The sun rises, the air gradually gets hotter, it is the height of summer in June, the scorching sun is exposed, the hot wind blows the sand and dust on the human face, accidentally it is a mouthful of sand, indescribably uncomfortable Minna rode a horse on the desert, pulled the reins with both hands, buried her face low in her arms, and only showed her two eyes to see the road

She regretted it a little in her heart, when she came out last night, because it was cold in the desert at night, she stole out one of the drunkard's fur robes, but she forgot to bring a cloak to protect her from the sun and the wind, and now the sun was so hot that her head was almost smoking, and the sand kept pouring into her mouth, but she did not dare to stop to rest because she was afraid of being overtaken, so she had to cover her head in a short robe, and hold back a hot sweat

The dry food and water she brought were limited, and she didn't know if there would be any accidents on the way, so Minna didn't dare to squander the hard-won water, so she only gave the horse a little water, except for the forage that was originally tied to the horse's hooves, and did not feed anything else

Minna didn't know much about horses, and she didn't have much experience with them, so she neglected to walk for less than two days, when the horse suddenly lost her temper and spun around in place, no matter how much Minna threw her whip and pulled her neck or kicked her in the stomach, she refused to go any further

Minna was so anxious that she didn't know what was going on in the camp now, whether the fire had been extinguished, whether the drunkard had been burned to death, and whether the people there had found out that she had fled, and if they had caught up with her now, she would definitely not have escaped!

Minna drew her dagger, intending to stab the horse twice if it was disobedient, and she had seen the men in the camp taming horses in this way, when a hot wind blew, and the horse suddenly neighed, and drove her to the west, and she was startled, and hurriedly grabbed the reins to make it stop, but it seemed to be crazy, and actually threw her to the ground

She immediately got up, ignoring the dust and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Come back! Come back! ”

The horse didn't listen to her, jumped over the sand dune and disappeared, Minna hurriedly ran over, climbed up the sand dunes with all hands and feet, and was stunned

Not far ahead, I don't know when a large area of crimson to blackened valley appeared, the peak of the peak towered, endless, but in the whole valley, there was not even a single grass, tree, flower, or any living creatures, but there was a large area of deep blue lake in the valley, which seemed to be very clear and sweet

Minna couldn't help but lick her parched lips, and the urge to run over and drink had enough of it suddenly occurred in her heart, but she quickly became alert again

How could such a large valley end up here? She'd never heard of such a place in the desert, and she hadn't seen it when she had just come from the northwest!

The frenzied horse was rushing towards the lake, but suddenly let out a terrible neigh, Minna watched in amazement as it sank into the sand, and kept struggling, but the more it struggled, the deeper it sank, and in the blink of an eye, the sand around it was sinking, and soon it was buried in the horse's neck, and the horse only had time to neigh a few more times, and it was drowned in the sand

It's quicksand!

Minna once heard her grandfather mention this terrible desert killer, and couldn't help but secretly rejoice that she had been thrown off, otherwise she would have been terrible, but she couldn't help but regret that she had lost a means of transportation, and after consuming the water, she could no longer eat horse meat and drink horse blood, did she have to dig snakes and scorpions again?

A gust of wind blew, and the valley gradually faded, and Minna's eyes widened again, and after looking at the dark red and strange scene, the same sand dunes as the surroundings faintly appeared

It's an illusion?!

Minna remembered the mirage that her grandfather had mentioned, and breathed a sigh of relief, but fortunately she was not tempted by the lake, and ran over hastily, otherwise she and the horse would have fallen into the same fate

In the desert, it is not only poisonous snakes, birds, and wild animals that need to be paid attention to, but also many dangers in nature

It's just that the valley I just saw, where would it be?

Minna turned around and picked up the short robe and dagger that had been thrown on the ground just now, touched the water bag and dry food on her body, and patted her heart, she still remembered the lesson when she traveled in the desert with her grandfather, so she didn't put important things on the horse, she was so lucky!

She had just been hunched by a horse and ran in the wrong direction, and she regained her original path according to the sun's position, shadow, and wind direction

Without a horse, she can only walk on her own, she stepped on simple straw sandals, endured the heat and discomfort under the soles, walked step by step, although it was hard during the day, but it was not difficult, but at night there was less to snuggle up to each other to warm the horses, she was a little uncomfortable with the cold, she could only wrap her body tightly with a short robe, squat down to rest for a while, and then rush with the help of starlight

At noon on the third day, when she was about to run out of water, she finally met someone in ecstasy, and she had not forgotten to be on guard, so she did not rush to ask for help recklessly, but followed them from a distance to an oasis

This oasis was unlike anything she had ever seen, the small lake in the middle was surrounded by gorgeous tents, inhabited by rich and well-dressed people, plainly dressed civilians, men, women, old people, and children, countless young women in revealing tulle dresses shuttling between the tents, bringing wine, food, and toys, and some black-clad men patrolling back and forth, and some of the big tents were filled with laughter from time to time, and music was mixed in, and occasionally a few people dressed in oil paint walked by. The children came closer to see it

Minna hid in the distance and observed for a while, and concluded that this was probably the legendary oasis of entertainment, and several people in the camp had visited this kind of place, and after returning to show off in front of her companions, Minna had also heard that there were probably people in the camp who thought that there were probably people in the camp here, she hesitated for a long time before bypassing the entrance of the oasis, and went to a few simple small tents in the back, and after making sure that the people who lived there were people who worked in the oasis, she tidied herself up, pretended to be a timid little girl, and walked over

She claims to have traveled with her grandfather, who has gone to another world (Minna: I'm not lying) and is now alone, tired, hungry and thirsty, begging the kind ladies to give her a bowl of water to drink

Several plainly dressed but neatly dressed women listened sadly, and one of them held her to tears: "Poor child" offered to bring water and food, and told Minna to eat "don't choke"

Minna greedily drank a large bowl of water, and as much as she could, there was still meat, except for snake meat and scorpion meat, which she hadn't touched for a long time

A woman said, "Look at this child, he is thin and dark, he must have suffered a lot, right?" It's better to stay and work with us, although the salary is not much, but it is okay to eat well, and there are beautiful clothes to wear."

The other woman glared at her: "You can say it!" Can such a young child do that kind of thing? Tell her to follow us to do some dismantling and washing, my man is a cook, and he said that there is a shortage of dishwashing in the kitchen! ”

"The work in the kitchen is hard and tiring, how can such a child stand it at such a young age? I still listen to my child, who looks very good, but his voice is not good, and it should be no problem to raise a child and do the work ahead."

Minna heard something wrong, although she didn't know what the kind of work she was talking about, but intuitively it was not a good thing, so she hurriedly said: "Thank you, ma'am, you guys are so kind but, I... I... I'm going to find my mom and dad, they're in Monri."

"Monriao" interjected the woman who brought her food and water before, "It just so happens that Mr. Spinn's family is going back to Monli tomorrow, so just ask their housekeeper for a ride with you."

Minna said happily, "Thank you, ma'am! ”

The other two women listened a little sneeringly, and only then turned back to smiling faces under Minna's kind words and flattery

Mr. Spin was a wealthy merchant who lived in Monri, and his family came to play, including servants, slaves, and luggage, and there were more than a dozen cars, and his housekeeper was slapped a few times by the woman, and Minna flattered him very well, and he readily agreed

Minna had a good night's rest, and the next morning, wearing the clean clothes given by the kind lady, carrying dry food and water, got into the carriage of the Spin family with his luggage, and in less than half a day, she arrived in Monri

She held back the excitement in her heart, said goodbye to the butler, and couldn't help crying when she looked at the familiar and unfamiliar street scene in front of her

I traveled with my grandfather that year, and the bits and pieces I experienced in this border town were as if they had just happened yesterday, but there was a feeling that they were from a previous life

The houses and streets here are still the same as they used to be, and Minna finds her grandfather's house from memory, but she is shocked

The house had already changed owners, and the current owner was a middle-aged rich businessman with a big belly, and he looked down on the poor when he saw them, and Minna was regarded as a thief by him, and asked the servants to drive her away, and she asked the people nearby, only to know that the house had been sold to the current owner a year and a half ago

Minna was a little confused, she remembered that when she was in school in the City of Magic, her grandfather had returned to Monli, and how could he sell the house that he had lived in at that time? Who sold it? A year and a half ago, wasn't it shortly after Grandpa left?

Biting her lip, she ran to find the Xiao family firm, but on the site of the firm, a carpet shop is now opened, and it is said that the Xiao family firm has not come back since it was withdrawn that year

Minna held her head and wondered who she was going to go to. Suddenly, she remembered one person—Freedo

Although he had deceived himself and hurt himself, when he left the land, he seemed to regret it very much, maybe he would like to...

Minna found "Fridolf", however, although the business was still thriving, the owner was not Freedo, and said to her: "That guy has not been back since he disappeared a few years ago, and I am looking for him, he owes me a lot of money" and asked with some curiosity: "Son, who are you?" What's the matter with him? ”

Minna turned away in disappointment, she didn't answer anything, she didn't find out, as soon as she left, the boss told his subordinates to take care of the store, walked to the back of the store, walked through the alley, entered a house diagonally opposite, and said to the people in the dark: "Just now a little girl with a face came to you, and I sent you away, it seems that those people are beginning to suspect that you have returned, so they will call a child to test you Recently, be careful, before the plan is successful, don't let people find out"

"I will," the man in the darkness turned, revealing a pale, thin but handsome face, "those people are getting more and more excessive, do they really think that I will never resist?" " is the dividing line of the transition scene

Minna walked down the street, confused for a moment, what should she do?

Grandpa's house was sold to someone else, the Xiao family firm moved away, and even Frydo was not there, she didn't know anyone here, how could she go back to East?

Two men across the street were whispering, and as they spoke, Minna looked at her and hurriedly lowered her head and walked into the crowd

It was getting late, and she had to find a safe place to spend the night, or she would fall into the hands of the slave traders again

She used the night to cover her figure, carefully found a dead alley, nested in a corner, ate some dry food, and planned to deal with it casually for one night

"Eight- to sixteen-year-old girls?" A man came from the entrance of the alley, breathing hard, and he was busy holding his breath and hiding himself in the darkness as much as possible

"Isn't that close to Encore? Why should people look for land here? The male voice continued

"Anke, there are Shaonan people, and there are also those monks from the Temple of Light, there is no way to stop us at every turn, so we have to come to Mengli, but it is not easy to find Ai here, and some of the goods have been robbed by the people of the Entertainment Oasis, I will leave the day after tomorrow, and now there are still four people left, boss, you can help me"

Minna's heart moved when she heard this, if she went to Encore City, there should always be a Xiao family business house there, right? If you really can't do it, find a way to go to the magic capital!

But she's alone, how can she go?

Did she look at the two men talking at the entrance of the alley, and look at the slave traders? hum

There was a noise in the alley, which stood out especially in the silent night, and the men were stunned: "Who?!" Then he saw a little girl of about ten years old come out of the darkness, look at them timidly, and ask in a low voice, "Master, do you want to find someone to work?" ”

Two days later, Minna sat in the slave traders' carriages, walking on the way to the south of Wisha, with five or six girls in each carriage, some of the landowners crying, some scolding the slave traders for cheating, others sitting blankly, all with their hands tied behind their backs, but their feet free

Minna moved her wrist from time to time, and then peered through the gap in the carriage to see the way outside, she didn't care about the rope, it was not difficult to cut it, but she was happy to endure the little inconvenience of being able to walk that far in the carriage comfortably (relatively speaking), and with dry food and water provided

Just like the road that her grandfather had taken her on, the carriage and his party went south along the foot of the mountain, but after crossing the mountain wall, they did not turn to the southeast, and Minna looked at the high mountain on the side of Van A, and visually measured the approximate distance, and when they reached the oasis of their destination, it was estimated that it was only ten to twenty kilometers away from the city of Encore

A large group of girls were thrown out of the carriage and locked up in several stone houses, some were crying and screaming, the people of the oasis were beating and scolding, the scene was a little chaotic, but Minna stayed quietly, coldly observing the place where the food and water were placed, and the location of the oasis terrain guard, etc., in preparation for escape

At this moment, another carriage came, driving down a dozen or so girls of about the same age, and it seemed that Minna, who had also been sold, only glanced at them a few times, and then turned her head

"You scoundrels! How dare you arrest me?! Do you know who I am?! I'm a princess! When my guard knights arrive, you're all going to be finished! A shrill voice suddenly came from among the new girls, and Minna turned her head to see that it was a little girl with blond hair and blue eyes, about eleven or twelve years old, who looked as delicate as a rose with dewdrops, but the red circles under her eyes and nose ruined her beauty a little

"You're a princess? Then I'm the king, good daughter, call dad to listen? No one believed that a little girl dressed in the costume of a van or a commoner could be a princess, and they all laughed at the girl, and when they heard this, they became even more angry, pointed at a few slave traders and scolded, and were slapped a few times by those people before they fell silent

The two groups of girls were disrupted and divided into several stone houses and imprisoned, Minna happened to be locked up with the "princess", and when she saw that the other party was just crying in the corner, and did not look at the food and water sent by the guard, she took an extra one, walked to the other party, sat down, and handed it over

The "princess" glanced at the food disdainfully, and turned her head: "It's dry and hard, I don't want it!" ”

Minna was not angry, tore off the skin of the dry cake and ate it, and then handed it over: "The inside is not hard, eat it, you are hungry, it is you who is uncomfortable"

The girl's eyes were red: "Thank you" took the food and ate it, Minna handed over the water again, lowered her voice and asked: "I heard you say just now, you are the princess of which country are you the princess"