The further north the carriage went, the closer it got to the desert, the loess gradually turned to yellow sand, and the occasional dead trees along the road turned into low shrubs, until all the green disappeared completely.

In the end, what catches my eye is the unchanging, the desolation of thousands of miles of bare land, and the accumulation of white bones that are exposed in the wild from time to time.

These bones, some of birds and beasts, and some of them were human, and they glowed a miserable blue light in the sunlight, like a work of art carved out of flawless white jade. Vultures and wolves tore flesh from the bones, but the dry air blowing in the desert kept the bones for a long time.

After getting along for a few days, Tianmo didn't have any other rude behavior except for his annoying mouth, and sometimes he took the initiative to stand for Su Su for a while, so that Su Su could take a break by Xiang Bei's side.

Counting the days, more than a month has passed since the limit said by the great witch doctor, Xiang Bei has no other abnormalities except for the longer and longer sleep, and the occasional fever has also recovered quickly under Su Su's careful care.

"You guy, don't die. ”

Su Su often took advantage of Xiang Bei's sleepiness to stare at his bloodless but still handsome face, and muttered silently in his heart.

But often the fatigue of the journey hits, smelling the unique smell of this half-grown man, the heroine Su Su will soon fall asleep.

It's just that Su Su never dreamed of the immortal who instructed her to go to Baishou Mountain, and listening to Tianmo's story along the way, inexplicably made her think that the old man might be the Taoist of Tiansong.

At sunset on this day, a black spot appeared on the line of heaven and earth in the distance, and there was a wisp of green smoke on the black spot, listening to the introduction of the old man Tianmo, this is the last lonely city before entering the desert, and it is also the last place that can be replenished, Shule City.

The Escape Alliance is mainly active in the Great Xia Kingdom. After the First World War, Su Su took Xiang Bei all the way north through Nanjun and Beiliang, and now when he was about to enter the desert, he stepped into the territory of Daxia again, this Shule City is an enclave of Daxia, and the connection between Daxia and Shule City was originally a narrow uninhabited canyon, and now this canyon is entrenched by bandits, bandits and stragglers from various countries. The city of Shurek had no choice but to hang out in the sea.

This Shule City shows the glory of the Great Xia Empire, but the momentum of the northern attack and the westward sweep of Xiqiang has gradually been hidden under this endless yellow sand.

When the carriage had just vaguely seen Shule, the soldier in charge of monitoring the watchtower at the head of the city of Shule found the carriage, and he immediately made a gesture to the watchtower, and the soldier in charge of reporting under the tower recorded the content of the gesture and ran to the captain's camp on the side of the city wall to report.

"Captain Tang, five miles southwest, a carriage, and a horse outside, the number is unknown. ”

Looking at the Taishi chair behind the table, there was a thin military general, wearing the coarse cloth clothes of ordinary people, but wearing a pair of slightly loose cowhide bracers.

Tang Shan listened to the report of his subordinates, and immediately ordered, "Let Geng Zhong go and investigate." ”

The spy named Geng Zhong led the order to lead out the war horse, and waited for the city gate to creak open a thin crack, and even the people and horses squeezed out, and then a cloud of dust rose behind him.

After half a pillar of incense, Geng Zhong reported, "There are two men and one woman in the car, the half-grown man doesn't look light, the old blind man is not useful, and the little lady looks quite tasteful." Hey. ”

"I know that your kid's ink has nothing good for a long time, and if you talk nonsense, military law will serve!" Captain Tangshan slammed the horsewhip in his hand on the table in front of him, Geng Zhong shrank his neck in fright, and stuck out his tongue,

"Report to the captain, the old blind man among the three is about sixty years old, although he is blind, he can sense my position, and he is estimated to have a keen sense of hearing. The sick boy was fifteen or sixteen years old, although his physical strength was weak, but he had a sword beside him, and the blade of the sword was murderous, and it was estimated that he had taken people's lives. The young woman was about seventeen years old, with a bow behind her, and was a native of Bactria with a ranger arrow box beside her, and a ranger horse,......"

"Do you think there's a threat?"

"Yes, but the target should not be our Shule. ”

"Purpose?"

"Baishou Mountain in northern Xinjiang. ”

"Baishou Mountain, Northern Forbidden Mountain, what are they doing there?"

"Lao Dao said that they went to seek medical advice. ”

"Well, that's reasonable. Let's have a tailwind. ”

"Yes. "Lieutenant Tangshan's subordinates obeyed the order, but others didn't know what the word "tailwind" meant.

The Great Xia garrison did not embarrass Su Su and Xiang Bei, and the carriage was put into the city, and the city gate was closed tightly behind them.

The city of Shure, said to be a city, is not much larger than a village, along a dirt road and a small street, lined with a few half-open shops. Behind the shop, there are a few half-cut earthen houses with desert style, and the only thing that makes people feel a little Daxia charm is the captain's camp built of dead wood mixed with loess, and a tattered Daxia military flag is hung on the flagpole in front of the camp gate, highlighting the identity of the camp owner.

Su Su and the others were already sleepy, and after entering the city, they stayed in the only inn in the middle of the side street.

The inn was also built with mud walls, the skin of which had been peeled off layer by layer by the desert arid monsoon, and a puff of dust would be raised at any time. When Su Su stayed overnight, the proprietress sitting behind the account room was embarrassed, "The small shop is tight, there is only one room left, you see ......"

"It's okay, as long as my brother can get a good night's sleep. Su Su pointed to Xiang Bei.

Hearing Su Su say this, the casually dressed proprietress subconsciously tightened the collar scattered on her shoulders and wrapped most of her chest that was originally exposed, "Since this is the case, then you can stay." ”

As she spoke, the proprietress beckoned her to pull the carriage into the yard for Su Su.

Tianmo arched down from the carriage, and also wanted to follow up the guest room, but was stopped by Su Su, "Look at such a narrow bed, let Xiang Bei rest well." ”

"But my old man?" Tianmo unexpectedly showed a trace of grievance.

"I'd better trouble your old man to go to the carriage. ”

"Huh?" Tianmo was a little unwilling, but Su Su's body held the door of the guest room, even if Tianmo leaned forward, Su Su frowned, Su Su would never back down.

The proprietress on the side saw it clearly, "This old man, although there is no guest room in the inn, there is an empty bed in the firewood room. ”

"So good, listening to the voice, you must be a beautiful and kind-hearted female bodhisattva. Look at me as a poor old blind man, you must be a good person with good rewards. This set of rhetoric is similar to when he first met Su Su, and it is estimated that the old blind man is too lazy to make up other flattering words.

"What about you, girl?" asked Su Su with concern.

"I just sit in a chair and take a nap, I can't have no one around him. Saying that, Su Su glanced at Xiang Bei, who was already lying down.

The proprietress glanced at the ruddy face on Su Su's face, with an expression of "I understand", "Girl, there are no people in Shule City for hundreds of miles, seeing that you have come from afar, I don't know how long you have to travel, so you can squeeze with me at night." Get a good rest. ”

Seeing that Su Su was still hesitating, the proprietress added, "Don't worry, it's not far from your brother's room, you can come to see him at any time." Come on, let's go to my sister's room and wash up first. ”

The temptation of this last sentence is too great, and it is impossible for Su Su to refuse to wash the dust off his body.

The outside of the hostess's room looked similar to other rough and ugly mud walls, but as soon as she entered the door, Su Su felt the feeling of a boudoir that she had not seen for a long time. The tables and chairs in the room were meticulously polished, the floor was covered with wide animal skins, and the bed was a thin veil that exuded a faint fragrance.

Seeing that Su Su was still a little hesitant, the proprietress enthusiastically held her hand, "You're welcome, sister, in addition to those sweaty wild men in this Shule City, it is rare to see a sister like you, you accompany your sister to Lala tonight, and you will pay for the room." ”

As he spoke, the man filled the bucket behind the screen in the room with hot water. The proprietress took out a set of dry coarse cloth clothes from the bottom of her wardrobe,

"My clothes over the years are all vulgar things, and I guess only this set of clothes I brought when I came here is suitable for my sister's good figure. After taking a shower, let's change my clothes. ”

The hostess's unusual enthusiasm made Su Su quite uncomfortable, and she didn't want to undress in front of outsiders.

Unexpectedly, the proprietress understood, exited the door, and asked Su Su to lock the door from the inside, waiting for her to clean it herself.

After all, Su Su's doubts could not compete with the attraction of the pool of hot water, and after repeatedly confirming that it was safe, he finally immersed his skinny body in the warm bathtub......

In the corner of the outer wall of the inn, two black shadows quietly touched the window, one of them licked his fingers wet, trembling and wanted to buckle the thick window paper on the window, but suddenly the proprietress clamped her ears with her hand and picked it up,

The proprietress lowered her voice, "Go and tell you Tang Tou, this is my Zhao Meier's sister-in-law, who dares to beat her idea, see that I Zhao Meier doesn't have to slap him to death." ”

The black shadow has good kung fu, but he didn't dare to resist, so he could only lower his voice and beg for mercy. Zhao Mei'er was angry and let go of her fingers, "I'll chat with my sister today and tell Tang Tou that you don't need to come over." ”

In the room, after Su Su bathed, she changed into the coarse cloth clothes prepared by the proprietress, although the clothes were slightly shabby, but fortunately, they were clean and tidy, and Su Su's sassy posture was even more obvious.

The proprietress came in and carefully combed Su Su's hair bun, and at the same time praised her, "Sister, once the dust on your body is washed away, you really look like a fairy." Which hungry wolf can let you go, how dare you just go to the desert?"

Su Su was moved by the proprietress and didn't plan to hide it, "Eldest sister, you have a really good heart, I won't hide it from you, I want to heal my brother's injuries." ”

"There are only two sisters left in this house, you still don't hide it from me, the eldest sister has lived for more than 30 years, you see that young man's eyes are not younger brothers. ”

"No, he's a year younger than me, and he's my brother. ”

The proprietress was not in a hurry to grab Bai Susu, but sighed, "Do you know why my sister met you at first sight? When I came to Shule City, I was about the same age as you, and at that time, I also came to this deserted place for my younger brother." ”

"Huh, what about your brother?"

"Well, that's my own brother. The proprietress let out a long sigh and stopped talking. Su Su couldn't help but secretly look at the face of the proprietress, although it was a bit of a gesture, but there were already slight fine lines at the corners of her eyes, and when she mentioned her younger brother, tears flashed in her eyes, thinking that it touched the sadness, so it was inconvenient to ask.

Su Su went to explore Xiang Bei again, and saw that he slept soundly, and then returned to the proprietress boudoir, and the two sisters chatted about the topic between the sisters, which was naturally quite close.

At this moment, in the firewood room of the inn, the blind Tianmo took out a delicate bamboo tube from the sleeve when he was bored, and groped out six copper coins, put them in the bamboo tube and shook them, the copper plate made a crisp impact sound, after a few sounds, Tianmo buckled the bamboo tube, and then touched the six copper coins one by one, his brows were locked for a long time, and he sighed and shook his head.