Westbound Exit (5)

After three days of hurried through the barren valley and wild forests, at the twilight of the third day, he turned back to the official road, and from the bumpy and difficult wilderness to the smooth road of loess tamping again, everyone's heart was comfortable. Even the horses ran merrily. After running for more than an hour, a city tower appeared in the distance, Kang Saburo rode in front, turned back half of his body, and waved his hand backwards: "Hurry up, the front is Funing City on the boundary of Diaoyin County, and you can still enter the city before dark." Hearing this, the hooves of the eight horses all increased their strength, and they galloped together, raising a thick cloud of earthy yellow smoke and dust on the post road behind them.

Funing City is not a small town, and it is easy to find a decent inn in the city. Under the soothing of hot soup cakes and hot water, Mu Qing finally breathed a long sigh of relief, and immediately bumped after many days, and his muscles and bones were already numb and not sore. I wanted to talk to Ah Liu for a while, but when I turned my head, I saw her sitting under the window, I don't know if I was looking at the mountains under the sunset in the distance, or I was stunned, but there was a light smile on my face. Mu Qing suddenly remembered the night in the wasteland when she saw her sitting with Ada, and couldn't help but stop talking, so she couldn't help but be stunned. She leaned her back against the bathtub, looked up at the beam above her head, and said silently in her heart, Ah Liu has been more than ten years old, and she has been delayed for too long, if she can return home safely on this trip, she must do it for her. Fortunately, it is Ada, and it is not far away to marry. Since then, Ah Liu's heart is no longer her, thinking of this, Mu Qing felt a little lost, and secretly scolded himself for not being satisfied.

After thinking about it for a while, I fell asleep with my head tilted in the tub. In her light sleep, she suddenly noticed someone wandering outside the door, she just thought it was He Suizhao, and she was going to play some tricks, so she got up in the water, quickly dressed herself, and opened the door to blame him. Her hand touched the frame of the door, and the door opened on its own, and she was caught off guard. At the moment when she retracted her hand, the door opened, and a man with a long knife in his throat pushed the door and threw himself straight at her, blood splattering everywhere in his mouth.

Mu Qing was so shocked that she didn't know who pushed her, and she woke up suddenly, it was Ah Liu who was pushing her. The water temperature became colder, and Ah Liu hurriedly pulled her up from the bath bucket, and said in pieces: "It's very cold at night here. The water can't get up when it's cold, so what's the good if it's cold? Mu Qing's heart was pounding, and he could clearly feel the blood surging in the blood vessels between his neck. This dream really scared her, and she couldn't help but look at the door with trepidation, and saw that the door was calm and normal, so she gradually pressed down her beating heart.

Changing into clean clothes, Mu Qing sent Ah Liu to change into a hot bath, she took a cloth and wiped her wet hair carefully. After Aliu finished washing, the two sat opposite each other on the bed, gossiping casually. I haven't slept on the bed for many days, and I can't say a few words. Both of their eyelids sank, and they were about to fall asleep when there was a sudden knock on the door. Because of a dream in a trance in the bathtub just now, Mu Qing jumped up in shock. Covering his mouth, he almost screamed. Ah Liuhu looked at her suspiciously, and saw that she nodded hesitantly before answering the door.

Aliu opened half of the door. Mu Qing saw He Suizhao's smiling face outside the door behind him, so he let go of his hanging heart. He Suizhao handed Ah Liu two sets of robes, glanced inside, didn't dwell on it, and left after a few words. Ah Liu closed the door tightly, and turned around with his robe and handed it to Mu Qing. The two shook off their robes, and it turned out to be two men's bearded robes, with narrow sleeves on the placket, a narrow brocade edge wrapped around the lapels and plackets, and a wide gauze cloth, which looked a little like a woman's shawl. "He Sui Alang said, tomorrow to change into this body to travel, this big handkerchief is used to cover the mouth and nose." Ah Liu copied He Suizhao's words, and looked at the square gauze handkerchief left and right in his hand, not knowing how to put it on.

"So it's going to be a chicken and deer stuff tomorrow." Mu Qing pulled the gauze handkerchief in Ah Liu's hand and pulled her to the couch, "If you enter the chicken and deer stopper, it is Mobei, maybe the wind and sand are big, so you want this handkerchief to cover your mouth and nose." I can't find such a good bed in the desert, so I don't hurry up and go to sleep. These words reminded Ah Liu, she shrank her neck coldly, shook her head, blew out the candle, and hurried back to the bed.

"Aliu, I'm sorry for you." The two of them lay quietly on the bed, there was no movement for a long time, and in the darkness Mu Qing suddenly said, "You are already a good family, you could have allowed a good family, three or five houses, two hectares of fields, and two or three children, and lived a stable and comfortable life." But you chose to run with me, and you were in danger, which is really not worth it. ”

"Don't say that again. You and I have been together for 14 years, and to put it mildly, Ah Liu has long recognized Qi Niang as a relative, and apart from Qi Niang, I have no other family members. Ah Liu said faintly, "Let's follow Ah Lang for a few years, although I haven't learned anything, I can see and understand, in this kind of world, most of the people in small households are about to run out of life, if no one puts their lives to do the things that save the world, where will the houses and fields come from, let alone a stable and comfortable life." ”

Mu Qing didn't answer again, and Ah Liu covered her mouth and yawned when she had fallen asleep, turned over, and fell asleep. Mu Qing was lying on his back in the dark, his warm voice sounded in his head, and his worry didn't pass over her head a little, teaching her to breathe. A line of tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, only a line stopped, she warned herself, there is a Longtan tiger's den to break into the front, how can you blindly indulge in the love of children, if tonight because of the sadness of the rest is not good, how to do tomorrow's road, I am afraid that it will drag everyone down and bad business. She shook her head slightly, dismissed the distractions in her head, and forced herself to sleep.

The next morning, the group changed into a beard, when Mu Qing walked down the wooden ladder, He Suizhao was downstairs with the guards to explain the essentials, turned his head to see her stepping on leather boots, waist leather belt downstairs, suddenly confused, stunned for a long time, until Ada sat on his side with a bluffed face, then reluctantly looked away.

Another day of non-stop galloping, and in the evening the paws of two horses were worn out, and the others were exhausted, and they were afraid to break their leg bones and foam at the mouth when they ran again. Looking down on the raised gravel hills, there is a vast desolation in front of him, there are no towns, only a few small villages scattered on the ground, hidden in clusters of yellow-green and crimson tall bushes, there is no lack of softness in the vigorous atmosphere, Mu Qing can hardly take his eyes off, and he looks at the horse in a daze.

Kang Saburo shouted, as if he had expected her to have such a look, "These red, green, and green are called red willows, there is a lot of sand and gravel here, and there are often strong winds that blow the sand and gravel day and night, and this tree is twisted and twisted, but it can withstand it." It's not the time yet, but if you look at it in autumn, I'm afraid it will look better. ”

After descending the gravel mound, Kangzaburo led them to a small village, which was pitifully small, only five or six families, and the houses were low and shaped like pot helmets. He knocked on the door of a house familiarly, and the people who came to answer the door looked as surprised and familiar as the old vegetable head of Longquan County, Mu Qing looked at it from a distance and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, there was always some ominous meaning, just ask not to have that encounter in the old vegetable head inn again.

Fortunately, they did not spend the night, and Kangzaburo waved at them, signaling them to come closer, and a few people came out of the door and led their horses. "Tomorrow morning, when I get out of Jilu Stone City, it is outside the gate, and it is difficult to walk in the desert, so I have to change the horses who are used to walking the desert here." While talking, a young girl wearing a knee jacket brought a tall red horse, she didn't seem to understand Chinese, smiled and handed the reins to Mu Qing, put her hands together, pressed between her foreheads, and quickly read something in her mouth. After putting down his hand, he smiled shyly at her, turned around and ran back to the courtyard.

"She is begging their immortal heaven to bless Qi Niang, cross the desert safely, and see you again on the way back. She must have thought that Qi Niang was a pretty gentleman. Kangzaburo explained, squinting with a hint of teasing.

He Suizhao laughed unabashedly, while looking at Mu Qing presumptuously, "Qi Niang has a charm in men's clothes, but this pretty little Langjun is too delicate." ”

Joke that the eight horsemen have all been changed, and the money for buying horses has been paid, and the owner knows that Kang Saburo can't do without wine, so he proudly gave him several skins. Kang Saburo gave it to everyone one by one, and Mu Qing pulled out the stopper and took a sip, which turned out to be the milk wine called "Ah Rili".

And they mounted their horses and prepared to continue on their way. The little girl who was praying for Mu Qing's blessing ran out of the courtyard in a hurry and ran straight to her. Mu Qing jumped off the horse and looked at her suspiciously, but saw her blushing and spreading her hands and handing it to her, lying in her hand this small silver knife, about five or six inches long, curved like a crescent moon, the handle of the knife was bent in the opposite direction of the blade, the handle was finely carved with the totem of the horse, and a string of strings of leather was also played.

"Qi Niang, this is not good." Kang Saburo frowned and whispered to her: "What this girl gave is a silver knife of love. (To be continued......)