Our caravan walked in the Wakhan Mountains for nearly ten days against the wind, and did not encounter any living creatures on the way, except for vultures hovering in the sky.

The caravans that went to Dongtu this season all took the northern roads of Daxia, Wusun, Qiuzi, and Yumen Pass.

The same barrenness, after a rocky mountain and a rocky mountain, either a flat Gobi or a grassless canyon.

Sometimes we finally come across a stream that flows into the stream from the north and south mountain passes, and we will be ecstatic.

The sound of gurgling water is thousands of times better than the whirring northwest wind.

The whole team regained the solemnity of trekking hard in the Huanglong sand sea, and even Gu Landuo, who was laughing and laughing all the way, lost his previous interest.

Climbing, crossing the river, crossing the valley, a camel's hoof stepped into a crack in the stone, the impatient old horse fell on all fours on the bare rocky slope, the goods on his back were scattered on the ground, and so on.

Without anyone's command, the men in the vicinity would gather silently, carry the camels out of the cracks in the rocks, help the horses that had lost their hooves up the top of the slope, and put the scattered goods back into place.

There was an ascetic Puritan sense of sanctity on everyone's face, and everyone now had only one belief, and that was to hurry, to the west, to the west, regardless of the day.

Until one day, when a thousand-year-old ice peak appeared in the clear sky, all the old men of the caravan ripped off their headscarves and shouted happily.

We finally walked out of the immovable Wakhan Mountains, and Qin Chong told me that ahead was the last ice peak at the western end of the Green Ridge Plateau.

Walking southwest from the mountain pass there, you will enter the territory of the high vassal country, the terrain is gentle, the climate is warm, there are many meadows and forests, and the supply of people and animals is guaranteed, and you no longer have to suffer from this high cold.

Shamihan's explanation is very in place, and the scenery under the Tianzhi Mountain in the sixth month of the Xia calendar in the Western Xia Calendar of the Middle Earth River is like this.

As the saying goes, the caravan took nearly three days to walk along the ice peak from northeast to southwest.

The ground temperature along the way is slowly warming, and you can already see scattered grass and shrubs on both sides of the trail.

The camels, horses, and yaks that have not seen green for a long time will rush forward to gnaw on a breath to relieve the hardships of the long journey.

Gulando's sheepskin robe was tied around her waist, and the ribbon wrapped around her head to keep her warm from the wind was ripped like a silkworm, revealing her original girlish face.

Spring, spring! It's been nearly three months since I left Kiyofuze, and I feel the breath of spring for the first time.

Grandpa announced that he would camp on the spot and wait for the animals to rest before setting out on the road.

"Young master, Miss Doer, I'm tired on the way! Hehe. Remember, every mountain pass is the most dangerous place on your way to business! Those mountain bandits and rogues like to rob us caravans who have just walked out of the green mountains, and the people are tired and have no strength to parry. Therefore, you must take extra precautions before reaching the mountain pass, and it is best to rest for a day or two before leaving. In this way, the physical strength of people and animals has been restored, and with a big merchant like us with more than 100 people, ordinary thieves do not dare to act rashly! ”

Uncle Su inspected the situation of camping and unloading, and stopped beside me and Gulando, and lectured earnestly.

"Uncle Su worked hard, Duo'er understands! What about my grandfather? ”

Gulando smiled affectionately as she added dried meat to her Qingluan.

"The master took someone to a high place to investigate the enemy's situation! In everything, we must know each other and know ourselves, and we will not be defeated in a hundred battles! Ha ha! ”

Following the direction pointed by Uncle Su, I saw that on the top of the hill next to the camp, Grandpa, Rongmu Guide and a few guys were building a pergola there and looking around.

"Uncle Su, it seems that there are a lot of mountain bandits in this area!"

I asked Uncle Su curiously, as I moved the last leather bag on horseback into the tent.

"There are three groups of men and horses from the South Mountain, the North Mountain, and the river valley, totaling about 500 people. We are not afraid of him robbing openly, but we are afraid of the other party's sneak attack, haha! Young master, Duo'er! Be clever when you are grazing, and keep your sword in your hand and your arrow in your bow! ”

Uncle Su shook the scimitar in his hand and checked them one by one with a smile.

In the past, when the caravan camped, a dozen men took turns to graze the cattle, but today is different from the past.

Except for the guys who stayed behind, everyone else went out, and everyone managed their own camels, horses, and yaks!

With the advantage of being outnumbered, we men simply mounted our horses or rode on the backs of Bactrian camels, each with a scimitar, and drove the rest of the cattle to a meadow at the foot of the northern mountain.

In such a formation, those small groups of rogues will definitely not dare to attack.

The newborn grass had not yet been grazed, and the green was as green as ghee, and the cattle mounts were feasting on large chunks of the wind.

"Brother, this green grass is so delicious! I want to take a bite! Hahaha! ”

Because I haven't seen fresh fruits and vegetables for too long, the little sister Gulanduo's lips have a circle of blood blisters, which makes people feel distressed when they look at it.

"Miss, the peach and plum under the mountain are about to ripen, I'll pick a basket for you and eat slowly on the way!"

Shamihan on the side smiled lovingly, since he helped Gu Landuo on the Green Ridge Ice Peak, he had already treated this little woman as his little sister, and there was already a different kind of family affection, rather than a master-servant relationship.

"Brother Han, thank you! At your size, can you climb those peach and plum trees? Hahaha! ”

Speaking of which, the mischievous Gulandot burst into laughter first.

"Hey! Young master, you judge the reasoning! My old man is full of hospitality, but he was so badly abused by Miss Doer, there is no heavenly reason! ”

Shamihan said with a smile on his face, since he was newly married, his whole body has become softer.

"Old man, I'm going to be fair, our Miss Duo'er really didn't abuse you! The peach trees all over the mountains and fields of the high annexed country, you see which one can withstand your body! Pot helmet, how about we make a bet! I can't climb the fruit tree with five gold bets, what are you betting? ”

Qin Chong, who was on the horse, played with the longbow like a stick, and challenged Liu Zhen'er, who was sitting on a Bactrian camel and looking at the distant mountains in a daze.

"You're all in bet and you're pulling me to be a wrongdoer! Hehe, I bet the old man brother will definitely be able to get the fruit! What do you think? ”

Liu Zhen'er's mind turned quickly and played a slippery head.

With the old man's body, lean on any fruit tree, and the fruit will not fall in a loud voice!

It's a pleasure to watch a few of them play around together.

"Qin Chong! Pot helmet! Little sister, I'm sitting in the bank! Qin Chong, you bet that the old man can't get the fruit! Pot helmet, you bet that the old man can climb the fruit tree! Two, get the gambling money quickly! Big brother, you will do the notarization from the side, and you will be rewarded with dividends at that time! ”

Gu Landuo laughed and stretched out his hands, scaring Qin Chong and Liu Zhen'er so much that they didn't say anything, and beat their horses and went to the meadow elsewhere.

The spectators on the side of us couldn't hold back their stomachs from laughing, and the ulcer wounds in our mouths cracked, and the pain was like pins and needles.

"Young master, is there anything wrong with Miss Doer's suggestion?"

Only Shamihan, a stupid big man, hadn't pulled it over yet, and asked with a blank face.

I couldn't hold back my laughter any longer, and pulled my horse and went to the front, no longer discussing with him such a low-witted child's play.

Being able to go to Rome with such an interesting group of teenagers is also a happy event in life!

At this moment, three fast horses appeared in the distant mountains, and the knights on the horses stopped to look at us for a long time, and then disappeared into the horizon behind the mountains like ghosts.

The guy in charge of the guard blew the horn of the warning cornet, and all the guys stopped talking in groups just now, and raised their knives and arrows and prepared to attack.

As expected, the other party's brigade did not appear, and the tactics used were exactly the same as the Monan robbers we encountered in the Hexi grassland the autumn before last.

First stalking and snooping, and finally looking for opportunities to attack in groups.

Maybe those few people just now were just local herdsmen, or knights at the border checkpoints of the high vassal country, and it was not necessary that the other party mistook us for the rogues who had committed crimes.

I was so nervous until I returned from grazing, and dinner time was still the same.

However, in order to prevent accidents, all the staff were divided into two, taking turns to eat and sleep, and watch and patrol.

The first time I met such a formation, Gulando, like when I first joined the caravan, there were no hard tasks, I should eat, eat, sleep, and sleep.

But this woman was more disciplined than I was, and even her elderly grandfather was on night watch, so she could not sleep peacefully.

Helping to prepare the evening supper and early morning meals, I also stayed up all night without closing my eyes.

In the early morning of the second day, a thick fog filled the entire valley, and there seemed to be countless ambushes hidden around, and the danger was terrifying.

Rather than sit and wait, it is grandpa's consistent style to go out and attack, and when all the goods and bags are packed, follow the grandfather's command to "set off".

The entire caravan was in an attack formation of five people, through the thick fog, and rushed in the direction of the mountain pass.

The jingling of camel bells is the only source of our direction.

Slowly the sun rose above the clouds, the dense fog in the mountains gradually dissipated, everything was as usual, and all the suspicious soldiers were "rumors".

After confirming that there were no bandits in ambush around the mountain, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The sword was sheathed, the mulberry bow was withdrawn, and the original offensive formation became scattered and haphazard.

No longer urging the camels and cattle to hurry as before, they were allowed to gnaw on the grass on both sides while moving slowly forward with the men and horses in front of the caravan.

Liu Zhen'er, Gu Landuo and others on the hunchback were bathed in the warm sun, plus the cradle-like step and shake of the camel's cradle, and the tossing and turning of last night, they all fell asleep in a daze.

Those of us who were in charge of guarding on horseback had to endure the torment of drowsiness, shuttling among the herds of camels and yaks, driving some of the detached animals back to the team, and guarding the movements around the surrounding meadows and mountain passes.

Perhaps because of the cultivation of the Dharma of the Western Heavenly Bodhisattva for generations, some of the natives we met on the way, whether it was the mountain people who were hurrying, the hunters who were hunting eagles, or the wild elders of the deserted villages who were shepherding sheep on the side of the mountains, were very kind to us merchants from foreign countries.

The folk customs are simple and similar to ours in Khotan, and the clothing language is from the customs of Rouran, Daxia and Wusun countries.