On the second day, the village leaders took us to visit the ancient city ruins with a Jeep 2121. Everywhere we could see was yellow sand. During the Han and Tang dynasties, the soldiers of Yangguan lived by this water, which was originally an oasis. When the western land was flat, the upstream dried up, and the downstream had spring water converging into a stream flowing north. There were occasional mountain floods. After the flood peak passed, the riverbanks collapsed, the riverbed widened, and a large amount of mud and sand flowed down, depositing in the downstream. As the mud and sand were blown away by the northwest wind, they formed strips of sand dunes, and the ancient city of Yangguan was gradually destroyed by water and buried by sand.

  It was around the Sui and Tang dynasties that this place gradually began to decline, and many literati and travelers came to Yangguan to sigh: "Three hundred miles of shifting sands have buried everything, and I don't know when the war drums of Yangguan will sound again."

  There are still a few willow trees along the ancient riverbed, and even a single rotten hollow tree stump has several people hugging it. It can be imagined how prosperous this place was in those days. There is a relatively spacious road, on both sides of which you can see what may be the remains of civilian houses, half-person-high walls, stone pillars for tying horses, and occasionally still intact three-room houses.

  The village head, surnamed Xu, with a strong Gansu accent, introduced outside the car window: "This was originally Yangguan Village, and maybe Zhu's grandmother was from here. Further ahead is Longshoushan Mountain, where there is a pass called Hongshan Pass, which is the site of the ancient Yangguan City ruins."

  Getting off the bus and walking on this desolate Gobi, the heavy sense of history suddenly hits you in the face. The endless dunes and the occasional ruins form a breathtakingly beautiful landscape. Especially that Dragon Head Mountain, calling it a mountain is an exaggeration, it's just a small hill, I don't know what kind of geological formation it is, but the entire body is crimson red, just like the legendary Flaming Mountain, especially eye-catching. It lies alone on top of this ancient relic, as if quietly waiting for that old friend who went west to ring the camel bell again and return.

  I bent down and gently scratched the sand with my hands, and indeed, under the sandy soil, tiles appeared again. Mr. Xu, the village chief, smiled and said: "We have an old saying here that goes like this: 'Entering the ancient beach, empty-handed is not returning.' In the early years, the unearthed cultural relics were all taken back by local farmers with horse-drawn carts, and many of them were treated as worthless. Not many are valuable."

  I believe if Fatso came here once, he would definitely drool. This is simply a treasure trove. I saw that there wasn't even half a guard patrolling around here, so I asked: "Is it just scattered like this?"

  "It's not that they don't care, it's just that there's no way to manage it. The conditions are poor and this is the only vehicle in the countryside. By the time someone arrives after receiving a report, the treasure hunters have already fled. The countryside doesn't even have the funds to hire people. Apparently, the higher-ups want to establish a protected area, but who knows when that will happen? In these times, having no money just means shouting slogans is useless."

  I heard that the village chief is also a down-to-earth person, speaking straightforwardly. He glanced at Zhu Zihao several times and immediately understood what he meant, saying: "I came here specifically to investigate this ancient city. I want to invest in a tourist attraction so that when tourists come, there will be income, and then use the income to protect the ancient city, which is also a contribution to the local people."

  "This kid is going to talk endlessly, he said: 'I also plan to build a Yangguan Ancient City Museum here. This museum is public welfare and aims to let future generations remember this history, so that these cultural relics exposed on the surface of the earth have a place to return.'"

  "Ah!" County Head Xu was instantly moved to tears, he grasped Zhu Zihao's hand and shook it continuously: "Finally the day has arrived, Mr. Zhu is truly a patriotic entrepreneur with ideals, worthy of being the pride of Yangguan people! I'll report back to the county immediately, if this can be done, I'll have the county erect a statue in your honor in this ancient city to commemorate your great achievement today!"

  These two are singing and harmonizing, I'm listening and want to find a place to laugh, this is too ridiculous...

  Back in the countryside, the village head still wanted to continue drinking but was blocked by us. He said he just wanted to take a walk around and only asked to borrow the car key to take a look at the beautiful scenery of the neighboring wilderness.

  I proposed: "I've long heard that the night view on this Gobi Desert is unbeatable beauty, and my friend happens to know some astronomy, so it's a rare opportunity to come here, so tonight we won't stay here. If Village Chief Xu can conveniently find us a tent, that would be best."

  "It's convenient, there are many herdsmen here." He then sent someone downstairs to collect the bill for us. This guy was quite considerate and had prepared a barbecue rack and charcoal fire for us, as well as a whole leg of lamb, and even a hunting rifle.

  "Barbecues are really comfortable, when I was young I also liked going camping, but this generation has many wolves, so I bring self-defense."

  At night, the desolation of the daytime was replaced by bonfires, tents and barbecue. It suddenly made me feel like I had returned to my youth. Taking a sip of the local white wine, which was quite pungent, with huge temperature differences between day and night, I said to Cha Wenbin, who rarely drank: "Have two more sips."

  He smiled slightly, took the bottle and poured himself a mouthful, making a face as if he wasn't quite used to the stimulation of the liquor but didn't return the bottle to me, still holding it in his hand. He poked at the fire on the ground, sparks flying everywhere. He poured some wine onto the ground in front of him, then held the bottle over his head again, I knew he was making a toast with Baozi.

  "Any news from Lao Long?"

  Cha Wenbin hung his head and replied, "Someone was sent to look for him again, but there's no news at all. Ye Qiu is the same, he and Pangzi just vanished into thin air." He began to fiddle with that piece of jade ring again, that piece of jade that he said might not be jade, which had been tied to his waist all along, saying it was the last thing Pangzi left him.

  I comforted him by saying: "Don't think too much about it, maybe that kid is doing well somewhere, with his temper he won't be bullied wherever he goes."

  "Do you believe in reincarnation?" he suddenly asked me, and what's more, he was dead serious. A Taoist asking a young proletarian believer like me, I naturally replied: "No, if there is such a thing, he definitely wouldn't let me keep being reborn in this broken place."

  He also laughed and patted me: "A child does not despise his mother for being ugly, a dog does not despise its home for being poor, who speaks like you?"

  "Alright, what's up with you?" "I believe it, I was thinking that painting might be the reincarnation of Baozi."

  I suddenly had an epiphany and remembered something, a very tense feeling surged up, I said to him: "Ah, Wenbin, I suddenly thought of something, do you still remember that time when we were sent down to the countryside as educated youth in Yeren Village's mountain valley, we also found a painting there, and the person in that painting looked exactly like Yuan Xiaobai, could this be just a coincidence?"

  Zha Wenbin suddenly raised his head and asked me: "Where's Xiaobai?"

  "You went to America." I thought you would know.

  "Tomorrow, I'll go to the county and make a phone call to ask about the situation. My heart is also feeling a bit anxious, after all, it's not easy to find this clue about Yangguan. From early morning, I felt that these two things seem unrelated but are actually related, it can't be just a coincidence. So, the matter of Yangguan Jiang family ancestors is especially important."

  I stood up and looked around, saying: "It's all desolate now, what are you looking for?"

  "Even if it can't be found, we have to find something. A big family like this won't leave nothing behind, at least the ancestral tomb should still exist in this generation."

  "You think..." I suddenly understood what Cha Wenbin meant, the living are gone, but the dead are still there. Doing this, I glanced back at Zhu Zihao who was sleeping inside and thought that this kid didn't care at all, for him, there was no emotional attachment here.

  "There's a story about this place." Zhang Wenbin paused and continued, "It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong gave his daughter to the king of Yutian in order to maintain friendly relations with the Western Regions and to seek peace and tranquility along the borders.

  The wedding procession, carrying the dowry, traveled a long distance and arrived at Yangguan. They rested and prepared to leave the pass. However, that night a strong wind blew, and yellow sand filled the air, making it dark. The wind lasted for seven days and nights. When the wind stopped and the sand settled, the town, village, fields, and the wedding procession with its dowry were all buried under the sand dunes. From then on, the place became desolate. Over time, strong winds blew again, moving the quicksand, and the objects buried under the sand dunes reappeared on the surface, where they were picked up by people. This is the origin of Gudongtan.

  "Where did you hear that from? You're talking as if it's true."

  "Last night when you were drinking, an old man from the countryside told me that he had picked up a sword before liberation, said to be a general's sword, with words engraved on it. He even invited me to his home to take a look. I reckon he took us for antique dealers, Hong Kong people, after all, have money."

  I smiled and said, "Perhaps he told this story to get a good price for that sword. It's not uncommon for things to be unearthed in this place. Don't worry, I'll go back with you tomorrow. That guy inside has plenty of money now. How about it, is the time up yet?"

  This time we didn't come out for camping, Cha Wenbin came to observe the celestial phenomena. The night before last, he suddenly saw a lone star shining particularly bright red in the northwest direction. The position of that star is called Greedy Wolf, which is the first star of the Big Dipper and also a famous killer star.

  Zha Wenbin looked up at the sky and saw that the star of Chaste Virtue was still shining as usual. This star, along with Greedy Wolf, formed a pair of auspicious stars known as the Peach Blossom Stars. The Greedy Wolf Star governed slaughter and also governed peach blossoms. If both stars underwent unusual changes, the most likely outcome would be a Peach Blossom Calamity.

  "Not yet, it should still be a while. As the saying goes: 'Greedy wolf tolls fire four grave halls, wealthy families with noble titles; Fire meets greedy wolf shining life palace, enfeoffed marquises and nobles are heroes. If these three sides do not have calamities, they will know good fortune and longevity in old age.' With Greedy Wolf having fire, there must be a heroic person emerging, since ancient times one general's achievement is made with the withering of ten thousand bones, I don't know how many more people will die, hoping everything will be alright."