He Mulan, who was missed by Di Yefei and others, was naturally safe, but it was not good at all.
Although the village of Luanjingtou has water and food, because of the problem of fertility, it is impossible to continue to survive unless they can find people who voluntarily settle here.
However, there is still water and food at the head of the well, and no one has found it. Naturally, it is because it is so remote that no one cares about it. Many villages far away from the business roads have disappeared naturally. Human beings are social animals and cannot survive alone without the crowd.
However, when He Mulan proposed to let the people in the village follow her, there were still many people who were unwilling to leave. Some of them were old people who were no longer willing to take risks, some had children with mentally retarded parents who had to stay in the village to take care of them, and some simply did not trust He Mulan.
He Mulan and Zheng Zong did not reveal their identities, they just assumed that He Mulan was a big family in Qinhan City. As long as they arrived in Qinhan City, they could arrange their future lives.
This is not a lie. In He Mulan's identity, it is more than enough to ask Liu Yuanzong and Feng Heng to take care of these villagers.
In the end, there were only twelve people who were willing to leave with He Mulan and Zheng Zong, but they were all sent out from the village first. If they did well outside, they would come back and pick them all up.
This is also prudent. It is beyond their imagination to have twelve people willing to go with her.
There are camels in the village. These men are young men who often go out to barter, and they are also the strongest men in the village. He Mulan and Zheng Zong followed these twelve people, riding camels and taking the village to collect them. The supplies that came, just went to the river beach where they often bartered.
People in the chaos had never been to Qinhan City, and many people didn't even know where Qinhan City was. He Mulan wanted to ask these people who grew up in a closed environment the way to Qinhan City. It's wasted effort.
Walking in the desert is not like a flat road. He Mulan and his party have a guide and they have ended up like this, not to mention how they can touch Qinhan City with this group of people who don't even know the road.
Not to mention that a group of them are penniless. The most valuable thing brought by the people in the mess is salt, but salt is not so precious in Beiliang, because it is adjacent to Qinghai, the production of salt is high and it is easy to transport. Daily necessities can be used, but it cannot be used to make money to hire a guide.
He Mulan and Zheng Zong walked with them in the desert for five days before they reached the most prosperous "He'er Beach". It was just a market gathered near the oasis, and it was far from "prosperous", but Seeing many caravans gathering in the desert at the same time is already a lively thing.
Except for Zheng Zong who was injured and weak, this group of people from He Mulan to the twelve men were all strong people, which naturally attracted a lot of people's attention.
They don't have money, they don't know the way, and they're not locals. Even if they use He Mulan's golden chain, they can't hire a guide. There is still a caravan leader who sees the big sword on He Mulan's waist and thinks that she must be He was a person with very good martial arts, and proposed to let them do odd jobs in the caravan and escort them to travel with them to Qinhan City.
This is a caravan from Beiliang, going to Pingcheng for business. It was originally going to follow the mission of the Northern Wei Dynasty, but the mission of Wei State did not bring outsiders. The mission swept the road ahead, cleared the robbers, and walked smoothly all the way.
It was only recently that the mission of Wei State was lost, and these caravans had to supply supplies in the nearby oasis, and then recruited people to protect the mission.
If there is no large group of people to clear the way, all kinds of emergencies will easily destroy the caravan.
He Mulan's ability is naturally not mentioned. The leader just took a casual test and was very satisfied. He even wanted to hire her as his personal bodyguard, but she declined. The residents of Luanjingtou have been catching prairie mice for a living, and they have enough food. They are much more sturdy than other desert residents in terms of mental appearance and physique, and they are all employed.
Only Zheng Zong, because he was disfigured and injured, the caravan leader was reluctant to take him, but who was Zheng Zong? He was an interpreter of many languages of the Wei Kingdom. This leader knew the Lu Shuihu and Xiongnu dialects that He Mulan did not understand, and he brought Zheng Zong as an interpreter, so he had to agree to bring it with him.
Zheng Zong can read and write and can count, and he quickly gained the attention of the caravan leaders. In addition, He Mulan's martial arts are amazing and he doesn't like to cause trouble. These two talents just used some food and didn't even need a commission to abduct them. It's cheap and very satisfying.
This group of people went in the direction of Qinhan City. The route along the way was exactly the same as that of the previous Wei mission. It also let He Mulan know that the road that Lao Sangtou had guided before was indeed correct, and it was really going to Qinhan City. Yes, it's just that I will turn to Windy City halfway, and I don't know if it's intentional or unintentional.
On the way, He Mulan also inquired about the sandstone city. Zheng Zong asked her about it and told her that the place was a frequent haunt of sand pirates, so the caravan would not pass there, only the very strong The army will stop there, and it is known to many people that the place is often windy. The locals call it "Wind City". Unless you really want to avoid some disaster, things will not go there.
He Mulan had killed an army of Sand Feng Pirates before, and was extremely sensitive to Sand Wind Pirate's name. Hearing Sand Feng Pirate's name again at this time, he immediately became suspicious.
Since even the guides of the caravan knew about the sandstorm thieves haunting there, why did the guides sent by Beiliang accompany Lao Sangtou's opinion, thinking that there is no danger there
The guides of Wei may not know the rumors about every strange place in this desert, but the guides sent by the royal family of Beiliang must be experienced people. Collusion, what to do.
However, all these truths are destined not to be exposed so easily with the incident of the Northern Wei mission.
He Mulan followed the caravan all the way to Qinhan City in the northeast. It was safe during the day and night. The caravan was a team that sold all kinds of spices and exotic items. The goods were easy to carry and didn't carry much weight. This kind of caravan is the safest to walk in the desert. It is easy to run, and it is not easy to be targeted by horse thieves with few things.
But even so, in the early morning of the third day, the caravan encountered a team of horse thieves.
This kind of thing would not have attracted He Mulan's attention. The number of horse thieves they encountered was not large, and the warriors in the caravan had no problem dealing with them. Zhan He Mulan beheaded at least 30 people, and the horse thief was so frightened that he left his injured companion and left.
Zheng Zong has a lot of hearts. After catching a wounded horse thief and repeatedly tortured, he got an amazing news.
I don't know where the news came from. The Wei country's mission encountered sandstorms in the desert. As a result, Princess Xingping's dowry and a huge fortune were buried in the legendary "Wind City".
"Wind City" has a quirky feature, that is, the sand will move around. The more sand, the faster it moves. Therefore, over the years, the Windy City has experienced countless sandstorms, but the sandstone and various eroded landforms still exist. Maybe the terrain here is higher than the surrounding area, maybe there are some monsters guarding the underground, this feature has existed for a long time.
So even if the wealth is buried, after a few months, the contents inside will still be revealed, and you just need to send someone to dig it.
The royal family of Beiliang is the most prosperous in the world, and the rare treasures of the whole world are circulated here, from the Western Regions, Wei State, Liu Song, Tuyuhun, Juqu Mengxun, for peace, all really good things go to Princess Xingping When he left the city, the dowry team dragged on for countless miles, and the news spread all over the four countries, causing countless horse thieves to covet.
But the Hu Ben army is not easy to provoke, the Iron Guard Battalion in Beiliang is also quite famous, and the scale of the horse thieves in Tengger is not large, no one dares to provoke such an army, but the situation is different now.
The envoy of Wei State encountered the wind and sand and was completely disabled. It is said that because all the supplies were buried, a group of people abandoned all their treasures and left Fengcheng with only camels and horses. Now their whereabouts are unknown.
A large amount of unowned wealth was waiting for someone to get it, and all the horse thieves in the sand wind thieves who got the news were completely boiling, no matter where they were, they rushed to the windy city with all their might. It was originally a sandstorm thief's territory. Everyone was familiar with the path, and a sandstorm had just blown. Now is the safest time.
The sand pirates that He Mulan's caravan met went to Windy City after getting the news.
After He Mulan and Zheng Zong got this information, their intestines were about to twist.
The Hu Ben army suffered heavy casualties, lost supplies, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Princess Xingping's dowry was lost in the Windy City and could be taken away by the sand pirates at any time.
"If you can get the news of where the mission is camped and what happened, Lao Sangtou must be a Sandstorm Pirate, maybe he is the one who spread the news."
Zheng Zong thought about it for a while, and said to He Mulan, "It's a pity that we can't get in touch with the embassy and the army in the middle of the country. Otherwise, we can catch the sandstorm thieves and figure out what happened to us when we encountered the sandstorm. ."
"Is this not far from Fengcheng?" He Mulan noticed the information revealed by the horse thieves. "I'm going to Fengcheng. With Yuan Fang's prudence, it is impossible not to leave the Hu Ben army there to guard the property, and maybe meet the people in the mission."
It is impossible for the sand to bury all the supplies. Old Sangtou once said that if there is water and food, the Windy City is the safest campsite, because there are a lot of shadows that can cover the scorching sun. Now that the sandstorm has passed, if Yuan Fang left behind supplies, it is very likely that the Hu Ben army is still in Fengcheng.
"We don't know how many miles we were blown away by the wind..." Zheng Zong sighed: "Lanjingtou is already far away from Fengcheng, we were blown away by the wind for half a day, but followed the caravan for a few days before we arrived. , It can be seen that the wind is terrible, and we still don’t know how the mission is. If we leave the team now, we may never be able to return to Qinhan City.”
"Then go back to Qinhan City to find reinforcements." He Mulan paused, then suddenly said, "I'll take this horse thief to Fengcheng to find out."
"That's too dangerous! If the Sandstorm Pirates are all around, wouldn't you be a sheep? If you believe in the Sandstorm Pirates, he is likely to bring you into the siege!"
Zheng Zong shook his head again and again.
"Not to mention that you can't even speak the language!"
"So, you should let him go without a trace at night, and make him think he ran away." He Mulan gritted her teeth, feeling a little sorry for the caravan leader.
"I will tell the leader that if he runs away, it will be dangerous for the entire caravan, and then ask for food, water and a strong camel to chase him. He didn't ride a horse and wanted to survive in the desert, he had to find his own as soon as possible. Companion or lair, or oasis, I can find what I want after following him."
She looked at Zheng Zong, whose face was full of disapproval, and patted him on the shoulder.
"You have to believe in my ability, even if you can't find Fengcheng, there will never be an accident. My life was originally picked up. If I can't figure out the truth and avenge so many innocent brothers who died in vain, I will not go back to Pingcheng. ."
"Are you out of your mind?"
Zheng Zong looked at He Mulan.
"This is the best way. You are injured now, and moving with me will only drag me down, but you can understand their language, and with so many strong villagers in Luanjingtou, you will be able to reach Qinhan City safely. Feng Heng of Qinhan City is a trustworthy person. With his help, he will be able to transfer the army to come. Beiliang is no longer trustworthy. If he moves too slowly, maybe all the evidence will be buried by Beiliang people. The most important thing is It's…”
He Mulan said thoughtfully: "Before the storm broke, I went to Juqu Bodhi, but he was not in the tent. There was a whole team of Hu Ben army guards outside Prince Bodhi's tent. He couldn't fly away, he must be What someone did, I suspect that Lao Sangtou led us there, not necessarily to destroy our mission, but to steal Juqu Bodhi."
"Steal?"
"Who knows. Maybe someone doesn't want him to come to Pingcheng? Maybe it's a political fight between Beiliang, or maybe they want to kill people. I haven't figured it out yet, I'm not a man of good power."
He Mulan shook his head.
"I have to sneak into the Windy City to have a look. If there is no one, I will make plans. When I was in the Windy City before, the guides had already given me the direction and the path to the nearest oasis. If not, I will go to the oasis over there. Rest, find the caravan and continue to Qinhan City."
Zheng Zong has always been very soft towards He Mulan. Although he knew that this was inappropriate, he was indeed a burden, and He Mulan would never give up when Hu Benjun encountered a sandstorm. He could only endure the uneasiness and agreed to cooperate with him. .
So in the evening of this day, when the caravan was preparing to eat dinner and start the night's journey, they suddenly heard a shout from the guards: "The captured horse thief has run away!"
The leader of the caravan did not agree to stay alive. It was Zheng Zong's excuse that he was worried that there would be horse thieves on the road ahead, so he left him for repeated questioning. The other horse thieves were all killed, and this one was locked in a camel group and tied to a camel. On the body, it should have been foolproof.
As soon as he heard the horse thief had run away, the caravan leader immediately took people over to take a look. He saw that the rope tied to the camel's leg had been bitten off by another camel. The camels looked at him innocently and stirred their lips. .
The camel is very docile and naturally won't chew on the rope, but Zheng Zong rubbed salt water on the rope. Walking in the desert, camels also need a lot of salt, so the camels around them smelled the salt and came to suck/allow the tied rope, chewed it, and chewed the rope abruptly.
Zheng Zong is a person who is very good at taking advantage of all advantages. Even if the resources on hand are poor, there is always a way to achieve his goals. He is simply an expert in doing bad things.
When the caravan leader saw the rope bitten by the camel, his face turned black, and he quickly looked at Zheng Zong and He Mulan beside him. It was Zheng Zong who suggested that he should stay alive and ask about the situation of the horse thief. If such a problem occurs, according to the rules of the caravan, he must be responsible.
So He Mulan took advantage of the situation and said, "This person doesn't dare to run on a camel, because there is too much movement, so he must not have run too far, give me a camel, and give me some water and food, and I will go to him Catch it, kill it and come back."
After finishing the translation, Zheng Zong added: "We must set off immediately. Now that he has a companion nearby, maybe he will come back when they meet."
The situation suddenly became tense. He Mulan hurriedly rode the camel in the caravan and asked the caravan the direction they were going to go next and the name of the oasis they were going to arrive at. She brought enough water for two days. and food, chasing in the direction of the footprints.
This is the advantage of being in the desert. As long as the running time is short and there is no wind, the footprints will always be in the sand, as conspicuous as road signs.
yawenba.net
Zheng Zong urged the caravan to set off quickly, because Zheng Zong and the twelve villagers stayed behind, and the leader of the caravan did not suspect him, and immediately set off in the direction of Qinhan City.
There is a danger that horse thieves will catch up with revenge at any time, and Zheng Zong keeps urging and reminding in the team, I am afraid that the time for the caravan to reach Qinhan City will be greatly shortened.
In this way, He Mulan rode a camel to chase after the footprints of the escapee, and walked slowly towards his destination.
It was getting dark, and it became more and more difficult to distinguish the footprints. The wind picked up at night in the desert. He Mulan did not dare to go too far, and was afraid of being noticed by the escapees. Followed by a camel.
The escapees did not panic, and headed towards the north with a very precise purpose.
With the increasingly familiar terrain, He Mulan's heart also had a grotesque feeling.
She remembered the night before the accident.
as predicted.
He Mulan heard the shrill and sharp sound of sand.
***
The Whispering Sand is a very weird place, if you lift the sand or walk on the sand, the chirping will be louder, so the chirping will be different from place to place.
I was also in the rustling sand. Maybe the sound on this dune was as soft as someone plucking the strings, while the other dune trampled on was mournful like fingernails scraping glass.
He Mulan heard the sharp sound and knew that there must be a lot of people nearby. Before they entered the Crying Sand Field, the sound was very low, but after the envoy entered, the noise made people restless, and they could only panic. Running away from there.
The Sandstorm Pirates really used this place as a joint, or this was the outpost of the Windy City.
With such an unpleasant sound, no one can insist on staying, it must be accelerated to pass, and it is easiest to ambush when accelerating, and the noisy sound can also hide their whereabouts.
Maybe when they passed through this dune that day, the Sandstorm Pirates were hiding somewhere, ready to pick up Bodhi.
Who ordered the Sandstorm Pirates
And why do it...
He Mulan narrowed her eyes, regretting not bringing Zheng Zong here.
Even if she catches the leader, the language must not be understood.
After the roar of sand, there was the sound of horses neighing. The sand thieves did not use camels but horses. The army also used camels. Only the caravans used camels in large numbers. He Mulan was overjoyed when he heard the neighing of the horses. Among them, he stretched his head out to look.
It was pitch dark on He Mulan's side, but the horse thieves carried torches on their way through the night, which made it easy for her to find them.
There were about 40 sand thieves who came, and each of them rode a tall horse. The escapee shouted something, which may be the code of the connection, and the horse thieves on the other side sent a few people over to check the movement.
After the two sides met, the fugitive finally breathed a sigh of relief. He ran all night and was already exhausted. He immediately sat down on the sand and wanted to lie down and rest.
Another man wrapped in a red cloak stopped him, as if trying to persuade him to go to sleep now. The fugitive moved, probably because he was too tired and couldn't stand up.
These forty people should not be all, because He Mulan saw neither the water bag nor any bedding on them, there must be other people guarding the supplies, otherwise even if this is the place of the sand pirates, they also starve to death.
'If you miss this opportunity, you won't be able to find the leader so easily. If you catch the thief first, you might be able to force them to throw the rat...'
He Mulan did not bring the rock out, but gave it to Zheng Zong as a token and went to Qinhan City for help. There was only one rock in the world, and He Mulan only had a borrowed machete and a relic dagger from the Hu Ben Army.
However, it is not unwise.
He Mulan thought about it, pulled the camel up, pulled out a dagger and stabbed it fiercely. The camel was in pain, and immediately snorted and moved around in circles. Fortunately, the camel was good at patience. He didn't run away because of this, otherwise He Mulan would definitely be dumbfounded.
Taking this opportunity, He Mulan buried himself in the sand next to the edge of the dune, hiding it tightly, leaving only a small hole where he could see things and pay attention to the movement outside. Today there are stars but no moon, the sand is pitch black, and no one will notice that there is a person hiding here.
The camel wiggled wildly, and was naturally surprised by the noise of the sand. There were very few animals in this sandy area. With such a big movement, everyone in the Sandstorm Pirates was taken aback. A lone camel, but seeing nothing else, screamed strangely and shouted to its companions below.
He Mulan tightly held the dagger in her hand and stared at the movement outside. A horse passed by her, and two horses passed by her...
Although she had tried her best to stay close to the edge of the dune, there were times when the horses almost stepped in her direction. Fortunately, the knights of the Sandstorm Pirates were all superb in riding skills and did not go astray, otherwise she would be trampled to death if she failed in ambush, that would be funny.
"coming!'
He Mulan held her breath and looked out, until a red field passed by, she immediately stood up!
She has no intention of calculating, and her skills are extremely strong. This group of sand thieves has not yet understood what happened. He Mulan has already jumped near the target horse, stretched his arm and stabbed the horse three times in a row, and the other hand Grab the calf of the man on the horse and shake it hard!
"Get me down!"
The red cloak on the horse was also shocked. After the horse was startled, he immediately jumped off the horse, but He Mulan, who came out, grabbed his calf. He pulled out the machete on his waist and slashed towards He Mulan's arm. Go, but it was like seeing a ghost, a force attacked from his leg, and he was lifted upside down!
People living in the desert are generally short. He Mulan is a little over 1.7 meters tall, which is already considered a big man in Beiliang. In this way, the red cloak's original arm-slashing action turned into a ridiculous foot-shaving, and He Mulan was just one foot He kicked off the machete in his hand, then stepped on his heart tightly with one foot, and pulled out his machete and pressed it against his throat with lightning speed.
The whole thing happened in just a moment, never more than five minutes, and the people who were rushing to the sand dunes who wanted to pick up camels didn't even know what was going on. The red cloak that was guarded in the middle of the team became After taking the prisoner in He Mulan's hands, he fell to the ground on his back, with an extremely sharp machete pressed against his throat.
see... hell...
The horse thieves didn't even have time to dismount, and they were dumbfounded and dumbfounded.