Near the desert, there is a pagoda-shaped rock, and there are no raised rocks within a radius of three miles, as if it is a lonely peak abandoned by the Devil's City.

Li Siye decided to stay on this peak and cultivate his spirit to deal with the enemy.

He led the black fat to the bottom of the rock wall, and made five or six small pits around it, knee-deep, and sprinkled the bottom with thistle, and covered it with withered artemisia grass, and sprinkled with a layer of cuttings, and the rest of the place was also sprinkled with thistle, covering it with a layer of soft sand.

He drove his barrier knife into the wall with a stone and bolted the reins to it to prevent the black fat from running away and invalidating the trap.

After a moment's respite, he began to prepare to find a path to climb to the top of the rock, and circled the stone tower, surrounded by straight cliffs, and there was no place to start.

It's okay this way, it is difficult for him to climb upwards, and it is difficult for the enemy.

He piled the rest of his backpack under the cliff with nothing but hemp rope in it, and then carried it firmly on his back, the knife at his waist in his mouth, and carved a shallow nest in the rock that could be stepped on.

The wind erosion of the cliff pillars was mainly made of sandstone and mudstone, not very hard, and he climbed upwards while chiseling with the blade, although his hands and feet were sore, but he looked at the top and got closer and closer, and finally persevered.

There was a protrusion on the cliff face that he could stand on, and after a short rest, he continued to climb, but the slope at the top was gentle, and he climbed with his hands and feet to find the crevices in the rock, and finally climbed to the top of the rock.

He lay on the top platform and gasped for a few breaths, constantly telling himself not to pause.

"The bandits are coming after them immediately, be quick, be fast."

The rock-top platform was at most a foot wide, and he turned over to untie his backpack and pulled out the hemp rope from it. Looking for a place to tie the knot on the empty rock face, I cut along a rock gap, then shoved the end of the rope with a knife, stuck it in the narrowest place along the gap, and then pulled it with the greatest force.

Well, without worrying about the rope coming out of it, he threw the rope down the cliff wall, grabbed his backpack and grabbed the rope and lowered it to the ground.

Now it's time to start moving items, the armor, hydration bags, knives, crossblades, crossbows, and saddles, and refilled backpacks are all tied to ropes.

He dragged the rope up to the top of the rock again, holding back enough strength to pull up the supplies tied to the rope, but the things were so heavy that he should have transported them in two parts.

His arms were sore, as if they were torn, his thick skin was bruised, and the ropes in his hands moved upwards foot by foot.

The sound of camel bells sounded on the horizon in the night, and the ghosts that followed behind him reappeared in view, Li Siye just glanced sideways, and then squatted and knelt on the rock face intently, until he dragged all the supplies to the top of the rock.

A burning breath erupted from his throat, his dark eyes stared at the slowly approaching Zhang Kuo bandits, and a helpless and mocking smile appeared on the corner of his mouth: "I really don't give people a chance to breathe."

He quickly crawled on the ground, took the crossbow machine and wound it on his legs, put a crossbow arrow into the trough, and aimed it at the enemy who had sent it to the door.

The five men did not approach hastily, they obviously saw his black fat tied to the rock wall, riding horses and camels around the rock tower, and finally stopped a hundred meters away and began to camp and rest.

Li Siye loosened the crossbow string, his beating heart calmed down a little, and he silently estimated the combat effectiveness of himself and the enemy in his heart. There are five people left, one with a broken leg is not enough to form a threat, and the other four are all swordsmen and bandits who are rampant in the desert, these people have rich combat experience and have a stronger ability to adapt to the desert than him, no matter how you look at yourself, they are at a disadvantage.

But his strengths are starting to come to the fore from now on, competing for food and will to see who can persevere.

……

Zhang Kuo and the others lit a bonfire on the ground and sat on a thick felt carpet, their sallow faces covered with wrinkles blown by the wind knife, and their faces became more and more gloomy. It has been ten days since the encounter between the two sides of the Tarim River, and the prey they want to hunt has still not fallen. It seems that everyone has lost the confidence to win in a thousand miles of pursuit, and the chapped lips and tired eye sockets speak for themselves.

Ah Wu was lying on the ground, wrapped in thick horse leather, with a high fever and talking nonsense. No one had taken care of him, and they themselves were exhausted.

Zhang Kuo pursed his lips, and there was nowhere to vent the anger in his heart. He has been crisscrossing the desert for more than ten years, whether it is the big food caravan that guards the gathering, or the Central Plains dart bureau full of knives and guns, no one has ever been able to escape the prey he targeted.

But he never imagined that chasing and killing a lone wolf would be able to be so embarrassed.

Someone else can lose faith, but he can't, he has to show optimism.

"He has run out of oil, so he will stop and make a final struggle on the lonely rock, and we will keep watch here for a few days, nay, three days, and after three days this man will be weak, and we will go and take his life."

"That, Boss." San'er reminded cautiously.

"What!" Zhang Kuo asked irritably.

"We've run out of dry food."

The two swordsmen sitting opposite the two quickly exchanged glances, bowed their heads and remained silent.

"Then kill the horse."

"Shakin's horse has been eaten."

"Kill Ah Wu's horse, and when I go back, I'll walk and use my horse to camel him."

San'er nodded silently, pulled out the bright barrier knife from his waist, turned around and walked into the dark night, leading a horse to the distance.

……

The mournful neighing of war horses sounded in the wilderness of Devil's City, and Li Siye, who was lying in the quilt, got up with a spirit, looked at the collapsed body at the end of the bonfire in the distance, and made a victory gesture to himself in fright.

The war of attrition had worked, and he could be sure that his opponents would not attack rashly tonight, and that their actions would wake him up as it became more difficult to climb the rock wall at night.

Thinking of this, Li Siye smiled knowingly, he turned over and lay on the ground, peeled off the oilskin paper and nibbled on the homemade compressed biscuits, and then held the cowhide bag and poured a mouthful of cold water, feeling the cold current pouring into the stomach along his throat, and even his heart was cold, and he shivered.

It was so cold in the late autumn in Devil's City, the cold wind poured in from all directions, and the sheepskin quilt was able to preserve the residual heat in his body, but despite this, his hands and feet were still cold.

It's been more than a month since she left Chang'an, and Mei'er doesn't know what happened. Zhang Xiaojing is generally reliable, as long as he doesn't commit any crimes and goes to prison. Even if there is an accident, isn't there still Gao Shi, and there is also this intimate young lady.

The cold wind could not stop his sleepiness, and Li Siye soon fell asleep in a drowsy state.