Under everyone's discussion, Hong Jun gradually understood that the battle for the restoration of the country that Artest needs to face is not just a simple rebellion, or a battle to win the hearts of the people and regain power. The real difficulty is that this is a process of fighting against God.
Zoroastrianism died out in the land of Sasanian and was replaced by Islam. The former temple became a mosque, and children from birth to death, generation after generation, unswervingly believed in the new god. The records of the old gods were burned. Once the words were lost, the miracles and stories could not even be passed on for more than fifty years. Zoroastrianism had declined long before the Isai family left this land.
Today's Dashi is already very unfamiliar with Zoroastrianism. They don't know Zoroaster and the ancient Persian scripture "Avesta" that once gave this land faith. Even the caravans and translators who covered their progress had already become Muslims.
Can this battle be won? Hong Jun couldn't help thinking.
They left Jiayuguan and headed for Yadan. On the way, Hongjun paid a special visit to his uncle Jiazhou. It has been several years since they met again after a long absence. Jiazhou was very worried about the Anshi Rebellion, but Hong Jun got a lot of information from his uncle. Li Heng succeeded him as emperor, changed his year name to Zhide, and formed an alliance with Huihe.
When they arrived in Guazhou, a large number of Huihe troops entered the pass and rushed to the Central Plains to assist Li Heng in recovering the lost land. An Lushan had already fled back to Luoyang, the demon clan was subdued, and the rest was the battlefield for mortals. Guo Ziyi led the Chinese army and joined hands with the Huihe army to attack Shan County in one fell swoop.
Li Jinglong looked worriedly at the Huihe army passing by under the city, fearing that they might drive wolves into tigers, but this is no longer something that the Exorcist Division has the right to intervene.
"Come on." Jia Zhou said, "Hongjun, I advise you to have another glass of wine, and go west to Yangguan without any old friends. Done!"
Hong Jun and the exorcists drank with Jia Zhou, and Jia Zhou personally escorted them out of the customs. The wind and sand were far away, and Tang Jun turned and left.
After leaving Yangguan, the road is deserted and lonely, and there are large expanses of Gobi along the way. Every day or half a day, there will be post stations for replenishing fresh water. Many post stations have been emptied, except for the pond and a small oasis behind the station. . The temperature difference between day and night is very large, and even dripping water turns into ice at night.
Hong Jun likes the night sky here. There are no mountains to cover it, and it is always cloudless. At night, he often wraps a blanket with Li Jinglong, snuggles under the stone pile, and looks at the galaxy in the sky.
"Qingxiong is right."
One day Hong Jun finally couldn't help talking about the Holy Land, Li Jinglong suddenly commented.
Hong Jun was taken aback, and said, "Do you know everything?"
The corners of Li Jinglong's mouth curled up slightly, and he said, "Guess."
Hong Jun sighed: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said this to you..."
"No." Li Jinglong said, "If you don't say it, you will miss many things from the details."
Hong Jun said: "What can I miss? Anyway, as long as I am alive, I will not agree to any of their proposals on this point."
"Who?" Li Jinglong asked again.
Hong Jun: "Of course they are the Four Great Demon Kings."
Li Jinglong said: "Do the four demon kings recognize him?"
When Hong Jun was said this, he seemed to feel something for a moment, and Li Jinglong said casually: "I said that Qingxiong did the right thing, not referring to the monster race replacing the human race, and it will last forever. It's that he chose not to force you to go down. decision, it's very important."
"That's because Feng'er appeared." Hong Jun said, "At that time, I even felt a little dangerous when I saw his eyes."
Li Jinglong waved his hand and said: "Feng'er just gave him a step down. Recalling that time, how did the four demon kings express their opinions at the moment when Qingxiong made a proposal?"
Hong Jun said: "They don't want to..."
Speaking of this, the reactions of the dead ghost king and Yu Zaoyun quickly passed through his mind once, and the hesitation of the other two demon kings and the silence of Kun God finally made Hongjun understand Li Jinglong's hypothesis.
"God Kun is helping him." Li Jinglong said casually, "It's impossible for them not to know what the other is thinking."
Hong Jun pondered, nodded, and Li Jinglong said again: "As for the Fox King and Ghost King, I don't believe they agree with Qingxiong's choice."
"But they are not familiar with Yaojin Palace." Hong Jun said, "I think... the ghost king is... er, more friendly to the human race, at least more friendly than Zhongming. Yuzaoyun, I even think she fell in love with the old emperor."
"This is exactly the problem." Li Jinglong said, "So they will never choose Qingxiong as the new chief demon king, because they are closer to the human race than Qingxiong. It happens that they can accept it if you are in charge. De: I was born in the Yaojin Palace, and has connections with Qingxiong and Yuan Kun. I am a descendant of Chongming, and I am..." At this point, Li Jinglong smiled and said: "...is still Mrs. Shuhou."
"Hmm." Hong Jun blushed a little, nodded and said, "Maybe."
"Kun God and Qingxiong are very clear." Li Jinglong said, "From the perspective of interests, only you can reunite the four demon kings and establish a new holy place. Otherwise, Yuan Kun would not ask me for a corpse." ' and 'a soul'."
Hong Jun gradually understood, and Li Jinglong said again: "If Qingxiong forces you to make a decision, the Yaozu will inevitably fall into division again. Feng'er seems to have interrupted this conversation, but in fact it gave him a step down."
Hong Jun remained silent, frowning deeply, and Li Jinglong finally said: "Sometimes I even suspect that Yuan Kun is the one who drives Qingxiong to come forward and influence your decision. Yong Si also often said that God Kun's mind is too difficult to grasp."
Hong Jun said: "It's not enough... I can survive because of Yuan Kun."
Li Jinglong nodded and stopped talking. Hong Jun pondered: "There is always a way to solve it slowly, as long as we are together. By the way, it seems to be getting colder and colder. Are you cold?"
The two of them huddled in the blanket, and Li Jinglong untied Hong Jun's collar in the blanket, touched his skin, and whispered: "I'll warm you."
Li Jinglong's naked body is like a vigorous fire, and every time he entangles, mingles, and enters with Hong Jun, Hong Jun feels extremely happy. After leaving Yangguan, the exorcists held meetings every day at first, and in the second half of the trip, they had said almost everything they wanted to say, so they stayed in their cars to avoid the sun. Although it was nearly October on the Silk Road, it was still scorching hot. During the day, it was really hard for the two of them to be intimate, and they were sweaty after just a few rubs.
But once Lu Xu told Hong Jun a trick, it is better to ignore it than to be afraid of the heat. Hong Jun tried it, but he had a different feeling. The two were sweating profusely in the car. The sweat on Li Jinglong's shoulders and chest, and the strength and masculinity exuded made Hongjun's blood rush. Once you start, it's almost impossible to stop.
Of course, this way of playing is also limited by conditions, that is, you must take a bath every day. Fortunately, when you enter the second half of the Silk Road, each station has sufficient water sources. Everyone can take a bath at dusk, and then smear some Spices, Hong Jun finally understood why the scents of Semuren and people from the Western Regions were so strong.
Nearly 20 days after leaving Yuzhou City, the caravan arrived at an important site on the Silk Road—Bajin City under the Aral Sea. Merchants are here to replenish their goods and will stay for three days. Hong Jun didn’t sleep well in the car last night. The autumn atmosphere was strong, the weather was cool, and the hustle and bustle of the market was far and near, like a hypnotic song, which made him fall into a deep sleep.
"Hongjun." Lu Xu whispered in Hongjun's ear, and shook him gently, "accompany me to a place."
Hong Jun got up sleepily, looked at Lu Xu, changed his clothes, and followed him out dizzily.
"Where are you going?" Hong Jun asked.
Lu Xu just walked ahead. Bajin City is very small. It is not so much a city as it is a village. A dozen or so mud huts built from rammed earth are open for passing merchants to do business. There are two roads, one vertical and one horizontal. , forming a cross, and there is no city wall around it. There are only a dozen or so resident people, most of whom are businessmen in the past.
Going to the high place behind the city, after turning over a slope, there is the Aral Sea. There is a high mountain to the west of the Aral Sea, and a strange building stands on the mountain.
Hong Jun woke up and looked at the building from a distance.
Lu Xu said: "I'll take you, let's go up." As he spoke, he turned into a white deer, flew across the salty sea, parted the waves, and flew to the top of the mountain on a sunny afternoon.
"What kind of place is this?" Hong Jun asked in surprise.
"Brother Qiong and Artest's former home." Bailu said.
Hong Jun remembered that Artest had indeed mentioned before that a temple of Zoroastrianism was located on a high mountain by the Aral Sea, where the prophet Zoroaster once expounded scriptures and was later built as a temple .
"Both Artest and Brother Qiong were born in this temple." Lu Xu and Hong Jun walked into the abandoned temple side by side, and it was already overgrown with weeds. "Trandol and Artest also met here."
"How do you know so much?" Hong Jun cleaned up the messy creepers and pushed open the door.
Lu Xu: "Brother Qiong told me."
Hong Jun: "Yo."
"What does 'yo' mean?" Lu Xu said expressionlessly.
"It means literally." Hong Jun glanced at Lu Xu suspiciously, and said, "Do you often chat secretly?"
Lu Xu: "No! What is 'secret'! It's just that they will chat a few words when they are sent together to perform tasks!"
Ashinaqiong never told Hongjun about his past, and even because Li Jinglong and Hongjun were together, Artai often warned Ashinaqiong not to ask for trouble, and Ashinaqiong had always been very restrained. Even if it's a joke, he doesn't make much of it to Hongjun. He used to tease Lu Xu a few words, but now he doesn't even dare to get in touch with Lu Xu.
Hong Jun: "He can molest Zhao Zilong."
Lu Xu: "..."
Hong Jun still likes Ashina Qiong very much, not only him, but every partner is extremely reliable, and they have endured danger for each other desperately. When Lu Xu walked towards the altar, Hong Jun probably understood.
"You want to know him." Hong Jun said.
"No." Lu Xu replied, "You think too much, I just think he has a little..."
There are a large number of mottled murals in the temple, which are Zoroastrian lectures and mythological stories from the ancient Persian scriptures. The two stood side by side, and after watching for a while, Lu Xu replied, "Lonely."
Hong Jun frowned slightly, and Lu Xu said: "But this is not my purpose. Chang Shi just asked me to check whether Brother Qiong is also one of the holders of the magic weapon. After all, he and Artest were both born in here."
Hong Jun investigated every place in the temple, including the cemetery behind the mountain. There is an inscription on the cemetery, written in Persian. Neither of them could understand what it was, but Hong Jun suddenly found a place, which was a symbol, the same as the symbol embroidered on Artest's robe.
"Saint." Hong Jun said, "is the master of Li Guinian and Artai."
"Look for an agency." Lu Xu said.
"For such an important thing, why didn't Jinglong and the others come in person?"
At this time, Li Jinglong was inquiring about Artest's whereabouts with Qiu Yongsi and Mo Zhigen. It turned out that Artest had been to Bajin City and had seen someone here. According to Li Jinglong's speculation, it was probably Amman Hukladuo . But Artest and Ashinaqiong left in a hurry without returning to their birthplace.
The task of Lu Xu and Hong Jun is to find out whether there is an entrance and exit of the earth veins here, which logically should not be there. But once Hong Jun travels with Lu Xu, the two of them always like to chat about things, sometimes they talk about Qiu Yongsi, sometimes they talk about Ashinaqiong, Mo Zhigen, and Li Jinglong. I don't have much interest, maybe because I think he is prettier than girls, so I don't have much interest in him.
The divine fire had already been extinguished and could not be ignited again. Several altars were covered with burnt embers. Lu Xu suddenly said to Hong Jun, "Come and see this."
Hong Jun came to a room, and the sunlight came in from the gap at the top of the garden. This is a very standard Persian courtyard. There are several small fountains in the center. Lu Xu said: "Look at these two sculptures, one on the left and one on the right. It's all smooth, as if someone turned it hard."
Hong Jun thought to himself what kind of people you are, always not letting go of such clues, so he stretched out his hand and pulled it together with Lu Xu. The moment the two sculptures turned at the same time, the ground suddenly rumbled and sank. A channel appears.
"Wow." Hong Jun said, "Is there any treasure?"
The two scratched their heads, and Hong Jun went in first. In the dark space, Hong Jun snapped his fingers, and sparks burst out from his hands, illuminating the basement.
The basement is empty, and there is another door at the end. Behind the door is a deep passage leading to a deeper underground. Hong Jun counted the number of steps, and whispered: "This should be under the salty sea."
Lu Xu staggered suddenly and kicked something. The two lowered their heads at the same time, and the light illuminated one's face.
Hong Jun and Lu Xu shouted at the same time.
It was a man tied up with ropes, with disheveled hair and blood all over his body. Hong Jun said, "Why is there anyone here?!"
"do you died?"
"have a look… "
Hong Jun patted the man's side face and brushed away his blood-stained hair. A familiar face was reflected on his face. A stubbled face hadn't been trimmed for many days. break off.
—Ashi Naqiong.
Hong Jun: "..."
Lu Xu: "..."