Zhaoli lay in the carriage and breathed a sigh of relief, his forehead covered with beads of sweat.

The middle-aged man who was driving the car hummed a little song all the way, and Zhaoli listened to this tune not so much like the tune of the Central Plains, but like the song sung by the Banbang barbarians in Kyoto City.

In the direction of the north at the junction of Chen and Tianqi, there is a small country called Gu Xuanguo. The middle-aged man who drove the car was a merchant from Gu Xuanguo, who went to Chen Kingdom to buy goods, and now he was going back to Gu Xuanguo.

The carriage was not fast, but it was still swaying, and Zhao Li was weak and hungry, and after a while he fell asleep groggy.

I don't know how long I slept this time, and when I woke up, it was already dawn outside. Zhaoli struggled to sit up and leaned against the cargo box on the carriage, lifted the cloth covering the goods and looked out, and there was a wasteland outside.

Although there are some families along the way, compared to the mountains and rivers seen in Chen Guo, this place can indeed be called desolate. The ground was bare, and the grass that grew through the cracks in the stones was yellow. In the distance there were a few trees, their trunks straight and tall, except for some branches on the tops, but the leaves had also fallen off.

She was so hungry that she did not dare to make a sound, lest someone throw her out of the carriage. She is now powerless and doesn't know what poison she has been given, if she is thrown in this place where birds don't poop and chickens don't lay eggs, it will be difficult to live.

I fumbled around the pile of goods to find out if there was anything to eat, and after feeling for a long time, I found a soft oiled paper bag, which opened it and found some pastries, which were brought by the driver to his children.

She didn't care so much, grabbed the pastry and stuffed it into her mouth. The pastry was dry and difficult to swallow, she was chewing while thinking about the tea made by Rong Qing, and her tears fell down with grievances.

Swallowing the chewed pastry in her mouth hard, her throat hurt, and she suddenly felt more aggrieved in her heart.

"It's all Rong Qing's fault!" She cursed hoarsely and in a low voice.

"Who?" The middle-aged man who was driving the carriage heard the sound and jumped out of the carriage and looked vigilantly at the pile of goods covered with cloth.

Oops! was heard.

The middle-aged man picked up the cloth with the horse pole of the cart, and saw that Zhaoli was sitting inside, still holding the pastry he brought to his daughter, and he was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth.

"Who are you?" The middle-aged man asked.

Zhao Li saw that the clothes on his body were not Central Plains clothes, he had a big beard, and a cloth hat on his head, so he didn't look like a bad person.

"Uncle...", using his usual trick of pretending to be pitiful, said pitifully: "I'm not a bad person, I was chased by bad people, and I had to hide in your car." ”

The middle-aged man saw that she was pitiful, and her face was full of pastries, thinking that she was hungry.

"Little girl, where do you live?" The middle-aged man asked.

"My family lives far away."

"And what's your name?"

"Ah Li." Rong Qing called her Ah Li.

"Why don't you follow me home first, we have a messenger in the town to deliver letters, and when the time comes, you can write a letter and ask your family to pick you up, okay?"

The middle-aged man saw that she was not very old, about the same size as his own daughter, and if his daughter also suffered like this little girl, he must also be anxious.

"Well... Okay, thank you, uncle! ”

The middle-aged man took a water bag from the front of the carriage and handed it to her, saying, "Drink some water, it's still a long way from here to my house!" ”

Zhao Li laboriously raised his hand to take the water bag, and couldn't wait to bring it to his lips and drink it in a big gulp. She was so thirsty that if she didn't drink water, she would suspect that she was dying of thirst.

"Slow down, slow down, don't worry!" The middle-aged man looked at her with concern, "Just call me Uncle Agen, that's what everyone in our town shouts." ”

Zhaoli put down the water bag, nodded and said, "Thank you, Uncle Agen!" ”

The carriage set off again, and Uncle Agen was talking to Zhaoli all the way.

He said his name was Luo Agen and he was 53 years old this year. His wife died of a serious illness in her early years, and there was only one seventeen-year-old daughter in the family.

Zhaoli listened and thought of his grandfather and grandfather, and couldn't help but feel a little sad in his heart.

The carriage had been gone for a day and stopped beside an oasis in the desert.

Luo Agen untied the rope of the horse, took the water bag and went to the small clear lake in the oasis to fetch water, and asked Zhao Li to go down and drink some water to roast the fire.

"I... I was probably poisoned, and I didn't have any strength in my body. ”

"Huh?" Luo Agen looked at her in surprise, thinking that it was no wonder that she was sitting motionless in the carriage, "Don't worry, there is a witch doctor in our town, and he cured the old lady next door to us when she was sick last year, and I will ask him to come and show you when I arrive." ”

Zhaoli nodded at him gratefully.

On a desert night, the night sky is clear and full of stars. The small lake of the oasis turned into a bright mirror in the moonlight, glowing with moon-white light.

The rope leading the horse was tied to a tree at the edge of the oasis, and the horse was leisurely nibbling on the grass.

Zhaoli lay on the carriage a little cold, she shrunk back and leaned into the pile.

"Little girl, is it cold?" Luo Agen said, walked to the carriage, and took out a thick cloak from the carriage, as if it was made of some animal fur.

"Hmm." Zhaoli nodded honestly.

"You cover this, this is what my daughter made for me, made of the skin of a blind bear, but it's warm!" Luo Agen talked about his daughter, his face full of pride.

Zhaoli pulled the cloak over his body, and it was indeed warm.

The two talked for a while, and Zhaoli couldn't remember when he fell asleep. I only remember that I had a dream after falling asleep, and I dreamed that Rong Qing watched a group of people in black chasing her, she ran towards him while shouting, but he got farther and farther away, farther and farther away, and finally disappeared.

When he woke up, the carriage was already leaving, and Luo Agen sat in front and drove the horse humming a little song.

The scenery of the desert is very peculiar, in the early morning, the sun rises against the ridge line of the desert, and the sand dunes in the distance have a clear outline, and the layers are like water waves blown by the wind, Zhaoli has never seen such a scene.

It is already far away from Chen Guo, and it is getting farther and farther away from Rong Qing.

The carriage had been in the desert for two days, and Luo Agen said it was almost there.

Zhao Li laboriously turned his body to the side, turned his head to look ahead, and there was a house not far away, the color of the houses was very similar to the desert, as if it was covered with yellowish dust that could not be washed off.

Luo Agen drove the carriage into the town, and Zhaoli saw the words "Xihe Town" written on the archway at the entrance of the town.

Xihe, she knows that she is the goddess who chases the sun in mythology.

When she was a child, her old mother, who took care of her in the Prime Minister's house, told her and Fluttershy, and the two of them listened to it with great interest.

A short walk into the town, the carriage stopped at the gate of a courtyard surrounded by earthen walls.

"Li Niang! Li Niang! Luo Agen got off the bus and shouted twice at the door.

A young girl ran out of the house, and Zhaoli thought that this was probably Uncle Agen's daughter, named Liniang.

I saw that she was wearing an earthy red robe, a wool felt hat on her head, her round face was very kind, and she had two big braids hanging down her chest, which was very simple and lovely.

"Daddy! You're finally back! Liniang ran out of the hospital with a smile and happily pulled Luo Agen.

"How are you at home?" Luo Agen looked at his daughter and asked her with a happy smile.

"All good! Daddy, are you working the road? I'll go to Uncle Lemu's house in a moment and get a leg of lamb and come back to make you a lamb stew! Li Niang was saying happily, when she suddenly saw Zhao Li sitting in the carriage, she was stunned, "This is..."

"Oh! Look at me, I almost forgot! This is Ah Li girl, I met on the road, I was poisoned, I brought it back! Go and get the witch doctor and show her. ”

"Poisoned? Is it serious? Li Niang asked with concern.

"It's just that I'm weak and can't move."

Zhao Li saw that Li Niang was looking at her, so he smiled and nodded at her.

"Daddy, I'll help you move your things in first, and when you're done, I'll ask the witch doctor to come over."

As she spoke, Li Niang began to move things, and helped Zhao Li into the house and placed him on the earthen kang.