National color raw owl

Between Yanmen Pass and the Great Desert of Jingulan, there is a Gobi area. When the delegation was in Luoyan Town, they felt a sense of desolation. As they traveled northward, this feeling became more and more obvious.

In the vast Gobi, the ground is covered with coarse sand and gravel, the terrain is flat, water sources are difficult to see, and there are even few plants. Looking around, it is a vast expanse.

From time to time, goshawks croaked in the air, circling past.

The team moved forward slowly in the Gobi, stepping on the coarse sand and gravel on the ground and rustling. On the Gobi, sometimes there would be stone pillars, weather-beaten, dry, cracked and red, which was rarely seen in the pass. Some long-necked The vultures perched on the stone pillars. When the team passed by, these vultures would make ugly calls, and they were not afraid of people, but just looked at the team from a distance.

Compared with the edge of the Gobi where Luoyan Town is located, there are gradually more coyotes seen in the depths of the Gobi. Although they dare not approach, they follow them from a distance, as if they are waiting for someone from the mission to place an order, and then sneak attack.

Coyotes and vultures filled the Gobi with a strange atmosphere.

Along the way, I didn't see a team or a single person. The vastness of the world seemed to be earthy yellow, gray and empty. Although there were nearly 400 people in the mission, in the vast Gobi, there was Just that little bit.

The camel guests of the Qiu family, headed by Qiu Yinghao and his son, were walking in front of the team, while the camel guests of the Ma family were separated by a certain distance. Chu Huan could see clearly, and his intuition told him that there must be a relationship between the two camel guests. Some kind of problem, but what it is, he is not clear at the moment.

Xuanyuan Sheng was the most active person in the whole team, and he had to patrol back and forth frequently. He had galloped up to Chu Huan at this moment, and asked, "Vice Envoy Chu, is this the first time you've seen the Gobi beyond the pass?"

Chu Huan smiled and nodded, "Has General Xuanyuan been here before?"

"No." Xuanyuan Sheng said with a smile: "This is the first time I have left the customs, and I have never seen such a place before." Looking forward, he said softly: "It is said that the Thirteen Taibao under General Feng chased and killed three thousand people all the way. Xiliang soldiers chased them all the way to the desert, but we don't know if they passed this place."

"The Great Gobi is boundless. It's really unclear where the Thirteen Taibao passed by." Chu Huan shook his head and said, "But it's true that someone died here."

Xuanyuan Shengcai's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "How does Deputy Chu know that someone died here?"

Chu Huan raised his hand and pointed not far away, Xuanyuan Sheng turned his head to look over, but saw a few wreckage not far away, only bones left, but it could be seen that they were human bones. The vulture stood beside a skull, looking at the mission team with eyes full of death.

Xuanyuan Sheng is an imposing military general, skilled and bold, but when he sees the Gobi bones, he still feels cautious and panicked.

"People say that the Jingulan Desert is a place of death, but now it seems that it is worthy of the name." Xuanyuan Sheng sighed: "There is no desert yet, and it looks like this. I really want to go in, but I don't know what it will be like." Then he approached Chu Huan, looked at the team of Majia camel passengers in front of him, and asked in a low voice: "Vice Envoy Chu, should we be careful about these Majia camel passengers?"

Chu Huan looked calm, and asked softly: "General Xuanyuan thinks there is something wrong with them?"

"Although I'm not sure, but it feels a bit weird." Xuanyuan Sheng said softly: "I inquired in private, these two camel customers got along very well before, and there was no big conflict. The camel customers won the bid , for the camel guest, that is enmity, that Master Ma and Qiu Yinghao are brothers, why did he suddenly win the bid?"

Chu Huan smiled and said, "What else does General Xuanyuan know?"

Xuanyuan Shengcai said softly: "Yesterday, the horse just won the bid. I felt that something was wrong, so I asked two camel passengers in private to inquire. These two people used to go to the desert with the same camel passenger, and they belonged to the same school. An old camel guest died, Ma Zhengyi took over the mantle of the old camel guest, and Qiu Yinghao set up another family. Even so, the relationship between the two families is very good. I haven't passed the family yet, but I can already be regarded as half-in-law!"

Chu Huan nodded and said, "I have also heard about this matter."

"The two camel riders also said that just a few days ago, the two brothers and sisters were drinking together, and they looked very close." Xuanyuan Sheng frowned: "But it's only been a few days, Ma Zhengyi All of a sudden, he turned his face and won the bid, and even the people in the town couldn’t figure out what was going on.” Leaning closer to Chu Huan, he said softly: “Vice Minister Chu, as the saying goes, there must be something weird when things go wrong. , just to be able to follow us into the desert, and his heart is unknown, so we have to be careful."

Chu Huan said seriously: "What General Xuanyuan said is that we have never come into contact with these camel visitors before, so we still have to be careful about everything."

Thinking of Ma Zhengyi's weird behavior, and thinking of the three of Liu Meiniang who appeared suddenly, he couldn't help turning his head to look. The three of Liu Meiniang were not far in front, and they were some distance away from the camel team of the mission. Chu Huan glanced over , but found that the girl Liu wearing a bamboo hat was also looking back at him. It was far away, and Chu Huan couldn't figure out whether Liu Meiniang was looking at him. He frowned slightly, but found that Liu Meiniang hadn't moved away. line of sight.

……

……

At dusk, Qiu Yinghao stopped his horse in front and ordered the team to set up camp to rest. It went dark, but since Qiu Yinghao spoke, the team stopped.

Qiu Yinghao came over on horseback and told Chu Huan that before setting up camp, all the cargo on the camel's back must be unloaded first, and the camels should also rest for a while. Chu Huan sent an order to unload the cargo first, and gather all the cargo in the open space in the middle , and then centered on this batch of goods, camped on all sides.

The camp of the camel travelers was separated from the mission, but in fact, several camps were formed after the camping was completed.

The mission was in one place, and the two camel guests camped separately. The other three, Liu Meiniang, with the help of the camel guests, pitched two small tents not far from the camp of the Qiu family's camel guests.

When the bonfire was lit, Xue Huai'an and other civil servants were exhausted after the whole day of tossing around in the Gobi. In the second half of the night, Xuanyuan Shengcai will rotate.

Qiu Yinghao also came to deliver a message. Except for the manpower on duty, it is best for everyone else to rest early and recharge their batteries. According to the route, they will enter the Great Desert at noon tomorrow. After entering the Great Desert, the energy consumed His physical strength is much stronger than it is now, so it is best to rest before entering the great desert.

The camel travelers have a lot of experience in these natures. After they had dinner, two people were left on patrol, and the others rested early. In the middle of the night, the campsite soon became silent. into camp.

Along the way, there are hyenas who follow from time to time for a certain distance, always looking for opportunities, until they follow a long distance and confirm that they can't find opportunities, then they retreat disgruntled. Another group of coyotes will follow. Gobi coyotes usually do not act alone. Three or five coyotes swim around in the dead of night. If these coyotes take advantage of the loopholes and sneak into the camp in the dark, it is considered that no one is hurt. , Even if it hurts a horse and a camel, that is not good.

There is a bonfire, and the coyotes dare not approach it.

Chu Huan was on duty in the first half of the night, and walked around the camp for a while. The cold was getting heavier and heavier this night. Chu Huan also put on the cotton robe that he had prepared before leaving the customs. Although it was bloated, it was very warm.

In the night of the Gobi, the moon in the sky can still be seen, and the moon is still very clear. A round of bright moon hangs on the sky. Chu Huan is sitting on a mound, looking at the night sky, thoughtful.

I don't know how long it took, and suddenly heard the sound of "rustling" stepping on sand and stones from the side, Chu Huan immediately grasped the handle of the blood drinking knife, turned his head to look, and said in a deep voice, "Who?"

But he heard a melodious voice say: "My lord, it's a little girl, you... don't draw your sword, I'm afraid...!" Chu Huan saw clearly under the faint moonlight that the person who came was actually that man. Unidentified Miss Liu.

Chu Huan's expression was still very serious, and he asked, "So it's Miss Liu. It's so late, and I'm not resting in the tent. What's the matter here?"

Liu Meiniang sighed quietly: "Master, do you have to speak so coldly? Do...do you think the little girl is not a good person?" Her voice was a little scared, and even though she was wearing a bamboo hat, she still gave people a timid feeling. .

Chu Huan said lightly: "Miss misunderstood, whether the girl is a good person or a bad person, Chu doesn't care, Chu just cares, since we are walking on the same road, everything must be done according to the rules, since the head of the Qiu family asked everyone to rest, the girl You should rest early, and it’s better not to walk around in the middle of the night!”

Liu Meiniang smiled lightly, and said: "So your surname is Chu!" Then she said: "Master Chu, the little girl is not walking around, the little girl is coming here, but... I just want to ask for something!"

"Oh?" Chu Huan said calmly, without changing his face, "Young lady should go to Mr. Qiu's family if you have something to do. I'm afraid Chu won't be able to help the young lady!"

He didn't know Liu Meiniang's origin, so he naturally had to be more careful, and didn't want to have too much contact with her.

Liu Meiniang said helplessly: "Lord Chu, why are you acting like you reject people thousands of miles away? Little girl, you don't look like a cruel person."

Chu Huan looked at Liu Meiniang's eyes, and found that although the woman was wrapped in a short woolen jacket, she was slender and slightly plump. The eyes under the black veil seemed to be shining in the night. She smiled lightly and said: "How does the girl know that I'm not a cruel person? That's all, why are you looking for me?"

Only then did Liu Meiniang chuckle and said, "Lord Chu, the little girl brought too few things this time, and she forgot to bring a cotton padded jacket. She only wears this short jacket, and she can't feel it during the day, but at night...it's very cold at night. , I don’t know... I don’t know if Master Chu’s team has extra cotton coats, but the little girl wants to borrow one for the boat first.” Her beautiful eyes turned around, and before Chu Huan could reply, she said, “You can buy one too!”

Chu Huan shook his head and said, "Girl, everyone in the team only brought one cotton jacket, and there is no extra cotton jacket. I'm afraid I won't be able to help you with this task!"

Liu Meiniang sighed softly, a gust of wind passed by, her veil was blown and fluttered, and then she sneezed a little, it seemed that she really had a cold.

Seeing that she had turned around and seemed to be leaving, Chu Huan finally said, "Wait a minute!" Although Chu Huan didn't know Liu Meiniang's background and was wary, he couldn't be sure that the other party must be a bad person, she was just a girl Come over to ask for help, Chu Huan thought about it, the road is still far away, if you can take care of it, take care of it, you can't be too indifferent.

He really remembered that before the team set off from Beiyuan City, they were equipped with a batch of cotton-padded jackets. At that time, considering the long distance and possible other situations, they really equipped a few more cotton-padded jackets.

He got up and asked Liu Meiniang to wait at the same place, and went to the middle of the camp by himself, trying to find a padded jacket.