(I forgot to wish everyone a happy Qixi Festival last year, the reflection arc is relatively long, and I will make up for it today!)

The next morning, we prepared equipment and food for the trip to Yanze (Lop Nur) in Dunhuang City. www.biquge.info To be honest, ancient equipment and modern equipment cannot be compared with modern ones, but the people of an era have a way of surviving in an era. Like the Montenegrin soldiers back then, we bought hats, cloaks, and the most critical shovel, and after entering the Gobi, we relied on it to dig water.

Among them, the most experienced in the desert is the little Taoist priest, who has been to Shanshan country. I come from the modern era and have a relatively high level of knowledge of deserts. Bao Cai is an expert among us in the field of flora and fauna, and the supply of food in the desert depends on him to distinguish the time of day. Wang Bajian and the old ancestor were strong and strong, so they were pitiful and played the role of sand monks.

A group of five people, just like Tang Seng learning scriptures, assigned their own work. The beginning of this trip was as Baocai said before, full of challenges and twists and turns, and even the ancestors could not guarantee whether they would be able to return to Chang'an alive after this. However, once the decision has been made, there is no reason to turn back. It's just that now, we still lack a guide.

The route we traveled was from the Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass in Dunhuang, and then into the vast desert, in modern times, it only took about an hour to reach the small square pan city, but in ancient times, it took a lot to ride a horse. The most famous place is the Yumen Pass set up during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The poems written by Wang Zhihuan of the Tang Dynasty are very vivid: the Yellow River is far above the white clouds, a lonely city and ten thousand mountains, why should the Qiang Di complain about the willows, and the spring breeze does not pass the Yumen Pass.

In fact, when we arrived in Dunhuang, spring had already passed. I thought it would be as depressed and barren as I remembered, and camel grass would take root in the Gobi Desert. However, I rode on a horse, and only watched the camel bells of this small square city be leisurely, and people of all nationalities shuttled through it, and it was prosperous.

The same land, two different scenes, my ancient feelings ripple in my heart, and I can't help but look at the east and the west with Wang Bajian. When he saw the camel, Wang Bajian exclaimed: "What's it, there are two mounds on your back?"

As he spoke, he was about to reach out and touch the camel's hump, but he stepped on the camel's filth with a snap, and it stinked, and we rested at a post house, and the merchant saw that we were all pinching our noses and disgusted.

Wang Bajian didn't care, he used to steal chickens, and the revenge given by chickens was full of chicken shit, so he didn't care much about the smell of camel filth. After we checked in, the little Taoist priest went out with Baocai to find a guide, Baocai is the most shrewd among us, so the property is kept by him.

However, after turning around for a while, Bao Cai sat on the earthen bunk with a sigh and said, "It is said that the desert in summer is very evil, and there is no shelter in that place, and there are no trees to cover it, and it will die not long after entering, and no one is willing to take this risk, no matter how high the price is." ”

I was a little deflated and said, "The desert has a large temperature difference between day and night, and it dries during the day and freezes into popsicles at night." Now that there is no guide, a few of us strangers will definitely get lost when we get there. ”

Just when everyone was worried, Wang Bajian stuffed dry buns in his mouth and came back from outside. What we didn't expect was that there was also a person dressed in Western Regions clothes next to him, this person had deep sunken eyes, a high nose bridge, and dark skin, like an Aryan race.

Before we could speak, this man respectfully saluted us, and I thought to myself, what is the situation? I heard the man say in non-standard Chinese: "My name is You Chi ......."

We returned the salute in a friendly manner, and Wang Bajian introduced that You Chi's ancestors were aborigines living in Yanze (Lop Nur), and he would cross the desert with his family every year to pay respects to his ancestors. And the reason why he is willing to help us this time is that the time to worship our ancestors has come, and second, his family is poor and needs money.

Baocai didn't expect that he and the little Taoist priest had been looking hard for so long, and in the end, Wang Bajian went out to wander around, but he found a guide, and he really knew people with the eyes of thieves.

However, in this world, there were wars in various places, the Central Plains was troubled, and the Western Regions were not peaceful, and they were frequently harassed by the Xiongnu. You Chi also knows this fact, he said that to survive in this crack, life is squeezed out, only now not to starve to death, is the key, as long as we give a lot of benefits, nothing else cares.

I thought to myself that the things that can speak with money are not things, but the treasure money is distressed about money, and it is grinding and chirping. But in order to be able to cross the desert smoothly, he had no choice.

We left our horses at Yuchi's house. Along the way, the horses have suffered a lot with us, and after a long time, there is always a feeling of reluctance. Baocai and I gently stroked the manes of the horses, thinking that if we entered the desert and there was no return, these horses would lose their owners.

The camels you found for us were old camels, and they could find the right direction when the wind and sand were blowing. On the way out of the customs, I looked back at the gate and found that there were large and small black jade inlays on it.

The ancestors said that these jades are all black jade, which is very rare and expensive. When Wang Bajian heard this, his hands itched, but fortunately, at this time, You Chi said: "These jades are inlaid by the merchants who went out of the customs, and the camels are dyed with the evil nature of the sand, and the black jade can purify them and restore their spirits." ”

Although I think this statement is exaggerated, it is true that there are certain benefits to wearing black jade on the body. ，

At this moment, Baocai looked at Moyu and suddenly realized: "It turns out that the name of this 'Jade Gate Pass' came from like that. ”

At the beginning of the journey, we did not ride camels, thinking that they carried a lot of things, and now we sit on them, and we guess that when we reach the desert, they will have no physical strength. At this moment, my feet really feel the ancient Silk Road, and from now on, it will no longer be a few words in a book for me.

With excitement in our hearts, we didn't walk long before we heard the rapid and pleasant sound of camel bells behind us, and we stopped and looked back, only to see a very strong camel rushing to us. We raised our heads and looked at the man on the camel, he looked a little strange, and couldn't tell whether it was from the Western Regions or Han Chinese, but You Chi greeted him very enthusiastically in the local dialect, obviously knowing him.

The man looked like he was in his forties, wearing a long-sleeved suit, with a beard on his face, and a scimitar hanging on his waist, he greeted You Chi a few words, then turned his eyes to us, and said in Chinese: "I'm going to Wusun on this trip, and I'm familiar with the desert, why don't you go together?"

The old ancestor didn't answer immediately, he touched his chin and looked at the man nonchalantly. The man also looked at the old ancestor, although he had a smile on his mouth, it gave people an uncomfortable feeling, like a facelifted face, and his smile was particularly stiff.

You Chi saw that the atmosphere was a little embarrassed, and helped to introduce: "This is a camel seller, called Kushi, several of our camels were bought from other places, and he knows more about the desert than I do......"

When the old ancestor heard this, he smiled and said: "Okay, in this desert, we are as small as ants, and one more person has one more to take care of." ”

In an instant, the atmosphere became relaxed, and the library master hugged the old ancestor with a fist, and said politely: "Take care of it!"

Baocai secretly looked at the treasurer, came to my side and said, "Although I don't know much about geography, I have the impression that Wusun is very far away, and he is about to cross the desert with one camel by himself."

I didn't think about it so much, I thought that when I was in modern times, I would travel with Xue Wei, live in a youth hostel, and always partner with people, but after being reminded by Baocai, I couldn't help but be a little suspicious in my heart, and said: "It makes sense, I think we should pay more attention to the road." ”

Baocai felt uneasy, and began to mumble to comfort himself, saying: "We have spent a lot of money along the way, and now we are poor and white, it stands to reason that he is a businessman and will not target us" Thinking a little annoyed, he waved his hand and said: "Forget it, let's not worry about it, you said that we all feel that something is wrong, your ancestor with a heart like a mirror, he hasn't thought about it." Now I see that the biggest danger for us to enter Shiozawa is not people, but the sand demon king, I hope the Bodhisattva blesses, the journey is smooth, don't get into the wind, I don't want to be buried in the yellow sand. ”

As we headed west, we saw the yellow Gobi Desert all the way, as if there was no end in sight. At first, I felt that I could see such a vast place, and my heart was relaxed. It's just that we didn't travel a few kilometers, the scorching sun was above us, following us, although we were wearing a long-sleeved suit, but our skin still felt hot and stinging.

It's uninhabited, rustling on coarse sand and gravel, with every step. After leaving the Yumen Pass, there was an endless sense of panic in my heart, just like a person who had just learned to swim, ran to swim in the sea, and swam away with confidence, but when he found that he was far away from the safe shore and the sea in front of him had no end in sight, all his courage dried up early, and finally his heart collapsed.

The ancient road is long, as if leading to the sky......

My face was covered with a cloth, and the wind and sand drilled mercilessly into my only bare eyes, and I rubbed it, and my body was so exhausted that if I could roast it any longer, I would become a human. Fortunately, on both sides of this place are poplar trees that are like dragons, dead but not falling. Locals say: "Populus euphratica lives for a thousand years, dies without falling for a thousand years, and dies without dying for a thousand years.

When we rested, we leaned against the rough poplar and took a few sips of water. Although Bao Cai was tired, he was very kind to the camels, and he was always worried about whether they were well fed. Although the camels look at the woods, they, like the horses, are more spiritual among the animals, and they feel the good of the treasure and are very close to him.

Although I have lost half my life in the past few days, I am glad that I can still see a little green and find a little food in this vast land. However, when the wind blows in the night, we inevitably suffer, so we can only lie under the poplar's unfailing torso and light a bonfire to keep our bodies hot.

Baocai called this a ghost place, and even Wang Bajian, who was very excited at the beginning, complained about the moodiness of the Gobi Heaven. (To be continued.) )