The scene just now was so frightening that the white dog barked, turned around and ran away.
The monster chased after them, and both quickly disappeared behind the sand dunes.
The escort in the rear team cursed fiercely. There was one less guest to escort, and the wages he received were correspondingly less.
This is how Panlong Desert greets everyone.
When all the teams witnessed this, the original relaxed atmosphere suddenly disappeared.
Zeng Feixiong looked away and murmured: "It's his fault. On Hongya Road, children and dogs must be leashed."
"This is the first time I have seen such a big yellow plaice." He Lingchuan was speechless. He used to hunt a lot and knew that the yellow plaice is not a fish, but a monster lurking in the desert and Gobi, specializing in ambushing small animals passing by.
It can dive and surface freely in the desert, and can run faster than four-legged creatures.
But this thing is at most a little bigger than a dog. Even if it becomes a demon, it shouldn't be the size it was just now!
"This is the Panlong Desert." Zeng Feixiong has escorted caravans through it many times and is accustomed to strange things. "The resentful spirits affect everything here. Even the originally intelligent monsters will be alienated if they stay in the desert for a long time.
"
This is the truth, so although sand leopards also go into the Panlong Desert to hunt, they usually stay in the Xishan Mountains to live and reproduce.
…
The magnificent desert remains unchanged for a long time.
The journey is peaceful and boring. As long as you don't take a step outside Hongya Road, you only have to deal with the troubles of hot wind, bright sun, and sandstorms.
For a prepared and experienced team, these are all bearable.
After walking for three full days, the team finally arrived at Shirakaki Station.
This is a relay station on Hongya Road, used for business travelers to rest. Its predecessor was an ancient city.
There are more than ten ancient cities in the Panlong Wasteland, but only a few of them have survived over a hundred years later. Baiyuan City was also swallowed up by the yellow sand long ago. It was the latecomers who excavated its old base and built several rows of houses.
Standing on the roadside of Hongya.
Like Hongya Road, the area within the ancient city will not be attacked by resentful spirits and monsters, making it a good place for business travelers to stop on their way.
When the team entered Baiyuan Station, He Chunhua hurried over to negotiate with the postman.
Yes, Blackwater City has an inn here and assigns dedicated personnel to manage it. However, the control here is very loose and not as strict as in Dayuan.
At times like this, in this kind of place, the power of money comes to the fore.
Shirakaki Station allows passing business travelers to set up tents. Food and water are also sold here. If people want to be luxurious, they can also rent cabins.
Of course, Panlong Desert itself has no water source, so all food, water, and building materials must be transported from Heishui City.
If there is demand, there will be business. Those who want to do this business must first establish a relationship with the post officials, and then spend a lot of time transporting things to a barren land. Various costs are piled up, and a basic package of one steamed bun and one bottle of water is sold.
Thirty cents is not expensive, right?
A bowl of mutton soaked steamed buns, the kind with only oily meat and no diced meat, sells for two cents. Isn't it expensive?
The rent for an overnight cabin is five taels of silver. If you live in it, you feel like you're getting an advantage, right?
If you still want to take a hot bath in the desert to wash away the dust and fatigue from the road——
Sun Guoshi, Captain Nian and Prince He all had this idea, so Governor He had no choice but to spend money.
This expenditure alone can buy five acres of good farmland and permanent real estate near Blackwater City.
After taking a shower and eating a few more luxurious set meals, He Lingchuan finally felt relieved.
With his strong body, he was very tired from walking for the past three days, and he didn't know how difficult the road ahead would be.
On the other hand, He Chunhua seemed to be quite at ease, obviously not as weak as he appeared on the surface.
He Lingchuan also bought several set meals for Zeng Feixiong. Otherwise, this man was short of money and would have eaten cold steamed buns with the soldiers.
Zeng Feixiong felt sorry for him and refused several times. Unfortunately, he was not as firm as Mr. He, so in the end he could only accept it and thanked him.
However, He Lingchuan knew that this man was straightforward but not reckless, and he was the one leading the troops into the desert this time, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Eat and drink well, so that you have the strength to work. The safety of our father and son will be left to you."
"
"My lord, I wish you the best for your kindness, and for saving me from future troubles. I will repay you with all your heart and soul!"
"That's a very serious statement." He Lingchuan laughed, "By the way, I heard that your father is the only living person who has returned from the ruins of Panlong?"
Zeng Feixiong looked slightly gloomy: "Yes, twenty years ago, someone paid him a lot of money to be a guide, and he was the only one who survived. But he lost his mind from then on, and even the great shaman couldn't cure him. No one knew what happened to them.
What's the matter? He only talks about one word all day long - water."
"Water?" There is indeed a shortage of water in the desert. What serious sin did Zeng Feixiong's father suffer that made him still obsessed with water after going crazy?
At this time, Sun Fuping came to call for help and wanted to summon several leaders to his hut for a meeting.
The guard went outside and brought him a lot of yellow sand and poured it on the table.
A simple sand table is ready.
"We are almost finished walking Hongya Road." Zeng Feixiong gestured on the sand table, "The day after tomorrow, we will leave the main road and enter the desert. The real test will begin from then."
"Hongya Road originally connected to Panlong City." The troop transport said, at least the soldiers and food must be transported to the edge of the city. "Not long after Panlong Wasteland turned into a desert, the nearby peaks fell down and destroyed the road.
Gone."
He drew a circle on the sand table: "If you want to go to Panlong City, you have to take a long detour and enter through the gap in Yingshan Mountain."
This long journey is not on Hongya Road, and the dangers they are about to face will greatly increase.
In comparison, the past three days have been as relaxing as a vacation.
Next, everyone discussed various countermeasures.
Although the He family father and son had a rift with Sun and Nian, the discussion involved their own lives, so they were particularly focused on the discussion.
He Lingchuan had been listening silently. It wasn't until the discussion was almost complete that he asked a question he had been confused about for a long time:
"As an enclave and a lonely city, Panlong City held on for thirty-two years despite being surrounded by enemies on all sides. It can be said to be amazing. So why was it finally breached?" This is also the mystery of Panlong Desert, whether it is history books or local places.
The legends did not leave any conclusive explanations. Only the storyteller left a far-fetched explanation, "Could it be that, as the locals of Heishui City said, Panlong City lost its backbone because Zhong Shengguang died of illness?"
People tend to find a reasonable explanation for unsolved mysteries. Zhong Shengguang guarded Panlong City for more than thirty years, and he suddenly became an old man from a young man. Years of fighting will cause huge damage to the body and mind. This explanation is not bad.
One of the most reliable legends that He Lingchuan had heard.
He is curious about the truth.
"Judging from the clues I have, there is some truth to this legend. Panlong City has indeed lost its backbone." Sun Fuping poured himself a glass of water, a glass of which costs twelve yuan, "But it's not Zhong Shengguang, but General Red!