Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Mysterious Mission

Long Ying entered Khotan City, revisited the old places, knew the way, and went to the jade shop he had visited first.He made a lot of money and bought more than twenty pieces of suet jade with five taels of gold, all of which were carefully selected by his demon eyes.I thought that as long as I bring it back to Middle Earth and find a skilled craftsman to carve it carefully, it will definitely be worth a lot of money after it is formed into a tool. It seems that it is not too difficult to make money in business.Bring it as a gift to your beloved beauty, and it can even please her. I went to the market again, bought a batch of clothes, turned them into a package on my back, and then left the inner city, mixed in the crowd, and walked slowly to the camel farm opened by the Camel King, which is located on the edge of the outer city.

When passing by a row of restaurants, I suddenly felt a pair of sharp eyes that seemed to be real, and fell on him. I first looked at his body shape, and finally looked at his ugly face before moving away. Long Ying didn't dare to look back, and complained in his heart, these eyes were not the eyes of ordinary masters, but the eyes of a mysterious person, which made him feel familiar. Could it be that Wanqi Jichun is also in Khotan, how could she have guessed that they would come back to Khotan again?If this is the case, their so-called plan to go to Kucha like cheating gods and ghosts is tantamount to death.In the desert, they were no match for the Mysterious Man.

Now is the dry season, and the green shortcuts will be covered by wind and sand, leaving sporadic oases formed by the gushing of groundwater. The situation is only a little better than other places in the Sea of ​​Death, so business travel has disappeared.Even though the three of them disguised themselves and rode camels, how could they hide from the mysterious person? While having a headache, he entered the camel farm with the big wooden fence open for business. As far as the eye can see, apart from a few wooden buildings more than a hundred feet away, there are large fences on the left and right. There are seven or eight camels in each fence area, standing or sitting. The space is spacious and there is no crowd. Feeling forced, the camels all seemed very peaceful.Farther to the left and right, there are large grasslands and sparse forests, with camels roaming around.

For a while, the eardrums were filled with the sound of the camel's exhalation and neighing, and the nostrils were filled with the unique smell of their bodies and excrement. The thought of riding them across the desert and spending time with them was a strange feeling. There is another group of guests in the venue, but they are not ordinary customers. They have clear masters and subordinates, and they can be seen from the clothes and demeanor as two groups of people. They are in civilian clothes, but they are all masters of hanging swords and sabers, and they seem to be members of a local gang.

Two groups of big men were scattered all over the place, forming a protective net, following the two people at the core, they walked slowly along the fence.The two surrounded by them obviously have status and status. One is tall and the other is short, the taller is about an inch shorter than Long Ying, and they are between forty and forty-five years old. They have big ears, a dignified appearance, thick hands and feet, and they have the demeanor of a master, and they are used to giving orders. The other person is older, of medium build, with a thin face, and he also has the air of a master. His eyes are shining and energetic, and his gaze is full of power. He doesn't need to wear official uniforms, but he still has the style of a high official.

What they have in common is that they have a calm and composed demeanor, directing the camel to talk, not looking at the dragon eagle like other people. As Longying walked forward, he used his magic skills at the same time, and immediately took the conversation between the two into his ears. The tall man spoke Tubo language, and said: "The best camel is useless. You refuse to use desert rats to lead the way. Once you get lost, the consequences will be unimaginable. No one is going north at this time, so listen to my advice. Wait for the Khotan River to flow again before setting off!"

The short man sighed: "I don't want to use the desert rat, because I can see from his eyes that his intentions are not righteous. How can the treasure entrusted by the king and the lives of more than a hundred people be entrusted to this kind of person?" The tall man said: "There is such a reason. Master Zhuang Wen is proficient in the way of matching people, so he must not have misunderstood it. I reminded him that there were indeed two big deals related to him. The bloody Xue Yantuo horse thief ransacked everything. Ugh! I'll have the desert rat arrested later, and I'll break his dog's legs if he doesn't tell the truth."

Suddenly, Long Ying's ears were filled with another voice, speaking in Khotan dialect that he didn't understand. Longying reluctantly went to the big man who stopped him and said, "Do you know how to speak Tubo dialect? I'm here to buy camels." At the same time, I thought that the tall and short people were talking in the most popular Tibetan language in this area.Just like myself and the man in front of me, we don't know each other's language. The man from the camel farm said: "So it's for buying camels. Our farm only sells high-quality camels, and we can't even buy camels that come close. Of course, the price is more expensive than other places."

Long Ying felt naughty and said, "Since they are all the same goods, are the prices the same?" The man was slightly taken aback, but after thinking about it, as long as the price of all the camels is the same as the most expensive camel, there is nothing to be afraid of him.He lowered his voice and said, "We only accept gold here. You can choose a tael of gold and a camel." Hearing that he lowered his voice deliberately, Longying understood, and shouted loudly on purpose: "One ingot of gold and one camel. Are you robbing or stealing money? If it is not to save time, I can cross the desert with two legs."

When the "Great Desert" was mentioned, the two people who were picking up camels more than ten feet away stopped talking and looked at him. The man immediately turned pale.In the voice of a gnat, he said: "If you don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. Why yell? Alas! It's your half-two. Which peak to choose?" Long Ying pointed to the three camels that were near or far away, distributed in different enclosures.He also explained the characteristics of the selected camels, and did not allow men to mislead them.After finishing speaking in one breath, the man's face can be as ugly as it can be said.

There was applause. The tall man led the short man towards him, surrounded by more than twenty big men. The tall man exclaimed, "I finally met a man who knows how to look at camels. Tell me, brother, why did you choose the most outstanding three-humped camel in my camel farm just by looking around?" Longying had already guessed that he was the most powerful camel king in Khotan, a good friend of Cui Laohou.Otherwise, the man wouldn't be scared to death for fear of being overheard by the big boss asking for a price. Under the gesture of the Camel King, the man backed away like a defeated rooster. The short man looked at Long Ying with scorching eyes, and did not feel contemptuous because of his ugly face. Long Ying just wanted to attract their attention, so he showed his hand with superhuman spiritual sense.Proudly said: "I, Di Duanxiu, can smell the water source in the distance even with my eyes closed, and smell the blood of camels. Picking the best three out of thousands of camels in the arena is just a trivial skill, what's the difference?" The short man in the Camel Dynasty looked over and winked to see his intentions. The man said: "Where do you come from, and where are you going?" Long Ying said lightly: "Please forgive me for not revealing this." The man nodded and said: "It is true that you must be defensive. I am Zhuang Wen, the prime minister of the Qiemo Kingdom. This is the Camel King, who is the master of this field. My friend is running around the desert, just looking for money. If you can say With the history and whereabouts, maybe you can take my business and make a lot of money." Longying pretended to be excited, of course he clicked on it, never overdo it, and said: "I am a herdsman born in Puchanghai, east of Dashahai, and I travel around with two brothers of the same clan. Buy low and sell high, and after making enough money, spend time and drink, enjoy life, and come back after spending all. Ha! We are still young!" Everyone looked at his ugly face and frowned. Long Ying blamed himself for making old mistakes again, forgetting the "age" of the ugly face. The Camel King asked casually, "Di Duanxiu, which line did you just finish?" Long Ying faced one who was too old to be old, and the other was a high-ranking official who had been in a sinister officialdom for a long time. He had limited knowledge of the environment in this area, so he simply told half truth and half lie about his background, so as not to be caught. A few cross-examinations immediately revealed his flaws.Bet on his grandma's bet. Di Duanxiu is the name from the three beloved beauties Di Ouxian, Duanmu Ling and Meixiu Nafu.Except for Duanmu Ling, the other two women had close physical relationships with him. Meixiu Nafu also felt sweet when she said it because of his big belly. He replied: "My two brothers and I just went to the plateau and took a walk. We took the soldiers and horses road in the Kumtag Desert. After passing through the ghosts, we went down to the Kunlun West Road. We sold high-quality war horses. Traveling at night, all the war horses arrived at the plateau safely. Ha! In the Great Sand Sea, only we can do it. Of course there are tricks in it, but it involves business secrets, please forgive me for not revealing it.” Camel King, Zhuang Wen and others were all moved. Zhuang Wendao: "Isn't the plateau in a state of civil war?" Longying knew the trick, and proudly said: "It is to make money from the war, the more chaos the better, our three brothers are strong in martial arts, no one is afraid. But the civil war is coming to an end, Wei Qili and Xu Shangzhen's side has gained the upper hand , captured the battle castle of Bowo, and now even the city of Langer has fallen into his hands. Our thirty high-quality horses were sold to them, and they earned nearly ten taels of gold." Camel King and Zhuang Wen exchanged glances, and both could see the surprise in the other's heart. The Camel King reached into his bosom, and when he took it out again, a yellow gold ingot appeared in his open palm, and said calmly: "If brother is willing to tell me how to save the life of a horse in the desert, and it can also show the ability to detect water sources." Skill, this ingot of gold is yours." Longying immediately brightened his eyes and said, "This is easy. As long as you feed the horses water mixed with salt from time to time, they will not be afraid of heat and poison. Ha! This is a grassland rather than a desert. The extraordinary ability of the source of water?" Zhuang Wen interjected, "Which clan are you from?" Long Ying bit the bullet and said: "I am from the Hulun tribe." This is the only race he can name among the Puchanghai races.The other party's investigation into the root cause shows that the goods shipped by the other party are not trivial, and there are certain risks. What exactly was transported? It must not be the stunning beauty of Jiao Didi. The desert wind and sand are the enemy of beautiful women. Even if they can live in peace, they will be a few years older. Zhuang Wen gossiped and said in a casual way: "How is your patriarch?" Longying respectfully pressed his palms on his chest, and said: "An Tian is growing stronger and stronger, wandering around among the eight tents, he is still getting more energetic every day. Ha!" Zhuang Wen put away his doubts, and said to the Camel King: "The Hulun people do have the custom of feeding horses with salt. It turns out that there is such a magical effect. I know An Tian, ​​and he has a lot of friendship with the Tubo people. It is reasonable for his nephew to trade with the Tubo people. of." The Camel King stared at him unmoved and said, "There are five wells in my camel yard, Di Duanxiu, can you tell me the location of each well?" Long Ying thought that this was the last test, closed his eyes, and said slowly: "There are not five wells, but three wells. The farthest well is 500 steps behind the house. The largest well is also this well. The other two wells are all wells. On the right side of the house, there are only fifty steps apart. The three wells all come from the same underground water vein, coming from the south and flowing northeast." Then he opened his eyes.Captured the terrified expression of everyone who has not retreated. Seeing the expressions of the others, Zhuang Wen knew that Longying had made the case, and said happily, "As long as you can lead us across the Great Sand Sea to Kucha. I will give each of your three brothers ten taels of gold, also on your behalf." Buy the three camels and give them to you when you arrive in Kucha.” The Camel King said: "Brothers do have amazing skills. After you finish this, you can come to me and make sure you have as many women as you want, and you have endless money in your pocket. I never treat me badly. A man who serves his life." Longying said: "When will we start?" Zhuang Wen said: "Tomorrow morning." He told the time and place, and he must be on time. Long Ying asked casually: "What kind of expensive goods are you transporting?" Zhuang Wen said: "You don't need to worry about this, as long as you take us to Kucha, everything else will be handled by me." Longying felt more and more the mystery of this task, and it would not go smoothly, otherwise why use the word "coping"?Knowingly, he didn't ask any further questions, and left happily, his expression of joy was definitely not feigned. Back outside the city at the pre-appointed secret tent, Wan Renyu sat on a boulder beside the stream in a daze, probably thinking about Nie Fanghua and the child that might be born. Long Ying unloaded the package, sat next to him, and said, "It's better to go back to the Middle Earth immediately, and let us deal with the wasteland dance brothers and sisters." Wan Renyu smiled and said: "Give up halfway, is that something I would do? Even if I can go back quickly, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Only after going through all kinds of hardships and recapturing Qiuci Leyi for the beauty, can I enjoy the journey like an expedition after returning to China." The joy of returning home triumphantly. You boy, how can I trust the two of you to risk life and death?" Longying said: "You don't have to go through life and death this time!" Tell me about meeting the mysterious man and taking over the task of Zhuang Wen. Wan Renyu smiled wryly and said: "You kid knows how to take advantage of the fire and attack the enemy best. Your grandma! Tell me, how do I get from here to the entrance of the Khotan Expressway?" It was Longying's turn to smile wryly, and spread his hands and said, "Is there any other choice? It's better than being chased and killed by the mysterious man! Hehe! Just walk along the Khotan River, and then rely on Lao Tzu's spirit at the cut-off point Nose leads the way." Wan Renyu said: "I can only hope that things are not as difficult as imagined." He asked again, "Have you ever ridden a camel?" Longying scratched his head and said, "It's almost like riding a horse. Ha! You're still laughing." Wan Renyu laughed and laughed, and said with great joy: "I have ridden it before. Almost? It's far away! They got angry and kept away from strangers. It was the first time I loaded a camel on the back. As soon as it got on its hump, it roared and bit anyone who got close. I almost got bitten and kicked by it twice. I tried to load the load, and it tried to break free from the rein. The situation was like The end is coming. Camels are most afraid of strange things and people, and they can run away at any time. You almost never want to chase the camel back. Do you know how to make the camel kneel down and let you ride it? The only thing you need is a whip. But you have to remember , the first commandment of taming a camel is to always put its needs above your own. But don't think that you can form a partnership like you do with a horse, just respect each other." Long Ying gasped and said, "Is Brother Camel so difficult to serve?" Wan Renyu said: "Seeing you clumsily climbing on the camel and then falling off, everyone will know that the newly hired desert expert is a rookie who has never ridden a camel before. Ha! I really want to see Zhuang Wen's expression at that time. " Longying knew that he was not gloating, but because he had something to do, his mood improved, and he made fun of himself.I am very happy. Wan Renyu reminded: "Remember! The camel stands up twice, don't throw the camel down after boarding. Ha!" Long Ying laughed with him for a while, and said in surprise: "Young Master, you haven't come back yet?" Looking at the setting sun, Wan Renyu said: "It's time to come back, he is responsible for buying the necessary things. According to the estimation of 'Dragon Expert', how many days will it take to cross the sea of ​​sand?" Long Ying said unhappily: "You are asking the question knowingly, a genius knows how many days it will take." Wan Renyu scolded: "Do you think I deliberately made things difficult for you? This may be the first question our new boss asked us on the first day. If you say something too outrageous, you will be exposed on the spot." Longying patted his forehead and said: "It's better for you to think carefully, how many days? My mother! Now I can't find someone to ask. If the Camel King finds out that we are three fools and asks for directions, no It’s strange to be suspicious.” When Feng Guoting came back, Da Qi asked, "Didn't you go to buy a camel? Where are the camels?" Wan Renyu told the whole story on behalf of Longying, saying: "The most troublesome thing now is the side of pretending to be a desert master, and the others have to be resigned to fate." Feng Guoting sat down and said: "Don't worry, I've already found out everything about this from an old guy who can speak Tubo. And I found out where the secret camp is, but of course I didn't dare to approach it. I'm afraid Only by dispatching our Eagle Master can we find out the truth of the enemy." Wan Renyu said: "How many people are there?" Feng Guoting said: "Looking at the number of tents, it should be between 100 and 150 people." Wan Renyu said: "One thing more is worse than one thing less. What's more, they are talking in secret language, so it's useless to listen to it." The two nodded in agreement. The three of them sneaked to the starting point agreed with Zhuang Wen, fearing that they would fail and be discovered by the mysterious person before sneaking into the brigade, so they were cautious and resorted to various methods. The location of the assembly was in the outskirts of the north of Khotan City. Unexpectedly, the King of Khotan sent a large number of soldiers and horses to completely block the passage to the Jie Road of Khotan. The Camel King sent his men to monitor the way out of the city. This is the arrangement of Zhuang Wen and Camel King. According to the man who led the way, the Khotan soldiers will block the shortcut for seven days to prevent any malicious followers. Hai's actions are absolutely extraordinary. There are more than 200 camels, forming a brigade that is so long that you can't see the end. Nearly 120 people are dressed as ordinary travelers and are loading the camels. Qiemo packed up his luggage and made a big show. Although the three of them were used to the scene, they couldn't help feeling timid when they thought that they were pretending to be experts in the desert and would be embarrassed at any time. This is the fringe area of ​​the oasis, where poplars are lined up and trees are shaded, and the Khotan River flows northward in a meandering way on the plain. .It can be imagined that when the water is high in spring and summer, such a big river rushes through the desert, and the oases beside the river are everywhere, which is indeed a natural shortcut.But now that winter is approaching, such beautiful scenery will disappear more than ten miles to the north, replaced by billowing yellow sand, and they complain in their hearts.