The four people cheered and screamed, Xueer looked up to the sky and neighed, and the condor that Feng Guoting was most worried about landed on his shoulders safely. Only those who have been through the sandstorm just now can understand how precious it is to drink another mouthful of water alive.
They camped and set up tents to rest, and used the white cotton cloth given by the wives of An Tian as sleeping mats. This roll of cloth was more than three feet long, thick, soft and heat-resistant. Fortunately, they did not throw it away because they thought it was heavy.
Lin Zhuang has rich desert experience. He first wets the forage and feeds it to the horses, then helps them drink water, and then wipes the horses' bodies with a wet cloth to keep them cool.
Lin Zhuang said: "In the desert, the water in the horse's body will evaporate quickly, and the blood will become thick and thick. When it cannot flow, it will suddenly die, so it needs to drink a lot of water during the day."
Wan Renyu said: "We should bring some camels."
Feng Guoting looked around and asked with lingering fear: "How long will it take to find the 'big ghost'?"
Long Ying smiled and said: "Don't make a mistake and find the 'noon ghost' that Lin Zhuang said."
Wan Renyu said: "Thank you for still being in a joking mood." Xuan You sighed: "I will never forget this journey."
Lin Zhuang said happily: "Because Master Ying is not an ordinary person. When the sandstorm was causing evil just now, I felt that Master Ying's power protected the horses and calmed them down. Otherwise, they would lose their temper and go crazy."
Long Ying smiled and said, "Lin Zhuang is indeed a man of the right principles."
Lin Zhuang smiled and said: "So every time the prince goes out, he takes me with him."
Feng Guoting continued to ask: "How many days are left?"
Lin Zhuang cast his gaze into the depths of the desert and said, "Five or six days should be enough."
Everyone was speechless. One night was already so difficult, and five or six days were hard to come by. Kumtag, which was much smaller, was already so scary, and Taklimakan, which was several times larger, I really didn’t know what the situation was like.
After the sun went down, they continued their journey. Unexpectedly, after walking for seven days, there was still no sign of the oasis. Even Lin Zhuang had a grimace on his face, hoping that the oasis had just moved its location instead of disappearing.
On the night of the ninth day, they began to run out of water. On this night, things finally turned around.
It's night, the desert is dead silent, the sky and the earth are still, but the night sky is unusually beautiful, the moon is big, round and far away, the desert in front of you is no longer flat, but tall and spectacular tower-shaped sand dunes, standing on the waves of the vast sea of sand. on the ground, forming an undulating surface. Lin Zhuang told them a reason that they heard back. This form of sand dune is a special type of wind-sand accumulation formed by the combined action of multiple wind directions. It has edges on three sides and a spire on the top. The shape is called "spire hill" by some.
From a distance, they look more like the undulating breasts of a fair lady, but when you step on them, this beauty disappears. The slope on the windward side is very solid, and the sand is packed tightly and tightly, while the other side is very loose. If you take the wrong road and pick the wrong slope, the moment you step on it, the sand will immediately flow and sink into your knees and thighs. If you step on it during the day, you will definitely be burned immediately.
The horses became very nervous and hesitated to move forward when they reached the top of the slope. Half-coaxed and half-forced by them, they slowly raised their hooves and walked reluctantly. For fear that they would roll down the hillside and sink into the loose sand, the horses The whole load of the child is borne by them. In this case, no light skills will work, and they can only support it step by step.
After midnight, the sand dune array was finally left behind. Unexpectedly, it was surrounded by a gravel plain, but both the man and the horse were exhausted and could not move forward.
There are still endless sand dunes in the distance to the left and right, but to the south is a solid sandy and gravel ground, like a Yangguan Avenue leading to a mysterious place.
Long Ying said: "I feel the water."
Lin Zhuang closed his eyes, opened them after a while, frowned and said, "I can't smell it!"
Feng Guoting became energetic and said, "This is easy." He pursed his lips toward the sky and let out a musical whistle. The condor circled and flew southward according to Feng Guoting's gesture.
Everyone became nervous. There was water or not, which was the difference between life and death. If no oasis was found before sunrise, all the horses except Xueer would die when they saw the sun.
The condor turned into a large black spot, suddenly circled rapidly, performed its unique aerial dance, then rushed downwards and disappeared.
Everyone was so happy that they screamed strangely and led their horses desperately to the spot where the condor landed.
The oasis continued to expand in front, and the surrounding environment was extremely changing. Many weathered giant rocks with strange shapes appeared, rows of poplar trees appeared in front of us, and there were also various strange desert animals and plants, all in groups. Birds are soaring in the sky, and the air becomes moist. It is almost a mirage. Otherwise, how could there be such a wonder in the hinterland of the desert?
Xue'er took the lead and ran, followed closely by the horses. Long Ying and others also spread their body skills and ran towards the "big ghost" like a race with the horses.
At the core of the huge oasis, there is a lake with a length of thirty feet, a piece of green and blue, shimmering under the moonlight. People and horses jumped into the water at the same time. No matter how ice-cold the lake was, fortunately, surprisingly, the lake water still remained in the daytime. The stored heat energy is as warm as spring, making them feel comfortable.
Lin Zhuang shouted: "This is a hot spring lake, thank God."
Long Ying and others had long noticed that the lake was filled with mist, with streams of steam lingering in the air, like fairy mist. However, all he thought about was water, and he had no time to think about whether the lake was cold or hot.
Surrounded by lush greenery, this oasis should be no less than fifty miles in length. Covered with tender grasses and wild animals and plants, it is an unbelievable and exotic wonderland.
After enjoying themselves for a while, the four people left the hot spring lake wetly. At this time, the sun rose. While the horses were leisurely eating fresh grass on the grassland, everyone came to the height of a green hill and looked at the southern front in the shade of the trees. road.
More than ten miles away, the grassland was replaced by strange rocky areas. The weathered rocks and rocks are in various shapes, like tables and platforms, and some are even like humps. They gather and disperse irregularly, forming a colorful stone forest, intermittently. Extend southward.
Lin Zhangqiang breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Success! This strange area is called the Avenue of the Gods. It stretches for hundreds of miles and leads to another oasis. Walking further south for dozens of miles, you can reach the sparse forest area at the foot of the Altyn Mountains. , I will never get lost again.”
The condor flew down and landed on the horizontal trunk of the poplar tree behind them, casting its sharp eyes towards the south.
Feng Guoting said: "Isn't the oasis at this location before? Why haven't I heard you mention such an easy-to-recognize shortcut?"
Lin Zhuang replied: "The oasis may be the intersection of two underground rivers. When the rain is heavy, the underground river water rises to the ground to form an oasis. When the underground river changes its course, the oasis also changes its location. The last time I entered the desert via the Shinto, The big ghost is sixty miles away from here."