The sudden change in painting style made Zheng Xiu can't help but make a wooden face and knock on his head.

"Nerd."

Seeing this, Xie Luohe couldn't help but laugh and scolded with a smile: "This town was left by the predecessors. ”

"Predecessors?"

In Xie Luohe's narration, Zheng Xiu understood the origin of the building in front of him.

It is still the group of people who opened up the "Green River" back then.

After opening up the "Green River" trade route, they arrived in the Valley of the Rising Tide and settled there for a while.

They brought the culture of Daqian here, writing, clothing, traditions, rituals. This is also why the Scorching Sun tribe, which has its own unique dialect, speaks the language of Daqian.

Finely polished stones pave the streets into flat streets.

The oasis has become a small town.

Streets, roads, alleys, and wells are in good order.

The streets were crowded with pedestrians, some dark-skinned, some blond, blue-eyed, and waist-scarring furrows of Sun tribesmen, patrolling the town with spears in hand.

They are merchants from the Western Regions, with a unique and exotic atmosphere.

The pioneers who opened up trade routes established the Rician Valley and established this trading town bordering the Great Dry and the countries of the Western Regions.

Today, the prosperity of the Cicada Valley is far less than before, but Zheng Xiu can still take a glimpse of the leopard and imagine the bustling and crowded appearance of the Cicada Valley in the previous dynasties.

There is a stone monument in the middle of the town.

The stele is about two zhang high, square and solemn, and there is a pure gold casting "golden cicada" sculpture at the top, and behind the golden cicada is a pattern of a round of scorching sun.

The Cicada Monument, a landmark in the town.

When Zheng Xiu passed by, his eyes inadvertently stayed on the golden cicada, and he was stunned.

Then.

The two tribal maidens panted and trotted from the corner of the street to the elder, saying something as if to merit.

The old man showed respect on his face and said to Xie Luohe: "Gong Xie, you, the room is clean." ”

The old man may not have spoken the language of Daqian for a long time, and his speech is intermittent, but the meaning can be understood.

The old man didn't look at Zheng Xiu from beginning to end.

They seem to really regard Zheng Xiu as a "prisoner" of Xie Luohe.

Turning left and right, the Great Elder of the Scorching Sun Clan arranged a room for Xie Luohe.

It is a nice little yard bungalow.

There is a pile of dry wood in the corner, and there is also a well in it.

The fence was lined with hay.

The house has not been inhabited for a long time, and the beams are full of cobwebs, Zheng Xiu said that this place is simple at first, but when he saw the well, he suddenly realized that water in the desert can be said to be a rare resource, and if there is a well in the room, this can be regarded as a "mansion" in the valley of the cicada.

"Why is there only one room?"

Zheng Xiu looked at it and chuckled in his heart.

Xie Luohe explained and said calmly: "According to the customs of the Scorching Sun tribe, captives cannot go on their own in the Sun Cicada Valley, and can only be in the same room with the 'master', otherwise they will be locked up. ”

It's not a coincidence. Zheng Xiu was overjoyed when he heard this, and raised his hand: "I choose to be locked up!" ”

Xie Luohe was stunned suddenly, she remembered that "locked up" seemed to be rewarding him to this guy, Xie Luohe glared at Zheng Xiu fiercely, murderous: "They locked you up with those girls just now, and rewarded you to them as a 'trophy', are you also willing?" ”

Zheng Xiu thought for a moment.

Shaking his head, he said, "I'm not a casual person. ”

"That's not it."

That's settled.

Lonely men and widows in the same room.

After thinking about it carefully, Zheng Xiu recalled that all the way across the desert, he was wrapped in a quilt with Xie Luohe, and it didn't seem to be a big deal, just get used to it.

It was dusk when they arrived at the Valley of the Cicada.

The Great Elder ordered someone to send brand-new clothes, and Zheng Xiu touched the material of the clothes, and the thick and spicy hands seemed to be made of mulberry hemp. But the dust and rush along the way made Zheng Xiu's material requirements to a minimum, and he didn't say anything and changed his body.

The pale gray linen clothes were embroidered with bells and whistles, and after a moment of pestle at the door, Xie Luohe walked out barefoot in a long dress, and she wore a golden wreath on her head, under which a bird's bone ornament was strung together.

Zheng Xiu looked down, and then looked at Xie Luohe's ...... How does it look like a couple's outfit?

It's just that Zheng Xiu didn't take this kind of trivial matter seriously, he secretly approached Xie Luohe, and when there was no one around, he put it in Xie Luohe's ear and asked, "Don't forget about the murals." ”

"It's okay," Xie Luohe waved his hand: "Remember." ”

Zheng Xiu nodded.

In the evening, a grand welcome ceremony was held in the town.

Welcome to the Chelo River.

Arm-thick wood is built into a one-foot high bonfire, reflecting the night as bright as day, and it looks like a fire scene from a distance.

Many coolly dressed tribal women dance hand in hand around the campfire.

Next to the bonfire, there are several fires, on which a whole wild boar and wild sheep are erected.

The tribesmen hollowed out the horns of the sheep to make wine cups, hundreds of croissants hung on the shelves, a sweaty strong man stood on a high place, beat the drums, and while playing, he raised the wine jar and poured wine on the shelf, filling the croissants and spilling the wine on the ground.

The girls danced and sang, and their eyes glanced at the handsome Zheng Xiu from time to time, with regret and envy in their eyes.

Being in a foreign land, Zheng Xiu was a little unaccustomed at first. But with a few glasses of spirits in his stomach, Zheng Xiu became drunk, and Xie Luohe pulled him to the campfire with a smile and a smile, holding hands with the others and dancing together.

Zheng Xiu didn't know what he was dancing the whole time, and was taken away by Xie Luohe. He only remembered that Xie Luohe's hands were as soft as bones, and his palms were wet and a little sweaty.

The banquet scene can only be described by the word "chaos", dancing for a while, singing for a while, drinking a few cups, and someone laughed and handed over a big leg of mutton. In this way, eating, drinking, and playing until midnight, the desert residents were still enthusiastic, and there was no intention of ending, and the great elder ordered someone to move out a jar of wine stockpiled, looking like they were going to drink until dawn.

A gust of wind blew and woke Zheng Xiu up a little. Zheng Xiu noticed that during the banquet, there were men and women holding hands, the men were panting, the women were shy, and they left halfway, I don't know if they went to the toilet or what.

Some people leave and some join in, and there are always people around the campfire.

High in the moon sky, hidden behind the clouds.

The stars are dim and the campfires are bright.

"Let's go."

Xie Luohe, who was dancing with Zheng Xiu, suddenly pressed into Zheng Xiu's arms, and his bulging pectoralis muscles were close to Zheng Xiu, which made Zheng Xiu a little out of breath. She stuck to Zheng Xiu's ear and smiled: "Oh, shake it twice, pretend to drink too much." ”

Xie Luohe's sudden intimacy made Zheng Xiu wonder if this Xie Luohe was intentional or careless, or deliberately careless. It's just that when the atmosphere arrived, Zheng Xiu didn't ask much, nodded silently, and let Xie Luohe lead him.

Zheng Xiu was staggering, his acting skills were okay, and he looked like he had drunk too much.

When the others looked at it, the men and women smiled even more. As the protagonist of tonight, Xie Luohe is the focus of everyone. Xie Luohe laughed, directly carried Zheng Xiu on his shoulder, his figure flashed, and left.

Zheng Xiu was carried by Xie Luohe like a pig to be slaughtered, with a confused expression. As Xie Luohe led him away, Zheng Xiu vaguely heard thunderous applause behind him.

The laughter of the Xie Luo River was like a silver bell, crisp and pleasant, and spread throughout the city, wanton and arrogant.

Only Zheng Xiu is getting more and more confused, do you slap a hammer?

"What the hell are you doing?"

Zheng Xiu, who was carrying it on his shoulder, couldn't help but ask.

"Take you to see the mural."

Xie Luohe replied.

"Do you have to fix all this weirdness? And this black is not slippery, how can you see it bright in broad daylight? ”

"But at night, it's exciting."

Xie Luohe said with a smile.

When Zheng Xiu heard this, he was speechless.

It's really exciting.

After blocking Zheng Xiu's words, Xie Luohe carried Zheng Xiu, lifted his weight lightly, passed through the Sun Cicada Valley in a blink of an eye, entered the depths of the oasis, and climbed the mountain road in the dark at night.

Zheng Xiu noticed that there were strangely shaped stone carvings on both sides of the mountain road where Xie Luohe walked.

"Ahh

In the dark night, there was a shrill crow cry from time to time.

"Crows?"

The crow's cry instantly awakened Zheng Xiu's bad memory, and his heart moved, and he patted Xie Luohe: "Let me down, there are ravens!" ”

"Raven?" When Xie Luohe heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "What kind of place do you think this is?" Where did the ravens come from? That's the 'Vulture'. She obviously knew very well what the "raven" Zheng Xiu was talking about, and even understood what Zheng Xiu was worried about.

"Vultures?"

Sounds like a cross between a vulture and a crow.

It doesn't matter if the two species can cross or not, as long as they don't be ravens.

Thinking of this, Zheng Xiu laughed at himself, since he was attacked by the crow keepers, he can be regarded as smelling the crow's color, two hundred years ago, Ye Weiyang was not born yet, where did the raven come from.

The number of thoughts changed, Xie Luohe carried Zheng Xiu halfway up the mountain and put Zheng Xiu down.

At the end of the winding trail on the mountainside called Sunset Mountain, there is a flat clearing. The clearing is surrounded by ancient stone pillars, with an altar-like ornament in the center.

Behind the altar, the old frescoes have peeled off their colors, leaving only their shapes. Under the wind and sun, Zheng Xiu looked from afar, condensed his eyes in the dark night, and could vaguely see that the patterns preserved on the murals were still complete.

"This is the mural you were talking about?"

Zheng Xiu stepped forward to investigate.

Xie Luohe replied with a smile behind Zheng Xiu, "Yes." ”

"Could it be," Zheng Xiu suddenly figured out why Xie Luohe came up in this way during the banquet, and woke up: "People from outside the clan are not allowed to come up here?" It's like a forbidden place or something. ”

"Hehe, you're not stupid this time." Xie Luohe covered his mouth and smiled: "Even if I am their benefactor, after all, I am still an outsider, and they will not easily let me enter the forbidden land of their Scorching Sun Clan. ”

"Easy?"

Xie Luohe smiled and raised two fingers: "In my opinion, there are three simple ways to enter the forbidden land of the tribe. One, marry a man from the tribe and become a member of the tribe of the scorching sun; Second, kill them all; Three, come up secretly. You said...... Which one do I choose? ”

"Got it."

After Zheng Xiu understood, he began to observe the murals.

Xie Luohe had long known the contents of the mural and was not interested in it. Instead, she looked at Zheng Xiu, looking at Zheng Xiu's serious face when she was concentrating on observing the mural, and she didn't say a word.

"This mural is about the birth of the 'candle'."

The mural depicts a baby born from her mother's womb and her mother dies in childbirth.

The second painting is a picture of many villains, the picture is divided into left and right, a group of people and "candles" stand on both sides, clearly distinguished.

Zheng Xiu muttered to himself while interpreting the mural: "This mural should say that Candle has been out of tune with other people since he was a child, or ...... It's not the same. This painting is supposed to be a subtle expression that 'Candle' is a natural alien. ”

In the third mural, Candle fights with a group of people and has her hands cut off.

The fourth mural depicts Candle walking on all fours, and a group of people looking at "Candle" from a distance, and the mural uses exaggerated curves to depict the expressions of "ordinary people" when they are afraid of "Candle".

The style of painting began to change from the fifth painting.

"Candles" are drawn with a blazing sun.

"Candle's" gaze was fixed on the scorching sun.

The two eyes of the "candle" became the shape of the "scorching sun".

The scorching sun painting style is peculiar, I don't know if it is intentional or the carving skills need to be improved, the scorching sun is not round, the outline is crooked, they use some insect-like twisted lines, to depict the scorching sun's light wheel.

A round of scorching sun, in the expression on this mural, looks a little weird and gloomy.

Zheng Xiu took a deep breath, his brows were tightly furrowed from beginning to end, but he didn't say anything more and continued to look down.

In the next mural, "Candle" begins to chase "Scorching Sun".

He crossed mountains.

Walk across rivers.

A corpse was trampled underfoot.

The murals seem to condense the life of the candle.

He crossed the ocean.

He is educating the people of the wilderness.

He went up the mountain to collect medicine.

He opened the furnace for alchemy.

In each mural, the image of the candle has a different variation.

This was followed by candles crossing the desert, and the scorching sun took up more and more of the frescoes.

"The candle is getting closer and closer to the mural."

Because everything recorded on the mural does not seem to be completely arranged in chronological order, Zheng Xiu is extremely difficult to interpret.

One of the last murals, Candle walking in the desert, hunched over, bushy beard, ragged, and on crutches.

At the end of the comic fresco, the candle arrives in the valley of the cicada.

He was attacked by the desert dwellers.

But the next mural they became friends.

A group of naked desert residents worship the "candle".

Candle climbed up a mountain, and on the top of the pointed mountain was the strange "scorching sun".

Zheng Xiu's gaze moved to the penultimate mural.

Suddenly, Zheng Xiu's breath stagnated.

The last mural was actually incomplete, but it brought Zheng Xiu a sudden feeling of nausea...... An inexplicable feeling of nausea, as if the moment he saw the mural, he deeply understood the content of the mural.

In the mural, the "candle" stands on the top of the mountain, holding something in his hand, it is this "what" that is missing in the mural, if according to the legend, what he is holding in his hand should be a round of scorching sun.

And what made Zheng Xiu feel uncomfortable was the performance in the final picture. On the mural, the head of the candle is painted unusually large, and the two eyes are densely painted with many "scorching sun", and the mouth of the "candle" is grinning wide, cracking all the way to the root of the ear, which is an exaggerated smile that makes people feel uncomfortable.

Candle's eyes are no longer normal eyes, like bee chrysalis full of holes. His body was melting, just like the "legend" that Zheng Xiu had heard.

"The Sunseeker was melted by the scorching sun he worshipped because he was too close to it."

Xie Luohe didn't know when he stood behind Zheng Xiu and said a strange thing in an indifferent tone.

Zheng Xiu turned his head, his pupils shrank, and he looked at Xie Luohe: "What did you say?" ”

Xie Luohe smiled and pointed to the mural: "I'm talking about the content of the mural, it's very interesting, isn't it?" ”

Zheng Xiu was silent, and his gaze moved to the last mural.

There are no "candles" on the mural, only an ancient coffin remains.

Dense crowds of human heads are mourning.

At the end of the story, the "Sunstrider" dies.

Died from the scorching sun.

"Huh?" Zheng Xiu first saw the coffin and the dense mourners, but soon he saw that around the picture, there were three "pillars".

There is no scorching sun in the sky.

"What are these three pillars?" Zheng Xiu frowned and muttered to himself.

"Perhaps," Xie Luohe leaned closer to look, thought for a moment, and shook his head: "Maybe it's an ordinary pillar." ”

(End of chapter)