Today is the third day of our walk along the riverbed to the west, and the grass on the ground has changed from dense to thin, from green to yellow, until finally it has completely disappeared.

Gravel, river sand, dry bones of beasts, and fish that have dried up and died of lack of water are everywhere, and the red-burnt gray scenery on both sides of the river is no different.

The scorching heat and drought in the middle of summer are fatal to the people of the world who rely on the sky for food, and last year, the ancient city of Loulan outside Yangguan and the once vast Puchanghai also disappeared into the sea of sand.

That's why my wife, Kuzhna, and her family came to Khotan and married me for life.

The abyss-like bed of the river diverted in front of a bare hill and stretched south.

We deserve to go ashore and continue our journey west in the lifeless wasteland.

The mounted mount that straddled down seemed to be frightened by the sight, and sprang up without being driven, as if trying to escape from this fiery purgatory as soon as possible.

The big bird kept taking off to explore the way ahead, but each time it came back with either dead branches or dead leaves, indicating that the drought was still continuing on the way ahead.

Not a single house in the wasteland could be seen, not even the legendary beasts and thieves.

The bandits live for their money, and this red land, which cannot be squeezed out of a drop of water and cursed by the drought, will certainly no longer arouse their interest.

And those wilderness beasts may have already migrated to the east and north with the retreat of the Green Belt.

The herders have always lived by the water, and there is no fixed place to live, just like Mazda. The Mani family.

In this way, between this great heaven and earth, there are now only a few of us living creatures who have come from the east.

There were also airtight flies, cowflies, and floaters as big as butterflies, which followed all the way, making all the people and horses miserable.

There was no more communication between them, and they were wrapped in linen and silk cloth to the airtight, and a veil like that of Miss Demir to escape the bite of mosquitoes and flies.

In front of me was a rocky hill juggling from a plateau, and there was not a single green tree in sight of it.

Grande told us that we had crossed the rocky hill to the border of the central province of Sberham, and that it was only five days away from the town where the great Persian army camp was located.

"Sberham" means military camp in Persian.

In addition, this area used to be infested with mountain lions.

Shaped like a domestic cat, as fast as lightning, and bloodthirsty as a jackal, it was invincible in the mountains and pastures, and the passing caravan soldiers and local herdsmen suffered greatly.

Now that the drought is in the midst of a major drought, the hunters may have gone to the lush vegetation of the south or north.

I heard my grandfather say that after every great drought in distant Middle-earth, there will be a plague, and after the plague will be a man-made disaster in the world, and the change of dynasty will also have its occurrence.

Wouldn't the Persian plateau we are walking on now also have plagues?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a chill.

Natural disasters can be avoided because we are just passers-by. The plague has nowhere to hide, and a bite from these mosquitoes and flies can lead to fatal roots.

Thinking of this, I temporarily terminated the original lunch break plan, arranged for all the horses to be replenished with water and wheat feed, and hurried on the road.

Chinese food is solved on horseback, a mouthful of fried wheat noodles, half a piece of salted and dried meat, and a pottery bowl of skin bag to store water, which is efficient and convenient.

Of course, Qin Chong, Shamihan, Langton, and the caravan elders understood what I meant by hurrying, such a boring place where birds don't lay eggs, a slight pause is a kind of torture, let alone camping and staying here.

The plateau is barren but flat, and if it weren't for the overwork of the mounts, even if I decided to go day and night, my men would have no complaints.

Mademoiselle Demir, who had not suffered as a trader, was a little unbearable, although she had to do nothing on the way, and it was all up to Mazda. Mani and the Grande military chiefs did the work for them.

"Mr. Young Master, let's rest! Tomorrow we will cross the mountain pass ahead and we will arrive at Speham, anyway, there is still a lot of time! ”

Demir's greatest wish now is to find a shady place in the mountains to camp and rest, and then go up to the top at sunset to admire the great mountains and rivers of the Sassanid Empire.

"Demir, have you heard of the plague?" Demir and I walked side by side and did not answer her request directly.

The word "plague" stumped the translation of Glandon, but it was Langton, who came to the horse, to solve the problem.

"Plague, I know! Last winter in the diocese of Khorasan we also dealt with a plague incident of Roli homeless! Demir replied indifferently.

"What's going on? Let's hear it! "When I heard that the Persians were capable of dealing with the plague, I was immediately intrigued.

The plague is in both Middle-earth and the Western Regions, and the government and people have always been helpless.

It is said that in recent years, the prefectures and counties of Han have dealt with the plague, and in addition to the isolation of ethnic groups, they have begun to encourage the people of the country to drink boiled water.

This is also an idea that those Taoists who seek immortals in alchemy, and it is said to be very effective for the plague that spreads to each other.

If Demir can teach me the Persian nation's mastery of dealing with the plague, and spread it to the Western Regions in the future, it will not be a good remedy for the benefit of the world!

"Listening to the priest who returned to the Holy See in Herat, several Rories had a high fever, and the locals speculated that these filthy outcasts might have brought the plague from Rome! So it was up to us to come forward and put these Rories in one house and burn them all to death! ”

The medicine given by Demir stunned all our listeners, and we didn't expect that there was no compassion at all for those poor and numb mountain natives who were so merciful to Demir's angels.

What a great evil it is to burn all those homeless Rory homeless people to death in an indiscriminate fire!

"Both the Bible of Christ and our doctrine of fire worship regard the Rories as sinners of the past world, punished by the god Mazda as exiles to atone for their sins in this world. Therefore, the Rories have never been farmers and merchants, and from the day they were born, they have wandered around with the whole tribe, and have the demons of the world as companions. We have always stayed away from the Rory community. But if they don't take it upon themselves to unleash the demons to plague the world, then we will remove them with the help of the hands of the gods! Mr. Young Master, I also forgot to tell you that in our Fire Cult, burning at the stake is the greatest mercy for those who do evil, and after being reborn from the fire, you can enjoy wealth and light in the next life! Hehe! ”

Demir looked at my stunned expression and chuckled with ease.

"Miss Demir, what is the role of us Orientals in your Fire Cult?"

I begin to admit that so far I have not really understood this mysterious and beautiful Persian beauty, the high-ranking female protector of the Holy See.

"Lightbringer! O God of Light! A few decades ago, a holy master predicted on his deathbed that our Fire Zoroastrianism would eventually decline in Persia, and a thousand years later it would rise again in the distant Eastern Han Kingdom, but at that time it was no longer called Huojiao, but Mingjiao! ”

Miss Demir's words seem to me to be nonsense, and the masters of the present world can predict what will happen in a thousand years, unless it is a fairy, and extraordinary people can do it.

I finally understood the real reason why the Holy See of Herat was so polite to us guests from the East and so afraid of the priests of the Church to go to the East to preach.

"Thank you, Miss Demir, for showing mercy to us and not treating us as demons!" I stood on my horse and bowed to Miss Demir.

"Brother Jincheng is serious! If Sir, if he is interested, Demir is willing to follow him and serve him for the rest of his life! ”

Demir smiled sweetly, I could feel the spring color on her face through the veil.

We spent the whole afternoon walking through the mountains, climbing over bare ridges and through lifeless ravines.

Until sunset, only the last mountain beam was left to cross.

Or I want to give everyone and myself a little thought, hoping that at the moment when the sun rises tomorrow morning, I can see a verdant and vibrant world on the hills.

In addition, the people and horses were already tired, especially Demir, who was even more miserable, and it was the first time in her life that she had walked continuously over mountains and ravines.

The hills are not high, but they are very steep, and it is impossible to ride a horse up the mountain, so you have to lead the horses along the rippling slope formed by the weathering over time.

Therefore, according to the requirements of everyone, camp on the spot.

There are no wild animals to hunt, no fruits and vegetables to collect, and no mountain springs to draw.

Everyone could only barely satisfy their hunger with fried wheat flour and fishy and smelly water, and then fell asleep in a daze by the cool mountain breeze that came in the evening.

The next morning, when everyone climbed over the last hill and looked out at the vast Sberham Wasteland with passion and longing, they saw a scene like an apocalypse.

Hundreds of nearly naked hungry people slowly walked from the withered yellow fields, literally a group of soulless skeletons.

Around them were a dozen big cat-like beasts, what Grande called the Persian mountain lions, eyeing the dying men.

Unsuspectingly, they grab their prey from the crowd, and then drag them to the side of the wild grass to kill and nibble at will.

And these hungry people, who have long been numb, seem to be not surprised, and they have no protection and resistance.

Death is already a relief for them.