Yichang, known as Yiling in ancient times, has a history of more than 2,000 years.
Sandouping Town is located on the bank of the Xiling Gorge of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It strangles the water of Bashu Tianfu above and overlooks the land of fish and rice in Jingchu. It is known as the throat of Sichuan and Hubei and has been praised as the "Xiling Gallery" by literati and poets of the past dynasties.
A hill stands abruptly on the north bank of the river. Because its shape resembles an upside-down Shu pickle jar, it is named "Janziling".
In the evening, a bald old man in gray robe climbed up to Tanzi Ridge with a baby in his arms. Looking back, we can see the vast Yangtze River flowing eastward from under our feet, and the beautiful scenery of Huangniu Rock in Xiling Gorge is panoramic, poetic and picturesque, and we can even see Zigui County in the twilight mist from a distance.
Professor Wudeng let out a long sigh, looked at Yong'er in his arms, gently tucked in the corner of the quilt , and walked leisurely towards a dilapidated earthen house on the top of the mountain.
Across the bamboo fence and firewood gate, I saw an old man with white hair and long beard sitting on the threshold. He was catching lice on his cotton-padded jacket with his head lowered and shirtless. Whenever he caught one, he threw it into his mouth and bit it to death with a "squeak" sound. There was a trace of lice left at the corner of his mouth. Bloodstains.
"What's the matter?" The old man didn't even raise his head.
"I want to ask you about someone." Professor Wudeng said.
"who?"
"Dan Gong."
The old man raised his head, his eyes were bleary, as if he hadn't woken up, but there was a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"Who are you? Why are you looking for Tan Gong?" The old man looked over with doubtful eyes.
"Professor Wudeng is at Xiabei University, and someone asked me to come to Yichang to look for him."
"Who asked you to come?"
"The owner of Prince Gong's Mansion."
When the old man heard this, he laughed, jumped up, put on his greasy torn cotton-padded jacket, and said, "I am the Lord of the Altar."
Professor Wudeng breathed a sigh of relief and finally found it.
"This little baby is…"
"His name is Yong'er, and he is the successor of my mantle. The master asked us to come to Yichang Tanziling to find you, saying that everything will be arranged properly." Professor Wu Deng said.
"Well, I'll just stay at my house for two days. Then someone from the provincial capital will come to visit. We'll make plans then." Tan Gong said.
"Then, thank you." Professor Wudeng nodded.
"Please come in with me and have dinner first." Mr. Tan led the way inside. The smoke from the stove was mixed with the aroma of rice. At this moment, Professor Wudeng really felt hungry.
At the foot of Tanzi Ridge, an old man with a cane silently looked at Professor Wudeng's back walking up the mountain and let out a long sigh. Following him all the way from Bowang Mountain, he never had the chance to make a move along the way, and his skills were far inferior to his, so he had no choice but to peek in secret and wait, believing that there would always be times when he would relax.
Not far behind him, on the riverside, there were two middle-aged women who looked like tourists, whispering there, and Lao Bai walked straight over.
"Hey, you two are human traffickers who abduct and sell babies, right?" Lao Bai said hehey.
"Old man, please keep your mouth clean. What kind of human trafficker are you? We are here for tourism, okay?" The two women's mouths were not forgiving at all.
"Hmph, I saw you sneaking around when I came out of Yichang. You are definitely not a good family woman."
The two looked at each other and smiled: "This person is an old antique who came from nowhere, and he is a decent woman, hahaha…"
Lao Bai said angrily: "Women nowadays are really shameless. You two, get out of here and stay far away, otherwise…"
"What else will happen? A crippled old man with a broken leg still wants to fight?" The two women raised their arms and rolled up their sleeves, cursing at Lao Bai.
"Shrew!" Lao Bai cursed.
"Wow, how dare you scold me." The two women were extremely fierce in temperament, and they rushed forward with their teeth and claws ready to scratch Lao Bai's face.
As soon as Lao Bai opened his mouth, his pink tongue touched their mouths and noses like lightning, and then quickly retracted into his mouth.
The two women suddenly felt numbness on their faces, and then their mouths and eyes became crooked, and sticky saliva flowed from the corners of their mouths, as if their facial nerves were paralyzed.
"Who are you two?" Lao Bai asked sharply.
"Xiang…Xiang Gongdi…disciple." They were already slurring their words.
"Are you here to steal that baby?"
"No, no, it's not. The boss asked me to follow…the old…head holding the child."
"The boss?" Lao Bai became alert.
"Xiang Gong Wu… Wuchang Station."
"What do you want to follow the old man for?" Lao Bai continued to ask.
"I don't know." The two women stuttered.
I have heard of this "Fragrant Gong". Its full name is "Chinese Buddhist Aromatic Wisdom Enlightenment Qigong". It has emerged in recent years with the craze of Qigong across the country. It is said that the practice can emit a fragrance, and most of the folk disciples are middle-aged and elderly women. However, if you want to really "send out the fragrance", I am afraid that only civet cats like Li Lin can do it.
What is the connection between Xiang Gong and Wudeng Master? Lao Bai was suspicious.
"Go away." He scolded, looking at the two of them walking away in panic, puzzled. No matter what, Yong'er must be stolen as soon as possible, otherwise he may have long nights and dreams.
At this moment, it was completely dark, and Lao Bai took advantage of the cover of night to sneak up to Tanzi Ridge. But he didn't dare to get too close, so he could only hide in the pine forest and monitor from a distance. Professor Wudeng's skills were too high, and he might be noticed.
In the earthen house, Tan Zhengyi and Professor Wudeng were drinking from each other under the oil lamp. Yong'er was already fast asleep on the bed.
"Mr. Tan, why do you live alone on Tanzi Ridge?" Professor Wu Deng asked puzzledly.
"The master arranged for me to stay here many years ago," Tan Gong sipped his wine, picked up a piece of unknown bacon, threw it into his mouth, chewed and said, "You know that a dam is going to be built on the Yangtze River, right?"
"I have been practicing in seclusion in Bowang Mountain in southern Sichuan. I have heard a little bit about this matter, but I don't know much about it." Professor Wu Deng replied.
“After the Three Gorges Dam is built, will it know the impact on wildlife?”
Professor Wu Deng thought for a while and said: "It should lead to the submergence or extinction of certain species in the reservoir area. 'The Badong Three Gorges Wu Gorge is long, and the apes cry three times and shed tears on their clothes.' It is said that during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the forests in the Three Gorges The vegetation is still very good, and the number of gibbons is also very large. Until the 18th and 19th centuries, the Three Gorges still had habitats for giant pandas. Later, due to man-made vegetation destruction, it gradually decreased and disappeared."
"Yes, but what about the South China tiger?" Tan Gong then asked.
“Isn’t the South China tiger extinct long ago?”
Tan Gong chuckled: "The bacon you are eating now is the wild South China tiger that I hunted."
"How is this possible?" Professor Wudeng asked in surprise.
Tan Gong took another sip of wine and said slowly: "The South China tiger is an authentic Chinese tiger. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were about 4,000 wild South China tigers. At that time, the government declared it one of the 'four pests', and the army and The militia organized a specialized tiger hunting team and continued to carry out large-scale hunting in the form of people's war. Many "tiger fighting heroes" have emerged. In 1959, the Ministry of Forestry classified South China tigers into the same group as bears, leopards and wolves. As a harmful animal, the public was called on to go all out to kill it. As a result, the international community became anxious and immediately listed the South China tiger as E-level (endangered) protection, which is the highest priority endangered animal in need of international protection. Until 1989, China The government's "Wildlife Protection Law" only listed it as a first-level protected animal. However, in such a huge country, not even a wild South China tiger can be found. Currently, it is internationally recognized that wild South China tigers in China have been completely extinct. "
"Isn't that actually the case?" Professor Wudeng asked.
"Hehe…" Tan Gong smiled strangely.
"After all those years of hunting, only one group of dozens of South China tigers survived by chance, hiding in the inaccessible cliffs and canyons of the Three Gorges. However, building a dam will flood their last refuge. Therefore, if the international community and animal protection activists are made aware of this situation, it will inevitably increase the opposition to the construction of the Three Gorges Reservoir, so that it will be needlessly hindered when the National People's Congress votes next year." Tan Gong explained.
"I understand, you are here to secretly eliminate the remaining wild South China tigers." Professor Wu Deng suddenly realized.
"That's right, more than ten have been killed so far. You are here to assist me in trying to kill all the South China tigers in the Three Gorges, so that the government can successfully pass the vote of the National People's Congress in April next year. "
"But Yong'er is too young…" Professor Wu Deng said hesitantly. At this moment, the plain is still far away in southern Sichuan, and the lame hermit is watching with eager eyes along the way. Moreover, hunting the only remaining South China tiger in the world seems to violate the traditional Confucian philosophy.
"It doesn't matter. Mr. Shui will be here in two days. You can temporarily foster the child with him." Tan Gong said.
"Mr. Shui?" Professor Wudeng had never heard of him before.
"This man's surname is Shui, and he is the number one consultant of the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission. Professor, please rest assured that Yichang ghost Huang Kun is responsible. Mr. Shui's skills are far superior to mine. The child is absolutely safe in his hands."
"But…" Professor Wu Deng still felt the boss's reluctance in his heart, and was ready to find a reason to refuse.
"Professor, this is the master's will." Tan Gong said coldly.
"Mr. Tan, aren't there just a few South China tigers? Why do we need to kill them all? Without this rare species in the world, wouldn't it also be a loss to the country?" Professor Wu Deng was silent for a moment, and then argued again.
"Professor, this is politics. We must not give any excuse to those who oppose the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Therefore, the South China tiger must be eliminated without leaving any traces."
"What if it's a giant panda?" Professor Wu Deng asked.
"Similarly, shoot to death." Tan Gong said decisively.
Professor Wu Deng had no choice but to speak from a different angle: "The Three Gorges Gorge has deep mountains and dense forests, with cliffs everywhere and few people. Besides, the tiger itself is very agile and alert, and only comes out at night. How can we catch it?" And kill them?"
"Put poison bait. I specially prepared the highly toxic 'Five Steps' bait. If the South China tiger eats it, it will be sure that it will not be able to take five steps, and it will be poisoned and die immediately." Tan Gong said proudly.
Professor Wu Deng has been hiding in Bowang Mountain for decades and knows very little about the outside world. So he asked in confusion: "If building the Three Gorges Dam is a good thing, why are there still people opposed to it? Since it benefits the country and the people, why does the government Are you still afraid of any opposition?"
Tan Gong was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, saying that he didn't know either.
"I remember that there are many scenic spots and historic sites along the Three Gorges River, such as Yunyang Zhangfei Temple, Fuling Baiheliang Dry Water Stone Carvings, Zhongxian Shibao Village, etc. Will they also be submerged?" Professor Wu Deng asked.
"certainly."
"Alas, let alone animals. The dam blocked the water of the Yangtze River and destroyed the chain of biodiversity formed over hundreds of millions of years. A large number of rare creatures will definitely be destroyed by humans, the same fate as the South China tiger. "Professor Wu Deng sighed.
"Professor, we just have to faithfully carry out the master's orders." Tan Gong said in a stern tone.