She saw that Demir and I were flirting a little, and the Persian sister seemed to be enjoying herself, and went to the front with a puff.

The name of Xilan Pass is actually a narrow plank road left by the local aborigines for thousands of years of hunting and grazing on the rolling slopes and mountain beams, which is only enough for one person to lead a horse to walk on it.

Demir and I ceased to speak each other, and our group of nine joined each other on the mountain path, leading our mounts and driving the horses carrying the goods, leaving a long shadow in the middle of the deserted mountains.

Qingluan had already flown back, with a freshly green fig in his mouth.

It shows that in the desert to the east of the Kahn Mountains, there are fig trees, not the lifeless Gobi Sand Sea.

It took us a total of four or five days to get out of the Kahn Mountains, and it was as if we had entered another world than the Loop Oasis to the east.

The blazing air waves were coming, and as far as the eye could see, the trees were sparse, the artemisia grass was withered and yellow, and the originally red and bare mountains seemed to be emitting faint purple smoke.

It's too late to turn back now, and delaying it will make Demir and the Grand Knight laugh.

Fortunately, each of us had roughly prepared about ten days of provisions, and although the grass and trees were withered and yellow, the horses could already find some roots and green leaves in the artemisia grass to feed their stomachs.

In addition, it is only a more than ten days' ride from the Siberhan Oasis where many rivers converge, not to mention that we have crossed the driest and hot Huanglong Sand Sea in the world, so the plateau and Gobi desert with grassland and trees are not difficult for us at all.

And it should be Demir's master and servant who are being tested at the moment, and they don't seem to have expected this place to be so earthy and desolate.

What we needed most now was to find a local guide, and during the few days we spent in the West Lan Pass, we didn't meet a single hunter who could communicate with us normally, except for a dozen or so indigenous savages who shunned us as demons, which made me wonder.

In Middle-earth, to find the true wise man, the master needs to go deep into the mountains, and he is called a hermit.

And the mountains of Persia may have been sparsely populated since ancient times, and a tribe from the civilized world has lived here for a long time without contact with the outside world, and it seems that it has lost all contact with the world outside the mountains.

Over time, they have become mountain wilderness people who do not know the four seasons of cold and summer, do not understand the ethics of their family and country, and are self-contained.

"Demir, isn't it your duty to spread the gospel of wisdom and wealth? Then your bishops, Dharma protectors, and priests should come to such a wild place, so that these chaotic people can be civilized, and they can also enjoy the light of the flame of light! ”

How sad it is to look at these forgotten people, the king ignores them, and the gospel of religious enlightenment, welfare and mercy cannot favor them, allowing them to grow and die like mustard! And these natives are only a dozen days away from the noisy world.

"Mr. Young Master, I have never seen such a living race in the world, and the most miserable people I have ever seen are those slaves for sale in the human markets of Babylon and Herat! Amen, may the god Mazda bless them. ”

The kind-hearted Venerable Demir prayed tearfully as he looked at these beast-like creatures, young and old, who lived in the caves of the mountains, gathering and hunting.

"Now that we've met, shouldn't we do something about it! For example, asking Grande to take them out of the mountains, even if they are sold to others as slaves, is a hundred times better than in this mountain! ”

Gulando, too, could not see the pitiful man, and had burst into tears when she translated for us, and I feared that it would remind her of the tragic memories of her childhood.

Despite our enthusiasm, the mountain people seemed wary of our arrival.

When Qin Chong and Sha Mihan put a bag of cloth, jerky, and wheat in front of them, the group of mountain people were completely under the vigilance of several naked men in the prime of life holding shuttle darts to help the old and the young flee into the wilderness.

"Dharma Protector, Mr. Young Master, don't bother! They won't appreciate it! There are not many people passing through this Xilan Mountain Land in a year, and even if there are passers-by, it is estimated that these natives will be hunted like beasts! So the mountain people already have a deep hatred for us dressed outsiders, and our greatest mercy now is to get out of this place as soon as possible and stop bothering them! ”

Grande often walks in the area and has some knowledge of the temperament of the mountain people.

Throughout the ages, they were conquerors from Babylon, Boscius, and Rome, occupying the richest lands along the way.

However, the local natives were banished to the mountains and became the natives we saw.

In those years when the Wuhu troubled Han land, our ancestors of the Han family had experienced it, and it seemed that there were still such marks in the depths of their memories.

So when he saw these mountain people, pity arose, and he had the idea of letting Grande lead them out of the mountains.

But these natives did not accept my kindness, and I had to hurry up, so I had to stop there.

Now in this thousands of miles of wasteland, there is not even a single indigenous figure to be seen, let alone this guide who can lead the way.

Fortunately, it has been extending to the west, and I don't know how many years since then, the ruts of the horse team can still be vaguely seen, and we have no choice but to spread the horse's hooves and gallop westward.

After galloping for about 100 miles in this wasteland, the horse team came across a riverbed that had just dried up for a short time, and the dense green grass on it was really rare.

So I decided to camp on the spot and feed our horses here.

Despite the fact that I had wrapped a scarf to shade the sun on the way, the charming face of Demir, a Persian beauty, had also turned a red color after a few days of travel, and there was no longer much temptation for me.

Probably because she had been walking on the sandy road leading from Babylon to the city of Herat for a long time, the woman was not too uncomfortable with the long gallop on horseback.

At this time in the business journey, it is more about will, faith and fighting spirit, and it is also the quietest time for the horse team, and there is no longer the joy and laughter of the first few days.

Everyone held their breath, and there was not much idle and verbose when they were in a hurry.

Today, Qin Chong and Shamihan set up tents, Hesrul, Liu Zhen'er, and Grande went to herd horses.

I accompanied Miss Demir around the camp to see if I could find a source of water and the local natives, and Brother Langton acted as our temporary interpreter.

Seriously, the drinking water contained in the sheepskin bladder can't be swallowed if you are not extremely thirsty, and the strong smell of mutton fat makes people smell sick.

Although all the skins were filled with water for stockpiling along the way, if we could find fresh water near the campsite every day, we would never use the water in the skins to make tea and cook.

Before leaving, all the water will be replaced.

There is not a single village, not even a felt bag, and there is not even a drop of clear water to be found within a radius of dozens of miles.

Luckily, on the way back, we came across an indigenous herder who had moved from the northern part of the plateau.

The herdsman family of six was driven by a herd of emaciated Persian cows and goats, and three or four Bactrian camels carrying all their belongings on their backs.

There are also a few old horses that act as leg strength, like pilgrimages, coming from the green grass in the riverbed.

Luckily, the eldest son of this herdsman, who was fluent in the Persian language, told us that it was the dry season on the plateau.

Rain and snow seem to have been particularly scarce last winter, and since this spring, the snowmelt on the surrounding alpine ice peaks has been almost halved compared to the same period in previous years, causing a large number of inland rivers that rely on meltwater as their source of water from south to north and from east to west.

As a result, the indigenous herders, who were already small, had no way to survive and began to flee in all directions.

The family took all their possessions with them and traveled more than 200 miles to the banks of the great river where they had grazed in the dry season.

Unexpectedly, such a mighty river had been cut off due to drought, and the young shepherd's face was full of gloom when he talked about his life in the future.

"Brother, go all the way east along this riverbed, and on that side of the Karn Hill there will be an oasis! God will bless you all! ”

Looking at the indigenous boy who was wrapped in earth-colored cowhide to cover his shame, Demir pointed out sympathetically.

"Outside the mountains is the land of the official church, and we mountain people can't set foot in it! A month ago, one of our clansmen had just gone to the mountains to make a living, and he was treated as an infidel and burned alive by the officials on the oasis! ”

Speaking of this, the boy's eyes were full of helplessness and anger.

"Demir Protector, your Fire Zoroastrian Sect preaches the gospel of the Bright Heavenly God, but you don't care so much about the life and death of these people, how can you be merciful!"

After listening to Brother Langton's translation, I couldn't help but question Demir.

"I don't know any of this, and I finally understand why the priests of the countryside have gone out to the East together to find the true God! I'm guilty! Amen! ”

Demir drew a cross on her chest and confessed bitterly.

"It's not your fault, nor is it the will of the gods of Mazda. Now that you have encountered these sufferings, as a Dharma Protector, find a way to change all of them in the future! After returning, you can persuade the Governor of Herat to bring this wasteland under his jurisdiction, and you Fire Zoroastrian can also establish a base here and mobilize all forces to relieve the indigenous refugees here, which is the true way of kingship and holy religion. ”

Seeing that Demir was so repentant, and deeply sympathetic to the numbness and suffering of the mountain natives I had seen these days, I took the opportunity to agitate.

She has the resources and power in today's Sassanid kingdom to save these poor mortals and uncivilized souls.

"Thank you, Mr. Young Master! Introduced me to the real world! When I returned to Herat, I must do this, convince my father to open a house in this mountainous area, transport grain from the northeast, and give these Turks the status of the Turks! Also, in the near future, I will be the first priest in this land! Compared with the suffering of the body, the uncivilized numb soul is the saddest! ”

Demir wiped tears from her face and said impassionedly.