mountain had given us. The moment the turquoise fell, the crimson demons reacted immediately, quickly taking a step forward. I quickly picked up the fallen turquoise and put it back in Dunzi's pocket, thus stopping their further attack.

Seeing this, I touched the turquoise tucked in my pocket, thinking that these evil spirits were afraid of turquoise blessed by holy light and Buddhist teachings. That's why they didn't approach us easily. Thinking this, I felt more at ease and, holding onto the stool, slowly made my way back. Because my consciousness was already blurred, I didn't know how much time had passed. After we had taken a few steps back, there was a sudden "boom" in my ears. I felt as if I had been thrown from underwater, and my consciousness returned instantly. I heard Jenny's voice again. "Sinan! Run! Phosphorus beetles! There are many phosphorus beetles behind you!" In the light, I saw Jenny running towards us, shouting, with Ah Bao close behind her.

With Ah Bao's help, we supported the semi-conscious Dunzi and quickly retreated the way we came. I glanced back and saw hundreds, even thousands, of glowing red phosphorescent beetles rushing towards us. It turned out those crimson ghost faces we'd seen earlier were these beetles. Luckily, we were wearing the turquoise amulets the ascetic had given us; otherwise, we would have been devoured by these terrifying insects long ago. We were truly lucky to have escaped this calamity. However, more and more phosphorescent beetles were gathering, and the turquoise amulets would eventually succumb to this ever-increasing evil power. At that point, the consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, we dared not be careless and quickly quickened our pace to retreat out of the cave.

The passageway was originally quite spacious, but because Dunzi was a bit stout and was being supported by me and Abao on either side, the earthen-walled tomb passage felt cramped, making it difficult to run fast. As the agile phosphorescent beetles slowly approached us, a sense of panic began to rise within me. I ran while trying to think of a way to temporarily stop those terrifying phosphorescent beetles.

Perhaps our hurried movements caused a resonance within the tomb passage, as large and small clods of mud and sand began to fall from the crumbling earthen walls, and their numbers increased rapidly. Before long, small mounds of fine sand had accumulated behind me. When we saw the collapsed earth, a sudden thought struck me, and a bold idea came to me.

I realized that since those nasty phosphorescent beetles had already swarmed out, relying on our two AK47s to drive them away would be utterly useless. Our only option was to quickly erect a barrier between us and the beetles to stop their pursuit and ultimately rid ourselves of the danger posed by these terrifying insects. However, building a barrier behind us wasn't something that could be done immediately. Even with four people working together, it would take at least three to five minutes, not to mention the cramped earthen tunnel where a few people couldn't move freely. Moreover, the current situation was that the beetles were about to reach us. Building a barrier by everyone working together was absolutely not advisable. Before we could even finish the barrier, we'd be burned to a crisp by the onrushing beetles. So, when I saw the collapsed earth, I thought of finding a suitable section and creating a small-scale landslide to block the not-so-wide tunnel with the falling earth. This way, the phosphorescent beetles would be trapped inside their burrows by the collapsed soil, preventing them from escaping, and we would be able to escape.

With this plan in mind, I quickly retreated towards the exit of the passage while frantically thinking about the most reliable location to cause a collapse within the earthen passage. Due to time constraints and the urgency of the situation, we had to succeed in one fell swoop; failure would leave no room for remedial action. So, after much deliberation, I suddenly remembered the tomb robber's tunnel we had passed through when entering the Tibetan King's Tomb. That tunnel's entrance was much narrower than the tomb passage itself. Even a small collapse of mud and sand would completely seal off the tunnel and the passageway. This way, even if it were pangolins chasing us, they would have to dig for most of the day to reopen the tunnel, giving us time to escape.

Thirty-nine, Missing

Having this idea in mind, I quickly signaled Ah Bao and Jenny to hurry into the tomb's passageway through the looter's hole. As I was the last to squeeze into the narrow hole, the terrifying red phosphorescent beetles had already rushed to within twenty meters of us. The booming sound of their wings was like the wailing of demons, sending chills down everyone's spines and making them extremely uneasy. In a flash, I hastily recited the "Earth-Cracking Spell" from the exorcism manual, as I had planned. With the incantation, I felt a slight tremor on the earthen wall beside me. Just as the phosphorescent beetles were about to fly into the hole, there was a loud "crash," and many cracks of varying thickness and length suddenly appeared on the earthen wall connecting the hole to the tomb passage. At the same time, large and small pieces of sand and soil scattered from the wall, raising a thick cloud of dust in the already cramped space.

The once-aggressive beetles were startled by the sudden tremor and noise, their attack momentarily halting. I seized this opportunity. I continued chanting the "Earth-Cracking Incantation," while simultaneously grabbing my AK47 and slamming the butt of the rifle against the earthen wall at the entrance of the tomb several times. This tomb passage was hundreds of years old, and the surrounding soil was already loose. After this ordeal, it collapsed completely with a loud "whoosh." The collapsed sand and soil sealed the entrance of the tomb completely, severing the connection between the tomb and the ancient Tibetan tomb passage.

Because I couldn't retreat in time, I was half-buried under the collapsing sand. Luckily, Ah Bao and Jenny rescued me in time, pulling me out of the dirt and saving me from certain death. Seeing that the phosphorus beetles couldn't catch up, we breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, Dunzi seemed to have regained some of his senses. Seeing me covered in mud, looking like a mud-covered figure, he couldn't help but chuckle.

“Since everyone’s alright, let’s hurry back.” Jenny glanced at the diamond watch on her wrist and said, “It’s been almost two hours. Uncle Zasim must be very worried.” I nodded. I asked Dunzi, “Dunzi, are you feeling alright? This tunnel is so narrow; only one person can get out at a time. We can’t be of much help right now; you’ll have to rely on yourself.” “Don’t worry, I can hold on,” Dunzi replied, his breathing slightly weak. “Good. Then let’s get out of here quickly. I’ll protect you from behind,” I said, patting his shoulder and encouraging him with a smile.

Just then, a slight tremor came from the pile of collapsed earth behind us, and a lot of sand and mud fell down. Seeing this, my heart tightened; it seemed those phosphorescent beetles weren't giving up and were trying to break out of the soil. Thinking this, I quickly called for everyone to get out of there. So, Leopard led the way, Jenny followed, then Dunzi, and finally I brought up the rear, hurriedly returning the way we came.

As I crawled forward, I kept looking back to check for any movement behind me, terrified that those eerie and terrifying phosphorescent beetles would silently swarm behind me if I wasn't careful. At that moment, I felt that this tunnel was a perilous and dangerous path, and my heart was pounding. Cold sweat mixed with perspiration streamed down my forehead, cheeks, and chin, finally dripping onto my face. The others were probably in a similar state, sweating profusely, because under the headlamp's light, I could clearly see that the tunnel's surface was covered with damp sweat droplets as I made my way forward.

We suppressed our extreme terror and struggled to crawl back the way we came. Perhaps it was exhaustion, or perhaps the air in the tunnel was gradually running out, but my consciousness began to blur again, and my movements slowed down. The others probably felt the same way. So the entire group's pace gradually slowed down. It was almost only by sheer willpower that we didn't completely collapse, inching our way out. I don't know how much time passed. Then we heard Ah Bao at the front shout, "We're out! Hang in there, everyone! We're almost at the exit!" Hearing this, our eyes lit up, as if we had suddenly discovered an oasis in a vast desert. I don't know where the motivation came from, but even Dunzi, who had been struggling to keep going, seemed like a different person now. He moved his body quickly, crawling rapidly towards the tunnel entrance.

When I finally crawled out of the tomb entrance, I thought everything was finally alright. But then, another shocking thing suddenly appeared before us. "Uncle Zaxim is gone," Abao said anxiously. "What?" I was startled and instinctively looked around, but sure enough, I couldn't see the old man anywhere. I checked the time; about two and a half hours had passed since we left Zaxim and entered the tomb. Could it be that the old man got impatient and sneaked into the tomb to look for us? This thought suddenly flashed through my mind. Just thinking about the terrifying phosphorescent beetles in the tomb passage sent a chill down my spine. Now, our only exit was blocked, and Zaxim didn't have any tools to dig through the sand. If there wasn't another exit from that Tibetan tomb, Zaxim might not be able to get out, not to mention all those terrifying phosphorescent beetles inside.

"Could it be that the old man waited until nine, thinking we were in trouble, and went outside the cave to find someone to help him?" Jenny murmured. "Yes, that's possible. Uncle Zaxi, as a rapper, is quite familiar with this area. Knowing we might be in trouble, it's unlikely he would enter the cave alone to look for us; going to find someone to help is more plausible," Dunzi added.

After listening to everyone's explanation, I realized they made a lot of sense, and my worries lessened slightly. Ah Bao looked at everyone and said, "The situation is what it is now. If Uncle Zashim really did enter the tomb passage, then the situation is very dire. Not only is the air inside exhausted, but those phosphorescent beetles alone are enough to kill someone. The old man's chances of survival are extremely slim." He paused, then continued, "But assuming the old man went out to find help, then we need to hurry up. Maybe he hasn't gone far. Perhaps we can call him back, saving him from worry and effort."

Hearing what Ah Bao said, we all felt there was no point in staying in that earthen cave any longer; the most urgent thing was to climb out as quickly as possible. So we grabbed the ropes we had used to climb down and climbed out of the not-so-large cave one after another. By now, the moon was bright and the stars were few, and since our clothes were soaked, the evening wind made me feel a chill all over my body. On this barren and desolate sandy land, the temperature difference between day and night was indeed huge, so when we came out, we were all a little unaccustomed to the temperature.

By the moonlight, we looked around, but Uncle Zaxi was nowhere to be seen. After the four of us shouted a few times, only the distant, loud howls of wolves echoed from the earthen forest; no one answered. If Uncle Zaxi hadn't gone into the Tibetan tomb alone, then he must have been gone for quite some time, long since far away. "What do we do now?" Dunzi asked, looking at me. I thought for a moment and replied, "We've been busy all night, and everyone's tired. Let's take this opportunity to rest here. We can rest while we wait for Zaxi to return. If he doesn't come back by day, we'll make other plans. You all go and rest now; I'll keep watch here." This suggestion seemed reasonable. So everyone crawled into their tents to rest. I also found a sheltered spot and sat quietly, resting and pondering the old man's whereabouts. I truly hoped he would return soon, so that everyone could finally be at ease.

40. First Encounter with Guge

I don't know how much time passed. Exhausted, I couldn't hold on any longer and drifted off to sleep. When I woke up, it was already broad daylight. Uncle Zashim was still nowhere to be seen. I checked the time; it was past ten in the morning. It was getting late. So I gathered everyone together again to discuss our next steps.

"What should we do? Should we keep waiting here?" Ah Bao asked. "If the old man really did wander into the tomb passage, he's probably already..." Dunzi said with difficulty, "So even if we keep waiting, it won't do any good. If he went to find someone to help, then after a night, he should be back by now."

Everyone discussed the matter, offering their opinions, but they couldn't decide what to do. I looked around at the boundless, uninhabited desert forest and pondered deeply. After a fierce internal struggle, I made a decision. I turned to everyone and said, "Let's stop discussing this. Continuing with these baseless speculations won't lead to anything good. However, our deciphering mission is urgent and can't be delayed any longer. But we can't abandon the old man. What if he brings people all the way back to rescue us? Wouldn't that be a waste of their energy? Besides, there are so many dangerous and terrifying phosphorescent beetles in that Tibetan tomb. We can't let them risk their lives for us." Everyone nodded in agreement. I continued, "So I think we should do it this way. First, put up a warning sign in a prominent place at the entrance of the cave, saying that the four of us have come out safely and have gone ahead to the Guge ruins. This earthen cave is fraught with danger and is very dangerous. No one else should enter without permission. That way, even if Zaxim comes back, he will know where we are and will not have to enter the earthen cave again and encounter danger."

After I explained it, everyone agreed that it was a feasible solution. So we immediately put my suggestion into action. We made a conspicuous warning sign at the entrance of the burrow using a large rock. Then, for safety, we left several more warning signs around the camp. By the time we finished, it was almost noon. We quickly ate some dry rations, packed up the two tents in the camp, loaded them onto the off-road vehicle at the foot of the slope, and drove away.

Without Old Zaxi's guidance, we were truly lost in this vast earthen forest, unsure of how to reach our destination. Fortunately, fate intervened; after driving about two or three miles, we finally found a natural dirt road, worn smooth by passing vehicles, in this labyrinthine desert forest. We knew the Guge ruins were nearby, and that it was now a famous tourist attraction, so there was no shortage of traffic. This dirt road was likely formed by the wheels of tourists, photographers, and explorers. Following this road should lead us to our destination—the Guge ruins. With that in mind, we immediately accelerated, speeding towards the Guge ruins.

As we drove along, all we could see were red earth and yellow sand, hills and slopes. There was no sign of human habitation or wildlife. The billowing dust kicked up behind us rose high into the air, like a sandstorm sweeping across the desert, quite unsettling. Because of Old Zaxim's situation, we were still preoccupied, so our moods weren't good. Everyone was gloomy and quiet the whole way. Perhaps this was the most depressing and difficult period Xinzhong had experienced in recent times.

I suddenly remembered Dunzi's strange behavior in the tomb passage last night. So I asked him what had happened. Dunzi said he wasn't quite sure. He had suddenly fallen into the earthen hole, felt panicked, and shouted a few times but received no answer. Just then, he suddenly heard a strange calling coming from the tomb robber's hole, and driven by curiosity, he groped his way in. This wasn't something the usually timid Dunzi would do, but at the time, he didn't know why, he had boldly climbed in alone. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he gradually felt his mind becoming hazy, and soon he felt as if he had entered a terrifying world. He saw many terrifying red will-o'-the-wisps floating around him, and due to fright, he collapsed. After hearing his story, I felt that Dunzi's situation was somewhat similar to what I had encountered. For some reason, the ancient tomb caused hallucinations.