White Bone Monkey King

Jin An took the lead in pushing open the door and walking into the village gate, but felt that the three camels he was holding did not follow him.

He looked back and saw that the camels were standing still.

Old Sadiq,

Little Sahav,

Ilham,

Everyone looked at the plaque above the village gate in horror.

"how?"

"What does it say?"

Jin An looked up at the plaques, but unfortunately they were all in Western characters he didn't recognize.

"Jin, Taoist Priest Jin'an...there is a bit of evil in this place..." Old Sadiq looked sad and his voice was trembling.

"It says... Laugh! Corpse! Zhuang!"

Um?

Jin An was surprised and startled: "Laughing Corpse Village?"

Just when Jin An said these three words, something seemed to be awakened. The sound of footsteps and the sound of opening the door came from the village. A tall, white-haired, thin old man with weak legs and feet walked out of a room holding a torch. Get out.

The tall and thin old man noticed the gate of the village that was pushed open. Before he got closer, he saw Jin An standing outside the gate of the village.

The tall and thin old man came over and spoke enthusiastically and helped open the door. The man spoke Western dialect, not Chinese. Although I couldn't understand his words, his enthusiastic expression suggested that he was hospitable and welcome to the village. mean.

The night in the desert was very dark, and it wasn't until I stood close and under the light of a torch that I finally saw the true appearance of the tall and thin old man.

The tall and thin old man was very old. He looked like he was seventy years old. His face and hands were covered with age spots. He was neatly dressed in a set of leather armor.

But the leather armor obviously didn't fit him well and was a bit too wide for him. Moreover, the leather armor was very old and faded badly. You could even see traces of sewing and repairs in many places. The overall impression was that it was tattered and tattered. It was probably worse than Grandpa Jin An is still old.

Even the leather scabbard on his waist was in tatters, even the blade was exposed.

Veteran in the desert?

Looking at this strange outfit, Jin An looked thoughtful.

"Taoist Master Jin'an's words and intonation are so strange. Although I can understand the Western Region dialect, it is very difficult to understand the meaning." Old Sadiq said in surprise, even he couldn't translate the meaning.

Little Sahav also nodded in agreement.

Ilham was still well-informed and said to Jin'an: "This man is a little strange. What he speaks is one of the ancient languages. This ancient language was popular hundreds of years ago, and many of the grammatical orders have changed from today's." …I can probably understand about 70% to 80% of it.”

"He called us guests from afar, and then asked us, did we get lost in the desert and find here because of the sudden storm during the day?"

"Taoist Master Jin An, be careful. This person is a little too enthusiastic. He took the initiative to invite us to spend the night in Laughing Corpse Manor... I don't know why I always feel that Laughing Corpse Manor is not simple."

To outsiders, the conversation between old Sadiq and Ilham was actually just the sound of a camel yumming.

Ilham said so much in one breath, others would only think that the camel was active and would not think about anything else.

Seeing that Jin An in front of him had not responded, Ilham immediately understood what Jin An meant and continued: "I will translate for Taoist Jin An, and then I will translate back and let Taoist Jin An reply to the other party. If the sentence is too long, Taoist Jin An may It’s hard to remember, so I’ll try to answer that strange old man in as short a sentence as possible.”

"Taoist Master Jin An, if you want to leave, just shake your head. If you want to continue entering the Laughing Corpse Village, just nod."

Jin An nodded.

Ilham said: "Excuse me, in the ancient language of the Western Regions..."

Next, Jin An had a brief conversation with the tall and thin old man who opened the door. The tall and thin old man looked surprised when he saw that Jin An could not only understand his words but also answer them fluently.

"Taoist priest, are you a Han Taoist priest from Kangding? I didn't expect you, Taoist priest, to be proficient in the words of our desert people, which surprised Pasha." This time, the tall and thin old man spoke in Chinese and called himself Pasha.

"The old gentleman is too polite. I didn't expect that the old gentleman also understands the Chinese language." Jin An said with a slight surprise, and there was no flaw in the expression on his face.

When he was young, he followed the caravan and saw all kinds of monsters and monsters. Old Sadiq glanced at the tall and thin old man with fear in his eyes and reminded Jin An: "There is indeed a big problem here, Master Jin An. This evil old man just did it on purpose." Testing you, thanks to the presence of Ilham in our team."

Ilham was a little embarrassed by the praise: "My brother is so complimentary."

Old Sadiq said to Ilham with the tone of a big brother covering his younger brother: "Brother Ilham, you don't have to be too modest. Good is good, bad is bad. I think highly of you, brother."

Ilham looked at old Sadiq moved.

If old Sadiq knew Ilham's true identity, I wonder if he could still act like a big brother so calmly and calmly.

At this time, Pasha, a tall and thin old man, opened the gate of the village wider, leaving a wider gap for Jin An to lead a sheep and three camels into the village.

"Listen to what the old gentleman just said, we are not the only ones who got lost in the wind and sand in the village tonight?" Jin An led the sheep and camels into the village. The tall and thin old man did not answer immediately, but turned around and went to close the village first. Village gate.

Boom.

As the village door closed, the flame of the torch dimmed a little, as if the entire village was a little darker. The flame of the torch quickly returned to normal, and the village also returned to normal.

At this time, the tall and thin old man led the way with an even brighter smile, leading Jin An into the village. He walked in front and said as he walked: "Taoist Master, please be careful and careful. There are indeed three waves of lost people here tonight. You are the Taoist priest." That third wave of people.”

The two of them walked and talked.

"Old sir, are you the only one in this village?"

"No, there are twelve old guys like me who are half buried in the sand and have only lived for a few years. Some of them are helping to slaughter camels in the kitchen, some are burning firewood, and some are responsible for roasting camel meat. Some are greeting guests in the front hall. The desert has not been so lively in many years, and guests come from far away, so we must provide good wine and meat to entertain distinguished guests from far away. "

"Why is this village called Laughing Corpse Village?" After Jin An finished speaking, he stared at the back of the tall and thin old man who was leading the way, trying to see if there was anything unusual about him.

However, the other party did not even pause, and said in a natural tone: "The soul returns to its hometown, and the fallen leaves return to its roots. Behind every comrade, there is an Apa Ata waiting for him to go home. I hope that the comrades will dream of the sheep in their hometown in their sleep." You can smile while making milk wine and baking hot naan... Taoist priest, do you think this wish is right or wrong?"

The tall and thin old man suddenly stopped and turned to look at Jin An with a smile.

Under the flickering light of the torch, the layers of furrows and wrinkles on the old man's face were illuminated and dimmed, making him look sinister.

Jin An's expression remained as usual when the tall and thin old man suddenly turned his head. He was not frightened. He hummed casually and kept looking at the entire village environment.

The tall and thin old man didn't seem to notice Jin An's perfunctory answer, nor did he ask whether Jin An's "um" was right or wrong. He turned back to lead the way: "The king promised us that he would not abandon us. Everyone, we are only here temporarily, he will come back and take away every one of us, so it is named Laughing Corpse Village."

"Taoist Master, you are here from outside. Do you have any news about Black Rain Country?"

The tall and thin old man walked ahead alone, holding a torch in his hand. His tone was calm and natural, and he did not look back.

I don't know if it was due to the light, but the shadow falling on the ground seemed a little distorted, as if it was baring its teeth and claws at Jin An behind him.

The veterans of the Black Rain Kingdom who stayed in the desert!

The three camels following Jin An almost bit off their own tongue.

Mind-blowing.

The next moment, the three camels subconsciously looked at Jin An's back. They didn't know how Jin An would answer the other party's question. If it were said that the Black Rain Kingdom had been destroyed for hundreds of years, would he not be able to bear the blow and go crazy on the spot?

Just when they were thinking about how Jin An would answer, there was a sudden knock on the door in the quiet night, breaking the tranquility of the night.

"Hey, why are so many people getting lost today?"

The tall and thin old man seemed to have lost his memory as he got older. He had forgotten the previous question and looked at Jin An apologetically: "Taoist Priest, the room with the candlelight in front is the front hall where we will greet tonight's distinguished guests. You first go to yourself In the past, the old man from Xikelti would take the initiative to entertain you, and I will open the door for the new guests first. You can tie the cows and camels outside the front hall door first, and the old man from Xikelti will help you take care of them."

Jin An looked as warm as ever and said: "Old sir, you don't have to be so polite. You go ahead and I'll go to the front hall by myself."

Watching the tall and thin old man walking towards the village gate in a hurry, Jin An's eyes flashed with contemplation, and then he continued to walk towards the candlelit building in front.

The three old Sadiqs who were following him said in fear: "Taoist Master Jin'an...the old man named Pasha, is he a living person or...a devil disguised as a human being..."

"...The leader of the Black Rain Kingdom led people into the depths of the desert to search for the Kingdom of the Immortal God... That was all hundreds of years ago. Why, how could there still be survivors left in the depths of the desert!"

Jin An pondered and whispered: "This is what I am curious about. He is indeed a living person, not a dead person in the morgue."

The three of them were dumbfounded.

Could it be that the Kingdom of the Immortal God, which the leader of the Black Rain Kingdom had spent so much manpower, material and financial resources on, was finally found by a few veterans who had forgotten it deep in the desert? And he also found the elixir of life?

There are so many secrets hidden in the Laughing Corpse Village that even Jin An began to wonder about the truth behind the Laughing Corpse Village.

The closer we get to the front hall, the stronger the indescribable aroma of barbecue wafts.

At first, I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought that the smell of barbecue was so delicious that I couldn’t help but move my index fingers.

As you smell it for a long time, the aroma of barbecue becomes addictive and starts to make your mouth dry. No matter how much saliva is secreted in your mouth, your mouth still feels dry and your throat keeps sliding.

Then I started to feel hungry unconsciously.

The more you suppress your desires, the hungrier you will become.

Can't help but want to eat those barbecues.

It seems that the aroma of barbecue wafting in the air can evoke people's most primitive greed and desire.

This feeling of hunger gets stronger as we get closer to the front hall, like my stomach is full of gluttons and my stomach hurts from hunger.

When Jin An came to the house, he found that the old Sadiq, the young Sahafu, and Ilham who had been following him had unconsciously chewed the ropes holding them.

In such a short time, the rope was almost broken by them.

There is a struggle between hunger and reason in their eyes, swinging between primitive desire and clarity of reason.

They still have some sense left, they are just eating the rope.

If you really indulge in desire in the end, you may have to eat the camels around you.

When he saw Shayang chewing his Taoist robe, Jin An directly gave Shayang a casserole iron fist and beat Shayang to consciousness.

This extremely fragrant aroma of barbecue cannot be easily resisted. Jin An took out a few imperial-sealed yellow talismans from his body and placed them on the three camels. With the help of Shinto power, he could resist the hunger caused by the aroma of barbecue. Temptation, regaining clarity.

Jin An untied the sack containing hay from the camel's back, placed it in front of the sheep and camels, and asked them to pretend to be hungry while eating, and then stepped steadily into the candle-lit building. He wanted to see it today. Let’s see if this Laughing Corpse Village is a devil’s cave or a ghost cave!

…

Inside the spacious building.

The room was steaming with steam, and there were large pieces of freshly roasted camel shank and rib meat on the table. The white aroma emitted it, tempting people's taste buds to bloom and their index fingers to move.

Behind the steaming white mist, the sound of eating meat and sucking bone marrow could be heard, eating with gusto.

This is a long log table. A log is split in half in the middle and used directly as a table. The tree stumps are used as table legs. It is rough, simple and practical, with the unique characteristics of desert civilization.

The long wooden stool behind the large log table is also simple, heavy, practical, and fixed to the ground.

At this moment, two distinct groups of people were sitting on the long log table.

There were the most people on one side, including Han Chinese and Westerners with three-dimensional features. In front of everyone, a pile of steaming roasted camel meat or stewed camel meat was poured. Pour it roughly onto the table for everyone to enjoy.

Those people from the Western Regions took big bites of camel meat. They held the ribs as thick as their arms and ate them with gusto. They ate meat and drank heavily. When they choked on the meat, they picked up a bowl of wine and continued eating.

Just hearing how delicious they are eating makes your throat slide unconsciously, as if the camel meat is a delicacy. Your eyes can't help but look at the table full of steaming roasted camel ribs, stewed camel leg meat, and camel meat. Naan…

Unexpectedly, there is still alcohol in the depths of this desert, which is surprising.

These people from the Western Regions have chubby bellies and piles of bones on hand, but they still continue to eat the fragrant camel meat. They seem to be addicted to it. The more they eat, the hungrier they become, and they cannot control their appetite.

But in sharp contrast, none of the Han people sitting on the same side as these Westerners touched the camel meat on the table.

It can be seen that they have been persevering.

The expression on his face was always struggling between reason and hunger.

However, not all of these Han people were affected by the aroma of meat. There were at least three or four people who were not affected at all. Seeing the miserable appearance of their companions from the Western Regions, these people neither persuaded nor stopped them, and allowed them to speak loudly. Eating with a cold expression.

It seems that these Han people and the people of the Western Regions are not of the same mind.

Compared to the large number of people who almost filled the seats here, there were only two people sitting on the other side of the table.

It was a pair of master and servant, one young and one old.

They are a sword-wielding Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth, and heroic features. Although he is in the desert, the Confucian scholar's robe is still clean and tidy. His sitting posture is upright, neither slanted nor slanted. His handsome face is not squinting, and there is a majestic painting on his chest. Righteous.

It's just that the face of this Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth is a bit too delicate, and he looks like a young lady.

Next to the Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth, there was an old man sitting.

It can be seen from the demeanor of this old man that he is a follower of the Confucian scholar.

On the table in front of the master and servant, camel meat was also poured high, steaming with white steam, and the aroma was overflowing.

It's just that the master and servant didn't touch the fragrant camel meat in front of them.

The Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth sat still with his eyes closed and still.

The old man accompanying him looked at the steaming camel meat on the table, while eating the cold naan he brought with him and chewing it slowly with water. He looked at it and ate it again, as if this would change the cold and hard plain naan in his mouth. Delicious camel meat.

It looks a bit indescribably funny and funny.

While the old man was still eating the nang in a funny manner, a man's voice sounded outside the door.

"Silly Sheep, you are the one that worries me the most..."

"Do you smell the aroma of those meats? If you don't want to become lamb legs, lamb chops, and lamb kidneys on the dining table, just stay here and don't run around..."

The man seemed to be scolding a sheep.

"sheep?"

“Where did the sheep come from in the desert?”

"It seems that a new group of people have gone into the depths of the desert in search of the Kingdom of the Immortal God. I don't know which fool went into the desert without a camel but brought a sheep. What's the difference between this and an old man who eats arsenic and hangs himself?"

The old man, who was swallowing his naan with difficulty, heard the movement outside the door and subconsciously turned his head to look in the direction of the door.

"What!"

A stubborn, unruly, and impatient sound sounded outside the door.

Then there were several sounds of punches hitting the flesh of the sheep from outside the door, as well as the sheep's unconvinced cries of resistance, and the beating was very enjoyable.

Is there really someone taking sheep into the depths of the desert?

Hearing the braying of the unruly sheep outside the door, even the Han people on the other side of the table turned and looked outside the door with strange expressions in their eyes.

"Um?"

The old man's movement of eating naan suddenly stopped, and he let out a startled sound. The voice outside the door was so familiar, as if he had heard it before.

The sound that made him feel familiar must have been heard not long ago.

The other party spoke fluent Chinese. Although they met many people from the Western Regions who could speak Chinese during their more than half a year in the Western Regions, there were only a handful of people who could speak such fluent Chinese...

If he is not from the Western Regions, he is someone familiar with him in Kangding Kingdom.

The closest memories of Kangding Kingdom are Xizhou Prefecture and Wuzhou Fuchang County...

"!"

The old man looked at the door with a shocked expression.

Could it be that the young master’s fate really drove him into the desert?

"Mr. Gongzi..." The old man was so shocked that he couldn't say a single word. He opened his mouth in an exaggerated manner, and he didn't even realize that the naan that hadn't been bitten into pieces fell on his lap.

The elegant Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth who was sitting next to the old man seemed to have noticed something. He opened his eyes from closing his eyes to rest and looked towards the door. Those were his clear and beautiful eyes with flowing light and moonlight.

At this time, the sheep outside the door stopped braying, and a young Taoist priest wearing a five-color Taoist robe with fine features patted the dust off his Taoist robe, appeared at the door, stepped into the bright room, and became the focus of attention.