Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa, Volume 2: Chapter 7: Tower of Babel

Mysterious Country 1: Mist-Shrouded Champa, Volume 2: Chapter 7: Tower of Babel

The Burmese Communist People’s Army had once captured a military airport near Lashio that was built by the British in years past. The hangars still contained many old fighter planes damaged beyond repair, among them this particular airframe. Its design was bizarre and unforgettable, similar to wreckage they had seen crashed in the mountains.

So Sima Hui and Luo Dahai examined it closely and were able to identify this strange aircraft. It should be a “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” manufactured by the British. The British Royal Air Force’s “Mosquito” planes were active during World War II, with many models and types, such as “fighter planes, torpedo anti-submarine aircraft, light bombers, photo reconnaissance planes, special transport aircraft,” and so on. They were always known for being swift and agile, especially suited for flying in tropical regions with complex and changeable weather. Large numbers of “Mosquito” planes had served in Burma, mostly as light bombers and night reconnaissance aircraft. This type of modified special transport aircraft, as shown in the photo, was not commonly seen.

Sima Hui said to Yu Feiyan that this kind of antiquated old aircraft had long since exited the stage of history. They would not be taking such enormous risks and paying such a heavy price merely for a “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft.” There must be some important cargo loaded in the transport aircraft’s cabin. But why was it in the Savage Mountain? And why would someone hire an expedition team at great expense to search for it? There must be some unspeakable reason behind it.

Yu Feiyan nodded in acknowledgment of Sima Hui’s judgment, but there was nothing unspeakable about it. It turned out that after the end of World War II, on the eve of Burma, India, and other countries breaking free from British colonial rule, the British had dispatched the Air Force to secretly transport a batch of rare treasures plundered from Burma. They planned to first send them to port to be loaded onto ships, then transfer them to the mainland “British Empire Museum.” During the execution of this secret transport mission, a British Royal Air Force “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” was forced to deviate from its planned flight route due to sudden weather changes and crashed deep in the heartland of Savage Mountain. According to the report from the escort fighter pilot and the transport pilot’s final communication: “We have descended into the mist…”

The landing point was a giant rift valley in the primeval jungle. Perhaps due to the air currents in the rift valley and the light structure of the aircraft, this “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” did not immediately crash into the mountain and explode, killing everyone on board.

However, the depths of that giant rift valley were shrouded in thick fog, blocking even the view from aerial observation. After the “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” fell into the boundless mist, it soon stopped all communication with the outside world amid the pilot’s terrified and desperate calls.

Upon receiving the news, the military immediately assembled personnel to form rescue teams nearby, sending multiple teams into Savage Mountain to search for this crashed special transport aircraft. They even dispatched reconnaissance planes to search near the crash site, disregarding the influence of severe weather conditions.

But the various search and rescue teams that entered the mountains either returned empty-handed, unable to find their way, or disappeared without a trace after entering the jungle. As for the people and aircraft missing in the mountains, it was impossible to count how many there had been over the years, with identities and backgrounds of all kinds. Besides treasure-hunting adventurers and speculators, there were refugees, smugglers, bandits, and soldiers from various countries who had mistakenly entered Savage Mountain during successive wars. But whether during the British colonial rule period or the Japanese occupation period, the authorities avoided discussing all失踪 events that occurred in “Savage Mountain,” with no records of any public search and rescue efforts.

The sunless primeval jungle and the thousand-year-old underground mist that never dispersed both became natural visual barriers. Combined with the harsh natural environment, they completely isolated “Savage Mountain” from the world. To this day, no one has ever walked out alive from the deep mountains.

Not long after this Mosquito disappeared, Burma declared independence and the British withdrew completely. The military archives regarding the “special transport aircraft” disappearing in the Savage Mountain rift valley were permanently sealed. But many people still could not forget the “secret” loaded in the cabin. The search for this missing transport aircraft has never stopped to this day. The Sheng Yu-led mountain team, the Old and Young Group, was hired by someone to enter the mountain to find this special transport aircraft marked with the black snake emblem and bring back the “cargo” in its cabin.

The clues in Yu Feiyan’s hands, besides several photos of the transport aircraft, consisted only of some intelligence left by the British search and rescue teams back then. From these, one could learn the approximate location where this “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” went missing: the giant rift valley in the middle of Savage Mountain. However, the boundless mist gushing from underground was increasing year by year, covering most of the nearby areas.

If the expedition team directly entered the jungle shrouded in mist, they would easily repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. So after Sheng Yu and Master Jiang discussed it, they decided to first search for the Stilwell Road built by the American military. It was said that the end point of this “Ghost Road” was very close to the edge of the Savage Mountain giant rift valley. The American military’s Sixth Independent Combat Engineer Regiment had wanted to avoid those strange underground clouds from the side. But when they were excavating tunnels in the mountains, they accidentally caused a collapse. The collapse revealed a cave with mist surging inside. Most of the personnel who went in to reconnoiter died tragically, so they were forced to abandon the plan to run the road longitudinally through “Savage Mountain.”

The expedition team was suffering from having no maps or guides. Finding a road abandoned for decades was easier said than done. Fortunately, they encountered Sima Hui and Karaweik and others. Although Karaweik had never walked the “Ghost Road 206B Line” before, he at least had some experience. He knew how to search for it and how to avoid the large minefields left over from successive war periods. As long as they could find the tunnel at the end of “Route B,” they could try to pass through the underground cave from the collapsed area and enter the interior of the giant rift valley where the “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” went missing.

After Yu Feiyan finished explaining the whole story, she told Sima Hui and Luo Dahai: “Whether you believe in fate or not, at least I believe that there is some kind of ‘attraction’ between people. That we could meet in Savage Mountain and eventually become friends, this is probably the arrangement of fate. From now on, we should work together with one heart.”

Sima Hui knew that Yu Feiyan could not reveal information about the “cargo” and the “client,” but he could guess that the things in the transport aircraft cabin were no small matter. Since this was a life-risking “signed job,” it would not be easily accomplished. It might even end in total annihilation. So he reminded Sheng Yu: “Since you say to trust in fate, then whether we succeed or not depends on heaven’s will. If this job cannot be done, you must not force it.”

Sheng Yu frowned slightly and reproached: “Don’t try to shake people’s morale here. As long as we all are of one heart, how could there be something we cannot accomplish?”

Sima Hui said he was not trying to pour cold water on her. He looked at their team and saw that they could not achieve unity of purpose. He remembered hearing a Western religious legend told near Manzhi long ago: It was in ancient times when life on earth was very hard for people. They couldn’t get enough to eat or wear, and there were floods and beasts threatening human survival. At that time, people had all heard that heaven was not bad. It was warm as spring all year round, with flowers blooming in all four seasons and grass that never withered. Moreover, resources were abundant, with no worries about food, drink, clothing, and no suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. Only the sky was distant and extremely high, and ordinary people living on the ground simply had no way to get up there.

So everyone put their heads together and decided to build a tower reaching to heaven, to keep building it all the way to paradise. That way, men and women, old and young, could all go up and become immortals, no longer needing to suffer on earth. So the people began construction. Working together with one heart, progress was rapid.

Seeing the high tower rising into the clouds, getting higher and higher, the Heavenly Emperor sitting in heaven could no longer sit still. He paced anxiously, thinking: “It’s quite comfortable with just me living in heaven. Now these grandsons below have eaten their fill and have nothing better to do, all wanting to come up and bother me. No, I must quickly think of something.” So he came up with a nasty trick: he divided the people on earth into different races, making them speak different languages so they could no longer communicate with each other.

This trick really worked. Language and racial cultural backgrounds became insurmountable chasms. Because the people on earth could no longer communicate with each other, they could no longer think and act as one as before. They ultimately failed to build the “Tower of Babel” and remain below to this day, constantly blaming each other and launching one war after another.

Yu Feiyan listened impatiently to Sima Hui’s nonsense for a long time, then frowned and asked: “What exactly do you mean?”

Sima Hui said he just wanted to say that among their group, there were Russians, Burmese, Cambodians, and Chinese. Some people couldn’t even clearly say which country they were from. Communicating and coordinating with each other was very troublesome. How could they talk about working together with one heart? They were purely a hastily assembled “motley crew” that absolutely could not accomplish great things. So he saw that searching for that missing “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” in Savage Mountain was not something that could be easily accomplished. They would do their best, but if they failed, she must promise him that when they retreated, she would at least take Karaweik away and arrange for him to leave Burma.

Sheng Yu said half-annoyedly that he could rest assured. The mountain team, the Old and Young Group, had done “signed jobs” before. Even though the team was a mixed bag, they didn’t need to communicate and coordinate at all, because she, Yu Feiyan, was the “leader,” and everything was decided by her alone.

Sima Hui was inwardly disdainful, thinking to himself: “Aren’t you, Yu Feiyan, just the leader of a tomb-robbing gang? I’ve chopped off more heads in Burma than the number of graves your lot has dug in your entire lives. What qualifications does a little vixen like you have to command me?”

But he didn’t want to argue about this matter, so he stopped at the right moment and said: “I hope so.”

Then he sent her away.

At this time, Luo Dahai quietly asked Sima Hui: “I have heard that the British Empire Museum does indeed house many ancient artifacts, but most local Burmese people are poor and destitute, unable to build even a decent house. How good could the cargo loaded in that British Royal Air Force transport aircraft be? I think it’s mostly an empty reputation. Now a catastrophic tropical storm is coming. Is it worth it for those people to take such a big risk for it?”

Sima Hui said: “This just shows you, Luo Big Tongue, lack experience. You may see that the local people are poor, but this place indeed had many illustrious and powerful ancient dynasties with deep historical accumulation. The local people are exceptionally devout in their beliefs. The famous major temples are built with dazzling splendor, resplendent with gold and jade. Moreover, the reputation of this country of gold and jade is not gained without reason. I may mention other things you might not know, so let me give you the most straightforward example. Do you know who the British Queen is?”

Luo Dahai was asked as if he were a monk of Zhang Er’s height, completely confused: “Are you looking down on me? I know the British Queen all too well. Who doesn’t know that Burma was once a British colony, and many places still have her portraits today. We’ve fought here for so many years. Though I’ve never seen the real person, I’ve seen many portrait paintings. At the very least, I’m familiar with her face. Isn’t she the wife of the British President? But what does she have to do with what I just asked?”

Sima Hui said: “If you’ve seen the portrait paintings, you should know that the British Queen wears a crown on her head, with a ruby as large as a goose egg set in the middle of the crown, beautiful as blood, the only one of its kind in the world, unique and unparalleled. That was excavated by chance from the Savage Mountain in northern Burma by several British explorers accompanying the army during the First Anglo-Burmese War, then brought back to their country and presented to Her Majesty the Queen.”

Luo Dahai seemed to understand, nodding his head: “So that’s how it is. It seems the cargo loaded in that Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft must be extraordinarily impressive. If we can really find it, we’ll be like weasels waiting for food, acting according to the situation.”

A Cui, hearing that Luo Dahai’s implication was to take the contents of the missing transport aircraft for themselves, said don’t dream of marrying a wife while thinking only of good things. Being able to get out alive from “Savage Mountain” is the most important thing. Haven’t you heard that in the past, expedition teams that entered the deep mountains never returned alive? If we also go in and can’t get out, what then?

Luo Dahai laughed: “A Cui, don’t scare me. Don’t you know that I, Luo Big Tongue, am like a chicken feather tied to a matchstick? I have very little courage.”

The three talked for a while, all thinking that this trip would be fraught with danger. But if they could really escape with their lives, what fate awaited them? Torn between gains and losses, they only felt the future was unpredictable. Waves of weariness came over them, and they gradually fell asleep.

The next day, before dawn, they were all called up by Master Jiang. The group packed their equipment and set out, passing through stretches of dense jungle, climbing to a towering mountain ridge. Looking out from the high ground, the vast mountains were silent. The dawn mist had not yet completely dissipated. Looking into the distance at the horizon, the rainbow was blood-red, a precursor to the powerful tropical storm “Pagoda” approaching.

Once this catastrophic severe weather arrived, for several consecutive days, the violent storms and heavy rain would not weaken. By then, mountain floods would overflow, mud and rocks would collapse and flow, and even the terrain of “Savage Mountain” might change as a result. So the time left for the expedition team was not much. They had to find the giant rift valley where the “Mosquito Special Transport Aircraft” went missing as soon as possible.

Led by Karaweik in front, they passed through mountain streams, circled around several minefields, and at a place surrounded by cliff faces, found the fork of the “Y” shaped road. The American military called this place “Kansas Point.” Going left was the winding and lengthy A line, while the right side mostly consisted of mountain-piercing tunnels, running through the dangerous area covered by clouds and mist.

Karaweik had at most only been to “Kansas Point.” From here on, they could only grope their way to search for the Ghost Road’s B line. Although the road surface of this abandoned road for many years had been covered by plants or collapsed and broken, already completely transformed. This roadbed built with mechanical assistance still provided invasion space for tenacious shrubs. Tree roots penetrated the gaps between the logs, covering the road surface in an intertwined and interlocking manner, making it impossible for people to see its true appearance. But as long as they grasped the pattern of the road’s direction, it was not difficult to find the road remains beneath the soil and vegetation. Following this trail, confirming the location of “206B Line” was not very difficult.

Unexpectedly, this “Ghost Road” showed its head but not its tail. The first half was sixty li in total length, five and a half li in depth, all built on the mountainside, each section being a dead end, with eighteen bends in total. The second half had all been washed away by floods, leaving no trace whatsoever. After the expedition team lost their reference points, they encountered a large stretch of rolling cliffs in the jungle, blocking their path. They simply could not find the tunnel entrance into the mountain. Seeing that the cliffs ahead extended for dozens of li, but in the primeval jungle every step was difficult. If they searched slowly, without three to five days, it would be impossible to find the tunnel entrance.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Karaweik provided a clue. He remembered that when his father was alive, he had once said: In the past, when he went into the mountains to gather herbs, he had been to the cliff near this tunnel entrance and witnessed an astonishing spectacle with his own eyes, what the Burmese people called the ancient legend of the “Long Snake Revealing Itself.” He was so frightened that his soul scattered, and he hurriedly fled the primeval jungle. Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the mountain, the heavy rain arrived, engulfing and washing away many places in Savage Mountain. If he had fled a moment later, he would have died in the mountains. So he always believed that it was the “Long Snake” revealing its spiritual power to save him, enabling him to learn of the danger warning and escape home with his life.

According to this legend, one could infer that the “Long Snake Revealing Itself” was a special marker located near the 206 tunnel. But the records documenting the American military’s road construction process did not mention this strange phenomenon, showing that it was not something that could be encountered at any time. Moreover, to this day, no one could clearly explain what the “Long Snake Revealing Itself” actually referred to. It was only inferred that the more severe the weather conditions, the more likely one was to witness this spectacle.

This “Savage Mountain” deep in northern Burma was a remote mountain gorge at the end of the Himalayan foothills. The low-altitude areas were mostly covered by dense primeval jungle, surrounded by high mountains and canyons, with numerous flowing water systems. The climate remained unchanged throughout the year. Except for large-scale intense tropical storms, the deep mountains rarely suffered from storm and thunder attacks. One might wait a dozen years without encountering severe weather capable of triggering mountain floods.

Everyone could only infer that the legend of the “Long Snake Revealing Itself” might have two possibilities. One was that it referred to some kind of “celestial phenomenon.” In ancient China, many celestial omens were named after living creatures. However, historically, there was never any record of the phrase “Long Snake Revealing Itself.” The religious system of the Burma region was transmitted from ancient India. Perhaps it was precisely because of differences in cultural backgrounds that people today simply could not understand this allusion.

The second possibility was also considerable. Savage Mountain had many giant pythons and large snakes. There was even a legend of a strange python several li long. The vast white mist it exhaled formed the thousand-year-old clouds that never dispersed in the depths of the mountains, covering many li. Humans and animals entering the mist would be dissolved and swallowed by it. And the phrase “Long Snake Revealing Itself” most likely referred to “under the influence of extreme weather, the strange python hiding in the mountains would be startled and reveal itself from the clouds and mist.” At this time, the air pressure in the mountains was getting lower and lower. The stuffy air seemed about to solidify. All was silent, making people feel restless and agitated, almost unable to breathe. Sima Hui said: “I estimate this storm is coming soon. If we still can’t find the tunnel entrance, we must immediately take shelter on high ground.”

He was just pondering how to find a path to climb the mountain ridge when he raised his eyes and saw a black snake about twenty to thirty meters long appear on a bare cliff face across from him. The snake’s body was like smoke and mist, dim and blurred. What was most peculiar was that the black snake was nailed motionless to the sheer cliff face, as if it were an ancient and mysterious rock painting. But looking at it for a long time before, the cliff face had clearly been completely empty. How could this strange phenomenon suddenly appear?

Sima Hui thought he was seeing things. He hurriedly called the others to look up as well. Dozens of people stared dumbfounded for a long time, almost none of them daring to believe what their own eyes saw. Because what appeared on the wall was indeed a motionless black snake shape. It was neither a mural depicting a python totem nor a lifeless dead object. Previously, no one could have imagined that the “Long Snake Revealing Itself” preserved in Burmese ancient legend was actually a mysterious image with life, so bizarre it was hard to believe.