When Gu Xiaobai opened his eyes, he found that he was lying in a house made of sand, which was hemispherical like a yurt, and the "bed" under his body was extremely hard, in fact, it was made after mixing sand with special things, and there was only a thin layer of sheets on it, and it would feel extremely awkward if he moved his body slightly.

"You're awake. "A little girl walked in, only about seven or eight years old, her turban covering half of her face, but the only eye that showed was extraordinarily transparent, like a puddle of clear water.

"Where is this?" Gu Xiaobai supported his body, and the thin quilt that was originally covering his chest fell down.

"It's called 'Shawan Village', and your grandfather brought you back when you were being chased by the guards. The little girl was not afraid of people, and took off her turban and explained word by word.

"Guard, you mean those half-man, half-horse monsters, you call him guard?" The terrifying sound of horses' hooves seemed to still be in his ears, and Gu Xiaobai couldn't help but shudder.

"Anyway, everyone calls them guards, and they've been sticking to the sandstorm to protect this place. ”

Gu Xiaobai glanced at his chest, there was a faint blue and black blood stain in the place where he had been kicked by the horse, but fortunately, it was not that serious, and it would not take long to subside. He looked up and asked, "What's your name?"

"Little Witch. The little girl replied very seriously, staring at Gu Xiaobai with her eyes unmoving.

"Xiao Wu, what about your grandfather, I want to say a few words to him. ”

"Grandpa went to sand mining, he should be back soon. The little girl walked to the door.

"What is sand mining?"

The little girl didn't speak, just pointed out the door and motioned for Gu Xiaobai to take a look for herself.

The short body drilled out of the hole door, which was only less than one meter five, and although it was still an endless yellow outside, at least the sky was blue and there was no wind, which made him feel a lot more comfortable.

Here is a large "sand hut", each of which is the same hemisphere, and between the houses is the road for people to walk, and at this time there is a group of people carrying huge jars on their shoulders and walking back, the jars are all filled with sand, and if you look closely, the color of the sand is unusual, the color is darker, but it is close to the color of these sand houses.

"What are they doing when they come back to resist this sand?" Gu Xiaobai asked puzzled.

"Of course, it's sand sculptures. ”

"What?" Gu Xiaobai thought she had misheard, but looking in the direction she pointed, there were rows of statues made of this dark sand in front of the sand house, including trees, birds, buildings, etc., in different forms, except for the monotonous color, they all looked like each other, which showed the skill of its maker.

"Grandpa!" Xiao Wu shouted at an old man, who slowly put the jar on his shoulder on the ground, and then walked towards the two with a smile.

The old man looked like he was sixty years old, because he lived in this kind of place all the year round, his demeanor was very old, and his face was full of traces of wind and sun, but the old man had a kind face, and he was a kind-hearted person at first glance, and he was even more spoiled when he looked at Xiao Wu.

"Wake up, young man. The old man looked at Gu Xiaobai.

"Well, old man, thank you for saving your life. Gu Xiaobai hurriedly thanked him.

"It's just a trivial matter, I've saved several adventurers like you, when you're out of the house, you can help, don't thank me. After the old man finished speaking, he and Xiao Wu went into the sand hut together, Gu Xiaobai glanced at the team that came back from sand mining in the distance, and then turned around and entered the sand hut.

When the old man entered the house, he took out an iron bucket out of nowhere and began to pour water into it, and soon a fire rose on the small stove in the center of the sand hut.

"Old Man's ......"

"My surname is Miao, just call me Miao Lao. ”

"Miao Lao, where is this?"

Xiao Wu looked at Gu Xiaobai in puzzlement, she was wondering why Gu Xiaobai would ask again even though she had just said it?

"You're a stranger, aren't you?" asked Old Man Miao without raising his head as he poured a yellowish powder into the tin can.

"How do you know?" Gu Xiaobai didn't remember that he had said his identity.

"It's very simple, you were chased by a group of guards and you haven't died, you must not be an ordinary person, besides, don't you have an identity card?" Miao Lao pointed to the sand table next to the bed, on which the Ling Feng blade and the identity card were placed.

"So, where the hell is this?"

"Outsiders call this the Western Desert, and we here call it the Northern Regions, which is hard for you to explain, but in short, just think of this place as an isolated place. Miao Lao held a wooden stick in his hand and kept stirring it in the iron bucket.

"Miao Lao, let me ask you personally, do you know 'Sha Po'?"

Just as the word "Sha Po" was spoken, Miao Lao and Xiao Wu's eyes widened, and their eyes were full of horror.

"Why do you ask this name?" Miao Lao lowered his voice and glanced at the door, as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

"It's nothing, just ask. Gu Xiaobai kept an eye on it, he could see that this name was very important.

"It's normal that you're an outsider and don't know, but I want to remind you that these two words are absolutely taboo here, because she is the wife of the domain lord of the 'Southern Regions', and the northern and southern regions are arguing over that damn tree, and if the people of the domain master hear what you just said, you will be in big trouble. ”

"Tree, what tree?" Gu Xiaobai didn't understand too clearly, so he had to continue to ask, "Then what can I do to see her?"

Miao Lao simply put down the things in his hand and looked at the young man with interest, seeing that Gu Xiaobai's expression was extremely serious, he actually laughed.

"Hahaha, you young man is so interesting, you have said that it is taboo, and you still have to ask how you can meet her, haha, you make me not even know how to answer. ”

Gu Xiaobai's face was embarrassed, "I don't want to ask you any questions, but I really have to see her." ”

Miao Lao was about to say something more, when suddenly, there was a bustle outside the house, and his face immediately sank.

"The people from the Yufu are here, don't mention this name again," Miao Lao then turned to Xiao Wu and said, "Go and get the money." ”

After a while, Xiao Wu ran over with an iron box, Miao Lao took the box and opened it, put the stacks of banknotes in his hand and counted them. To Gu Xiaobai's surprise, there are many types of these banknotes, including US dollars, pounds, and more coins that he doesn't know at all, which can be said to be a hodgepodge of coins from various countries in the world.

"Damn, it's not enough!" Miao Lao tightened his brows, looking at the banknote in his hand worriedly.

"What's not enough? If you don't have enough money, maybe I can help. Gu Xiaobai still has a lot of money in his necklace, and he hopes to use the money to buy some answers about "Sha Po".

Miao Lao looked at Gu Xiaobai, and then sighed: "If it weren't for the fact that things can't be sold, I wouldn't have asked you an outsider to help, if you can help, I'm really grateful." ”

Gu Xiaobai took out a stack of banknotes from the necklace and put it on the table.

"I'm fine, but at least tell me what the money is for, right?"

"Pay your taxes. Miao Lao's tone was very helpless.

"Pay the tax, pay what tax, who collects the tax?"

"The domain lord collects it, and if you live in the Northern Regions, you will pay it every six months, otherwise you will be expelled into the storm. Miao Lao kept sighing, obviously complaining a lot about the tax collection in his heart.

"But what do you rely on to make money? They want to collect taxes, at least so that you can have a way to make money, right?"

Miao Lao pointed to the sand sculptures stacked at the door and said, "I just sell these sand sculptures, but this year's business is not good, no one comes to collect them, and the people in the village have not sold much." ”

"Okay, there's another question, that's about 'Shapo', you know something, tell me everything, and then the money will be yours. ”

Miao Lao glanced out of the door a few more times, sighed heavily, and said: "Sha Po is actually the wife of Sha Lijin, the domain lord of the Southern Regions, and Sha Po is just her nickname, as for you saying that you want to see her, I can't do anything, there is a constant struggle between the north and the south for many years, and both sides have sent heavy troops to guard the border, you can't go over." ”

There was silence in the room for a few seconds, and suddenly, Xiao Wu spoke.

"Grandpa, if you want to go to the Southern Regions, can't you fight in the Domain?"

Miao Lao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked tentatively, "Young man, how old are you?"

Gu Xiaobai thought for a while and said, "23." ”

Miao Lao was silent for a few seconds, "Well, it's true, but this is only theoretical, you don't have an identity, the people who participate in the domain fight are all children of big families, you are just an alien adventurer, and you are not qualified to participate." ”

"Wait, what exactly does domain fighting mean?" Gu Xiaobai asked.

Miao Lao coughed and began to explain: " Do you remember the tree you just said?,It's also very magical.,There's a big tree between the north and the south.,It's said that the fruit on it can greatly increase the strength of the ability.,So a lot of unpleasant things happened between the north and the south because of the fruit of this tree.,Later,I don't know who suggested holding a domain fight.,It's to let the juniors who are within two rounds of age.,Ao,That is, the juniors under the age of twenty-four compete.,Win to get the fruit of the sacred tree.,This method avoids years of fighting.,It can also be used on the young juniors who need it most.,So it has continued to this day. 。 The sacred tree bears fruit once every five years, so the domain bucket is held once every five years. ”

Gu Xiaobai silently kept the key points in mind.

"But the juniors who participate are all descendants of big families, and people without a background are not qualified to participate at all, of course, after participating in the domain fight and winning, you can legitimately move between the two domains, which is a privilege, and it is also a legitimate thing to meet Sha Po. Miao Lao added.

"Okay, so when is the next domain fight?"

Miao Lao thought for a while and said: "It should be the last time, now is not the time to collect taxes, the people of the domain will come in advance, it must be to raise funds for the domain fight, the northern region is too poor, and the southern region cannot be compared at all, if I can, I also want to go to the southern region to live a good life." ”

As he spoke, the sound outside the door became louder and louder, and soon there was a quarrel, Gu Xiaobai got up and walked out of curiosity.