Fifteen years ago, the Zawi people brought sailing technology to the endless sand sea, and established a sailing civilization based on the north wind, it is said that there are more than 5,000 sailing ships of all kinds sailing in the desert now, most of them are gold diggers who went north from the Tocharian Empire to find the wealth of the desert, just like now, in the endless sea of sand-eating insects, Jonah can see the towering masts of dozens of large sailing ships, and the later ones seem to be a little in awe of the sailing ships of Zawi's pioneers, and always keep a distance and refuse to approach

And the Tantuha people did not build a sailboat, since thousands of years ago when they learned to tame the sandworm and build a house on the back of the big worm, their way of life has not changed in any way, the indigenous people dig two small holes in the back shell of the big worm, insert a hardwood stick, and control its movement by touching the main nerve of the sandeater, they have rich experience in domesticating and maintaining the sandeater, but in the face of the sailing technology of a thousand miles a day, they have always been unmoved, and the slow mobile home has become the best target for the Zawisha pirates, the Tantuha people are interested in " The hatred of the winds of Bactria is completely understandable,

After twenty minutes of meaningless attempts, the Stewart siblings finally found a suitable candidate, and in parallel with the chirping was a pocket-sized sandworm with a small shack built on its back that only allowed two or three people to bend into, and a young Tantuha woman in red cloth and white feathers agreed to their request, "a gold coin, return to the surface before dark." Danny translated the guide's conditions to everyone, then shook his finger reservedly and shot back in Tantuha: "No, no, 50 silver, the employment period is from now on, until the big worm crosses the postworm node." ”

"How long was that. Jonah looked at Hannah,

"The tunnel under the worm is the only way for the sandeater to parade through the figure 8, and it takes twelve to eighteen hours to idle through this tunnel. Hannah replied,

"90 silver coins, eight hours. "Indigenous women put forward new conditions,

"55 silver coins, the time will not change, but I will give you a beautiful Tocharian satin, a red brocade woven by the best craftsmen in the Golden City, and a garment coveted by all the women of the entire Southern Continent. "The men of the Stewart family are confident,

The woman hesitated, thought for a while, and finally nodded,

"Do we have that kind of thing in the cargo hold? Hannah asked in a low voice,

Danny replied quietly, "What if there really is?" ”

"Scum. Stuart's contemporary head of the family simply commented,

The pocket sandworm slowly approached the "Gust of Bactria", Danny took out the rope ladder and hung it on the side of the ship, and threw the other end to the other side, and the desert woman deftly climbed the rope ladder, jumped over the railing, and stood on the deck,

"Name. Hannah asked in the lingua franca of the West Road, due to the impact of foreign cultures, desert peoples generally know a few commonly used lingua franca words,

The woman of Tantuha shook her head,

"I don't understand, I still don't have a name. Danny asked in Aboriginal language, then translated the answer: "She is 15 years old, she has just left the family to start a family, she has only two men and a child, and she has no right to a name." ”

"At the age of 15, I had two men and a child. "The astrologer apprentice was taken aback,

Danny gave him a blank look: "What a fuss, fertility is the most important thing for the people of Tantuha, a woman who is 12 years old can break away from the big family and build a small family, when she has enough 5 children, she can find the patriarch, get her own name and the name of the family, she is still far from that realm." ”

"Thirty minutes later at the mouth of the tunnel, ascend the stairs from the north side to the back worm's ridge, first go to the top of the main peak to investigate, then move to the north side, and translate to him, sailor. Hannah estimated the distance and instructed,

"Yes, Captain. Danny muttered wistfully, and chirped to the native-woman, who nodded, signaling that she understood, and then sat cross-legged on the deck of the sailboat, and took off the unsheathed knife at her waist and wiped it off.

The desert woman obviously didn't care much about the problem of walking away, Jonah covered her eyes with a sigh, trying not to look at the spring light under the other party's wrapping cloth, Danny smiled and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't think so much, cargo friend, for the people of Tantuha, the female reproductive organ is a very sacred thing, just like the emblem of the main god Luta." ”

The astrologer's apprentice twisted away, and suddenly remembered something: "By the way, you and Hannah are Zavi people, and you should worship Razi, the god of war and blacksmiths, why do you turn to Luta, the god of fertility?" ”

Danny was stunned for a moment, and touched his chin: "It seems that my father has asked us to pray to the main god Luta since we were children, I haven't asked why, maybe he thinks that after coming to the Southern Continent, he should follow the civilization characteristics of the Southern Continent and follow the customs of the locals." ”

"Then why do you still speak the lingua franca of the Western Continent? Jonah asked,

"I shouldn't have time to change it, I was four or five years old when I came to Shahai. Danny thought for a moment,

"Then why teach you to speak Tantuha. Jonah pressed again,

“...... I don't know, if you have the kung fu to chew your tongue, you might as well prepare mountaineering equipment. The boy of the Stewart family was stunned for a moment when he was asked, and finally became angry, threw up his sleeves and fled.

The astrologer apprentice shook his head, carefully put on his old boots, fastened the bulging fawn skin bag tightly, rolled up the hem and sleeves of his oversized robes, tried to walk a few steps, and felt that there was nothing in the way on his body, Hannah seemed to be unprepared, only gave a few instructions, and soon, Danny climbed up the gangway with a huge rucksack that was fatter than himself two laps over, and put down his luggage with a plop, and gasped for air,

At this time, the indigenous woman stood up and looked up at the sky, "Ready to go." Hannah turned the steering wheel one last time, then locked the rudder, and disconnected the servo at the tail of the sandeater, allowing the chirp to change direction freely, and it was about two to three o'clock in the afternoon, and the westward sun was completely obscured by the majestic spine of the postworm, and the entrance to the tunnel could barely be seen in the gloom, just like a huge mouth constantly devouring the yellow sand, the north wind, and countless joyful sandworms,

The three-masted galleon became crowded around it, and the wild sandeaters and the tamed big insects stood shoulder to shoulder, head to tail, forming a wriggling ocean composed of an earthy yellow back shell, because the sand flow from the tail of the previous worm was immediately swallowed by the latter worm, at this time the smoke and dust were much smaller, Jonah turned around and looked around, and saw that on the backs of the dense sandeaters, about one-seventh of them had buildings or sails, whether they were from the southern continent, The Zawi people, still native, stood quietly at the moment, with their heads held high, looking at the majestic descendants with awe,

A shudder of joy visible to the naked eye came from the front, like waves passing over one sandworm after another, and Jonah felt the deck buzzing beneath his feet, and the chirp transmitted the ripples of joy to the back, and at this moment, he could feel the warm emotions of this wonderful creature as it returned to his mother's arms, mother, what a strange word it was to Jonah, he couldn't help but think of the woman with a charming smile and bright eyes in his memory, the flower-filled hillside of Saint-Bourne, and the bright sunlight that illuminated the cradle,

Teacher Koshava, you must live, I have too many questions to ask you, the astrologer apprentice moved his lips and said to the old man who did not know what to do,

"Let's go. Hannah-Stewart's red cloak spun lightly off the side of the ship, and before Jonah could react, she was already jumping on the back of the sandeater, and was the first to reach fifty yards away.

"Follow me. Danny lifted his large backpack hard, lowered the gangplank, and stepped down the three-masted galleon, Jonah hurriedly grabbed his staff and followed him, the native guide walking unhurriedly,

The boy of the Stewart family is indeed a strong man, Jonah can only barely keep up with the speed of his load, walking on the back of the sandeater is a very strange experience, the touch is no different from a rock, but the big worm under his feet is constantly undulating, deflecrating, and wriggling, making him tremble with every step, especially when crossing the gap between the two sandeaters,

"Don't look down. Hannah stopped and kindly reminded,

The astrologer apprentice immediately looked down, the deep crack between the two big insects led directly to the ground where the sand was rolling, don't look at it was only a few dozen yards high, at the moment it was so deep that it seemed to lead to the abyss of hell, Jonah felt a chill in his back, and he supported himself with Hila Fena, trying not to imagine the picture of the fall,

"Vincent. When passing by a sailboat, Danny hurriedly said hello, and the silver-haired burly man standing at the bow of the ship waved his hand: "Brother Danny, are you going to the main peak to worship, the desert woman has finally conquered you." ”

"What was in Stewart's crotch was used to conquer women, and how could he surrender to the natives who did not bathe. The boy of the Stewart family grinned,

The man named Vincent pointed to the native guide: "That's not your new mistress, Hannah is willing to let you go, which woman is better to serve, and whether the people of Tantuha are more spicy than the women of Zawi." ”

Danny Stewart wasn't angry either: "It's a joke, Vincent, Hannah is up front, beg for a blessing man." ”

Vincent immediately shut up, pretending that nothing had happened, and whistling leisurely, Hannah relaxed her fingers gripping the handle of the gun in front of her, and the large gun "lame Henry's prosthesis" made a snorting sound of pressure relief, spewing out white-hot steam,

After moving laterally for about five hundred yards, the group came to the edge of the tunnel, and the rudimentary staircase carved into the rock face appeared before them, "The guide goes ahead, and I am at the end, translating this sentence, sailor." ”

Danny turned his head and chirped to tell the native guide, and the Tantuja woman nodded and took the lead up the stairs, and Jonah noticed that she was barefoot, but seemed to be completely unafraid of sharp rocks.

Danny followed the guide up the steps, Jonah followed him, Hannah stood on the bottom staircase and looked back vigilantly, the dark sea of sandeaters filled with the rattling of crusts, chirping into the tunnel with the "Wind of Bactria" and disappearing into the darkness, "Is it an illusion?" The contemporary head of Stuart's house swept his eyes over the road and shook his head suspiciously,