Chapter 5 The Fifth Desert Scenery

The desert, finally the desert. This is a small town on the edge of the desert. Standing at the door of the only inn in this small town, you can already see the boundless desert. There are only three or five families in the small town, living hard years in the piercing wind and sand. The only precious thing they have is a well. Ji Bingyan bought more than a dozen large sheepskin bags of water at a price more expensive than buying wine, and then sold a few tired horses to the residents of this small town at a price cheaper than selling pigs. Set fire to the cart—it was his favorite thing, and if he couldn't take it away, he would destroy it.

He would never leave his beloved in the hands of others. Hu Tiehua couldn't help but asked again: "I understand why you destroyed the cart, but I don't understand why you sold the horse? Even if you are a small tool, you can't covet these taels of money, right?" Ji Bingyan said: "If these horses are taken into the desert, they will die of exhaustion within three days." Hu Tiehua said: "Then why don't you just let them go? Horses know their way, maybe they can walk home by themselves." Ji Bingyan said: "They will definitely not be able to go back."

Hu Tiehua said: "Why?" Ji Bingyan said: "Not only are thieves rampant on this road, but there are also too many people who are hungry all year round. If they are released, they will inevitably fall into the stomachs of others if they don't fall into the hands of thieves." Hu Tiehua said: "Do you think people in this small town will treat them well?" Ji Bingyan said: "That's right, these people are thrifty and kind, and they love horses very much, so they will definitely make them fat." There was a sneering smile at the corner of his mouth, and he continued: "In this way, when they sell the horse, they can sell it for a good price, and those who are willing to pay a good price for the horse will never buy the horse and eat it. "

Hu Tiehua said: "Since that's the case, why don't you simply give them the horse?" Ji Bingyan said indifferently: "People will always cherish the things they buy. If they are gifts from others, they will inevitably look down on them." Hu Tiehua was silent for a long time, sighed and said: "I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful about a few horses. It seems that you have changed a little bit." Ji Bingyan sneered and said, "You think this is my idea?" Hu Tiehua was startled, and said, "It wasn't your idea, whose idea was it?"

There is no need for Ji Bingyan to answer this question, because at this moment he has already seen the silent and ugly face of the stone camel, which seemed to be carved out of hemp stone. This face, carved like hemp stone, felt a little sad at this moment, as if mourning the parting of a good friend, and the neighing of the horses was as weak as a sigh. Now, Chu Liuxiang, Hu Tiehua, and Ji Bingyan were all dressed up like any ordinary traveling merchant. However, the stone camel changed into a masked attire and tied a large white cloth on top of its head, not to block the sun, but to cover its face.

As for Xiao Pan?He wears whatever he wants, no matter what kind of person you put him in, he will never be dazzling. They entered the desert near dusk. Although the sun had set at this time, the hot air evaporated from the desert, it was still so hot that people wanted to take off all their clothes. But it didn't take long for the heat to disappear, followed by a bone-piercing chill, and the wind blew on his face like a knife. Hu Tiehua wished he could hide his whole body behind the hump. Sitting on the camel, he felt swaying, as if he was on a boat. Chu Liuxiang, Ji Bingyan and Xiao Pan were also sitting on the camel. They couldn't help laughing when they saw Hu Tiehua sitting on the camel.

It doesn't look good for anyone to ride a camel. Only the stone camel still followed the camel step by step, whether it was desert, swamp, cold or hot...it seemed to have no effect on this person. If it was before, Hu Tiehua would definitely not be able to help asking: "Why don't you also sit on a camel?" But now he didn't have to ask, he knew that the stone camel would never sit on any donkey, horse or camel, because they were friends. The deeper the night, the heavier the cold. Xiao Pan couldn't stop shivering on the camel's hump because of the cold. Only then did Ji Bingyan find a shelter from the wind, set up a tent behind the sand dune, and started a fire.

The stone camels circled the camels, and the humps blocked the fire. A pot of hot dishes was cooked on the fire, and they sat around the fire, drinking wine and smelling the mixed aroma of pepper, onion and ginger, and beef and mutton. Only then did Hu Tiehua feel much more comfortable. But the stone camel was still sitting far away, under the bright starlight in the desert, his face was not only colder and uglier, but also had a strange expression. He seemed to be very inferior, but also arrogant, he seemed afraid to come and enjoy Chu Liuxiang's happiness, but he also seemed to disdain to be with them.

The more open and quiet the place, the more obvious his expression is. Now, sitting in this boundless desert, in the cold and silent night, he looks like an exiled emperor, I am silently enduring deep loneliness, pain and humiliation! Even Chu Liuxiang couldn't help but feel curious about the past of this mysterious person, but he couldn't figure out what was going on with this mysterious person. But Chu Liuxiang didn't ask Ji Bingyan. He knew that Ji Bingyan would never say anything. At night, they all went back to sleep in the tent, but the stone camel was just wrapped in a blanket, sleeping next to the camel, looking up at the stars in the sky.

Chu Liuxiang didn't know if he had slept or not, but he only knew that he would rather sleep next to the camel than sleep with anyone. Hu Tiehua naturally also noticed that unlike Chu Liuxiang, he can sometimes keep his words in his heart. After holding back for a long time, he finally asked, "Why didn't he come in and be with us?" Ji Bingyan said: "It's just because he looks down on us." Hu Tiehua jumped up and said angrily, "Who does he look down on?" Ji Bingyan said: "He looks down on anyone." Hu Tiehua was startled, and said: "Do you even look down on me?"

Ji Bingyan smiled lightly and said, "It's just that I look down on it." Hu Tiehua said: "He looks down on you, why should he do things for you?" Ji Bingyan said coldly: "You don't necessarily look down on him when you do things for others, do you?" He seemed to sigh as well, and then continued: "He is doing things for me now because he owes me something. When he feels that he no longer owes me anything, even if I kneel down and beg him, he will not stay." down." Hu Tiehua was stunned again, he got up and poured a large bowl of wine and drank it down, just wanting to fall asleep quickly, but tossing and turning, he always thought about that strange face. "Who is this person? Who was it that caused him to be like this?" Naturally, he couldn't figure it out, so he sighed and murmured: "This ghost place, life is really sad." Ji Bingyan seemed to have fallen asleep, but at this moment she suddenly said coldly: "Are you feeling sad now? The real sad days have not yet begun!" Hu Tiehua has liked the sun since the first time he jumped off the small river behind his house to swim. From then on, as long as there is sunshine, he can't help taking off his clothes and basking in the sun. At the head of the crane tower, in Qingcheng, in Luofu, in the shade of Huashan Mountain, on the top of Mount Tai, he has seen all kinds of suns, some are as fierce as a bearded husband, some are as gentle as a virgin, and some are confused and gloomy , like the eyes of an old man, and some are colorful, like the face of a young girl. But he had never seen such a sun. Although it was the same sun, when the sun reached the desert, it suddenly became fierce and poisonous, as if it was going to burn the entire desert. The sun was so hot that Hu Tiehua didn't even want to drink, and only hoped that the sun would go down soon--when an alcoholic doesn't want to drink, he must be sad to death. There was no wind, not even a whiff of wind, and there was no sound at all. Under the scorching sun, all life in the desert had entered a state of fainting. Hu Tiehua couldn't help but jumped onto the hump and roared... At this moment, a groan came from nowhere. Although the moaning sound was weak, it was clearer than a person speaking in the ear in the dead desert. Chu Liuxiang, Ji Bingyan, and Hu Tiehua all stood up. Hu Tiehua widened his eyes and said, "Did you hear this sound?" Chu Liuxiang said: "Yes!" Hu Tiehua said: "What sound do you hear?" Chu Liuxiang said, "There are people around here." Hu Tiehua said: "Not bad! There is someone, but it is a person who is about to die." Ji Bingyan said coldly: "How do you know?" Hu Tiehua smiled bitterly and said: "Although I don't like killing people, I have heard a lot of groans before a person is dying. In my opinion, this person is either going to be sunburned or dying of thirst." At this moment, another groan came, and Hu Tiehua could already hear that the groan came from the left—behind the sand dunes. He immediately jumped off the camel and said, "The man is over there, let's take a look." Ji Bingyan said: "What's so good about a dying person?" Hu Tiehua cried out, and said: "What's so interesting... You know someone is going to die, why don't you go and save him?" Ji Bingyan said slowly: "I told you a long time ago that in the desert, you may meet dozens of dying people every day. If you want to save people, you don't have to do anything else." Hu Tiehua was surprised and said: "You...don't save yourself from death?" Ji Bingyan said coldly: "Are we here to save people?" Hu Tiehua yelled again, and said, "Your heart is so cruel?" Ji Bingyan said: "In this kind of place, only ruthless people can survive. When you are about to die, no one will come to save you, because if someone gives you water, he will be thirsty. die." Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "But don't we have enough water now?" Ji Bingyan said: "There is a kind of person in the desert. You rescued him, but when he regained his strength, he killed you instead, and then robbed your water and livestock to escape." Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "With the three of us, who in the world can kill us?" Hu Tiehua said loudly: "Yes, who can kill us?" He glared at Ji Bingyan and said: "It seems that not only your heart is getting more and more cruel, but also your courage is getting smaller and smaller. If a person has too much money, I'm afraid it will become like this." Ji Bingyan turned cold and stopped talking. Hu Tiehua said: "Whether you go to save people or not, I always have to go." Chu Liuxiang smiled and said, "I want to go with everyone, okay?" Naturally, he said this to Ji Bingyan. Ji Bingyan was silent for a while, and seemed to sigh, so the whole team turned to the left. The sand dune on the left was not big, and when they turned around the sand dune, they saw two people. When they saw these two people, Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua's hearts turned cold. These two were hardly human anymore, but like two sheep that were almost scorched on the fire. They were nailed to the ground naked, with tied wrists, ankles and foreheads. Cowhide, the cowhide was originally wet, but after being dried by the sun, it became tighter and tighter, until it was embedded into the flesh. Their skin was tanned all over their bodies, their lips were cracked, their eyes were half-closed, but the pupils and whites of the eyes could not be distinguished, and they looked like gray holes. At this time, Hu Tiehua finally understood how the stone camel's eyes were blind—the stone camel's eyes were blinded by the sun, just like these two people. Although the stone camel couldn't see or hear, his whole body trembled when he got here. He seemed to have a magical sense of touch, and he could feel the ominousness in front of him and the ominous omen of the future. The cowhide was picked off, Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua wrapped the two people in felt, and dipped a silk scarf in water, letting them suck it gently. Then they began to tremble and moan. "Water...water..." When they could make a sound, they kept shouting and begging. But Chu Liuxiang knew that if they were asked to drink more water now, they would die immediately. Hu Tiehua sighed, and said softly: "My friend, don't worry, there is a lot of water here, and you can drink as much as you want." The dying man opened his eyes in a daze, and still moaned, "Water..." Hu Tiehua smiled and said, "Are you worried?" He stood up, patted the wool sac on the camel, and said, "Look, there's water here." Ji Bingyan suddenly said sharply: "Who tied you here? What crime did you commit?" The dying man shook his head desperately and said, "No...no...it's a robber." Hu Tiehua suddenly said: "The robber? Where is it?" The dying man struggled to raise his hand, pointed to the distance, and grabbed his hair desperately, his face was contorted with fear, and his body trembled even more. Ji Bingyan sternly said: "As far as I know, there is no robbery nearby, are you lying?" The two shook their heads together again, tears seemed to flow from their eyes. Hu Tiehua said loudly: "They are so miserable, why do you still have to force them? Even if they lie, so what, they don't even have a piece of cloth on them, how could they harm us?" Ji Bingyan didn't speak again. Because what Hu Tiehua said was right, these two people were not only unarmed, but also completely naked, even if they were not injured, there was nothing that made Ji Bingyan feel uneasy. Hu Tiehua turned to look at Chu Liuxiang and said, "Now, can we let them drink more water?" Chu Liuxiang pondered, nodded, and said, "Drink less." As he spoke, he walked towards the water bag, but before he could finish his sentence, the two dying people suddenly jumped up like rabbits. Their hands that were grabbing their hair suddenly swung out like lightning, and each of them shot out more than a dozen black lights, and the castration was more urgent than lightning. This is obviously a hidden weapon fired from a mechanical spring crossbow. The hidden weapon was originally hidden in the hair. As soon as they waved their hands, Chu Liuxiang, Hu Tiehua, and Ji Bingyan immediately swooped up like swallows. Even if something unexpected happened to them, but because of their quick reactions, few hidden weapons could hurt them. Unexpectedly, the hidden weapon did not hit them, but hit the water bag, only to hear a series of "Puff! Puff!", dozens of water jets shot out from the sheepskin pouch like arrows. The two "dying men" also rushed out like flying. Hu Tiehua's anger was about to explode, and he shouted angrily: "You son of a bitch! You want to escape." He rushed towards them almost faster than Chu Liuxiang. But Ji Bingyan didn't chase the man, turned over to rescue the water bag, he knew that under the hands of Chu Liuxiang and Hu Tiehua, no one could escape. Those two naturally couldn't escape. Before they escaped ten feet away, they already felt a gust of wind hit their necks. They wanted to turn around to meet them, but before they could turn around, they already fell down. They didn't even see each other's hands. Hu Tiehua rode on a man like a horse, slapped his face repeatedly, and shouted angrily: "I saved you, but you turned against me? Why? Why?" The man didn't answer, and he could never answer. When Hu Tiehua picked him up from the ground, his neck was broken in two like a straw. The other person was still on the ground, Chu Liuxiang didn't hit him, just stood in front of him, looked at him quietly, and didn't ask him anything. When he heard the sound of his companion's neck breaking, he shrank his whole body into a ball, but he screamed like crazy, hissing: "You kill me! It doesn't matter, you won't live long anyway, I'm here The ghost gate is closed and waiting for you, and then I will settle accounts with you." Chu Liuxiang didn't even blink her eyes, and said slowly: "I will never kill you, as long as you are willing to tell, who told you to come?" The man suddenly laughed wildly, and said: "You want to ask who called me here? Are you still going to find him?" Chu Liuxiang said: "I was looking for him, don't you think it's funny?" The man seemed to have burst into tears from laughter, panting: "Of course it's funny, anyone who is not crazy would not want to find him, unless this person is impatient to live." Hu Tiehua had snatched it over and shouted, "Did Jamuka's son ask you to come here?" The man smiled and said, "Zamuka? What is Jamuka? It's not worthy to lift the whip for an old man." Chu Liuxiang frowned and said, "Who is it?" The man said: "Don't worry, when you are about to die, you will naturally meet his old man... I can bet you that you will not survive five days." Hu Tiehua said angrily: "I bet you, if you refuse to tell the truth, you won't even survive five hours." The man actually laughed again, and said, "I don't want to live another five hours at all." Hu Tiehua couldn't help being startled, and said, "Aren't you afraid of death?" The man laughed loudly and said: "Why should I be afraid of death? I am more than happy to die for his old man." His laughter suddenly weakened, but a strange brilliance radiated from his eyes. Chu Liuxiang was moved and said: "No, this person has suicide poison hidden in his mouth." When Hu Tiehua mentioned him, he immediately realized that the man was no longer breathing. After a long time, Hu Tiehua put him down, turned to look at Chu Liuxiang and said, "Have you ever seen such a person who is not afraid of death?" Chu Liuxiang said: "No." Hu Tiehua said: "I also know that many people will commit suicide by taking poison when they are caught by the enemy, but they are all out of helplessness, but this person died happily." Chu Liuxiang sighed and didn't speak, because he couldn't help but think of Wu Hua who committed suicide by taking poison, and when he thought of Wu Hua, he couldn't help sighing. Hu Tiehua also sighed and said: "I think this person must have some brain problems, otherwise..." He suddenly saw Ji Bingyan, touched his nose, and stopped talking. Ji Bingyan just looked down at the corpse on the ground, not looking at him at all. Hu Tiehua endured it for a long time, and muttered, "Their hidden weapons are hidden in their hair. I have thought of this now, but they are obviously scorched and half-dead, so how can they have the strength to do it?" ?” Ji Bingyan didn't have any expression on her face, and slowly bent down, lifted the corpse's hair and shook it, and immediately a piece of skin miraculously faded away, revealing the smooth and smooth skin inside.