There is a small town that no one cares about - Linsha Town on the edge of the desert.
There are only residents in the town, no officers and soldiers, no bandits, and no martial arts. The residents here have lived here for generations. Although it is difficult, they have nothing to do with the world and live a barely subsistence life.
Zheng Xiu learned that when the previous dynasty had close relations with various countries in the Western Regions, there was a "trade road". Well, it was not the Silk Road, but it was called the "Green River". The trade route named "Green River" starts from Linsha in the east and ends at Richan Valley in the west, crossing the desert. After passing through Richan Valley, and then climbing over a mountain and two rivers, you can reach the countries in the Western Region.
Many years ago, Linsha was the starting point of the "Green River". In the past, this place even gathered foreign merchants from various countries in the Western Regions and came across the desert. There are blond and blue-eyed exotic beauties, rare jewelry, and strange animals, making this place passionate, magnificent, magical, full of spring, and lively.
"Although the 'Business Road' is no longer occupied by people, the 'Green River' is still there."
Xie Luohe expertly led Zheng Xiu through Linsha Town.
"money for the journey."
Xie Luohe carelessly stretched out his hand to Zheng Xiu, asking for money.
Zheng Xiu pressed the heavy bag of money into Xie Luohe's hands without feeling distressed.
"You, maybe you are what others say is the best image of a 'wishful husband'."
Xie Luohe said with emotion.
"I don't believe it." When Zheng Xiu heard this, he first said his usual refrain, and then quickly changed his words: "No, I believe this. Is it because I... sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, extraordinary handsomeness, unparalleled in the world?" Zheng Xiu tentatively twirled his chin. Prickly beard.
"Bah, it's because you can make money...make a lot of money." Xie Luohe laughed and left Zheng Xiu where he was to purchase supplies.
"This is called 'living well'." Zheng Xiu complained as he looked at Xie Luohe's leaving figure.
Xie Luohe raised his fist from a distance.
Not long after, Zheng Xiu, who was waiting and bored, finally returned to Xieluohe after calling endlessly.
Behind Xieluohe, followed two strong camels.
The camels are equipped with one red and one green saddlebags, and the saddlebags are embroidered with colorful patterns.
The saddlebags were bulging, and each camel had seven or eight fully filled water bladders hanging on it.
Zheng Xiu used his meager desert survival knowledge to check Xieluohe's supplies. Among the supplies purchased by Xieluohe, there are dried meat, dry food and other foods suitable for preservation, water, thick cloaks, clothes that can cover the whole body, ointments for treating wounds, and Sinan to roughly identify the direction in the desert. Everything is available.
It can be said that except for sunscreen, everything that should be included is basically complete.
Xie Luohe's attentiveness surprised Zheng Xiu.
Zheng Xiu, who was so nice in front of Xie Luohe, smacked his lips and said, "It's okay," but Xie Luohe snickered and retorted, "You're tough." To outsiders, the fight between the two looked like a city couple who didn't know life or death, didn't know the cruelty of the desert, but wanted to go deep into the desert.
Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe seemed to be two extremes.
The "foreign" aura exuded by Xie Luohe inadvertently made the two little camels restless.
When Zheng Xiu stepped forward to comfort him, the two camels came closer and licked the saliva all over Zheng Xiu's face, as if they were meeting long-lost relatives.
"You really don't look like a stranger."
Xie Luohe watched Zheng Xiu "kissing me and me" with two camels, a male and a female respectively, a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes, and he said softly.
Zheng Xiu didn't reply, after all, he was not the real person now.
No matter how harsh Xie Luohe's words were, Zheng Xiu believed that the truth was the truth. He had entered the cannibalistic ghost world in his incarnation, and his true body was still suffering from the death-killing magic of the "crowman" in Zheng's house.
He doesn't look like a stranger at this moment, which is not surprising.
Xie Luohe's eyes flashed, and he didn't say anything more. He quickly changed his expression. After Zheng Xiu comforted the camel, Xie Luohe turned over and mounted the camel saddle, kicked his feet, and walked towards the desert.
It seems that Xieluohe has no intention of stopping in Linsha Town.
Zheng Xiu followed behind.
So far, July 13th.
sunny.
The sun is shining brightly.
The sun is scorching.
The two rode camels deep into the desert.
July 20th.
dusk.
Zheng Xiu entered the desert on the seventh day.
No matter which world you are in, "desert" generally gives people only one impression.
Vast, solemn, dead, cruel.
It's like an invisible hand is pushing the yellow sand on the desert, pushing layer by layer, rolling forward. The turbulent sand moves with the wind, sometimes rolling and sometimes straightening, until it rolls into the depths and disappears at the end of the undulating sand dunes.
And the desert has only one "color" for people: yellow. Egg yolk, dark yellow, dim yellow, golden yellow, thick yellow. Various levels of "yellow" are intertwined, presenting another kind of desolate beauty.
On the seventh day, Zheng Xiu felt vaguely regretful, but Xie Luohe felt better and better as he moved away from the crowds, and the smile on his face became stronger and stronger.
The sun never left any trace on Xie Luo He's body; the high temperature never caused Xie Luo He to shed a drop of sweat; in the freezing cold at night, Xie Luo He would even take the initiative to get close to Zheng Xiu, curl up in Zheng Xiu's arms, and wrap the two of them with their big cloaks. Xieluohe euphemistically calls this behavior: rivers and lakes take care of each other in times of trouble; when the wind blows, Xieluohe will sit on the back of a camel, face the strong wind, open his arms, and feel the joy and freedom of swaying in the wind.
It seems that such harsh weather and desert environment have brought nothing but enjoyment to the Xieluo River.
After entering the desert, Zheng Xiu truly understood what the so-called trade route - "Green River" was. In the past, Zheng Xiu had only heard that there was a fixed route from the Western Regions to Daqian.
The "Green River" is a route explored by predecessors, which passes through a fertile oasis every certain distance. There are a total of sixteen oases on this route. In the desert, the oases can be said to be the source of life. Only by reaching the oases can there be hope of crossing the desert.
Along the way, Zheng Xiu noticed that every few dozen miles or so, there were piles of heavy stones piled up into hills, which looked more man-made than natural formations. When Zheng Xiu asked casually, Xie Luohe smiled and said:
"That's 'Hor Hill' on the Green River."
"It's indeed '堠'."
The so-called "堠" generally refers to the piles of rocks and earth used to mark the route on the official trail. Every time you pass through "堠", you can estimate how many miles you have traveled. Along the Green River, each "mountain" is a foot high. Unless there is a sandstorm, ordinary wind and sand will be difficult to blow down the hill.
It was hard for Zheng Xiu to imagine how his predecessors built the "Mountain" with big stones in this vast desert. The difficulty was self-evident. It took him no telling how many years, how much manpower, and how many lives were lost before he stepped on the mountain. A "green river" has emerged that allows people to travel through the desert relatively safely.
There was no road in the desert at the beginning. As more people walked and filled the road with more lives, it became a road.
July twenty-eight.
We have been in the desert for more than half a month.
Zheng Xiu's skin was tanned due to the sun, while Xie Luohe's skin was as fair as ever, and his skin was as white as snow.
They arrived at the eighth oasis along the Green River. There were several wild coconut trees growing here, and a small pool was crystal clear.
After filling the water bag, Zheng Xiu told Xie Luohe not to look around, then stripped himself naked, jumped into the pool, and took a bath for the first time in a long time.
Feeling cool and excited.
When Zheng Xiu was done soaking, she wrapped herself in a robe and returned to the two camels. Xie Luohe unknowingly hit a few coconuts at some point. She peeled off the top shells from the coconuts with her bare hands and drank the coconut juice.
Xie Luohe looked straight at Zheng Xiu's bare upper body, and a few crystal clear water drops dripped down Zheng Xiu's abdominal muscles and vest line. Xie Luohe blushed and coughed twice, then took the initiative to help Zheng Xiu peel another coconut: "It's so sweet, you should drink some too."
"Really?" Zheng Xiu asked incredulously, taking a sip and almost spitting it out.
Bitter and astringent.
He then remembered that the juice of the old coconut could not be drunk.
Xie Luohe laughed loudly, dropped the coconuts, and began to take off his clothes.
Zheng Xiu's relationship with Xie Luohe has been a bit delicate these days, but this scene still made Zheng Xiu's face freeze.
Xie Luohe was halfway through the solution and reminded:
"You... are not allowed to peek."
After saying that, Xieluohe jumped up high and jumped into the pool with a splash.
Zheng Xiu ignored him, took a deep breath, listened to the sound of birds playing in the Xieluo River in the distance, walked to the edge of the oasis, and stared into the distance.
The end of the field of vision is still the same as ever, with undulating sand dunes and rolling yellow sand. But the color of the desert today seemed different from usual. At dusk, the desert was dyed with a layer of gorgeous and dazzling girlish red, as if it could bleed at any time.
In the distance, the sand dunes twisted, and a mirage appeared vaguely.
Zheng Xiu stared into the distance and watched quietly.
There were soft footsteps behind him. Xie Luohe simply wrapped his body and walked barefoot, tilting his head and wiping his wet long hair with a towel.
Zheng Xiugang glanced back and moved away with difficulty: "Can you wear something tighter?"
Xie Luohe calmly sat down next to Zheng Xiu and said with a smile: "Is this important?"
Zheng Xiu was speechless.
After a moment, Xie Luohe covered his mouth and smiled: "Are you worried that I will suffer a loss, or that she will suffer a loss?"
Zheng Xiu didn't answer.
Along the way, Zheng Xiu deliberately did not mention "Zheng Xiu" and "Feng Bei" in front of Xie Luohe.
Because Zheng Xiu noticed that whenever he accidentally brought the topic to "two hundred years later", although Xie Luohe's expression did not change, she would secretly clench her fists.
Seeing that Zheng Xiu didn't answer, Xie Luohe put the wet towel on Zheng Xiu's shoulder, gently leaned his head on Zheng Xiu's shoulder, and looked into the distance with Zheng Xiu.
After a moment of silence, Xie Luohe smiled and said: "The sandstorm is coming."
"become."
Other Zheng Xiu would subconsciously doubt it, but in this matter, Zheng Xiu was convinced.
Xieluohe must have heard the "footsteps" of the sandstorm.
Zheng Xiu sat with Xie Luohe for a while, until the blood-red setting sun completely sank behind the sand dunes. Zheng Xiu stood up and said, "Let me prepare. You and I should be able to face the sandstorm unharmed, but don't let 'Xiaohe' and...'Xiaohe' Mo' was buried."
"Xiaohe" and "Xiaomo" are naturally the names of the two camels - the taste of Xieluo River.
She rides "Xiao Mo" and Zheng Xiu rides "Xiao He".
When walking on the desert, Xie Luohe would happily shout to the camels from time to time, "Xiao Mo Xiao Mo, run faster." Zheng Xiu was born with a sense of shame and was too embarrassed to fight back against Xie Luo He on this matter, so he could only swallow his anger. It is pure to cover your ears and not listen.
Zheng Xiu walked towards the camel, pulled out a sharp scimitar from the animal skin scabbard in the saddlebag, looked at his wrist, and silently walked towards the water pool.
"Are you going to be cut again?"
Xie Luohe came over curiously.
She has always been interested in Zheng Xiu's "magic arts".
Unlike Xie Luohe and Feng Bei, Zheng Xiu was obviously many times superior to ordinary people. Zheng Xiu's thaumaturgy still has strict restrictions and rules that must be followed. This is one of the reasons why Xie Luohe feels that Zheng Xiu is not like a "foreigner".
"Can you put on something tighter first?" Zheng Xiu rolled his eyes at Xie Luohe and decisively cut off his wrist.
Gurgling gurgling…
Blood flowed like a stream, and Zheng Xiu's blood dyed the pool of water light red in an instant.
The dense blood energy is alive and well, and a faint red light moves like tentacles on the surface of the pool.
"birdcage."
Zheng Xiu used the Luohe pen and used the pond water as ink to easily release the "birdcage" and circle the entire oasis into a "cell".
Snap, snap, snap.
Zheng Xiu's bones crackled and his muscles bulged.
Xie Luohe couldn't hold it back for a moment, and touched Zheng Xiu's well-developed pectoralis major muscles in a daze, and they were divided at the first touch.
Hey, woman.
Zheng Xiu bared his teeth, strode out, raised his palms and dug a deep pit in the oasis.
Immediately afterwards, Zheng Xiu lifted "Xiaohe" and "Xiaomo" respectively, jumped into the pit, placed them properly, and then backfilled the sandpit slightly, leaving a gap big enough for the two of them to hide in it.
At this time, the sky was completely dark, and the dark clouds in the distance were like a huge beast, opening its huge mouth and swallowing the sky and the earth.
The sandstorm has not yet arrived, strong winds are blowing, the ground is shaking, and the air is trembling.
The dark clouds seemed to be within reach, pressing over the oasis in the blink of an eye.
"You go in, I'll block it for you. If it doesn't work, I'll go in and hide."
Although Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe are different people, Zheng Xiu still dare not be careless in the face of vast natural disasters. But in prison, [Zheng Shan]'s attributes and [unbreakable] gave Zheng Xiu full confidence.
The physical body should be able to bear it. Zheng Xiu was worried that the storm would be too big and would involve all of them. In the vast desert, Zheng Xiu was most worried about losing his way. Once you lose your way in the desert, even if you are a stranger, you will only die in the end.
However, Xie Luohe quickly changed his clothes and went to hide in the sand pit without listening to Zheng Xiu. Instead, he quietly sat down on the edge of the oasis.
"It doesn't matter." Xie Luohe turned around, smiled slightly, patted the open space beside him, and shook his head towards Zheng Xiu: "I'm not afraid as long as you are here."
Zheng Xiu's heart trembled.
He lowered his head and said nothing, sitting next to Xie Luohe.
Huh...huh...huh...
boom! boom! boom! boom!
The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and in the depths of the dark desert, there is an even stronger and weirder black. The sand and gravel kicked up by the strong wind hit Zheng Xiu's "birdcage" heavily, making a loud noise.
In the "Bird Cage", Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe, who are sitting quietly in each other's arms, seem to be in a completely different world. The quietness of the two of them was in sharp contrast to the noise and fury of the outside world.
The air pressure became lower and lower, and in the sand pit, the river and the small road made an uneasy hissing sound.
"Shh, don't be afraid."
Xie Luohe said softly, raising his index finger to his lips.
The two camels soon became quiet, leaning against each other in the sand pit, with their four feet touching the ground. The camels' mouths came and went, exchanging spit. It seems that in this desperate environment, the sour smell of love fermented between the two camels, a male and a female.
Xieluohe stared into the dark depths, where the dust was noisy, and smiled: "You once said that the third death of a person is when he is completely forgotten by the world."
Zheng Xiu nodded. He didn't know why Xie Luohe said this at this time.
"Is this why you become a 'painter'?" Xie Luohe pulled her long hair behind her ears, revealing her eyes. She no longer concealed the strange words in her right eye, she completely exposed her unhappiness and anguish to Zheng Xiu's eyes.
Deep in her right eye, there is a faint word "Ding Wei".
Xie Luohe continued: "Why have you always refused to draw a 'person'? If you draw me right now, at this moment, here, as long as the painting is not destroyed, someone in the world will know that there once was a poor woman named 'Xie Luohe' Survive, even if it’s just one person.”
In the darkness, Xie Luohe smiled sweetly and calmly said to Zheng Xiu what he had always wanted to say to Zheng Xiu: "Gongsun Mo, can you draw a painting for me?"
At this moment, Xie Luohe's smile looked extremely beautiful in Zheng Xiu's eyes. He could no longer tell whether the woman sitting next to him was Xie Luohe or Fengbei. He even forgot the "rules" he had always adhered to.
He couldn't refuse Xieluohe at this moment, couldn't refuse Xieluohe, who spoke the saddest words in the calmest tone.
"good."
Zheng Xiu's heart was as calm as water, he rolled out the scroll, took a few steps back, and used blood to paint ink.
swish swish...
Huhuhu...
At this moment, both of them were speechless, and the only sounds around them were the roar of the wind, breathing, and writing.
On the scroll, the sky is dark and desolate. A beautiful woman is sitting quietly in the desert, facing the desperate wind and sand, facing Zheng Xiu with a slight smile.
The desolation of the desert, the raging dust, the beauty of the woman, the sadness of the corners of her mouth, everything Zheng Xiu saw was condensed into a small picture scroll.
"The finishing touch."
At the last step, Zheng Xiu hesitated for a moment, then rolled up the scroll and clicked Xie Luohe's eyes.
The eyes are the windows of the soul.
Before the finishing touches, the woman on the scroll was both Xieluohe and Fengbei, and it was hard to tell the difference. When Zheng Xiu clicked on the "eyes", the "Xieluo River" on the scroll seemed to come alive in an instant, and the Xieluo River was the Xieluo River.
Plop.
Eee.
A slightly loose door was easily pushed open in the doorway.
The door opened incredibly quickly, as if it was already open and was just waiting for Zheng Xiu to reach out.
The moment this painting was completed.
Outside the birdcage, the roaring black wind and sand froze for a moment.
The next second.
The wind died down.
The sand that was frozen in mid-air fell down.
It became a sand rain.
(End of chapter)