The three of them thought of the little witch at the same time.
Zhuang Wen said to the three of them: "For my sake, don't blame her. If she wants to go crazy, just let her go crazy."
Wan Renyu said with emotion: "We understand!"
The Camel King looked at the direction of the Jiedao from a distance. The water of the Khotan River brought his gaze to where the mountains began to undulate. He said leisurely: "It's time to set off. You can camp at the Jiedao entrance tonight. Be careful on the road."
The Taklimakan Desert, known as the "Sea of ??Death", borders the Puchang Sea in the east, the Kashgar Oasis in the west, the Khotan Oasis in the north of the Kunlun Mountains in the south, and the Tarim River in the north. It covers an area of ??more than 400,000 square miles and is surrounded by mountains. A basin-shaped lowland, isolated from the outside world.
Several entrances are all formed by the rushing of rivers. The most famous one is of course the entrance where the Hotan River flows into the desert. When the water is strong, it rushes thousands of miles, running through the north and south, forming a green shortcut.
In autumn and winter, the river dies and the green shortcuts are covered by wind and sand, leaving only sporadic small oases, which are constantly migrating and changing, and there is not much vitality left.
At this time, Taklimakan was like a hot scorching nest with poisonous wind and hot sand. Even if we took the shortcut in the past, if we missed the water source, we would definitely be dead. It would be frightening and difficult every step of the way.
There are no birds above, no animals below, only the bones of human camels.
The Khotan River is thousands of miles long and crosses the Khotan Oasis. It is the second largest river in the region. It rushes into a section of the desert, forming a winding and complex sandy valley and undulating banks.
The team started early in the morning and arrived at the entrance at dusk. The water became shallower, and in the end only a dry river bed was seen, and it was submerged in the vast sea of ????sand.
They camped and rested in the last Populus euphratica woodland before entering the sand sea.
Looking towards the big sand sea from their position, they could see towering triangular sand dunes, which were twice as high as the spire-shaped sand dunes of Kumtag. It was breathtaking and intimidating.
The three of them sat next to a tree and looked at the road ahead.
Wan Renyu said: "No wonder they have to find someone to lead the way. If it were anyone else, looking at the endless poisonous sand, everyone would have to turn around and leave."
Feng Guoting thought: "We are not going to Qiuci, but we are also traveling with a woman from the royal family, and we are transporting something as heavy as a stone. We are even more worried about encountering risks outside the desert. What is going on?"
Long Ying said: "I can't smell any smell, it's really weird!"
Wan Renyu said: "As long as 20,000 or 30,000 people don't come to attack us, what else can't we handle? I'm not as curious as you. I just hope to finish this desert road as soon as possible. Lord Ying's The nose didn¡¯t work, so when we arrived in Kucha, we all parted ways, with neither side caring about the other¡¯s affairs.¡±
Feng Guoting asked Long Ying: "Is the mysterious person following?"
Long Ying smiled bitterly and said: "I only know how to pray to God and pray to Buddha, hoping that the hunchback will not lose his temper and be at the head of the team. It is difficult to detect if someone is sneaking at the back of the team."
Wan Renyu said: "The entrance is only seven or eight miles wide. As long as the Khotan soldiers guard the heights, no one can follow. After seven days, we no longer know where we are in the desert."
Feng Guoting whispered: "Tie Gang is here!"
Tiegang is the subordinate of the Camel King, responsible for riding the camel and pulling the cart carrying the mysterious items.
Tiegang's attitude was friendly, and he had no place to vent his anger and said: "Those Qiemo people have no idea what the hell they were ordered to do, and everyone is tight-lipped. Ask ten questions and answer one question. The leader refused to make it clear. He only asked me to be careful along the way, and said These three are worthy friends.¡±
When the three of them heard this, they realized that even he didn¡¯t know what he was transporting.
Tiegang speaks Tubo fluently and better than Long Ying.
Feng Guoting smiled and said: "Brother Tiegang's boss told us that the destination was not Qiuci. Where did we go in the end?"
Tiegang replied without thinking: "Don't you know? We are going to Tuqi Shiren's Daya!"
The three of them were moved at the same time, and they had never thought about it. The mysterious cargo will be sent to Broken Leaf City.
Before setting off the next day, Caihong had another bad idea. He asked someone to bring a big flag and forced Longying to hold it and walk in front of the team so that the people behind could see it clearly. Everyone knows that what this noble lady came up with is unrealistic, but who dares to oppose her on this matter?
Long Ying accepted the situation and accepted it. Walk in front holding the big flag. In the first section, there is still some riverbed salt land to walk on, and then there is the rolling yellow sand that swallowed up the Khotan River, and the road is blocked by tall sand dunes. The passage is difficult, with twists and turns, making walking extremely difficult even with the long legs of a camel. Taklimakan is indeed well-deserved, and even the sand is different. Compared with the previous one, the sand in Kumtag is much firmer.
By the time the sun reaches the zenith, the heat is rising and the surrounding area has become blurry.??, it's like entering a big furnace, and the suffering is indescribable.
The three of them, Long Ying, originally had "ambitions" to overcome the heat and poison of the desert with supreme determination, steely will, and a pure heart. However, when experiencing the situation, the mouth is parched, the thirst is unbearable, and the misery continues endlessly, the hero cannot help but feel short of breath. But being in front of the team is also very beneficial. At least you don't have to brave the billowing dust kicked up by the camels.
The familiar desert landscape reappears in all directions. The fiery sun shines down mercilessly in the sky without a trace of clouds. Fortunately, there is no wind. Although it makes you dizzy from the sun, it is better than having your face shaved by the wind and sand.
Long Ying had thrown away the flag long ago, but of course no one noticed. To find an oasis with water in such a lifeless ghost land filled with sand and dunes as far as the eye can see is almost like looking for a needle in a haystack. Dragon Eagle's confidence in the demon species has been shaken in such a harsh environment. Not to mention others.
In this boundless area, their most terrifying enemies are the sun and sand. No matter how heroic you are, your ambition will be exhausted, and your only hope is to leave as soon as possible.
Shortly after noon, a sudden wind and sand blew, which was not very strong, but it made them feel better. The sand flew all over the sky, whirling rapidly around the group, getting into their necks without hesitation, pouring into their throats, blocking their nostrils, and captivating them. My eyes, not only unable to see the sun, also seemed to be covered by the vast sea of ??sand.
Fortunately, the wind and sand came and went quickly, and when the "Sea of ??Death" returned to calm, everyone realized how valuable it was to work hard before the sandstorm came.
Watching the grains of sand falling downwards and spreading layer by layer on the desert, it feels like you have lived through the rest of your life. You also know that this is just a small experiment by Mr. Shahai. The powerful sandstorm that is a hundred times more terrifying is still somewhere on the road ahead. Looking forward to their arrival.
The desert is plunged into eternal silence at this moment, but its intimidating power has been deeply felt and appreciated by every intruder.
No one was interested in saying a word, and the camels also lost their mood to chirp. There is no change in time and space here, and there is absolutely no life. There is only a seemingly endless monotonous sand scene, far away from the world. Although it is as hot as fire, it fills the heart with a gloomy chill. .
This huge and spectacular team, consisting of 230 camels and 125 people, became dwarfed by the vast sea of ??sand, just like a pitiful little worm slowly squirming.
At dusk, they chose to set up camp among four relatively solid large sand dunes.
The busy, chaotic, and noisy situation reappeared. Unloading and setting up camp was a repetitive and tiresome task. We had no choice, and we knew that we would have to do this in the days to come. When the sun goes down, the temperature plummets, from hot to sweaty, to so cold that no matter how thick you wear it, you can't stand it. I can't express the feeling.
The three of them hid in their camp tent and ate the dry food they had brought. Suddenly, General Feng Mo, the commander-in-chief of the march, got into the tent holding a big watermelon and said with a smile: "Let's all eat together. It was sent by the camel king, filled with twelve heads." Camels, enough to feed us for three nights.¡±
The three of them could not help but cheer and scream.
Feng Mo took out a sharp dagger, divided the big watermelon into four portions, and ate it. He felt that the most wonderful thing in the world was nothing more than this.
Feng Mo said to Long Ying: "According to your estimate, at our speed, how long will it take to reach the first oasis?"
Long Ying thought that only God knew, but of course he could not use God as a shield. He pretended to be confident and said: "It should be a matter of seven or eight days."
Feng Mo frowned and said: "It takes so long. The consumption of clean water is huge and we need to replenish it."
Wan Renyu said in surprise: "You have brought such a large amount of clean water, which can be used by humans and animals for at least ten and a half days. How could you be in a hurry on the first night?"
Feng Mo took a hard bite of the watermelon and sighed: "Mrs. Rainbow and her two female guards are going to take a bath tonight. They say they can't stand the sand. You understand!"
The three of them shouted at the same time: "What?"
Feng Mo smiled bitterly and said: "Women! Women! They shouldn't come at all, but the king has his destiny, who dares to speak?"
Feng Guoting asked: "Does she know we threw her flag?"
Feng Mo was slightly startled, and finally remembered that he made eye contact with the three people, and then the whole room burst into laughter.
Long Ying said: "We know that your country does not hesitate to deliver goods across the Great Sand Sea to the north at an inopportune time this time. It is a secret mission. But we are people who travel north and south. If we can reveal something, we will encounter something. It is beneficial and harmless to everyone if we take precautions against risks."
Feng Mo nodded and said: "I come to talk to you tonight, just as Lord Zhuang Wen meant. If he hadn't been forced to talk by Rainbow, he would have come to see you in person."
He frowned again and said: "There is something, Master Zhuang Wen and I were both confused. Yesterday, when Brother Di Duanxiu went to the camel farm to buy camels, the Camel King still didn't trust you very much, so he couldn't help but test your abilities. On the contrary, Master Zhuang Wen thought you were a reliable person because he knew the art of fortune-telling. But before setting off this morning, the Camel King changed his attitude and reminded Lord Zhuang Wen many times that the success or failure of this mission depends entirely on these three people. Master Zhuang Wen still didn't care, thinking that it was referring to your ability to cross the desert. He calmed down just now. Because he is familiar with the Camel King, he knew that he would not praise others easily. The more he thought about it, the more subtle it became. Dare I ask you three, have you ever revealed something to the Camel King that made him change his mind? "
The three of them were shocked, knowing that the Camel King had guessed who they were.
As for the Camel King, they do have traces to follow. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users please go to m. to read.)