A trip to Sand Cave Mountain

It is said that there is a beautiful scenery surrounded by mountains and rivers, but Bangshan, a small village in the mountains, has no water, and there are only mountains as far as the eye can see. The mountains crawl on the ground like giant dragons, stretching into the distant sky.

Standing on the top of the mountain, overlooking the small mountain villages below are like blooming flower stamens, dotted between the two peaks halfway up the mountain. The tranquil and peaceful atmosphere blends in with nature. Sometimes there is the sound of chickens crowing and dogs barking, and sometimes there is smoke curling up into the sky. It is a pastoral scene. The mountain breeze blew past my face gently, blowing a few strands of hair to sway in the wind, as if trying to fly away in the wind. Among the mountain flowers, trees and grass, yellow, pink, red... are colorful, vying for beauty. There are also flowers that cannot be named, and their colorful colors are like graceful girls, making you look at them more inadvertently.

I once went to such a small mountain village with my friends and experienced a cave tour there. For those who grew up in mountainous villages, cliff caves in the mountains may not be a novelty. In the words of the people there: I have never climbed the mountains around here, and I have never drilled the holes under this cliff. That's right, things that are new to us are nothing special in their eyes. In order to satisfy our curiosity, the uncle who talked to us took us to one of the cliff caves, Sha Cave, which is also the closest place to the small mountain village.

Since we were staying at a villager's house, we got up at dawn. I thought I got up very early, but when I opened the door and walked out, I realized that I was not the first person to get up. The villager and his wife were already making breakfast. When they saw us standing in the yard, they actually said to us: What are you doing up so early? It's still early and you can sleep some more. Hearing these simple words made us all feel a little embarrassed. Fortunately, we are thick-skinned and quickly replied: It's not early, you just got up early.

The breakfast at the farmhouse is quite simple, a bowl of porridge, two steamed buns and a plate of shredded pickles. Maybe for people living in the city, this meal seems a bit too simple, or even not that delicious. But I tasted the taste of my childhood, the faint smell of fireworks. After all, I also came from the mountains, and breakfast and dinner at that time consisted of these steamed buns, pickles, and a bowl of porridge, and the steamed buns were mixed with cornmeal.

After a simple breakfast, I simply packed up, picked up my backpack and headed into the mountain. Maybe the season is good, as mountain flowers are blooming all over the mountains and fields, and the faint fragrance of flowers can be heard in the wind from time to time. From time to time, there is a slight "buzzing..." sound among the flowers. It should be bees collecting nectar. The sound of flapping wings seems to be this sound. Not far away, several butterflies shuttled among the flowers, occasionally listening to the petals and slowly fluttering their wings with beautiful patterns a few times. The mountain road winds between weeds and trees, but the walking is very gentle and does not feel rough or difficult. I broke my leg running while looking at the mountain. This place seems to be not far away. Only when you are in it can you truly appreciate the artistic conception of "I don't know the true face of Mount Lu, just because I am in this mountain".

I don’t know if this is mountain climbing. I am panting all the way. The shortcomings of not paying attention to exercise at ordinary times seem so naked at this moment. On the other hand, the uncle who was leading the way was more than ten years older than us. He walked in front of us as fast as he could. His pace never slowed down, and he never breathed. Fortunately, the place is really not far from a small mountain village. Just when we were tired and wanted to ask the uncle, we finally arrived at our destination, the cliff cave.

We were sweating profusely and didn’t know where the strength came from. The moment we saw this cliff cave, we couldn’t feel the fatigue just now. I was going to go in and take a look immediately, but the uncle blocked my way. The uncle told us that we must rest first and wait for the sweat on our bodies to fall off before entering the cave. He also explained to us that the inside of the cliff cave was cool and we could easily get sick if we went in with sweat. What theory this is, I still don’t understand it very well, but the uncle’s kindness cannot be refused. Compared with people who go to the mountains all year round, there are always more skills in wilderness survival than ordinary people know.

Looking at the cliff cave in front of us, our uncle and we sat on the ground on a big stone by the roadside. He took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket and handed it to the uncle. The uncle lit it skillfully and took two puffs in his mouth. Maybe it was the smoke, but before we knew it, the uncle started chatting and told us about the legend of this cliff cave. There is not much difference between this cliff cave and other caves. The only difference is that there is endless sand in the cave. Over time, everyone calls this cave a sand cave. Of course, there are also legendary stories.

Legend has it that people lived in this cliff cave a long time ago, and a monk lived here.

Later, I heard that the Taoist had achieved Zhengguo, and one night with lightning and thunder, he overcame a tribulation and ascended to heaven. Of course, the uncle also said that he had heard these things himself. He heard what the older generation said when he was a child. As for whether it is true or not, there is no way to verify it, so let’s just treat it as a story. To us people today, this is a completely false story. It may be made up by a certain generation of people in their spare time.

Another legend is somewhat credible. In the era of Japanese invasion, the villagers of the small mountain village hid in this cliff cave, and few people returned to the village. After all, if you live in the village, you may encounter Japanese soldiers that day. And this cliff cave is also very big inside. It can accommodate hundreds of people without being crowded at all. The most important thing is that there is water in it. There is a clear spring that flows all year round. The spring water flows out of the cave and then disappears. It is quite magical.

The time for a cigarette passed quickly, and the sweat on my body also fell. The uncle stood up, patted the dust on his butt, and said, "Let's go, I'll take you in for a walk." After saying that, he picked up the flashlight and walked towards the entrance of the cave. We followed closely and took out the prepared flashlights, and followed step by step into the cliff cave. The hole is not very big and is shaped like an upright egg. There were several stone slabs placed across the entrance of the cave. Except for a place where light could be seen at the entrance of the cave, everything inside was pitch black. At the same time, a cool and decaying smell hit my face, but fortunately it wasn't pungent. Following the uncle's footsteps and continuing forward, the interior of the cliff cave appeared in front of us with the light of the flashlight. The roof of the cave was as dark as smoke, and there were several cracks that spread deeply into the mountain, like wild beasts with their huge mouths open to devour people.

On the ground to the left of the cave, there is a large pit with several square sides, and a layer of slightly yellowish sand leaks out of it. The uncle explained that the hole was dug with sand from the village. He also said that the sand layer below was very thick and no one had dug through it yet. And against one side of the cave wall, there was clear water flowing. At that time, I curiously asked my uncle: Why didn’t the water seep into the sand all over the ground? After explanation, I found out that there is no sand underneath this side of the water flow, but a whole big rock. After hearing this, I couldn’t help but sigh, nature, the creator, is really omnipotent. There is sand on one side and water on the other. It is unexpected that such a coincidental place can be found. The electric hand light followed the water flow to the direction of the cave entrance, and sure enough, it disappeared just as the water was about to flow out of the cave. I finally understood that the water flowed into the sand, rather than disappearing for no reason.

We didn’t stay in the cave for long. After a few glances, we walked out at the uncle’s urging. It wasn't until we returned to the small mountain village and the farmhouse where we stayed that we realized that snakes appeared in the cave from time to time. The snakes here are poisonous to a certain extent. If you are accidentally bitten, your life may be in danger. The trip to the sand cave seemed a bit too hasty, and I even only glanced at it like a quick tour. However, after so many years, I have never forgotten it. Maybe the unique atmosphere of that mountain, that village, and that cliff cave will last forever.

Continuous mountains, quiet villages, flowers and greenery all over the mountains and plains. Everything tells the harmony between nature and people here, as well as the strong pastoral atmosphere. On the way out, I looked back at the small mountain village and felt that my trip was well worth it. I can't help but think of the poet Wang Wei's "Journey to Peach Blossoms".