White Bone Monkey King

The desert is rife with dangers.

The mirage of the Black Rain Country last night was like the devil waving to those who fell into the water. No matter how hard they swam, they couldn't reach the end. In the end, they collapsed halfway like the caravan from exhaustion and were eventually buried by the wind and sand.

If it weren't for Jin An and Goat, their team would probably be in trouble.

After traveling all night last night, everyone except Jin An had reached the limit of physical exhaustion, so Jin An proposed to rest for half a day before continuing on the road.

The team, which had been so tired for a long time, didn't even bother to eat the naan, and immediately fell asleep one by one. They were really tired from the torment last night.

Only Yari and Sureti cheered up and came together to help feed the camels and sheep with fodder and water. They couldn't bear to wake up the others.

Jin An, who was not sleepy and was taking care of the camels and sheep, saw the two people coming to help and said with a smile: "It's okay, I can handle it here by myself. You should rest early. We will continue on our way later."

Yali first translated Jin An's words to Su Reti, and then said to Jin An embarrassedly: "Originally, we were the ones taking care of Taoist Jin An, but we felt that Taoist Jin An was taking care of us along the way, and we also We should do something for Taoist Jin'an, otherwise it will be too embarrassing for us men from the Yueqiang Kingdom."

In the process of helping, the two men mentioned last night's experience with worried eyes: "Taoist Master Jin'an, did you say that the mirage we saw last night was real or fake? Why did someone show up in Black Rain City in the end? Are we coming?"

"This is the first time we have encountered such a mirage... The feeling is too real... It's like there is a very scary devil in Black Rain City staring at us... Will we encounter it next time? We will encounter something like last night. A mirage? If you accidentally enter it by mistake, will you encounter a real devil?"

Ari continued with a sad look on his face: "There are running devil ships and devil mountains in the desert. Maybe we encountered the devil city last night, and the skinned dead people in that city are all real, not hallucinations..."

Jin An huh? He shouted: "I know about ghost mountains and ghost cities, but what about the ghost ships in the desert? Are there ghost ships like ghost ships in the desert?"

Ari shook his head and said: "We have never seen a devil ship. We have heard the old man talk about it. It probably refers to the sunken ships in the dried up ancient rivers."

He had to talk to Jin An, translate with Sureti, and translate again. This made Yali very tired. He said he was thirsty and drank some water for himself.

It looks like you're drinking a lot of water, but it's actually just moistening your lips.

Water is precious in the desert.

Jin An nodded thoughtfully.

With two more people to help, the camels and sheep were fed much faster. Finally, Yali and Sureti could no longer bear the fatigue of not sleeping all day and night, and fell asleep.

…

In the next three days, the weather in the desert was clear, and the team arrived at Xituo Kingdom smoothly. Fortunately, they did not go in the wrong direction in the wind and sand.

The Xituo Kingdom, like the Yueqiang Kingdom, is a small country with a population of less than 10,000.

After passing the Situ Kingdom, the next step is to actually enter the depths of the desert. This Situ Kingdom is their last supply point when entering the depths of the desert. Next, they will face the most cruel and ruthless side of the desert, along the way. There is no place to refill water.

Therefore, they either find the ruins of Guchi Kingdom and pray that there is still water in the ruins of Guchi Kingdom, or they fail to find Guchi Kingdom and must return as soon as possible, otherwise they will die of thirst in the desert.

In order to be fully prepared, the team prepared in Xituo Kingdom for four days before continuing on the road. If it were not for reaching the area near Guchi Kingdom where historical data can be found before December, Jin'an would have wanted to stay a few more days. Let both the people and the camels recuperate before heading into the depths of the desert.

But time is running out now.

I could only rest for four days before continuing on the road.

During this period, they also encountered a problem. The desert had been experiencing a severe drought for half a year, and it became increasingly hotter as they went southwest. The Xituo Kingdom had also entered a dry season, so the purchase of clean water was restricted. But they need to prepare too much water and cannot fill all the water bags, which will directly affect their next plan.

Water is more valuable than gold in the desert.

Water saves lives.

Gold doesn't necessarily save lives.

Sometimes you can’t even spend money to buy life-saving water.

In the end, it was Yali who came forward and revealed his identity as the Yueqiang Kingdom. The Xituo Kingdom was able to buy enough water by selling some favors.

Although Jin An has the imperial water talisman, he is not so kind as to think that the whole world is harmless. Before he has enough understanding, keeping wealth secret is always the way to survive, otherwise it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.

…

In the next half month, the camel team continued to penetrate deep into the desert.

I also encountered various situations along the way.

For example, I encountered quicksand once.

Two camels were lost.

The adsorption force of the quicksand is very strong. Even Jin An's strong body cannot save the two camels. The harder you exert force in the quicksand, the faster they will sink and die.

He could only stand outside the quicksand and watch helplessly as the two camels were swallowed up by the quicksand, unable to do anything.

Facing nature, manpower will eventually be exhausted.

Even if he tried to save the two camels by force, he would not be able to do anything except tearing the camel's body in two. The adsorption force under the quicksand is far beyond what ordinary people imagine.

At the end of November, they encountered strong winds twice more, but luckily they came out safe and sound.

Moreover, the farther south they walked into the desert, the hotter the sun was, which reminded Jin An that they seemed to be walking on the Flaming Mountains. Both humans and camels were consuming more water.

But these are not the biggest troubles.

The biggest trouble is not finding the direction in the desert.

There is only sand in the depths of the desert. I often walk for a day or two before I see Haloxylon ammodendron and Populus euphratica sporadically.

And these scattered Haloxylon ammodendron and Populus euphratica have become the only signposts in the depths of the desert.

A slight deviation in the direction means that the slightest deviation can lead to a thousand miles, and you will lose your direction and get lost in the desert. At this time, you must not go down any further. You can only bite the bullet and go back, walk back to the previous starting point, and then look for the right direction again.

This delay lasted four or five days.

Yari and the others had never gone deep into such a deep desert. Even with the guidance of old Sadiq, who had the most experience in the desert, the team still went in the wrong direction once, and it took them four days to find the right path again.

On this day, the morale of the team was low. Everyone was so hot and droopy from the sun above their heads that they could not lift their heads.

Everyone is thirsty and depressed, and often no one speaks for a long time to save limited energy and water.

"Taoist Master Jin'an, something is getting worse and worse as we go further into the southern desert... If the sun continues like this, people will sooner or later die of dehydration in the desert..." At this time, Old Sadiq said weakly to Jin An.

The three sheep were all tied firmly to the camel's back with ropes, and they were all too hot to move.

With the intense consumption of water, Jin An specially made room for the camel's back space to carry the three sheep.

Otherwise, with the little physical strength of the sheep, they would definitely not be able to keep up with the speed of the team.

"Are you lost again?" What Jin An is most afraid of hearing now is that he got lost in the desert. That means they have to waste several days to go back again. It is not only a waste of time, but also a waste of water that is not much.

Because there is an endless circulation of Zang Qi, the five internal organs in the body are equivalent to the circulation of the five elements, and the body is cool, so Jin An's complexion and energy are very full, and even the Qi in his speech is very strong. Except for his lips being a little chapped, there is no big abnormality. .

Jin An's physical strength is well preserved.

Old Sadiq shook his head weakly and said: "We are not going in the wrong direction. When I say something is wrong, I mean that the weather is not right."

"As early as the Wumo Kingdom... the temperature in this desert is getting hotter and hotter... It's like walking in flames... This is an abnormal weather that has never been seen before... It has never been so hot before, especially now that it is about to enter the twelfth lunar month. The winter of the month..."

"...If Taoist Master Jin An doesn't believe it...you can ask Yali and the others...it has never been so hot in the desert..."

Everyone was almost exhausted and listless due to the scorching sun. Old Sadiq struggled to speak only a few words and his voice was broken.

"...This desert...seems like it's on fire, it's too hot..."

"...The deeper we go, the hotter the sand becomes... What I'm worried about is that if we continue walking forcefully like this, the consumption of clean water will be even more intense... I'm afraid we won't be able to get to where Taoist Jin'an is going, and we will If you die of thirst in the desert because of the water problem, even if you don't die of thirst in the desert, you will be scorched to death by the sun sooner or later..."

The three sheep on the camel's back all stuck out their long tongues, and the heat was unbearable.

Jin An glanced at the team, everyone was struggling to hold on with low spirits.

Even these desert people can't withstand the exposure to the sun. Those in the Central Plains would have been exhausted long ago. You can imagine how scorching the desert temperature is now.

"Has there never been such an abnormal temperature before?" Jin An asked thoughtfully.

Old Sadiq no longer had the strength to speak and could only nod weakly.

"Yari, Yari..." Jin An shouted twice and walked in front. He was a little dizzy and tinnitus due to the strong sun above his head. He took a water bag and tried hard to pour water into his lips, but it took him a long time to drink it. Ari, who was dripping with water, turned his head slowly.

Seeing Ari with severely chapped lips and dull eyes, Jin An frowned, worried about the state of the team.

Jin An took off the water bag from his waist, threw it to Yari, shared his water with him, and then asked: "Yari, how much water do we have left?"

You should not drink water in a hurry in the desert. You should hold a sip of water in your mouth, and then slowly inhale to moisten your throat, and slowly allow your body to fully absorb all the water. The faster you drink water, the thirstier you will be.

Ari was not a greedy person. He only took a sip of water and then gratefully handed back the water bag.

After adding some water to his thirsty body, he finally regained some ability to think. Ari said in a hoarse voice: "Because we lost water for two camels, and we went in the wrong direction once and wasted four days of water. Taoist Master Jin'an... Our water consumption is a bit high, and I’m afraid it will be difficult for us to find Guchi Country in the vast desert..."

"Moreover, the weather in the depths of the desert is very abnormal. Both humans and camels can't bear the heat. The deeper you go, the greater the consumption of water... According to the water we have left now, and the consumption rate..."

Ari licked his chapped lips, moistened the chapped and uncomfortable lips with his tongue, and then said hesitantly: "We will have to drink all the water before we get to the end..."

Jin An frowned.

Even Ari said so. It seems that the weather in the depths of the desert is indeed abnormal.

"If we return the same way now, will there be enough water left to return to Xituo Kingdom?" Jin An looked at Yali and asked.

Although it is important to find Guchi Country.

But he couldn't sit back and watch others die of thirst in the desert because of him.

So he planned to wait until he returned to the Kingdom of Situ, leaving the others behind, and then go back into the depths of the desert alone with his camels.

Ari was stunned for a moment, and after thinking for a while, he said bitterly: "It's a bit difficult. Even if you don't go in the wrong direction in the middle, it is probably difficult to support the walk back to Xituo Kingdom."

This is really bad news in succession.

Jin An pondered.

"Have you ever heard anyone talk about why the weather in the deep desert is so abnormal?" Jin An raised his head and asked about another thing.

Ari was confused.

Jin An asked old Sadiq and the old king again.

Although the King of Yueqiang Kingdom has never left Yueqiang Kingdom, every time the caravan comes and goes, it will bring timely information on the desert. Every day, there is a dedicated person to collect the latest information on the desert and report to him. Ilham thought and replied: " It seems to be related to the drought half a year ago..."

Although he had been deceived by the human-faced clay pot in the past six months, the daytime was normal most of the time, so he still had a grasp of some major events happening in the desert.

Jin An's eyes flickered, why was it half a year ago again?

The once-in-a-century desert storm half a year ago not only blew out many things from the sacred mountain of Guchi Kingdom, but also blew out a black rain kingdom to reappear in the world.

Even the severe drought in Xizhou Prefecture and the severe drought in the desert started at that time.

Now even the desert south is experiencing abnormal weather.

"What happened half a year ago? Why did all kinds of abnormal things begin to appear in the desert?" Jin An asked old Sadiq, young Sahab, and the old king.

However, they are all just mortals, and they know very little about some profound matters.

In Yali's eyes, the conversation between Jin'an and Jiyang was like a person talking to himself.

But after seeing so much along the way, he had already become accustomed to it.

Pretend not to see it.

"Old Sadiq, you have mentioned before that your village is here in Xituo Kingdom. How far is your village from us now?" Jin An looked at the sheep on the camel's back.

Old Sadiq was silent.

There was no immediate answer.

Of course he knew very well what Jin An meant when he asked this question at this time.

But he also knew very well that before the well water in the village was destroyed by the ungrateful Han people, the whole village was already having difficulty with water and could not afford to support so many people who came to the village to borrow water.

After the well water in the village was destroyed, it became even more difficult to support so many people.

Not only was old Sadiq silent, but even the talkative and nervous little Sahaf also lowered his head quietly at this time. He was the one who saved the Han people back to the village, but ended up causing disaster to the village.

Jin'an did not embarrass old Sadiq and young Sahaf, and said calmly: "I know what you are worried about. You have been following Vulture and Ayesha before. Isn't it just to help the village find a new water source? I can Help you."

The two still remained silent.

"You can ask Ilham if I lied."

"I can assure you in advance that if I cannot help the village find a new water source, I will leave directly with the camels and people without taking a drop of water."

Jin An's idea is that as long as he finds the underground river closest to the ground, maybe he can use the imperial water talisman to restore the well water, and the well water is the underground river closest to the ground.

The two of them still lowered their heads and said nothing.

After getting along along the way, they had already trusted Jin An.

But the psychological trauma that time was too great.

It won't be possible to let it go immediately.

"I have been away from home for two years... When you look at your hometown in the distance again and again late at night, have you ever thought about going home to see how your elderly parents are doing now?" Jin An's last words made the uncle and nephew emotional. Unable to hold on any longer, I burst into tears and my eyes were red.

"Fourth uncle, I miss my Apa Ata...I, I miss home..." Little Sahafu cried loudly.

"Brother, I would like to swear on the honor of our family. Taoist priest Jin'an is different from the Han Taoist priests we met before. He is very capable and can really find water under dry sand." Ilham also promised at this time. said.

"Sadiq, Sahav, are you willing to believe in us Han people again?" Jin An looked sincerely at the pair of uncle and nephew on the camel's back.

Looking at the crying sheep after a few words, Ari looked shocked!

Could it be that Taoist Jin An can really talk to sheep?

This is amazing!