Xiao Mao and I worked hard for a long time, got the camels ready, drove the car to the boss's garage, bought some more water by the way, everything was in order, and went to eat with Lao Wang and them. There is nothing else to eat in this place, but the mutton is very good, and Lao Wang has made more than a pound of man-made people, and his face is full of satisfaction.

"Mao'er, I've heard people say before, there is a hump in the delicacies of the mountains and seas, isn't it?" Lao Wang picked his teeth with a toothpick, and said to Xiao Mao: "Why are you making a camel with a hump, how good are the two humps, does this thing have a regeneration function, how about cutting one down and tasting it?" ”

"Brother Wang, I really don't have anything to eat, the hump is actually full of oil, and the price is expensive."

"What, look down on me? Think I can't afford it? Isn't it just more than 10,000 yuan a head? ”

"Don't, Brother Wang, spend those unjust money that are not worth much, you really want to experience the taste, buy two catties of plate oil and stir-fry, you can also enjoy it."

Lao Wang and Xiao Mao quarreled for a while, and the market over there dispersed, and we didn't waste any more time, starting from Daya and heading towards the distant Huyang River.

As soon as the team hit the road, I increased my vigilance, in fact, everyone is not stupid, although it may not be as detailed as I thought, but the incident of the hairy rooster has made everyone feel a little pressure. Not only am I very careful, but they are also very careful.

Dromedaries are at their best at 12 or 3 kilometers per hour, and Xiao Mao gave each of us a pair of shoe covers, which were sewn from thick canvas and put directly on the feet, and then tightened the mouth at the knees. This will prevent sand from getting into your shoes, which can be difficult to deal with if they are blistered.

Ning Kitten had never seen a camel or ridden a camel, so Lao Wang supported her and climbed onto a camel. The single hump has a very docile temperament, and the four camels keep a distance of five or six meters together, as long as they drive the first one, the rest will follow by themselves.

Because there is Xiao Mao as a guide, taught us a lot of common sense, now this season is more suitable, if you come earlier, the temperature difference between day and night here is too big, people will definitely not be able to bear it. Xiao Mao set the daily travel time from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to 2 o'clock in the morning, and made appropriate adjustments according to physical exertion.

With more Xiaomao, every time I take a break, the vigil work is easier. Everyone was on guard against the slightest anomaly, but it went surprisingly well, and we walked for three days without incident.

On the fourth day, Xiao Mao told us that we needed to dig a well.

"What well to dig?"

"It's not like digging a well, it's just that I said I'm used to it." Xiao Mao said: "It's for the camels to dig water to drink." ”

The area we are traveling in is not really an absolute desert as far as the eye can see. Surface plants can often be seen, look for places where the plants are more dense, and then dig down, and groundwater will appear, and even if there is no obvious liquid groundwater, the sand below is wet, and camels can draw water from these wet sands.

According to Xiao Mao's experience, in the place where he is now, digging two to three meters deep is basically the same.

"That's going to waste a lot of time." Lao Wang pointed to the water on the camel's back: "Why don't you just give them some drink?" ”

"That's not what you said, Brother Wang, camels don't just drink water to quench their thirst, they also need to store water, let them drink, and the water they bring has to be given to them. Water is so important, it's never a bad thing to save a little now. ”

Xiao Mao took the lead and began to dig under a relatively dense white-headed thorn, and the three men took turns to "dig a well" and let the camels absorb water, which lasted more than two hours. This work is done every three days on average, and the camels are an important motivator, and we have to make sure that they are in good condition to ensure that our trip goes smoothly.

"Let's go." Xiao Mao patted the sand on his hands and said: "When I find water for them again, I will already be on the other side of the Poplar River, the Poplar River has been dry for many years, so the road has been completely buried by sand, the conditions there are worse than here, and the well may be dug deeper, but it doesn't matter, I have the strength, I just need to do more." ”

According to Xiao Mao's estimate, there will be a day and a half at most, and we should go to the old road of the Huyang River. But this is not to be thankful, the old road of the Huyang River is actually a large area, and the target we are looking for is buried deep under the layers of yellow sand.

On the fourth day, the weather suddenly became hot, and the heat was a little irritating. In this kind of place, the temperature changes a lot, and I didn't care, but Xiaomao said that it is not a good thing that the temperature rises sharply during the day.

Sure enough, at night, the temperature plummeted again, and it was cold. The sudden drop in temperature had a temperature difference effect, and the wind began to blow in the middle of the night, and we always traveled after 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and when the wind came, the sand flew everywhere, so we could only stop temporarily.

It wasn't until this time that I felt that the wind and sand I encountered in the Danmeng Basin at that time were really pediatric.

"Let's see tomorrow, tomorrow if the temperature rises suddenly during the day, then it is likely that there will be wind." Xiao Mao took precautions and told us first, there is a wind here, the dust and sand are very strong, if the wind is strong to a certain extent, the camel will lie down on its own and not leave. People stay next to the camels and must not stay away. If the wind does cause a sandstorm, then if necessary, the man has to lie on the camel. Because the camel will constantly shake off the sand that covers the back, people should avoid being buried in the wind and sand on the camel.

"We shouldn't be so unlucky, right?"

"It's hard to say." Xiao Mao smiled bitterly: "Since I became a guide, I have encountered a total of two sandstorms, both of which occurred under the condition that the temperature changes greatly. Once with a camel, and another time in the car, but don't worry too much, if it wasn't for that kind of strong sandstorm, it shouldn't be a big deal. ”

The experienced Xiao Mao has now become our backbone, and we heard him say that it was nothing serious, so we put our minds at ease for the time being.

The change in the weather slowed us down, and the next day, the temperature really became very high again, and the abnormal weather made people feel unstable.

At this time, we are about 30 kilometers away from the old road of the Huyang River, and if we are in a normal hurry, we may be there in about three hours. However, the camels walked slowly, and the little fur drove them away, but the speed could not be increased.

"Let's not go." Xiao Mao's face began to be solemn, and when I saw his face, I felt bad.

The more we were afraid of something, the more something came, and we stopped for less than an hour, that is, at about three o'clock, when the wind suddenly rose. It was very windy, the kind I had never seen in my life, and the sand that was swept up by the wind was overwhelming, and visibility was immediately reduced.

Xiaomao immediately told us to bring dust masks, and at the same time wear goggles, which must not be lost. The four camels were lying on the ground, and we were not quite ready, when a wall of sand appeared vaguely from the northwest.

The sandstorm wall is a precursor to the arrival of a sandstorm, and it feels like standing on the edge of the sea, watching a huge wave that rises into the air and presses down on you.

The sand wall was black, moving rapidly with the hurricane blowing from the northwest, and the wind and sand covered the sky completely, and the sunlight was completely blocked, and it suddenly seemed to fall into a drowsy twilight.

Xiao Mao obviously didn't expect the sandstorm to come so quickly and so violently, and he hurriedly pushed us onto the camels one by one.

"Hold on tight...... Hold the camel tight...... "Xiao Mao cried out close to my ear, "Don't die...... Don't let go ......"

Lao Wang and I had a camel each, Zhang Momo and Ning Kitten a camel, and we were all settled, and Xiaomao also ran quickly to the camel in front of me, but he didn't immediately climb on it and looked around.

The sandstorm seemed to erupt in an instant, the hot air formed by the high temperature rose rapidly, and the cold air replenished from all around, and the wind that clung to the surface rolled up clumps of sand. When the dust ball formed, Xiao Mao quickly turned over and climbed onto the camel.

In the face of such a sandstorm, there is no way at all, but to grit your teeth and get through. The black wall of dust and sand in the distance seemed to have been rolled up to a very close place.

The sand wall swept almost against the ground, and as soon as the sand wall passed, even the people and camels were covered with sand. Thankfully, the sand wall was quickly gone, and I could feel the camels below begin to shake and soon emerge from under the sand again.

The sand wall has passed, but the dust is still raging, and the dust ball that sticks to the surface is the most annoying, making people's eyes blacken, and everything is blurred.

I didn't have any other thoughts in my mind for the time being, just to be thankful that I could survive the most ferocious peak of the sandstorm. I raised my eyes to look ahead, wanting to see how Lao Wang and Zhang Momo were doing. However, I guess there should be no problem, they are not stupid, as soon as this dust and sand comes, everyone will definitely hold on to the camel and not let go.

But at this moment, in the hazy and chaotic wind and sand, I seemed to see the shadow of a person. I can't tell where this shadow came from, but when I saw it, the shadow was already a few meters behind Xiao Mao.

Xiao Mao is very alert, but in this environment, his vision is blocked, and his hearing is completely swallowed up by the sound of wind and sand. Xiao Mao didn't notice at all that there would be a person behind him.

The figure was like a grim reaper haunted in the dust and sand, he was still approaching Xiao Mao, I panicked, I opened my throat and wanted to shout, but the wind was so loud, and I was wearing a dust mask, I couldn't guarantee that Xiao Mao could hear my voice.

Time was completely too late, I suddenly regretted a little, the last time I went to Danmeng, Lao Wang picked up a gun near the abyss, but I was afraid of getting into trouble, so before leaving Danmeng, I asked Lao Wang to lose the gun.

Without a gun, no matter what, it can't stop the danger that Xiao Mao will encounter.

I'm anxious, if Xiao Mao really has an accident at this time, then the situation of the four of us will be very bad, because we don't know anything about the terrain of the old road of the Huyang River, and there is no second way to go except to return the original way.

In a hurry, I grabbed a folding shovel hanging from my waist and threw it at the figure approaching Xiao Mao with all my might.