The four of them came out of Changqing Village, crossed a narrow glacier, walked about three to five miles, and entered a poplar forest.
These poplar trees are straight and towering, with sparse planting distance, fluffy white snow hangs on the branches soaring to the sky, not only they are not lonely and deserted, but they are strange and lofty.
"..."
Gu Yu looked around, thinking that Master Xiaozhai's grave was in the forest. As a result, she kept walking and led everyone through the woods to the foot of the mountain.
These all belong to the west slope of Changbai Mountain. The main entrance is in the scenic area, with solid winding roads and stone steps, and the rest are all wild trails.
Here is no exception, Xiao Zhai didn't say a word, just held his boyfriend's hand and walked up the mountain. Long Qiu and Xiao Jin were very curious, but they didn't dare to ask, and followed behind obediently.
This mountain area is next to the village, and there are many human-made traces. The road is simply paved with rough wooden boards, and even if it is covered with snow, it will not be too slippery.
The four of them walked for a while, and there was a fork in the road ahead. One was going up, which was very steep; the other was going down, which was relatively smooth.
Standing at the intersection, Xiao Zhai finally said, "It's here."
"Here?" Gu Yu was surprised.
"Master was besieged by shamanism back then, leaving the root cause of his illness. He barely survived for a year and a half. He felt that his life span was up, so he entered the mountain alone."
Xiao Zhai raised his head slightly, looked at the solitary and steep path that seemed to go straight up to the white clouds, and said: "I chased here that day, crying to death. She forbade me to cry, to ask, to follow, I was not allowed to read. Then, I went up by myself and never came back.”
"..."
Gu Yu was startled, he suddenly realized that he still underestimated her feelings for Master. Admiration, admiration, admiration...all of these are not enough, it seems to be a little higher.
"Then did you look for it later?" he asked.
"Yes, but I didn't find it, not even a piece of clothing or a relic."
Xiao Zhai lowered his eyes, raised them again after a while, and said with a smile: "So you can't worship even if you want to, just as long as you want to. Okay, let's not talk about this, that road is to the Grand Canyon, let's go. "
Saying that, they turned right and ran down the flat road.
The two big ones walked in front, and the two small ones whispered behind them. Long Qiu had a strange expression on his face, and asked, "Jin Jin, is sister's master male or female?"
"female."
"Oh, I thought it was a man, so it's okay..."
She giggled twice, inexplicably relieved. Xiao Jin immediately understood what kind of brains she had, and said in a low voice, "What's all right? Women are more troublesome than men."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because, because... Tsk, even if I tell you, you don't understand."
"Why don't I understand? Her master must be a very good, beautiful and powerful person, so that my sister misses her so far." Long Qiu was not convinced.
So good, so beautiful, so powerful…
Xiao Jin twitched the corner of her mouth, she really wanted to give the other party some knowledge about science, but after thinking about it, she gave up.
…
"Is that Shui Yao the one who runs a hotel? I don't think so, he's quite quack."
"His parents were in business in Xidu. After finishing college, they didn't find a job, so they went back to their hometown. He went to the mountains with Master Shui since he was a child, and killed a human bear. He is righteous and domineering, loves to make friends, and enjoys a lot of food in Songjianghe."
The cold mountain was silent and silvery white. The two of them walked through the snowy forest, getting deeper and deeper. Xiao Zhai introduced the situation of some childhood playmates, and then summed it up with a very precise term:
"Simply put, he is the underworld."
"You are really easy to understand." Gu Yu laughed.
"He has always challenged me since he was a child, and he was beaten badly every time. It is said that Master Shui wanted to match the two of us at the beginning, but later he felt sorry for his grandson, so he never mentioned it."
"Ha, if this dude meets you now...huh?"
Gu Yu paused suddenly, just now, in the peripheral vision of his left eye, a small object seemed to flash past.
"I gonna go see."
He stepped a little, and before the words fell, the person had already drifted far away. The feet are a few inches off the ground, as if flying through the air, there is not even a trace on the snow.
"Squeak!"
The thing moved on four legs and moved at a very high speed. Ordinary people could not see the figure clearly with their naked eyes.
However, Gu Yu was faster.
As expected, the imaginary cloth technique is a relatively advanced way of Taoism. The whole person turns into a wisp of smoke, and catches up to him in an instant. He pinched the little thing's neck, lifted it up and saw it was a fat sable.
There are three treasures outside the pass, ginseng, mink fur, and Ula grass.
Wild sables are extremely rare now, I didn't expect to catch one. The mink has dark brown fur with a fluffy tail and is about 50 centimeters long.
The eye sockets and pupils are black, they look big and bright, very energetic.
"..."
Gu Yu frowned, his eyes gave him a very uncomfortable feeling, as if something was hiding behind his back, observing himself through the sable's perspective.
"I thought it was a mountain mouse, but it turned out to be it. It was rare when I was young... Eh?"
At this time, Xiao Zhai also came over, and also found that something was wrong. She stretched out her hand to caress the sable, and looked around with luck, but there was nothing unusual, and said, "It's weird, why do I feel like I'm being watched?"
"I really can't think of anyone who can spy on us in the dark..."
Gu Yu was also distressed, and suddenly a light bulb lit up above his head, and he said with a smile, "Could it be the mountain god that Lord Shui said?"
"Heh, anything can happen now, even if a mountain god really jumps out and fights with us, I can accept it. Let's leave it alone and continue on our way."
Xiao Zhai threw it lightly, and the sable was thrown onto the branch.
Gu Yu grabbed it casually again, and a small layer of transparent restraints covered it, and said with a smile: "It's not difficult for you, you can leave after a sleep."
…
"Basically, the original body is Changbaishan Rhodiola. It is 10-20 cm high, with thick, conical, fleshy, brownish-yellow roots. The rhizome has fibrous roots and is covered by scale-like leaves. There is no change in shape, but it is even shorter. We Now we have collected three trees and brought them back for detailed research.”
On a meadow on a sunny hillside, the team leader finished the above description to the camera.
It is said to be a meadow here, but it is actually covered with snow, and clusters of rhodiola grow in the crevices of the outcropping rocks.
"Shen Nong's Materia Medica" has a saying: Rhodiola is the top grade of medicine, which can lighten the body and nourish qi, prevent aging and prolong life, non-toxic and take it more often, and it will not hurt people if taken for a long time. In the Qing Dynasty, it was even used as a court tribute, and was named the dragon-headed phoenix-tailed grass by a certain emperor.
This is the clue provided by Shui Yao before. A nine-person research team searched for a long time, and finally saw the real thing.
"Tell the bureau that you can pass the verification."
The team leader packed the medicinal materials carefully, and then gave an order. Someone immediately untied the backpack and sent the information back to the branch office.
This kind of backpack can be carried by a single person, and every 3 hours, it will send the coordinates to the nearest base station or satellite receiver, which is more reliable than satellite phones.
After finishing it, the team leader looked at the time and said, "It will be dark in about three hours. We are not far from the Grand Canyon. Speed up and we can meet up with that provider."
"There is a wooden house built by the forest farm over there, where we can stay, and our dry food is also sufficient, so there is no problem." The team member in charge of the guide replied.
"That's good, let's go now!"
Immediately, a group of nine people went down the mountain along the wild path. Their standard equipment was scientific research + security + guide, and all kinds of equipment and weapons were also very complete.
The so-called Grand Canyon is a natural wonder discovered more than 20 years ago.
More than 60 kilometers long, it was formed by the volcanic ash and soil after the volcanic eruption was washed by the river. The widest point is more than 300 meters, the narrowest point is only a few meters, and the vertical depth is 120-150 meters.
They hurried and hurried, and finally arrived before dark.
The two sides of the strait were originally filled with strange rocks and wonderful scenery, but now they are covered with snow. The entire canyon looks empty and desolate, only one Jinjiang River is still running, rushing at the bottom of the valley.
"Here it is! Here it is!"
Shui Yao was dressed like a bear, standing in front of the wooden house and waving his hands.
Everyone rushed over, and the team leader smiled and said, "Hello, hello, you are Xiaoshui, I will trouble you this time."
"You're welcome, this is my personal hobby. Even without you, I would go to the mountains every now and then to live."
The two sides exchanged simple greetings, and then entered the room together.
The wooden house is well protected against the cold, and he lit a fire in advance to make it even warmer. A few people sat on the ground, first took off their thick winter clothes, then pulled off their boots with great difficulty, and knocked on the floor, which was full of shards of ice.
"It's still comfortable to warm up, and I will come back to life all at once."
The team leader is not as polite and rigid as ordinary scientific research personnel, but rather straightforward. Shui Yao saw that he was quite appetizing, so he brought another pot and said with a smile, "Haven't you eaten yet? I just picked it up, come here!"
As soon as the lid of the pot was lifted, ho! On the top is a curtain drawer, stuffed with a stack of cornmeal pancakes, and below is the hot miscellaneous fish soup, which is delicious. What's more, a bottle of 52-degree old village head.
The nine people were hungry for a long time, and they also took out their own canned food and compressed food to share with everyone.
The chopsticks were not enough, so the team leader picked up the tail of the fish, took a big bite, and praised: "Brother, at first glance, you are an old Jianghu, and your survivability is good! Oh, yes, you seemed to say before, you Grandpa belongs to the Changbai Ginseng Gang?"
"My grandfather's name is Shui Rong, have you heard it?" That guy looked proud.
"I have heard it, I have definitely heard it! My colleague came to Changbai Mountain for scientific research before, and the old man led the way. There are people who will succeed!"
Everyone chatted for a while, and soon got to the point.
The team leader said: "Brother, how sure are you when you say that bird is a mallet bird?"
"One hundred percent, I saw it with my own eyes when I was a child, and it is impossible to admit my mistake."
Shui Yao was very sure, and said: "This bird would never come out in winter before, so I find it strange."
"Oh, I've heard a little about..."
The team leader nodded and said: "It is said that it feeds on ginseng seeds, and you can dig up ginseng if you follow it. But I checked the information, it should be called the Eastern scops owl, and its diet is mainly large insects and small rodents. There is no record that it likes to eat ginseng seeds."
"Haha! My grandfather followed a mallet bird and dug out a five-pin leaf. Your information is beyond count."
Shui Yao used the backpack as a pillow, lay down carelessly somewhere, and said, "You can ask me for help. This bird only comes out in the early morning and late at night, so there is no rush. What we have to do now is to sleep."