A group of six people arrived at the entrance of the village. Two playful children had already ran to the village with the water, wine and food they bought from the border city. The two middle-aged men continued to take Su You and Jiang Nuer into the village. .
You don't have to go into the village to feel the dilapidation and loneliness of this village that stands in the yellow sand and relies on the oasis next to it to survive.
When they walked into the village, they saw men and women sitting on the ground, with ragged clothes and slovenly faces, and countless flies and mosquitoes flying around their bodies. Even the well-informed Jiang Nuer was shocked by this scene. .
Su You frowned, feeling that this village was a little strange.
At this time, the short-haired man walking in front turned around and explained to the two of them: "You two must think that the village is unexpectedly dilapidated and dirty, but in fact it is all because of the gang of bandits who are all over the desert. Bandits, they commit rape, robbery, and all kinds of evil. Even if it is just a good-looking stone, they will take it away, but it is just a robbery. Those gangs of thieves and bandits have not even spared the strong men, women, and children in the village. , several times of looting killed nearly 80% of the village's population. There are really corpses everywhere and blood flowing everywhere. Just looking at them will make you vomit immediately. "
"It wasn't until other mercenary organizations passed by the village and drove away the bandits that the village, which was already devastated at that time, was able to live a poor but peaceful life now."
"But since most of the middle-aged men, women and children in the village were killed by bandits, and most of the people left in the village are the elderly and the disabled with physical disabilities, even if they are in a safe environment, everyone can only watch the village. Declining.”
After listening to what the short-haired man said, Su You looked much better, and then asked: "Is that why you chose to become mercenaries, so that you can earn spiritual stones in this way?"
"You are right." The short-haired man nodded and said: "Because it is really difficult to rely on planting to maintain a living in the desert. Fortunately, we can still find some elixirs and herbs growing in the nooks and crannies, or maybe they haven't yet. The spirit stone veins have been opened, and there are so many people who like to explore in the desert, so we want to use our advantages as locals and more familiar with the desert environment to recruit those who want to go to the desert. Guests on adventures can earn spiritual stones to improve the life of the village.”
Another middle-aged man then sighed and said: "It's a pity that the cultivation level of the two of us is too low, and we also have two children who are regarded as troublemakers, so few people are willing to ask us to do things. Even if we can take them to Xihuang City."
"Why!"
As they talked, the two middle-aged men walking in front stopped in front of a small courtyard that was so dilapidated that it didn't even have a roof. The short-haired man turned around and said to Su You: "If you don't mind, please give me a try." Let’s go inside and take a rest, and after we distribute the things we bought from the city to others, we can set off for Xihuang City.”
After that, the two middle-aged men also walked to other parts of the village with their bulging packages, and you could still hear their voices greeting other people.
The old people who were greeted to come out to get the food and water distributed to them grabbed the hands of the two and kept thanking them.
After just watching for a while, Su You and Jiang Nuer walked to the small courtyard in front of them with only three complete walls.
The two children who had run into the village in advance were now serving brown rice prepared on an open-air stove, and then finished the meal with a few wild vegetables.
After finishing the meal, the two children sat with Su You and Jiang Nuer without making any fuss. It wasn't until they heard footsteps coming from outside the door that they finally stood up excitedly and ran outside the house.
It turned out that the two middle-aged men who had gone out to distribute food and water had returned.
After walking into the yard, the short-haired man began to introduce himself and others to Su You and Jiang Nuer, and said: "You two, here are the people from Lijia Village, named Li Kaigu, and this is my relative. My younger brother, Li Gukai, and these two children were born to my sister-in-law before she was captured and killed by bandits. The boy’s name is Li Tiankai, and the girl’s name is Li Yiru.”
"My surname is Su, and her surname is Jiang." Su You did not directly say his and Jiang Nuer's names, but only their surnames.
"It turns out it's Mr. Su and Miss Jiang." Li Kaigu, who obviously occupies a dominant position among the four, didn't mind this. After all, it was impossible to trust strangers when he was away from home, so he just smiled and asked: "Su Sir, Miss Jiang, the matter has been settled, shall we set off for Xihuang City immediately?"
The sky was already a little dark at this time, and it would not be long before it would completely disappear into the night. The cold wind mixed with yellow sand that only occurs in the desert at night has even begun to blow in my ears.
Thinking that Li Kaigu had said before that it was best to go to Xihuang City in the dead of night, Su You nodded.
"Okay!" Upon seeing this, Li Kaigu immediately called to the others to prepare their luggage, and then walked in front and said to Su You: "Please Mr. Su and Miss Jiang follow us closely. The desert wind at night can easily cover the sky. The strong wind that blocks the sun, once you are blinded by the wind and get lost, it will be difficult to get back on the right path."
In this way, Li Kaigu and his party led the way, while Su You and Jiang Nuer followed closely behind them.
When it got completely dark, the cold wind blowing in my ears became more frequent.
Li Kaigu and his party took the two of them along a remote path that seemed to be rarely passed by, and there were not even many footprints on the ground, and walked into a Gobi desert where various plants that could only be seen in the desert grew.
On the left and right sides are the rocky Gobi desert formed by the accumulation of yellow sand soil over the years. Plants that only grow in the desert can be seen everywhere, completely blocking the road under your feet.
In addition, when the wind blows, the sand blown up can easily cover your eyes.
Therefore, even Li Kaigu and his party, who had always taken this road to search for spiritual herbs, elixirs and various treasures, gradually slowed down and signaled Su You and Jiang Nuer to follow them carefully.
Su You and Jiang Nuer did not dare to act rashly. Before they came to the desert area, they had heard that the cold wind blowing in the desert at night was difficult for even practitioners in the Nirvana realm to stop. Once it was blown up by the wind, Then there was a narrow escape from death.
They didn't dare to take it lightly. Even the veteran Li Kaigu and his team looked at each step they took and made sure no one was missing before continuing to move forward.
Until the cold wind blowing in my ears gradually subsided, the yellow sand in the sky finally settled, and when I looked up, I could see the stars dotting the sky.
Li Kaigu, who was leading the way, turned around and said to the two of them: "We are almost reaching the most difficult section of this road. You two should be more careful and don't disturb the monsters who are still sleeping at this time. "
After shushing the two children again.
Pushing aside a bush blocking the way ahead.
At this time, Su You and Jiang Nuer realized that they had been going all the way up, and were now on the edge of a cliff. Just in front of the cliff, they could vaguely see the outline of the ruins of Xihuang City.
But if you want to go down from here, you need to pass a single-plank bridge that connects two cliffs, which is not even big enough for one person to pass.
Below the single-plank bridge is a bottomless abyss between two cliffs. If you lose your footing and fall, you will definitely die.
At the same time, the cliffs are covered with various strange-shaped plants that cover the cliffs and single-plank bridges. According to Li Kaigu's description, those highly venomous snakes, scorpions and other monsters are hidden among these plants. They are hidden at this moment. Sleeping in it.
But once they are awakened, the group will face attacks from thousands of poisonous monsters.
Even though Li Kaigu and others had gone back and forth a hundred times, they did not dare to take it lightly.
Naturally, Su You and Jiang Nuer would not take risks, and quietly followed Li Kaigu and his party onto the single-plank bridge that looked like it might collapse at any time.
Fortunately, although the route was quite dangerous, with veterans like Li Kaigu leading the way, this trip to the single-plank bridge was a success.
After crossing the single-plank bridge, Li Kaigu took a breath first, then turned to Su You and Jiang Nuer and said, "After crossing the single-plank bridge, the road ahead will be much smoother and easier to walk, and it is also far away from the ruins of Xihuang City. It’s not far.”
After all, in order to reach Xihuang City as soon as possible, the group just replenished some food and water on the cliff and continued on their way.
Jiang Nuer looked back at the single-plank bridge curiously, and then whispered to Su You: "This road is really dangerous, especially under the single-plank bridge. What I can sense is... There are dozens of venomous snakes whose cultivation realm has reached the fifth level of the Immaculate Realm or above, and there are countless poisons of similar realms. These guys are really courageous."
"After all, it is for the village. If you are not brave, how can you earn enough spiritual stones from others." After hearing what Jiang Nuer said, Su You nodded and sighed: "It's just like them in the desert. There will be as many people as possible, so help if you can, everything depends on fate."
"That's true." Jiang Nuer smiled in agreement.
The two of them immediately quickened their pace to catch up with Li Kaigu and his party, who had already walked a long distance away.
Ahead is the road down the mountain.
According to Li Kaigu, as long as you complete this section of the way down the mountain, you have completed 80% of the entire journey to Xihuang City, and since the two cliffs are inhabited by a large number of poisonous monsters, even the most vicious bandits and bandits cannot I am willing to dominate the mountain and be the king here.
"We can go down the mountain in another three or four hours."
"It's just that you may encounter some nocturnal monsters on the road."
Li Kaigu greeted the other three people, prepared various weapons and tools, and led the way more cautiously than before.
It was still dark.
On the way down the mountain, waves of eerie and cold wind and sand kept blowing from the surrounding dense woods, and the hissing sounds sounded like snakes waiting for opportunities to move in the shadows.
Even Su You and Jiang Nuer couldn't help but look around with great vigor, fearing that monsters would suddenly appear from the corner and attack them.
