"I, Zamu, have a clear grievance, and with this sign, whoever is in the desert must give face."

Zamuhe took out an iron token from his bosom and handed it to Mingyue, with a relief carved on it of a knife, which looked like the black knife on his waist.

Next, Zamuhe really said what he said, escorting them through the White Dragon Pile and all the way to the place where they were about to reach Loulan City.

Along the way, they also encountered three waves of robbers, two waves saw that it was Zamuhe's team and turned around and left, and one wave followed, until Zamuhe's men reluctantly left.

"Where are those guys? It doesn't feel like it's very face-saving for Zamuhe. Liu Zheng asked.

"It seems that it is a 'swarm of bees', and the 'swarm of bees' is the largest robber nest in the desert, although there is no grandmaster in charge, but there are many people, and Zamuhe can't take advantage of it if he really fights." Aini explained.

"I see." Liu Zheng nodded.

Zamuhe soon left with his people, and the surroundings of Loulan City were no worse than in the desert, and it was quite troublesome to be targeted by the defenders in the city.

Loulan, Wang ruled Loulan City, and there were auxiliary Guohou, Qihu Hou, Loulan Duwei, Commander of the Fighting Division, one person each from the left and right and Qu, and one Commander of the Fighting Division, and two translators.

Disha halo, Shaotian, Jitian Yanggu next to the country. The country produces jade, and there are many reeds, tamarix, tung and white grass.

The people chase water and grass with the herdsmen, have donkeys and horses, and have many camels, and can be soldiers, and are the same as the Qiang.

Loulan chokes the Silk Road, the southwest passes through the end, the essence, the detention of Mi, Khotan, the north through the car division, the northwest through Yanqi, the east when the white dragon pile, through Dunhuang.

Although the population and armor are not large, relying on the advantages of geographical location, a large amount of wealth has been gathered, the treasury is abundant, and the national strength is strong.

As the gateway to the Western Regions, Loulan City has undergone many expansions and invited a large number of skilled craftsmen from the Central Plains to participate in the renovation, and has become the leading city in the Western Regions.

The walls of Loulan were rammed with clay and red wicker, and a canal ran diagonally through the city from northwest to southeast.

There is an octagonal domed adobe stupa in the northeast of the canal, and there are rows of tall wooden buildings in the south of the stupa, where the bazaar of Loulan City can be found, whether it is the treasures of the Central Plains or the curiosities of the Western Regions.

In the middle of the southwest of the canal, there are three large houses made of rock and soil, which are the seat of Loulan City.

In the south of the Zhishuo, there is a large circle of domed buildings, which should be the palace of the king of Loulan.

The Aini caravan did not stay in Loulan City for long, and after replenishing water and food, it continued on its way.

Although Loulan City is full of merchants, the price is also the lowest in the Western Regions, and it is not cost-effective to sell here.

They planned to return to Khotan for a few days to recuperate, and then set out for Shule, northwest of Khotan.

Shule is also a big country, and it has enough strength to eat this batch of goods, and the price is at least twice or even three times that of Loulan.

Before leaving, Aini thanked Mingyue and Ge Baoshan for her kindness, and left a money bag.

The bag looked very shriveled, but when it was opened, it was actually three large gems, one each in red, yellow and blue.

Just these three gems, if you take them back to the Central Plains, you can sell them for at least 1,000 taels of silver.

Although Liu Zhengting wanted to take a stroll around Loulan City, Mingyue and Ge Baoshan were more anxious, so they had to buy some messy specialties and continue to hurry.

The distance from Loulan City to Cheshi Country is basically the same as that from Yangguan to Loulan, and the road also passes through a large desert and the Gobi Desert, so you also need to ask for a guide.

Anyway, she just made a fortune, so Mingyue simply hired the most expensive guide and prepared two camels by herself.

It turned out that the money was well spent, and the old guide named Nimaimat was indeed experienced, and after Mingyue asked to speed up the trip, he took the three of them to the side roads and shortcuts, which was nearly one-third shorter than the normal trip.

Of course, there is a corresponding price.

Not only were the camels swallowed up by quicksand, but they also encountered a rare large sandstorm.

Rao is three of them are all martial arts masters, and they were almost buried under ten feet of yellow sand by the power of nature.

The three of them have seen what it means to be invincible to Tianwei in martial arts, and Nimaimat was quite calm when he was dug out by them.

The guide's line is to gamble on his life, and he will die when he encounters a sandstorm, he will die when he encounters a robber, and he will also die when he encounters an officer and soldier who pretends to be a robber.

Yes, Nimaimat is actually a Taoist believer, so he agreed to Mingyue's request to speed up the trip.

After an arduous trek, the four finally arrived at Jiaohe City, the royal capital of Cheshi Kingdom.

At this time, it has been more than half a month since the three of them set off from Yangguan.

Mingyue couldn't help but sigh, fortunately, when he received the message from Ge Baoshan, he happened to return to Loulan City to inquire about the news, otherwise it would have been too late to receive the letter.

Nimaimat paid the balance in Mingyue and left happily after promising to pray for him in front of Tianzun.

He was going to the tooth shop in the city to wait for being hired, and then return to Loulan City with his next employer.

Mingyue The Cheshi Country they came to was actually the Cheshi Qianguo Country, which was only a part of the original Cheshi Country.

At that time, because of the vacillation between the Xiongnu and the Central Plains, the country was pulled and kneaded by the two great powers, and the country was divided into four parts, namely the former country of the Cheshi, the latter country of the Cheshi, the Duguo of the Cheshiwei, and the city of the Cheshihou.

Originally, the Cheshi Kingdom was the third largest country in the Upper Western Regions, second only to Wusun and Qiuzi in strength, but after the split, it was not even as good as Jimo and Xiaowan, only a little stronger than Wu Greedy and Huhu.

However, after all, the four countries came from the same source, although they were still uncertain in the face of the Central Plains and the Xiongnu, and they were pinched and flattened, but they were still able to unite in the face of other countries, so although Yanqi had been eager to try, he still failed to annex them.

And Zuo Qiuci's retreat in the letter is not in the former country of Cheshi, but in the country behind Cheshi.

However, after such a long time of continuous travel, Rao is Mingyue, a quasi-grandmaster, couldn't bear it, and decided to rest in Jiaohe City for two days before going to Cheshi Houguo.

Jiaohe City is all made of rammed earth plates, and the shape and layout are very similar to Chang'an City, and the city's markets, government offices, Buddhist temples, pagodas, streets and alleys, as well as workshops, dwellings, military drill grounds, Tibetan trenches, and temples are exactly the same as Chang'an City.

This is because the former country of Cheshi has always been close to the Central Plains, and the royal capital was also built as it was after sending a whole delegation to Chang'an to survey and map.

But outside the imitation of Chang'an City, Jiaohe City also has its own characteristics.

That is, most of the buildings in the whole city, no matter how big or small, are basically dug down from the surface of the towering terrace by the method of "reducing the ground and leaving the wall".

The walls of temples, government offices, city gates, and private houses are basically raw earth walls, especially the streets and alleys, which are long and narrow, like winding trenches.

It can be said that Jiaohe City is not only a royal capital, but also a huge military fortress.

However, this is also a matter of course, in the focus area of the confrontation between the Central Plains and the Xiongnu, if there were no two brushes militarily, the country would have been destroyed long ago.

The former country of the car master also worships Buddhism, the area of the Buddhist temple in the city of Jiaohe is very wide, there are one hundred and one stupas in the temple, there is an ancient well on the edge of the pagoda forest, it is said that it is not dry for thousands of years, it is regarded as the symbol of the Buddha's manifestation, and there are people who come to worship next to the ancient well all the year round.

Mingyue is also a little famous in Jiaohe City, one is that the former Chinese people of the Cheshi were friendly to the Central Plains, and the other is that he has done a few good things in this place to hoe the strong and help the weak, and he is very popular with the local people.

For example, in the inn where they stayed, the boss said that he would not accept his money because the girl he saved last time was the boss's niece.

Drinking the wine from the boss's secret collection, Mingyue was also very proud in her heart.

"Those who practice martial arts should always have a chivalrous heart. For example, the three crazy patriarchs of the Wudang faction slaughtered 184 bandits and murderers in Taihang Mountain by themselves, so that the people around Taihang Mountain could enjoy at least 20 years of peace. Another example is the Emei Sect Tianyin Venerable, who dragged the four protectors of the Red Blood Cult by himself, and successfully dragged the righteous reinforcements to arrive and annihilate them in one fell swoop. When Mingyue talked about the deeds of these famous predecessors, she was full of yearning.

"Alas, the reason why my Decay Water Sect has declined, in addition to the difficulty of practicing the exercises, I am afraid that there are also reasons for not cultivating virtue." Ge Baoshan sighed when he heard this.

Although the Guishui faction had also done some chivalrous things back then, its main focus was still on competing with Longhu Mountain.

The people in the faction are impetuous, and the outside of the faction lacks reputation, so when the goal of surpassing Longhu Mountain fails, it will soon fall apart.

"Ah Zheng, if you are successful in martial arts in the future, you must do a few earth-shattering good things to promote the prestige of my Dehydration Sect." Mingyue said with three points of drunkenness.

When he met Qiyan Amur at that time, he thought about dying with him with a thunderbolt.

This grassland national master of the Heavenly and Human Induction Realm is recognized as one of the biggest threats in the Central Plains, and if he can be killed, this credit will be no less than the destruction of the Red Blood Cult, or even surpassing.

It's just that first, he is not completely sure, and secondly, Liu Zheng's martial arts have not yet succeeded, and he still needs him to protect the Fa, so he regrets giving up.

"Don't worry, uncle, I will definitely do it." Liu Zheng said firmly.

Even if Mingyue doesn't say it, the mission goal also determines that he is destined to be famous all over the world.

"Let's talk about it later, junior brother, you have been in the Western Regions for so long, how much news have you found?" Ge Baoshan diverted the topic.

"I asked around in Cheshi Country, and finally got a clue, listen to me tell you slowly." Mingyue shook her head and said.

It turned out that the orphans of Zuo Qiuci and the Tian family did flee to Jiaohe City and lived in seclusion here.

A few years later, Zuo Qiuci's injury recurred and he died soon after.

After the orphans of the Tian family buried him, they married and had children here, and changed the name of the locals, completely abandoning the identity of the Central Plains.

"I've already been to Zuo Qiuci's tomb, and there are no cheats in it and no Eight Winds Treasure Knife. I have inspected it before opening the tomb and there is no sign of theft. Mingyue said.

Liu Zheng's face is strange, Uncle Shi just asked him to do an earth-shattering good deed, but now he is talking about the tomb robbery.

Mingyue saw his thoughts, waved his hand indifferently and said: "It's a matter of urgency, such a powerful mastery shouldn't be put in the grave and not see the light of day, it should be taken out to do good deeds." Well, I continued. ”

He paused and said, "It can be seen that the secret book and the Eight Winds Treasure Sword should have been taken by the descendants of the Tian family for safekeeping. And the last time the descendants of the Tian family appeared, it was in the king of the Cheshi Hou Dujin Mancheng. ”