The purchase of food, water and medicinal materials went smoothly.
Only Wen Xiaochuan encountered some twists and turns when he went to hire a guide.
When they heard that the eight people wanted to enter Bailongbo and take a stroll inside, many old guides shook their heads.
An old man with a skinny figure and dark skin who could not tell his age said, "Bailongbo is not a place for sightseeing. That place is called the Eye of Death. There is only one way in and out. All caravans can't help but pass by there. Pick up the pace and never deviate from that path.
"Even so, many people are still buried there every year."
"Thank you, father-in-law, for reminding us. We also know it's dangerous there. That's why we plan to hire an experienced guide." Wen Xiaochuan smiled sweetly and took out a banknote from his arms, "I think you're a good old man, no?" Do you know if this money is enough?”
The skinny old man looked down and was shocked when he saw one thousand taels written on the bank note. .
This is a huge sum of money. If you make this order, you won't have to work hard to lead the caravan through Bailongbo.
You can even leave Ulan City and run to the south, choose a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and retire there safely.
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but get excited.
However, the skinny old man shook his head, "I told you, this is too dangerous. You should find someone else for this girl."
So Wen Xiaochuan looked at the others. Those people were originally ready to make a move, but now no one spoke up after hearing the words of the skinny old man.
No matter how much money you have, you still need life flowers.
The skinny old man was the most experienced and legendary among their group of guides. If even he felt that making this money was too dangerous, then the others would be in trouble.
Seeing that no one spoke, Wen Xiaochuan took another one thousand tael of silver notes out of his arms.
Now everyone's breathing suddenly became more rapid.
They had always led the merchants and travelers who came and went, and had seen many wealthy businessmen, but this was the first time they met such a generous merchant. They were given two thousand taels for leading the way, which was enough for them to eat and drink without worries for the rest of their lives.
But the guides were still hesitating, unsure of paying attention, while the skinny old man simply closed his eyes, out of sight and out of mind.
Seeing this, Wen Xiaochuan put his hand into his arms again.
But at this moment, a figure suddenly jumped out from the crowd and grabbed the banknotes on the table, "I, I did it!"
However, Wen Xiaochuan looked at the visitor and couldn't help but frown.
"How old are you this year?"
"Twenty-two years old." The young man swallowed.
Wen Xiaochuan didn't speak, just raised his eyebrows.
"Well, I just turned nineteen this year."
Wen Xiaochuan still didn't speak.
The young man was a little frightened by her stare. He lowered his head and said, "I, I will be seventeen in one month. This time I am telling the truth."
"Seventeen is too young. You heard what I said before. This job is very dangerous. I need to find a guide who is experienced enough." Wen Xiaochuan stretched out his hand and planned to take the banknote from the young man's hand as he spoke. Withdraw it.
But she couldn't move it after pulling twice.
The two banknotes were held tightly by the boy who lied about his age.
"You may not look at my young age, but when it comes to the time I have spent in Bailongbo, no one can surpass me except my third uncle."
"Bragging won't help you get this job." Wen Xiaochuan's fingers gently brushed the young man's wrist, and the next moment the latter involuntarily loosened his grip.
Watching helplessly, the two banknotes returned to Wen Xiaochuan's hands.
"How about this, besides this little liar, is there anyone else willing to be our guide?"
"He's not a little liar."
The skinny old man, whom the boy called third uncle, suddenly spoke again.
"Um?"
"Shitou is indeed very familiar with Bailongbo. In fact, he was picked up from Bailongbo."
Wen Xiaochuan was a little surprised, "I thought no one lived in Bailongbo."
“There is indeed no one living there,” said the third uncle, “so his father was surprised when he first picked him up, but no matter what, this is a life after all, so his father still brought him back.
"After that, the two of them depended on each other. When his father was still alive, he was the best guide in Ulan City, but he never married a wife and had no other relatives. He couldn't find a suitable person to take care of him after he left home, so he simply Take him with you.
"At that time, there was an endless stream of people coming to see his father to lead the way, so you can say that he grew up in the Gobi."
Wen Xiaochuan also became interested when he heard this. He looked at the young man carefully and said, "Sure enough, a person cannot be judged by his appearance. I didn't expect that Bailongbo is still your home."
"Bailongbo is not anyone's home. The third uncle is right. The Gobi desert is very dangerous, and it may turn against you at any time, making it impossible for anyone who sets foot on it to leave." Shitou said seriously.
"Then why did you take this job?"
"Because I need money, a lot of money." Shitou said.
"What do you want money for?"
This time Shitou closed his mouth.
Wen Xiaochuan laughed again when he saw this, took out a banknote from his hand and handed it over, "Very good. I like people who are strict-mouthed and don't meddle in other people's business. This thousand taels is your deposit. You should keep it first." , I will pay the remaining one thousand taels when I get back."
Shitou accepted the banknote and folded it carefully.
Then he asked Wen Xiaochuan, "When should we set off?"
"Before sunset today, the sooner the better. My people are already preparing food and water. As long as we pick up the camels, we can be on the road."
Shitou shook his head, "I can't leave today."
"Why?"
"Because all the camels in the city have been borrowed."
Wen Xiaochuan frowned, "Borrowed it, where was it borrowed to?"
"It was borrowed by those from the Brahma Sect. It seems to be doing some rituals to welcome Brahman into the world. But don't worry, they will return the camel tomorrow, so we only need to wait one more night." Shitou added. , "You can find a place to live first."
…………
Of course Lu Jing didn't want to wait one more night, but the Brahma religion was very powerful in the entire Western Region, and there were tens of thousands of believers in Ulan City. Lu Jing didn't want to fight with these people over a few camels.
So in the end, I had no choice but to follow Shitou's advice and choose a hotel in the city to stay.
By the time they settled down, it was already afternoon. Lu Jing wanted to give it a try and asked someone to inquire about Bailongbo. He wanted to see if there was any place in Bailongbo where strange phenomena had appeared before.
However, everyone who was asked said that the place was very evil, but they couldn't answer the specific question. Lu Jing finally collected a bunch of spooky explanations, but few of them were valuable.
