Secret 1

Chapter 22 Mountain Cemetery (1)
2006年9月26日，凌晨5点25分。

With the last nasal sound, Ding Ding suddenly opened his eyes.

There is no dark night sky, no dim lights, no mahjong room and small supermarket, and no mobile phone signal. She is still in the room on the fifth floor, lying on a large and soft bed.

It turned out that it was a dream.

Dream?
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, as if he had come out of a swimming pool, panting in panic, his hands clenched into fists.

Clenched his phone in his fist.

The mobile phone has been turned on for some reason, but no signal can be received on the screen, and the sound of "GAME OVER" is still ringing in my ears.

Although I am still living a good life, I have some regrets in my heart: Why is it just a dream?And why is this dream so weird?

But she has long been accustomed to her strange dream, so she can only shake her head with a wry smile.

At this moment, my heart sank, this is the end of the game, the mysterious girl took the opportunity to escape, right?

She turned her head nervously, only to find that the girl was still fast asleep, the floral skirt was covered with a blanket, maybe it was time to change her clothes tomorrow morning.

Another false alarm.

Ding Ding took a few deep breaths, finally freed himself from the dream, thinking about what to do tomorrow?Who is this mysterious girl?How can I get her to speak?Does she really not understand Chinese?However, the presence of the girl at least proves that Nanming City is not empty, there may be others to be found, and the tour group is not alone.

She turned over again, accidentally touched the girl's back, and let out a slight groan.Oops, did you wake her up?Dingding didn't dare to move, holding his voice like a wooden man.But the girl continued to make a sound, as light as a cat meowing—

"Mommy mommy……"

Dingding could vaguely tell that the girl was actually calling "Mom"?You must be talking in your sleep, at most she is only five or six years older than her, so she is really not blessed to accept this title.

But she was not sure if it was Chinese, because "mother" in most human languages ​​has almost the same pronunciation.

At this moment, the girl turned over again and faced Ding Ding, still muttering to herself: "Don't...die...don't..."

In the dark room, I couldn't see her expression clearly, only her whispering voice.Now Dingding can be sure, the girl speaks Chinese, and it is quite standard.

What people say in their dreams must be their mother tongue.

Suddenly, the mysterious girl opened her eyes.

Although it is almost invisible, Ding Ding can feel the sharp gaze.

The four looked at each other, on the same bed.

It's like a confrontation in a stadium again, there is no difference between day and night.

Finally, Dingding decided to speak: "What did you dream about?"

The girl opened her eyes wide in the dark night, her teeth seemed to be still shaking, and she didn't utter a word for a long while.

"I heard your sleep talk just now. You are speaking Chinese. Please stop pretending to be deaf and dumb. Can you talk to me?"

The girl's eyes softened, and although she couldn't see it at all, she could feel the heartbeat of the other party.

Ding Ding's voice was also much softer: "I'm sorry, did I wake up your dream? Just think that we are all lonely and need to talk to each other to get rid of loneliness."

A few seconds later, she heard a girl's voice: "What do you want to tell me?"

The 20-year-old girl's voice, delicate and magnetic, penetrated the dawn like sweet dew, and came to the big bed in the room on the fifth floor.Dingding smiled for the first time: "You can say anything, dear."

"Thank you."

"Why thank me?"

Dingding thought the girl would hate her.

"Because you interrupted my nightmare and saved me from hell where I was dying and you saved my life."

Her Mandarin is well-spoken, without any accent, but it is not like the Mandarin spoken by northerners.

"Well, I'm still going to apologize to you." Ding Ding felt that the distance between her and her was getting closer, and he simply put his hand on his chin and said, "Let's talk about something else, such as - your name?".

The girl was silent for a moment: "Can I not answer this question?"

"Since you won't tell me my name, I'll call you 'Nobody'."

"Unknown girl?" Her tone was a bit strange, and then she said softly, "I like this name."

Ding Ding gave a wry smile helplessly: "Okay, unknown girl, how old are you?"

"21 is old."

"Where are you from?"

"I do not know."

The girl replied coldly, but Dingding was not discouraged: "It seems that you still don't regard me as a friend. Have you always lived in Nanming City?"

"Ah."

"Where is your family? Where are your parents?"

"I do not know."

Dingding knew that she was deliberately avoiding the question: "Well, the nameless girl has no parents, but she always has a house to live in, right? Where does she live?"

The answer is still: "I don't know."

This standard "unknown girl" who didn't know anything, suddenly propped up her upper body, her long hair hung down on the pillow, sweeping across the top of her cheeks.

"Is that wolf dog yours?"

"Yes."

Thankfully, this time she finally didn't answer that she didn't know.

"What's its name?"

"God."

Ding Ding couldn't help admiring: "What a special name, is it your name?"

Using "God" to describe that amazing big wolfhound is indeed worthy of the name.Ding Ding imagined the image of it crawling in the dark night, it is really like the legendary god dog descending to earth, which is beyond the comparison of ordinary dogs.

"Yes, it is omnipotent and everywhere. It was waiting for me downstairs just now."

"But how did it separate from you?"

The unknown girl replied flatly: "At night, it went to find me something to eat."

"It finds food for you? The god is really powerful."

"God is omnipotent."

Dingding doesn’t want to talk about dogs anymore, let’s talk about people: “Are there other people around you?”

"Have."

"Who?"

Ding Ding asked excitedly, but he didn't expect the nameless girl to reply: "Aren't you just lying next to me?"

"Oh, I mean except for the people in our tour group."

"Then—I don't know."

Jeez, another "I don't know", just change her name from "Nobody" to "I don't know"!Dingding couldn't take it anymore, she was not a particularly patient person, so she could only continue to lie down and observe each other.

Outside the window, the night is quietly flowing away, and a little white light slowly floats into the sky.

The dim morning light pierced through the glass, like a mist covering the body of an unknown girl.The dim backlight is like the negative of a photographic work, allowing Ding Ding to see the outline of the girl clearly.

Yes, she is a perfect work in itself.

The soft light radiates gently on the outer edge of the body. Apart from being a little thin, the girl's body is well developed, and her waist and chest are quite attractive.If you dress up a little more, it is enough to be a movie star, and Liu Yifei and Huang Shengyi were no more than that.

Fortunately, the person lying next to her was not "Loricon", otherwise she would definitely get angry.

The unknown girl got out of bed and went to the window, watching the dawn beyond the iron railing, the sky was still dark blue, and the birds were about to ride on the branches and sing.

Ding Ding also walked behind her and said, "This is a sinful but beautiful city."

Six o'clock in the morning.

The third day after entering the empty city.

On the fourth floor, in the largest suite in the entire building, there were also two women sleeping on the bed.

Huang Wanran and Cheng Qiuqiu.

The mother and daughter are back to back, the mother is facing the window, and the morning light hits her face first.Slowly opening his eyes, the pupils were suddenly stimulated, only to find that the pillow had already been wet with tears.

The eye sockets must still be red, she gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and she must not be seen by her daughter.Huang Wanran didn't expect that she shed so many tears in her dream, who could make her so sad?At least not the establishment lying next door.

She looked at the big tree outside the window, a few leaves were blown by a gust of wind, and brought them to a place not far away, maybe her hometown in the south of the colorful clouds-Kunming.

17 years ago.

Although she always forced herself to forget, she often stubbornly jumped out in her dreams.Huang Wanran was only 20 years old that year and had just graduated from Kunming Medical College.Because my parents were just ordinary workers, they couldn’t rely on connections to get through the back door like others did, so they were assigned to the most remote county—called Shangri-La today, but they were so poor that they couldn’t get away with it.In a rural hospital deep in the mountains, she started her career.

Although it is a place that does not shit, the patients are basically Tibetan and Naxi nomads. There is no telephone or TV, and the external communication depends on the township postman who comes once a week.But the scenery there is amazingly beautiful. Opening the door is a towering snow-capped mountain. Below the mountain is a large fragrant grassland. Herdsmen ride horses and lead Tibetan mastiffs to drive away sheep.The building where the hospital is located was an ancient castle at the time, but it was built by Lijiang chieftain Mu Tianwang.She quickly fell in love with it and would rather enjoy the solitude by herself than go back to the city.

A few months later, the herdsmen brought in a patient with a broken bone, who was said to have fallen off a cliff.The situation was very urgent, and there was no time to send it to the hospital outside, so Huang Wanran had no choice but to bite the bullet and have a surgical operation.Unexpectedly, the operation was exceptionally successful, and the patient's leg was saved by chance, and there were no sequelae, otherwise amputation was likely.

She thought the patient was weird, with long hair at a young age and always carrying a camera bag.How did he climb up the cliff?Even the local Tibetans who collect herbs will not go there.Because the cast will take at least two months, he can only live in the hospital, chatting with Huang Wanran every day - of course, she is his savior.

His name is Qian Mozheng, he is a professional photographer, determined to travel all over China to take pictures of the most magnificent scenery.He came to this valley by chance, and the incomparable beauty here reminded him of the place described in an American novel——Shangri-La.He was deeply shocked by the beauty, so he tried his best to photograph it, and even climbed the cliff at the risk of danger, just to photograph a precious snow lotus.He was unlucky, however, and fell, nearly losing a leg.

Huang Wanran is very curious about everything about him, because he has been to Tibet, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, and listened to him tell the scenery and stories there: photographing Tibetan antelopes in Hoh Xil, encountering wolves in the Mongolian grasslands, and being almost buried by an avalanche under the Himalayas.Qi Qin had become popular that year, and Huang Wanran got some cassettes and photos of Qi Qin through his classmates in Kunming.She found that Qian Mozheng looked like Qi Qin, especially when he climbed to the top of the castle and sang "I am a wolf from the north" to her in the middle of the night, she was moved to tears—that year The moon on the snow mountain is so beautiful.

When Qian Mozheng removed the plaster cast on her leg, he took her to the mountains to take pictures.She became his queen model, and against the background of snowy mountains, grasslands and deep pools, she felt for the first time that she was so beautiful, and only nature could set off her temperament.He took hundreds of photos of her, each of which was full of emotion and made the photographer's heart flutter.They all understand each other's hearts, and they don't need words to express it, because this is the Garden of Eden for human beings.Just like Adam and Eve, they strolled on the sunset meadow, played in the rhododendron bushes, and kissed behind the ruins of the old castle...

However, the good times are short-lived.

Half a year later, Qian Mozheng's family sent a letter to tell him that the photo he submitted to the American "National Geographic" had been adopted—it was the photo with the snow-capped mountains as the background, and Huang Wanran was wearing the costume of a local Tibetan girl. With a rhododendron in his mouth, he is lying in front of the camera in a charming manner.This photo titled "Snow Mountain Rhododendron Beauty" won the World Art Photography Award that year, and National Geographic magazine specially invited him to New York to receive the award.

After three days of hesitation, he finally decided to leave Shangri-La and go to another paradise—the United States.

Although Huang Wanran shed a lot of tears, she did not stop him from leaving, but sent him out of the valley all the way to the bus station in the county town.Qian Mozheng also cried. He knew that without Huang Wanran, he would have lost a leg long ago, let alone have the opportunity to go to the United States—not to mention that she is the model for the award-winning photo, and this photo can conquer the world. Credit to her charisma in front of the camera.

At the last moment of parting, he sang a song by Qi Qin: "Gently, I will leave you, please wipe away the tears from the corners of your eyes. In the long night... I think it will be in winter."

After Qian Mozheng stepped on the long-distance bus, he poked his head out of the car window and shouted: "Wanran, please wait for me for another half a year. I, Qian Mozheng, swear to God: I will definitely come back from the United States in half a year and marry you." !"

Huang Wanran only felt that everything around her was blank, only the words he said on the car window lingered in her mind for a long time.

She literally waited six months.

This is half a month of living like a year, looking at the moon every night, hoping for his early return, and writing letters to the address he left every week.However, she never received a reply.

The long half year has finally passed.On the day she thought Qian Mozheng was going to return, she tied a lot of yellow cloth strips at the entrance of the village, just like the yellow ribbons in the movie played by Takakura Ken. The villagers thought she was doing religious rituals.

However, he did not return.

Huang Wanran waited for another half a year with tears in his face, but there was still no news from him.

Qian Mozheng's oath is still in my ears, it was originally a sweet dream every night, but now it has become a nightmare.

In the end, she decided that the man she loved had already died in a distant foreign country, otherwise he would never break his oath!

In the ruins of their first kiss, Huang Wanran dug a small grave for him, and buried all his things in it. This is her lover's tomb.

She felt extremely bewildered about the future and didn't know where she should go. The landscape in front of her was still beautiful, but it seemed that she no longer belonged to her.

At this time, her mother came to her.My mother is from Shanghai, and went to Yunnan in the 60s to support the construction of the third front.She was not willing to let her daughter stay in the mountains for the rest of her life, and it happened that Huang Wanran's uncle was working as a director in Shanghai, so he transferred her back to Shanghai through this relationship.

Reluctantly leaving Shangri-La, she came to a completely unfamiliar Shanghai and worked as a doctor in a street hospital.The uncle liked this beautiful niece very much, so he introduced her colleague's son to her. At that time, he was already an engineer in the electric power bureau, and he had a golden job that many people envied.They only talked about being friends for half a year, and they got married in a flash.

Fifteen or six years have passed in a flash, and the beauty of Rhododendron azalea, which caused a sensation in the American "National Geographic" magazine, is now a 38-year-old mature woman.The daughter has grown into a big girl and is sleeping beside her.

Huang Wanran turned to face her daughter, only to realize that Qiuqiu had already woken up.The mother and daughter faced each other, and the morning light shone on the 15-year-old youthful face, which was a replica of her girlhood.

She stretched out her hand to caress Qiuqiu. At this time, her daughter was no longer stubborn, and she was as docile as a kitten, nestling in the warm embrace of the mother cat, with her little furry paws resting on her mother's shoulders.

"Qiuqiu, you have to listen to your mother."

Qiuqiu opened her eyes wide and said like a little girl who has been wronged: "You always fight, and Dad always treats you badly. I know he is not a good man."

"Sorry, mom didn't give you a harmonious family."

Her eye sockets were a little red again.Although her daughter is always by her side, she knows that Qiuqiu is actually lonely and has always closed her heart to her parents.She is afraid that her daughter will become even stranger in the future, and seeing reports of teenage depression a few times makes her terrified and worried.

"I don't care anymore."

"Qiuqiu, when we go home, I will seriously consider the relationship with your father." Huang Wanran hugged her daughter's neck tightly, "If it's the worst outcome, we mother and daughter will be dependent on each other from now on. My big deal Then go to work as a doctor, or go to a private practice."

The daughter replied coldly, "Can we still go home?"

"We will definitely be able to go home. Everyone in the tour group is working hard. Maybe the Thai police will find us soon."

"No, we're stuck here, we can't get out."

When she said this, she was unusually calm, completely out of character for her 15-year-old age.

"What did you say?" Huang Wanran was a little angry, she didn't allow her daughter to give up on herself, "Do you want to stay here forever?"

"Perhaps—yes."

"What the hell are you thinking, kid?"

Huang Wanran was a little confused, but Qiuqiu's answer surprised her mother even more:

"Because I love this city!"

Simultaneously.

The camera moves across Huang Wanran and Qiuqiu's room, through the concrete floor under the bed, and into the room on the third floor downstairs.

There was a pair of eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, as if it had sensed Qiuqiu's voice.

She is Yuling.

Elena, who was in the same room, continued to sleep soundly, but Yuling woke up just after dawn. Growing up in the rural areas of northern Thailand, she developed the habit of going to bed early and getting up early.

The mist outside the window is gradually dissipating, but the feeling is still lingering in front of my eyes, filling my heart like yesterday morning.Let Yu Ling's body become lighter and lighter, and the whole person slowly floated up, surrounded by the dew and white mist in the forest, and returned to the early morning when she was 16 years old.

The interrupted memories continued, and it was still the darkest and weirdest forest.Under the big banyan tree that never sees the sun, the surrounding area is filled with the smell of rotting plants and animals. The souls of the dead who cannot be saved gather here, quietly waiting for a certain fire to come.

The 16-year-old Yuling's thin body trembled in her tube skirt, and there was a slight fumbling sound between her cat-like bones.

Because, she saw a handsome monk.

"another world."

The young monk said these words calmly, his lips were faintly purple, his dark cheeks were unusually thin, but his voice was so loud and powerful.

Yu Ling didn't know how to answer, and then he noticed that there was another monk sitting behind him.

It was an old monk, so old that he didn't know how old he was, with long white eyebrows hanging down, his face was covered with wrinkles and age spots, and his skinny appearance was almost like a skeleton.

Old monk in meditation?

He was wearing a tattered yellow monk robe, sitting cross-legged on a dead leaf that had been years in years, with his hands clasped in front of his chest, his eyes closed as if he was still in deep thought.

The white mist that filled the forest seemed to be emanating from his body, and was constantly floating out through his body.The old monk's thin upper body was straight, and even his withered fingers were unambiguous.The whole person is like a sculpture thousands of years ago, standing still in this dark world.

"He fell asleep?"

(End of this chapter)