Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven: Journey to the Desert

Feng Guoting asked: "In my eyes, all scenes are the same, how do we know we are going in the right direction?" Lin Zhuang said: "First of all, we need to locate by the stars, and there are specific marks along the road, because we must never go the wrong way, as long as we deviate from the correct route, we will be doomed. The water we carry is only enough for us to reach the oasis." The sun began to climb to the middle of the sky, and under the relentless radiance of the scorching sun, all objects near and far seemed to lose their substance and become dazzling. The condor of Fengguoting also flew into the tent and perched on the arm of Fengguoting.The Kumtag Desert is gloomy and confused, extending as flat as a rock to the bottom of the sky.

Thinking of the "noon ghost" described by Lin Zhuang, although it was extremely hot, everyone still felt chills in their hearts. After the sun went down, the temperature dropped sharply, making people shiver with cold.They set off into the desert, and the gusts of wind rolled up the sand and hit them head-on. The feeling of being invaded by the sand all-pervasively and comprehensively was indeed uncomfortable, but it was better than cloudless, and the sun had to spray flames on the earth. , and the sand reflects the hot, blinding day of the sun.This harsh environment has consequences, and it will cause people and horses to suffer from "sand blindness".

It is hard for the three of them to imagine that an oasis can appear in this place without any vitality and hope. According to Lin Zhuang, it is because of the strange phenomenon that the underground river channel surges up to the ground during the flood season in spring and summer, and the oasis will disappear in autumn and winter. Without a trace, the plants in the oasis turned into seeds hidden under the wind and sand waiting for another spring.This road to the plateau hidden deep in the desert is unknown, and even if they know it, they dare not break in.Only Tibetans who know the time and location of the oasis can dare to go back and forth by this route.But even the Tibetans are not 100% sure, because the oasis will migrate with the underground river, so the two oases are called "big ghost" and "little ghost", and finding them depends on luck and awareness of moisture. Keen feeling.Lin Zhuang has extraordinary ability in this area, so he was sent to this secret route to meet them.

Longying and the others were not worried about not being able to find the oasis, as Longying possessed a demon seed.As long as they walked the right way, the source of water would definitely not be able to hide from his spiritual perception. What made them feel more at ease was the condor flying in the sky, which could be found in any unusual place within a hundred miles. They led the horses and walked forward step by step, surrounded by mist. When the wind and sand rested for a while, Lin Zhuang looked up at the sky, looking at the gap that had not been covered by the wind and sand.Identify the stars in the sky.Among the horses, only Xue'er was still at ease, following behind Long Ying without being involved, and followed every step.Although Lin Zhuang's Tibetan horses are shorter than their horses, they show a hard-working physique in the desert environment.

Before dawn, there was a strong wind and sandstorm, and the wind swirled in, and the yellow sand rolled in with the wind. Fortunately, everything was firmly tied before entering the desert.Otherwise, anything that was not fastened would be blown away, and under the raging wind and sand covering the sky and night, it was difficult to move an inch, and everyone huddled together.Keeping the horse in the middle, all you can do is to ask God to let the wind and sand pass as soon as possible. It was finally dawn, but in fact there was not much difference, and what I saw was still a sandstorm.It dominates everything, and the only difference from the night is that in addition to the wind and sand, there is also the heat wave of the desert, and the sun is also weak under the sandstorm.

They lose the notion of time.After an unknown period of time, the sandstorm finally stopped, and everyone finally returned to the world. The four cheered and screamed strangely, Xue'er raised his head to the sky and neighed, and the condor that Feng Guoting was most worried about landed on his shoulders unharmed.Only those who have survived the sandstorm just now can understand how precious it is to be able to drink another sip of water alive. When they built their tents and rested, they used the white cotton cloth sent by Antin's wives as a sleeping mat. This rolled cloth was more than three feet long, thick, soft and heat-resistant, fortunately they didn't think it was too heavy and threw it away.

Lin Zhuang has rich experience in the desert. First, wet the hay and feed the horses, then serve them to drink water, and then wipe the horses with a damp cloth to keep them cool. Lin Zhuang said: "In the desert, the water in the horse's body will evaporate quickly, and the blood will become thick. When it can't flow, it will suddenly die, so it needs to drink a lot of water during the day." Wan Renyu said: "We should bring some camels here." Feng Guoting looked around, and said with lingering fear, "How long will it take to find the 'big ghost'?"

Long Ying smiled and said, "Don't miss the chance to find the 'noon ghost' that Lin Zhuang said." Wan Renyu said: "You are still in the mood to joke." Xuan sighed again: "I will never forget this journey." Lin Zhuang said happily: "Because Master Ying is not an ordinary person. When the sandstorm was doing evil just now, I felt the power of Master Ying protecting the horses and calming them down. Otherwise, they would lose their temper and go crazy." Long Ying smiled and said: "Lin Zhuang is indeed a man of virtue." Lin Zhuang smiled and said: "So every time the prince goes out, he takes me with him."

Feng Guoting continued to ask, "How many more days?" Lin Zhuang turned his eyes to the depths of the desert and said, "Five or six days should be enough." Everyone was dejected and speechless, one night was already so difficult, and they really didn't know how to spend five or six days.Kumtag, which is much smaller, is already so terrifying, and Taklamakan, which is several times larger, really does not know what it is like. After the sun went down, they continued their journey. Unexpectedly, after walking for seven days, there was still no sign of the oasis. Even Lin Zhuang had a bitter face, hoping that the oasis had just moved instead of disappearing.

On the night of the ninth day, they began to lack water, and on this night, a turning point finally appeared. It was a dead night in the desert, the sky and the earth were still, but the night sky was unusually beautiful. The moon was big, round and far away. The desert in front of me was no longer flat, but tall and magnificent tower-shaped sand dunes, standing in the waves of the vast sand sea. above, forming an undulating surface.Lin Zhuang told them one reason they heard back. This kind of sand dune is a special type of wind and sand accumulation under the combined action of various wind directions. It has edges on three sides and a steeple on the top. Some people call it "the steeple". mound".

From a distance, they look more like the undulating breasts of a fair lady, but when you step on them, this beauty disappears immediately. The slope on the windward side is very firm, and the sand is piled up tightly, while the other side is very loose. If you walk on the wrong road and choose the wrong slope, the sand will flow as soon as you step on it, and it will sink to the knees and thighs. If it is in the daytime, you will definitely be burned immediately. The horses became very nervous, and they hesitated to move up the hill. Under their half coaxing and half coercion, they raised their hooves slowly and walked reluctantly.For fear that they would roll down the hillside and fall into the loose sand, they would bear all the load of the horses. In this case, no light work would work, and they could only support it step by step. After midnight, the dunes were finally left behind, surrounded by an unexpected gravel plain, but men and horses were too exhausted to move forward. There are still endless sand dunes in the distance on the left and right, but the south is actually a solid sandy ground, like a Yangguan avenue leading to a mysterious place. Long Ying said: "I feel water." Lin Zhuang closed his eyes, opened them after a while, frowned and said, "I can't smell it!" Feng Guoting lifted his spirits, and said: "This is easy." Xiangtian licked his lips and let out a musical howl, and the eagle circled around, and flew south according to Feng Guoting's gesture. Everyone tensed up, having water or not, is the difference between life and death.If the oasis cannot be found before sunrise, except for Xueer, seeing the sun will be the time of death for other horses. The condor turned into a bean-sized black spot, and suddenly circled rapidly, performing its unique mid-air dance, then rushed down again and disappeared. The crowd was overjoyed, screamed strangely, and led the horses desperately towards the eagle's landing point. The oasis keeps expanding in front of it, and the surrounding environment is extremely changing. There are many strangely shaped and weathered giant rocks, rows of Populus euphratica trees appear in front of you, and there are various strange desert animals and plants in groups. Birds soar in the sky, the air becomes humid, it is almost a mirage, otherwise how could there be such a wonder in the hinterland of the desert? Xue'er ran in the lead, and the horses followed closely. Longying and others also started to run towards the "big ghost" like a race with the horses. At the core of the huge oasis is a lake with a length and width of thirty feet, a piece of green and blue, shimmering under the moonlight.The people and horses plunged into the water at the same time, no matter how icy the lake was, fortunately the lake still retained the heat energy stored during the day, making them as warm as spring, making them extremely comfortable. Lin Zhuang shouted: "This is a hot spring lake, thank God." Long Ying and the others had noticed that the lake was full of mist, and puffs of steam lingered in the air, like fairy mist, but what they thought of was only water, so there was no leisure to think whether the lake was hot or cold. Surrounded by lush greenery, this oasis should be no less than fifty miles in length and width.Filled with tender grass and wildlife, it's an unbelievably otherworldly wonderland. After the four of them indulged themselves, they left the hot spring lake wet. At this time, the sun was rising, and while the horses were leisurely eating fresh grass in the grassland, they all came to a high green hill and looked at the front of the south in the shade. road. More than ten miles away, the grassland is replaced by strange rocky areas. The weathered rocks and rocks are in various shapes, such as tables and platforms, and some are like humps, gathering and dispersing indefinitely, forming a colorful stone forest. Extend south. Lin Zhuang let out a sigh of relief: "Successful! This strange area is called 'Avenue of the Gods', stretching for hundreds of miles, leading to another oasis, and then going south for dozens of miles, you can reach the sparsely forested area at the foot of Altun Mountain , never get lost again." The condor flew down and landed on the trunk of the Populus euphratica tree behind them, casting its sharp eyes to the south. Feng Guoting said: "Isn't the oasis in this position before? Why didn't I hear you mention that there is such an easy-to-recognize shortcut?" Lin Zhuang replied: "The oasis may be the intersection of two underground rivers. When the rain is in full swing, the underground river surges up to the ground to form an oasis. When the underground river diverts, the oasis also shifts its location. Last time I entered the desert through the Shendao, The big ghost is sixty miles from here."