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With a bang, Li Xu felt all the blood in his body rush to his head, exploding, and emitting countless golden stars. Big, small, pentagonal, cross, just like the moment when the bamboo bursts in the fire during the New Year, it is short, but it is gorgeous and colorful. He didn't dare to move, he didn't dare to move the girl's arm away, he only dared to lie there quietly, and even tried his best to control the rise and fall of his chest when he breathed.

Don't look at it, he told himself desperately in his heart. His gaze couldn't help but move slowly, sweeping over the top of the felt bag that was red by the flames, and slowly staring at the girl's face. It was a beautiful face, almost the most beautiful he had ever seen in the world. Delicate skin, long eyelashes, and a pair of delicate lips......

Li Xu looked at it, watched, just like looking at a precious piece of southern white porcelain, and didn't dare to touch it. lest the other party fall to the ground and be shattered if he touches it. I didn't dare to think about it, because the girl was so beautiful that it was hard to desecrate like a lotus flower. He could feel a hot and humid urge swelling in the depths of his soul, but he didn't know what he should do next......

Facts are always unexpected, and when you start to despair about the future, hope often creeps in. In the afternoon, just as the traders were exhausted, a large flock of sheep appeared out of thin air on the grassland in front of them.

The flock, the real flock, numbered tens of thousands, "floated" over the withered yellow grass like white clouds. The vendors were stunned, and for a moment they forgot to cheer. Where there are sheep, there must be shepherds, and such a large flock of sheep means that an unprecedentedly rich tribe exists here! All the hardships that everyone suffered on the way before will be rewarded handsomely!

Before they could recover from their shock, three shepherds, dressed in maroon leather and with countless bells tied to the corners and horses of their horses, sped close. The two are in front of each other, one behind the other, keeping a distance of about fifty paces. One of the first two men bent his bow and the other held a trumpet, and he led his horse about twenty paces from the caravan.

"Guests from afar, what kind of wind blew you in front of the felt tent of the Su Si Department!" The man with the bow raised his voice and asked in Turkic, which was extremely fast but singing.

Now the Turks are the most powerful of the Cypriot states, and the rest of the tribes are attached to them. Therefore, Turkic is almost the lingua franca of the northern tribes, and the merchants who often walk in the outer parts of the country can deal with a sentence or two each for the needs of trading. Hearing the shepherd's question, the group quickly removed their hands from their weapons and told them that they had no ill intentions. As the leader of the group, Sun Jiu stepped forward slowly, first pressed his left shoulder with his right hand, bowed his body, and then replied in Turkic and Chinese in turn: "The autumn wind blows us from the Central Plains, and we travel thousands of miles just to share the goods with our friends!" ”

"Distinguished guests, the Central Plains is more than a thousand miles away, there are mountains and rivers on the way, who is the guide for you, who indicated the location of our felt bag?" The bearer bowed slightly, but refused to leave the bowstring, and his questioning tone was full of vigilance.

It is no wonder that the herdsmen of the Xia tribe are suspicious, the weather here is far colder than that of the Central Plains. Every year in August, snow has begun to fall in the sky. Therefore, Han traders who are not familiar with the grasslands will never dare to venture into the depths of the grasslands after August. And now it's the beginning of September, and the autumn snow has fallen two or three times early. In the eyes of the shepherds, the identity of Sun Jiu's gang was really suspicious, and they were more like spies of a hostile tribe than a caravan.

Without waiting for Sun Jiu to explain to the herdsman why he dared to go deep into the grassland this season, Hao Laodao, who led the way, was already impatiently scolding at the back of the team, "Su Si Duer, have you forgotten the Hao family's old knife who drank the same jar of wine with you by the fire two months ago?" Did your family teach you to treat your guests like this? (Note 1)

When the shepherd heard the scolding, the expression on his face was stunned for a moment, and then a bright smile appeared. The bow in his hand was still raised, but the arrow was loosened from the bowstring, and he said to Hao Laodao in a soft tone: "You are a vassal of the Hao family (Turkic language, wolf, also refers to guards, honorifics), I remember how much you drink." But there are no permanent friends on the grassland, and yesterday you left the tribe with Hada, and you may have turned around and came with a bow and arrow! ”

"We have bows and arrows, but we only shoot at the dogs that stand in our way. We have swords and guns, but they are only used against bandits who have been cursed by the Immortals. I, Sun Jiu, a native of the Central Plains, and my friends will never let the sword and arrow be stained with the blood of a good person! Sun Jiu bowed down again and said in Turkic, "You can ride your horse behind us and see if there is smoke and dust from horses' hooves on the grassland." A friend may deceive you, but your eyes will never betray his master! ”

Seeing that Sun Jiu was speaking so frankly, the shepherd's vigilance gradually disappeared. The shepherd who had been called by Hao Laodao to be Su Si Dur rode forward, bypassed Sun Jiu, and ran straight to the back of the caravan. The other two herdsmen were still carrying the horns they had used to call the police, but their hands slowly hung down to the saddle.

After galloping in a large circle of about two miles in the left, right, and rear directions of the caravan, I found that there was indeed no sign of the arrival of a large group of men. Su Si Dur quickly ran in front of Sun Jiu, put away his bow and arrows, and bent down to the head of the horse, "Reckless Dur has made amends to the elder, you are indeed friends. Jackals are rampant after autumn arrives in the prairie, so I have to be careful! ”

With that, he turned back and shouted to the shepherd farthest from the caravan, ordering him to hurry back to the tribe and deliver a message to the chief, saying that a distinguished guest had arrived from afar. Then he straightened his arms and made a gesture of please to all the vendors.

The vendors had already been impatient, but they did not dare to rush forward. Following Sun Jiu and Su Si Duer, he slowly approached the place where the smoke was rising in the distance.

After the time of the half-pillar incense, the sound of wind and thunder faintly came from the heavens and the earth. The smoke and dust rose in front of him, and more than 100 war horses rushed in like a torrent. Where had the vendors experienced such a big battle, their faces turned pale one by one, and their eyes kept looking at Sun Jiu. As long as the leader gave an order, everyone immediately threw away their baggage and fled. Sun Jiu calmly chatted in Turkic with the Susibu shepherd named Dur, and the two seemed to talk very speculatively, and from time to time burst into laughter.

The cheerful laughter reassured the vendors, and they pressed their hands on the hilt of the talisman knife and continued on their way. A moment later, the oncoming torrent drew nearer and closer, and a sky-blue streak embroidered with a queue of herringbone high-flying swans rose high from among the horses.

"Distinguished guests are here later, and my family Ai Jin has come to greet you in person!" Susidur said in Turkic. Then, he stepped forward and met the pole from a distance.

The torrent slowed down and came to an abrupt halt where it was about to meet the caravan. A middle-aged man wearing a pale green cloak and trimmed with maroon and yellow sheepskin around his clothes bowed to everyone: "Brother from the Middle Plains, the descendants of the white swan welcome you!" ”