Entering the stone gate, there is a large domed tomb inside, with many wooden figurines placed in the same way as when the Central Plains emperor went to court.
"These wooden figurines must not be moved. There are mechanisms underneath. We must go around them." Jia Liufang held up a torch to guide the way and introduced them as he walked.
Everyone was on alert, and Gu Shengchao was also guarding Dong E. The layer of iron armor on their skin ensured their safety.
It was only at this moment that he realized why he didn't sense Black and White Impermanence on the other side of the stone gate, because the iron armor condensed by the Iron Arm God's true energy hindered his perception.
There are advantages and disadvantages, everything cannot be perfect, and you cannot have your cake and eat it too.
Bypassing this large tomb, there is another vaulted tomb at the back, which is smaller than the one in front. It contains two sarcophagi. It is believed that the husband and wife were buried together.
There is an epitaph in front of the sarcophagus, recording the life of the tomb owner.
It turns out that the owner of the tomb was the prime minister of the former Central Plains Dynasty and the founding of the Dawu Dynasty. He brought his family and gold and silver treasures to the desert to seek refuge with the Shanyu at that time. In order to fight against the newly established Dawu Dynasty, Chanyu treated him well and specially granted him the position of state minister, and he served in the royal court until his death.
As for why this tomb was built, why it was sited here, where the craftsmen came from, and so on, it is still unknown.
There were passages on both sides of the back room, and Lu Shouwen looked inside.
Zhuang Baishi said nervously: "Sir, there is nothing inside, but there are still many traps. My two brothers almost fell into the trap just now."
"So that's it." With his experience in the corridor, Lu Shouwen naturally believed what he said.
"Then how did you get in?" Lu Shouwen was confused.
Jia Liufang came to the side and said, "We made a robbery hole and we can crawl in from here."
Several people looked at it and saw that the cave was sloping upward, with only room for one person to crawl through.
Although I didn't say it, I still admired their talents in touching gold.
The vast desert is completely barren. In such an environment, it is not easy to accurately dig the hole into the back room where the coffin is stored.
From here forward in sequence, you can easily open all the stone doors. This ability is rare in the world.
Lu Shouwen was satisfied after learning about the structure and characteristics of the tomb and the life of the tomb owner.
"We will return the same way we came from the front and fill in the exposed part of the corridor. Could you please close the stone gate again? After we go up the Thief Cave, let's have a drink together."
"Thank you for your kindness, sir." The two of them saluted repeatedly.
Several people came to the corridor, and the black and white Wuchang brothers closed the stone gate.
They jumped up and saw that everyone in the envoy had obtained the spirit stones and practiced their own martial arts.
Lu Shouwen ordered people to go down and completely fill in the collapsed pit.
On the ground, I estimated the direction of the corridor and the locations of the front and back rooms, and then searched under the mound in the distance, and finally found the robbery cave.
The entrance of the cave is stacked with stones, which not only makes it difficult to find, but also ensures the circulation of air in the cave.
The excavated earth is spread flat on the mound and cannot be noticed unless you look closely.
After waiting for a while, the Black and White Wuchang brothers pushed away the stones at the entrance of the cave and climbed out.
Jia Liufang had a rope tied to her ankle.
"What is this?" Lu Shouwen didn't know what he meant.
Jia Liufang smiled and said nothing, untied the rope, held it in his hand and pulled hard.
First, a puff of flying dust erupted from the Thief's Cave, and then the mound collapsed, becoming one with the desert.
Looking from a distance, no one knew that there had been a mound here and a large tomb was buried underneath.
"The back room of the tomb is the roof. We made preparations in advance. The rope drove the wood to remove the key bricks. The roof of the tomb naturally collapsed. No one can enter unless the hole is dug again. This can ensure that the owner of the tomb will not be disturbed."
After listening to Jia Liufang's detailed explanation, everyone stopped talking.
"Where's the horse? The horse we tied here is missing!"
Zhuang Baishi looked around and became anxious.
In the vast desert, it is impossible to escape without losing your mount, and you can only wait for death.
"I saw two horses before the sandstorm came. They ran southward because they were frightened. They probably won't be able to come back." Dong E pointed the way with her hand.
Following the direction of her finger, Jia Liufang was pleasantly surprised: "Ma, our horse is back."
But seeing the dust flying, two horses galloped towards them. When they got close, they stopped, lowered their heads and rubbed hard against the two of them, snoring from time to time, looking extremely docile.
It is said that an old horse knows its way, and it is rare for a horse to come back to look for its owner after leaving to avoid danger.
Combing the horse's hair lovingly and patting its neck gently, Zhuang Baishi said with emotion: "These are two foals. They have only been with us for half a year. It is rare to be able to never leave. I decided I will never leave them again and stay with them for the rest of my life.”
The praised horse seemed to understand, and stretched out its wet tongue to lick his face, making Zhuang Baishi drool all over his face.
Amid everyone's laughter, the sunset unknowingly set, and night enveloped the quiet desert.
Looking from a distance, clusters of bonfires were lit one after another, illuminating the mission camp.
"Let's go have a drink."
Lu Shouwen did not forget the agreement and led everyone back to the station.
Yesterday's sandstorm was so violent that all vehicles were swept away and most of the supplies needed by the people were lost, causing heavy losses to the mission.
Fortunately, after listening to Dong E's advice, everyone kept enough food and water with them, so it was not a big problem to hurry up and leave this barren land.
Excited and satisfied with the rest of their lives after the disaster, everyone drank happily. Except for a few people on duty at night who could not drink, the others were drunk and helped each other back to the tent to rest.
When on the road, the tents are folded and stacked in the carriage.
Fortunately, people searched around on horseback and found several overturned carriages, and dug out some supplies from them and used them reluctantly.
The tents were not enough, and each one was packed with people. Although they affected each other, it was still lively.
It was just that Dong E was suffering because it was impossible for her to occupy a tent by herself, so she had to sleep next to Gu Shengchao and make do with everyone else.
Loud snores came and went, disturbing her sleep.
When I woke up, it was already broad daylight.
Gu Shengchao opened his eyes, but Dong E was not around. The snoring of the two people was still continuing, and it seemed that they had to compete.
Walking out of the tent, Dong E was practicing boxing with Lu Shouwen.
Seeing the ancient sage coming out, Lu Shouwen also smiled bitterly: "You girl turned out to be a martial arts fanatic. When you saw me practicing Kung Fu, you insisted on begging me to teach her, so I had to teach her a set of Ruyiquan. After practicing it a few times, she became It’s the same.”
When Dong E saw her sworn brother come out, she practiced again. She ran over and grabbed Gu Shengchao's arm and asked, "Brother, how do you think I'm doing?"
"Okay, better than what I taught you."
Lu Shouwen heard that he was complimenting him, and left laughing.
Not far away, Jiaqi was also practicing. Gu Shengchao walked over and asked him: "Can the two eldest brothers of 'Black and White Wuchang' wake up? I forgot where they sleep?"
"They left on horseback a long time ago. I gave them a bag of water. We don't have much left, so we don't dare to give more." Jia Qi was afraid that Gu Shengchao would be angry and did not dare to speak loudly.
Seeing that Gu Shengchao didn't seem to care about this, Jia Qi was relieved.
"How many days do we have until we find a place with supplies?"
The only guide in the team was Dong E, Gu Shengchao asked.
After counting on her fingers, Dong E raised her head and said: "If one person rides one horse, it will take three days for the horse to be fast."
After sorting out all the luggage, we simply had a meal and then the team set off.
Traveling all the way, I didn't dare to sleep too much every night for fear of encountering another storm on the road.
By noon on the third day, the people were tired and the horses were exhausted, the food had been distributed, and the water bags were empty.
If you can persist today, but are still trapped in the desert tomorrow, there will definitely be casualties among the team.
The horse under his crotch has long been exhausted, and would not move forward unless it was urged by the whip.
They barely managed to hold on until the afternoon. The horses had not had any grass for days, and the few weeds they occasionally encountered in the desert were not enough to fill the gap between their teeth.
The concentrated feed mixed with beans and oats was devastated by the storm. There was not much left, and it had been eaten up long ago. The listless and overwhelmed look of each one made people feel distressed.
Seeing that he could not move forward, Lu Shouwen was about to order repairs on the spot. All the horses seemed to sense something, and they kept stepping back and forth with their four hooves, neighing high-pitchedly, and transmitting their messages to each other.
After a while, the horses all ran forward without any urging from their owners.
In the boundless desert, horses are more important than anything else. Once they die of exhaustion or are injured, they cannot get out of here with just two legs.
Lu Shouwen wanted to rein in his horse and let his mount rest in peace, but the horse didn't listen to his orders at all and was focused on rushing forward.
While everyone was puzzled, Dong E was excited and shouted loudly: "We are about to leave the desert. The horses must have smelled the grass on the grassland. We are saved."
Everyone was doubtful and allowed their horses to run wildly.
After walking for a short time, the grass that originally grew sporadically gradually became denser.
A burst of refreshing breath hit my nostrils, refreshing my heart and mind.
Passing around a low mountain ridge ahead, the vast expanse of grassland appeared in front of everyone.
Compared with the barren desert, the endless green grassland looks full of vitality, and people's depressed hearts also become happy.
A soothing river meanders quietly through the pasture, and groups of cattle and sheep wander through the waist-high grass and graze leisurely.
The shepherds in the distance sang loudly beside a green lake, and their songs were as melodious as the meandering river in front of them.
Looking around, at the very far end, the blue sky and green grass blend together, and the sky has merged into one.
After the entire team entered the grassland, the horses refused to take another step and lowered their heads to nibble on the fresh green grass nearby.
The people were also exhausted and had no strength to dismount, so they simply rolled off their horses. Anyway, the grass is thick, so it will be fine if you fall on it.
Lying on the soft grass and looking at the clear blue sky, it feels extremely comfortable.
A team of hundreds of people appeared on the grassland. The herdsmen became alert, and a man rode up to them to ask questions.
The shepherd was chattering and no one could understand what he was talking about.
The envoy was followed by a translator who was lying on the grass snoring loudly due to excessive fatigue and could not wake up.
Seeing that they couldn't understand, the herdsman suddenly said, "Are you from the Central Plains? What's your business in Beihu?"
Everyone was surprised to find that this man could speak the Mandarin dialect of the Central Plains.
Gu Shengchao, like everyone else, lay in the grass with his eyes closed and refused to get up. Hearing this man's voice seemed familiar, he got up and looked at him carefully.
"Brother Mobatu, is that you?" He was a little unsure and looked a bit similar.
On that day, Wen Zhe, an old eunuch of the Dawu Dynasty, invited Beihu master Xian Yutie to help. Gu Shengchao pretended to be drunk and went to find them to cause trouble. He had fought against Mobatu before, so he had some impressions.
The man was in a daze for a moment, and finally recognized who he was.
It's no wonder that they lived and slept in the open, especially in the last three days. Water was more precious than life. No one could wash, and their faces were covered in dirt.
"It's you, my good brother."
Mobatu stepped forward and gave Gu Sheng Chao a passionate bear hug. He was too enthusiastic and couldn't control his strength, and almost broke Gu Sheng Chao's waist.
Knowing that they were an envoy to Beihu, Mobatu entertained them hospitably.
The herdsmen brought cattle and sheep for everyone to slaughter and eat. They also filled water bags for them, gave everyone a few jugs of wine, and taught everyone how to use dry cow dung to cook.
At first, many people were a little reluctant, fearing that the meat would taste different when grilled in this way.
When the flames started to rise, the aroma of barbecued beef and mutton came to the nostrils. Everyone was so hungry that they couldn't care about these things and gathered around to feast.
Strangely enough, dried cow dung has no peculiar smell. The roasted meat is soft and tender, but has a stronger flavor.
Mobatu called over some of the surrounding shepherds, brought more wine, and accompanied the envoys to eat and drink as much as they wanted.
