Dugu Xiang asked: "Where did you get the news about Kong Kong'er? Da Shangbai, why do you trust Kong Kong'er so much? How do you know he didn't lie to you?" Tuoba Shouji smiled and said: "Kong Kong'er and I know each other. After more than ten years, we can be considered old acquaintances." Dugu Xiang thought to himself, it was thirty years ago that Beimingzi fought with my grandfather and other three sons of the Central Plains, and the time of fighting with the five sons from beyond the Great Wall will only be earlier. How big is that? Shangbai said that he and Kong Kong'er had only known each other for more than ten years. Could it be that they were old and confused?
Seeing Dugu Xiang's incredible expression, Tuoba Shouji laughed and said: "Little girl, I will talk to you in detail when we enter the mountain. Don't miss the time to enter the mountain." Dugu Xiang couldn't help but pout after hearing this, It would be fine to walk on two legs when entering the mountains. I don't know what a few words said would matter, but Tuoba's silence was very majestic, and she didn't dare to make a mistake.
As he spoke, the leather boat sailed had already left the lake and entered a river. This river was hidden among the long grass in the reeds. If the Dangxiang Qiang people had not used long poles to move the reeds and reveal the river, no one who had arrived here would have discovered it anyway. of.
The river is winding and winding, flowing from the foothills of Helan Mountain. As everyone is going up the river, Dugu Xiang can't help but think in his heart, Brother Shuo's character traces it back. After I crossed the river today, I have been going up the river. At this moment He was here, and he was about to express his emotions again. She thought of Jiang Shuo and felt angry and worried. She didn't know what was going on with him at the moment.
Tuoba Chaoguang didn't know what Dugu Xiang's daughters were thinking. Seeing her staring blankly ahead, he explained to her
"The water of the Shahe River comes from Helan Mountain. At that time, the river course was closer to Helan Mountain than it is now. Mountain streams converged and poured into the river. Later, the river changed its course and went further east. The original riverbed was silted up by sand moraine at the north and south ends, and was hit by flash floods. It became a large depression and became this sand lake." Dugu Xiang asked: "When did this happen?" Tuoba Chaoguang said: "According to Li Daoyuan's "Shui Jing Zhu", the river changed The road formed the sand lake, which was only three hundred years ago." Dugu Xiang sighed: "I didn't expect such a vicissitudes of change to happen only three hundred years ago." She usually laughed and laughed, and was not a sentimental person, but at this moment she also A sigh of relief came from the impermanence of the world.
The leather boats traveled up the river for several miles, and the water gradually became shallower and shallower. Although the leather boats had a very shallow draft, they could no longer move forward. Everyone abandoned the boats and went ashore, pulled the three leather boats out of the water, and looked for a tree. After the big tree is tied up, we can only walk into the mountain.
When I was looking at the sand lake before, I felt that Helan Mountain was very close. However, after sailing for several miles, I felt that the mountain was still as far away. Duguxiang thought to himself, the so-called
"Looking at the mountains from a distance, the horse is running dead". I'm honest. Among the eight surnames in the party, Ah Si had the strongest physical strength. Tuoba Shouji allowed him to carry an empty bag on his back, and everyone continued to trek towards the mountain.
Their way up the mountain was a gap in the mountains, which should be the ancient river channel washed out by the original mountain torrent. Now the water has dried up, leaving a faint river channel, which just indicates the way in and out of the mountains.
Tuoba Chaoguang said: "The rocks here are as protruding as a mouth, hence the name 'Shizuishan'. It is like a mouth opening in Helan Mountain, which is the only way into the hinterland of Helan Mountain." Dugu Xiang nodded and once again secretly admired the miraculous craftsmanship of nature.
After walking for several more miles, we finally entered the Helan Mountains. At this moment, the sky was completely dark, blocked by the mountains to the west. Once we entered the mountains, the sunlight disappeared. The sky was now even darker, with a few stars shining through. .
Dugu Xiang looked around and saw that there were rows of peaks on all sides. They looked almost the same in the dark night. He couldn't help but feel a little worried and said: "It's so late and the road can't be seen clearly. How can we enter the mountain? If we don't stay at the foot of the mountain for a night, we can go back to the mountain early tomorrow morning. Let's go." Tuoba Shouji said: "It doesn't matter." He looked up at the sky and saw a clear blue sky. Although the sun was setting in the west, there were very few clouds. He thought to himself and whispered: "The stars are bright tonight, just the right guide. We are on our way." Dugu Xiang wanted to say something else, but Tuoba Chaoguang said to her: "Don't worry, little lady Dugu, if you follow us through this mountain road, you will know what I mean." Everyone continued to go deeper. , when entering the heart of the mountain, the sky was already filled with stars. Only then did Dugu Xiang realize that there were thousands of ravines in the deep mountains, and countless bare rocks, black or red, were exposed. Even in the daytime, in this featureless mountain range, the sky was full of stars. It's easy to get lost, but Tuoba Shouji led everyone through countless forks in the road without hesitation.
Dugu Xiang carefully observed Tuoba Shouji and saw that not only was he walking fast, he never lowered his head to look at the road. Instead, he kept looking up at the sky and murmuring something that sounded like some kind of chant.
Dugu Xiang knew that this was a song similar to "Bu Tian Ge". Using the stars in the sky as a guide, and matching the star positions to the positions on the ground, he could find the right direction.
Only then did she realize that Tuoba Shouji told her not to talk. It turned out that she was concentrating on memorizing the verses so that she could stay on the right path. She memorized "Bu Tian Ge" by herself. She knew how difficult it was to memorize the star positions and did not dare to disturb Tuoba Shouji. There was a rare moment of silence. It was the first time that everyone saw this chattering little woman quiet down, and they suddenly felt that their ears were much clearer.
After walking around in the mountains for more than half an hour, they finally arrived at a valley. Dugu Xiang saw that there were few trees around the valley, and they were all black or reddish-brown rocks. The mountain stream runoff on the surface had long since disappeared, and the valley fell into darkness under the night. , the scenery can be said to be nothing outstanding.
Tuoba Chaoguang said: "This place is the holy land of my Dangxiang tribe." Dugu Xiang said curiously: "But there is nothing in this holy land except stones..." Tuoba Shouji said: "Shenwu is this stone." Duguxiang approached a rock and discovered something special about the stones. The stones were dark brown, and some of them had white patterns painted on them. When he looked closer, he discovered that they were not painted, but chiseled. The carvings are all wild animals in the mountains, including not only cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs, but also various beasts such as wolves, worms, tigers, and leopards.
Dugu Xiang stretched out his hand to touch the stone carvings. These patterns were carved out of the mountain with unknown tools. The rocks here have a special feature. The surface of these stones is quite dark, but as soon as the chisel is drilled down, the exposed surface is white. The tentacles of these white patterns are very rough, and you can feel that the circular pits are densely packed together, but they are dug extremely deep.
Dugu Xiang said: "Hey... who carved all kinds of animals here, if you ask me, it is much different from the ones carved in the Yique Longmen Grottoes. Only you party members still use these things as treasures." Everyone continued to walk towards the valley. As we walked inside, the number of stone carvings gradually increased, the stones became larger and larger, and the composition became more and more complex.
Most of the stone carvings here are hunting pictures. These pictures are not on one stone, but on several adjacent stones with the same theme.
For example: This stone is engraved with two wolves chasing the same sheep, that stone is engraved with an eye-catching tiger with its teeth and claws crouching, surrounded by bow-wielding hunters, but the stone below is engraved with: Hounds were barking wildly, and the rocks a little further away were dotted with deer, horses, sheep, dogs, and various other beasts. There were also hunters with bows and sticks on horseback galloping past, assisting them from the side, all of which were different. And enough.
Although this stone carving is very simple, its lines are bright and vivid, and it expresses the hunting scene vividly. When Dugu Xiang looked at it, he felt as if he could hear the roar of trapped animals, the neighing of fierce horses and the shouts of hunters.
Although the content of these stone carvings is richer, it cannot be said to be very refined. In addition to chiseling, there are also shallow carvings on the patterns. Looking at one stone carving alone, the technique is still very naive.
Dugu Xiangke couldn't see any clues, so Tuoba said to Guangguang: "Ms. Dugu, these stone paintings are said to have been carved by Dangxiang Qiang ancestors thousands of years ago, and some say they are as old as ten thousand years." Dugu Xiang spat. He stuck out his tongue and said: "Good boy... But I can't figure it out. No matter how well you depict the Dangxiang Qiang ancestors, they are just stones after all. If anyone wants to tell me that the Tibetan masters covet these broken stones, I don't believe it." It was already late at night, and there was no need to observe the starry sky anymore. The disciples of the eight surnames of Dangxiang lit up torches and saw a small cave in front of them. Tuoba Shouji made a gesture and said: "Please, little lady, we will know once we go in." "This time he held the torch himself and let Chaoguang hold Beimingzi. The other seven people were scattered outside the cave and were not allowed to enter.
The entrance to the cave will be large enough for one person to enter and exit. After entering, it continues to go lower and the cave wall becomes increasingly moist. However, after walking for a short time, the front suddenly becomes clear.
It turned out to be a natural cave. There was a huge circular opening on the top of the cave. Daylight was introduced during the day and starlight was used to illuminate it at night. At this moment, the starlight was like a wash, illuminating the cave very brightly.
There were stone tables, couches and other furniture in the cave. Tuoba Chaoguang placed Kong Konger, who was still unconscious, on the stone couch.
Dugu Xiang looked around the cave and found that most of the rocks in the cave were no different from other rocks outside the cave.
But the patterns engraved on them are all the same kind of black stone, which is very different from other dark-brown rocks.
The surface of this stone is shiny and shiny, as if it has been touched with a layer of black oil paint. It is extremely smooth to the touch. It makes the sound of gold and iron when pressed with your fingers, which shows that it is extremely solid.
The patterns on it were of little men holding swords, posing in various strange postures. At this time, even a fool could see it. Dugu Xiang exclaimed: "Is this a martial arts secret book?" Tuoba Shouji nodded and said: "That's right." Dugu Xiang hurriedly covered his eyes and said, "I didn't see it, I didn't see it..." Tuoba said to Guang Qi, "Ms. Dugu, what are you doing?" Dugu Xiang said, "Peeping the martial arts secrets of other sects in the martial arts world. It’s a big taboo, Tuoba Lang, don’t worry, my memory is not as good as Shuo’s. I just happened to scan through a few pictures and couldn’t remember them.” Tuoba Shouji laughed and said, “Little lady, you can look at it as you like. , no one can figure out the clues to this set of swordsmanship passed down from ancient times. If you can understand it, it will be a great merit. Not only do I not blame you, but I also want to thank you." Dugu Xiang then put down his hand, Upon closer inspection, the patterns carved on these stones are also very simple, but I don’t know what kind of sharp tool was used to carve them. They are deep and straight. When you touch the carved lines with your fingers, they are extremely smooth inside. It is really puzzling. I don’t know what was like this in ancient times. Sharp. "Dugu Xiang looked at it for a long time, but he really couldn't figure it out. He shook his head to Master Tuoba and said, "I can't understand it either... But, Da Shangbai, you can't tell from these stone carvings that they are Dangxiang people. How did you know that this is someone from Dangxiang? What about what the ancestors of Dangxiang left behind? Tuoba Shouji pointed to the two largest stones and said, "Look here." "A circle of zigzag lines was drawn on a large rock, which seemed to be a large lake, with continuous herringbone peaks on both sides and several dots.
Carved on another piece of stone was a star map with the sun, moon and stars on it. Dugu Xiang wondered: "Where is this map? This star map seems to be carved wrong." Tuoba Shouji said: "This map is Before moving to Gyeongju, this is a map of the West Sea, the habitat of the Xiang tribe. As for the star map, it is the star map of the sky on the summer solstice thousands of years ago. Because of the thousands of years apart, it is very different from today's star map. The big difference is that this map and the star map must have recorded the story of our ancestors migrating to the West Sea on a certain summer solstice thousands of years ago."
