When we walked under the city at Yumenguan, Ayimu Khan took a strange poplar tree branch, dipped it in well water and sprinkled it on our foreheads, and nodded three times on each of us.
Many people don't know why. Ayim Khan explained: "This is the custom before each camel team sets off. The poplar tree is called Toklak. Take three drops of water from the tree in the hope that you can get God's blessing during this trip. , go in peace, come back in peace.”
At that time, we really thought we could return safely, but we didn't expect that this trip to the desert actually cost us blood. Even Qilin himself suffered heavy casualties.
Of course, this is all a story for later...
In this way, we rode camels all the way forward. To be honest, riding on a camel and riding on a horse are two completely different feelings.
The camel's hump was bumpy and bumpy, and we were miserable within a few hours of walking.
Ayimhan said sarcastically from the front with a rich northwest accent: "Why are we entering the Desert of the Dead like this? The road is still early."
So we couldn’t say anything more.
I saw Yin Ling'er carrying the big bamboo basket bumping up and down, and several times the bamboo basket jumped high and hit her head.
Along the way, she kept saying "ouch" and "ouch".
At first I thought it was a little funny, but then I felt a little distressed and offered to carry the big bamboo basket for her. If I couldn't afford it, I could help.
Banban had never ridden a camel before, but he was surprisingly stable. He looked at the long-haired giant beast in surprise, like a child who had just been led out by an adult.
Yin Ling'er angrily refused: "Girls from the Miao border don't need the help of boys!"
But as soon as she finished speaking, she said 'ouch'.
After that, it couldn’t stop.
I couldn't force others to do anything, so I could only take the initiative to pull the camel behind Yin Ling'er, so that even if something went wrong with her, I could help her as soon as possible.
In this way, we headed west and said goodbye to Yumen Pass.
At about six o'clock in the evening, the vast Gobi Desert in front of us finally changed, replaced by a sky full of yellow sand.
Not far away, covered with a ray of sunset, a devil-like silhouette of an old castle rises from the ground, standing alone in the wind and sand.
The top of the castle is pointed and the area is quite large. Countless mounds stand there like terrifying tombstones, with countless evil spirits suppressing them below.
I immediately asked Ayimhan where this place was, but there was a hint of panic in my voice.
Ayimhan pointed forward and said: "Now we are close to the edge of the Devil's Crying Desert. In front of us is Devil City, where the devil lives."
The previous words have already made us feel a little nervous, but the last words simply killed us.
Ayimhan said: Everyone will rest in the Devil City tonight!
The young people in the team protested in low voices. Since it was said to be a place where devils live, why would they want to sleep there in the open? Isn't this a disease?
Ayimhan spoke with a lovely northwest accent and said in a measured tone: "My camel rolled its eyes. It may not be able to walk. I have to let it eat grass, drink some water, and take a rest. After you enter the city, , obey me in everything, don't speak loudly, and don't move around alone, otherwise you will disturb the devil in the castle! By then, God will not be able to save you."
The first few words conveyed a relaxed tone, but the latter deepened the terror in the team.
I asked out of curiosity: "Is there really a devil city in this world?"
At this time, Xiang Wanli explained with a smile from behind: "Little brother, in fact, the Devil City is a naturally formed wonder. We scientifically call it: Yadan landform! Yadan means steep earth mountain in translation. This is an early It was named by a foreign explorer in 1968, and the local herdsmen called it Devil City. I believe you know the reason. The sand dunes here have become extremely terrifying due to the special weathering. "
"From a distance, it looks like a castle where ghosts live."
"But don't worry, there are absolutely no ghosts here, and there are no ghosts in this world!"
Unexpectedly, before Xiang Wanli finished speaking, Ayimu Khan shouted loudly: "Old sir, shut your mouth! I don't know how many tough-talking scholars like you I met in my first half of my life, and they all ended up in the devil." The city has become the new devil.”
Because he speaks with a northwest accent, one by one, one after another, he not only does not make people angry, but also looks like a funny and cute little old man.
Ayimhan's words made us all amused, and the original weird atmosphere disappeared.
When we arrived at the foot of the Devil City, we discovered that it was even more spectacular than we had imagined. There was an indescribable beauty under the sunset. It is as if it is really a deserted city in the northwest built in the vast Gobi desert, housing a lonely ghost who was only sent here.
And Ayim Khan's first action when he got off the camel was to light a small oil lamp under a red rock wall in Devil City.
They kept chanting the scriptures of their Hui tribe and kowtowed to the rock wall.
boom!
Bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
After kowtowing, Ayim Khan took off a black bag from the white camel he was riding.
This pocket has made me extremely curious before. What is in it?
Unexpectedly, it contained only some dried cosmos flowers, so he scattered all the petals under the rock wall.
After doing all this, he pulled up the sand-proof towel around his neck again and explained to us: "This is a local way of praying. You just kowtow like I did just now. You will sleep in someone else's house tonight. Don’t be disrespectful to the owner!”
Lao Jiang and the others all did as I was told, and I also pressed Banban’s head down and gave it a good kowtow. As for Diao Ye, they all followed the rules better than the other.
But the Free Commune is a bit of a headache.
Xiang Wanli leaned over and bowed deeply to the rock wall, saying that he only knelt down to the kings of heaven and earth, and not to these strange powers and gods.
Dawu, Xiaowu and the others ignored him at first and led their camels into the city without a care in the world.
This scene made Ayimu sweat and shake his head!
Spending the night in the desert is easy. Ayim Khan took us to find some sand dunes that could block the wind, and then asked us to find some more poplar trees to make a fire.
Because the temperature here is very cold at night, sometimes reaching below zero.
At night, we put on thick clothes and chatted around the campfire. We debated passionately whether there were any devils here.
Ayimhan took a sip of the highland barley wine he carried with him and said in a hoarse and desolate tone: "You guys are still too young! There are many things happening in the Devil City, especially the ghosts crying every late at night. sound."
"That's because the undead here don't believe they are dead, they still want to go home!"
"And I also heard that many years ago, a foreign expedition team dug up a mummy in Devil's City. The mummy was transported back using the camels raised by my tribe. Then something strange happened, just halfway through On the way, the mummy suddenly opened its eyes and sat up, biting the throats of several foreigners. "
"Even the three foreign explorers who handled the whole thing were all infected with a strange infectious disease, and their whole bodies festered to death! Tragically, all their blond-haired, blue-eyed family members also died. "
"After that, we herdsmen set a new rule for the Devil City. Things here are not allowed to be touched, let alone taken. Otherwise, even if you escape abroad, the devil will catch up with you!"
In the middle of the night, his story made us a little scared.
Everyone tightened their clothes in unison, as if they were frightened.
"Uncle, please stop talking. It's late at night." Yueyue swallowed, tangled her hands together and rubbed them.
Ayimhan smiled, looking a little horrified under the light of the bonfire: "I can't finish telling the horror stories all day and night. Another time was my personal experience, when I led a team through Mingsha Mountain , I actually met someone who died on the road the day before, asking me for water in the middle of the night. Do you know how scary that face is? "
"That face is so white, there is no blood at all, it doesn't look like a living person at all. Its lips are moving, and it keeps staring at me: water, water, I want water!"
At this time, a gust of wind blew by, causing our heartbeats to stop for half a beat.
Ayimhan didn't tell us what happened next. He just took a deep breath and said leisurely after a while: "In the end, I poured half of the team's water on the dead man. Only in this place can the team return safely, and this is what happens in the desert: ghosts looking for water.”
"Listen up, don't mess with the devil, you can't mess with those things."
I, who have always been brave, felt a chill down my back, while Yin Ling'er and Yueyue were frightened to death. I looked at Yin Ling'er and said, "Aren't you someone who plays with bugs? You're still afraid of ghosts."
Yin Ling'er bit her plump lower lip and replied plausibly: "Ghosts and insects are different!"
Ayimhan felt a little sad when he saw the group of young people who were disrespectful to the Devil City during the day. He couldn't help but smile and tightened the lid of the wine bag: "I will continue to tell you the rest of the ghost stories tomorrow..."
However, at this moment, the wind suddenly rose in Devil City.
There was wind and sand in all directions to the west. Diao Ye reacted very quickly and immediately ordered us all to put on gauze scarves, face the sand dunes, and put on windshield goggles to prevent wind and sand from entering our mouths and noses.
I originally thought it was just an ordinary gust of sand and it would be fine after the blowing, but unexpectedly, along with this gust of wind came a burst of plaintive crying!
Like a tide, it swept into the Devil City from all directions in the west.
What’s even more terrifying is that this cry was made by a man. It was a painful, whimpering cry that had to be pretended to be strong. It was like thousands of men rushing to get involved in the Devil City from all directions. It's like crying to the devil city.
No, to be more precise, they are surrounding our entire team!
His vision was completely blocked by the wind and sand, his hearing became extremely sensitive, and a series of terrifying pictures appeared in his head.
One by one, scary-looking devils followed the wind and crawled out of the sand, standing beside us, surrounding everyone in a circle and trapping them inside!
Yueyue couldn't bear it at first. She covered her ears and shouted in pain: "It's a ghost, it's a ghost coming!"
Brothers Da Wu and Xiao Wu seemed to be interested in Yueyue. They were scrambling to express themselves. In the end, Da Wu took the advantage, grabbed a handful of sand and explained: "This is not a ghost crying at all. It is the same as the Devil City." This natural wonder is caused by the wind blowing the sand against each other, making a cry-like sound. When the wind stops, the sound disappears. "
Ayimhan was offended and said viciously: "You are blaspheming the devil."
Dawu and Xiaowu snorted, not taking Ayimhan's words seriously at all. After a while, the wind stopped, and the crying that had just made everyone's hair stand on end also stopped abruptly!
Dawu proudly arranged his sand towel: "Let me tell you."
Lao Jiang, who was unusually silent from beginning to end, suddenly stabbed him: "I don't think so!"
Dawu was about to retort, but suddenly lost his voice. Everyone, including me, had goosebumps on the spot.
Because now there is obviously no wind, but we hear cries that are a hundred times more terrifying than before from the Devil's City.
What’s even more horrifying is that the cry is not coming from the wind, but from the ground!
