Martial Arts: The First Genius Doctor in Jianghu

Chapter 38
·In the desert full of yellow sand, a lonely figure staggers along.

Xie Chen seized the opportunity to snatch the horse and rush into the desert with the help of arrows shot from nowhere, but even if he escaped for a while, without any supply of fresh water, he just stepped into another desperate situation.

Xie Chen managed to find out the shady sand dune and leaned on it to breathe. The suicidal horse had been without water for two days after taking blood.Xie Chen didn't know how long he could keep going.

Lying on the ground, the feeling of sleepiness gradually came up, and Xie Chen didn't know if he would be able to wake up if he fell asleep.

Half asleep and half awake, Xie Chen seemed to hear people and animals approaching from afar, and was being carried up again by himself.

When he woke up, he found that he was already lying in the car.

He opened his mouth to ask, but felt his throat was so dry and hoarse that he couldn't speak.

The black and thin man next to the car handed over a bag of water, Xie Chen reluctantly reached out to take it, took a sip and finally managed to say: "Where is this?"

After the man's explanation, Xie Chen finally understood the current situation.

This group of people originally settled in a village in the desert, but unfortunately, they were ransacked by horse bandits not long ago and the village was destroyed and many were killed and injured. The remaining survivors reluctantly organized this team to flee.

Xie Chen reluctantly climbed down from the car, watched many women following the convoy protect their children and circumvented him cautiously, and said to the black and thin man: "Thank you for saving your life."

The man waved his hand and said honestly: "This is what the elder said. When you meet someone who is lost in the desert, you always have to help."

Xie Chen sighed, and said again: "I wonder if I can call on the elders?"

The man nodded and said: "The elder said that he will take you to see him when you wake up."

Xie Chen followed the man to the middle of the line, only to see an old man whose clothes were slightly cleaner than the others.

The old man's face was as haggard as this group of people, but his eyes were firm and clear, unlike ordinary old people: "Old man Wang Gu."

Xie Chen thought for a while and said, "I'm just a wandering soul in the desert. I hope you will forgive me for my name."

But Wang Gu chuckled and said, "It's the same when I think about it. If nothing happened, who would fall in the desert like this?"

Xie Chen didn't answer.

The elder Wang Gu didn't think it was disobedient, he just said to himself: "Then I don't know what your plans are in the future?"

Xie Chen said: "I have no plans."

"Do you have a home to go back to?"

Xie Chen said: "Not at all."

"Is there anyone you care about?"

Xie Chen hesitated for a long time and shook his head again: "Nothing."

Wang Gu nodded and said: "Then why not follow us all the way."

Only then did Xie Chen say: "I offended a very powerful person and died in the desert. You take me in, aren't you afraid of being implicated?"

Wang Gudao: "We are already desperate people, and we ran for our lives in a hurry after provoking horse thieves. Even if there are more, what effect will it have?"

Xie Chen said: "The person I offended is much more powerful than the horse bandits."

But Wang Gu smiled and said, "What does it matter if you are powerful or not?"

Xie Chen suddenly realized that for a small village with no more than a hundred people, there seems to be no difference no matter how powerful the enemy is.

Xie Chen sighed and said, "If that's the case, then I'll have the audacity to stay here."

He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then said: "I don't have any strengths, I just know some Qihuang techniques. If you have any illness or injury, you can come to me."

Wang Gu said with joy, "That would be the best."

In this way, Xie Chen followed this group of exiled villagers to live.

Even so, Xie Chen was puzzled, how could such old and weak women and children live in exile after leaving the land he was familiar with?Where will they end up wandering like this?
"The elder said that there is an oasis valley in the legend left by our ancestors, as long as we get there, we can settle down again." By the campfire at night, Xie Chen got such an answer while chatting with others.

The legend left by the ancestors...

Xie Chen didn't know how to answer, let alone whether the legend is true, even if it is true, how can you find it?Not to mention, if there really is such a paradise, why didn't your ancestors settle there directly?
However, Xie Chen didn't directly express his doubts. After all, perhaps this illusory hope is the only motivation to support this group of people to continue to live.

A group of people walked in the desert for a long time, until one night.

"We should offer sacrifices to the gods tonight." The crowd stopped much earlier than usual, and all the men, women, and children in the village went to the central bonfire after they settled down. After a lot of hard work, they barely built a simple platform.

When it was completely dark, the people did not hide back in the tents to keep warm because of the severe cold in the desert all night as usual, but gathered around the campfire.

Elder Wang Gu stepped onto the platform and read the sacrificial text loudly.

Xie Chen stood at the edge of the crowd, naturally he did not worship with everyone, but just listening to the sacrificial text surprised him.

This sacrificial rite is dedicated to the four spirits of the sky, which reminds him of the Four Sacred Demon Cult that originated in the Western Regions.

I had some doubts for a while, but after listening carefully, I found that I didn't know what the teachings of the Four Saints Demon Sect were, and I couldn't tell the difference even after listening to this sacrificial text.

It's just that he didn't get nothing, just listening to the sacrificial text is somewhat specious.

Different from the four spirits passed down in the Central Plains, among the four spirits worshiped by people in the Western Regions, there is no true martial arts. Instead, the four spirits are all equal, but in many star rituals, they are mostly similar to the Central Plains.

Perhaps the Central Plains sect was passed down here, and a new thing was born by merging with local customs.

Xie Chen is not surprised by this. He is very knowledgeable, and naturally knows that Buddhism has been integrated with the Central Plains culture a lot since it was introduced to the Central Plains from Tianzhu. Correspondingly, the teachings of the Central Plains will not change when it is introduced to the Western Regions.

Or maybe, it was because of this change that a complete sect like the Four Holy Demon Sect was born out of this belief.

Xie Chen thought in his heart, but just continued to watch the people offering sacrifices.

When the sacrifice was over and the crowd dispersed, Xie Chen was also about to rest, but Wang Gu sent someone to stop him.

Wang Gudao: "I don't know what you think?"

Xie Chen was silent for a moment and said: "This sacrificial ceremony is very different from that of the Central Plains, and it is an eye-opener for me."

Wang Gu laughed and said, "I wonder if Your Excellency would like to sacrifice together next time?"

Xie Chen said in his heart, so that's the case.But it is not surprising, after all, this village is maintained by this belief, and now that I am an outsider, if I am different, it will indeed cause people to worry.

So he asked, "If you believe in the Four Spirits, what precepts do you have to observe?"

The elder Wang Gu said: "There are no precepts, but you only need to be sincere and respectful, and not hurt your companions."

Xie Chen seemed hesitant when he heard the silence.

Seeing this, Wang Gu didn't rush, but said: "Since this is the case, there is no rush, you can think about it again, but there is still one thing to be settled."

Xie Chen said: "What is it?"

Wang Gudao: "You always say that you don't have a name, and it's not easy for everyone to call you."

Xie Chen said: "In that case, call me Chen Su."

(End of this chapter)