The next day, the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, it was sunny. This was the third day of their trip.

The altitude of 4,000 meters has already had an impact on people's sleep, especially since this was the first day for the two of them to enter a high-altitude area. It was as strong as high clouds. After falling asleep in the middle of the night, they still woke up twice due to difficulty breathing.

Shen Qiongxiao was not in a very good condition. After the two of them had eaten breakfast and some high-reaction drugs and gradually recovered, they followed the plan and drove to the edge of the county mountain to look for those stupid and cute prairie dogs.

However, when they asked the locals for the specific address, they learned that there were many such creatures in Seda, but since it was winter now, they had to hibernate, so they had to look at the surrounding scenery before heading back home...

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the two of them went to the corpse forest in Seda on time, intending to watch the sky burial.

Sky burial is a kind of funeral method. To put it bluntly, it means feeding the body of the deceased to an eagle. Tibetan people believe that after the eagle flies into the sky after eating, the deceased ascends to heaven smoothly.

The specific process is as follows: After death, the body is laid to rest for several days, and the lama is asked to chant sutras and choose a day for burial. Someone will send the body to the sky burial master. First, incense is burned as an offering to the gods. Vultures see the fireworks and gather around the sky burial site.

The sky burial master then stripped the corpse of its clothes, dismembered it according to certain procedures, and peeled off the flesh and bones. The bones were crushed with stones, mixed with tsampa, and the meat was cut into small pieces and set aside. Finally, he called the vulture with a whistle and pressed the bones. The meat is fed separately in order until it is completely eaten.

The cleaner the corpse is, the better. If there is no bit left, it is a symbol of good luck. If the corpse is not eaten clean and a certain piece is left, the meaning is unknown.

In the past, sky burials had to be completed before dawn, but now in order to attract tourists, the sky burial time has been moved to the time period of 13:00-13:30.

There are many relief buildings in the corpse camel forest, such as the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the Eight Great Corpse Buddha Forest Reliefs, the Skeleton Palace, the King of Yama's Cave, etc., as well as some stone tablets engraved in both Tibetan and Chinese languages.

The overall atmosphere is solemn and gloomy, and the scorching sun can't stop it from being scary. There are many skeletons on the building and there are many hairs of the deceased hanging on it.

However, Shen Qiongxiao and Gao Yun were both brave. They even deliberately got closer to look at the hair hanging on the building. After reading it, they both felt that it was not interesting and turned to read the words on the stone tablet.

"The years of human life that may be long or short, the joys and sorrows that may be bitter or sweet, the hazy feelings that may be true or false, the life that may be fortunate or sad, are all wasted so meaninglessly."

"The muscles, bones, flesh and blood are splashing around the sky burial stones; the messy cold wind is blowing the hair of the corpses flying everywhere; the lonely undead are involuntarily wandering. At this moment, apart from the Three Treasures, what else can we rely on?"

"I often think about death in the forest of corpses. I don't rely on myself to live in peace and contentment. I see all kinds of filthy appearances. The desire for the body disappears and my mind becomes quiet. I can no longer let go and become bored. Snakes, scorpions, ghosts and gods are terrifying, but living in the forest of corpses is not the best." terror."

"..."

The central idea is "Hurry up and take refuge in my Buddha." The two of them read it briefly, then hurried through the corpse forest to the celestial burial platform to watch the celestial burial process.

After waiting for a long time, Gao Yun yawned: "What time is it? It hasn't started yet?"

I was really sleepy because I didn’t get a good rest last night due to the high altitude.

"It's almost here, the meat is being cut."

Shen Qiongxiao looked around. There were quite a few tourists around, the number was estimated to be around a hundred. Fortunately, the two of them were wearing sunglasses, hats and scarves this time, otherwise they would have been recognized.

This is an open-air venue with a half-person-high fence next to it. There are trapezoidal steps on the outside side of the fence, and tourists are standing here.

In the fence, there is an area covered by a blood-stained white cloth. From there, the sounds of lamas chanting sutras and the sounds of sky burial masters cutting the flesh with knives can be heard. Yes, the process of corpse dissection is blocked.

Not far away, twenty meters away, a group of vultures formed a circle on the snow-covered hillside. They watched eagerly. There were also many vultures in the sky, all of which were more than two meters tall, circling in the air.

It feels like dark clouds are looming over the city, coupled with the unpleasant screams, the scene is extremely spectacular.

After a few minutes, the people in the sky burial platform gradually left. But there were still two people inside, splashing sliced ​​meat. At this time, the vultures also became restless.

With a sharp whistle, the cloth and fence blocking the vultures were opened, which meant that the sky burial had officially begun. The overwhelming number of vultures flapped their wings and swept away the snowflakes on the ground, running wildly or swooping down the hillside, blocking out the sky and the sun.

The tourists at the scene started talking incessantly along with the sharp cries of the vultures.

"Third Sister! Look at that big bird falling down!"

"Damn it! How can there be enough to eat with so many birds!"

"Hello everyone, I am now live broadcasting the sky burial for you..."

Some of the tourists present were videotaping, taking photos, and doing live broadcasts, which puzzled Gao Yunzheng.

Before coming here, he specifically learned that sky burial is a funeral custom of the Tibetan people and is protected by national law.

Photography and video recording are not allowed, nor are they allowed to be reported or disseminated on the Internet. Strictly speaking, it is not even allowed to use the sky burial platform as a tourist attraction to organize tourists to visit.

So Gao Yun didn't bring any equipment, and he didn't plan to take photos or even record videos. But what's going on with this group of people now?

"Don't take pictures!"

Sure enough, at this time, a red lama came over and waved to stop the tourists. Most of them were quite obedient and put away their mobile phones.

The man doing the live broadcast seemed to have been blocked, and put away his cell phone while cursing, but the female companion in black beside him seemed very stubborn and was still filming.

"Stop filming!" The red lama's Mandarin was not very good, but his angry eyes were enough to convey the meaning.

"..." The woman in black seemed not to hear.

At this time, an old lama in yellow clothes came over from the scene where the human flesh had been cut. He was older, wearing a pair of white gloves, carrying a piece of flesh, and threw it directly in front of the two of them.

"Crack!"

A dark hand, connected to an arm that had been eaten into bones, was lifeless, and exuded an extremely sour and rancid smell. This was truly human flesh.

"Ahhhh!!"

The woman in black was so frightened that her cell phone dropped. The live broadcaster's face turned pale, and he dragged his companion away while retching.

At this time, all the tourists were honest and put away their mobile phones one by one.

"This lama is so cruel!"

"Fuck, can you still do this? Do the family members of the deceased agree?"

"It seems a little disrespectful to the deceased!"

The old lama ignored the comments around him and glanced around. His cloudy eyes showed a disregard for all things. Then he walked over slowly, picked up his arm, and threw it into the fence where the vultures were the most.

The vultures immediately started fighting over each other, dragging their arms and shaking and tearing at them.

"This should be a sky burial master." Shen Qiongxiao guessed: "Only sky burial masters and high-level living Buddhas wear yellow clothes."

Gao Yun laughed: "Very good, this Sky Burial Master's temper is to my liking."

"You, stop!"

The woman in black seemed to have regained her composure, dragging the live broadcaster over and surrounding the old lama, preventing him from leaving.

"Why do you take, throw human flesh at me?"

"That's right!"

The old lama lowered his head and took a detour. The two of them did not dare to stop him, but they followed him step by step and kept pestering him.

"Stop! I've put my phone away, why are you throwing human flesh at my girlfriend?"

"Do you know how disrespectful you are to the deceased? Where are the family members of the deceased? I want to tell them this! How can you be a practitioner like this? What are you practicing?"

Shen Qiongxiao and Gao Yun walked forward hand in hand, and the former said.

"We feed corpses to yakshas, ​​rakshasas and vultures. How can we talk about respect? Lamas have never had any concept of respect for corpses in their hearts, and they even make human bones into magical instruments. For them, The dead body is just the old body of the deceased's soul, an object of charity, and a pile of rotten flesh! On the contrary, it was these two people who took the photo without permission, which aroused the resentment of the family of the deceased. Now they actually want to use this to sue? How stupid Na!"

"Thank you to these idiots. Without these low-quality people with brain problems as a foil, how can we, smart people with high moral character, be highlighted?"

While the two were joking, another group of people came out, who seemed to be family members of several deceased people. Their expressions were angry, and they pushed and scolded them. They drove the live broadcast man and the woman in black away, and the matter came to an end.

Afterwards, the two of them planned to leave this place and continue their journey.

But when walking from the celestial burial platform to the corpse forest, I suddenly found an old lama in red sitting in a hidden corner of the coffin tower.

His eyes were closed tightly, his left hand was holding a very large colorful prayer wheel over one meter high, and he was turning it constantly. His right hand was holding a string of Buddhist beads, and he was muttering some words in unintelligible Tibetan.

This lama has a very special appearance, one that is unforgettable once you see him. He has silver hair shawl, and a white beard. His face has become red and black due to being on the plateau for a long time. His kind-hearted eyes are somewhat like the temperament of an eminent monk.

"She should be practicing." Shen Qiongxiao whispered: "I am practicing the concept of impermanence, the concept of impurity, and emptiness in the Corpse Forest to combat egotism and lust."

Gao Yun observed the dry food and traces of life in front of the lama, and speculated: "It has been in seclusion for at least two days."

"Two great benefactors."

The two of them were about to pass by in silence when the white-haired lama suddenly opened his eyes and spoke. His voice was not loud, and his accent was very thick and it sounded very unclear.

"I want to drink Coca-Cola, buy it for me, and I will give you a name to pray for."

In the snow area, Coke is the best-selling drink, more popular than other drinks such as milk, butter tea, and wine. Tibetans love to drink it, monks also love to drink it, and Coke is even one of the most important tributes at Dharma gatherings.

Coke is a common drink in canteens in snowy areas. The owner of the canteen said that Coke is always sold out the fastest! No matter the time or season, half of the ten people who come to buy something will take away a bottle of Coke. Even if I don’t buy it specifically, I will bring a bottle with me.

This was something the two of them learned after they arrived in Sedar. Gao Yun speculated that the diet of Tibetans is relatively simple, and local fruits and vegetables are relatively scarce. They basically do not eat vegetables and mostly eat meat. Drink local butter tea. If you drink more, it will make you feel tired. Coca-Cola is responsible for relieving the tiredness and making it refreshing and delicious.

At the same time, Tibetans are relatively averse to spicy food, and their demand for sugar is higher than other regions. Therefore, carbonated drinks, which are spicy and sweet, have naturally become Tibetan people's favorite drinks.

The two looked at each other, and Gao Yun stepped forward and said with a smile: "Great monk, why are you so closed up? What kind of emptiness are you cultivating? You can't even quit coke! Can't you just drink water?"

"!"

The white-haired lama's old red and black face seemed to be even redder, and his facial features were knitted together with more folds. His eyes widened, his lips pursed a few times and he began to recite the Tibetan scriptures.

Shen Qiongxiao smiled, and then said: "I'll buy it."

"No more!"

The white-haired lama raised his voice and waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no Coke!"

"Haha, let me give you this water and let's go."

Gao Yun was so happy that he put his unopened bottle of mineral water on the ground and joined hands with Shen Qiongxiao to leave.

"Leave your name." The white-haired lama was probably really thirsty. He quickly opened the water and drank a few mouthfuls: "I will pray for you."

Both of them thought this lama was quite interesting, so they named him.

"Gao Yun."

"Shen Qiongxiao."

The white-haired lama recited silently for a few times, and seemed to have memorized it well. He nodded: "I will recite the "Untying Mantra" for you nine times to break up bad relationships and make good relationships. I will recite the "Great Auspicious Goddess Mantra" for you nine times to pray for good fortune. May you have good luck and happy marriage.”

"Thanks."

The two of them said this in unison, looked at each other subconsciously, and left holding hands.
Chapter completed!