Huang Xing seemed to have found a place where he could go down the ditch, he quickly dismounted, leaned over to look at the ditch, and said, "This place, a little tidy, the horse can go down." ”

When Shoko heard this, he rolled the saddle and dismounted. Under the guidance of Huang Xing, at a collapsed place, a large piece of earthwork was bulldozed by hand. Creates a gentler slope. Then, he took the reins of the horse in Huang Xing's hand and dragged it in front, Huang Xing pushed and shoved behind the horse's buttocks, and finally sent the first horse down. Looking at the horse in front of him, he went down to the bottom of the ditch smoothly. The rest of the horses were much more obedient. Without waiting for Huang Xing to push, he happily slipped down the slope.

Huang Xing observed at the bottom of the ditch and found that this dry ditch was formed by the spring flash flood over the years. Although there is no water all year round, the moisture at the bottom of the ditch raises a lot of valuable grass. So, Huang Xing found a dry half-sloped land, unloaded the luggage from the horse, stumbled the horse's legs, and let the horse go to enjoy the grass that was extremely difficult to touch in the desert Gobi. And he laid out the sheepskin mattress on the slope, and took it out to eat and drink. At this time, Shoko picked up a large bundle of dry firewood. The bottom of the ditch, which has been cold for many years, suddenly has a warm vitality.

The two of them had almost eaten, Huang Xing took out the wine jug and took a sip, and handed it to Xiangzi. Xiangzi was about to excuse himself, but Huang Xing forcefully put the wine jug into Xiangzi's arms and said, "Drink a few sips, don't think about anything, sleep well tonight, and walk tomorrow." ”

As he spoke, he took out a pair of sheepskin foot covers from his luggage and said, "Remember to put it on, when your feet are hot, people will not be cold." ”

Shoko, watching Master take care of herself so carefully. With the help of wine, a wave of warmth quickly permeated the whole body. When the firewood burns, there is a "crackling" sound. Shoko, happily curled up in the fat whiteboard leather jacket, fell asleep sweetly.

Shoko was finally awakened by the red sun and the jubilant and jumping flames. Immediately after, a smell of barbecued air-dried horse meat and roasted naan rushed into the nose. The gluttonous worms that were sleeping in their stomachs immediately became stupidly active.

Shoko hurriedly rolled over and stood up, grabbed her shoes and put them on her feet. Suddenly, a warm current surged through the whole body - the shoes were hot. Looking at the master's back, Xiangzi felt extremely cordial.

After eating and drinking, Xiangzi walked along the bottom of the ditch, trying to stir up the memory of the year, and walked forward. Huang Xing led the horse, one foot high and one foot low, and followed far behind.

At this time, the sun has completely turned red white. The silent and winding bottom of the ditch is poignantly divided into two halves: yin and yang.

Shoko, stop-and-go. It's like I'm trying to search for traces in my memory. Huang Xing was unhurried, and when he encountered a relatively lush meadow, he stopped and let the horse chew for a while. He and Shoko have always distanced themselves. I just don't want Xiangzi to have too much pressure. So that he can calm down and do his best to fulfill the dream in his heart.

Actually, Huang Xing understands. The dream in Shoko's heart can only become, a beautiful and difficult wish to achieve. Because experience has taught him that this dry ditch changes every year. Loess lacks moisture and is not covered by vegetation. Every time a flood is baptized, the loess on the river bank will be lured by the rough and amorous flood to melt into the rolling torrent and never return. As a result, they are not only changing the shape of the ditch, but also the shape of the bottom.

It was almost noon, and the sun was already shining like a fireball on the top of the ditch. Shoko's footsteps seemed to slow down. Something intangible, heavy, overwhelmed him. The lightning-fast glance began to become a little sour and confused. Just when he was desperate, as if he had suddenly discovered something, he rushed a few steps, and dragged out a white bone in the mud and sand that had been piled up by the whirlpool. He looked at it with excited and sad eyes for a while. He threw himself at Huang Xing again, with an inquiring look.

Huang Xing hurried two steps, took the white bone and looked at it, then handed it to Xiangzi and said, "This is the bone on the thigh, you put it on the leg and look at it." ”

Shoko obediently placed the white bone on her thigh and gestured. As a result, the white bones are slightly longer than their thighs. Looking at Xiangzi's suspicious eyes, Huang Xing gently patted him on the shoulder and said, "This is a man's bone, and it's bigger than you." ”

Seeing that Xiangzi was a little discouraged, Huang Xing said with concern and tactfully: "It's been a few years, and there have been great changes in the ditch. Don't worry, let's go ahead and see. Shoko turned around silently, staggered a little, and slowly walked forward.

The sun has gradually avoided the bottom of the ditch. Only the edge of the ditch on the east side was dyed into a lock, winding gold. The two sparrows, who had returned early, stopped on the edge of the ditch in amazement. Nodding and talking about the rare people and horses at the bottom of the ditch, the chirping sound brought a lot of vitality to the silent dry ditch.

Huang Xing hurried a few steps, patted Xiangzi on the shoulder who looked discouraged and depressed, and said, "It's not early, I guess it's already past that place." ”

Shoko's body trembled slightly. He staggered forward like a drunken man, and then fell limply on a sheet of dry yellow sand. Huang Xing was about to step forward to help, but was blocked by a burst of infiltrating howls like a she-wolf who had lost her cubs.

Huang Xing shook his head sourly, pulled the horse's head, and walked towards a piece of grass not far away. He said to himself: "This kid's heart is too heavy. Let him cry bitterly! It's rare to have this filial piety.

The moment Shoko fell to the ground, he felt a lot of pressure, and he rolled upwards from his chest. Then he pressed his throat and let out a wolf-like howl. The tears in his eyes rolled down like poured beans, and wisps of mud fragrance rose from the dry sand. That churning force lasted for a bag of cigarettes.

There are so many things in it: six years of pent-up grief; the complete disillusionment and despair of the dream of filial piety; The ups and downs of six years under the fence; After the age of thirteen, he has never been in front of others, and he has been coquettish and willful of grievances; Since my mother left, I have never enjoyed the feeling of being lovingly held in my arms; Ruthless loneliness and helplessness......

All kinds of feelings are instantly interpreted into a kind of sorrow and despair that softens the liver and intestines.

Shoko's cry gradually weakened. In the end, it turned into a sobbing of varying lengths. The prostrate body shook slowly and sharply with sobbing. His dry eyes had been burned into a pitiful red by the tide of tears.

After a while, Shoko seemed to have lifted the burden from her body. With quick movements, he turned over and knelt up, and kowtowed three heads heavily in the direction of the extension of the dry ditch. After that, he stood up briskly, took a few steps towards Huang Xing, and with a "poof", knelt down in front of Huang Xing, and kowtowed three more times.

This sudden change made Huang Xing a little overwhelmed. He hurriedly leaned over and picked up Xiangzi, and shouted, "Do you have something to say, what are you doing here?" ”

Xiangzi stood up and said earnestly, "Master, these past few days, you have been suffering. ”

Huang Xing glared at Xiangzi with disgust and said, "What's going on, it's all your own business." ”

After a pause, Huang Xing slowed down his voice and said with concern: "I heard the old family say that in the temple, a memorial tablet for the deceased is set up. Then ask the Master to do a transcendent puja. Wherever the deceased are, the soul is invited to the monastery to live and practice. It is said that this is the benefit of both the dark and the sun. I'll get you some money when you go home, and you go to Nanshan Temple, and forget about this filial piety. ”

After listening to Master's words, Xiangzi's dry eyes began to moisten. A warm thing choked softly on the hot throat.

By the time Xiangzi had gone up the ditch, the sun had swelled into a charming red. The earth seemed to be sprinkled with gold, and everywhere it shone with a charming light. Looking along the winding road, at the end of the road, you can already see the broken outline of the camel shop.

The two of them raised their whips and urged their horses, and saw the camel shop. Suddenly, behind the dirt mountain in the west, there was a crisp gunshot. Huang Xing immediately reined in the horse's head, observed carefully, and saw that more than a dozen people and horses had been placed on the mountain. All of them were holding spears in their hands, staring at them. Huang Xing asked Xiangzi to hide behind his horse and handed over his horse to Xiangzi. With a quick movement, he drew his spear and rushed up a few steps, hiding behind a dirt bag on the side of the road.

At this time, I saw three horses squeezed out of the people and horses on the dirt mountain. The horseman, shaking the spear in his hand, rushed towards him in a puff of smoke. Huang Xing made a "bang", and the bullet was loaded.

He knew in his heart that if this group of people rushed over together, it would be difficult to parry him with a gun. It is necessary to strike preemptively and let them retreat. When the men and horses in front of him were about 200 meters away from him, Huang Xing pulled the trigger, and a gunshot rang out, and the man's cowhide brimmed hat flew to the ground in response. The man was stunned and hurriedly reined in the horse, and the horse behind him had not yet had time to retract its hooves. Huang Xing fired another shot, and the spear in the man's hand fell to the ground. The three of them were stunned for a moment, and the hurried hooves of the horses, after two chaotic circles in place, spread their hooves, as if they were being chased by wolves, and ran towards the top of the mountain.

At this time, Huang Xing immediately beckoned Xiangzi to get on the horse, and the two of them flew forward on horseback. With Huang Xing's experience, with the power of his two guns, the bandits would not dare to chase after him rashly. Sure enough, the group of people just looked at them in a commotion. Pointing and pointing, it was as if he was watching Huang Xing's horse race, and he didn't have the slightest urge to participate.

The sun has been completely engulfed by yellow dirt bags. The earth became gloomy for a moment.

Shoko, although it is the first time I have seen bandits. But about the story of the bandits, the master told him a lot. With the master here, Shoko didn't feel scared at all. On the contrary, there is a kind of exciting freshness.

Although he couldn't find his mother's bones on this trip, the strange thing is that at this moment, he feels much lighter physically and mentally than before, as if he has unloaded the burden on his body.

The hurried hooves of the horses made a sound that was sometimes consistent, sometimes chaotic. The cold wind blew swiftly through my ears. As if dragging it, wisps of invisible ice silk whipped Xiangzi's face, like a pinprick in discomfort. The surrounding scenery began to blur. But the road under his feet still stubbornly exudes a faint gray.