The widest space is also the narrowest cage. Sickle head rode his horse and stopped in the endless wilderness, feeling helpless in his heart. The cold wind carrying the fine sand seemed to freeze the bone marrow.The half moon rose high, its luminous edge as sharp as a knife hanging overhead. With this faint moonlight, the sickle can only make out the blurred ridge line in the distance to the west.It was the only point of direction around the wilderness. Scythe head imagination: how does it feel to walk alone in this wilderness?Seemingly endless wilderness.the wind.Hot days and cold nights.Is it fear?Or despair?Where there is no end is the end of the world.

But Scythe is not alone.A hundred paces behind him was a strong campfire, on which dried meat of an unidentifiable animal was roasting.Thirty men sat around the fire talking lively: food, wine and women.In this void of nothing, only these three things are what they miss the most. Scythe jumped out of the saddle, gently stroking the blown shaggy mane.He was wearing a loose robe dyed light blue like copper rust, his head and face were wrapped in a bleached linen towel, only his hands and eyes were exposed to the wind. This suit was given to him by a teahouse owner when he stayed in that town five days ago.The teahouse sells a kind of tea with goat's milk, sugar, ginger and other spices - none of the "Feng Yilong" people in the same company drink it, only Lian Shou drinks four cups.

The boss said: In countries far away in the west, men all wear this kind of toga and headscarf.The people there are convinced that the whole world is carried on the shell of a giant turtle, and that turtle is carried by four elephants. Lian Shou asked, "What's under the feet of the four elephants?" "Ask something else!" The boss smiled and patted Sickle's strong shoulder. At this moment, Lian Shou closed his eyes and listened carefully to the wind.The campfire was downwind, and the men's chatter and laughter did not reach here.Scythe was enjoying this lonely moment in the dark, and the wind sang a song of unknown meaning in his ear.

Familiar faces emerged with the song.Bai Dou, Boss, Long Ye, Xiao Si, and the dead Ge Lao San.He remembered the first night they entered Drifting City, six hungry men huddled in the street and shared a piece of hot potato...Then the boss found a job in the drugstore and took them to the broken stone. cabin to go.Xiao Si was so happy that he cried, Master Long teased him, and the two started fighting; once Master Long stole the money that Bai Dou had worked so hard to save, and lost all of it at the gambling table, Master Long slapped Bai Dou hard Fist, the right side of his face was swollen for half a day; Brother Ge occasionally brought some delicious food back from the restaurant where he worked, but Long Bai always asked the third brother why he didn't steal a bottle of wine; the fourth brother taught Lian when he was free He learned to write and recognize characters for the first time. He practiced calligraphy on the sandy ground in front of the door, and sometimes he drew some flowers and birds...

"Please become sworn brothers with me, and swear to live and die together." Boss Yu said so. "Please entrust your life and future to me, Yu Runsheng." "Isn't there nothing after death? Then why are things more important than life?" Lian Shou once asked Di Bin like this. "People are born wanting to survive. There is no reason for this... To live is to want many things..." Di Bin said this... But is this an answer?At that time, even Baidou himself was not sure. There was a surging feeling in Sickle's chest, but he couldn't figure out what that feeling came from.Missing my brothers?Is it because of the blood on your hands?Is it a myriad of unsolved mysteries?

Standing in the darkness and emptiness, Lian Shou not only felt his own insignificance, but also firmly believed that he was approaching some kind of truth; he was both inferior and proud. At dawn they dismantled their tents and continued their salt journey.The flags of "Feng Yilong" with black letters on a gold background were all planted on the four carriages full of illegal salt. The leader of the convoy was Ma Guanggan, sitting on the leader's carriage and smoking a pipe, with a machete with a dilapidated leather sheath lying flat on his lap.His skin was rough as if he could shave grains of salt.

The horse with the sickle head walked to the side of the carriage, and Ma Guanggan handed him the cigarette rod.The pungent smell enters and exits the throat and nasal cavity, and Lian Shou finds the unique sweetness from it. "I finally learned how to smoke." Ma Guangqian grinned, showing his scorched teeth.It has been twelve years since Han Dong, the first-generation owner, joined "Feng Yilong" and was sent to "Galamu Branch" shortly after he started his career.His three wives and eleven children in Galam all depended on this luck to feed themselves.His third son, Maggie, was sitting beside him driving the cart.

During this trip, Lian Shou realized that the power of "Feng Yilong" covers a wide range: from the salt drying field along the coast, the distribution station in Guanzhong to the Karamu City in the southwestern inland, he saw how the salt made by seawater turned around in one stop. One stop, every time you pass a checkpoint, the value will skyrocket once. In the salt field, Lian Shou saw the sea for the first time.He was moved to tears, watching the waves crashing on the shore for a long time.With that overwhelming power, that soothing voice, and that uplifting smell, Kayashiko couldn't help but take off his whole body of clothes and throw himself into the blue that reflected the beautiful light.

He nearly drowned.Seven or eight salt-drying workers rescued him ashore with fishing nets, and it took half a month to learn how to swim. Kamazu still misses the taste of sashimi there. He went to Guanzhong with the team from the salt field, passing through several cities similar in size to Piaocheng on the way.Then he would miss his brothers terribly again.Cities all have the same smell.In every brothel he became the most popular guest of the prostitutes. He carried the great iron spear with him throughout the journey.But there was never a time when it was necessary to remove the cloth covering the spear point. Wherever the flag with the word "Feng" passes, there are smooth roads.

There were two occasions when the salt cargo had to be transported on a boat along the river. He voluntarily joined the ranks of the trackers and pulled the boat against the current with thick hemp ropes.The twine left wear marks on both shoulders.He and the trackers started cooking together, and they didn't talk to each other until they were full, they just looked at each other and smiled.When he left, he left some silver. The city in Guanzhong, which served as a distribution station, is said to have been the capital of an ancient dynasty.Siam found that the city wall was indeed very high, and several places that collapsed due to the war have not yet been repaired.The wind and sand cast a pale yellow color on everything in the city.Lian Shou has no impression of this ancient city except for looking at the various goods that are constantly coming and going in and out of the city gate.Even the women in the brothel are ordinary.The wine was spicy but tasteless.Everything tasted like leftovers from the previous night.He decided to leave with the first salt team.

The only place to go to the southwest is Yangmen Gorge.He had already heard that it was the final victory of the last "war against chaos".As he rode his horse past, he was imagining how many unmarked graves he had stepped on while sitting on his horse... There is a small town called Shining at the foot of the passing mountain.In such a remote place, Shi Ning is exceptionally rich.Lian Shou observed carefully and found that almost half of the town was full of blacksmith shops.Later he learned the answer: the old weapons left over from the "Guanzhong Great Battle" were stored behind the shop. Lian Shou picked out some of the best ones.There is a double-edged dagger with an opal inlaid on the handle, which he plans to give to Di Bin; a copper round shield with a rather well-carved animal face, which is a good decoration to hang on the old man... He thanked his boss for letting him take this trip. At the beginning of the establishment of "Dashutang", Ge Laosan went to the battle of "Slaughter House" again, and Yu Boss desperately relied on the four righteous brothers for help.But when Lian Shou proposed to leave, the boss immediately agreed, and said, "Stop by and see how their salt transportation business is done." Lian Shou was not an official student of "Feng Yilong", so he was not qualified to travel with the salt transport team.When Pang Wenying answered him, he seemed even more excited than him: "Young man, it's a good thing to go out and see the world more." He even passed on a message to his subordinates to take good care of this big man who was acting as an escort. It has been almost eight months since Lian Shou left Piaocheng.When he got to know Ma Guanggan and his son at the "Galamu Branch", he had traveled more than 3,400 miles; he had lost 11 jin; he had slept with ninety women; Piccolo; added thirteen tattoos— On the left chest atrium is a ferocious black dog with three heads. The tattoo artist said that this is a demon dog that guards the gate of hell in alien mythology; a series of strange and curved Nanban spells are lined up on the outside of the left calf, which can prevent muscle cramps; on the left shoulder There is a leaping dolphin; three intertwined small chains are wrapped around the right wrist; From the back of the neck to the back of the neck, a strange cross-shaped mark burned in the flames-he heard that this mark represented an honorable death in the far west... I have also seen many Buddha statues along the way: a huge stone Buddha as high as a small mountain; exquisite Buddha statues covered with gold foil in the temple and constantly bathed in incense; of course, there are also many Buddha statues in abandoned temples or mountain roads that are left unattended— —Those with heads or arms missing, those covered with vines, and those whose faces have been eroded by wind and frost... The craftsmanship of carving Buddha statues with sickle heads has improved again, but the Buddha statues he carved still have no faces. "How far is it?" Lian Shou asked, returning the tobacco rod to the leader of the salt transport team. Ma Guangqian exhaled smoke from his nostrils.He pointed the pipe at the distant mountains. "Hurry up. If you pass this mountain, you will be in the Liha Basin." Kasashi noticed Maggie's worried expression.He had heard about what had happened: the aborigines of the Liha Basin, the Romon people, had discovered a cliff salt deposit nearby a few years ago—in addition to sea salt, salt lakes, salt wells, and even cliff sandstones also produce salt.If the Naya Salt Mine starts to be developed, it will seriously endanger the control of "Feng Yilong" in the southwest region.The Liha Basin has always been a distribution center for illicit salt in the southwest, and "Fengyilong" has a good relationship with the Luomeng people, so this conflict has never occurred. "Don't worry." Ma Guanggan still smoked calmly.He was used to the bumps of the carriage, and his body swayed along with the vibration. "This patriarch, Wavon La, is an old friend of mine. Just like Pang Jijiu and Grand Master He." Ma Guangqian and Pang Wenying joined "Feng Yilong" at the same time, and he is always proud of it. Scythe stretched out his arm, took the tobacco rod from his hand, put it in his mouth with a smile, and took another puff suddenly.
The narrow mountain roads are not suitable for horse-drawn carts, so the salt transport team has to stop at the small town at the foot of the mountain, unload the salt cargo and put it on horseback, and leave the cart next to the only inn in the town. There is a wooden watchtower at the entrance of the town. I don't know what it was used for in the past.Scythe held the base of the platform to see if it was still stable, then climbed to the top of the platform, took a deep breath of the clear air, and looked at this dilapidated town—it reminded him of the broken stone. "Big guy!" Ma Guangqian shouted while standing in the audience looking up. "You wait in this town, don't go into the mountains with us!" With that strange accent and the distance, Lian Shou could only understand it.Since he went out, he has heard many different dialect accents, and he has long been accustomed to guessing the meaning of the other party by facial expressions and gestures. Lian Shou jumped down from the platform, scaring Ma Guanggan to jump back.Scythe's feet hit the ground suddenly, his knees and arms and legs were deeply bent, and most of his strength was removed.He didn't stand up until his body was completely stable. "Are you crazy?" Ma Guanggan punched Sickle's upper arm. "Why don't you let me go with you?" "As for the Luomeng people, don't like to see strangers. You have strangers." Ma Guangqian's eyes flickered when he spoke. ——It seems that the old man himself is quite worried about the matter between "Feng Yilong" and the Luomeng tribe. "Don't be bored. We'll play around with you later." Ma Guanggan patted him on the shoulder. Sickle was silent.Looks like my journey is ending in this small town, he thought.Just stay here for a day or two.He wanted to watch this kind old man and his son come back down the mountain safely.