C3627 (1/2)

The moonlight scattered on the Mogao's cave that had been covered in dust for a thousand years. The river below the ninth floor had long been frozen, and the dry reeds by the river were still swaying with the wind, making rustling sounds.

The entire world was deathly silent. There was no longer any trace of fire and smoke in this place. The yellow sand had almost frozen history. No wonder this area could escape so many fires of war; it was truly too desolate.

Suddenly, Expedition's camel's bell sound seemed to have alarmed something, a faint fire appeared in the distance.

”There's someone here?” The guide said incredulously, ”Last year, when I came, there wasn't even a trace of human smoke. This is the desert ruins, there's nothing here at all …”

Waving his left hand, he commanded, ”Go check out...” Be careful! ”

While they were talking, the six cavalrymen split into two teams and headed straight for the location of the flames!

The Expedition itself had the protection of Zuo Zongtang's veterans and the Chinese SPECIAL SERVICES, so it was natural for them to not be afraid of some small thieves.

”There are two of them... And a black dog... There's no one left! ”

The guide who was well versed in Tibetan went to ask quickly. It turned out that the two monks were both monks from the Ningma Sect, also known as the Red Sect. The year before yesterday, they found out that there was a buddhist cave here, so they stayed behind to cultivate.

After a careful interrogation, he did not discover anything suspicious. The Dunhuang was already at the border of Qing Hai, and the influence of Tibetan Buddhism was also great. It was not strange for a few of the monks to be cultivating here.

Shang Tai and Zuo Zuo Zuo discussed everything for a while and decided to give the two Lama a sturdy leather tent. After that, he gave them a lot of food and winter fuel as well as some palace monks' money.

But the condition was that the two of them could not stay in the cave anymore. From now on, Expedition would presume that she had the authority to manage the Mogao's cave, so they could start by cleaning up the cave.

The new leather tent was sturdy and warm, with a small portable stove inside. It was much better in the winter than in the cave, so the two monks naturally would not object.

That night, they rested for a few hours. When the sky lit up, Shang Tai and the others crawled back up, ready to explore the secret of this cave.

The two of them cleaned their teeth and rinsed their mouth. The guard went to the river to dig ice and water. When he was washing up, he was surprised to find that there were already a few shadows moving around the cave.

”Who's gone so early? It was only six o'clock … It seems to be Samuel himself! ”

He frowned, he had already started to dislike Samuel, he threw away the cup and ran over without wiping his face, Shang Tai quickly followed.

The winter sun rose late into the night, and the sky was still bright at six o'clock. Expedition's camp was by the side of the Rock Spring River, still quite a distance away from the Buddha Cavern.

Samuel's appearance in the cave meant that the man had probably woken up at four o'clock!

Just as expected, Samuel and his four assistants were carrying two bright kerosene lamps, their faces flushed with excitement.

”Mr. Samuel... Your body is pretty good! ”He came here late at night because he wasn't sleeping …”

”Oh, dear Mr. Zuo... You should really come and see, this is a miracle... There's a huge Buddha inside! So big! ”

Of course, the nine floors in front of him were already in ruins, but just like the first time when the Tang Dynasty was flourishing, you could see the scale of the buildings.

Within the cave of the ninth floor, there was a thirty meter tall statue of Buddha, which Samuel had mentioned before.

The left looked at Samuel as if he were a thief, which made the Englishman uncomfortable. ”Mr. Zuo...” If you don't want to see the Buddha, why are you staring at me? ”

”I want to see what a night owl looks like... This won't do! ” After saying that, he turned around and entered the ruins of the nine-floor building.