After wiping out the men sent by the county magistrate, Lu Shouwen ordered people to dig a big hole and bury these people without leaving any evidence, so that the county magistrate would not know in advance and be prepared.
If these people never come back, the county magistrate will definitely be suspicious, but it is better than someone tipping them off.
Now there is only Dong E as a guide, and it is even more difficult to pass the message back. If you get lost in the desert, you will definitely die.
Now that things have come to this, we have no choice but to move forward together, one step at a time.
Under the guidance of Dong E, the delegation first returned to the small river where they were two days ago. After walking along the small river for three days, Dong E smiled when they saw a tall Aobao.
Pointing to the rolling hills ahead, she said to the ancient sage Chao: "Brother, look, if you pass through the pass in front, you will reach the real desert. There are sand and rocks flying all year round, and the camel caravan has traveled back and forth for hundreds of years, forcibly stepping on a road. This road will take more than ten days to walk out, and there won't be any supplies along the way, so we need to store enough clean water here before we can go on the road."
After hearing this, everyone quickly dismounted their horses and went to the river to collect water. As long as they can hold water, you can carry pots, bags, pots and other containers with you. Fill them all with water and put them on the horse and carriage.
Dong E found another problem and reminded: "Carry water bottles and water bags with you as much as possible. There are sandstorms in the desert from time to time. Horses are often lost because they are afraid of running around. Don't put everything on the horse's back to avoid finding it. .”
Those who attacked them all rode horses, and now that there were enough horses, Gu Shengchao chose a horse to ride on and gave the carriage to Dong E.
The wounds on her body have not healed, and she can rest peacefully in the carriage alone.
The fodder for the horses was also prepared, and everyone stopped for a while before setting off on the road.
Passing through the natural pass between the hills, the front is boundless and there is no obstruction.
Even the grass is pitiful, and you can only see a clump of green at a long distance.
At a glance, everything is gravel and gravel, spread out in the vast sea.
Sure enough, as Dong E said, in the endless desert, there was a faint trace with a slight arc.
It was a road carved out by repeated trampling by horses and camels over hundreds of years.
Walking along this road leisurely, no one has any extravagant expectations. Thinking about more than ten boring days is annoying.
Some people were upset, but some were happy. Lu Shouwen pointed to the looming road ahead and said excitedly: "There was a lot of discussion in the imperial court about whether to open the market at the border. We were asked to come out to verify after the debate couldn't stop. There has not been normal trade between the two countries for many years. It stands to reason that there has been no normal trade between the two countries. Traffic has long been blocked, but this road proves that private transactions between the people have never been interrupted, and it further illustrates the need for the two countries to open their markets. Our trip is worthwhile."
With this road, Dong E could concentrate on recuperating and practicing her martial arts in the carriage, so she didn't have to worry about getting lost.
Travel during the day and camp at night.
We traveled smoothly for six days,
That day, Dong E suddenly felt chest tightness in the carriage. She felt something was not going well and stuck her head out to take a look.
The sky is clear in the southeast, but it is foggy in the northwest. The wind is blowing from there, and the breeze is gentle, bringing a strong earthy smell.
not good.
"Stop, stop quickly, it's dangerous." Dong E got out of the carriage and stood up, shouting loudly.
"What's wrong?" Ancient Sage came over on horseback.
Looking at the misty distance, Dong E said anxiously: "There is a sandstorm coming soon. We must gather together immediately. Only by gathering together can we resist the strong wind."
"No way, is it so mysterious?" Some people were doubtful.
Gu Shengchao obeyed the advice of this adopted sister whom he had just met. He immediately galloped towards Lu Shouwen in front of him, shouting as he went: "Stop those in front, and follow quickly. Everyone forms a circle."
When Lu Shouwen heard the sound, he reined in his horse and stopped. When he saw it was the ancient sage Chao, he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Sandstorm, there is a sandstorm coming." Gu Shengchao pointed to the northwest.
"Does anyone else know?" Lu Shouwen had never experienced it personally, so he turned to ask others for their opinions.
Some of the accompanying team members had experienced it. After looking at it from a distance, they said uneasily: "It looks like it, it's better to be prepared first."
After listening to everyone's opinions, Lu Shouwen raised the banner in his hand high and shouted loudly: "With my banner as the center, everyone is surrounding me."
With an order, everyone proceeds in an orderly manner.
The horses seemed to sense the danger. When their master dismounted, they lay down without waiting for the master's instructions.
At this moment, two tall horses came from nowhere, circled around the crowd, and then galloped away towards the south.
Everyone was busy, and no one cared about where the horse came from.
The carriage carrying Dong E had to stop upwind, in an attempt to shield everyone from the wind and sand. She stopped the carriage driver and said, "Brother, absolutely not. The carriage can only be parked downwind, otherwise it will fly and hit people."
The coachman disagreed: "It doesn't matter how strong the wind is, it's up to me."
Dong E had no choice but to seek help from Gu Shengchao.
The deputy envoy's words still worked. Although the coachman complained, he had to drive the carriage to stay downwind.
Seeing the dissatisfied expression of the coachman, Dong E still had something to say: "Brother, take the horse off the coach quickly and throw away the wheels, otherwise it will still be swept away by the wind."
"Whether it's over or not, you have more to do."
Judging from the carriage driver's posture, if she wasn't the deputy envoy's foster sister, she would hit him.
Dong E burst into tears when she was wronged, and had no choice but to lean on Gu Shengchao for comfort.
Gu Shengchao saw this and was also suspicious.
While I was wondering, I suddenly heard someone exclaim: "Look what's over there?"
Everyone followed the man's gesture and saw a large mountain appearing in the distance, slowly moving towards this side.
The mountains stretch across dozens of miles, and are all made of yellow sand and gravel, rising from the sky to the ground.
The strange thing is that the wind can lift the sand and gravel so high, but the wind that everyone feels is not strong.
Such a terrifying sight made everyone tremble with fear.
"Get down quickly, gather around and get down, it's best if we all huddle together."
Although Dong E was wronged, she still shouted a reminder for everyone's safety.
This time no one refuted, and they all gathered around themselves, lying side by side on the gravelly ground.
I wish I could dig a hole and crawl in.
Suddenly, a strong wind blew, and there was a strong wind in my ears.
The horses in the carriage driven by the driver were frightened, raised their front hooves high, and kept neighing.
Seeing that the situation was not good, he actually stood up and ran towards the carriage, quickly taking the horse off the carriage.
The horse was so frightened that it flew away with its hooves.
The driver wanted to return to the crowd, but he could no longer move his legs against the wind, and it seemed like a wall was blocking him in front of him.
A burst of dense sand and gravel hit my face, which hurt like hell. As a last resort, he took two steps back and hid behind the car.
The sky that had been clear just now suddenly darkened, and nothing could be seen three steps away. Endless grains of sand swept across the sky and covered the earth.
Feeling something pushing him behind him, the driver turned his head, and the heavy carriage slowly floated against him.
The driver was horrified. Before he could react, the carriage flew away overhead.
He didn't pay attention and suddenly felt unsteady on his feet, and the strong wind blew him away from the ground.
"My life is at an end."
The coachman lamented that he regretted that he should have taken matters into his own hands and had to go against the little girl Dong E just to save face.
Suddenly, a big hand grabbed his ankle in time, pulled him down forcefully, and pinned him down.
The driver squinted his eyes to watch, fearing that the sand and gravel would hurt his eyelids. A few grains of fine sand flew into his eyes. Tears welled up in his eyes and he quickly closed his eyes.
Even at that moment, he saw clearly that it was his deputy, Gu Shengchao, who had saved him.
"Thank you!"
As soon as he opened his mouth, sand was poured into his mouth.
Neither of them dared to open their eyes or speak.
Even though the ancient sage Chao Rao had strong inner strength, he had to fight the storm desperately to avoid being swept away.
After a while, sand piled up on their heads, slowly forming a sand beam. They had to protect their mouths and noses with their hands to avoid suffocation.
Anyway, it was so dark that the sun and moon could not be distinguished, and the two of them stood motionless against the storm.
The wind howled, ghosts cried and wolves howled, and various sounds were mixed together and flew overhead.
Fine sand and gravel continued to accumulate in front of and beside him, gradually covering half of his body. The arm that was clinging to the ground was completely buried in the sand.
That's fine. With the sand and stones fixed in place, Gu Shengchao also saved his strength and could finally take a breath.
I persisted, persisted, and finally fell asleep due to exhaustion.
When I woke up, the sky was still gloomy. It was so gray that I couldn't see clearly, and the howling wind was still in my ears.
My body was extremely heavy. I raised my hand with difficulty and touched it, but my whole body was completely buried in the sand.
Use your hands to remove the fine sand from your nostrils and continue sleeping.
Feeling groggy, waking up to sleep, falling asleep and waking up again.
It feels like a long time.
The wind finally died down.
The ancient sage stood up tiredly. The entire sky seemed to be covered with many layers of gauze from top to bottom, and a dim yellow color filled the sky and the earth.
The smell of earth is strong in the nostrils.
The coachman at his feet seemed dead and motionless.
Pick up the sand around him and pull him out.
He patted his face gently: "Hey, are you okay?"
The coachman groaned and opened his eyes and looked at the sky: "I just fell asleep, nothing is wrong."
He spat out the fine sand in his mouth and asked, "Is it day or black now?"
"I don't know either." Gu Shengchao shook his head.
It's really impossible to tell unless you use a sandglass to estimate it.
There was a blurry figure shaking not far away, and the Ancient Sage ran over.
Someone also stood up, looking equally confused, as if they were in a dream.
"Dong E, Dong E." Gu Shengchao called loudly, fearing that something might happen to his adopted sister.
"Brother, I'm here."
Dong E stood up, patted the sand on her body, and ran towards him.
The two hugged each other tightly, feeling relieved that they had survived the disaster.
"Second Brother Lu, is Second Brother here?"
Seeing that his adopted sister was fine, Gu Shengchao went to find Lu Shouwen again. He is the envoy, the backbone of the mission, and must not make any mistakes.
Someone sat up, took out a banner from the sand, and raised it high: "I'm here, I can't die."
Everyone woke up one after another and reported to each other that they were safe.
After counting the number of people, an unfortunate situation still occurred.
Two people are missing, probably swept away by a sandstorm. The situation is more dangerous than bad.
One person died, being hit in the head by a rock blown by the storm and killed directly.
There were also many people whose shoulders and thighs were injured by flying stones, but compared to death, it was such a blessing.
Materials were also lost, and all the vehicles flew away. Fortunately, the horses were smart and stayed with their owners, so it was no problem to ride one person at a time.
While busy, someone shouted happily: "Look, it's almost dawn."
As everyone watched, a faint line of fish-belly white appeared in the dim sky.
After finally getting through the long night, everyone suddenly felt energetic.
The dead person cannot be sent back to his hometown and can only be buried on the spot.
Gu Shengchao found Yi and a hoe and found a place with less sand and gravel to dig a hole.
As we dig deeper, there are more and more stones, and even blue bricks appear.
Deserts like Beihu lack soil quality for making bricks, so they can only be transported from the Dawu Dynasty. The price of bricks and tiles is naturally very high, and ordinary people cannot afford it.
The green bricks are a little loose and can be picked up with a few clicks of your hands.
As he took more and more, Gu Shengchao suddenly felt that his feet were loose. He jumped into the air and dodged far away.
There was a boom.
The place where I was standing just now collapsed, sending up dust all over the sky.
Two people were curious and walked closer to check. They heard a sound similar to the rotation of a mill below, and countless sharp arrows were suddenly shot out.
The incident happened so suddenly that the two men had no time to dodge and were immediately shot to death by arrows.
