[PS: I'll send you some flowers at midnight today. I'll collect them.]
Qin Shi suddenly remembered Shirley Yang saying that the Queen of Jingjue was a monster, so he asked,"
"Miss Yang, I remember hearing you talk about it before. The Queen is the most beautiful woman in the Western Region. Other women are like stars in front of the sun in front of her. If she really is a monster, wouldn't it be suicide for us to go to her tomb?”
Shirley Yang said,
"These things are just legends. With our deductions, we might not be able to confirm that it's the truth. This was how archaeology worked. Legends, records, unearthed antiques, and the speculations of scholars. The more information there was, the closer it was to the truth of history. However, all we can do is to get infinitely close to the truth. No history can be restored. In ancient times, humans had a very low level of understanding of the world. Some phenomena that seemed very ordinary now would be exaggerated as demons, ghosts, or miracles in ancient times. Even in today's highly developed science, there were still some phenomena that couldn't be explained by science. I believe that this wasn't because gods and demons really existed, but because science's exploration field wasn't enough. In the future, we would definitely be able to find the answers to all the unsolvable mysteries through science.”
Hu Bayi asked,
Then how should we understand the fact that the Queen of Jingjue Country can make people disappear with her eyes in this day and age where science and civilization are very advanced?”
Shirley Yang said,
"Mr. Hu, I don't know if you've heard of a sensational incident in America. At the Special Phenomenon and Pathology Research Center in the United States, there was once a strange patient. This was a twelve-year-old boy. He had a special ability since he was young. If he stared at an object less than five centimeters in diameter for a long time, the object would disappear, as if it had evaporated into the air. The neighbors regarded the boy as an anomaly, calling him a monster. His parents were also deeply troubled, so they hoped that the relevant government departments could help them cure their child.”
This was strange. Qin Shi had never heard of it in his previous life. I didn't even know much about China, let alone the strange news about America. What exactly was going on with this illness? It sounded exactly the same as the demon queen. Was the child cured in the end?
Shirley Yang said,
"After the scientists 'research, they found that the boy's brainwaves are different from ordinary people. His brain nerves and optical nerves produce a kind of transportation energy, which is connected to an imaginary space (an undetectable space). This special ability was one in three billion humans. Finally, a researcher found a way. They made a magnetic helmet and put it on the boy's head. A year later, his special ability disappeared. At that time, the US military had planned to secretly send this child to a military research institute, but this matter was exposed and caused a huge uproar among the people. The military had no choice but to give up on this plan.”
After hearing this, Qin Shi was still a little worried. The legendary Evil Queen was probably not as simple as that American child. I'm not afraid of death. If I really find the Queen's ancient tomb, what should I do if she turns me into that unknown place? In any case, he would take it one step at a time. If there was really danger, he would turn around and return to Beijing.
This long talk had wasted a lot of time. He had finished studying the surrounding murals.
Hu Bayi asked Professor Chen,"
"Are we still going to look at the things in the coffin?”
Professor Chen waved his hands repeatedly.
"I can't open it! The coffin that Prince Gumo and his wife were buried in was a national treasure. We don't have the conditions now, and the environment isn't suitable either. Once we open it, the sealed coffin and the items inside will be destroyed. The purpose of our trip is to submit an evaluation report to the higher-ups, apply for excavation, or give these ancient civilization relics the protection they deserve. Go back and ask Aiguo to take Chu Jian and the others to write the records. I'll write the report myself.”
Qin Shi realized that he wouldn't have a chance to see what was in the coffin. He knew that the professor was right, but he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He climbed back up to the sacrificial room with them.
The stone door of the sacrificial room was originally sealed with many animal skins, but they were all cut up by Brother Long with a flat shovel. Professor Chen said that these were to keep the sacrificial room dry and to isolate the water vapor from the holy well.
In ancient times, the Gumo people brought live animals into the sacrificial room to be slaughtered. Then, they immediately peeled off the animal skin that was still warm and pasted it on the gap of the stone door. The meat and internal organs of the cattle and sheep were cut clean, leaving only the bones. The stone door would not be opened again until the next ceremony.
This strange ritual of slaughtering livestock, skinning and deboning, and tying dried corpses with wooden stakes was to maintain the water source of the holy well so that it would never dry up. The people in the ancient desert believed that the soul of life came from the sacred water, which was very close to Darwin's theory of the origin of life.
They couldn't use the animal skins to seal the door. There were no large animals around the camels, but the camels were especially precious to us. We couldn't peel off the camel skins to seal the door, so we used several layers of tape to seal it.
The archeological team rested in West Night City for three days before heading south again. Finally, they entered the sea of sand that the locals called the " Black Desert ". There were no more poplar trees in the desert, nor were there any undulating sand mountains. The surrounding sand dunes were similar in height, like flat steamed buns. No matter how one looked at it, it was the same scenery without any signs of life.
Qin Shi asked,
"Has Old Man An entered this desert before?"”
Old Man An smiled bitterly.
"This is the hell of the yellow sand. Even Hu Da doesn't want to come here. As for me, I've only been here once in a while. Isn't this the first time? If it weren't for your old cadre and Hu Da's beloved white camel, I wouldn't have come even if I died a hundred times.”
Although he was complaining, Old Man An was known as the living map of the desert. He was as familiar with the desert as a woman with pots and pans.
Although it was his first time entering this forbidden black desert, he was able to discover the plants in the sand nests with his fox-like eyes. It was because he followed the traces of these plants and his years of experience in the desert that he could lead the archaeological team forward.
The desert had the largest inland water system in China, but many of the water systems such as the Talimu River had seeped into the sand. On the surface, the desert was barren, but deep underground, it might be a raging underground river.
Some plants that grew in the desert relied on the water vapor that rose to the surface of the desert from the underground water veins to survive tenaciously. In fact, other than a small number of plants, there were also many animals here, but most of them came out to look for food at night.
In the Han Dynasty, or even earlier, Taklamakan was called the " ancient homeland." At that time, the degree of desertization in this area was not serious, and the river had not seeped into the ground. There were oasis towns, forts, Buddhist temples, and courier stations everywhere. Countless caravans carried silk, spices, and tea to and fro here. Until the Yuan Dynasty, the famous Italian, Marco Polo, still followed the caravans to the Central Plains.
In the Ming Dynasty, the rise of the Turkic Empire across Europe and Asia prevented trade between Europe and Asia.
That era was the era of the sea. The navigators opened up new sea routes, and the main route of trade changed from land to the sea. This great era was also known as the era of geographical discovery.
Coupled with the increasingly serious erosion of the desert and the harsh living environment, the large and small countries in the desert completely declined. The former prosperity and glory were taken away by the gods.
The Black Desert was the first place to be abandoned by the gods. The civilization here had stopped in the Jin Dynasty. Even today, the Black Desert was still lifeless.
On the first day of their departure, they encountered a slight sandstorm. The sky was slightly yellow, but the sandstorm was not big and just blocked the sun, so they could travel during the day.
Shirley Yang held the notebook left behind by the Ying Country explorer and discussed the route with Old Man An as they walked.
It was recorded in the notebook that after leaving West Night City, the explorers discovered a place nearby with a large number of stone tombs. They planned to excavate them when they returned, so they drew a detailed route in the notebook.
Old Man An's experience and Shirley Yang's notebook provided us with a lot of help in terms of distance and direction, although we couldn't pinpoint the exact location.
At night, Old Man An found a protruding land. Everyone built a sand wall on the sand dune and settled the camels down. Then, they lit a fire on the leeward side of the sand dune to keep warm.
It was a very tiring day. Although the wind was not strong, it was very annoying. Old Man An nagged that it was the windy season now. On average, there would be such weather once every two days in the Black Desert. When there was no wind, the vicious sun would suck the last drop of water from the traveler's body.
Fatty said,
"Hot spots are good. Sweating can help you lose weight. It's also good to bask in the sun. However, with the constant wind, I can't even talk on the road.”
Old Man An said,
"What do you know? This is the edge of the Black Desert. We have to walk for another five days before we enter the depths. Although I have never been in there before, I know some friends who have been in there. They are all survivors who have come back from the Black Desert.
The scariest thing about the Black Desert was not the quicksand that could trap people, the Metal Devouring Ants that could gnaw away cars, or the Black Storm.
Legend had it that there was a dreamland in the depths. When people entered, they would see lakes, rivers, beautiful women, divine beasts, snow mountains, and oases. Those who were thirsty and tired naturally walked desperately towards those beautiful scenery, but they could not reach their destination until they died of thirst and exhaustion. In fact, it was a trap set by the demons to lure people to die inside. However, Hu Dahui will bless us.”
Shirley Yang said,
"What they saw might be a mirage in the desert. People who don't know what's going on are indeed easily confused.”
As we were talking, Ye Yixin came over and pulled Shirley Yang aside. The two of them whispered a few words. Shirley Yang turned her head and said to me,
"We have something to do behind that sand dune.”
I recommend a book called "Carefree Begins from Pirates". If you are interested, you can go and take a look.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]