Six lads plus a camel, the lives of the lads are cheaper. Some of them were orphans, some were runaway slaves, but most of them were outcasts—teenagers who had been abandoned because their families were too poor. When Shayib came to recruit workers, Jaya hadn't eaten for days.

Only the desperate will try to cross Carrickse, but as long as there is a small amount of property, the Shaib will be hired. Jaye looked through the campfire at the older lad sitting across from him. A few strands of whiskers had emerged from Shaib's face, and his voice had become thicker. Very few lads have survived the desert for a few seasons. If you make money, you won't do it again. In addition to Shaib, he has been walking on Carricksee for almost a decade.

Shaib whistled, and the other lads immediately ran to him. He showed you how to peel the soles of your feet.

"Feel every step," he directed. "Start with your big toe on the ground and then roll outwards until the entire ball of your foot hits the ground. At this time, move the weight of the body from the back of the foot. "He stood and showed everyone how to walk in stride." Practice well," he continued. "If the camel goes too slowly, it will reveal our position. You have to be still, and you have to be fast. ”

On the first day, Jayer's feet were bleeding profusely; He almost fainted from the pain. After the caravan stopped, he continued to practice for a long time on the cold sand. By the fourth day, the pain was so intense that he had to find a piece of skin and bite it into his mouth, swallowing the pain. Shayib praised his technique.

Shayib laughed and told the other lads. "Come and see," he said. "Jaye walked quieter than I did. Learn his movements. Every step should be as light as a mouse and as far as an antelope. Yes, only then will it be possible to get out of Carricksee alive. ”

Jaya longs for the praise of his eldest brother and learns the basics of survival, so Shayib follows him wherever he goes. He saw Shayib resting with one foot raised and hovering over the pole of the spear. He saw Shaib re-knot the spear every morning, promising to make the fluttering flag stand out like palm leaves. He saw that Shaib's eyes had been regularly roaming the desert around him, over and over again, only stopping when he was sleeping.

In the second month, they arrived. Standing at the top of the dunes, Jaya could look down on the bones of the gods. No one knows what the monster looked like when it was alive, but to this day, its massive ribs still slanted into the sky, each casting a shadow large enough to cover the entire caravan. This skeleton meant that they were about to enter Calikse.

Northerners call Carrickse "the Sea of Bones", but that's a mistranslation. The Rai tribe had never seen the sea. "Sai" in the Rai language refers to plains of sand and gravel, making people walk slowly and painfully. It means that the land is already covered with tunnels. It means that Axy is here to hunt. It means that death is lurking beneath the gravel.

Before dawn, the lads set out with their camels, keeping a half-day's distance in front of the caravan.

The next day, Jaye discovered his first hole in the ground and waved the signal flag. Shayib walked up to him gently. They cautiously approached the hole and stopped a yard away. The diameter of the opening is not as large as that of a melon, but there is poisonous gas bubbling inside, which means that it has just been dug up. Shayib sent a young man back to redirect the caravan.

Jaya looked behind him and asked Shaib, "Can we kill that big Axey?" ”

Shaib scratched his chin and replied, "Their skin is getting harder and harder the older they get." A proud smile gradually appeared on his face. Last quarter I once killed an Exai the size of a jackal. We lost the camel, but I did kill it. ”

Jaye smiled too, sharing the pride of his mentor. But he couldn't help but ask, "Does Lexus really exist?" ”

Shayib shuddered, and his emotions immediately became solemn. "I've seen her." Before Jaya could inquire more about the legendary beast, Shaib stood up and told Jaya to keep going. They slowly left the burrow, listeners, waiting, patrolling the horizon for any moving shadows.

When Jaye heard the first bell, it took a while for him to understand the meaning of the bell. Something appeared from behind them, from the east. He's been so focused on finding hidden holes that he's forgotten to keep an eye on the horizon.

The camels cried, and Jaye began to look for the signal flags of the other boys. As far as he could see, he could see three flags.

The bell rang again. The guy who initially spotted Axey should now be disturbing the beast with a bell. Jaya had to drive the camels out of the caravan's original route and towards the sentinel's position. If the Sentry is still alive, Axy will chase the camel out of the caravan and the Sentry will be able to withdraw safely.

Jaya saw Shaib running towards him. The scrawny young man had now given up his skill of walking quietly, and was running at full speed towards the camel and Jaye. A cloud of sand suddenly appeared behind him, and Shayib immediately dropped the spear in his hand.

Jaye ran to the big bell hanging from the camel. He dragged the bell to the ground and struck it with all his might. Although the sand drowned out the sound, the thick bell still rang deafeningly. He kept ringing the bell, but the cloud of sand behind Shaib didn't change direction. Every second is getting closer.

It looks like Shaib is destined to be caught up. But instead of running or dodging to the side, he suddenly froze in place and shouted at the same time. "Don't move!"

The other lads all stood as still as they could. Just then, the old camel began to gallop.

When it was too late, a wave of energy burst out and crashed into them like a wall. The hairs on the back of Jaye's neck stood high

"It's close," Jaye whispered.

"No," Shaib said in a warning voice. "It's not close, it's big." It was the first time Jaye had seen the big brother's face show real fear.

Shaib scanned the desert for dorsal fins, sand, or anything else. Then he estimated the distance. "The caravan is too far away from us. If it is led away by camels, we can reach the rocky terrain over there. ”

Jaya turned around in despair, searching for the creature that had been lurking. "Where did you go?"

In the distance, they heard the painful howls of camels. Then its howl came to an abrupt end.

"What is it to kill a camel so quickly?" Jaye asked.

Shaib urged them to move forward at once. "We must reach the rocky terrain," his tone was categorical.

So they started running.

They all obeyed Shaib's orders, sometimes stopping abruptly, sometimes striding quietly. Jaye can only hope that Shaib's old experience will work.

But the black rock seemed to be deliberately avoiding them. No matter how far they went, the distance in front of them didn't seem to shorten. So they ran, and then the clouds cast a shadow over the sun. They ran, their tracks blown away by the wind and sand. They ran, knowing that Axey was not far behind, knowing that it could hear every stumble, every stumble. They ran, knowing that it was catching up, knowing that every miss would bring it closer to themselves.

At first glance, Jaya thought it was a huge mouth growing out of the stone, and a vicious mist was bubbling inside. The entrance to this cavern was so big that he could stand up straight and walk straight with his head up.

"Lexie," his faint voice was drenched in fear. Then he looked around and suddenly realized that the black rocks around them were all filled with the creature's massive burrows.

The slightly younger Zali let out a cry of amazement, as they all realized a terrible fact: "She can dig through the rocks." "They thought they would be saved when they reached the rock wall, but they didn't expect to walk into Lexie's lair.

"We should go back and try to get back into the caravan." Zari suggested.

"I won't stop you from leaving," Shaib replied.

"We can walk quietly."

"A day's journey," Shaib calculated carefully. "Can you walk all day without a sound?"

"What are you going to do, Shaib?" Jaye asked.

"If we turn back, we will definitely die in Carrickseri. I intend to go forward and pray for the patron saint to bless me. ”

"Where does this canyon lead?" ”

"It doesn't matter where you lead. This is our only option. ”

They cautiously walked along the rock face into a wind-eroded canyon, and could only pray that there was a water source not far ahead. It's impossible to avoid the terrifying caverns. Each lad silently prayed that the target that Lexus was listening to and chasing was the distant caravan and not himself.

The sun climbed to the top of the canyon and chilled the desolate obstacle in front of them. It is impossible to walk in the canyon without making a sound, because the spirits under your feet are scattered with all kinds of bones. Every footstep evokes an empty, dead echo.

She emerged from a seemingly abandoned hidden hole behind them. Everything in Jaye's eyes became a blur.

"Withdraw!" Shaib shouted at the others. "Run with the wind!"

His warning was too late for Zari. The beast culled the lad like a hungry wolf hunted a little mouse. Her massive teeth pierced Zali's spine, and he couldn't even scream before he died.

Rexey was looming directly above Jaye, his height his own. Her powerful forelimbs open left and right. Her tail resembles that of a leech, and the size of a crocodile, dragged heavily behind her. She spits out her long tongue and dances like a cobra, sniffing the wind.

Every muscle in Jaye's body tensed and ached, and he wanted to run away immediately. But he didn't dare to move, and he looked at the giant Axie in front of him and turned to face him. The eyeless beak's face is covered in flesh.

Lexie's death was so bizarre and perfect that Jayer's mouth opened involuntarily, dumbfounded. The young man shook the spear in his hand, and he was sure that if she attacked, he would not be able to pierce her crust.

"Get down!" Shaib shouted.

All the boys were pressed to the ground, and Lexie's "dorsal fin" glowed an evil green. Jaya could feel some kind of invisible energy burst above him.

Lexus turned, facing in the direction of the caravan in the distance. She sniffed the air with her tongue again, estimating the distance. Suddenly, her dorsal fin regains its original purple color, and Karl is dragged away and disappears into the burrow.

Except for the extra puddle of blood on the ground and the loss of Za Li, the giant beast left no evidence of its existence.

Shaib whispered to everyone to leave. Without saying a word, the survivors retreated and headed deeper into the canyon.

No one spoke. The black stone floor was covered with holes in the ground, making it impossible for them to speak, to cry, or to grieve for them.

After overcoming the terrifying curse, fatigue came to pass. Jaye looked around at the canyon walls. He immediately realized how terrifying it was for what was chasing after him, and why Shaib had decided to hold on to the nectar. Back in the Azir Dynasty, when the clay had not yet formed stones, when Shurima was still in the scorching sun, Lexus was already eating here. This canyon belongs only to her. Everyone believed that Axy existed purely to eat.

"But why are they staying here?" Jaye accidentally spoke.

Suddenly, the monster appeared. She slipped out of the ground in front of them and lunged at Jaye.

Jaya stooped and dodged, passing Lexei, her massive body blocking the sun. As it hit the ground, its forelimbs tore through the ground and then disappeared into the ground.

The youngest boy, Vizca, was hiding in the grass, gesturing for Jaye to come close to him. Just then, his mouth opened in horror, and Lexie's dorsal fin shot a dark energy that tore through the ground, and she followed closely behind, rushing towards Vizca. Rexse burst through the ground and threw the youngest boy into the air. The rest of Vizca's body was scattered all over the ground, and Lexie's dorsal fin began to charge at them both again.

Shayib and Jaye ran as fast as they could

The beast slowed down and tilted an angle to the side, corresponding to the end of its prey's circuitous path. She drove them deeper into the canyon, blocking the other retreats.

There is no point in walking quietly. Lexus is too close. All you can do is run.

Kalib gasped, and Lexus immediately took him. Seeing this, Shayib stopped, picked up Kalib's spear, and waited quietly. The air around him churned like the reflection of ripples on the surface of the water.

"What are you going to do?" Jaye asked softly.

"I'll be a camel. You walk quietly. Shaib looked at the rock walls around them. Tell others what you see. ”

Jaya followed Shaib's gaze. Behind him, the rock walls were covered with cavities, which formed regular circles in shape. Between the caverns, a strange black energy flowed, dripping like some kind of viscous liquid. Through this strange matrix, some kind of reality is stretched and distorted, as if another space is preparing to enter our world.

In this isolated canyon, Exsei's true lair is a dug passageway. This passage connects to the realm of nightmares, where these creatures were born, where something even more sinister is waiting hungrily for this passage to be opened and come to our world.

"Don't look back, Jaye," Shayib said with a tired smile. "Every step should be as light as a mouse and as far as an antelope. You must get out of Carrick Sei alive. ”

Jaye walked to the rock wall in the distance, and he heard a scream. Turn around, roll the balls of your feet slowly, and finally slip your heels to the ground, just as Shaib taught him.

He followed his teacher's instructions, and all that was left of the teacher was the sound of bones shattering and giant beasts chewing.

Jaye watched as Lexse opened its jaws and hooked a viscous black ball of energy out of Shaib's mangled corpse. The orb rolled, the tentacles of slime trickling to the ground, stretching and deforming as Lexer manipulated it, weaving into some sort of regular pattern, and then gluing it between the two holes.

Jaye looked away, then quietly turned around and strode out of the canyon.

The following day, Jaye couldn't sweat anymore. He felt his dry eyes rubbing against his eyelids. His lips were swollen and cracked, but they didn't bleed.

Eventually, his calf muscles began to twitch from the lack of water, and he couldn't continue walking, at which point he fell to the ground and began to cry. He wept over hunger before he joined the Shayib caravan, he wept over his parents who had abandoned him and left him with other brothers, he wept for Shayib, and for the first time someone showed him some kindness. The last few tears pulled him up and he stood on his crampy calves. Knowing that every faltering and tired step would reveal his position and attract nearby Axe, Jaya staggered on.

Jaye finally arrives in the River and tells his story, but almost no one believes him. But soon, anyone who wants to try to cross Karikse, as long as they have a small amount of property, will surely hire Jaye. Jaye would then show the lads how to peel their feet and how to walk quietly with their heels rolled. He teaches them survival techniques on Calikase, and warns his students to beware of a monster named Lexie.