Chapter 382 After drinking the same sip of goat milk wine, we are all brothers in the desert
Text Volume Chapter 382 After drinking the same sip of goat milk wine, we became brothers in the desert. We encountered a sandstorm on the first day after arriving in Xizhou. The key is that the goat just went crazy and lost the dry food and cowhide.
The water bag was scattered all over the ground. Except for only a small part, most of the other dry food and water were lost. Jin An now wanted to hammer the goat.
“Silly sheep!”
Jin An was about to yell angrily, but before he could finish his words, he had a mouth full of sand and he closed his mouth in frustration.
I don’t know if the goat knew it was causing a big trouble, or if it knew that opening its mouth now would be like eating sand, so it stopped making a sound at this time.
Jin An looked up and saw that there was a bigger sandstorm coming at the end of the sky. He knew that they had to find a shelter as soon as possible. It seemed that this sandstorm would not end in a short time.
According to his original plan, he would definitely be able to reach the nearest town to rest before nightfall, but now it seems that they have no chance of finding a place to stay tonight and will have to stay in the Gobi Desert.
The desert Gobi climate has a typical large temperature difference between day and night. The sun shines strongly during the day and the temperature drops rapidly at night, which can cause people to suffer from cold. In this desert Gobi where the per capita medical level is backward and the vast area is sparsely populated, ordinary birthplaces
Minor illnesses can be life-threatening.
Finally, Jin An finally found an abandoned village to escape from the sandstorm.
There were only a dozen or so households in that deserted village. It was a very small village. But then something happened that made the village deserted for many years. Many of the earthen houses had been eroded and collapsed by the wind and sand, leaving only bare earthen walls, which looked dilapidated and desolate.
.
You can even see a lot of hay inside the earthen walls.
Using loess mixed with hay to build walls is a major feature of the northwest region. It is warm in winter, cool in summer and strong.
This deserted village is very small. As soon as Jin An entered the village, he saw that there were already people here. An old herdsman was driving seven or eight sheep to avoid the sandstorm.
Well.
In an instant, there were scenes of sheep looking at each other and people looking at each other.
Finally, the seven or eight white sheep on the opposite side, who were as skinny as little lambs in front of the stupid sheep, took the initiative to bow their heads in submission to the calf-sized goats.
Jin An, who was wearing a five-color Taoist robe, bowed to the old herdsman who was sheltering from the wind and sand in the house: "Old sir, do you mind squeezing in a few more people?"
The old herdsman's skin has been tanned by the sun all year round, and he is old. His dark-skinned face is covered with deep wrinkles blown by the dry wind and sand in the northwest, just like the ravines and canyons on the northwest loess.
At first glance, he looks like an honest herdsman who has suffered a lot in his life.
Just like the yellow earth endowed them with a simple, frank character and diligence.
“Laisha, laisha, laisha!”
When the old herdsman saw that the young Taoist priest Jin An was so polite to him, he felt a little uneasy and stood up to make room for Jin An. At the same time, he quickly put out the cigarette in his hand and fanned the air in the house with his palm fan.
He smelled of snuff and showed a slightly restrained and uneasy smile.
Due to long-term smoking of dry tobacco, the old herdsmen would reveal a set of jagged yellow teeth when they smiled.
Perhaps because of Jin'an's temperament, the fine skin and tender meat that only wealthy people can have, and his status as a Taoist priest, the five-color Taoist robes are not made of high-quality fabrics that ordinary people can afford. Jin'an's extraordinary qualities make him
This old herdsman, who works with loess and herds sheep all day long, feels nervous and restrained.
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Although Jin An couldn't understand the local dialect, he could still understand the other person's meaning through body movements.
“Thank you.”
Jin An took the goat into the house to escape the wind and sand.
At this time, the howling sound of wind and sand outside became more violent. The sun in the sky was completely invisible outside. It was all yellow and misty. The only sound left was the pounding sound of a lot of sand hitting the earthen wall.
The first thing Jin An did after entering the house was to rub his hair, shake off the dust, then take off his shoes and pour out two handfuls of sand. Walking all the way was too painful for his feet.
At this time, Jin An noticed that the old herdsman was still standing in the corner of the room with some restraint, and voluntarily gave him the seat beside the bonfire he had lit before, which made him even more embarrassed.
"Old sir, according to age, I am the junior and you are the elder. If we follow the first-come-first-served basis, you came to this deserted village first to escape the wind and sand. I am the latecomer, so regardless of emotion or reason, I should respect you. You
Being so polite to me actually made me feel a little embarrassed, and I didn't know whether I should stand or sit down."
Seeing that the other party was still a little restrained, Jin An said with a smile: "Otherwise, sir, you should sit in your original position. I will sit by the fire and bake naan cakes. I will share half of the baked naan cakes with you, sir. This Gobi
The desert can freeze people's lips to white frost at night, so the old man's fire cannot be in vain."
After he expressed his kindness several times, the old herdsman let go of his restraint, walked back to the fire and crowded his flock to sit down. Jin An also laughed and took out the naan bread, put the water on the fire to heat it up.
eat.
If these naan cakes are not heated over a fire, they will be no different from chewing rocks in the dry climate of the northwest.
It is said that men’s friendship begins with drinking the same sip of wine. Jin’an shared naan bread with the old herdsmen, and the old herdsmen shared hot goat’s milk wine with Jin’an. After they drank the same sip of wine, they became brothers in the desert.
Suddenly, the more we chatted, the more familiar we became.
The goat, on the other hand, could never mingle with the seven or eight shepherds in the house who were sheltering from the wind and sand. The goat was so strong that even people who looked at it were intimidated.
The old herdsman's name is Sun Tugen. He raises all the sheep in the house and brews the goat milk wine at home. According to the old herdsman, although this sandstorm is not the biggest he has ever encountered, it will definitely not stop overnight. They will only
I can huddle with the sheep in the house.
At the same time, Jin An finally understood that "Lai Sha Lai Sha Lai Sha" means a very welcome and a kind of friendliness to guests.
Although Xizhou Prefecture is a multi-ethnic city, the territory of the Han people here is mainly dominated by the Han people. Only after leaving the frontier fortress is the world of the Western Regions.
"Is Taoist Jin'an from China? Taoist Jin'an is not like other Central Plains people. Central Plains people look down on the barren land. They are all Xizhou Prefectures with yellow sand and Gobi. We Xizhou people generally don't want to follow people from Central Plains."
Dealing with each other." Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, originally wanted to take a puff of the dry tobacco in his hand, but found that the dry tobacco had been extinguished by himself, and put down the dry tobacco with some embarrassment.
Jin An asked the other party not to worry about him and wanted to continue smoking, but the old herdsman Sun Tugen did not light up the tobacco again in the end.
“I am not from Zhongzhou, but from Wuzhou Prefecture in the southwest.”
“Listen to what the old gentleman said, a lot of people from the Central Plains have come to Xizhou Prefecture recently. How many times have you met the old gentleman?”
Jin'an did not explain much about his identity and origin, but instead noticed a small detail in what the old herdsman Sun Tugen said just now.
"Many, many. Ever since I was a little kid, before I was as tall as a stone, I have seen people from the Central Plains walking to Xizhou Prefecture and entering the Western Regions in search of the Changsheng River." Sun Tugen said with a frown, those deep ravines on his face
The same wrinkles are almost crowded together.
“These people from the Central Plains come and go, and a new batch of new faces arrive. I have never been taller than Shimo, and my grandson is taller than Shimo. I have never seen anyone find the legendary River of Eternal Life.”
“My father, my grandfather, my great-great-grandfather... Since that generation, people from the Central Plains have been crossing the border into the Western Regions in search of the legendary River of Eternal Life... Some of them are officials and some are generals."
"The land in Xizhou Prefecture is barren. Except for businessmen from the Western Regions, we rarely see faces from outside the country. Master Jin'an, you came to Xizhou Prefecture, a frontier fortress...did you also go out to the Western Regions to find the Changsheng River?" Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, was a little hesitant to speak.
Looking at Jin An, it seemed that there was something else in his words.
Jin An was silent at first, silently breaking off the warmed naan bread in his hand and eating it, then he looked honestly and said calmly: "I do want to leave the Western Regions, and I do want to find the legendary River of Eternal Life, but I am not looking for the River of Eternal Life."
What he is looking for is the legendary Kingdom of the Immortal God built at the source of the Eternal Life River.
"Old sir, what do you want to say to me?" Jin An saw the hesitation in the other party's expression.
The old herdsman Sun Tugen looked up at Jin An's eyes, as if to confirm whether Jin An was lying. He drank a mouthful of goat's milk wine to warm himself, and then handed the wine bag to Jin An. Jin An did not care whether he did it or not.
It was clean, and I took a sip of goat's milk wine, feeling relieved in my stomach.
Old herdsman Sun Tugen said with a smile: "In our Xizhou capital, after a sip of wine together, we become the most trustworthy brothers in the Gobi desert."
Then he said with a solemn look: "I would like to advise Taoist Jin'an, the Western Region beyond the Great Wall is not peaceful recently, don't go to the Western Region, don't lose your life in vain."
oh?
Jin An's expression changed and he asked the other party if he knew anything.
After taking the same sip of goat's milk wine, Sun Tugen really cared about Jin'an. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he raised his finger and pointed at the sandstorm outside and asked solemnly: "Does Taoist Jin'an think the sandstorm outside is big?"
At this time, yellow sand was passing by outside. The sand was beating against the earthen house, and the sky was covered with yellow sand. Jin An nodded and said: "It's very big."
Sun Tugen's dark ravine face, which had been blown by the dry wind all year round, shook his head and said: "This is not the biggest sandstorm in Xizhou Prefecture. I have never left the village three hundred miles away in my life. I heard those businessmen from the Western Regions say
The further you go along the official road to the east of Xizhou Prefecture, the more desolate you get. Eventually it becomes a desert. All the peaks were flattened by the black wind and turned into fine sand. It became a devil's desert that can trap people's souls.
The sandstorms are so big that they can flatten even mountain peaks, and the mud houses we are sheltering in now are more fragile than leaves."
"But in the Western Regions outside Xizhou, there are sandstorms that are even bigger than Xizhou. Those Western Region businessmen described those sandstorms as coming from the anger of the gods, which can move mountains and fill the sea. A dozen mountains can appear hundreds of miles away out of thin air.
Even if people are not buried alive by the sand, they will be completely disoriented and die of thirst in the desert. What they are most afraid of is angering the gods and encountering sandstorms in the desert."
The eastern part of Xizhou Prefecture was the direction where he left the customs to go to the Western Regions. Jin'an did not plan what Sun Tugen said, but Sun Tugen continued: "Deeper in the desert, according to those Western Region businessmen, there are more dangerous sandstorms. In one night
You can bury a country under the yellow sand forever..."
"Just half a year ago, a once-in-a-century sandstorm occurred in the desert, killing many businessmen from the Western Regions. The sandstorm moved away the yellow sand, revealing a dead city. The dead city was filled with mummies, all of them skinned.
All the people in the city were skinned and mummified, and all the people in the city were skinned and killed. The merchants from the Western Regions called it a city full of devils."
Jin An was startled when he heard this: "A skinned dead man? A city full of devils?"
The yellow wind outside continued to howl. Inside the house, old herdsman Sun Tugen stretched out his hand to comfort the restless shepherds behind him. He sighed and said, "I heard from those businessmen in the Western Regions that those people were hung up and skinned off while they were still alive.
, there is dried blood at the feet of those mummies."
“What happened next?” Jin An became curious and asked.
As if to cover up his inner fear and uneasiness, Sun Tugen touched the sheep behind him again and again, and said with a trembling voice: "Later, later... the city full of devils offended the gods, and was once again buried under the desert by a sandstorm.
, No, but I heard from those businessmen in the Western Regions... There has been some unrest in the desert recently, and there have been mass skinning incidents in many places..."
"Taoist Master Jin'an, we drank the same goat's milk wine. According to the custom of our Xizhou people, you trust me. I can't just watch you go to the Western Regions to die. Whether it's a sandstorm or a skinned man who escaped from the devil city, now
The Western Region is not peaceful."
Although this incident quite surprised Jin An. The whole city was skinned. In the Western Region, one city may be a country. Skinning the whole city is equivalent to skinning the whole country. He became a little curious about the devil city.
What secret is hidden?
Eating hot naan bread, drinking hot goat's milk wine, and warming up the fire, Jin An continued to chat with the old herdsman Sun Tugen, asking about the customs and customs of various places in Xizhou Prefecture, the customs and customs of various places in the Western Regions, and asking for advice on some desert survival skills.
This sandstorm lasted until late at night before gradually ending. Sun Tugen, an old herdsman, huddled together with his sheep, warming themselves up on the fire, and slept soundly in the noisy and strong wind. He had long been accustomed to it.
According to him, there will be no wild animals when there are sandstorms, and it is the safest time for bandits to come out and act.
Jin'an didn't get used to the sandstorm so quickly, so he added firewood to the campfire from time to time. The dry firewood was all picked up by Sun Tugen before.
For the old herdsmen who were born and raised here, it seems that this is not the first time they have come to this deserted village to escape from sandstorms.
…
The next morning.
The sky and the earth are bright.
This Xizhou Prefecture is different from Wuzhou Prefecture in that the days are long and the nights are short. It gets light early in the day and doesn’t get dark until around 3:30 p.m., which means it gets dark around 8 p.m.
After staying in the earthen house for a day, the two of them just walked out of the earthen house to escape the wind and sand. Before Jin An could stretch his legs, he was shocked by the strange scene of heaven and earth in front of him.
On the vast loess Gobi Desert, the sky is green and as clear as a lake mirror, extending all the way to the end of the world in the direction of the Western Region.
The top is connected to the blue sky and the bottom is connected to the yellow spring! The heaven and earth are like a majestic scroll unfolding. The sky and the earth are like being covered with fairy jade and blue clouds. Jin'an is lost in thought for a while.
ifies.
Sun Tugen, who was next to him, knelt on the ground and shouted excitedly: "This is a manifestation of the saint! This is a manifestation of the saint!"
The scene in front of him was indeed shocking. Jin An didn't know if it was the manifestation of the saint, but he knew that after Shayang lost most of the water he prepared, they were now very short of water and had to go to Sun Tugen's village to prepare enough water before they could continue on the road.
.
As the sun hung higher and higher, the early morning glow quickly dissipated. When Sun Tugen stood up excitedly after praying, Jin An began to suggest that he wanted to go to the village to buy some water. Then, along with a man and a goat, an old herdsman drove seven or eight sheep.