The sky gradually flashed a trace of fish belly white, reflecting the cold and vast desert Danxia, lizards standing on the mound to welcome the dew, horses chewing grass with different flavors in the northwest, the lonely carriage and horse shop had a bit of a sense of rivers and lakes, and a large group of people were lying next to them.

The dew had soaked the clothes.

The conversation between the two children was coming to an end, and many adults were listening with interest.

Add the elixir of colorful auspicious clouds, the pigment sent by the sun, the big hole in the broken cotton in the sky, and the colorful divine stone that fills the sky......

Soon there was light in the east.

At first, it was a red one, and through the narrow gap in the clouds, it slanted from the horizon to the sky, and when it was really clear to see the shape, it dyed all the clouds in the sky red. Slowly, as the morning sun rose higher and higher, the red light rose from the short end, and the high end became shorter, shining on the earth.

Danxia in the darkness was dyed red.

At some point, the two children were no longer talking.

"Alas......"

Someone's sigh.

It seems that a new day does not mean a new beginning for them, but only another cycle of hopeless suffering that repeats itself for years.

Little by little, the sky brightened.

It's still the same as yesterday, a complete blue sky.

Many microphones straightened up, wiped their faces, and slowly became sober, and it was only then that someone reacted, turning their heads and looking around-

"Where's the girl?"

When everyone heard this, they also woke up.

Look around, where did the girl come from?

It was only then that everyone remembered that there were no girls resting here last night.

The people who slept here, except for the Taoist, were either bitter and haha Maike, or small businessmen who wanted to save some money, at most a half-sized child, and who brought a female baby? The Taoist only brought a jujube red horse, a three-flowered cat, and a swallow.

"Yes! Where did the girl come from? ”

"It's broken! I'm afraid I've encountered a monster! ”

"Boy! Who were you just talking to? ”

Everyone's eyes widened and their faces looked panicked.

Including the child, who was stared at by the questioning eyes of the McKes and his father, he couldn't help but shrink his neck, and while he was afraid, he subconsciously turned his head to look around.

There are really no girls here.

Not a single female.

There was only a three-flowered cat, sitting upright beside the Taoist, with his tail wagging from side to side, looking at him, and then looking back at his own Taoist priest.

The child vaguely remembered that when the girl was talking before, she said the words "my Taoist priest".

"Oh......"

The child was so panicked that he could not speak.

"Don't be alarmed." Song You had no choice but to open his eyes, sit up, and clean up the aftermath of his own Sanhua Niangniang, "It's just that my cat has the way, lively and naughty, and I've been too bored since walking in the northwest, and I saw a child who woke up early, and I couldn't hold back for a while, so I turned into a human form and went to talk to him, without malice." ”

"Cats?"

"Cats become humans?"

"This ......"

Everyone was amazed for a while, the bold ones all stared at the cat, and the timid ones hurriedly moved away from the Taoist.

"Rest assured, I am from Yizhou, and I am a person who is a cultivator and does not do evil things in my life. My Sanhua Niangniang is also excellent in character and learning, only helping people get rid of demons and rats, and will not do anything harmful. You really need not be afraid. ”

Although Sanhua Cat did not speak, he stood up, walked a little closer to the Taoist, and moved farther away from the others, and continued to sit down and look at the child.

Everyone looked at each other and finally put their minds at ease.

Anyway, life is not worth much, there is really not much to be afraid of.

So those who brought dry food took it out and ate it sparingly, and those who did not have food had to drink two sips of water, and those who did not have water had to sit silently in place.

Someone got up one after another to leave here, and continued to move forward, and there were also people who got up and surrounded the Taoist, as more and more people surrounded it, everyone seemed to have completely abandoned the subtlety, you said a word, scrambling, and asked all kinds of questions to a rare Taoist with real skills.

"Is there really an older life and a lower life?"

"I have suffered in this life, will I still eat in the next life?"

"Where do people go when they die?"

Song You sat in place, eating the baked buns, and while patiently answering truthfully, he also distributed the baked buns to other people who did not bring food.

It's just that their questions are often mixed with a lifetime of suffering and expectation, so they become heavy, and some Taoists don't know the answers, and some people know the answers but don't know how to answer them, just like Taoists see their sufferings but can't do anything for a while.

At most, it can only remind them that now the imperial court has a policy of immigrating to fill in the north, as long as they voluntarily go to the north, they can get land and food, which can be regarded as a way of life.

The sun rose higher and higher, and the people departed one after another.

The merchants who lived in the nearby carriage and horse shop set off even earlier, and the horses, mules and camels almost formed a long dragon, walking in different directions, and the sound of bells was all over the world.

Song You took a sip of water very economically, poured it in the palm of his hand, fed the three-flowered cat and the swallow, and then got up to pack his bags and continue his journey.

Walk through the painting-like Danxia and head west.

Along the way, there are trade roads, and camels and horses are herds.

Don't underestimate the Northwest.

The Silk Road is currently one of the world's greatest trade routes, the goods and wealth of the East and the West are exchanged on this road, and the cultures are also violently blended. The prosperity here is not inferior to Yizhou and Yangzhou.

Song You saw many merchants who were in a hurry in silence, and he also saw many exotic faces, and he talked with them along the way, and benefited a lot.

At the same time, there was a drought all the way, and the people were miserable.

The farther west you go, the more severe the drought becomes.

In this case, water becomes an extremely precious resource for life. It became difficult to beg for water along the way. Especially the farther west you go, the fewer people believe in the Tao, and the more people believe in Buddhism, even if you are a well-meaning local or a business traveler, you will share one or two mouthfuls of water at most.

Finding water is also becoming more and more difficult.

Whether it is to let the swallows fly to the sky to look for it, or to consult the wild donkeys and wild camels on the side of the road, it is not easy to find a nearby water source, and sometimes it has already dried up.

"You're about to get out of Longzhou, right?"

Song You wore a hat and said to the three-flowered cat.

Although it is not a desert, there is a lot of dry grass growing on the ground, and the yellow sand has become serious, and when you step down and step on the ground, it will inevitably stir up a canopy of sand, and if the wind blows, the sand all over the ground will outline the direction and shape of the wind for the traveler.

As far as the eye can see, the sky is blue, and the ground is yellow.

This is a scene that Song You has never seen before.

"Sanhua Niangniang doesn't know."

The honest voice of the cat came from the side.

"It's autumn and it's still so hot......"

"That's right!"

"Is Sanhua Niangniang thirsty?"

"Sanhua Niangniang is very hot and wants to drink water." The cat took small steps, suddenly stopped, looked up at the sun in the sky, and then looked at the sky in the distance, "The swallows have not come back yet." ”

"It's not easy to find water here."

"Thank you for your hard work!"

"Thanks to him."

"Thanks to him!"

"Sanhua Niangniang might as well go back to the skirts, don't walk on the ground, it's hot outside, it's tiring to walk, and the yellow sand is still big."

"Hmm......"

The cat only turned its head to look at him, and the pace didn't stop at all: "Sanhua Niangniang wants to walk on the ground!" ”

Just then, a small dot appeared in the sky.

The dot quickly gets closer and clearer, taking on the appearance of a swallow, spreading its wings and gliding in.

"Brush ......"

The swallow landed lightly on top of the horse's head.

Sanhua Cat suddenly raised his head to look at him: "Did you find water?" ”

"Found it."

The swallow first looked down at the cat, and then looked up at the Taoist: "I met a spirit on the road and asked it where there was water, and it took me there." ”

“……”

Song You couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

It seems that it is too difficult to find water here.

Swallows don't like to socialize with people so much, they are forced to take the initiative to ask the local strange spirits about the location of the water source.

In fact, Song You is okay, Sanhua Niangniang is also okay, although the water they begged for is small, it is enough for them to persevere, but the jujube red horse itself grows big, has a high demand for water, and carries so many things to the scorching sun, there is not enough water, it is too tormenting it.

"It's hard for you."

"I'll lead the way."

"Okay."

"Plop Plop ......"

The swallow flew again.

The Taoist carried a bamboo cane and a jujube red horse, followed the swallow over the loess mountain, walked more than ten miles, and finally found the water source.

The water source here is very hidden.

From the outside, it looked like a small mound, but when you got closer, you could see that it was empty, perhaps connected to an underground river, with a small flowing ditch outcropping from the surface. This water source is certainly invisible to swallows flying in the sky.

Song You walked here, bowed a handful of water first, tasted it, it was very cool, quenched thirst and heat.

Then let Sanhua Niangniang and Yanzi also drink a full drink, and fill the water bladder with water, so that the jujube red horse came in and drank it slowly.

The water problem was solved, and then we moved on.

Swallows make sure they don't stray too far.

But as I walked, a cloud of dust suddenly appeared in the loess desert in the distance, and there was a faint sound of people chasing, from the right front of the group to the left, and the wind blew the dust and sand over.

I don't know if I noticed something, but the dust and smoke suddenly turned and ran towards the Taoist.

Song You looked fixedly-

At the forefront was not a man, nor a wild donkey or a wild camel, but a monster with a body like a sheep, a head like a fox, antlers, and a masked face, followed by several warriors on horseback with bows and arrows, and monks in yellow robes.

"Brush ......"

The swallow flew down again, looked ahead, and said to Song You: "Sir, the spirit that was being chased in front of me is the one who took me to find water before!" ”

"I see."

Song You vaguely recognized this spirit.

This kind of spirit, like the wind fox, is born and raised, and its name is free. Things that are familiar with the earth always appear in times of natural disasters, which can predict natural disasters and guide people to avoid disasters.

After thinking about it, you can see why everyone is chasing it.

The spirit was small, fast, and quickly approached the Taoist.

I went out and played crazy, I forgot the setting, sorry.

Bow and bare!

(End of chapter)