Zhao Shun listened to Shu Yan's words, and also sat up to take a look, sure enough, the sand slope where they were was already half blown full, he hurriedly stood up and said, "If you don't want to be buried here, leave quickly." ”

Liu Cai also got up with a bone, and the three of them didn't care about anything else, each of them rode a camel with difficulty against the wind and sand. I didn't care about driving it away, so I just lay on the back of the camel to ensure that the body was not scraped off, and let the camel go. Despite the hardship, the camels eventually brought them to safety. When I opened my eyes, I don't know how long it has been, and I don't know how many miles I have traveled. In short, looking back, it seems that chaos has just opened, and everything is gone.

Nature is so cruel that it can give life in an instant, and it can also take it away in an instant. It's like the rolling yellow sand that buried the horses at this time, and the surging flood that swept away the parents at that time. Man will conquer the sky, only when the sky does not care about people, once the sky is angry, people are pitifully small.

Zhao Shun saw Shu Yan's sad appearance and comforted: "General, don't feel sorry for the horse. For them, this is not a relief! ”

"yes. I think so too. As the desert deepened, not only was it not enough to provide drinking water for the horses, but even the forage was becoming scarce, and now they could barely support it, and when it was cold, they would starve to death, if not thirsty. ”

"Don't feel sorry for the horses yet, we may be too busy to take care of ourselves." originally thought that Liu would cry because of the loss of the horse, but who knew that when the horse was really lost, he was so calm.

"What do you mean?" Zhao Shun asked in surprise.

"Our bags are gone."

Shu Yan suddenly realized. It turned out that when the sandstorm came, he was only concerned about running for his life, and not only did he not care about saving the horses, but also discarded the bags that he had carried on the horses, and there were bedding, winter clothing, money, food and water. Now all that is left is the relevant documents that Shu Yan carried with him, as well as everyone's weapons, and more than half of the gourd water for each person. Fortunately, the flint is still there, but the road map is lost.

All three knew what that meant.

Liu Cairu lost his soul and said weakly: "All the money saved for food and frugality has been lost, and there is no road map, how to go on the rest of the road?" Without winter clothes, how can you survive the coming bitter cold? The main thing is that there is no water, and without water, we may not survive more than two days. ”

Although Shu Yan also knew that he was facing real trouble, as the backbone, he could only hold on, pretending to be calm and said: "There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain." People are alive and can be flexible about anything. As long as he can reach Yanqi City, with our status as an envoy of the Great Jin Dynasty, he should not refuse to borrow a little entanglement from King Yanqi. As long as you have money, winter clothes, water and rice, etc., you don't have to worry, everything can be done properly in Yanqi City. As for the road map, I already know it, and it doesn't matter if I have it or not. ”

"But what about the lack of water? How can this be solved? Can you guarantee to arrive in Yanqi within two days? ”

Shu Yan looked around, after this sandstorm, covering all the traces, he was lying on the back of a camel in a daze, messing up his position, and he didn't know how far he went, and he deviated from the original route. When everything is normal, there is no certainty that a water source will be found, and now there is no certainty at all.

"Camels. Isn't it said that this thing is the best way to find water? Zhao Shun suddenly remembered.

For Zhao Shun's method, Shu Yan doesn't know? But camels are only stronger than people, not immortals, who said that camels must find water every time! But of course Shu Yan can't say that. In times of extreme difficulty, it is more important than anything else to preserve the will.

"Yes, we will ride our camels, and we will not drive them, but let them go wherever they go, and we may find water."

Perform as such. The three men rode on camels and let them go as they pleased. I thought that the camels would stride in one direction, but who knew that they did not move in a uniform manner at all. One on the left and one on the right, each working on their own, leisurely looking for weeds to eat in the sand.

"They don't seem to be looking for water at all." Zhao Shun said disappointedly.

Seeing this, Liu Cai hurriedly shouted: "You stupid things, you only care about eating, it's important to find water." General, look at them! ”

Although camels are drought tolerant, they also know the dangers of water shortages. They also want to find water as soon as possible! The reason why they are not in a hurry to find water is most likely that there is no water at all within their perception range.

"This big, thorny, tuber-like unknown weed quenches hunger and thirst. When the camels are hungry, they have to be fed before they have the strength to find water. Shu Yan defended the camel like this. Actually, it's better to cheer yourself up.

Zhao Shun and Liu Cai will also be skeptical of Shu Yan's explanation, but they still prefer to believe that it is true.

But the camel is not reliable after all. By the third day, the last drop of water was also gone.

Not only did they not find a water source, but a cold snap suddenly broke out, and it was suddenly cold below freezing. In the endless desert, there are no yellow leaves and no flowers. It seems that I didn't experience autumn, and I suddenly went from summer to winter.

As twilight approached, the three of them leaned against a sunny and sheltered slope, hungry, thirsty, and cold. There is no clothing outside to keep warm, and there are no calories to burn inside. Zhao Shun and Liu Cai didn't have any energy at this time, they curled up in a ball, and all their perseverance had been exhausted.

Shu Yan knew that motivating them at this time no longer had any effect, but he did not give up himself. Fighting his spirits, he found some dry grass and dead branches everywhere, lit a small bonfire, and then huddled together with Zhao Shun and Liu Cai to keep warm.

If you can't find water tomorrow and can't find winter clothes, then this life will really end here. It's really sad.

In Shu Yan's life plan before he became an adult, it was very simple, just like his parents, he and Zhixin were farmers and weavers, and they loved each other all their lives, but they didn't expect to go to Luoyang to be an official. Later, Zhixin died, and when he arrived in Luoyang, he also knew that his career in Luoyang would not be very smooth, and the result he envisioned was to leave his career and return to his hometown to retreat to the countryside. Until he knew Xiao Mo's true identity, he would take finding Xiao Mo back as the first priority in the second half of his life. Whatever the outcome - maybe you can find it in a year or two, of course, and then accompany her to the ends of the earth; Maybe you can't find it in your life, so you will return to your hometown alone and live in the countryside. In short, I never expected that the guest would die in this barren foreign land, buried in the yellow sand......

"He's dead!"

Shu Yan was thinking in a trance in his head, suddenly heard a shout, opened his eyes, but saw Zhao Shun holding Liu Cai and shaking around, he was taken aback, and hurriedly rushed forward, taking advantage of the misty moon, he found that Liu Cai's eyes were closed, his face was like ash, his body was cold, and he had no breath.

Although he was sad, he still kept a little sober and said to Zhao Shun: "Let him go." Man is dead, and there is no way to return to heaven. It's still important to save yourself. ”

"Don't kid yourself, General. Don't have any more hopes, Liu Cai is just a day earlier than us, and tomorrow we will both end up the same. It is better to dig out three sand pits as soon as possible, bury Liu Cai first, and then the two of us also lie in them, no one helps us bury them, just wait for the wind to blow, and blow the pit flat, which can be regarded as entering the earth for safety, so as not to be eaten by jackals and eagle vultures on the surface of the violent corpse. ”

Zhao Shunqiang stood up and dug a hole in the sand with his sword. Shu Yan didn't stop Zhao Shun, but felt that what Zhao Shun said was very reasonable. yes, isn't it still the same to die tomorrow? Instead of being so cowardly and unwilling to curl up and wait for death, it is better to lie down in the pit and die decently first!

"You dig one, I'm better than you, I'll dig two." Shu Yan picked up the sword that Xiao Mo left for him and dug a pit. The sword is okay for self-defense, digging a pit is not suitable at all. Besides, the two of them haven't stuck to their teeth for several days in a row, how can they still have the strength? Fortunately, the sand was soft, so it was faster to simply drop the sword and dig it with your hands. Shu Yan's physical strength is indeed much stronger than Zhao Shun, and when the other party finished digging a pit, he also dug two pits. Of course, just digging a layer of surface, shallow three bunkers. The two of them worked together to drag Liu Cai into a pit and bury him with sand.

Shu Yan suddenly felt sad, bowed to Liu Cai a few times, and then said to Zhao Shun: "This westward trip, I, Shu Yan, are destined to be unable to escape, but the two of you have also been sent for no reason." It's not a pity that I died, and you two also died, which really makes me feel ashamed. As he spoke, he bowed to Zhao Shun again.

Zhao Shun had no energy at this time, and knelt in front of Shu Yan and said: "The general is a person of great benevolence and righteousness, and it is the luck of his life to be able to follow the general, although he died, he has no regrets." He was your companion in life, and he will serve you after death. General, leave a pit in the middle to you, and I will divide Liu Cai from your left and right. ”

The righteous lord is a loyal servant, and it is deeply moving. The two of them lay down in the pit with the last of their strength, quietly waiting for death.

Although he had no energy, Shu Yan was still a little conscious. I don't know how long it was, and I don't know if it was a real illusion, but he seemed to hear a camel bell, and then he felt a breath hit his nostrils, and then a wet and rough body brushed over his face. He half-opened his eyes and saw two huge nostrils, and it was his own camel licking himself with his tongue. He didn't have the energy to pay attention to it, but he muttered in his heart: I am about to die, and I can't save you, if you have the ability, let you run for your lives.

He closed his eyes again. But he felt that the sound of the camel bell was getting louder and clearer, as if it was coming from far and near, and it was not like the bell of his own three camels, but more like the sound of more than a dozen camel bells.

"Huawa is right, there are really people here."

He heard a cacophony of human voices! Immediately opened his eyes, and saw that his bunker was already occupied with more than a dozen camels.

"People are still alive." The men shouted.

Some people died, but not completely......