I created Qin Tianjian in modern times

Li Qi was filled with emotion when talking about the past:

“Everything was started from scratch, and the conditions were very difficult.

If I don't have a scale, I'll use a medicine scale instead.

Without an oven, we have to rely on the sun to dry the food.

When I see other people have good methods, I quickly write them down.

I also learned how to make statues and paint murals from my predecessors.

Restoring cultural relics requires a lot of knowledge, including chemistry, physics, materials, hydrology, meteorology, etc., as well as an understanding of history and art.

Since I started this business, I have been thinking about these things all day long, and rarely distracted by other things..."

The team members gradually became familiar with Li Qi, and when the time was right, Chen Tian got straight to the point:

"Master Li, is the painting you painted in the yard a mural in the Thousand Buddha Caves?"

Hearing this question, Li Qi's expression became complicated. The team members saw it and roughly guessed that there must be something fishy.

Otherwise, why was the restorer so familiar with this mural that he could even draw it casually?

Seeing that the team members were all looking at him, Li Qi hesitated for a moment and then spoke slowly:

“I don’t know what you are investigating, but since you asked, I will tell you.

This mural is indeed in the Thousand Buddha Caves, located in Cave 84, and is called the Prayer Meeting for the Buddha Mother.

When I entered the cave and started to clean and repair the mural, something strange happened..."

As Li Qi spoke, the team members gradually learned about a past event that he had never mentioned to anyone.

At that time, Li Qi's old mother was seriously ill. He entered Cave No. 84 to repair the murals according to the work arrangement with a heavy heart.

However, when he saw the mural, he felt something strange.

Both the painting style and the characters in the paintings exude an indescribable weirdness.

The figure's movements are distorted and his expressions are exaggerated, as if he is performing some kind of ritual, but the middle part is completely dark and only the outline of a human figure can be seen, but it is unclear what it is exactly.

Later, for some unknown reason, Li Qi fell asleep in the cave. Speaking of this, he laughed at himself:

“I have never told anyone about this. I have been doing restoration work all my life, and I fell asleep only that day. I have never made such a mistake before.

Maybe I was too worried that day, or maybe it was God’s arrangement…”

Li Qi continued to tell his story. He said that he had a dream in the cave, in which he seemed to have entered the scene in the painting.

Like everyone else, he gathered in front of a Buddha statue, making strange gestures and praying for his wishes.

However, he could only see the back of the Buddha statue and could not see the front face of the Buddha statue. He just followed the ceremony in a daze and then woke up as if from a dream.

After realizing that he had fallen asleep, Li Qi quickly completed the repair work and returned home.

To his surprise, his mother, who had been seriously ill, had recovered and was full of energy.

He took his mother to the hospital for a check-up, and the results showed that his mother was in good health and had no illness.

That night, Li Qi had the same dream again, and dreamed of the same scene again. However, the Buddha statue with its back to him spoke, and he realized that it was because he participated in the ceremony in his dream that his wish came true.

Speaking of this, Li Qi became emotional.

However, Bai Wen Zheng and others frowned.

They vaguely felt that this matter might not be simple.

"Master Li, how is your mother now?" Bai Wenzhen asked.

Li Qi sighed deeply upon hearing this:

“Although my mother recovered, she was old after all, and she later passed away.

But my mother lived three months longer than the doctor predicted, all thanks to that ceremony!"

The team members did not comment on this. As it was getting dark, they said goodbye to Li Qi and returned to Mogao Grottoes.

Everyone was silent on the road. It was the fat man who broke the silence first:

"Did you all hear it? Could it be that such a magical ritual really exists in this world?"

The fat man's words made Chen Tian nod slightly:

“There are indeed magical ceremonies, such as the ritual we performed to worship the Water Dragon King by the Yellow River.

But why do I feel that what Master Li said is a bit strange? "

Ah Jing also nodded in agreement:

"I think so too. You all saw the strange postures of the corpses, which are very similar to the human figures drawn by Master Li.

That posture doesn’t look like praying at all…”

Zhuge Qing asked curiously:

"You mean there might be something wrong here?"

"It's hard to say right now, but the staff should have left now. We may be able to find out if we investigate."

As Bai Wenzhen said this, he led his team members towards Mogao Grottoes.

The team members all felt that something was not right about what Li Qi said, but they couldn't tell exactly what was wrong.

After returning to the blockade area again, the guarding police immediately let him go and did not dare to stop him.

As the team members expected, most of the staff had left.

Han Li saw the team members coming back and hurried to greet them.

Bai Wenzhen and his companions asked Han Li for a few flashlights and then entered the cave.

The main entrance of the grotto is a building with the appearance of a nine-story pagoda. But once you actually enter the cave, the light around you seems to be swallowed up in an instant.

The temperature was a little chilly. Without the flashlight in my hand, it would be pitch black.

The path in the cave was not wide, and had not yet been expanded as it would be in later times, so at most two people could walk side by side.

This work is organized and uploaded by Liujiu Book Bar~~

The ground was bumpy and uneven, retaining traces of time, and the smell of a special paint used to protect cultural relics filled the air.

Bai Wenzheng walked in front of the team, the beam of his flashlight cutting through the darkness, illuminating the winding path that connected the small caves. On both sides of the caves, there were small rooms less than one square meter, with various Buddha statues placed inside: some Buddhas had their eyes slightly closed, showing endless compassion; some Vajra had their eyes wide open, holding their instruments high, looking majestic. Stepping into this place seemed to purify the soul and make people calm down involuntarily.

In order to better protect these cultural relics, the staff of the Cultural Relics Bureau has carefully numbered each cave. The team members walked along this path, going deeper and deeper. On the way, some places were so narrow that only one person could pass through, and the fat man had to squeeze through with his huge body; some places were so low that he had to bend down and lower his head to move forward.

The now famous Mogao Grottoes have been renovated and turned into a tourist attraction. However, at this moment, it still retains its original appearance of a thousand years. Even an inconspicuous stone on the ground may have witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties.

As the exploration deepened, the team members gradually witnessed murals and Buddha statues of different dynasties and styles. "The scene inside is much more spectacular than from the outside!" Zhuge Qing looked around and couldn't help but sigh, "It's really curious, who built this miracle?"

The team members were clueless about this, but the fat guy was obviously quite knowledgeable about this place: "I have done enough research on the origin of Mogao Grottoes. Most sources believe that it was built in 366 AD, when it belonged to the Former Liang regime. A monk named Le Zun came to Mingsha Mountain by the Daquan River in search of a quiet place to practice. It is said that he saw the wonders of golden light shining and thousands of Buddhas appearing here, and thought it was a good omen, so he chiseled a hole in the mountain and built the first cave of the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang."

After hearing this, Zhuge Qing asked half-doubtfully: "Really? I thought this was the result of a certain emperor's massive construction project."

The fat man clasped his hands together and said seriously: "What I said is absolutely true, it is all recorded in the literature. Moreover, the Mogao Grottoes were not built overnight, and all dynasties contributed to it. What we are seeing now is a genuine Buddhist holy place!"

Chen Tian looked at the fat man's actions and asked curiously, "Fatty, you look like a Buddhist, don't you?"

The fat man chuckled, made a Taoist Ziwu Jue fist-holding salute, and bowed to Chen Tian: "As for me, I believe but am not obsessed. I believe in everything, but I don't believe in everything. I worship Buddha when I see him, and I respect Taoism when I see it. Even if I see God, I can chat with him for a while." As he said this, he made a cross on his chest and added solemnly, "Amitabha, Wuliang Tianzun, and Amen!"

Chen Tian looked at the fat man with disdain after hearing this. As an orthodox disciple of Taoism, he was quite disdainful of the fat man's mixed faith. However, he also understood that faith cannot be forced, so it was normal for the fat man to do this.

At this moment, Bai Wenzheng, who had been silent all this time, spoke up: "We have arrived at Cave No. 80. Master Li said that the mural is at Cave No. 84. Everyone, be careful."

Hearing this, the team members nodded and moved forward quickly. No. 81, No. 82... Soon, they arrived in front of Cave No. 84. Almost at the same time, everyone's eyes were focused on the mural in front of them.

The cave is about two meters high and covers an area of ​​about three square meters. The three walls are covered with murals, all depicting the same scene.

"Look, the movements of the human figures on the mural are distorted, just like those corpses!" Chen Tian said, pointing at the human figures formed in a circle on the mural.

Zhuge Qing also noticed something unusual: "And this side seems to be depicting a scene of preparation for a ceremony. Look, these two children..."

The team members gathered around and saw a table painted on the mural, on which were two children being worshipped. In front of the table was the back of a Buddha statue.

Bai Wenzheng walked around the murals, frowning, "Strange, there are many Buddha images on these murals, but why are they all back views, not front views?"

The team members were also very confused, but they couldn't figure out the reason for a while. But what was certain was that this mural was different from any they had seen before. Other murals were auspicious, solemn, or showed the humanities of different dynasties; but this one was full of indescribable weirdness and gloom.

The overall tone of the mural is dark, and the background buildings are blurred, making it difficult to identify its age. The characters in the painting have strange postures and exaggerated expressions, and some even have their breasts exposed. They are performing some mysterious rituals around the Buddha statue with his back turned. However, despite its extreme weirdness, it does not provide any valuable clues.

The team members sat together, staring at the mural and thinking hard. "What does this mean? Why do all the corpses make the same movements? Master Li said that this is praying for blessings, but this doesn't look like it!" Someone asked in confusion.

"Yeah, and who would use children as sacrifices when worshiping Buddha? This village is too weird!" Ajing added.

The fat man's eyes suddenly lit up when he heard this: "Right! I overlooked an important point. Murals were one of the ways the ancients recorded history. Doesn't that mean that the people who painted these scenes really witnessed such a ceremony? Have they really been to that weird village?"

"It's very likely..." The team members agreed with Fatty's point of view for once. However, this agreement made Fatty's heart tighten: if the content on the mural really existed, it would be too scary.

At this moment, Bai Wenzheng suddenly raised his head, glanced at the team members one by one, and then slowly said: "We...is someone missing?"

Hearing Bai Wenzheng's question, the team members looked at each other, then shook their heads in confusion. Chen Tian, ​​Fatty, Zhuge Qing, A Jing, Bai Wenzheng, no one was missing.

Just when everyone was wondering why Bai Wen Zheng asked this question, they were suddenly stunned, and then they all exclaimed in unison: "It's that stupid dog!" Only then did they realize that the big black dog was not around.

The team members stood up one after another, frowning and recalling: "Wasn't it there just now? It followed us in." "Yes, I just saw it sniffing around." "It seems that it disappeared after it got here..." "What are you waiting for? Look for it quickly!"

Everyone returned along the original route, calling out the big black dog's code name as they walked: "Black Emperor, Black Emperor!" However, the big black dog seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, without a trace.

Chen Tian sighed in confusion: "This guy wouldn't really run away, right?" Ah Jing denied his idea: "It's impossible. The commander has banned it, so it can't run away. Besides, there's no reason for it to suddenly run away."

The fat man casually replied: "That's not necessarily true. I think that stupid dog is just unreliable. Now we can't find it, what else could it be if it didn't run away? Could it really get into the painting?" The team members didn't take his nonsense seriously and continued to search deeper.

During this time together, the big black dog has already become one of them. Although he is often teased, it is just a joke among teammates. Although he often makes fools, he has never really thought about leaving. Therefore, his sudden disappearance made everyone very worried.

As the search deepened, the number of caves exceeded 200, but there was still no trace of the big black dog. Could it really have disappeared out of thin air? The expressions of the team members became more and more solemn, and the anxiety in their hearts became more and more intense.

This mission was their first independent operation, but they ended up losing a partner and a comrade. How could they still have the nerve to call themselves 788, and how could they face the expectations of their leader?

Just when everyone was getting anxious, the fat man suddenly stopped and pointed ahead and shouted: "Look, this mural!" Zhuge Qing responded anxiously: "How can I be in the mood to look at the mural now? Go find that stupid dog!" But the fat man's voice was even more urgent: "No, you must take a look, I don't think something is right..."