"": 200,
"": "",
"": "Once October had passed, heavy snow sealed off the mountains of the Tibetan Lands.
Featherlike snowflakes piled up layer after layer, forming a thick blanket that hid every inch of grass.
Even the roads froze over. Snow chains still could not keep vehicles from skidding.
On the outskirts of Dabaozi City.
Small and skinny, Gonpo stood beside a monk.
The monk had dark skin, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.
Quite a few others stood in the courtyard, all villagers from nearby.
The snow in the courtyard had been dug away. A great hole gaped in the frozen man's face, exposing the pale brain matter within. All his blood had seeped into the ground beneath him, red as crystal.
In the sheep pen, a woman lay on the ground, her body covered in hay and pellets of sheep dung. Her eyes were vacant, as though she had no idea what had happened.
Sheep crowded around her, their bleating rising and falling without end.
Lao Ebu, his skin wrinkled, his clothes thick and heavy, and numerous gold ornaments adorning him, was speaking to the monk.
He spoke in Tibetan, explaining that Gonpo had lost both parents. Now his sister had gone mad and his brother-in-law was dead. At such a young age, Gonpo would likely struggle to survive.
The monk rested a hand on Gonpo's head and recited a Buddhist verse, then answered Lao Ebu. He told the village chief not to worry: he would take the boy back to Gula Temple to cultivate. This unfortunate child had already demonstrated remarkable willpower by remaining alive until someone found him.
Indeed, by the time the villagers discovered something was wrong at Gonpo's home, at least a dozen days had passed.
The corpse dug out of the snow