On the edge of the desert there is a small town that no one cares about - Linsha Town.

There are only residents in the town, no officers and soldiers, no bandits, no martial arts. The inhabitants have lived here for generations, and although it is hard, they have no quarrel with the world and live a barely subsistence life.

Zheng Xiu learned that when the previous dynasty had close relations with the countries of the Western Regions, there was a "trade route", well, not a Silk Road, but a "Green River". The trade route called "Green River" starts from Linsha in the east to the Ricicada Valley in the west, and crosses the desert. After passing through the Cicada Valley, climb over a mountain and two rivers, you can reach the countries of the Western Regions.

Many years ago, Linsha was the starting point of the "Green River", and in the past, it even gathered foreign merchants from all over the Western Regions across the desert. There are exotic blonde beauties, rare jewelry, and strange animals, making this place full of enthusiasm, magnificence and magic, full of the smell of spring, and very lively.

"Although no one runs away from the 'trade route' now, the 'Green River' is still there."

Xie Luohe led Zheng Xiu in a light car and walked in Linsha Town.

"Entangled."

Xie Luohe stretched out his hand to Zheng Xiu with a grin, asking for money.

Zheng Xiu pressed the heavy money bag into Xie Luohe's hands, and he was not distressed.

"You, maybe it's what others say, 'Ruyi Langjun' is the best look."

Xie Luohe sighed.

"I don't believe it." When Zheng Xiu heard this, he first habitually showed his head Zen, and then quickly changed his words: "No, I believe this sentence." It's because of me...... Sword eyebrows, starry eyes, handsome and extraordinary, unparalleled in the world? Zheng Xiu tentatively twisted the stubble on his chin and hands.

"Phew, it's because you can make money...... Make good money. Xie Luohe laughed, left Zheng Xiu where he was, and went to buy supplies.

"It's called 'living well.'" Zheng Xiu looked at Xie Luohe's departing back and complained.

Xie Luohe raised his fist from afar.

It didn't take long for Zheng Xiu, who was waiting in place and bored, to wait for a long time, and finally waited back to Xie Luohe.

Behind Xie Luohe was followed by two sturdy camels.

The camel is equipped with a saddle bag of red and green, and the saddle bag is embroidered with colorful patterns.

The saddlebags were bulging, and each camel had seven or eight full water bladders hanging from it.

Zheng Xiu used the knowledge of barren desert survival to check the preparations of the Xie Luo River. Among the materials purchased by Xie Luohe, there are foods such as dried meat and dry food suitable for preservation, water, thick thick thick rice, clothes that can cover the whole body, ointment for treating trauma, and Sinan who can roughly discern the direction in the desert.

It can be said that in addition to sunscreen, there is basically everything that should be in it.

Xie Luohe's carefulness surprised Zheng Xiu.

Zheng Xiu, who had a good face in front of Xie Luohe, smacked his lips and said "It's okay", but in exchange for Xie Luohe, he snickered and retorted "hard-mouthed". In the eyes of outsiders, the fight between the two is like a couple in the city who don't know whether they are alive or dead, and they don't know the cruelty of the desert and want to go deep into the desert.

Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe seem to be two extremes.

The "alien" aura inadvertently emanating from Xie Luohe's body made the two little camels restless.

When Zheng Xiu stepped forward to appease him, the two camels took the initiative to approach and lick Zheng Xiu's saliva as if they had seen their long-lost relatives.

"You, you really don't look like an alien."

Xie Luohe watched Zheng Xiu "kiss me" with a male and a female camel respectively, a faint jealousy flashed in his eyes, and he said softly.

Zheng Xiu didn't reply, after all, he is not the main body now.

No matter how hard Xie Luohe is, Zheng Xiu believes that the facts are the facts, he entered the cannibal painting ghost in his incarnation, and his body is still suffering from the dying thaumaturgy of the "crow keeper" in Zheng's house.

He doesn't look like an alien at the moment, which is not surprising.

Xie Luohe's eyes flashed, he didn't say more, and quickly changed to another look, after Zheng Xiu pacified the camel, Xie Luohe turned over and rode into the camel saddle, kicked with both feet, and walked towards the desert.

It seems that the Xie Luo River did not intend to stop at Linsha Town.

Zheng Xiu followed behind.

At this point, July 13.

The weather was fine.

The sun is shining.

The sun is scorching.

The two rode camels deep into the desert.

July 20.

Twilight.

The seventh day of Zheng Xiu's entry into the desert.

No matter what kind of world you are in, there is probably only one impression of the "desert".

Vast, solemn, dead, cruel.

It's like an invisible hand pushing the yellow sand on the desert, pushing layer by layer, rolling forward. The churning sand moved with the wind, rolling and straightening, rolling into the depths and disappearing at the end of the undulating dunes.

And there is only one "color" that the desert gives people: yellow. Egg yolk, dark yellow, dusk yellow, golden yellow, dark yellow. Various layers of "yellow" are intertwined, presenting another desolate beauty.

On the seventh day, Zheng Xiu vaguely regretted it, but Xie Luohe was in a better mood as he moved away from the crowds, and the smile on his face became stronger and stronger.

The sun has not left a trace on the Xerlo River; The high temperature has not let half a drop of sweat from the Xie Luo River; In the cold of the night, Xie Luohe would even take the initiative to get close to Zheng Xiu, curl up in Zheng Xiu's arms, and wrap the two of them with the big curtain of the two. When the wind blows, the Xie Luo River will be on the back of a camel, facing the strong wind, open its arms, and feel the pleasure and freedom of swaying in the wind.

It seems that such a harsh weather and desert environment bring only enjoyment to the Xie Luo River.

After entering the desert, Zheng Xiu really understood what the so-called trade route - "Green River" was. In the past, Zheng Xiu had only heard that there was a fixed route for the Western Regions to enter Daqian.

The "Green River" is a route explored by predecessors, and every certain distance will pass through a rich oasis. There are sixteen oases on this route, and in the desert, the oases can be described as the source of life, and once you reach the oases, you can have the hope of crossing the desert.

Along the way, Zheng Xiu noticed that about every few dozen miles, there was a pile of heavy stones piled up on a hill, which did not seem to be naturally formed, but more like man-made. When Zheng Xiu asked casually, Xie Luohe smiled:

"That's the 'Mt. Hao' on the Green River."

"Sure enough, it's '堠'."

The so-called "mound" generally refers to the mound of rocks and clods used to mark the distance on the official road. You can estimate how many miles you have traveled for each "mound" you have passed. Along the Green River, each "Mt. Mt. Gun" is one zhang high, unless there is a sandstorm, it is difficult for ordinary wind and sand to blow down the mountain.

It is difficult for Zheng Xiu to imagine how his predecessors used big stones to build the "Hao Mountain" on this vast desert, the difficulty of which is self-evident, I don't know how many years, how many manpower, how many lives were built, and only then did he step out of a "green river" that can relatively allow people to pass through the desert safely.

In the desert, there was no road at the beginning, and when there were more people walking, there were more people filling in the lives, and it became a road.

July 28.

After more than half a month in the desert.

Zheng Xiu's skin is tanned, Xie Luohe is as white as ever, and his skin is better than snow.

They arrived at the eighth oasis along the Green River, where there were several wild coconut trees and a small pool of crystal clear.

After filling the water bladder, Zheng Xiu told Xie Luohe not to look around, then stripped himself naked, jumped into the pool, and took a bath after a long absence.

The heart is cold and the heart is flying.

When Zheng Xiu was almost soaked, wrapped in a robe and returned to the two camels, Xie Luohe didn't know when to lay a few coconut fruits, she peeled the top shell on the coconut fruit with her bare hands, and drank coconut water.

Xie Luohe looked directly at Zheng Xiu's naked upper body, and a few crystal clear water droplets flowed down Zheng Xiu's abdominal muscles and vest line. Xie Luohe blushed and coughed twice, and took the initiative to help Zheng Xiu peel another coconut fruit: "It's so sweet, you can drink some too." ”

"Really?" Zheng Xiu habitually asked suspiciously, took a sip, and almost vomited.

It's bitter and astringent.

He remembered that the juice of the old coconut could not be drunk.

Xie Luohe laughed, dropped the coconut fruit, and began to untie his clothes.

Zheng Xiu's relationship with Xie Luohe these days is a little delicate, but this scene still makes Zheng Xiu's face freeze.

Halfway through the Xie Luo River, he reminded:

"You...... No peeking. ”

With that, Xie Luohe jumped high and jumped into the pool with a thud.

Zheng Xiu ignored it, took a deep breath, listened to the sound of the Xie Luo River playing like birds in the distance, walked to the edge of the oasis, and stared into the distance.

At the end of the view, the undulating sand dunes and the rolling yellow sand are still the same. But the color of the desert today seems to be different from usual, and at dusk, the desert is dyed with a layer of magnificent and dazzling girlish red, as if it can drip blood at any time.

In the distance, the sand dunes twisted, and a mirage loomed.

Zheng Xiu stared into the distance and watched quietly.

There was a sound of soft footsteps behind him, Xie Luohe simply wrapped his body, walked barefoot, tilted his head and wiped his long wet hair with a towel.

Zheng Xiugang glanced back and moved away with difficulty: "Can you dress tightly." ”

Xie Luohe sat down calmly beside Zheng Xiu and said with a light smile: "This, is it important?" ”

Zheng Xiu was speechless.

After a while, Xie Luohe covered his mouth and smiled: "Are you worried that I will suffer, or that she will suffer?" ”

Zheng Xiu didn't pick up.

Along the way, Zheng Xiu deliberately did not mention "Zheng Xiu" and "Fengbei" in front of Xie Luohe.

Because Zheng Xiu noticed that whenever he accidentally led the topic to "two hundred years later", although Xie Luohe's expression did not change, she would secretly clench her fists.

Seeing that Zheng Xiu didn't answer, Xie Luohe put the towel that wiped his hair wet on Zheng Xiu's shoulder, gently rested his head on Zheng Xiu's shoulder, and looked into the distance with Zheng Xiu.

After being silent for a while, Xie Luohe smiled and said, "The sandstorm is coming." ”

"Done."

Other Zheng Xiu would subconsciously doubt it, but Zheng Xiu was convinced of this matter.

The Xie Luo River must have heard the "footsteps" of the sandstorm.

Zheng Xiu sat with Xie Luohe for a while, until the blood-red remnant sun completely sank behind the sand dunes, Zheng Xiu got up and said, "I'll prepare." You and I should be safe in the face of sandstorms, but don't let 'Xiaohe' and ......'Xiaomo be buried'. ”

"Xiaohe" and "Xiaomo" are naturally the names of the two camels - the taste of Xie Luohe.

She rode "Xiao Mo", and Zheng Xiu rode "Xiao He".

Usually when walking on the desert, Xie Luohe will happily shout to the camel from time to time, "Xiao Mo Xiao Mo run faster", Zheng Xiu was ashamed because he was born, and he was embarrassed to fight back against Xie Luohe in this matter, so he could only swallow his anger and wrap his ears and not listen.

Zheng Xiu walked to the camel, pulled out a small scimitar from the animal skin scabbard in the saddle bag, looked at his wrist, and silently walked towards the waterhole.

"Are you going to cut it again?"

Xie Luohe leaned over curiously.

She has always been interested in Zheng Xiu's "thaumaturgy".

Zheng Xiu is not like Xie Luohe and Fengbei, obviously many times beyond ordinary people. Zheng Xiu's thaumaturgy still had strict restrictions and rules that had to be followed. This is also one of the reasons why Xie Luohe feels that Zheng Xiu is not like a "stranger".

"Can you dress tightly?" Zheng Xiu glanced at Xie Luohe and decisively cut it on his wrist.

gurgling...

The blood flowed like an infusion, and in an instant, Zheng Xiu's blood dyed the waterhole a pale red.

The blood and qi were vivid, and the faint red light moved like tentacles on the surface of the pool.

"Birdcage."

Zheng Xiu sacrificed the Luohe pen, using the pool of water as ink, easily releasing the "bird cage" and enclosing the entire oasis into a "prison cell".

Bang bang bang.

Zheng Xiu's bones made a crisp sound, and his muscles bulged.

Xie Luohe couldn't hold back for a while, and touched Zheng Xiu's developed pectoralis major muscle in a blur, and it was separated with a touch.

Oh, woman.

Zheng Xiu bared his teeth, strode out, and picked up his palms to dig a deep pit in the oasis.

Immediately afterwards, Zheng Xiu lifted "Xiao He" and "Xiao Mo" respectively, jumped into the pit, placed them properly, and then backfilled the sand pit slightly, leaving a gap large enough for the two of them to hide in it.

At this time, the sky was completely dark, and the dark clouds in the distance were like a huge beast, opening its huge mouth and swallowing the heavens and the earth.

Before the sandstorm arrived, the wind was blowing, the ground was shaking, and the air was shaking.

The black clouds seemed to be within reach, pressing down on the oasis in the blink of an eye.

"You go in, I'll block it for you, if it doesn't work, I'll go in and hide again."

Although Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe are both strangers, in the face of the vast natural disaster, Zheng Xiu still does not dare to be careless. But in prison, the attributes of [Zheng Shan] and [Unbreakable] gave Zheng Xiu full confidence.

The physical body should be able to carry it, Zheng Xiu is worried that the storm is too big and will involve all of them, in the vast desert, Zheng Xiu is most worried about losing his way. Once you get lost in the desert, even if you are an alien, you will only have a dead end in the end.

Xie Luohe quickly changed his clothes, and did not listen to Zheng Xiudi to hide in the sand pit, but sat down quietly on the edge of the oasis.

"It doesn't matter." Xie Luohe turned around, smiled lightly, patted the open space beside him, and shook his head at Zheng Xiu: "With you, I'm not afraid." ”

Zheng Xiu's heart trembled.

He bowed his head, said nothing, and sat beside the Xie Luo River.

Call...... Call...... Call......

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The wind is getting stronger and stronger, and the depths of the dark desert are even more intense and eerie black. The sand and gravel lifted by the wind slammed heavily into Zheng Xiu's "birdcage", making a huge noise.

In the "Birdcage", Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe, who are sitting in meditation, seem to be in a completely different world. The quietness of the two of them contrasted sharply with the hustle and bustle of the outside world.

The air pressure became lower and lower, and in the sand pit, Xiao He and Xiao Mo hissed uneasily.

"Shhh

Xie Luohe said softly, his index finger raised at his lips.

The two camels soon quieted down, leaning against each other in the bunker, their feet on all fours, their mouths going back and forth, exchanging spittle. It seems that in this desperate environment, between a male and a female two camels, the sour smell of love has fermented.

Xie Luohe stared at the depths of darkness, the noise of sand and dust, and said with a smile: "You once said that the third death of a person is when it is completely forgotten by the world. ”

Zheng Xiu nodded, he didn't know what Xie Luohe was saying this for.

"That's why you became a 'painter'?" Xie Luohe pulled her long hair behind her ears, revealing her two eyes. She no longer concealed the strange words in her right eye, and she completely exposed her unbearable and depressed in front of Zheng Xiu's eyes.

In the depths of her right eye, there was a faint word "Ding Wei".

Xie Luohe continued: "Why do you always refuse to draw 'people'? If you draw me here, now, here, and now, as long as the scroll is not destroyed, there will be people in the world who will know that there was once a poor woman called 'Chelo River' who lived, even if only one person. ”

In the dark, Xie Luohe smiled, and calmly said to Zheng Xiu what he had always wanted to say to Zheng Xiu: "Gongsun Mo, can you draw a picture for me?" ”

At this moment, Xie Luohe's smile, in Zheng Xiu's eyes, looked beautiful. He couldn't tell whether the woman sitting next to him now was Xie Luohe or Fengbei, and he had even forgotten the "rules" he had always adhered to.

He couldn't refuse the Xie Luo River at this moment, the Xie Luo River who couldn't refuse, and said the saddest words in the calmest tone.

"Okay."

Zheng Xiu's heart was as calm as water, spread out the picture scroll, took a few steps back, and used blood as ink.

Rustle rustle......

WhewW......

At this moment, neither of them was speechless, and all that was left was the roar of the wind, the sound of breathing, and the sound of falling pens.

On the picture scroll, the sky is dark, the sky is barren, and a woman with a pretty face sits quietly in the desert, facing the desperate wind and sand, facing Zheng Xiu, with a light smile.

The desolation of the desert, the ravages of sand and dust, the beauty of a woman, the poignancy of the corners of her mouth, everything Zheng Xiu saw were all condensed in a small picture scroll.

"Eye-catching."

At the last step, Zheng Xiu hesitated for a moment and nodded the scroll and Xie Luohe's eyes.

The eyes are the windows to the soul.

Before the finishing touch, the woman on the picture scroll is both Xie Luohe and Fengbei, and she can't tell the difference. When Zheng Xiu clicked the "eyes", the "Xie Luo River" on the picture scroll seemed to come to life in an instant, and the Xie Luo River was the Xie Luo River.

Poof.

Babble.

A slightly loose door that easily pushed open in the doorway.

The passage of this door was unbelievably fast, as if it was already open, just waiting for Zheng Xiu to stretch out his hand.

At the moment when the painting was completed.

Outside the birdcage, the raging black wind and sand appeared for a moment.

The next second.

The wind stopped.

The sand frozen in mid-air fell with a clatter.

It became a rain of sand.

(End of chapter)