The sand and loess accompanied by the hot wind, flying up the dust, telling the desolation of a vast land.

This land, which seems to have been forgotten by the gods, is like a natural boundary monument, separating the Tang Dynasty and the Great Xia from the left and the right. On one side is a rich paradise, and on the other side is a barren hell.

The people who survived from hell stubbornly crossed the line again and again with their fierceness and cruelty, like a ferocious wolf, and the vast splendid rivers and mountains in the east were the salivating fat in its eyes.

The border passes of the Tang Dynasty, with iron walls, have set up 12 passes in a row, guarding the 12 main passes leading from the Western Regions to the Central Plains. And Pyeongchang, where Bibi Hu is located, is isolated from the five passes leading to the north, and the remaining seven passes, each of which must be guarded by the Iron Hoof of Great Xia.

To the southwest is the beard that gradually shrinks the encirclement, and to the northeast is an impenetrable iron wall, and the remnants of Tang An's army are like moths that pounce into a spider's web, and the more they shake their wings to break free, the tighter they will stick.

And that dangerous spider is already close at hand.

The most common action of the soldiers was to wipe their sweat-soaked faces with calloused hands, and then cover their foreheads and squint their eyes, taking a glimpse of the seemingly never-ending road ahead.

No one spoke, no one complained.

Zhan Lingyun's sudden departure drained the last strength of this tired soldier. Many people open their empty pupils and walk without feeling, like the walking dead without a soul.

Such a group of people will not care whether they are waiting for survival or destruction, and only rely on the remaining beliefs in their minds to support themselves from falling.

Can't be caught by the Xia people, this is the only belief.

Tang An, who passed this message to everyone, locked himself in the carriage for several days. But now no one cares what he is doing, and the "rolling" sound of wheels crushing the sand and gravel has become a part of their daily life.

Tang An was looking at the map.

This clearly marked yellow sheepskin map, Tang An is almost familiar with his brother. On the map, every pattern of the city tower painted with lacquer and ink is like a lover beckoning to him, full of teasing and temptation, because it is the residence of the Tang Lion.

However, when seeing the eye-catching red cross representing the roadblocks of Xia Guo along the way, this desire can only be ruthlessly suppressed in the bottom of my heart.

What to do?

If you continue to go north, you will definitely die, and it is nothing more than saving the right to live for a few more days. If you want to survive, one way is to take a risk and open up the connection with the garrison between Datang, but in this way, you will inevitably face the wolf-like Xia troops, and the possibility of success is very small; The second way is to take a detour, cross the loess into the territory of the Xia Kingdom, and then turn a big circle back to the Tang Dynasty.

If the first method is ten deaths, then the second method is nine deaths.

In the past few days, the spies who were sent out passed by the soldiers and horses of the Xia Kingdom several times, and the encirclement was compressed smaller and smaller, leaving less and less time for Tang An.

He sketched on the map with a solemn face, and tried to make up his mind several times, but when he pulled up the map and tried to open the car door, he always sat back on the stool and slowly unfolded the map to look at it a few more times.

He was ambivalent because he didn't dare to take risks.

Zhan Lingyun's entrustment before returning to heaven was like a mountain pressing on his heart. The lives of 3,000 good sons and daughters were used as bargaining chips for his first time in command, and the stakes were a bit too big.

When he put away the map once more, and buried his face between his palms with a full struggle, the fairy's voice rang out.

"We're running out of time."

Time is as precious as gold for both of them. Mu Rong wants to save his life, Tang An also wants to save his life, the invisible quicksand has almost dried up, but Tang An has not made his decision for a long time.

Tang An smiled bitterly and said, "I understand, if you want both of us to be satisfied, there is only one way to go." ”

Mu Rong's eyes fell unnaturally on the map. The road he spoke of was the road to the Swamp.

Now that he has gone deep into the heart of the wasteland, there is no turning back.

If you choose to go to the swamp, you must first cross a land that has not yet been explored, and if you successfully avoid several waves of soldiers and horses of the Xia Kingdom, then the next thing you will face is the real test of life and death.

The Swamp is known as "Yasuo Erbu" in the Xia Chinese language, which means "the home of the devil".

This piece of forbidden swamp in the eyes of the Xia people actually has beautiful natural scenery, but vicious beasts and poisonous insects emerge in endlessly, and the sedimented silt and highly poisonous vegetation often invisibly take away a life.

A long time ago, countless Xia people tried to come to this mysterious swamp to explore, they were surprised to see the towering trees around them, the flocks of migrating birds on the lake, the giant crocodile that slowly sank into the water like dead wood, and the snake entrenched on the branches of the tree spitting scarlet letters... But as groups of people entered the land and vanished like evaporation, rumors about the land grew.

Later, the Xia people regarded the swamp as a forbidden place for the devil to live, and except for the occasional person who went to explore, most people stayed away from it.

Of course, about these rumors, Tang An only found a few words from Ji Chen's mouth. He was more worried about what would happen after crossing the Swamp.

Entering the Xia Kingdom, they will completely become a lone army, and if they want to return to the Tang Dynasty, they will have to face difficulties like mountains. But at this moment, Tang An had no choice.

Sighing heavily, Tang An's eyes were resolute, and he said, "Okay, let's go to the Great Swamp!" ”

"The Swamp?"

Su Meier, who had not spoken for a few days, raised her eyebrows and said, "No! ”

Tang An blinked and asked, "Why not?" ”

Su Mei'er didn't bother to pay attention to him, but since she had spoken, she didn't care much about it, and her foxy eyes flashed solemnly: "You have lived in the Tang Dynasty for a long time, and you don't know the sinister nature of the swamp." In our Xia country, the word 'swamp' is the biggest taboo, and I don't know how many heroes have gone and never returned. If you go in, don't try to come out alive. ”

Mu Rong frowned and said, "The big swamp, we have to go." ”

Su Mei'er hurriedly said: "Sister Mu, although Mei'er is a Xia person, you have a life-saving grace for the slave family, and the slave family will never harm you, let alone watch you lose your life!" ”

Mu Rong waved his hand and said, "I have made up my mind, so I don't need to say more." ”

"Sister Mu!"

Su Mei'er wanted to say something, but Mu Rong said coldly: "If you don't want to go, let's go our separate ways here." ”

Mu Rong's heart can't be shared with Su Meier. Tang An coughed and said, "Sister Fairy, she is a 'hostage', and it seems that the trip to the swamp must take her." ”

Seeing the firmness of the two of them, Su Mei'er's eyes showed a look of fear: "You-aren't you afraid of death?" ”

"I'm afraid, it's because I'm afraid of death that we're going to the swamp." Tang An's eyes moved over her delicate body, and said, "Miss Mei'er, you haven't forgotten about Bibi Hu, have you?" Who has time to care that you are a dancing demon queen If you are the top red chicken, no matter what kind of chicken, it is a good chicken when you eat it in your stomach. Think about a group of energetic men who have been away from home for so long, if they suddenly see such a beautiful woman like you, do you think they will show mercy to your subordinates just because you are a 'high-end chicken'? ”

"You-" Su Mei'er spewed fire and said, "You wicked person who killed countless of my compatriots in Great Xia, don't talk to you!" ”

Mu Rong sighed and closed his eyes helplessly. Whenever the topic talks about the grievances between Tang and Xia, these two people will become enemies of life and death in an instant, and they will not give up if they don't fight for ugliness.

Sure enough, Tang An snorted coldly and said: "Only Xia Guobeard is allowed to kill us Tang people, and it is heinous for us to fight back and kill a few Xia people, what the hell is this!" Don't get me wrong, I'm the one talking here! You have to go to this swamp, and you have to go if you don't go! ”

"Mei'er will never accompany you to death - that's the devil's territory!"

"If you dare to say a word again, I will become a devil now-the devil likes to catch young women's Mimi, believe it or not-oh, Sister Fairy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you, I mean--the devil likes to catch Mimi of young women in Xia Kingdom!"

"You rascal!"

"Grasp the claw hand of the milk dragon!"

"Ahh

Su Mei'er screamed and hurriedly hid behind Mu Rong, with undisguised horror in her eyes.

"Sister Fairy, please let me go. This demon girl of the Xia Kingdom really didn't open the house for three days, and Lao Tzu was too lazy to meet her in general, but she kicked her nose and face, and didn't take me in her eyes at all. This trick of my milk dragon claw hand is amazing, and it would be embarrassing if I accidentally caught the wrong person. ”

Mu Rong took out the silver needle with a smile and said, "Sit down." ”

Tang An immediately sat on the stool honestly, with a righteous face. Although a discerning person can see at a glance that he is pretending, the nerves that have been tense for so many days have relaxed a lot by making such a fuss with Su Meier.

Mu Rong sighed: "Miss Mei'er, we have a reason to go, the big swamp is where we must go. ”

Su Meier remembered the bits and pieces on the road, and said with a smile: "Is it possible... You were meant to go to the Swamp? ”

Tang An interjected: "Yes, that is the destination of me and Sister Fairy, this time you are dead, right?" ”

Su Mei'er rolled her eyes and said, "But there are many crises there, and there is a large area of barren land, you have a good life in Bianjing, why do you want to go there?" ”

Tang An smiled coldly and said, "Miss Mei'er, it seems that you have almost forgotten the initial reminder that Sister Fairy reminded you. Don't ask too much if you shouldn't, knowing too much won't do you any good. ”

Su Mei'er's mouth was deflated, she glanced at him, and said with concern on Mu Rong's face: "Sister Mu Rong, our Xia people have been circulating the legend of the Great Swamp for generations, even if it is a vast desert, it is not as dangerous as there, if you change your mind now, it is still too late." ”

Mu Rong said: "I don't have a choice, but you have a choice." If you're really scared, feel free to leave. ”

Su Mei'er had a struggling look on her face, obviously hesitating between going or not leaving.

For some reason, seeing her like this, Tang Anxin felt a little nervous, as if he was afraid to hear the voice that did not match his heart.

Although he didn't want to admit it, he really didn't seem to want her to leave him. Tang An was taken aback by this thought, and couldn't help but ask himself: Why is this?

"Lord Tang!"

An exclamation outside the car interrupted Tang An's imagination. Pulling the car company, Tang An poked his head out and said, "What's the matter?" ”

Ji Chen's face was grim, and he said in a deep voice: "We are surrounded!" ”

(I'm sorry, I've been confused for the past two days.) ）