Time passes unconsciously.
The man has been homeless for more than seventy days.
After walking through the terrifying sandstorm and reaching the oasis, the man who had regained his life began to calmly examine his situation. He understood that he had completely lost his way.
He couldn't go on like a headless fly.
And he soon realized that he should follow the traces of the oasis or follow the stream, so that he would always reach a place where people live and determine his position.
Having said that, determining the direction of the oasis and ensuring that you do not deviate from the direction along the way, as well as sandstorms from time to time, and various poisonous insects and beasts such as jackals and scorpions in the desert, are not simple.
Just as before, many hardships stood in his way.
If these sufferings happened to ordinary people, they might have destroyed that person's sanity.
But the man is different, he has been reborn.
These days, men can only move forward step by step, sometimes even relying on intuition and luck to find the direction.
Climbing over a low mound, the man dragged his feet that could not exert much strength. The fracture in his calf was the most severely swollen two months ago. The man could only apply the cold sand at night on it, suffering from pain. Grit your teeth and persist.
The bruising lasted for more than a month. At its worst, it was as big as a fist. It was very frightening. Every step the man took was extremely painful. He had to slow down or even stay in place. However, the strong vitality finally subdued it and the calf He slowly healed on his own.
Although there is still some limp and tingling pain, it can support him to maintain normal walking.
Maybe the calf would completely heal, or maybe the tingling pain would be with him for the rest of his life, but the man didn't care.
Over the past seventy days, the man has encountered sandstorms several times, with strong winds and sand and gravel everywhere. Fate always hinders him and prevents him from returning to the city-state of Aylan Biyin.
Men try their best to fight against the misfortune of fate.
One footprint after another was found on the sand. The man's shoes were worn out. He was now barefoot, and his clothes were shabby, covered with a layer of sand and dust.
A month ago, a man looked at himself in an oasis, facing the lake, and saw what he looked like now. His unkempt hair was long and curly, stuck and knotted together by the sand, his beard was long, and his face was weathered, yellow and black. , as if he had aged dozens of years.
He had thought that his face would be damaged, but he didn't expect it to be to this extent. This was beyond the man's expectation.
Through the soles of his feet, the man felt that the sand under his feet was softer than before, instead of a scattered touch of rustling. He felt excited, and he found an oasis again.
"I wonder what happened to Ailan Biyin..." The man suddenly felt worried. He was afraid that when he walked out of the desert, he would learn the news that the entire Ailan Biyin city-state had fallen.
"Lord, bless them, bless these people who have finally been freed." The man clasped his palms and prayed.
The man's pace quickened, climbing up the sand dunes and sliding down the sand dunes. He just crossed one dune after another.
Finally, he saw a huge and smooth sand dune in the distance, as round as the full moon. Under the dune, an oasis full of aloe vera, cactus, camel thorn, apocynum, licorice and other plants appeared in front of him.
The man couldn't help but sigh. After wandering in the desert for so many days, this was the first time he saw such a beautiful oasis. A few birds could be seen passing by in the sky, and wild camels drank in the meandering river. There were stretches of grassland and a gentle breeze. Brush by, everything is quiet and peaceful.
Then, the man's eyes lit up.
He saw several houses built in the oasis. Even though they were very short, they were connected together and looked like they were made of sand.
Seeing someone for the first time, the man hurriedly slid down the sand dune and walked into the oasis. The white-feathered bird sitting on the palm branches and leaves was startled by him, and it flapped its wings and flew away into the distance.
The houses were built along the river, close to the lower reaches, and the men passed along the river.
After a while, the man approached the houses and saw a man with a gray beard skinning and washing animals in the river.
The man walked closer, cleared his throat, suppressed his excitement and said, "Sorry to bother you, I've been lost in the desert for a long time. Where is this place? Who are you?"
The man with a gray beard raised his head and saw him.
"...I am Bijan...This is our village, who are you?" The man named Hiei was surprised that the man was so depressed.
"I am..." The man hesitated for a while and said, "I am from Ailan Biyin. I have no name."
"Alan Biyin... one just came here a few months ago," Hiei muttered, stood up quickly, glanced up and down at the man and said, "But I can see that you have indeed been wandering for a long time. You are also a runaway like us. A slave to the desert?”
The man was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Yes."
From Hiei's words, the man could tell that the people in this village seemed to be slaves who had escaped into the desert.
The man walked over, and Hiei asked him to sit on a stone by the river to rest. Hiei went into the house, and when he came out, he brought out a piece of bread and a bowl of water.
The man took it after thanking him profusely and asked: "You said, one came just a few months ago?"
"Ah, you ask this, it's true that one came here." Hiei patted his forehead, "He came here on a horse, as if he was crazy and delirious. He is dead."
"Dead? What's his name?" the man asked.
"John," Hiei realized something, became vigilant, and asked, "Is that your companion?"
"...It can't be that. He left me in the desert. What happened?" the man asked after briefly narrating.
"He came here a few months ago. I remember it was during the day. We rescued him, but instead he took the village chief's daughter and threatened us with a sword, asking us to hand over our family's money bag."
"Then what?"
"Then a brave young man sneaked up from behind and knocked him to death with a stick." Hiei said nonchalantly.
The man was a little sad, but this was the fate John deserved.
Soak soft bread in water for a few days.
"Are all the people here escaped slaves?" the man then asked.
"Yes, it's basically the same. We fled to the desert and then came here by mistake. After that, other slaves couldn't bear the pressure and unknowingly escaped here and settled down." Hiei He said, then he remembered something and said, "By the way, a few years ago, we heard the name of Ailanbiin."
"Then what?"
"It's very strange. We all find it very strange. Maybe it's not appropriate to say your hometown like this, but... it seems to appear suddenly, and then we rarely see slaves passing by."
"Oh. There are no slaves there," the man said.
"There are no slaves?!" Hiei was surprised, "Who will support the nobles?"
"There are no nobles either," the man added.
After hearing this, Hiei suddenly realized, "That should be the same as here."
The man was noncommittal.
Then, he saw Hiei scratching his head and looking at him.
Hiei asked: "Do you want to stay here? Our village has always been short of young people. This is a rare big oasis. No nobles have discovered it yet. We can even fish from the underground river."
Not far away, the man saw wheat fields one after another, camels with plowshares chewing weeds on the ground, a few old people sitting under palm trees, and children playing with the camels' tall humps, exclaiming from time to time, "The feathers are white." Birds flew by here in groups, and it was peaceful and peaceful.
The man shook his head.
"No, the road I have traveled is too long and I have been wandering for too long. It's time to go back."
