Across the Sky From the Stop of Time

The first route of the itinerary is to start from Bosten Lake to the southwest, and walk west along the Kongque River until you find the ancient river channel going south.

Bosten can be translated as the meaning of standing. The origin of this name is because there are three lakes and mountains standing in the lake. In ancient times, this lake was also called Fish Sea. It is the largest inland freshwater lake in China. The Kongque River originated from here and flows deep into the Taklamakan.

When everyone passed by the lake, looking around, the vast and far-reaching blue lake was dazzling, and inadvertently, there was an illusion as if they had reached the end of the world.

In the first two days after the departure, Fatty Wang, Chu Jian, Sa Dipeng, and Ye Yixin entered the desert for the first time in their lives. They found it fresh and fun. For a while, they imitated the whistle of the old man An Liman commanding the camels, and for a while they chased each other. Playing around and singing, it doesn't look like archeology at all, but like tourism.

Hao Shuai followed the team, holding a bottle of iced Sprite in his hand, drinking slowly, while looking at the young people who were in high spirits, he thought that there would be a lot of trouble for them in the future, the journey just started now, and what they would realize later It's a real desert.

According to the words of the old man An Liman, it is not considered a desert at all. This section of the ancient channel of the Kongque River existed before the river was diverted. In lakes and lakes, a small flock of red-billed gulls and pochards occasionally swim on the surface of the water. Along the bend of the Kongque River, there are small oases with sandy dates, Populus euphratica and some shrubs growing.

After crossing the Kongque River and changing the route, the conditions became more and more difficult. Only then did everyone truly enter the desert. The hot climate and the wind and sand everywhere made the smiles of the archaeological team gradually disappear.

At dusk the next day, a group of people walked to the ground called the Holy Sepulchre Hill. From here onwards, it was the so-called Black Desert. They decided to set up camp here, rest for one night, and move on tomorrow.

At this time, An Liman began to tell Hu Bayi and the others about the horror of the Black Desert, hoping to dispel the idea of ​​continuing to go deeper, so that he had completed the task.

It's a pity that everyone is busy with their own things, no one cares about what An Liman said, and Hao Shuai, the only one who knows the danger, doesn't care.

"Ye Yixin, what are you doing?" Suddenly, a shout rang out in the camp.

Everyone followed the sound and saw Hao Shuai standing in front of Ye Yixin and Professor Chen, looking at them seriously.

"I~ I just saw that the professor's hands are dirty, so I want to pour some water for him to wash his hands." Ye Yixin was at a loss for what to do with the kettle in his hand.

"Washing your hands with water in the desert? Are you really capable? Why don't you take a bath for yourself?" Hao Shuai scolded mercilessly.

After finishing speaking, he didn't care about Ye Yixin who was red-eyed, and turned to Professor Chen and said, "Professor Chen, Ye Yixin has never been in the desert and doesn't know the preciousness of water. As an archaeologist, don't you understand?"

"Daoist Hao, I was negligent. I apologize to you. I won't do it next time." Professor Chen also realized his mistake and apologized sincerely.

"I hope you understand that in the desert, water is the most precious resource, especially tomorrow we will go deep into the black desert, no one knows what will happen then, so you should save some water .” Hao Shuai looked around at the crowd, especially at Chu Jian, Sa Dipeng and a few others.

Being educated by Hao Shuai, the atmosphere of the whole camp seemed a bit dull. Everyone lost interest in chatting, and after eating dry food, they all stayed in their places to rest.

Hao Shuai found Hu Bayi, who was also about to rest, and said, "Old Hu, you are the leader of the team. As a company commander, you should know how to lead a team. If you have something to say in the future, I will support you." of."

"God stick, I was negligent this time, thank you for reminding me." Hu Ba nodded his head to express his understanding.

Hao Shuai patted Hu Bayi on the shoulder and returned to his seat.

...

The temperature difference between day and night in the desert area is quite large, especially during the day, when the surface temperature can reach 40 to 50 degrees. Hao Shuai and his party avoid direct sunlight during the day and choose to travel between evening and noon.

So after a short rest for an hour, the group continued on their way under the stars.

After the Holy Sepulchre Mountain passed, it really entered the boundary of the Black Desert. This is a large fluid desert. The sand dunes are blown by strong winds. The landform changes every day without any features.

Fortunately, there is An Liman's live map of the desert, those ancient castles, houses, and towers that are mostly buried in the yellow sand, with only half of the roof exposed; The few small Haloxylon plants in the desert can't escape the eyes of the old man An Liman.

According to him, at the end of this disappearing ancient river is the legendary Jingjue ancient city abandoned by Hu Da.

This day and night journey lasted for several days. On the third morning after entering the black desert, a ray of sunlight rose from the eastern horizon, reflecting the clouds in the sky red. With a layer of sunlight, the dry Populus euphratica and the corrugated yellow sand are all reflected in golden red. The thick colors form a magnificent picture scroll between the heaven and the earth.

All the people who were tired from walking all night couldn’t help being refreshed when they saw this scene. Shirley Yang exclaimed: “The desert is so beautiful, God, look at that Populus euphratica tree, it’s like a golden tree in the desert. The Shenlong." Take out the camera, press the shutter button repeatedly, hoping to preserve this beautiful scenery.

When everyone was intoxicated by the beautiful scenery, Hu Bayi noticed that An Liman was staring at the rising sun in the east, and there was a trace of uneasiness on his face. The experienced Hu Bayi also noticed something was wrong.

After all, even children know that if the morning glow does not go out, the sunset glow travels thousands of miles, and the red clouds in the morning are not a good omen.

"Old man, is the sky going to change?" Hu Bayi asked uncertainly.

"The clouds in the sky are bleeding. God is probably angry. It's going to blow up in this desert, and it's going to be very, very strong." An Liman said.

When Hu Bayi heard the words, without hesitation, he immediately ran to explain the situation to Professor Chen and the others.

Hearing that Hu Bayi said that there was going to be a big storm that could not be stopped by building a sand wall, everyone's expressions changed, and they hurriedly obeyed Hu Bayi's order, got on the camel and prepared to run.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the old man An Liman slowly got off the camel, took out a blanket, spread it on the yellow sand unhurriedly, knelt on it, closed his eyes slightly, looked devout, and stretched out his hands to the sky , and then covered his face again, chanting aloud.

"Hey, Hu, do you think it's urgent or not?" asked the impatient Fatty Wang.

"Okay, leave him alone, Lao Hu, take them first, as fast as possible, don't delay." Hao Shuai knew that this black sandstorm was not a joke, and if it was blown away, even if he was as strong as Hao Shuai, he would There is nowhere to find them.

Hu Bayi quickly greeted the crowd, urged the big camel under his crotch, and started to run first.

Sure enough, not a while after everyone set off, they heard the voice of "Oh Yo Yo Yo" from behind, and then, a camel quickly passed the crowd and ran forward.

Who else could it be if it wasn't An Liman!