"Bang, bang, bang......"

Song You was holding a piece of baked naan in one hand and a stone in the other, and was tapping hard.

The naan is dry, as hard as iron, and hard to beat.

No wonder it can be carried across the desert.

"Bang Bang ......"

The three-flowered cat lay next to him, hiding in the shadow he cast, and was stunned.

With each sound, her whole cat trembled.

After a while, she seemed to finally can't stand it anymore, so she silently stepped out of the shadows, stretched out a small hand with white gloves, the toes bloomed, and a claw reached out, and gently swiped on Song You's roasted naan-

The length of the hooked claw like the ice seed jade is obviously not as thick as the roasted naan, and it only scratches the surface of the roasted naan, but it easily cuts off a piece of the roasted naan.

The three-flowered cat silently retreated, staring up at the Taoist.

“……”

The Taoist also lowered his head to look at him, and couldn't help sighing: "Sanhua Niangniang, you are very boring like this." ”

The three-flowered cat didn't speak, still staring at him.

As if to see how he eats it.

"Alas......"

The Taoist let out a long sigh.

The hardest part of the baked naan is the outermost circle, as hard as a stone, slightly softer inside, but also like dry clay, Song You broke off a piece, put it in his mouth, slowly softened it with the temperature and saliva in his mouth, and at the same time covered the top of his eyes with his hands, looking up at the sky.

The sun seems to be roasting the earth.

The desert seems to have no bounds.

The roasted naan finally softened slowly, releasing the fragrance of wheat, with some sesame fragrance, a touch of sweetness and a hint of saltiness.

Song You finished eating a small piece and broke another small piece.

I just felt dry and had to drink a sip of water, but I didn't dare to drink too much.

The three-flowered cat was still staring at him.

After a few moments, she finally looked away, and turned her head to look away, but suddenly she burst out like lightning, and rushed into a shady sand pile, and there was a sharp gouge against the sand.

I saw the sand flying, raising the old high.

In just a few breaths, the three-flowered cat came back with an earthy yellow lizard in its mouth, its steps swaying, like a victorious general, and placed the lizard in front of Song You, and then raised its head and stared at him who was eating naan without blinking.

"Eat this!"

Sanhua Niangniang said.

"No more, thank you."

Song You replied while breaking the naan.

"Eat!"

The three-flowered cat touched the lizard with its paws again.

"Sanhua Niangniang eats it herself."

"Everyone here eats this! Eat grilled this! Sanhua Cat persuaded, "It tastes similar to the chicken you like to eat!" ”

"I have naan."

"It's not delicious!"

"Okay."

"No meat!"

"Next time, definitely."

“！”

The three-flowered cat raised its head, her expression became more and more serious, and stared at him for a while, then she withdrew her gaze, shook her head, picked up the lizard, and hid in the shadows to eat.

After lunch, move on.

The yellow sand and white sand on the road ahead were converted to each other, and the Gobi and the desert were staggered several times, and Song You followed the direction pointed out by Zhang Zhizhou and went all the way to the land of fire.

The further you go, the higher the temperature.

The temperature far exceeds body temperature, and the temperature on the surface of the sand can burn the skin of ordinary people in an instant, and the three-flowered cat has to change back into human form and walk in shoes. Thick clothes have become more resistant to the heat than thin clothes.

The sky was blue, the earth was yellow, and there was not a single plant or animal in sight.

At first, Sanhua Niangniang occasionally stopped, turned her head and looked straight at a certain place, as if there was a lizard, or a snake or a scorpion lurking under the sand, indicating that this place was not dead and silent. But after two days of walking, there were very few of these small animals.

Walking through it, the direction becomes difficult to discern, and time seems to become mysterious.

Grabbing a handful of sand, maybe it came from tens of thousands of years ago, looking around, everything you see, maybe it was like this as early as 10,000 years ago, and until you leave, until you come to the end of your life, it is still like this, as if it has not changed in the slightest.

Time seems to pass very slowly.

It seems to be going by very quickly.

Where Song You walked at this time, I don't know how many predecessors have walked by, and I don't know how many descendants will come. It is very likely that the scenery seen by the Taoist people and cats at this time is no different from what people saw when they passed by here hundreds of thousands of years ago, and hundreds of thousands of years later, if there are descendants who come here again, the scenery they cheer for is almost no different from what Song You saw at this time.

It's like a sky full of stars overhead.

It's a wonderful feeling.

It's as if time is in two distinct contradictory states: blurring and clarity.

Walking in it, like walking at the end of the world and time, is a great loneliness, and a rare test and practice.

"Have you ever seen the Salt Tower?"

"What's that?"

"It's a very tall tower, when it is operating, its top will be like white jade, glowing with strong light, if it is on a sunny day, even if it is dozens of miles away, you can see the dazzling light it emits. It's like the sun on the ground, it's hard to look at it directly. Song You said as he walked, "That's a miracle of people." ”

"Sanhua Niangniang has never seen the salt tower."

"I hope Sanhua Niangniang can take a look at it in the future."

"Where's the Salt Tower?"

"Later." Song You said, pursed his lips, and added, "Maybe." ”

"How long later?"

"How long? I don't know. Song You was helpless, "I can only try to make it faster." ”

"You're not smart."

"yes." Song You's voice was small to save more saliva, "If I'm as smart as Sanhua Niangniang, let it come tomorrow." ”

"Hmm......"

The girl turned her head to stare at him, her eyes like amber.

After a while, her eyebrows seemed to soften a lot, and she only asked suspiciously, "Why did you suddenly say that thing?" ”

"It's just a little nostalgic."

"Nostalgia?"

"yes."

"I don't understand ......"

“……”

The Taoist walked slowly with a cane, pursed his lips, and did not dwell on this topic, but turned his head and continued to ask: "Have you ever heard of a saying about Sanhua Niangniang?" ”

"Sanhua Niangniang has heard a lot of sayings!"

"Every star in the sky corresponds to a piece of sand on the earth." Song You said calmly, "Sanhua Niangniang has stepped on a lot of stars now. ”

"Hmm......"

The girl suddenly lowered her head and looked at her feet.

"Isn't it interesting?"

"Hmm......"

The girl turned her head and looked ahead, with no expression on her little face: "It's too hot, let's talk less." ”

“……”

Song You couldn't help but be silent.

It's rare for this little thing to realize this.

When I thought about it, I felt as if I had been comforted, so I withdrew my gaze and moved forward in silence.

As the sun sets, it is another desert sunset.

The Taoist and his party were still walking in the desert.

It's just that the temperature slowly drops, from scorching heat to comfort, the sand on the ground has changed from hot to warm, and Sanhua Niangniang has also changed back to a cat.

"Brush ......"

A swallow flew over, landed on top of the horse's head, turned its head and combed its feathers before saying, "Sir, there should be the land of fire in front, and there are fires burning all over the ground for ten miles, and we are not going in the wrong direction." But we're still a few dozen miles away, and we probably won't be there until tomorrow. ”

"Tomorrow, then."

"Shall we rest here today?"

"Don't worry, take advantage of the sunshine to take another ride."

"Good!"

The desert was cast a shadow, and the shadows of the group were also stretched out.

Sanhua Cat turned her head, looking at the swallow suspiciously as she walked, and the temperature that fell at dusk made her recover a lot of desire to speak: "Every time you speak, why do you only call Mr. and not Sanhua Niangniang?" ”

The swallow above the horse's head was stunned.

Because Sanhua Niangniang can't be the master.

"Because...... Because Sanhua Niangniang has other things to worry about, she is already very busy all day long, and this little thing does not need to, just, and dare not disturb Sanhua Niangniang anymore. ”

It can be seen that although Yanzi often listens to the conversation between the Taoist and the Sanhua cat, and has been exposed to it for several years, due to the limitation of his own talent, he is not proficient in the "communication skills of Mr. and Sanhua Niangniang", and his speech is not natural, and he will get stuck.

“？”

The cat stared at the swallow suspiciously.

No one can see any expression on a cat's face, and how can a cat see anything on a feathered bird's face?

"I see."

The cat nodded, and once she accepted it in her heart, she became happy, and soon asked, "Then why do you stand on the horse's head every time you fall down to rest, and sometimes you stand on the shoulders of the Taoist priests, but never on the back of the Sanhua Niangniang?" You're such a small one, Sanhua Niangniang can afford to carry you. ”

"Because...... Because Sanhua Niangniang is busy taking care of me and my husband every day, she is already very tired, how dare she be tired of Sanhua Niangniang again? ”

"But you're so small, it's not heavy at all. Sanhua Niangniang can carry you away. ”

“……”

The swallow was stunned.

Fortunately, it is the swallow itself, if it is transformed into a human form, I am afraid that his face has completed the transformation from normal skin color to red to white.

"This ...... It doesn't have to be. ”

"Why?"

"Horse ...... The top of the horse's head is wider and it is more stable to stand up! Sanhua Niangniang's back is narrow, uneven, and has long hair, so it's not so appropriate to stand up and stand up! ”

Swallow is really brainstorming.

While trying to figure out how to answer, he had to use "the high-end skills of Mr. and Sanhua Niangniang", which was really difficult for him.

"That's just as well."

Sanhua Cat nodded, and then sent out another invitation: "Then Sanhua Niangniang will take you to hunt tonight." There are snakes and lizards hidden in the sand, and there are scorpions, there are fewer and fewer here, and they hide in the sand during the day, deeper than there, and they will come out at night, and the three flower girls will take you to catch them, and they will be roasted and eaten tomorrow. ”

"Three, Sanhua Niangniang, I'm just a bird."

"Forget it."

"Hoo ......"

"Then you roll in the sand! The sand is hot, and rolling around is like taking a hot bath! ”

"No, no......"

"Then you ......"

The Taoist does not squint and walks forward with a cane.

Suddenly, he untied the cloth that wrapped his face, and he couldn't stop smiling.

The sun has set in the distance, but it is at its most beautiful.

……

There will be no campfires tonight, because there is no burning wood.

However, there is a beautiful glow on the horizon, and the stars appear one after another overhead, and I think that until dawn, this world will not be pitch black.

It's just that the night is windy, and it's a little cool.

Sanhua Cat was a little unhappy, because tonight she wasted a lot of strength, ran a long way, caught two small snakes and a few scorpions, and wanted to give their Taoist priest to eat, but this Taoist priest first said that there was no firewood here and he would not eat raw, she said that she spit fire to burn, and he said that he did not eat the food cooked by the spiritual fire, she thought for a long time before she came up with a way to use sand to roast it, and he said that there was still a melon that was not eaten yet, and it would be bad if you didn't finish eating it today.

If the melon is not eaten and it will be bad, will the scorpion snake not be it?

So she lay on her stomach and ignored the Taoist.

But as the night deepened, the temperature dropped again, and the stars became brighter and brighter, and she looked at the stars as if she had forgotten her previous displeasure, and crawled over to the Taoist again, and whispered to him.

"Is there a sand on the ground and a star in the sky?"

"That's what people say."

"There are as many stars in the sky as there is sand on the earth."

"Sanhua Niangniang doesn't know. There may be more stars in the sky than there is sand on the ground. ”

"Really?"

"Guess."

"Guess!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe ......"

The cat learned his posture, lying down, her legs flat, her hands flat, only one tail straight and vertically covering her body, like a small quilt, the stars were shining in her amber eyes, and she looked at it for a long time before she suddenly said: "Then will you take Sanhua Niangniang to see the salt tower in the future?" ”

“……”

The Taoist was silent for a long time before he said:

"Maybe."

"Maybe!"

"Maybe."

"Maybe!!"

"Who knows what will happen in the future."

"Guess!"

"Can't guess."

"Then you're not smart."

The cat shook her head and continued to look at the stars.

The tail shook unconsciously, and she grabbed it unconsciously.

I don't know when I fell asleep.

In a daze, she seemed to have a dream.

In the dream, one after another high towers were built in this vast desert, all of which were many layers of exquisite pagodas, only the top of the tower was made of white jade, glowing, like the sun.

Then I dreamed of the seaside.

It's also very sunny, but there is endless water. Just climb the tree and pick a coconut to quench your thirst, you don't need to save water at all, just go to the beach and walk around, you can pick up a lot of fish and shrimp to feed your stomach, you don't have to worry about having nothing to eat, and the main thing is that those fish and shrimp are delicious and Taoist priests also eat, and here are like two worlds.

The Taoist beside him still had his eyes open, silently thinking, it was a rare cat that slept for a night that he hadn't slept on.

As the night deepened, the starry sky grew brighter and brighter. Lying in the boundless desert, a sense of loneliness arises spontaneously, reflecting the vast galaxy in his eyes, and he also sees his own insignificance, but this desert or the galaxy does not know how many years, and compared with the shortness of life, it seems that the source of civilization is only in the last moment.

It was also a rare practice.

“……”

The Taoist couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Who says the desert is not hospitable?

The sky is full of stars to welcome a person.

(End of chapter)