Two days later, Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming said goodbye to everyone in the barracks, and they headed east day and night. They met a post station on the way, rested there for a night, and then set off again the next morning. An oasis behind the Gobi Desert suddenly appeared in front of the two of them.
Looking down from a high place, you can see a huge crescent-shaped clear lake, a small town hidden in the Populus euphratica green forest, where the vegetation is lush and vibrant, and it is the pearl of the world in this desert of yellow sand.
Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan stopped their horses and looked from a distance, Mu Zhiming said, "That should be it."
"Yeah." Gu Heyan nodded.
Mu Zhiming said, "This place is bigger than I thought."
Gu Heyan said, "It's not like a village, it's like a town."
Mu Zhiming nodded: "Exactly, let's go and have a look."
The two of them rode their horses to the lake, and came across a woman who was fetching water beside the lake. Her clothes were unique, similar to the brocade clothes of the Dajin Huafu, but the furs and braids used to keep warm looked a bit like the clothes of the Gouji Kingdom. Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan looked at each other, got off the horse in tacit agreement, and walked towards the woman holding the reins.
The woman poured the water from the call into five or six large leather bags, akimbo and let out a light breath. After wiping off her sweat, she tied up all the water bags with hemp rope and prepared to carry them home. With the sound of the horse, the woman looked up in confusion, and saw two gentlemen with extraordinary bearing walking towards her.
A young man dressed in plain white and thick brocade clothes and wearing a cloak with a crane dance and cloud pattern walked faster, stood in front of her a few steps, and saluted politely: "Girl, may I ask if there is a place like an inn in the village ahead?"
The woman seemed to be used to seeing long-distance travelers and was not afraid of life. She smiled kindly and asked, "I don't know why the two young masters came here?"
Mu Zhiming replied, "I came here to collect herbs. I heard that there is a kind of herbal medicine called "Suoshenghun" growing near the frontier. My dear friend's father is seriously ill and needs this herbal medicine for treatment."
"I see." The woman nodded, "Since the war between the two countries started, no herbalists have come here for a long time. There is a small inn in the town, but it has been idle for several months. Let me lead the two young masters there. ."
"Thank you very much." Mu Zhiming bowed his hands and thanked him, "Miss, please put the water bag on our horse's back, we will express our gratitude."
The woman did not refuse: "Then I will trouble the two young masters."
Mu Zhiming said that he was not bothered, and went forward to pick up the water bags for the girl, but Gu Heyan passed him without saying a word, and easily picked up the water bags and placed them on his horse's back.
The three walked along the crescent-shaped lake towards the town. Looking from a distance, they could see the smoke from the cooking on the loess building in the Populus euphratica forest. It was quiet and peaceful. Mu Zhiming sighed with emotion: "This place is so close to Gouji. Not long after Dajin and Gou Jigang broke up and fought, how could this place be so clean?"
The woman said, "It's just because you're close to Gouji! The rogue bandits are afraid of Gouji, and they're worried about meeting soldiers of alien races, so they never dare to come here to harass."
"Haven't the people of the Gouji clan come to plunder?" Mu Zhiming wondered.
"They won't come, we have that stone." The woman replied with a smile.
Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan looked at each other and became more puzzled: "Stone?"
"Yes." The woman nodded, "That stone."
Saying that the three had walked to the front of the town, the woman pointed to a place: "It's that stone."
Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan looked there together, and saw a large stone about one person tall and two widths standing in front of the low loess city gate. There were many characters engraved on the stone, but the stone seemed to be standing here. Over the years, those words have been eroded by the yellow sand and wind, and have become blurred.
"As long as this stone is there, the Gouji people will not come here to plunder." The woman said firmly.
"But... how can a stone resist the plundering of aliens?" Mu Zhiming was puzzled.
"I don't know that." The woman shook her head, "I heard that a hundred-year-old old woman in the village knew about it, but when someone asked, she only repeated things like the changes in the world, this time was not that time, and then began to sigh, Seems to be thinking of something sad."
While listening to the woman's words, Mu Zhiming looked at the big stone, seeing that there was nothing strange about it, and was really confused, but he had no clue for a while, so he had to follow the woman into the town first.
The three first sent the water bag to the woman's house, and then the woman led the two to the inn.
It is said to be an inn, but it is actually a two-story simple loess kiln house. The owner has been closed for a few months without customers and has been closed for a long time.
Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan only came here in the evening. After the boss finished cleaning up, it was already quiet at night. Mu Zhiming sat at the wooden table and was so sleepy that he yawned with one hand on his head. The boss came down from the second floor quickly, friendly and enthusiastic. Said: "Two guest officers, the room is ready, the two of you have been waiting for a long time, go and rest."
"I'm busy, where is the room?" Mu Zhiming stood up.
The boss replied: "Go upstairs and turn left and the first room is."
Gu Heyan frowned slightly: "One room?"
The boss nodded: "Don't worry, guest, our room is very big, and it has two beds."
Gu Heyan fell silent.
Seeing that his expression was not right, Mu Zhiming thought he didn't want to live in a room with him: "Brother He, if you hate living with others, then you go to rest first, I'll wait, and let the boss clean up another room and come out. "
Gu Heyan raised his eyes and glanced at Mu Zhiming, then stood up: "No... I'm fine..."
After hurriedly rushing for two days, Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan were tired, and they didn't speak any more. After arriving in the room, they put on their clothes and went to bed. When Mu Zhiming woke up the next morning, he found that Gu Heyan was not in the room. Lu stood up suspiciously and tied his hair, and just about to go downstairs to find Gu Heyan, the door was pushed open, and Gu Heyan walked into the room with a basin of clear water.
"Brother He, where have you been?" Mu Zhiming asked him with a smile.
"Explore the surroundings." Gu Heyan lowered his eyes and put the basin of clean water on the wooden table, "You can take this water to wash."
"Thank you, Brother He." Mu Zhiming thanked him repeatedly and walked to the basin of clear water, only to realize that the water was actually warm, neither cold nor hot, just the most comfortable temperature.
Mu Zhiming was stunned for a moment, then raised his head to look at Gu Heyan, but after putting down the basin of water, Gu Heyan sat on the bed and wiped off his sword, as if he didn't want to pay attention to him, Mu Zhiming had to withdraw his gaze angrily.
After washing and tidying up, the innkeeper brought breakfast, warm millet porridge and pancakes. They were all in good spirits all day. The two went downstairs to find the innkeeper and asked about the big stone beside the city gate. The innkeeper shook his head and said, "I only know that the Gouji people will never come to the village to plunder if the stone is protecting it, but I really don't know why."
Mu Zhiming thanked him, said goodbye to the innkeeper, and said to Gu Heyan, "Brother He, from what you see, how can a stone resist the plundering of aliens?"
Gu Heyan shook his head.
Mu Zhiming smiled and said, "I'm also at a loss, why don't we go to the stone together, how about it?"
Gu Heyan replied, "Okay."