White Bone Monkey King

Half a month later.

A man was sitting sideways on the back of a sheep, with his face wrapped in a sand-proof turban. His figure was wrapped in the long yellow sand and hot wind, and he was slowly walking slowly and leisurely on the increasingly desolate Gobi Desert, carried by the sheep.

He used one hand to block the dazzling sunlight above his head, and the other hand held a copy of the "Yin Yang Qing Sang Sutra" which teaches Feng Shui, and he read it leisurely.

The "Yin Yang Qing Sang Jing" and "Shen Feng Tong Kao" that Mr. Yi gave to Jin'an at the beginning became his only interest during the boring journey.

We are about to enter the desert of the Western Region, which is hundreds of miles away from the uninhabited land. Jin An feels that if he gets lost in the desert or lacks water and cannot find a water source, the "Yin Yang Qing Sang Sutra" may be able to help him.

What if this happens?

No one can say for sure?

Since leaving Huangzishan Village, I have almost slept in the open on the road to Jin'an. When I encounter a village, I will go to the village to buy some water and then continue on the road. If I can't find a place to sleep at night, I will find a leeward side and use the earth as my quilt. Sleeping on the belly of a goat.

The northwest is vast and sparsely populated. Without water, there are no villages. It is common to travel dozens of miles without encountering a village, so it is normal to eat and sleep in the open.

Thanks to his strong physique and the fire poison internal energy to protect him from the cold, ordinary people would have froze to death in the Gobi Desert where the temperature difference between day and night is huge.

Even the goat suffered a lot following him along the way.

I was freezing at night and heard the roar of wild animals.

During the day, I have to carry people on my back.

If it weren't for the big blood-enhancing pills on Jin An's body, this stupid sheep with a bad temper who didn't want to suffer would never let people ride him.

This goat is more clever than the monkeys in Mount Emei.

I know that the blood-enhancing pills on Jin An's body are good things and a great tonic.

Just like this goat's physique, it's a lot bigger than it was in Fucheng, Wuzhou Prefecture a month and a half ago. Now it can't be said that it looks like a calf anymore. It should be an old calf?

I don’t know if it’s because the northwest is vast and sparsely populated, and the further we go, the fewer people there are, or if the sunshine here is too strong and the fire is too strong, as hot as the mountain of flames that Taishang Laojun’s Bagua furnace knocked over in the human world. After traveling for half a month, I didn't even see a ghost.

Later, he thought about it, and maybe it had something to do with the tough folk customs in the northwest, where the whole village, young and old, often built drought bone piles.

"Mea."

The feeble cry of the goat under the seat indicated that there was movement ahead. Jin An raised his eyes from the "Yin Yang Qing Sang Sutra" and looked into the distance. He saw dust rising in the sky ahead and a large group of villagers holding hoes and poles.

Jin An exclaimed in surprise, thinking that another villager was laying a drought bone pile to pray for rain. When he got closer, he found out that it was not a drought bone pile, but that the villagers were chasing a group of robbers.

There were three robbers in the group, two men and one woman. It looked like they had lost their drinking water bags. They injured several villagers but failed to grab water. The injured villagers immediately greeted them as soon as they returned to the village. Folks and elders pursue and seek revenge along the way.

However, after chasing for a while, they still couldn't find the bandits. The tracks of the bandits were wiped out by the wind and sand on the Gobi Desert. Seeing that they could not catch up with the bandits, the villagers cursed and prepared to go back.

"Taoist Master, please be careful. Those bandits didn't grab the water. If they are determined to be thieves, they will probably stay on the road to block other people's water." A villager kindly reminded.

Jin An clasped his fists in thanks for the reminder, and asked by the way how far it was from the frontier fortress. Finally, he heard good news. If you keep going forward for about three or four days, you will see several plateau snow-capped mountains. Can see the fortress.

In the next few days, Jin'an didn't encounter the three unlucky bandits who failed to grab water. He didn't know if he died of thirst in some Gobi desert. The Gobi was too big. A few people died in the desert. The sand is equally unremarkable.

The terrain characteristics of Xizhou Prefecture are like a long and narrow sharp knife piercing the Western Region. It can suppress the countries of the Western Region from the left and interrupt the expansion of the northern grassland tribes into the Western Region by the right. Strategically speaking, it completely blocks the Western Region and the northern grassland. Tribal interactions.

The southern part of this long and narrow knife is bordered by Wuzhou Prefecture, which has abundant rainfall and is surrounded by green mountains and green waters;

The eastern and eastern parts are eroded by wind and sand from the Western Regions all year round, so they become more and more arid as they go. The entire eastern part, that is, the entire blade is an earthy Gobi desert area.

And the tip of this khaki long and narrow knife is the border fortress guarding the Western Region——

Yang Guan.

Yangguan is a frontier fortress city, heavily guarded by troops. There is a small earthen castle town more than ten miles away from Yangguan. This is a gathering place for caravans or envoys from various countries entering and leaving the Western Regions. People will make their last stop here to replenish water and dry food. , camels and other supplies before leaving the Western Regions.

You can go without food for several days in the desert, but you can never go without camels or water.

In addition to the merchants from the Western Regions, there are also many local merchants from Xizhou in Tubao Town. The people of Xizhou are united, and the local business of water, camels, dry food, camel fodder, etc. are all monopolized by these locals.

Outsiders can also pay to hire guides here. These guides include Han Chinese and people from the Western Regions who understand the Chinese language.

Jin An did not spend money to hire a guide, because the place he was going to was deep in the desert, and it was useless to find an ordinary guide. He planned to spend some money to find a caravan entering the Western Regions to take him.

It's just that those large caravans with many people didn't want to pay attention to Jin'an, a Taoist priest who was alone. His skin was tender and tender, and it looked like he had never experienced hardship or been in the desert. They had seen many such pampered Central Plains people, and finally They will all die in the desert.

They don't need that little money and don't want to get into trouble.

To put it simply, Jin An is a weakling in their eyes and will hold him back in the desert.

In the end, Jin An spent money to bribe the leader of a small caravan, and the leader readily agreed to let him join the team, because no one would have trouble with money.

The leader's name is Batur, which means warrior in the Western Regions. He is a powerful, bearded middle-aged man with a machete at his waist. Big Beard is a bold man, so Jin An calls him Big Beard.

The bearded leader and the caravan he was in were all Westerners with high noses, deep eye sockets, and straight facial features. They purchased porcelain, tea, silk, sugar, ironware and other trading goods in Kangding State, and planned to transport them to some countries in the Western Regions for sale. , and then exchange them for luxury goods such as gems, pearls, and diamonds, and then bring them to Kangding for sale. The profit margin is very large. No one will run into the desert every day without a hundred-fold profit to support them.

The caravan did not set off immediately. Big Beard said that they were a small caravan. In the past, they would team up with several small caravans to enter the Western Regions. In addition to sandstorms, there were also sand thieves and wild beasts in the Western Regions. There were too few merchants. The team is as eye-catching as a lonely poplar tree in the desert.

Big Beard has already found a small caravan and said that he will find one or two more small caravans to form a team. If everything goes well, he can set off tomorrow and let Jin An find a place to stay in the Tubao Town first.

The Tubao town is very simple. The houses here are all made of one layer of loess walls. There are no triangular roofs or tiles. They are just square boxes. As soon as you walk into the town, all you see are camels. The smell of feces and urine was overwhelming, and the air was cloudy and unpleasant.

There are more camels than people in the town because more camels are needed to carry supplies for the team when entering the desert.

The turbid stench was so irritating that Jin An ended up not staying in the town, but just spent the night on a sheltered rock outside the town.

…

The next morning.

Jin An waited for Big Beard's notice as promised, and the camel team set out for the Western Region today. He brought a strong goat and three camels to the appointment. The three camels carried on their backs the dry food and food prepared for this trip to the desert. Clear water, the most important thing is to carry a lot of clean water.

Finally, this somewhat strange team consisting of three small caravans and a Taoist priest walked out of the Tubao town and set off towards Yangguan.

Two months have passed since the Yin Tomb of the Dojo was re-banned. The armies of the Western Regions countries that surrounded the border fortress have retreated. In the end, these Western Regions countries still did not have the courage to launch an attack on Kang Ding Kingdom. Apart from a few feint attacks to test the reality, hundreds of people were left behind. When a corpse came, these loose armies chose to retreat one after another when they saw no chance.

It has been half a month since customs clearance was resumed at the border fortress, but it can still be seen that the garrison soldiers here have not relaxed their vigilance and strictly inspect all people entering and exiting the customs.

Camel bells are ringing, caravans are coming, envoys are coming and going, frontier fortress trade is prosperous, people are coming and going, it doesn't feel like being in a barren land at all.

"Taoist Master, the Western Desert is different from the Gobi Desert in Xizhou Prefecture. The Western Desert is a hundred times, a thousand times more dangerous. Even these Western businessmen who are most familiar with the desert have many caravans staying in the desert permanently every year. Can you You have to think twice before acting." With a strong body and bulging temples, he looked like a guard of elite soldiers from hundreds of battles. He had inspected Jin'an's Taoist disc and the customs clearance document stamped by Lord Fu Yin. It was rare for Jin An to have a soothing look on his face. Kindly reminded.

Others are not treated so well. Whether they are merchants from the Western Regions or merchants from Kangding, these officers and soldiers treat them equally and have bad tempers.

"Thank you for reminding me, I already know the dangers in the Western Region." Jin An said with a warm smile, clasping his fists and bowing.

"Well, you go over there." The officer and soldier waved to let his comrades pass without saying anything more, and then continued to check the team behind them.

As for the goat, which was bigger than a calf, the officers and soldiers didn't ask much except taking a second look.

They were guarding the frontier. They had never seen any rare and exotic animals in the Western Regions, so they were not too surprised by a larger goat.

Yangguan is a majestic pass guarding the gorge between the mountains. After leaving the pass, there is a flat and open Gobi plain.

As long as you hold on to the canyon, you will be able to guard it against all odds. You don't have to worry about anyone climbing over the nearby mountains to invade Kangding.

This is the plateau Gobi Desert. When marching and fighting in the desert, you must walk along rivers or water sources in order to replenish water sources and identify directions in time. Climbing over mountains and ridges in plateau areas consumes a lot of physical energy. There is only sand and no water source in the mountains. People and horses are left standing there waiting to die without water for half a day.

Therefore, if you want to enter Kangding Kingdom, you must first pass Yangguan.

In the first few days after leaving Yangguan, the caravan had a relaxed journey, walking and singing. The songs contained exotic customs and customs, coupled with the vast and boundless Gobi sandstone land around them, the exotic customs made this journey not like being in the mountains. Facing the desert of death, it feels like we are just out for fun.

But in less than half a day, Jin An got tired of this exotic interest. The scenery in front of him was a boring Gobi.

So I once again took out the "Yin Yang Qing Sang Sutra" to relieve the boredom on the road.

A few days later, the team gradually walked out of the Gobi. The surrounding environment began to be dominated by sand and desert. Next, they had to save water. According to Big Beard, their next water replenishment point will be ten days later.

In the desert, except for the boundless sea of ​​sand, there are no landmarks that can be used as reference points. If you fall into the sea of ​​sand, you are just a drop in the ocean. It is easy to lose your way because you cannot distinguish between east, west, north and south. Businessmen from the Western Regions like Big Beard have been dealing with the desert for generations, and they have their own way of identifying directions in the desert.

"To identify directions in the desert, one relies on rivers or river valleys washed out by rivers, and the other is based on some scattered rocks and mountains in the desert." The bearded man is an enthusiastic and forthright desert man. He talked about everything along the way. Introducing various strange things in the desert to Jin An.

"But relying on rocks to determine the direction is only useful outside the desert. Half a month later when we go deep into the desert, we will no longer be able to see these rocks. No matter how tall the majestic mountain is, it will be filled with sand in front of thousands of years of sand. Submerged. After going deep into the desert, we can only follow the desert river or the dried river bed. Without the river or river bed, people will soon get lost in the desert, and the only thing waiting for people is death from thirst or sunburn."

Seeing that Jin An was listening to him attentively, the bearded Batur rode on the camel's back and continued: "I, the bearded man, am an honest man. Since I have received the money, I must wear a seat belt. Taoist priest Jin An, you go there." Destination. The most ferocious thing in the desert is not the sand bandits who never leave alive, but the weather that changes at any time! If you encounter sand bandits, Taoist priest Jin'an, just hide in the caravan if you are weak, I am Batur I will protect you as much as possible, but the most dangerous thing is that the weather in the desert is like a woman's complexion. It changes at any time... Sometimes the sky is fine, but in the blink of an eye there will be a sandstorm, blowing away people and camels before they can find shelter. Oh! The reason why I tell you these desert experiences to Taoist Jin'an is that if we get separated, Taoist Jin'an will have more chances to survive in the desert. As long as we walk along the river bed, even if we get separated, we will definitely be able to survive. Find Taoist Priest Jin'an again."

Jin An was moved when he heard this: "Thank you for reminding me."

"No need to thank me, I should thank you for the money you gave me." The bearded man smiled humorously at Jin An.

"Except for the outskirts of the desert and the depths of the desert, how do you confirm the position in the deepest part of the desert?" Jin An humbly asked for advice. After all, the Kingdom of the Immortal God and the Guchi Country he was looking for were all in the deepest part of the desert.

Unexpectedly, the bearded man changed his color when he heard this, and even the warrior in the desert shook his head timidly, and said solemnly: "In the deepest part of the desert, there is the largest quicksand in the desert, and there is the largest sandstorm in the desert. The river there has long It has been filled with sand, and even the riverbed cannot be found. Even the most experienced guides or traders will lose their way. The corpses and curses of the gods are buried there, and no one can come out alive."

Even the bearded man who lived in the desert of the Western Regions all year round was scared to the point of timidity. It seemed that the deepest part of the desert was more dangerous than imagined.

Afterwards, the bearded man put on the sand-proof turban again, pulled the camel's reins, and went to the back of the caravan to check the group to see if anyone was left behind or if the goods were not tied securely.

The sun was shining brightly, the camel bells were ringing, and hundreds of camels were connected to the reins, slowly walking in a long line on the endless desert. The footsteps behind them were quickly smoothed by the wind and sand, and it was difficult to distinguish the east, west, north, and west, as if they had fallen into a sea of ​​sand. A leaf was quickly swallowed up by the sea of ​​sand, leaving only the identical continuous sand dunes.