Anecdote of the Yellow River

Chapter 75 Sand Corpse (1)
We were delayed in Dunhuang for a day or two. As Agou said before, Wan Juncheng was going to take us to Heishui City.

The ruins of Heishui City are located in the desert 25 kilometers southeast of Dalaikubu Town, Ejina Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is the only known city named after the language of the Dangxiang people.Party members call Heishui "Ejina", and Heishui City is Ejina City, and it is called "Kalahot" in Mongolian.In the past, there used to be quite a large water area here. The famous Juyan Sea alone covered more than 700 square kilometers.Heishui City is located in an oasis facing water on three sides.In February 1226 AD, the Mongolian Khanate conquered Xixia, and Heishui City experienced a devastating bloody battle. Now there are broken bones all over the ground outside Heishui, half buried in the sand.

Two days later, we arrived in Dalaihubu Town.

Wan Juncheng was in a great mood as he was about to enter Heishui City to search for the treasures of Western Xia. He treated us to a hearty meal of hand-caught mutton for dinner.We are also welcome, while eating the authentic hand-caught mutton, while drinking the mellow kumiss.There is still a long way to go, and there are still many unknown dangers waiting for us. We must take good care of our bodies and maintain sufficient physical fitness.

Just as we were wolfing down our meals, eight burly men with broad arms and round arms came to the next table. These eight big men all had big beards and dark faces. Judging from their attire, they looked like people from other places.Their faces are full of murderous aura, which is revealed invisibly, and it is the murderous aura that can only be condensed after experiencing real life and death experiences.

Gu Meidi bumped into me quietly under the table, and said in a low voice: "The people at the next table come from something unusual!"

"Eat and eat, don't care what they do!" I subconsciously glanced at Agou, and found that Agou also glanced at the next table, and then quickly looked back, his face suddenly became a little dignified.

At night, we found a small hotel in the town to stay.

After resting overnight, I ate ramen the next morning, walked out of the town, and went straight to the desert in the southeast.

The distance of 25 kilometers is not too far, but it is very strenuous to walk on the desert full of yellow sand and gravel.The scorching sun above his head made his skin sore, and he became an African refugee in less than half a day.The desert under my feet was scorched hot by the sun. Even through the thick soles of hiking shoes, I could still feel the hot temperature from the soles of my feet.Not long after walking, blood blisters appeared on the soles of the feet.

We walked along the dry black water channel, the channel was cracked soil, and cobweb-like cracks spread all over the channel.There is no life in the river, and occasionally one or two tenacious Salix willows can be seen hanging upside down on both sides of the river.The blue sky, white clouds, but a pale yellow underfoot, full of bleak death.

It's hard to imagine that many, many years ago, this restricted area of ​​life was a boundless oasis, with dense forests, abundant water sources, vast grasslands and pastures, fat sheep and strong horses, where people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

Now, in a blink of an eye, the world has been turned upside down, and the sea has changed.

"Shh!"

A Gou, who was walking in front, raised his palms to signal the team to stop.

"There seems to be someone in front!" Agou turned around and said.

I saw bursts of white smoke floating below the river in the distance.

We looked at each other, in this desolate desert, there are other people? !
A Gou took out the gun and carefully led everyone forward.

When we got closer, we found two tents standing in the dry river.The surface of the tent is covered with yellow sand, and it doesn't look like it was just erected.A fire was burning in front of the tent, and inside the fire were broken salix, which is a good material for making fire in the desert.

We were about to touch down to have a look, when a burly bearded man with a turban came out of the tent.

Agou took a step back and wanted to hide, but he stepped on a gravel, and the gravel rolled all the way to the bearded man's feet.

The bearded man was attracted by the rolling stones, he raised his head suddenly, and suddenly pulled out a pistol from his back: "Who?"

"Don't mess around!" Agou also raised his pistol.

Hearing the sound, five or six strong men came out of the tent, all wearing white turbans and holding various weapons in their hands. The most distinctive feature of them was their big beards.

I recognized this group of people immediately. When we ate mutton with fingers last night, this group of bearded people sat at the table next to us. The bearded faces on their faces are very distinctive and can be recognized at a glance.How did this group of bearded beards appear here?The signs at the scene indicated that they should have come here to set up camp last night.

What is the origin of these people?
What are they doing here?
Could it be that they were also going to Heishui City?

"Put down your guns!" Wan Juncheng walked out from behind without slowing down, with his hands behind his back, and read aloud to the bearded man below: "Weicheng is rainy in the morning and dust is light, and the inn is green and green." Liu Sexin!"

One of the bearded men actually responded: "I advise you to drink a glass of wine, and there is no old friend when you go out of Yangguan in the west!"

We were startled suddenly, isn't this the song "Send Yuan Er Envoy Anxi" by Tang Dynasty poet Wang Wei?

How did Wan Juncheng and the bearded man below match poetry?
Is this another code word for some kind of connection?

My guess is not wrong, this ancient poem is indeed a code word for the joint, because I heard Wan Juncheng say loudly: "Wan Juncheng, are you brother Ah Qi?"

The bearded man nodded, waved his hand, signaled the other companions to put down their guns, then took two steps forward, clasped his fists at Wan Juncheng and saluted, "I'm here, Seventh, I'm here to help Professor Wan at the order of the president. !Professor Wan, I have admired your name for a long time!"

Wan Juncheng smiled, and glanced at the faces of the bearded group: "Why did you send eight people here? Let alone eight people, even if eighty people come, it will not be enough to move the treasure by then!"

Ah Qi said calmly: "Let's find the treasure first, and then we'll talk about it. As long as the situation is true, the higher-ups will definitely send more people!"

Wan Juncheng nodded: "Then there will be Lao Seventh Brothers on this trip!"

"You're welcome!" There was no color in Ah Qi's pupils, it was the dead gray that appeared after killing too many people, "We are all doing things for the world!"

As soon as the words "Tianxiahui" fell, Ah Gou couldn't help shivering, and the gun in his hand fell to the ground.

"Agou, what's wrong with you?" Wan Juncheng looked at Agou strangely.

A Gou quickly lowered his head to pick up the gun, and prevaricated: "No! It's nothing! It may be that there is too much sweat in the palm, so the hand is slippery!"

It's over, it's over, this time!
Unexpectedly, Wan Juncheng actually invited a group of thugs to help fight in private. Now that we want to bring down Wan Juncheng, it will be even more difficult.

Also, what do they mean by the "Tianxiahui" they just mentioned?
I asked about Gu Meidi's encyclopedia, and Gu Meidi told me that Tianxiahui is a criminal organization that spreads across overseas, has done many major crimes, and has intersections with many overseas underworld organizations.

Looking at those strong bearded men with formidable faces, I shivered slightly in my heart.

No wonder these people's faces are full of murderous looks, they are all battle-tested desperadoes.

I have to admire Wan Juncheng, an old fox, for his thoughtfulness to the extreme. In fact, he had already seen these militants from the Tianxiahui during dinner last night, but because there were so many people in the restaurant, Wan Juncheng was not there Talk to them for the first time, but make an appointment to meet in the uninhabited desert.

Ah Qi raised his chin and welcomed us into the tent.

In the center of the tent was a newly-extinguished bonfire, with a few sparks still flickering.

We sat down one by one around the fire.

"You guys came at the right time, what a blessing!" Ah Qi pulled out a sharp saber from his trouser leg, squatted beside the extinguished fire, inserted the saber into the fire and fiddled lightly.

After a while, Ah Qi drew out his saber, only to see a half-inch-long worm stuck in the tip of the saber.The bugs had been roasted black, and the watch case was still emitting green smoke, exuding a burnt smell.

General Ah Qi handed the sword to Wan Juncheng: "Try it, this is the most delicious sandworm in the desert!"

The sandworm is a kind of insect that lives in the desert. It is about half an inch long. Its body surface is yellowish brown.Sometimes you see the densely packed holes on the surface of the desert, which are the nests of sandworms.

"Thank you!" Wan Juncheng took the roasted sandworm with a smile, pinched the body of the worm with his left hand, and with his right hand gently snapped, clicked, and tore off the head of the sand worm, revealing the snow-white flesh inside.Wan Juncheng stretched his nose and sniffed it vigorously, and sighed contentedly: "Sweet! It's delicious!" Then he stretched out his fingers, like eating crayfish, and dug out the worm meat inside the sandworm's body, eating with relish .

There were hundreds of roasted sandworms in the fire. At first we felt disgusted and didn’t dare to eat them. Later, we saw Wan Juncheng and Ah Qi’s militants eat deliciously, which aroused our hunger feel.I tried to eat one, and the taste is really good, the meat is very tender, and the outside is charred and the inside is fragrant, which has a special flavor.

After eating, Wan Juncheng spread out a map in the middle of the crowd to discuss the plan to enter Heishui City.

"We are currently in the Heishui River, which is this location!" Wan Juncheng drew a triangle mark on the map with a red pen, and then the red line went up the river and entered a desert area. Wan Juncheng was in the desert. A large circle was drawn on the strip: "This is the ruins of Heishui City, and it is estimated that there are still more than ten miles away from where we are now! Ah Qi, tell your subordinates to hurry up and pack their things. Arrive at Heishui City before!"

"No problem!" Ah Qi grinned, threw a sandworm in his mouth, and bit the head and shell together with a cracking sound.

"Jiang Yusheng, do something!" According to the usual practice, before each action, Wan Juncheng asked the fortune teller Jiang Yusheng to make a calculation.

Jiang Yusheng took off the turtle shell necklace and held it in his palm, muttering to himself.

"What is this for?" Ah Qi asked Wan Juncheng.

Wan Juncheng smiled and said: "Forecast good or bad, let's see if our trip to Heishui City goes well!"

Ah Qi frowned, and said with a puzzled look on his face: "You Chinese like to do these weird things! For us, having a gun is king!" As he spoke, Ah Qi pulled the bolt of the gun with a bang. , The crisp sound of the bolt sliding made us shudder.

The tortoise shell shone with a faint light, Jiang Yusheng's ten fingers slid quickly, and his face gradually became solemn.

"Not good!" Jiang Yusheng suddenly exclaimed in a low voice.

What's wrong? !

Our hearts tightened.

The smile on Wan Juncheng's face froze immediately: "What's the situation?"

Jiang Yusheng said quickly: "This is the hexagram of 'Wonderful Disaster', which indicates that danger or disaster is about to happen!"

"Does that mean it's dangerous to go to Heishui City?" Wan Juncheng asked.

Jiang Yusheng shook his head: "Maybe it's not Heishui City, because the danger is about to happen!"

We have seen with our own eyes the power of ghost valley divination, and we know that Jiang Yusheng's words are true, so we couldn't help but get nervous at the moment.

"Call your subordinates to pay attention, there may be danger!" Wan Juncheng told Ah Qi solemnly.

(End of this chapter)