Secret 1

Chapter 1 Golden Meat (1)
2006年9月24日上午11点19分。

Ye Xiao had a dream.

……

When I woke up from the dream, I opened my eyes and saw green mountains and plains, bamboos piercing my pupils like arrows, and a huge flower blooming wantonly, so dazzlingly red.The majestic mountains above the head are bumpy and ups and downs, and there are layers of dark clouds above, and there may be heavy rain at any time.

where is thisSweat from the nightmare rolled down his forehead.He found a shaky car seat under him, bright window glass on the right, and a familiar face on the left.

The brain seemed to be being torn apart.

Sun Tzu Chu grinned at him: "Hey, you're finally awake!"

"You—" Ye Xiao opened his eyes wide, stood up with difficulty, and asked blankly, "Why are you here?"

"Haven't woken up yet? But I remember you didn't drink much last night."

liqueur?
Ye Xiao covered his mouth and exhaled, but he didn't smell any alcohol.

He looked around. It was a small tourist bus with a dozen tourists sitting in it.

Outside the car is a tropical or subtropical mountainous area, with bright flowers dotted among the dense green trees.A road winds in the mountains, leading to the depths of an elusive destiny.

But with so many people in the car, Ye Xiao only knew his grandson Chu—they had become good friends in the past two years, and as a history teacher at S University, he had helped him a lot.

"Now? Where are you going?"

"Lanna Tomb - we just drove from Chiang Mai."

"Chiang Mai?" Ye Xiao seemed to have heard this place name before, and Ye Xiao racked his brains for a moment, "Which province are we in? Yunnan? Or Guizhou?"

Sun Tzu smiled bitterly: "Please, are you kidding me? We are now in Thailand!"

"Aren't we in China?"

"Of course not! Chiang Mai is the most famous city in northern Thailand-you forgot the breakfast we had at the hotel in Chiang Mai a few hours ago?"

Heart soaked under the bathtub again, Ye Xiao rubbed his temples vigorously, his back was covered with cold sweat.Memories are like shattered mirrors, even your own face is broken, and no one can put it back together.

However, at least I found the horizontal coordinate line: northern Thailand-Chiang Mai-Lanna Royal Tomb.

What about vertical lines?
"What's the date today?"

"September 9th! I really don't understand. You were normal when you started the train, but now you seem to have come back from an alien planet?"

And Ye Xiao asked a more stupid question: "What year?"

"841 BC!" Sun Tzuchu was already confused by his anger, "Are you kidding me on purpose? You don't even know the year 2006?"

"September 2006, 9, in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, headed to Lanna King's Tomb?"

The vertical line of time and the horizontal line of space finally intersect on the plane, this special coordinate point——

Perhaps fatal.

At the moment when the space-time coordinates were determined, a mountain basin appeared in Ye Xiao's blurred vision—it resembled an ancient ink painting, which was dug out from a dusty box, and there were still a few worms writhing on the paper.

No, that's not a bug, but a curl of cooking smoke, like white mist permeating the dark green mountain scenery.Under the color combination of green and white, it is like a specially processed movie lens, gradually transforming into dozens of stilt huts, but is it the southern version of "Desolate Village"?

At 11:30, the tour bus stopped by the side of the road. The tour guide Xiao Fang, a young man in his 20s, called everyone to get off the bus.

Ye Xiao followed Sun Tzu Chu to the ground. Is this the land in northern Thailand?The soles of the feet felt tingling like electricity, the toads were croaking under the weeds, and there might be a few green snakes lurking.

The tour guide introduced in a mechanical tone: This ethnic minority village moved from Yunnan, China 200 years ago, and has customs and habits that are completely different from those of the local Thai people.And the barren inland mountains are not as fertile as the Chao Phraya Plain, where only corn and sweet potatoes can grow, and the beautiful and terrifying poppy.

The tour group is arranged for lunch here and can enjoy pure mountain game.Some people got excited. They are tired of eating Thai food these days, so they must feast on it.A few women also frowned, thinking of the civet cat from SARS a few years ago.

Before the crowd reached the entrance of the village, they heard a dull and melodious sound of drums. Sun Zichu frowned and said, "Bronze drums?"

Sure enough, as soon as I entered the village, I saw two big bronze drums, and several old people in national costumes beat hard with bone mallets.The drum sound is different, it emits a unique metal resonance, sometimes crisp and sometimes dull, it seems to be able to penetrate people's hearts.

And behind the bronze drum there are dozens of monsters, all of them are ugly, disfigured by sulfuric acid, and hold swords aggressively.This scene made people astonished. Among them was a minotaur wielding a knife, and rushed towards everyone frantically, just like the bandits cutting trails in ancient times. Several female tourists were so frightened that they ran back to the car.

The tour guide Xiao Fang immediately shouted: "Don't be afraid! It's the Nuo God Dance."

That's right, this is a common "Nuo" god mask in Southwest China. It is painted with ferocious ghosts or beasts on the wood, and it is said to have the magical effect of expelling ghosts and demons.The rhythm of the drums became faster and faster, and dozens of "Nuo" gods sang and danced, waving swords, lights and swords in their hands, like returning from a bloody battle after an expedition.

Ye Xiao was in a trance, only those ghost masks, sharp knives and arrows remained, and his ears were almost deaf due to the sound of the bronze drum.There was a "Nuo" god mask rushing to him, it was a general of Hades with a bright armor, and the sword was pointed directly at his heart——

At this critical juncture, Ye Xiao's hands and feet seemed to be bound, and he froze in place!
Seeing that the sword was about to pierce through his chest, God "Nuo" suddenly swerved his sword, and the sharp blade "grazed past" Ye Xiao's head.

A sharp cold wind howled from the sideburns, and its murderous intent invaded Ye Xiao's brain, making him confirm that the sword was not a decoration, but a truly sharp killing weapon.

At the same time, he smelled some kind of bloody smell. Perhaps this sword had killed people or animals a few days ago?And the god "Nuo" was frightened by his fearless aura, or was it just to test his courage?

Sun Tzuchu hurriedly dragged Ye Xiao back a few big steps, and shouted in fear: "Hey, are you stupid? If it's half a second later, I'm afraid my life will be ruined in this barren village!"

And Ye Xiao didn't know how to answer, just now it was as if he was tied by a rope, his brain ordered him to dodge, but his body didn't listen at all, and the cold sweat from back fear covered his back.

Look at the general of the underworld who danced the sword, he has already returned to the team of the "Nuo" dance, the mask gave him a strange smile, and kept showing him shirts with the sword.

Masks... gods... swords... blood...

All of this is spinning so fast in my head that it's hard to tell if it's what I saw, or a memory from last night or more?He only felt that his body was being torn apart, and the sound of the copper drum turned into a saw, sawing off his scalp forcefully.Two warriors wearing exorcism masks are laughing hard and pulling the saw.The two guys were sweating profusely, and the sharp saw blade slowly cut open Ye Xiao's head from top to bottom, blood splashed out like a fountain.When the saw reached his neck, his head split in two, and his eyes grew farther and farther apart—the left eye saw heaven, the right eye saw hell.

Finally, the saw came out of Ye Xiao's groin, cutting his body in half.

It reminds me of a novel by Italo Calvino - "The Viscount Divided in Two".

When the sound of the bronze drum stopped, he realized that his body was still in good condition, but those Nuo masks suddenly disappeared, leaving only the ordinary faces of villagers.

Ye Xiao tremblingly touched the top of his head, wondering if there was a wound or bleeding?

"MY GOD!" There was also a foreigner in the tour group, a girl in her 20s, with long brown hair surrounding her fair and pleasant face, she spoke a series of strong American-style English, and then said a sentence of proficient Chinese in the blink of an eye: "Excuse me, is this a travel program?"

The young guide hesitated and said, "Yes... yes, a special welcome ceremony."

Sun Zichu stepped forward to observe the bronze drum carefully. It was cast more than 2000 years ago. It was widely distributed in Southwest China and the Indo-China Peninsula, but it is extremely rare today.The edge of the drum is a strange pattern, like some kind of huge animal.Just as Sun Zichu took out his magnifying glass, two skinny villagers looked fierce, and he had to give up observing in embarrassment.

Following the tour group into the village, Ye Xiao found that the place was surprisingly poor, except for the weeds growing wildly everywhere, it was completely lifeless, as if stepping into an ancient cemetery.The wealth of the whole village is concentrated on the women's heads—wearing heavy precious metals, as if silver flowers are blooming on the top of their heads, but their bodies are all black dresses, sallow, emaciated and malnourished.

There was a young man in the tour group who had been shooting with a DV camera, and suddenly shouted: "It smells so good!" (Halo, do current cameras still have the function of smell?)
It was only after entering the center of the village that there was a steaming cauldron with a fire burning under it, surrounded by low tables and chairs.And the tangy aroma came from the tumbling pot of soup.

"Ah, what game is it?"

A tall man beside Ye Xiao shouted greedily. He was wearing a pair of cartoon sunglasses and dressed like an urban elite.

The villagers stared at these uninvited guests indifferently, and the tour guide Xiao Fang whispered something to the driver.Ye Xiao always felt that the expressions of these two people were very strange. The driver in his 40s, with a typical Thai face, said a few words to the villagers and invited them to sit down and eat.

The tour guide Xiao Fang said: "We came here by coincidence today. It happened to coincide with a major festival in this village - the Exorcism Festival! Everyone who comes on this day is a distinguished guest. The villagers will host a banquet for us. Please sit down and enjoy the big festival. Let's eat."

Exorcism?Reminiscent of a classic horror movie of the same name, everyone thought it was unlucky, how could it be just in time for this ghost festival?
Ye Xiao sat down anxiously, and there was a big clay pot in front of each of them, like a Chinese casserole. There was no wild game in it, but the most common sweet potato.This "sweet potato casserole" made everyone very disappointed, but it is extremely difficult to eat this kind of thing, and it has a special flavor in this remote mountainous area.Afterwards, all the dishes were stewed glutinous rice and so on. Everyone felt that they had been cheated. An angry girl stood up and asked, would they be charged again after eating?
When the tour guide’s face was livid and he didn’t know how to answer, the last dish was served. An old woman covered in goosebumps said a few words to the driver. The driver announced the name of the dish in poor Chinese: “Golden Meat!”

Golden meat?
While pondering these three words, a small bowl was brought to him.The tempting aroma wafted out of the bowl, before my mind reacted, the saliva had already started to secrete, it really was an unheard of delicacy!A small piece of tofu in a bowl, surrounded by golden soup - golden tofu?

Ye Xiao dug a small piece of "tofu" with a wooden spoon, put it in his mouth, it didn't melt, but it tasted smooth but not greasy, slightly salty, and the tip of his tongue trembled happily a few times.

Delicious, rare delicious in the world!

Definitely not "tofu" but the meat of some kind of animal.

Quickly put the rest of the meat in his mouth - it was the most beautiful bowl of meat he had eaten in 29 years.

It's a pity that there is only such a little bit!Ye Xiao chewed slowly, more like tasting a cup of high-quality tea.After dozens of seconds, the last trace of "golden meat" swallowed his throat.The golden broth in the bowl has not been spared. I wonder if there is any game in the world that is more delicious than this?After the bottom of the bowl was turned upside down, he still couldn't finish it, and licked his lips with his tongue to reminisce.

Looking at the others, they were all the same. They all praised the deliciousness of this bowl of meat, and almost ate the bowl too.Everyone asked for another bowl, the driver shook his head helplessly: "Each person can only eat one bowl, this is the rule."

This is true, such delicacy is a scarce resource, and it must be supplied in limited quantities to be precious.

The elite wearing sunglasses stood up and asked, "What kind of meat is 'golden meat'?"

After several translations, the tour guide Xiao Fang relayed the answers of the villagers:
"Secrets of heaven—don't let them out!"

"Cut! At least it's not made of gold!"

When everyone thought that the tour guide would charge extra for lunch, Xiao Fang said, "This lunch was given to us by the villagers for free, because we are the distinguished guests at the 'Exorcism Festival' and can help them drive away the devil."

"Is there a mistake?" A girl in her 20s muttered in Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent.

The tour group all stood up and followed the guide out of the village.The man in the sunglasses looked back at the cauldron with infinite nostalgia, but found a pile of bones beside the pot.

What kind of bone is that?
Walking out of the lifeless village entrance, Sun Zichu found that the bronze drum was missing.This kind of bronze drum is usually the treasure of the whole family, maybe it can only be taken out for one day a year-the Exorcism Festival?

Through the barren fields, everyone returned to the tour bus.Some people are still asking what is "golden meat"?The driver said that it was the first time for him to eat it. In the past, when he took a group passing by this village, he ate only ordinary hare and pheasant. He had never heard of any "golden meat".

The car drove deeper into the mountain, the forest became more and more dense, and there was no sign of human habitation at all.It is expected to arrive at the famous tourist attraction in northern Thailand - Lanna Mausoleum at two o'clock in the afternoon, and stay in the nearby city of Chiang Rai at night.

Ye Xiao was still sitting in the original seat, touching his clothes.The upper body is a casual shirt, and the lower body is a pair of old jeans.There is a Siemens mobile phone in the left trouser pocket. The time displayed on the screen is 2006:9 noon on September 24, 12, probably the local time in Thailand.

There was a wallet in the right trouser pocket, which contained his ID card and a police officer's card—Ye Xiao remembered his profession, he was a police officer, a police officer who had encountered countless terrible incidents.

But he still couldn't remember, how could he be in Thailand?

The wallet contained a Bank of China credit card, as well as hundreds of RMB, dozens of dollars and thousands of baht in cash.

There is a backpack on his shoulder, which contains a SONY digital camera, some scattered food, a pocket notebook computer, a charger and batteries, and his passport of the People's Republic of China.On the most recent page of the entry and exit records of the passport, the entry stamp in Thailand was stamped on September 2006, 9.

He scratched his hair vigorously, and his face was faintly reflected in the window glass.

The 29-year-old face—resolute, stern and haggard. Fortunately, his eyes still make him proud, sharp and compelling like a mountain eagle, and occasionally make girls dream about.

Outside this face are the lofty mountains of northern Thailand - the winding mountain road that is difficult to climb to the blue sky, with towering peaks on one side and cliffs on the other.

His heart shrank instinctively again.

The driver kept making turns on the mountain road. If the wheels rolled a few more times, the whole car would be tied up and sent to hell.Rao was the driver who was so bold and skilled, he actually held the steering wheel with one hand and the gear lever with the other, and hummed a little song leisurely and contentedly.

There are no other vehicles on this road at all, no matter in the same direction or in the opposite direction, it seems that the people in this car are the only lives on this long and dangerous mountain road.

The car braked suddenly, and Sun Zichu hit his head on the back of the front seat.

It turned out that a girl appeared on the side of the road, wearing a long skirt commonly seen in Thailand, with a dangerous cliff behind her.

The bus almost ran over her. The driver stopped the car and was furious. He just wanted to yell at her to kill her, but the girl walked to the door of the car without fear.She looks no more than 20 years old, has a small fair face, and a slim figure.

Xiao Fang opened the car door involuntarily, and the girl got into the car generously, clasped her hands together and bowed, and asked in Thai-style Chinese, "Excuse me, are you Xiao Fang?"

The young tour guide was at a loss: "How do you know my name?"

"I'm Yuling? We talked on the phone last night."

The girl's voice was quite sweet, courteous and lovely, and Sun Zichu couldn't help praising softly: "Top class, top class!"

"Oh, you are Yu Ling!" Xiao Fang finally came back to his senses, but his tone was still very unnatural, "Welcome."

The girl Yuling faced everyone again, put her palms together and blessed in Thai, and then said in Chinese: "Chinese friends, welcome to the beautiful Chiang Mai. I am the tour guide of Chiang Mai Rose Travel Agency, and I will accompany you with Xiaofang Go to Lanna King's Tomb and Chiang Rai City. You can call me Yuling, and if you need anything, you can ask at any time, and I will do my best to meet it. I wish you a safe and happy journey, thank you!"

The tour guide Xiao Fang added: "Yes, Yuling is the local escort arranged for us by Chiang Mai Rose Travel Agency. She is a native of Chiang Mai and is most familiar with this place."

Yuling's appearance, figure and clothing are reminiscent of the Dai people in Xishuangbanna, so she is very popular with tour groups, especially young male members.Chiang Mai is a place for beauties. The Yuling in front of her eyes has fair skin, delicate features, and is slender and slender, which is obviously different from the dark, thin and short people in central and southern Thailand.

But Ye Xiao wondered: How could Yuling stop the car here?Since it is a local companion arranged by a travel agency, it is completely possible to set off together in Chiang Mai.There are no villages or shops in front of this place, and it is completely deserted. Could it be that she climbed up from the bottom of the cliff?

The car continued to gallop on the mountain road. Yuling took Xiaofang's microphone and said in beautiful Chinese: "We are going to the most important Lanna Tomb on this trip. This is also the latest tourist attraction in Southeast Asia. It has not yet opened to the public. One year, it has received more than 50 tourists from all over the world. The tomb of the Lanna King was discovered by loggers ten years ago and is located in a virgin jungle. The Kingdom of Lanna was a mysterious ancient country 800 years ago. The capital and palace of this kingdom have not yet been discovered, so the archaeological significance of the Lanna Royal Tomb is even greater. The royal tomb we are about to see, although it has been covered by forests for hundreds of years, is still extremely large —Have you ever heard of the eighth wonder of the world?"

“Cambodia's 'Angkor Wat'!”

Sun Tzuchu stood up from his seat and said loudly, because he had visited "Angkor Wat" a few years ago.

"Congratulations to this big Chinese brother, you got the answer right! However, the scale of our excavated Lanna King's Tomb is larger than that of 'Angkor Wat'. There are not only extremely exquisite Buddha statues, magnificent temples and tomb buildings, but also There are intricate underground palaces, where the remains of more than a dozen Lanna kings are buried, and there is even a strange curse legend——” Yu Ling pretended to smile mysteriously, “Okay, I can’t say any more, the answer to the mystery is coming Lanna Royal Tomb will know, hehe."

(End of this chapter)