Regarding the stone houses mentioned by Tashi Duoji, Basang was not convinced and argued: "How do you know those stone houses must be used to capture owl monsters! And no owl monster has ever been captured."
After listening to their conversation, the three of us were very curious. Wen Qingshan hurriedly asked: "Wait a minute, what is the owl monster you are talking about?"
Tashi Duoji took a deep breath and started telling us.
It is said that a long time ago, a strange monster appeared in the plateau area. This monster often came in groups, preyed on livestock, and even attacked herdsmen. This creature looked very much like a human, with a human-like face and an upper body like
The human body is the same, with a pair of strong arms, but the legs are the same as those of birds, and its size is larger than that of ordinary people. The most peculiar thing is that the monster has a pair of huge wings that can fly in the sky
It is flying in mid-air, with its wings spread out, four to five meters wide.
This monster is extremely powerful and moves quickly. It often swoops down from high altitudes and captures the livestock before the herdsmen can react. For a while, the herdsmen were helpless against this monster. It was not until later that they could
Came up with an idea. The herdsmen built some stone buildings on the high mountains where monsters often haunted. These buildings were designed with quite narrow corridors that could only accommodate one person. The herdsmen tied a dog in the narrow corridor.
Goat, attract the monster over, wait
When the monster squeezed into the corridor to prey on the goats, the herdsmen entered from both ends of the corridor with spears and other weapons and blocked the monster inside. Because the corridor was very narrow, the monster could not spread its wings and fly away.
It was killed by herdsmen in the building. Later, this monster went to unknown places and has not appeared again for hundreds of years. However, many of the stone buildings used to capture monsters have been preserved, and on Zabul Peak
There happens to be such a stone building.
After listening to what Tashi Duoji said, the three of us were surprised. I couldn't help but think of the bird-man skeleton I saw in the evil stone tomb. It was almost exactly the same as the owl monster described by Tashi Duoji. Could it be that it was the same one?
Owl
The corpse of the monster? But how could the body of the owl monster appear in that evil stone tomb? Moreover, Ouyang Yi believed that the bird-man came from the underground world. If this is the case, it is possible that the owl monster also came from the underground world!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but think about snow monsters, owl monsters, giant ground otters, three dragon beasts, the underground world, and the legendary Shambhala... I suddenly felt that there seemed to be something between all these.
Some kind of subtle connection.
However, Basang disagreed with Tashi Duoji's story. In his opinion, the rumors about the owl monster were just myths. Even though those stone buildings are still widely distributed on the snowy plateau to this day, they still cannot prove that the owl monster is a myth.
The strangeness is real, because there is another more mainstream theory about those stone buildings, saying that those buildings are checkpoints or beacon towers and other military buildings built during the ancient Shang Shung Kingdom. In Basang’s opinion,
This statement is more true and credible.
For this reason, the two of them argued again. Tashi Duoji tried his best to prove that there was indeed an owl monster on Zabul Peak. He told us that as long as herdsmen graze near Zabul Peak, their livestock will inevitably be lost. Moreover, once
Someone once saw a huge bird suddenly appear and take away an adult goat. The adult goat weighed about forty or fifty kilograms. Even a large golden eagle could not take it away.
It was easy to catch and take away, and the giant bird was much larger than the golden eagle. However, because the giant bird was too fast, the herders did not see its appearance clearly, but judging from its size, it was very likely that it would
It is the legendary owl monster. Since then, Zabul Peak, like Gesang Valley, has almost become a taboo place for residents of several nearby villages. Even Tashi Duoji, who has always been bold, has some scruples about it.
Rarely travel nearby.
However, regardless of whether there is really an owl monster on Zabul Peak, since the people in the cult have agreed to trade there, we have to go there. Since we are not very familiar with the terrain in this area, we don’t even know what Zabul Peak is.
Wen Qingshan asked Tashi Duoji to take us there together.
Tashi Duoji buried his head in silence for a long time, and finally agreed to us, but I could see that he was actually unwilling.
Zabul Peak is twenty to thirty miles away from Daga Doma Village, and there are about three or four miles of rugged mountain roads. According to Tashi Duoji, it would take four or five hours to drive there from the village, even if you work hard.
Since the time agreed upon by the cult members was noon the next day, early the next morning, at dawn, I, Wen Qingshan, Jianjian and Basang, led by Tashi Duoji, rode
He rode his horse and set off in the direction of Zabul Peak.
In order to rush on the road, we almost kept going without stopping, and by the time it got dark, we had already run for seven or eight miles. At this time, I discovered that the golden eagle appeared again in the sky, and it kept coming.
Follow us closely. In fact, it’s okay to be watched by people from the cult. They can’t do anything to us anyway, but we always feel a little uncomfortable.
After walking for more than two hours, we entered the rugged mountains from the relatively flat grassland. On this kind of road, the horses could no longer gallop and could only walk forward slowly. The speed of the group was therefore
And it has slowed down quite a bit.
Tashi Duoji told us that after walking about three miles, we will reach Zabul Peak. However, Zabul Peak is very steep. There is only a winding and dangerous road from the foot of the mountain to the top. Horses cannot go up, so we will have to walk along it by ourselves.
Climb up the mountain on a dangerous road.
Climbing in plateau areas is a very dangerous thing, because the oxygen in plateau areas is thin, and climbing is very energy-consuming. Once you get halfway up the mountain, your head will be deprived of oxygen and you will become dizzy, which may be dangerous.
Fortunately, we were prepared this time. Each of us carried a portable oxygen bottle. It was a bit heavy, but at least we could avoid hypoxia.
The group of people rode horses on the rugged mountain road for more than an hour, and came to a peak rising from the ground. Everyone looked up and saw that the peak was almost one or two hundred meters high. The mountain was really not that precipitous.
, as if someone had cut it out with a knife.
Tashi Duoji raised his finger and pointed at the towering and dangerous peak in front of him, and said: "This is Zabul Peak! There is a dangerous road leading directly to the peak on the north side of Zabul Peak. Come with me."
Tashi Duoji led us to the north side of the mountain.
When I saw the dangerous road he mentioned that leads directly to the peak, I suddenly felt my scalp numb. This road is really dangerous. The road surface is only one foot wide at most, and it is at an angle of forty or fifty degrees.
Going up the mountain, it doesn't look like a natural formation, but an artificial one. But who would carve such a road on such a steep cliff?
Tashi Duoji told us that this road has a history of many years. It is said that a Bon monk who practiced secret arts carved such a road on the smooth cliff in order to hone his willpower. And
A Bon temple was also built on the top of the peak, but this temple was abandoned hundreds of years ago, and now only ruins remain.
It turns out that this road was originally used to hone one's will. Not to mention, climbing up from here will not only be a great test for people's physical fitness, but also a test of people's psychological quality. If you are afraid of heights
People, basically don’t even think about going up there.
I glanced at Jianjian subconsciously. He was looking up at the dangerous road, his mouth slightly open, and his face turned pale. This kid is afraid of heights, and letting him climb such a dangerous road would almost kill him.
He murmured: "Damn it, how could these damn guys find such a lousy place to trade!?"
Wen Qingshan said: "Because this place is the safest for them."
"How do you say this?" I asked puzzled.
"This place is inaccessible, and the locals are very taboo about coming here. They hide on this mountain, so no one can find them. Moreover, they are waiting for us on the mountain, and they can also work in leisure and gain more with one stone." Wen Qingshan said.
"But, this road is so steep, and those guys brought Professor Dong and his daughter with them, how did they get up there!" Jianjian felt incredible.
Hearing what he said, I suddenly remembered that Dong Xiaodan is also a little afraid of heights. It is really not easy for the cult members to get her up, and it is impossible for them to carry her up on such a dangerous road. Is it possible?
They didn't bring her here at all!?
Thinking of this, I immediately turned to Wen Qingshan and said, "Boss Wen, do you think this might be a trap? In fact, the people in the cult didn't bring Xiao Dan and Professor Dong at all?"
Wen Qingshan seemed to have thought of this as well. He frowned and nodded, saying, "We can't rule out this possibility! There are many tricks in the cult, so we'd better be careful."
As soon as he finished speaking, the walkie-talkie on his waist suddenly rang. Wen Qingshan quickly took out the walkie-talkie and said to the other end of the walkie-talkie: "We have reached the foot of the mountain, where are you?"
A cold and gloomy voice came from the other end of the intercom: "Of course it's on the mountain! Since we're already here, come up quickly. Don't let me wait too long, or I will throw one of the two down."
After the other party finished speaking, the signal was cut off again.
Wen Qingshan pondered for a moment and said: "No matter what conspiracy the people in the cult are playing, since we are here, let's go up and have a look." At this point, he turned to Jianjian and Tashi Duoji and said: "Jianjian,
You and brother Tashi Duoji should not go up and watch the horses below."