Southern Xinjiang

The bright moon hung high, shining like a blazing light, and the glittering clear light fell silently on the ground, like the veil of a shy girl, covering most of the stars that shone slightly like broken jade. Far away on the edge of the sky, the sky is gray, covering the four wildernesses. On a street that is no longer noisy in the daytime, Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi walk side by side.

Like water and moonlight, it poured softly on them, with the unique coolness of the night, reflecting two indifferent faces. After nightfall, there are basically no people coming and going on the street during the day, and even on both sides of the road, there are only a few inns with faint candlelight on the lanterns.

Lu Xueqi glanced at him beside him, her long eyelashes flashed lightly, and her beautiful face floated with a layer of light gentleness. The night breeze is blowing, and the snow-white gauze is gently flying in the night, like a silent neon carnival, reflecting the owner's elegant and immortal figure, blooming with a touching peerless style.

On the cold street, a few passers-by would walk by from time to time, and they couldn't help but glance at the silent man and woman a few more times as they walked by, especially the beautiful woman in white, which attracted more attention.

The two of them ignored these superfluous glances and walked into an inn named 'Drunken Dream House'. As soon as you enter, the typical southern Xinjiang style decoration is displayed in front of you. The interior of the store is made of local wood, and although it is small, it is clean and quiet. A few rustic square tables are quietly placed in the lobby, although the hour is a little late, but on a few tables, there are still some people sitting drinking and chatting, which is more lively.

Under the faint candlelight, a young man hurriedly walked out of the counter. With a warm look and a courteous smile, he greeted Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi: "Two guest officers, do you want to be sharp or stay in the hotel?" Zhang Xiaofan smiled at him gently and said, "Stay in the hotel." "Oh, please come upstairs at the hotel, and you two will come with me." The young man greeted him warmly, turned around, and led the way upstairs.

"Xiao Er, why is your store called 'Drunken Dream House'?" Zhang Xiaofan asked with a smile as he walked up the stairs. Xiao Er replied with a smile: "Guest officer, it seems that you are not locals." Zhang Xiaofan let out a "hmm". "The wine we brew is famous, with a strong aroma and excellent taste, and everyone will have a feeling of drunkenness after drinking it, so our shopkeeper gave it this name." Xiao Er smiled.

"I see." Zhang Xiaofan said lightly, Xiao Er opened a bamboo door and greeted Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi: "Guest officer, this is your room, which is far away from the street, and it is the most clean." "Okay, thank you!" Zhang Xiaofan looked at him with a smile, and then said, "I'm sorry for you to bring some food, and bring two pots of your good wine." ”

After that, Zhang Xiaofan handed over a piece of silver to the little second-hand, "Okay, you wait, I'll come in a while." Xiao Er said enthusiastically, then bowed slightly to Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi, and went down to prepare.

Xiao Er left, and the candlelight in the room flickered, sprinkling tranquility and light. Zhang Xiaofan closed the door of the room, turned around and saw Lu Xueqi still standing in place, the bright candlelight shining on her beautiful face, which became more and more soft and moving.

The night was so silent. It seems that because of this beautiful woman, she hides her breath. Zhang Xiaofan smiled slightly, walked up to her, and said softly, "Let's rest after eating." She put her sword on the table and answered, "Uh-huh....."

Soon, food and wine arrived. But Xiao Er turned back after walking out of the door and instructed: "Guest officer, I forgot to say that if you don't have anything important, it's best not to go out at night." Zhang Xiaofan was puzzled and asked, "Why?" Xiao Er continued: "From here to the west is the boundary of the Incense Valley, in the past few months, they have been arresting the nearby residents, I heard that they are practicing some evil arts, and at midnight, some people saw a huge monster with a whole body on fire haunting the nearby woods, which is terrifying. ”

Lu Xueqi said: "No wonder we saw so few people on the street on the way here, we must be afraid of that monster, right?" Xiao Er was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect this beautiful woman who had never spoken to talk to him, and he forgot to react for a while. After a while, he came back to his senses, his face was a little unnatural because of the loss of concentration just now, his eyes swept over Lu Xueqi, and he didn't dare to look directly, so he had to turn his gaze to Zhang Xiaofan and said, "It's okay during the day, but at night, it will run out and harm people's lives." Not long ago, three people in our city lost their lives because of this, so you see, the doors in the city are basically locked at night......"

Zhang Xiaofan glanced at Lu Xueqi, then turned to Xiao Er, smiled faintly, and said, "I know, thank you." Xiao Er touched his head, laughed twice, seemed to be a little embarrassed, and said: You are polite, then I won't disturb the two, use it slowly. ”

After that, he bowed to Zhang Xiaofan and Lu Xueqi, pushed open the door and left. The soft voice, in this moment of silence, seemed to be a small pebble thrown into the calm water, gradually sinking and disappearing. But I don't know, what kind of ripples will ripple in the hearts of the men around me?

The night is deeper, and the bright moon follows the unchanging trajectory of thousands of years, quietly sinking from the middle of the sky to the edge of the sky. The few scattered lights in this small city in southern Xinjiang began to die out little by little. But when the lights went out, not far away in the deep mountains, there was a faint muffled sound, and even the earth shook slightly, in this quiet night, like a terrifying earthquake, woke up countless people's dreams. No one in this city dared to run out of their homes at this time to find out. However, the doors of each house seem to be tighter.

After eating, Lu Xueqi came to the window, opened it, and saw the silent and empty street, shrouded in the dark and dreary night, and the bright full moon hanging on the sky. A pair of warm hands hugged his waist, and Zhang Xiaofan said, "Are you thinking about what Xiao Er said about the monster just now?" "Xiao Fan, do you think it could be the Incense Valley?" Lu Xueqi asked. Zhang Xiaofan affirmed: "Don't guess, it must be them." ”

Night, darker. It seems that everything that is happening in the depths of this mountain must be hidden deep in darkness. This lonely town sleeps peacefully in the long silent night. However, at this moment, he seemed so helpless, in the midst of such a strange muffled noise and shaking, trembling slightly, facing all the gloom of this late night alone.