From Dunhuang to Hongbai Mountain, if we follow the current route, we will spend nearly a month on the road, Zhuo Mingfeng prepared supplies and guides for us, and the means of transportation were camels.

The selected route is according to the ancient Silk Road South, which is the shortest distance of a route, from Yumen Pass to the south to Yangguan, along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, through Ruoqiang, which is now Shanshan to Hotan, this route was called Khotan Road in ancient times.

It is already noon to arrive at the Yangguan Gusai built in the desert, which is an important pass for the Han Dynasty to defend against the invasion of the northwest nomads, and is also an important gateway to the Western Regions from the Central Plains on the Silk Road.

The desert is lonely, and the sun sets over the long river.

Standing in front of the Yangguan I first appreciated the desolation and grandeur of the desert, looking at the gray-brown desert connected to another desert, the vast sea of sand without a little life, occasionally I would see one or two camel grass scorched by the scorching sun, pitifully struggling in the desert wind.

Under the red white sky, there was a blue mist gently steaming, rising in the depths of the desert, undulating sand peaks that continued to rise towards the distant clouds.

Zhuo Mingfeng stayed at this time, took off the sweat towel that covered his mouth and nose, and suddenly looked back at the ancient city of Yangguan that had been sung by literati and writers of all dynasties with an almost nostalgic gaze.

Sticking to a beacon to the present, telling passers-by about the vicissitudes of a thousand years in the wind and sand of the desert, when I rode a camel past Zhuo Mingfeng, he suddenly handed me the kettle.

"Take a sip." His words were still short and powerful.

I suddenly found that I couldn't find a reason to refuse him, maybe it was really thirsty, I looked up and took a big sip, and found that the water in my mouth was spicy and rushed in, and the drink was like turning over the river and the sea in my stomach, and I was choked on it too quickly, and I coughed violently.

"It's wine?!" I wiped the corners of my mouth in surprise.

Zhuo Ming smiled, there was a kind of high-spirited heroism, he was still dressed in white, the desert sand was like snow, flying all over the sky, he was pure and clean in the wind and dust.

"Persuade you to drink a glass of wine, and there is no one to ...... in Yangguan in the west" Zhuo Mingfeng rode a camel and his melancholy voice pierced through the wind and sand.

I raised my head and took another sip, threw the kettle to him, and wiped the wine stains from the corner of my mouth: "I should say this to you, the front are all my friends, why do you say it for no reason, but you...... I guess people like you don't have friends. ”

"Yes." Zhuo Mingfeng rarely smiled, although I still couldn't understand the back of his smile, but at least I couldn't see the slightest artificiality, he also took a sip, his eyes were no longer as wise and sharp as before, revealing a faint emotion. "There was a ...... a long time ago"

I thought he was going to talk to me about something, but I was curious about his past, but by the time I wanted to speak, he had already ridden away on his camel with the kettle away, and the sun cast a halo on his back as the bell chimeled leisurely.

Suddenly it felt like a familiar picture.

Driving the camels followed at the rear, in front of them were the laughter of the palace lord and the field chicken, Ling Zhihan lingered around admiring the scenery of the desert, the grace of the women in the south of the Yangtze River and the roughness of the desert formed a sharp contrast, Ye Zhiqiu was still capable and heroic in the wind and sand, the general in front of him was holding a cigarette, and his back was as straight as a sword even in the face of the barren desert.

I opened the necklace around my neck, and the feathered dragon jumped into my eyes again, and it was this simple pattern that led me into the maze shrouded in mist, and I went to the Red and White Mountain, the Vientiane Shrine built on the dragon vein, I don't know if it was the exit of the labyrinth, or the entrance to another labyrinth.

An experienced guide took us on a five-day journey in the desert, and at first the excitement attracted by the western style and desert scenery gradually disappeared in the wind and sand and scorching sun, and all that was left was exhaustion and bumps and a dry mouth.

It's been a long time since I heard other people's jokes, a mouth is full of yellow sand is miserable, after leaving the Yang Pass, we will enter the Taklamakan Desert, this is the largest desert in China, the sand dunes are more than 300 meters high, the wind can blow the sand wall up, affected by the wind, the sand dunes often move, like resting on the earth of unpredictable dragons.

"The clouds are rising." Tian Ji raised his hand and shouted excitedly ahead. "If you're lucky, you might be able to catch a rain."

We looked in the direction of Tian Ji's fingers, only to see that the blue sky in the distance suddenly appeared a piece of gray, constantly extending forward, like a yellow dragon rolling in the sky, the sound was like a bull's roar like a muffled thunder rolling, at first it was still a shaking yellow line, rolling forward, wider and wider, gradually covering the sky and the sun, and the thick shadow swept towards us in the more violent wind and sand.

I have never been one of those lucky people to see the annual rainfall of the Taklamakan Desert not exceeding a hundred millimeters, and besides, I saw Zhuo Mingfeng's face covered by a sweat towel, and there was a grim look in his keen eyes, and then we heard the panicked shouts of the guide at the front.

"Sandstorm!"

I don't know what these two words mean, but I can guess how dangerous they are from the frightened faces of the guides, who beckoned us to get off the camels at once, and the strained bridge camels found a leeward place, laid them side by side, and told us to lean against the backs of the camels, and told us to hold on to the reins and not get up.

As soon as the guide finished giving his instructions, the desert that had been scorching with the sun a moment ago suddenly became dark, flying sand and rocks, the wind roared, and the sweeping sandstorm swallowed us like a monstrous wave pouring down mountains and seas.

I couldn't open my eyes at all, there was a howling wind in my ears, and the mixed yellow sand hit my face as if it was cut by a knife, and I only felt that the sand dunes around me were moving strangely slowly, and in a moment our bodies were submerged in the yellow sand.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my collar, lifted it hard, turned around and saw that it was Zhuo Mingfeng, he dragged me out of the yellow sand with a blank face, such a strong wind will be swallowed by the sandstorm if he is not careful, he even ignored the gesture of standing up, he couldn't speak at all in the sandstorm, I understood what he meant, let me keep moving, don't be drowned in the yellow sand.

He felt to me as a very indifferent person, and I didn't understand why he would go out of his way to remind me in a life-and-death situation, so I slapped the palace lord next to me hard, and also signaled him to tell the others to be careful.

The raging sandstorm lasted until the evening, and when we got up and found ourselves on the high hills, we were glad that the others were safe and sound, and everyone lay weak in the yellow sand, and now we didn't even have the strength to smile bitterly for the rest of our lives.

The general suddenly got up from the ground, looked around, and looked around nervously: "The guide is gone!" ”

We hurriedly got up from the ground, and we knew what it meant to lose our guide in the endless sea of sand, and we shouted everywhere to find no guide.

"Don't shout, if you're not there after the sandstorm, you don't have to look for anyone else." Zhuo Mingfeng regained his indifference.

"How can we get out without a guide?" Ye Zhiqiu's voice was anxious.

"That's not the most troublesome thing." Ling Zhihan said anxiously after counting the remaining camels. "The camels with supplies are gone."

There was our food and the most important drinking water, Ling Zhihan said that without a guide, with the help of the stars, there might be a chance to get out of the desert, but without food, especially without water, we couldn't hold out in the desert for two days.

"If you come, you will be safe, either stay here and wait for death, or you will move forward, and maybe there will be a glimmer of life." Zhuo Mingfeng rode on a camel and looked up at the stars in the night sky, as if he could not see the panic and fear on this man's face at any time.

The only thing we can rely on is to rely on these stars to determine our bearings, although the hope of getting out is slim, but this is our only hope, after losing our guides and supplies, we have traveled in the desert for three days, and the last pot of water has been drunk yesterday.

The unbridled scorching sun was about to evaporate the last of the water on our bodies, and the cracked lips were like a dry riverbed, and along the way we could only rely on the roots of the plants we found to absorb some water, and everyone was reluctant to drink it, and accumulated together to have half a mouthful.

At noon the next day, Ye Zhiqiu fell off the camel, I hurriedly helped her unconscious, she was dying because of severe dehydration, and the palace lord carefully dripped the only remaining water on Ye Zhiqiu's mouth, just a few drops of water at all, Ye Zhiqiu would be in danger of life at any time if he did not replenish water.

I pulled out the knife and cut it at my wrist, and promised Ye Jiuqing to protect her thoroughly, no matter what, I can't let Ye Zhiqiu have anything to do, the moment the knife cuts down, Zhuo Mingfeng grabbed the sharp blade and blocked it in front of my wrist.

The blood dripping from the wound on his palm just fell into Ye Zhiqiu's mouth.

"You...... What are you doing? I looked at him in amazement.

"Your blood can save her, I won't stop you, in fact, even if she drinks all your blood, she may not be able to make it out of the desert." Zhuo Mingfeng's hand held the blade tightly, without the slightest intention of letting go. "You only have one result by doing this, before she dies, you will die first!"

"Get out of the way!" I felt top-heavy and felt physically exhausted, and stared at Zhuo Mingfeng with low eyebrows and angry eyes. "As long as I'm alive, I can't let anything happen to her."

Zhuo Mingfeng looked at me silently, and suddenly felt his hand grip on the blade, the blade sank deeper into his palm, and the blood dripped into Ye Zhiqiu's mouth like a spring, I was speechless in surprise, he knew that this method of bloodletting was more dangerous, I guess he knew very well in his heart that he couldn't stop me, but he used this method to protect my safety.

With such an indifferent person, I really can't figure out why he cares about my life and death.

After Ye Zhiqiu drank Zhuo Mingfeng's blood, he gradually got better, he slowly let go of his hand, I saw a shocking wound on his palm, Ling Zhihan hurriedly took off the sweat towel and wanted to help him bandage it, Zhuo Mingfeng turned away with a cold expression.

Blood dripped from his palm and fell into the yellow sand, and the red blood stains made me feel a little overwhelmed.