The old magic stick was startled, which immediately woke me up from my faint melancholy, and I couldn't help but look in the direction of his finger.
The moon today was surprisingly bright, as if it was hanging on the top of a hill. I reacted relatively quickly. As soon as I looked up, I saw a group of birds flying under the moonlight and then landing on the top of the mountain. Logically speaking, from Observing a group of birds from such a distance will definitely affect your vision, but the characteristics of those birds are too distinct.
There are not many birds in this group, about a dozen. They are estimated to be as big as ordinary pigeons. There is a faintly small crest on the top of each bird's head. Their feathers are very gorgeous, in a kind of shape. The light golden color, especially when it flies by the moonlight in a silent moonlit night, makes the body seem to be made of gold, noble and mysterious.
"Are those birds flying here?" Qingqing stood next to me. She was always so sharp. Even if her eyes lost their function, she could still sense the subtle changes in her surroundings at the first time. I even began to doubt, Does her heart really have a strange function that can replace her eyes?
"Do you recognize this bird?" I asked.
"I understand." Qingqing nodded, stood on tiptoes, and waved to the other side from a distance, as if to say hello to the group of birds: "They will come from time to time."
This kind of bird is obviously not the first time to come to the barren mountain. In Qingqing's memory, every once in a while, the bird will appear on the top of Xiaoshan Mountain. It is a very strange bird, and it has a subconscious understanding of many creatures. Even a cricket in the grass can make them flee in panic.
While Qingqing and I were talking, the old magician still didn't calm down. He was gesticulating and foaming at the mouth with excitement. I was afraid that he would suddenly come over. Qingqing was facing the hill. She might still be recalling the birds in the past. Maybe he had too much contact with the female wolf. Sometimes, the female wolf would sit on the top of the mountain with Qingqing, and then look up at the birds flying like gold under the moonlight.
"If you keep acting like this, you will most likely have a cerebral hemorrhage." I went over to hold the old man down. He was old and very strong, and he almost couldn't hold him down.
"What is that! Do you know what that is!" Although the old magician was extremely excited, he still remained vigilant. He wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, looked at Qingqing who was looking over there, lowered his voice, and leaned against me. The ear said: "The old man has been looking for this kind of bird his whole life."
"What kind of bird is this?" I don't know why, but when I looked at the old magic gun, I naturally thought of the series of things that happened not long ago. However, I was not sure of my own judgment. I still had to learn from the old magic gun. Get the final answer.
The old magician thought for a while, maybe he was considering whether he should tell me this. After a while, he pulled me to the side, then squatted on the ground, took out a small wine bottle, took a sip, and said: "This If others ask about it, I will definitely not tell you, so you have to know it in your heart and listen to it yourself. If you go out and talk nonsense, the old man underground will not forgive you."
"Is it that serious?" I smiled bitterly. In this state, who could I go and talk nonsense to?
"That's the phoenix." The old magician's expression suddenly became very solemn and serious: "The phoenix."
"Phoenix?" Hearing his answer, although I haven't learned about this bird in detail, a passage Wu Shengli once told flashed through my mind. The bird-beak tripod of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and the bronzes unearthed from Dayanpo
There was dried bird droppings inside the stove. Wu Shengli said at that time that the bird droppings came from a very magical bird.
"It's just a few sentences, it must not be explained clearly, and you can't understand it." The old magic stick said: "I am old, and sometimes my brain is not clear. I may not have thought of the things I have heard in the past after thinking about it for a long time.
stand up."
"Since you know these things, you might forget them?"
"Time is not forgiving." The old magician's face was all gathered together, and he smiled quite hard: "If you show a little bit, maybe I will remember it."
This is his problem, he is very greedy for money, no matter what he does, he always wants to take advantage of it, but fortunately, he also has a bottom line, he will not open his mouth like a lion, and he will be very satisfied with one or two hundred yuan every time.
Sure enough, after I got him 200 yuan, the old magic stick immediately became energetic. I looked back and saw Qingqing staying where he was, looking over there in a trance.
"You took the money, let's talk about it quickly."
"Speaking of this, we have to go a long way." The old magic stick took another sip of wine and said, "Do you know King Zhou Mu?"
"How could you not know?"
The King Mu of Zhou mentioned by the old man is a legendary monarch in Chinese history. History is originally a mixture of many official and unofficial histories. It is said that King Mu of Zhou reigned for fifty-five years and lived for a whole year.
At 105 years old, he is the longest-lived emperor in history. However, when I was working in the institute, I came into contact with a lot of relevant cultural relics. Among all the bronzes unearthed so far from the period of King Mu of the Western Zhou Dynasty, they only date to thirty-four years at most.
.
The most legendary legend about King Mu of Zhou is that he once led his army to the west with eight divine horses as his chariot. It is said that he also met the Queen Mother of the West who lived in Kunlun Mountain. Of course, people who study history have corresponding discernment.
King Mu of Zhou lived to be one hundred and five years old. No one dares to say that this is false history, but it is said that he met the Queen Mother of the West in Kunlun Mountain, which is definitely a folk myth.
Similarly, the rumor that King Zhou Mu led the Western Expedition with eight divine horses is difficult to be finalized. According to the analysis and opinions of some people, there must be such a thing as the Western Expedition, but the destination is not the Kunlun Mountains.
The enemy of the expedition was not the Queen Mother of the West. The final destination of King Zhou Mu's western expedition was probably between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
However, some people have also raised objections. The first communication and exchange between East Asia and the Western Regions recorded in official history was Zhang Qian's departure from the Western Regions. In the era of King Mu of Zhou, neither the means of transportation nor the road conditions along the way were suitable for long-distance travel.
You must know that the relationship between the Zhou Dynasty and several surrounding ethnic minorities was quite poor at that time. If you leave the country rashly, once you are discovered, there is a high chance that you will be hanged in the middle. Therefore, in "Zhou Benji", there is an account of King Mu of Zhou's tour of the Western Regions.
Nothing was mentioned about this matter.
"He must have been to the Western Regions." The old magic stick shook his head and said: "The history you saw in the past is just what you saw."
I was startled, but the old magician suddenly became very steady. What he said was clearly telling me that the history I had seen in the past might not be true. I did not intend to argue with this. History is what it means.
It is unclear whether the truth is true or false. Unless the person involved at that time can stand up and say something, future generations will not be able to be completely sure that something is a certain way.
"We won't discuss this issue now. I said that he went, and there must be enough basis. No explanation, you know." The old magic stick continued: "Don't think that King Zhou Mu lived for more than a hundred years."
King Zhou Mu's journey to the west must have been exaggerated to some extent by later generations. The national power of the Zhou Dynasty was far from enough to completely pacify the barbarians. It was a very fortunate achievement to be able to protect the homeland from being harassed. Therefore, King Zhou Mu
The trip back then was more appropriately called a tour, and it had nothing to do with the Western Expedition.
Moreover, his trip was secret, and not many people knew about it. At that time, this may have been a secret that had never been spread. However, thousands of years later, some related cultural relics were unearthed one after another, bringing out some important information.
The purpose of King Zhou Mu's trip came to light.
"He was looking for something, a very mysterious thing."
Perhaps he was the only one who knew what King Mu of Zhou was looking for. The people who followed him at that time also only knew what the king was looking for, but the people below knew nothing about the specific thing. Until they went on the trip.
At the end, after everyone returns, it is still unknown whether this thing will be found.
"No one can answer this question, unless you ask King Zhou Mu now." The old magic stick squatted on the ground, holding a cigarette in one hand, and slowly pulling the beard on his chin with the other, "But, I think he can...
He didn't find what he wanted, but at least he gained something."
"What's the catch?"
"Save this for later." The old magic stick said: "Now let's talk about that kind of bird."
The golden bird I saw just now is a different species. It came from the ancient Western Regions. King Zhou Mu got a few pairs during his travels. The lifespan of this kind of bird is much longer than that of humans. Ancient people were very concerned about longevity and the like.
Everything was very interesting. King Zhou Mu must have dug deeply into the reasons for the longevity of this bird, and got considerable results. When I heard this, I understood why the old magician said that King Zhou Mu lived for more than a hundred years.
Out of nowhere.
The reason for his longevity must be related to this bird.
However, the vitality of this kind of bird seems to be completely out of proportion to its lifespan. After being captured, it becomes very fragile. After King Zhou Mu came back, the few pairs of birds he got were almost dead. He didn't know how to raise them, and he was still an old man.
The locals who followed him back from the Western Regions told him that this kind of bird would not be restrained by anyone and would either live freely or die. King Mu of Zhou listened to this man's advice and released the last two pairs of birds.
Those two pairs of birds must have survived in the end and became the ancestors of all phoenixes that can be found today.
I'm thinking, let's not talk about whether the old magic stick has sufficient basis. Assuming that what he said is true, then I think the purpose of King Zhou Mu's journey to the west should be very clear. He is an emperor and he wants to sit on the throne.
longer, so I think his purpose of traveling to the Western Regions should be to seek the way to immortality.
I told the old magician my reasoning. After hearing this, he shook his head, smiled mysteriously, and said, "Things are not as simple as you think."