adminThe Tibetan people in blue robes refer to themselves as “Kangba Luo people,” and the place they inhabit is called Kangba Luo, a river valley nestled within the snowy mountains.
Although the communication between the character “Men Youping” and them lasted only a few hours, the sheer volume of information conveyed left him bewildered and overwhelmed. For Men Youping, he could almost immediately visualize everything they described, allowing him to accept and digest all the information instantly. However, for us, all we had were words, making it difficult to truly understand what kind of place this was.
If we were to look down at the entire valley from space, we would discover that the extraordinary lake within the snowy mountains presents a color reminiscent of gem blue, resembling an oddly shaped blue sapphire embedded in white satin. This remarkable lake is called Kangba Luo Lake, which translates to “Blue Snow Mountain” in Chinese. When Men Youping was taken to the top of the lama temple and walked along the edges of the cliffs, gazing down at the vast lake surface, he was utterly stunned by what lay before him.
To be honest, not many things can deeply shock Men Youping. During his training for “impact,” his first response to any danger was calmness and indifference. All his training was aimed at ensuring that he could react correctly at the first moment he encountered any unexpected situation. However, all this training was geared towards dealing with danger and ugliness. Thus, when confronted with the most terrifying and horrifying sights, Men Youping’s heart would never stir with even the slightest ripple; even in the most brutal scenarios, facing the greatest psychological burdens, he could endure it all. But this time was different. He believed this was beauty.
The moment he saw the lake’s surface, beauty breached all his defenses. He beheld a turquoise lake, and the perspective from the cliff’s edge was entirely different from that at the lakeshore. Here, sunlight was fully refracted, and the lake appeared so crystal clear that it seemed unnatural, resembling blue silk tightly stretched across the snowy valley, sprinkled with sapphire dust.
This haunting blue was not the core of the scene; the most captivating aspect was the reflection of the enormous snowy mountain on the lake’s surface. The mountain, of course, was white, but when reflected in the lake, it transformed into a strange and enchanting blue. The towering snowy mountains by the lakeside were sacred and solemn, stirring an indescribable emotion within one’s soul. The snowy mountains in the lake’s reflection were even more mysterious and tranquil than the actual white peaks.
They walked along the cliffs beside the lake and soon discovered a hidden river valley. This valley resembled the fan-shaped river channel we had traversed earlier. If one were to navigate by boat on the lake, they would surely be drawn to the massive river channel I had just entered, overlooking this particularly narrow and concealed valley.
They descended into that more hidden river valley. The river surface below was completely frozen. As they walked onto the ice, they soon found themselves in a wider expanse; a kilometer away, the valley opened up to about four to five kilometers wide. On this river, countless stones jutted out above the surface, piled high with mani stones, resembling a peculiar stone formation at first glance. Men Youping continued to follow along.
After passing the Mani stone piles, the lake surface had turned into a stony beach. Men Youping discovered that the beach descended in a very steep, stair-like manner, but there were hidden stairs among them. They descended step by step into a valley at an altitude of about two thousand meters, an unusual green valley in the snowy mountains. Men Youping saw farmland, streams, and many white stone houses. This was the home of the Kham people, with over one hundred and ninety households, most of whom were Tibetan.
The man in the blue robe led Men Youping into the house of the highest local chieftain. The person who presented the hada told him that there was no chieftain here anymore; the last chieftain had left behind an order for them to wait for the next chieftain’s arrival, but they had never seen him. Men Youping noticed the portrait of the chieftain hanging behind the main seat, and he recognized it at a glance—it was a portrait of Dong Can. Dong Can was actually the chieftain here? He was somewhat surprised and stared at it for a long time.
This Dong Can had a rather special blood relationship with him. Then, the leader of the hada presenters began to tell him a very strange story by the warm charcoal fire.
It turned out that among all the porters coming in and out of Tibet, many of them came from this hidden place, but they did not leave because they could not stand the environment; rather, they were arranged to go out by the Kham people. Only the Kham people truly knew how to trek through the snow-covered wilderness, as they were aware of a secret path in the snow that, even in a snowstorm, would only bury them up to their calves at most.
These porters born in Kham had been doing a very important task assigned by their chieftain, which was to wait for a young Han man who would enter the snowy area. Their chieftain said that Men Youping was one of his clansmen from Han territory, and after he left, this person’s arrival could help them resolve their disaster.
Before Men Youping’s arrival, this Han chieftain had sealed a demon within a huge bronze door in the snowy mountains, but this bronze door would inevitably open after a certain period of time. Before leaving, the Han chieftain told them that he would not survive until the next time the bronze door opened, but fortunately, a young man would arrive here before the door opened to take over his work.
The Kham people had to ensure that the young man could safely reach here and that he was indeed Men Youping. So they devised a plan. During the years of waiting, many Han people had been brought here by porters, but after their tests, they found that none could be the person Dong Can referred to.
In the end, it was Luodan who found the most likely candidate. So when all the Deren lamas gathered the porters, she volunteered to participate. The blue-robed Tibetan who had shot at Men Youping before was named Dan; he was the best and smartest among this group of blue-robed Tibetans. He attacked Men Youping to test whether he had good skills. The term “blue robe” refers to the jackets that adult men must wear while hunting here.
After listening to their accounts, the muffled voice had already drunk four or five bowls of butter tea. The cold weather made him feel a bit overwhelmed for the first time; he could only sit quietly and listen without taking any protective measures. They continued to talk about how Dong Can arrived here, how he became a chieftain, how he taught them to deal with the demons on the snow-capped mountains, and how he eventually left. This was almost another story. The muffled voice understood that the so-called demons often might not be taken literally.
Dong Can and a few others came here after emerging from the deep valley with the enormous sphere. The others left after resting, heading into the outside world to live a wealthy life with the gold they had. However, Dong Can stayed behind to engage in the “fight against the demons.” He must have spent a long time here before leaving, bringing news of this place back to the Zhang family, but he himself never appeared again—later, it was discovered that he was living in a remote lama temple, continuously painting an oil painting.
The muffled voice understood Dong Can; although he was not as skilled as himself, Dong Can was a rather calm person. Such behavior could only indicate one thing: something had disturbed his heart, which was as still as dead water, leaving him disheartened. After leaving Kangbala, he did not want to return to that way of life. If it was merely about fighting demons, such an outcome would not be possible. What was the reason behind it?
The people of Kangbala did not know either. As the conversation progressed to the end, they told the muffled voice that they hoped he could help them complete the disaster that occurred once every ten years. The muffled voice asked, what exactly is this demon?
The people of Kangbala replied, the demon is just a demon.
They took the muffled voice into the back room of the chieftain’s house, and for the first time, he saw the most crucial item in this story—a strange black stone idol. The entire room was very large, but there was nothing else inside, only the black idol. This was not a statue from Tibet; the muffled voice was very familiar with various civilizations, and he realized that this was the first time he had seen an idol of this kind.
It likely came from a civilization system he was not yet aware of. We call it an idol because it meets all the characteristics of one, but it certainly is not a deity of humanity. The younger brother mentioned in the materials that he could not describe what it was in any language. Yes, although it could not be written down, the younger brother drew it.
I recognized it at a glance; this deity system was part of the same system as the one that resembled a club we saw in the Heavenly Palace of Changbai Mountain. Deities are beings that exist at a higher level than us. However, if there are soft-bodied creatures or coral polyps that have attained enlightenment and become gods, can we understand their values?
When I saw that simple drawing, a strange thought suddenly popped into my mind.
The Kamba people told Men Youping that what they needed to stop was this thing. The valley filled with countless metal spheres that Dong Can had visited was located on the other side of the Kamba village, about 17 kilometers away, and the journey was extremely difficult. Many people here had been to that valley and seen those strange spheres, and some had even brought a few back. Men Youping felt there was something off about this explanation and asked, “What about that girl?”
This time, however, he did not receive an answer. While discussing these matters, Men Youping suddenly noticed something very peculiar about the room they were in. After taking a closer look, he discovered that there was indeed something that could never belong in this room. He remained composed, but inside he realized that what he had just heard seemed to be completely different from the truth. This existence appeared to be a paradise, a Shangri-La, yet it was far from what it seemed on the surface.
