On the first day after arriving in Xizhou Prefecture, we encountered a sandstorm. The key was that the goat went crazy during the meal and scattered the dry food and cowhide water bags all over the floor. Except for only a small part, most of the other dry food and water were recovered. All were lost, and Jin An now wanted to beat the goat.
"Silly sheep!"
Jin An was about to yell angrily, but before he could finish his words, he had a mouth full of sand again, and he shut his mouth angrily.
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 reach the nearest 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 desert Gobi climate has a typical large temperature difference between day and night. The direct sunlight is strong during the day and the temperature drops rapidly at night, which can make people suffer from cold. In this desert Gobi where the per capita medical level is backward and the vast land is sparsely populated, ordinary birthplaces Minor illnesses can be life-threatening.
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 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 silly sheep, took the initiative to bow their heads in submission 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, and his status as a Taoist priest, the five-color Taoist robes are not made of fine fabrics that ordinary people can afford to wear. Jin An's extraordinary qualities make him This old herdsman, who works with loess and herds sheep all day long, feels 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 the 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 up the seat beside the bonfire he had lit before to him, which made him 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 the same sip of wine. Jin’an shared naan bread with the old herdsmen, and the old herdsmen shared hot goat’s milk wine with Jin’an. After the two drank the same sip of wine, they became brothers in the desert. Suddenly, the more we chatted, the more familiar we became.
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 a multi-ethnic country, the territory of the Han people here is still dominated by Han people. Only after leaving the frontier fortress is the world of the Western Regions.
"Is Taoist Jin'an from China? Taoist 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 follow people from Central Plains. Dealing with each other." 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 Changsheng River." 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."
"My father, my grandfather, my great-great-grandfather... Since that generation, people from the Central Plains have been crossing the border into the Western Regions in search of the legendary Eternal River... 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 in speaking. 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 capital, after a sip of wine together, we become the most trusted brothers in the desert."
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 dark ravine face, which had been blown by dry winds all year round, shook his head and said: "This is not the biggest sandstorm in Xizhou Prefecture. I have never left the village three hundred miles away in my life. I heard those businessmen from the Western Regions say The further you go along the official road to the east of Xizhou Prefecture, the more desolate you get. Eventually it becomes a desert. All the peaks were flattened by the black wind and turned into fine sand. It became a devil's desert that can trap people's souls. The sandstorms are so big that they can even flatten mountain peaks, and the mud houses like the ones we are sheltering in now are more fragile than leaves."
"But in the Western Regions outside Xizhou, there are sandstorms that are even bigger than 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 people are not buried alive by the sand, they will be completely disoriented and die of thirst in the desert. What they are most afraid of is angering the gods and encountering sandstorms in the desert."
The eastern part of Xizhou Mansion was the direction where he left the customs to go to the Western Regions. Jin'an did not plan what Sun Tugen said, but Sun Tugen continued: "Deeper in the desert, according to those Western Region businessmen, there are more dangerous sandstorms. In one night You can bury a country under the yellow sand forever..."
"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 stroked the shepherd behind him over and over again, and said with a trembling voice: "Later, later... the city full of devils offended the gods, and was once again buried under the desert by a sandstorm. , No, but, I heard from those businessmen in the Western Regions... There has been no peace in the desert 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 incident quite surprised Jin An. The whole city was skinned. In the Western Region, one city may be a country. Skinning the whole city is equivalent to skinning the whole country. He became a little curious about the devil city. What secret is hidden?
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 and gradually ended. Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, huddled together with his sheep, warming themselves on the fire, and slept soundly in the noisy and strong wind. He had long been accustomed to it.
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 a 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 doesn't get dark until around three quarters past midnight, 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 heaven and earth were like a majestic scroll unfolding. The heaven and earth seemed to be covered with fairy jade and blue clouds. Jin'an was lost in thought for a while.
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 early morning glow quickly dissipated. When Sun Tugen stood up excitedly after praying, Jin An began to suggest that he wanted to go to the village to buy some water. Then, along with a man and a goat, an old herdsman drove seven or eight sheep. Walk in one direction.
