Hearing Zhang Ling said that the sky might change, so that we, who wanted to rest, immediately cheered up.
Then, under the leadership of Jia Sidao, he continued to move towards the southeast, all the way to the mountain peaks and ridges, with snow-capped peaks, green trees on the side of the mountain, and flowers blooming at the foot of the mountain, colorful.
Jia Sidao said that this is the unique landscape of the peaks of the Grand Canyon: one mountain shows the four seasons, and the mountains have different views.
The mountain road is steep, the forest is deep and the trees are lush, sometimes the birds and the clouds, sometimes the beasts shuttle, and when it gets dark, the fog is getting thicker in the sky, the sky is drenched with drizzle, the road is slippery and difficult to walk, we camped on a highland platform next to a mountain gorge .
The tall trees around the platform cover the sky and the sun. Looking around, people can't help but sigh, what a big cypress forest!
The crown of each cypress tree spreads out like a big umbrella, taking up more than half of the whole tree, and the roots and trunks are also very thick. The knots in the trunk are intertwined, forming thousands of shapes. With the help of those knots, the cypress looks like a tree. Very easy to climb.
When the camp is selected, everyone has their own division of labor. Jia Sidao is responsible for surveying the surrounding terrain and environment, Dayan and I are responsible for camping and collecting materials to make fires, and Zhang Ling is responsible for logistics.
Set up the tent, look around with big eyes alertly, and say, "There won't be any dangerous beasts around here, right?"
Zhang Ling said behind him: "Close your crow's mouth!"
Big eyes made a grimace at me, and then got into the tent.
Zhang Ling said to me: "Because of the unique geographical environment here, there are many strange creatures. In short, there are hundreds of dangerous species. Therefore, it is very necessary for your godfather to survey the terrain." He looked up at the sky and murmured: "If the rain becomes stronger, the worst situation is a landslide."
Everything was ready near the camp, and when Jia Sidao came back for dinner, I turned on the intercom and asked Jia Sidao where he was. He said that above us, he was checking the grip of the cypress roots to determine whether the heavy rain would cause a landslide.
His worries are quite consistent with what Zhang Ling said. This also makes me secretly grateful that this trip to Tibet, thanks to the company of Jia Sidao and Zhang Ling, if not for the two of them, even if the Mao family is excluded. Due to the factors, Dayan and I probably died in the harsh natural environment a long time ago.
When I burned the fire, Zhang Ling turned around and went to a place 200 meters away from the camp, and then disappeared. There is a difference between men and women, I thought it was convenient for Zhang Ling to go, so
Did not care.
But she had been there for ten minutes, and she didn't show up yet, which made me think something was wrong, so she called out Zhang Ling's name loudly, got out of the tent with big eyes, and asked me what happened.
I told Big Eye that Zhang Ling hadn't come back after more than ten minutes, and worried that something would happen to her.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Ling walked out from behind a few sturdy tree trunks, then waved to us and said, "Come here!"
Big Eye and I looked at each other, and then we walked towards Zhang Ling together.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"I found a strange place, come with me."
Zhang Ling led the way and walked for more than ten meters, and we found a large area of unnamed trees.
Those trees looked strange. The main sectioned trunk of the tree was 2 to 3 meters in diameter and more than ten meters high, and then suddenly branched at the top, sending out branches and leaves. The length of the branches and leaves was similar to the length of the trunk, stretching out to the sky with teeth and claws.
What is even more strange is that many roots grow on the branches and leaves, which hang down to the ground. Numerous roots also emerge from the main trunk and wrap around the trunk like a snake.
Leaning on a tree trunk, a corpse bone was highly corrupted. The roots of the tree penetrated through the carrion of the corpse. The entire corpse was reflected in a terrible green by the leaves, and a circle of gray traces like black lines scattered on the ground.
Seeing this scene reminded me immediately of the man-eating tree I met when I was looking for the god of the jungle in Thailand. At that time, we saw it on the boat and did not go ashore to watch it.
With lingering fears, I asked, "Is this a man-eating tree?"
Zhang Ling shook his head and said, "This is a tree burial, which means there are people living nearby."
Big Eyes said excitedly: "Will it be a Goba?"
Zhang Ling said: "The Goba people are not buried in trees after death, but in celestial burials. As far as I know, only a few ethnic minorities have tree burial customs, and there are many specific burial methods: some are made of branches on tree branches. A bird’s nest or a cross-wood is placed on several tree branches to put the dead on top; some build shack-like huts on the tree and put the dead inside; some hang or tie the dead to the tree. The purpose is to Let the corpse decay quickly. They think this can make people's souls reincarnate as soon as possible. Tree burials are divided into wind burial, hanging burial, empty burial, and hanging burial. The corpse in front of us should be a hanging burial."
At this time, Jia Sidao's voice came from my walkie-talkie. He asked where we were. I said we found a dead body and told him the location.
After a while
In time, Jia Sidao found us. He said that he went around the neighborhood and found no signs of inhabitation.
While speaking, he began to look at the corpse. He grabbed a root that was hanging down to the ground, pulled it forcefully, and touched the tip of the root with his finger, saying: "These roots are very strong, and they are sharp and tough, like Like iron thread grass."
Big Eye shouted from the side: "Come and see, there is more here!"
Not far away, there is indeed the same tree. At the branch of the tree top, it seems to be a coffin. The outside is covered with serpentine roots, which looks like a rectangular tree tumor. It's hard to find.
As the big eyes made new discoveries, everyone gradually saw that this strange tree formed a narrow strip from east to west, dividing the cypress forest in two, and there were more or less corpses buried in these trees.
Some corpses were directly tied to the trunk and covered by the roots of the tree, forming a contoured human-shaped root relief; others were placed at the fork of the tree. Most of the corpse bones were filled with coffins, so the final one was formed. All square tree knots.
The most weird thing is those corpses hanging on the tree. I think they were suspended from the branches with ropes by local residents when they died, and hung in the air. Then the roots of the tree grew along the ropes, and finally the corpses were completely wrapped. Going up is like a human-shaped fruit growing from a tree, and most of the people hanging on the branches are children, and the largest tree hangs the bodies of more than a dozen children at the same time.
In the forest, human-shaped tree roots are hanging around or protruding from the trunk. The drizzle is flying and the mountain breeze blows, making people feel cool.
Big Eye complained: "I really shouldn't have seen this thing. After seeing it, people don't want to eat."
I said, "This mountain doesn't seem to be peculiar, and it is not tall. If there is no one living nearby, how can it run so far to bury the tree?"
Jia Sidao said: "It should have nothing to do with the mountain. I think it's because the locals know the winding characteristics of this kind of tree, so they chose this place for tree burial."
Zhang Ling said: "I agree with the old man. From the three types of tree burials, there are strict hierarchical distinctions. The coffin at the highest point is an adult man, and the one hanging in the air is a child who has died. It is a woman who is directly tied to the trunk."
I couldn't help taking a breath, and then looked at a corpse on the trunk next to me.
(End of this chapter) (End of this chapter)