Ha? Yang Ruoning felt a little funny. Do you really think she's a god? As long as you wave your big hand, you will turn the world upside down? If she really had this ability, she wouldn't steal food here, and she wouldn't have a headache because she thought about how to escape every day.

"I can't help it," she replied crisply and firmly.

But apparently the shaman's mother-in-law had already predicted that Yang Ruoning would refuse, and she was not disappointed, but began to persuade her more patiently.

For the next few days, the shaman would come to the woods every night. After a few understandings, Yang Ruoning felt that the shaman's mother-in-law was a person full of wisdom.

When she came, she did not mention the throne again, but talked about the history of the tribe, of the resilient people who had risen up on the steppe, of the wit and benevolence of the king of Handan, of the plague that had almost wiped out the race, and of how the sacred tree had guided them through the desert to this oasis.

The old voice of the shaman's mother-in-law had a strange sadness in the silent woods.

Yang Ruoning and Handan Chun listened to her story, looked at the crackling bonfire, and fell into their own contemplation, not even knowing when the shaman's mother-in-law left.

"Come with me to a place," the shaman's mother-in-law said to Yang Ruoning and Handan Chun after telling her story today.

*********************************

The two of them followed the shaman for a long time to the end of the woods. This is where the desert begins, and from here on, it is a continuous stretch of sand dunes that will not end for days and nights. The people in the tribe told Yang Ruoning not to try to walk into this desert, they said that this desert eats people.

When the shaman's mother-in-law walked straight into the desert, Yang Ruoning and Handan Chun were a little hesitant.

"Mother-in-law, it's so late, I'm afraid it will be dangerous to go any further," Handan Chun said to the shaman's mother-in-law's back.

The mother-in-law turned around and said, "Don't worry, just follow me." ”

Yang Ruoning and Handan Chun looked at each other, exchanged glances, hesitated for a moment but still followed.

Yang Ruoning smelled a disgusting smell of corruption, and the further he went, the stronger the smell of decay became. What the fuck of this odo

(What the hell does this smell like)? Yang Ruoning's eyebrows furrowed and pinched her nose.

When they finally stood on top of a towering sand dune, the shaman pointed ahead and said, "This is it." Yang Ruoning looked in the direction she was pointing, and couldn't see anything except a blank darkness.

That rancid stench was almost suffocating Yang Ruoning. She was about to ask a question, but saw the shaman's mother-in-law take the torch from Handan Chun's hand and throw it into the darkness ahead. Yang Ruoning saw that the firelight fell all the way into the bottom of a deep sand dune, and the moment it touched the ground, something was quickly ignited, so the entire valley floor was illuminated in an instant.

When Yang Ruoning and Handan Chun saw what was at the bottom of the valley, they jumped back several steps in fright. Handan Chun let out a girlish exclamation, and his reaction was even more exaggerated than Yang Ruoning. I saw him grabbing Yang Ruoning's arm and trying his best to hide behind Yang Ruoning, but Yang Ruoning was also frightened by the scene in front of her, she didn't let him go at all, and pushed him in front of her. After the two of them tugged for a while, it ended with Yang Ruoning's compromise.

At the bottom of the valley, layers of corpses are densely packed with no boundaries. Yang Ruoning saw that at the moment when the corpse pile was illuminated, countless huge black rats that were gnawing at the corpses scattered one after another, burrowing into the white bones at the bottom that had not yet weathered, leaving behind broken corpses and human heads with only two blood holes left.

"What's that? Mother-in-law," Yang Ruoning asked in a trembling voice.

"What else can it be, it's a place to throw corpses, here are our clansmen and bought Han people."

"Why are there so many?"

"They're here just because of one person."

"Who?"

"Handan Aqi."

"I thought ......"

"Do you think those heads hanging from the western steppes are all of them? No, that's just a small part. The people lying in here have all lost their lives because they have offended Handan Archie, men, women, the elderly, children, and even newborn babies. The first king brought us to this oasis to escape the plague, hoping that the people could recuperate and prosper here. But who would have thought that behind him would be another 'plague'. ”

With that, the shaman closed her eyes and began to chant in a low voice. Her old voice was sad and bright, as if to soothe the lingering ghost.

Handan Chun, who was silent on the side, stepped forward at this time. He knelt down on one knee beside the shaman, folded his hands, and began to pray for the deceased to the singing of the shaman.

After finishing the song, the shaman's mother-in-law looked ahead and said, "Not long ago, the northern stars changed greatly, indicating that there will be outsiders who will change their lives against the sky. And Bu Zheng said that the people under the sacred tree will lead the people out of the darkness. The shaman's mother-in-law turned her head to look at Yang Ruoning, "Miss Yang, although you insist that you are not from a foreign land, you are not a god. But in any case, the old woman just hopes that you can give it a try, and in exchange, I can also meet any of your requests. If you fail, it only means that you are indeed not the legendary person, and the old woman will not complain about you. ”

"I can't stay here indefinitely until you find that legendary man."

"Four months, Miss Yang, I promise you four months. When the time comes, whether you succeed or not, if you want to leave, I will not stop you. ”

Yang Ruoning weighed it in her heart for a long time and felt that this was a good exchange. Anyway, I'm just trying, no matter what, it's a good thing to be able to help the people here get rid of King Ace, and I'll be able to leave in four months. So she said, "Okay, I promise you, just four months." But I still have some conditions. ”

"Okay, Miss Yang, let's talk as we go."

So on the way back for the three of them, Yang Ruoning's unconcealable excited voice could be clearly heard in the forest.

"In four months, you're going to send me back to Dasong."

"Okay."

"I don't want to sleep in the stables anymore."

"I'll arrange for you to stay in Ah Chun's tent."

"Huh? Can't I have my own tent? ”

"Mother-in-law, I don't want to share a tent with Yang Ruoning," Handan Chun interjected.

"Let Miss Yang be your personal maid, just to hide people's eyes. No more arguing, Ah Chun," Granny Sama refused directly.

"Okay, I accept it, as long as I don't sleep in the stable," Ms. Yang said. "Ah, and, give me Black."

"Who's Blake?" Shaman's mother-in-law asked.

"Mother-in-law, it's that dark horse," Handan Chun answered for Yang Ruoning first.

"Okay, I promise you."

"Well, there are ......," Yang Ruoning said.

"Miss Yang, don't be too greedy...... "The shaman's mother-in-law said.

“…… Well, that's all for today, and I'll talk to my mother-in-law when I think about it. ”

*********************************

That night, when Yang Ruoning simply packed her luggage and was about to move to Handan Chun's tent, Blake seemed to know that she was leaving, and she kept walking back and forth in the stable with broken steps very uneasily. Its head kept rubbing against Yang Ruoning's body, snorting a heavy nasal voice. Yang Ruoning put down the thing in her hand, stroked its head, and whispered in its ear, "I just don't sleep here anymore, I will still come during the day." Blake, you have to have faith in me, and I'll get you out of here in no time. Let's get out of here together, shall we? ”

Blake's big eyes blinked, but he fell silent. Yang Ruoning patted its horse's buttocks, "You have to be here obediently, I'll come to you early tomorrow morning." ”

After pacifying Blake, Yang Ruoning went straight to Handan Chun's tent. His tent was in an inconspicuous corner on the edge of the camp. When she entered, she found that Handan Chun had already set up a simple small bed for her.

This kid is quite careful, Yang Ruoning thought and lay down on the bed directly.

The tent was dark, and the sound of Handan Chun's heavy breathing could be heard quietly. Yang Ruoning lay on her side, thinking about what happened tonight.

In fact, if you stand from the perspective of a historical observer, although King Azi's behavior is cruel, it actually has its great benefits. He got rid of the weak and the old, leaving only fertile women and strong men. In this oasis with limited resources, he follows the most primitive law of the jungle, simple and crude, but also the most effective. However, after all, human society is different from the primeval jungle, and his cruelty must not be tolerated by people.

"Ah, did you sleep?" Yang Ruoning asked softly.

Half-ringing, Handan Chun said, "No." ”

"I haven't asked you yet, do you want to be a khan?"

Yang Ruoning didn't wait for Handan Chun's answer, or maybe he answered too slowly and Yang Ruoning fell asleep and didn't hear it; Maybe it's because it's the first time she's slept so soundly since she came here.

That night, Yang Ruoning had a messy dream. The scenes in the dream switch frequently, and the content is fragmented and repetitive. She seemed to see everyone she loved, and they were standing a few meters away from her. She kept calling their names, but there seemed to be a large piece of soundproof transparent glass between them, and even though she shouted in her voice, the people on the other side of the glass could not hear them.

"Ruoning," Suddenly, she heard someone behind her calling her. She turned her head, only to find herself standing in the little chapel where they were married, dressed in a crisp white wedding dress. In front of her, Luo Yuan was dressed in a black robe, repeating the words of the Western missionary next to her, "...... I will always love you, cherish you, and be faithful to you forever and ever. ”

He smiled at Yang Ruoning, and then plunged the dagger in his hand into Yang Ruoning's chest.

"Ruoning, I love you."