Returning to Tuolingpo again, I felt a mixture of emotions. I could still smell a faint smell of blood in the cold wind.
The camel team followed Fan Laowai's instructions and rested in a sheltered area. Tie Mo, Zhou Dingshan and others took turns to keep watch.
Although Fan Laowai repeatedly emphasized that nothing would go wrong, Tie Mo did not dare to relax at all. He did not want to make the same mistake as Ba Zhuozi and capsize in the gutter.
Half a day passed, and when night fell, Fan Laowai began to urge the team to get up and go on their way.
The wind is much colder, and the endless wilderness under the night brings inexplicable pressure.
After walking forward for an hour, we stepped into the edge of the desert.
There is only a trace of the crescent moon in the sky, and the stars are full but their light is weak.
Except for Fan Laowai, almost everyone else was entering the desert for the first time, so they felt a little nervous and uneasy.
The wind in the desert is as cold as a knife, and the temperature drops sharply. The cold air is like thousands of invisible sharp blades, piercing the thick cotton jacket.
He raised his hands, covered his mouth, and took a gentle breath of hot air, which turned into a layer of white frost in the blink of an eye.
Tie Mo finally understood why he had to rush on the road at night. In this severe cold environment, if he stopped still at night, he would freeze into a popsicle in half an hour.
No wonder so few people take the risk of going north to barter in the winter. This is a desperate struggle against the elements.
Being in the desert, driving mechanically, in the fierce cold wind, I have already lost the concept of time. I only know that after walking for a long time, Fan Laowai asked the camel team to stop for a while.
It is said to be resting, but it is also feeding camels, but people cannot stop.
Except for the one who was feeding the camels, everyone else was standing in the camel pen, pacing with Fan Laowai. Xie Kaela took off the water bag from the camel and was about to take a sip when Fan Laowai snatched it away.
Xie Kaila couldn't help but stare and said angrily: "What are you doing? That's my water bag!"
"Your water bag? Hey, as long as you pass Daqingshan, you have to obey me when to eat and drink and how much water to drink. Have you forgotten?"
"I...but I'm really thirsty..."
"Thirsty? No, you're not thirsty. Even if you are thirsty, you can't drink without me saying anything."
"You...you go too far..."
Xie Kaila could only complain. He also knew that as long as he entered the desert, even Tie Mo would have to obey Fan Laowai's orders.
After a while, the camel team continued on its way. Along the way, few people in the team spoke, only camel bells rang.
Not speaking is just to save energy and preserve temperature. In the winter night in the desert, every unnecessary word is a waste of warmth.
The cold dark night seemed extremely long. Every time he walked, Fan Laowai would stop and look at the stars for a while. At this time, Tie Mo and others would hide in the distance and observe carefully.
Gradually, Tie Mo also saw some clues.
Fan Laowai seems to be heading towards the North Star.
In the desert, relying on the North Star to identify one's position is very basic astronomical knowledge. Tie Mo thinks it is very simple, but in this era, this is definitely a knowledge for making a living.
Fan Laowai didn't know that his ability to identify directions had been imitated by Tie Mo. He looked at the stars for a while and sighed pretending to be profound.
"Hey, the stars are too bright today, it's a bit hard to distinguish."
Tie Mo couldn't help but roll his eyes. This guy is pretty good at pretending. If the stars are brighter, wouldn't it be easier to identify the direction? Could it be possible that they can blind your eyes?
The camel caravan moved forward, and according to the position of the North Star, the direction it took was not due north, but heading northwest.
I walked for an unknown amount of time, stopped for a while, and then moved on.
Looking at Fan Laowai in front of the team, Tie Mo gradually frowned.
Zhou Dingshan noticed something was wrong with Tie Mo's expression, so he deliberately walked slowly and whispered: "Brother Tie, what's wrong?"
"Just now we were walking northwest, but now we are walking due east!"
"Zhengdong? Brother Tie, do you know where to look?" Zhou Dingshan frowned. Shuangquan Sea is in the north. No matter how you walk, the direction should be north. If you go due east, won't you go farther and farther?
?
"Well, I learned it secretly when Mr. Fan was trying to figure out directions."
"What... Zhengdong? What does Fan Laowai want to do? I'll ask him right away!"
"No, he is a guide. Maybe there is a reason for him to go like this. If we are suspicious for no reason, it will make this old boy unhappy. If this old boy abandons his choice and goes back, we will be caught blind."
Zhou Dingshan rolled his eyes and sighed helplessly.
Once the brothers successfully make a trip to Mobei, they won't have to suffer from Fan Laowai's birdiness anymore.
...
The first night finally ended with a cheer.
Shi Hu pointed at the horizon, jumping up and down, "Look, there is light there, it's going to be daybreak. Mom, I finally got over it."
There is a hint of fish belly white at the edge of the sky, and the sun slowly penetrates through the clouds, illuminating the world in front of you.
The golden hills are in sight, and the mountains are undulating in the distance.
A soldier cheered, let go of the camel's reins, and lay down straight. Just as he was about to close his eyes, Fan Laowai whipped out the whip in his hand.
With a snap, a red scar appeared on Junhu's cheek.
"Trash, stand up quickly. If you lie down to sleep at this time, do you want to die?"
Fan Laowai was about to whip him again, so Tie Mo reached out and grabbed the whip.
"Brother Fan, if anything happens in the future, you can tell me that these are all Tie's brothers, and it will be Tie who fights them."
Tie Mo's unquestionable tone made Fan Laowai a little angry, but after seeing the cruel look in Tie Mo's eyes, he nodded calmly.
"Master Tie, we agreed before that when we get to the north of Daqing Mountain, you will obey me in everything."
"Tie knows, but it doesn't include beating people at will. I have the final say whether to kill or chop up Tie's brother!"
"OK!"
Fan Laowai left angrily. At this time, military household Li Maimai had already gotten up from the ground, "Master Tie, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, just hold on a little longer. At dawn, your body is most sleepy, and it's also the coldest and most likely to cause accidents."
"Well, Master Tie, don't worry, I can still hold on."
After an incident, Fan Laowai was obviously angry and deliberately speeded up his pace. However, he never expected that all the men behind him would follow closely, and not one of them would lag behind and complain that they were tired.
After another hour, when the sun shed a touch of warmth, Fan Laowai found a leeward sand dune for the camel team to stop and rest.
The first night in the desert was spent safely, but the road ahead was still long.
In this way, the camel team took advantage of the warmest time of the day to sleep, and spent the rest of the time either feeding the camels or traveling.
We walked under the stars and the moon, braved the cold wind, and walked for four days in a row. Although some people caught wind and cold during the period, because they had prepared medicine, there was no big problem.
It was relatively peaceful for four days.
On the fifth night, the crescent moon disappeared, and only the stars were still shining faintly.
The night was as dark as water and the cold wind was blowing. Fan Laowai was walking in front of the team. When he crossed a sand dune, he suddenly stopped.
Shi Hu behind him kept walking with his head down, and without paying attention, his giant tower-like body knocked Fan Lao Wai staggering. Fortunately, Fan Lao Wai kept his mouth and nose wrapped with a thick cloth, otherwise he would have to eat a mouthful of yellow sand.
"Lao Fan, what are you doing?"
"Stone Tiger, you are blind, look what is on the sand dune in front of you!"
Shi Hu quickly raised his head and looked ahead, only to see two faint green lights flashing across the sand dunes ahead. The lights were very small and moving slowly.
Shi Hu had never seen this thing before in his life. When he thought of the legend about the desert, he shrank his neck, opened his legs and stepped back.