White Bone Monkey King

On the first day after arriving in Xizhou Prefecture, we encountered a sandstorm. The key was that the goat went crazy playing in the sand just now and scattered the dry food and cowhide water bladders all over the floor. Except for only a small part, most of the other dry food and water were recovered. They were all lost when the sandstorm came, and Jin An now wanted to beat the goat.

"Silly sheep!"

Jin An just roared angrily, but before he could finish his words, he had a mouth full of sand again, and he closed his mouth in frustration.

I don’t know if the goat knew it was causing big trouble, or if it knew that opening its mouth now was equivalent to eating sand, so it stopped making a sound at this time.

Jin An looked up and saw that there was a bigger sandstorm coming at the end of the sky. He knew in his heart that they had to find a shelter as soon as possible. It seemed that this sandstorm would not end in a short time.

According to his original plan, he would definitely be able to arrive at the nearest earth town to rest before nightfall, but now it seems that they have no chance of finding a place to stay tonight and can only stay in the Gobi Desert.

The climate of the desert Gobi has a large temperature difference between day and night. The direct sunlight is strong during the day and the temperature drops rapidly at night, which can cause people to suffer from cold. In this desert Gobi where the per capita medical level is backward and the land is vast and sparsely populated, ordinary wind and cold are very likely. Bring life danger. Therefore, no ordinary person is willing to sleep in the wilderness in the Gobi Desert. Even if they are not afraid of catching wind and cold, they are also afraid of wild wolves and wild beasts.

Finally, Jin An finally found an abandoned village to escape from the sandstorm.

There were only a dozen or so households in that deserted village. It was a very small village. But something happened later that made the village deserted for many years. Many of the earthen houses had been eroded and collapsed by the wind and sand, leaving only bare earthen walls, which looked dilapidated and desolate. .

You can even see a lot of hay inside the earthen walls.

Building walls with loess mixed with hay is a major feature of the northwest region. It is warm in winter, cool in summer and strong.

This deserted village is very small. As soon as Jin An entered the village, he saw that there were already people here. An old herdsman was driving seven or eight sheep to avoid the sandstorm.

Well.

In an instant, there were scenes of sheep looking at each other and people looking at each other.

In the end, the seven or eight white sheep on the opposite side, who were as thin as lambs in front of the stupid sheep, took the initiative to kneel down and surrender to the calf-sized goats.

Jin An, who was wearing a five-color Taoist robe, bowed to the old herdsman who was sheltering from the wind and sand in the house: "Old sir, do you mind squeezing in a few more people?"

The old herdsman’s skin has been tanned by the sun all year round, and he is old. His dark-skinned face is covered with deep wrinkles blown by the dry wind and sand in the northwest, just like the ravines and canyons on the northwest loess. At first glance, he looks like an honest herdsman who has suffered a lot in his life.

Just like the yellow land gave them a simple and honest character and diligence.

"Come to Sha, come to Sha's house, come to Sha!"

When the old herdsman saw that the young Taoist priest Jin An was so polite to him, he felt a little uneasy and stood up to make room for Jin An. At the same time, he quickly put out the cigarette in his hand and fanned the air in the house with his palm fan. He smelled of snuff and showed a slightly restrained and uneasy smile.

Because of the long-term smoking of dry cigarettes, the old herdsmen would reveal a set of jagged yellow teeth when they smiled.

Perhaps because of Jin'an's temperament, the fine skin and tender meat that only wealthy people can have, his status as a Taoist priest, and the fact that the five-color Taoist robes are not made of high-quality fabrics that ordinary people can afford, Jin'an's various extraordinary qualities, This old herdsman, who has been dealing with loess and shepherding sheep all day long, felt a little nervous and restrained.

"?"

Although Jin An couldn't understand the local dialect, he could still understand the other party's meaning through body movements.

"Thank you."

Jin An took the goat into the house to escape the wind and sand.

At this time, the howling sound of wind and sand outside became more violent. The sun in the sky was completely invisible outside. It was all yellow and misty. The only sound left was the pounding sound of a lot of sand hitting the earthen wall.

The first thing Jin An did after entering the house was to rub his hair, shake off the dust, then take off his shoes and pour out two handfuls of sand. Walking all the way was too painful for his feet.

At this time, Jin An noticed that the old herdsman was still standing in a corner of the room with some restraint, and voluntarily gave him the position of the campfire where he had used to warm himself, which made Jin An even more embarrassed.

"Old sir, according to age, I am the junior and you are the elder. If we go by first come, first served, you came to this deserted village first to escape the wind and sand, and I am the latecomer, so I should respect you regardless of emotion or reason. You Being so polite to me actually made me feel a little embarrassed, and I didn’t know whether to stand or sit down.”

Seeing that the other party was still a little restrained, Jin An said with a smile: "Otherwise, sir, you should sit in your original position. I will sit by the fire and bake naan cakes. I will share half of the baked naan cakes with you, sir. This Gobi The desert can freeze people's lips to white frost at night, so the old man's fire cannot be in vain."

After he expressed his kindness several times, the old herdsman let go of his restraint, walked closer to the fire and crowded his flock to sit down. Jin An also laughed and took out the naan bread and water and put them on the fire to heat them up. eat.

If these naan cakes are not heated over a fire, they will be no different than chewing rocks in the dry climate of the northwest.

It is said that men’s friendships all start from drinking the same sip of wine. Jin An shared naan bread with the old herdsmen, and the old herdsmen shared hot goat milk wine with Jin An. After the two drank the same sip of wine, they became brothers in the northwest. , and suddenly we became more familiar with each other as we chatted.

The goat, on the other hand, could never get along with the seven or eight shepherds in the house who were sheltering from the wind and sand. The goat's physique was so strong that even people who looked at it were intimidated.

The old herdsman's name is Sun Tugen. He raises all the sheep in the house and brews the goat milk wine at home. According to the old herdsman, although this sandstorm is not the biggest he has ever encountered, it will definitely not stop overnight. They will only I can huddle with the sheep in the house.

At the same time, Jin An finally understood that "laisha laishajia laisha" means a very welcome and a kind of friendliness to guests.

Although Xizhou Prefecture is multi-ethnic, it is mainly composed of Han people. Only after leaving the frontier fortress can the world of the Western Regions countries be reached.

"Taoist priest Jin'an is from China, right? Taoist priest Jin'an is not like other Central Plains people. Central Plains people look down on the barren land. They are all Xizhou Prefectures with yellow sand and Gobi. We Xizhou people generally don't want to deal with people from Central Plains. ." Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, originally wanted to take a puff of the dry tobacco in his hand, but found that the dry tobacco had been extinguished by himself, and put down the dry tobacco with some embarrassment.

Jin An told the other party not to take care of him and continued smoking if he wanted to, but in the end, the old herdsman Sun Tugen did not light up the tobacco again.

"I'm not from Zhongzhou, but from Wuzhou Prefecture in the southwest."

"Listen to the meaning of what the old gentleman said. Xizhou Prefecture has been visited by many people from the Central Plains recently. How many times have we met the old gentleman?"

Jin An did not explain much about his identity, but instead noticed a small detail in the words of the old herdsman Sun Tugen.

"Many, many. Ever since I was a little kid, before I was as tall as a stone, I have seen people from the Central Plains walking to Xizhou Prefecture, entering the Western Regions, looking for the River of Eternal Life." Sun Tugen said with a frown, those deep ravines on his face The same wrinkles are almost crowded together.

"These people from the Central Plains come and go, and a new batch of new faces arrive. I have never been taller than Shimo, and my grandson is taller than Shimo. I have never seen anyone find the legendary River of Eternal Life."

"Since the generation of my father, my grandfather, and my great-great-grandfather, there have been people from the Central Plains crossing the border and entering the Western Regions in search of the legendary River of Eternal Life, longing for immortality... Some of them are officials and some are generals. "

"The land in Xizhou Prefecture is barren. Except for businessmen from the Western Regions, we rarely see faces from outside the country. Master Jin'an, you came to Xizhou Prefecture, a frontier fortress...did you also go out to the Western Regions to find the Changsheng River?" Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, was a little hesitant to speak. Looking at Jin An, it seemed that there was something else in his words.

Jin An was silent at first, silently breaking off the warmed naan cakes in his hands and eating them, then he looked honestly and said calmly: "I do want to leave the Western Regions, and I do want to find the legendary Eternal Life River, but I am not looking for the Eternal Life River."

What he is looking for is the legendary Kingdom of the Immortal God built at the birthplace of the Eternal Life River.

"Old sir, what do you want to say to me?" Jin An saw the hesitation in the other party's expression.

The old herdsman Sun Tugen looked up at Jin An's eyes, as if to confirm whether Jin An was lying. He drank a mouthful of goat's milk wine to warm himself, and then handed the wine bag to Jin An. Jin An did not care whether he did it or not. It was clean, and I took a sip of goat's milk wine, feeling relieved in my stomach.

Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, said with a smile: "In our Xizhou Prefecture, after a sip of wine together, we become the most trusted brothers in the northwest."

Then he said solemnly: "I would like to advise Taoist Jin'an that the Western Region beyond the Great Wall has not been peaceful recently. Don't go to the Western Region. Don't lose your life in vain."

oh?

Jin An's expression changed and he asked the other party if he knew anything.

After taking the same sip of goat's milk wine, Sun Tugen really cared about Jin'an. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised his finger and pointed at the sandstorm outside and asked solemnly: "Does Taoist Jin'an think the sandstorm outside is big?"

At this time, yellow sand was passing by outside, and the sand was beating against the earthen house. The sky was covered with yellow sand, and Jin An nodded and said: "It's very big."

Sun Tugen's face, which had been blown by dry wind and sand all year round, had a dark ravine, but he shook his head and said: "This is not the biggest sandstorm in Xizhou Prefecture. Although I have never left the village three hundred miles away in my life, I have heard from those in the Western Regions The businessman said that the south here is pretty good. You can still see some mountains and rivers, and people will not starve to death. The farther you go along the official road to the east and northwest of Xizhou Prefecture, the more desolate it becomes. It's a desert. All the mountain peaks have been flattened by the black wind and turned into fine sand. It has become a devil's desert that can trap people's souls. The sandstorms there are even bigger, and even the mountain peaks can be flattened, like the mud houses we are hiding in now. The leaves are still fragile.”

"But in the Western Region to the northwest, there are sandstorms bigger than those in Xizhou. Those Western Region businessmen described those sandstorms as coming from the anger of the gods, which can move mountains and fill the sea. A dozen mountains can appear out of thin air and appear hundreds of miles away. Even if If people are not buried alive in the sand, they will be completely disoriented and die of thirst in the desert. They are most afraid of angering the gods and encountering sandstorms in the desert."

First go to the eastern part of Xizhou Prefecture and then turn to the northwest, which is the direction he went out to the Western Regions. Jin'an did not interrupt Sun Tugen. Sun Tugen continued: "Deeper in the desert, according to those Western Region merchants, there are More dangerous sandstorms can bury a country under piles of yellow sand forever in one night..."

"Just half a year ago, a once-in-a-century sandstorm occurred in the desert. Many businessmen from the Western Regions died. The sandstorm moved away the yellow sand, revealing a dead city. The dead city was filled with mummies, all of them skinned. The whole city was skinned and mummified, and all the people in the city were skinned and killed. Those merchants from the Western Regions called it a city full of devils."

Jin An was startled when he heard this: "A skinned dead person? A city full of devils?"

The yellow wind outside continued to howl. Inside the house, old herdsman Sun Tugen stretched out his hand to comfort the restless shepherd behind him. He sighed and said, "I heard from those businessmen in the Western Regions that those people were hung up and skinned off while they were still alive. , there is still blood that has dried at the feet of those mummies."

"What happened next?" Jin An became curious and asked.

As if to cover up his inner panic, Sun Tugen touched the sheep behind him again and again, and said with a trembling voice: "Later, the city full of devils offended the gods, and was buried under the desert forever by a sandstorm again. No, However, I heard from those businessmen in the Western Regions... The desert has not been peaceful recently, and there have been mass skinning incidents in many places..."

"Taoist Master Jin'an, we drank the same goat's milk wine. According to the custom of our Xizhou people, you trust me. I can't just watch you go to the Western Regions to die, whether it's a sandstorm or a skinned man escaping from the devil city. Now The Western Region is not peaceful."

Although this surprised Jin An, he had a reason to go.

Was the whole city being skinned...

In the Western Region, water sources are precious. A city that occupies a water source may become a country. Skinning the people in the city is equivalent to skinning the people in the whole country. He is a little curious about what secrets are hidden in the devil city?

Eating hot naan cakes, drinking hot goat's milk wine, and warming up the fire, Jin An continued to chat with the old herdsman Sun Tugen, asking about the customs and customs of various places in Xizhou Prefecture and the Western Regions, as well as asking for advice on some desert survival skills.

The sandstorm lasted until late at night before it gradually subsided. Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, huddled together with his sheep, lit a fire, and slept soundly in the noisy and strong wind. He had long been accustomed to this.

According to him, when there is a sandstorm, there will be no wild beasts or bandits coming out, so it is the safest time.

Jin'an didn't get used to the sandstorm so quickly, so he added firewood to the campfire from time to time. The dry firewood was all picked up by Sun Tugen before.

For the old herdsmen who were born and raised here, it seems that this is not the first time they have come to this deserted village to escape the sandstorm.

…

The next morning.

The sky and the earth are bright.

This Xizhou Prefecture is different from Wuzhou Prefecture. The days are long and the nights are short. It gets light early in the day and gets dark only around 3:00 p.m., which means it gets dark around eight o'clock in the evening.

After staying in the earthen house for a day, the two of them just walked out of the earthen house to escape the wind and sand. Before Jin An could stretch his legs, he was shocked by the strange scene of heaven and earth in front of him.

On the vast loess Gobi Desert, the sky is green and as clear as a lake mirror, extending to the end of the world in the direction of the Western Region.

Connect to Biluo at the top and Huangquan at the bottom! The world was like a majestic scroll unfolding, with mountains and rivers like jade and miraculous craftsmanship. It took Jin An a while to recover from his daze. This was the first time he saw the green sky.

Plop.

Next to him, Sun Tugen knelt on the ground and shouted excitedly: "This is a manifestation of the saint! This is a manifestation of the saint!"

The scene in front of him was indeed shocking. Jin An didn't know if it was the manifestation of the saint, but he knew that after Shayang lost most of the water he prepared, they were now very short of water and had to go to Sun Tugen's village to prepare enough water before they could continue on the road. .

As the sun hung higher and higher, the morning glow quickly dissipated. After Sun Tugen stood up excitedly after praying, Jin An proposed that he wanted to buy some water in the village. Then, along with a man and a goat, an old herdsman drove seven or eight sheep toward the Walk in one direction.

The village where Sun Tugen is located is not big, with only about 20 households and less than 100 people. The village is surrounded by high earth walls, which cannot prevent bandits from climbing over the walls. They can only be used to prevent wild beasts such as sand wolves from entering the village and eating the sheep. .

Before the two of them got close, they saw dust rising from the other side of the village, and a large group of villagers came out of the village holding hoes, shovels, and poles.

"It's broken. Could it be that a wild wolf climbed over the earth wall and ran into the village last night and killed the sheep?" Sun Tugen shouted anxiously and ran towards the village.

If a wild wolf comes into a village to steal sheep, it will not eat just one, but will kill all the sheep before eating them. No wonder he is so anxious and worried.

But when Sun Tugen stopped the villagers and asked about the situation, it turned out that it was not a wild wolf that ran into the village and killed the sheep, but that the villagers all saw the vision of heaven and earth this morning. They all said that it was auspicious and a sign of good fortune, so they decided to leave the village. Driving drought bone piles to pray for rain.

This is the tough folk custom in the northwest. At every turn, the whole village, men, women, old and young, will collectively dig up graves and dig up bone piles, that is, dig up graves and kill zombies.