"In short, you don't need to be too vigilant, just treat it with a normal mind. Anyway, there are people coming and going in this inn, and it's normal for them to come here to stay."
After saying that, Klee looked at them and continued: "I asked the innkeeper when I went upstairs just now. Tomorrow is the festival for them to drive to the salon. If we want to take action, many herdsmen will have to wait until after the festival. When the time comes, you can rent camels and go to the Red and White Mountains. There will be a bonfire club performance in the White Tower Square tonight. If you have time, you can go and see it. It is related to killing the evil dragon."
"Is it related to killing the demon dragon?" When Song Siyuan heard him mention this, a glimmer of light flashed in her eyes, and she said to everyone: "We know too little about the sand demon dragon. Dunhuang is also far away from the devil's desert. The legend of the Sand Charm Dragon has probably been distorted and rumored, and part of it has been distorted. I suggest that we go to the Bonfire Club Theater to see it. Since it is related to the salon, there must be more detailed legends about the Sand Charm Dragon."
Song Siyuan's suggestion really helped them understand the dangers deep in the desert. After everyone discussed for a while, they decided to go to Baita Square at night.
Before that, they had to get a good rest. They had been traveling for the past few days and the fatigue of traveling and driving was always uncomfortable. Everyone needed to relax their muscles and bones before doing anything.
It was already noon when they entered the inn. Seeing that there was still some time before night, everyone was assigned rooms. Decided to have a good sleep and retire.
The niche in the Bagu Inn is really nice. Once the door is closed and the curtains are drawn, the cool atmosphere in the room quickly lingers around, blocking all the heat from the outside world outside the room. They wash up and tidy up separately, and lie down on the ground while taking advantage of the cool air. On the kang, I soon dreamed of visiting Duke Zhou.
About two or three hours later, Yue Guanchao was awakened by the cold chill on his body. He touched the goosebumps on his arms, walked closer to the niche well, and directly covered it with the thick cloth, so that there would be less moisture in the room. .
Open the curtains and push open the door panels.
Judging from the position of the sun, it was already evening. The sun was setting far away from the oasis, illuminating the courtyard with a golden color. Even the grapevines were coated with the golden light of the setting sun, making the heavy grape fruits completely transparent and shining with moisture.
Just as he walked into the courtyard to stretch, the people in the courtyard had already woken up and walked out of their rooms one after another. After cleaning up, everyone went down to the first floor and sat around a square table.
A waiter with a Western face understood the situation and walked up to them. He spoke Chinese with a strong cumin accent and said, "Friends, what are you having? All the dishes are on the menu shelf."
When they came, they thought that Moyu County was just a relatively remote and backward small county. Unexpectedly, the inns here were quite well run. Not only did they have many local specialties, they ranged from Northern Xinjiang in the north to Tibetan and Qiang in the south, and even some Han Chinese dishes can also be cooked.
They were in a hurry to go to Baita Square and had no intention of eating. They ordered some minced meat noodles with a mixed flavor, plus chopped beef, grilled lamb chops, and freshly fried seasonal vegetables.
In the past few days, they had not eaten anything good when they were on the road. These delicious minced meats were already the best food to reward their stomachs. When they were touched by meat and fish, each of them had a mouth full of oil.
After a full meal, the Western boy came near them and gave them another pot of iced tea.
If you look closely, you can see that the teapot is about the size of a casserole and made of rose-colored glass. The liquid inside is clear and golden, and before you even get close to smell it, you can already feel a sweet smell.
Yue Guanchao didn't remember that he had ordered a pot of herbal tea. His face became confused. He looked at the cumin-flavored guy and asked, "We have never ordered this pot of herbal tea. Did you get it in the wrong place?"
Brother Cumin also knew that they were outsiders, and nodded to them with a smile on his face: "No, guest, this is what the guest next to me asked me to give to you."
After saying that, the guy pursed his lips towards the place behind them. Yue Guanchao looked back and saw that it was the Hu Ji brother and sister they saw at noon. The woman had changed out of her normal clothes, and the flower crown on her head had a transparent gauze curtain hanging down, covering her face. Surrounded tightly.
In this way, you can still see the half-smiling look in this woman's pretty face, and she nodded towards them.
"It's probably to thank us for the silver coins. All of us gave him more than a dozen silver coins."
It was true that Yue Guanchao was wary of danger, but he was also unconventional. He was sure that the waiter was not in the wrong, and that no one was trying to harm them. He immediately felt relieved and poured each of them a cup of herbal tea. "
The entrance of herbal tea is indeed different from the herbal teas I drank before. It smells sweet and delicious, but the taste is not that sweet. I only feel a slight sweetness in my throat. Combined with the cool taste of Jingshui Ice, it sweeps away the oily red sauce. The taste makes the whole mouth fresh.
"What is this tea?"
People in the Western Regions are fond of sweetness, especially tea with syrup, but the taste of this cup of tea is very light. She lowered her head and looked at the cup. The liquid was golden orange and clear, with a few light yellow flowers floating at the bottom. There was no trace of medicinal residue or fruit residue at all. Can't tell what the ingredients are.
The boy explained: "One of the herbal teas in our store is made from sea buckthorn and angustifolia that grow in the desert. These plants can grow as long as you give them water. They are not expensive things. Use them to make tea and smell them." It has the most fragrant taste, and is not too sweet at all. It tastes very refreshing. After it is chilled with well water, the taste becomes even better. It is good to use to clear your mouth after a meal. You must have just arrived in southern Xinjiang and do not know this place. As for the food, I didn’t order this pot of tea.”
When everyone turned behind them again and wanted to say thank you to the brother and sister, they had already left their seats and had eaten all the cups and plates, which showed that they were hardworking people.
"You guys are in such a hurry to eat, but are you going to the bonfire party in White Tower Square?"
Brother Ziren watched all directions and listened to all directions. He was still in such a hurry to eat in the evening. He probably had something important to do. After thinking about it, he understood that it was to go to the bonfire club performance in the square.
"What? Is there anything you want to tell us?" Yue Guanchao decided to seize the slightest opportunity to learn about the Sand Charming Dragon.
"I am a humble person and have nothing to tell you. I see you are going to White Tower Square to give you a heads up."
Speaking of this, the boy lowered his voice: "Keep an eye on your bag and don't put anything valuable. During the Dragon Club performances, some thief's things got in. It's especially serious at night. If things are really touched, He left, it was hard to even find him at night, and they had already given him away the next day, and he could never be found again."
"Okay, we got it, thanks for reminding me."
Yue Guanchao saw that the sky was almost dark, so he led them out of the inn and went to the street. The Dragon Club Opera was probably the top priority in Moyu County. Many nearby people had already walked on the street. The earthen buildings everywhere were lit with lights, and the street was lit up brightly.
As they walked around, there were more and more people. When they arrived at the White Tower Square, a lot of people had gathered around it. The White Tower they saw during the day had been dressed in new clothes dressed by ordinary people.
The White Tower is about 20 to 30 meters high. The base area of the tower is about the same as a courtyard. The bottom is a square base. It shrinks to an oval shape at the foot of the tower. Then, the tower body appears like a stacked eaves. The spire is as sharp as a bamboo shoot.
The overall shape is very similar to the Tubo pagoda. There is a huge golden ball at the top of the tower, and there is also a smaller white tower as tall as a person around the base. It is painted with gold paint and looks like a guard, guarding the tall white tower.
Looking at the shape of the White Pagoda, it is not like the kind of towers in Han Dynasty that can be walked up and down. People can only go up and down at the base and foot of the tower. Above that is the solid White Pagoda, which cannot be climbed and has no gaps. Accommodate excess stuff.
At this moment, local people have hung up colorful lanterns and colorful silks around the White Tower. The tower is brightly lit. Under the candlelight, the colorful colors appear in a dreamy and dreamy way, outlining the outline of the tower. The silence of the day is no longer visible. Sacred, like a pure and pure saint, transformed into a ghostly and mysterious witch under the blessing of the night, giving people a great contrast.
The bonfires were mainly concentrated near the base of the tower. Along the center of the tower, there were more than a dozen fire racks. The flames were blazing, illuminating the area near the base of the tower brightly and hotly. More and more faces from the Western Regions around them began to sing and dance.
The so-called Dragon Clan Society Opera is actually a blessing ceremony held in towns near the desert. It is like the shaman dance in the north, the Dragon King Festival in the south of the Yangtze River, and the Cunning God in the southwest. In essence, they all use tangible beliefs to eliminate the fear of disasters. of fear.
Even if it is just a pretense, they still let the gods know that they respect the gods very much and hope that the coming year will be smooth and all disasters will be eliminated.
Catch the Dragon She Opera is no exception. The so-called She Opera in the Han provinces refers to building theaters and colored stages in villages and towns where people live, and inviting people to sing operas to reward gods and petitions. The She Opera in the Western Regions is not so particular and is a fusion of Bonfire parties and group dances and singing are closer to folk dragons and phoenixes, and parades of idols.
After the social opera begins, there will be many social opera groups, holding the sand dragon they made up, walking from the four corners of the county town to the vicinity of the White Pagoda. Along the way, all the people will follow, holding lanterns and holding lanterns. The torches, seen from the city, look like these dragon lanterns attract flames and converge towards the White Tower, which is spectacular.
When the sand demon dragons from four directions gathered in the square, they just happened to surround the young people dancing and singing. The four dragons rotated around the bonfire. Every time they rotated, sandbags would be dropped by the surrounding people to drive away the salon. I pray that within a year, the Sand Charming Dragon will never come to cause trouble.
When the dragon-gathering drama is over, the four dragons will surround the White Tower end to end. The next day, the shaman wife will be asked to perform a sacrifice of flesh and blood, and the flesh and blood will be burned together. Only in this way can the dragon-gathering drama be considered complete.
