If I add money to become a layman, I can cultivate immortality

Chapter 191 The Black Storm is Coming

Xiye is a small country on the ancient Silk Road, with a population of about four thousand people.

That's right, there are only about [-] people.

For many modern people, this is simply unbelievable. Can 4000 people become a country?
In fact, a country of 4000 people was not considered a small country in the ancient Western Regions.

Due to the special geographical environment of the ancient Western Regions, the overall landscape was dominated by deserts, Gobis, and oases. The land was vast and sparsely populated. Basically, a city constituted a country.

At that time, the smallest country had less than 1000 people, and 4000 people was already considered a medium-sized country.

At that time, the landforms and customs of the ancient Western Regions were very similar to those of Arab countries, and the same was true for Arab countries. A small city with one person was a country, and a country with a population of several thousand people was considered relatively large.

Therefore, in One Thousand and One Nights, there are so many stories about princes falling in love with common women and princesses falling in love with certain common men.

This isn't some sex, it's just a small town with a few thousand people. How can a young master or a prince be so valuable?
If he encountered a poorer country, the prince might even have to herd sheep.

Closer to home.

Ding Xiu and his party hurriedly traveled all the way, and finally successfully found the ruins of Xiye City before the storm came.

Xiye was a small city before, but after years of erosion, many buildings have weathered or been buried under the yellow sand.

What is left now are only some sporadic, severely weathered buildings and earthen walls, silently telling the vicissitudes of time.

An Liman first drove the camel to an earth wall and settled it down. Then he took out a felt blanket and knelt on the ground to pray.

In the distance, rolling yellow sand is sweeping in.

"No, there's a sandstorm!" Hu Bayi looked startled, then yelled: "Quick, everyone find a place to hide."

"Old Hu, there seems to be a cave here..."

The fat man responded.

Chu Jian stepped forward to take a look, and then used a flashlight to shine, and couldn't help but said happily: "That's great, there is a house here..."

It was indeed a house, but only a mound of dirt could be seen on the ground. In fact, the mound was the roof, but the roof was covered with a layer of sand.

And that house has fallen into yellow sand.

Fortunately, the yellow sand only blocked the outside. Although there was a thick layer of sand inside the house, there was still almost two meters of space, which could be used as a hiding place.

"Quick, move everything inside."

The group of people first moved the accompanying supplies into the house that was sunk in the yellow sand, and then slid down one by one along the yellow sand.

"Old man, when will this wind and sand blow?" Hu Bayi couldn't help but ask An Liman.

An Liman replied: "This is just the beginning. I have to ask God. I told you to go back but you didn't listen. Now it's fine. The black sand storm is coming. None of us can escape."

"Hey, what are you talking about, old man?" Fatty Wang glared and yelled.

"Fat man!" Hu Bayi turned around and glared at the fat man, and then asked An Liman: "Old man, the black sandstorm you are talking about is a sandstorm, right?"

"The black sandstorm is the storm in the black desert. No one dares to step into the black desert easily, let alone it is still the windy season..."

The reason why An Liman agreed to take the group into the desert was because according to his experience, Hu Bayi and others would take the initiative to return if they could not persist in the desert for too long.

But he never expected that this team of people would be so perseverant, that they could last for so long and even reach the edge of the Black Desert.

If he had known this, no matter how much money he was given, he would never come.

Now, they can only resign themselves to fate.

At this time, Ding Xiu said: "Okay, old man, we are all in the same boat now, there is no need to say anything depressing.

Now, we must cheer up, work together in the same boat, and be united as one, only then can we get through this difficult time. "

"Okay, okay, friends..."

"Lao Hu, before the storm blows here, let's go see the camels and pick up some firewood. It's cold at night."

"it is good!"

There were some bushes growing outside, many of them dry, perfect for making fires.

Ding Xiu secretly arranged a small formation while collecting firewood.

This formation is the simplest kind of protective formation and can resist the invasion of wind and sand to the greatest extent.

Returning to the house, Hu Bayi lit a fire. The group of people gathered around the fire and chatted, while also drinking some water and eating some food.

There isn't much water left, so everyone has to drink sparingly.

The fat man started to brag again: "I remember when I was fighting bandits in Niya Oasis..."

However, no matter how much he boasts, no one here will believe him, so it’s just a matter of fun.

"what!"

Suddenly, Ye Yixin screamed and involuntarily threw herself into the arms of Ding Xiu who was sitting beside her.

It turned out that she accidentally touched something hard and round. When she turned around, she saw that it was white and looked like a bowl?

So I couldn't help but dig away the floating sand with my hands, and the result...

Where is the bowl?It turned out to be a skull.

This time she was scared...

"What's wrong, Xiaoye?"

Professor Chen and others were also shocked.

"It turns out to be a skeleton...it's okay, Xiaoye, don't be afraid."

Ding Xiu patted Ye Yixin's shoulder and comforted her.

At this time, Ye Yixin came back to her senses, blushed with embarrassment, and quickly left Ding Xiu's arms.However, he still looked frightened and moved towards Ding Xiu.

"Let me see……"

Hu Bayi came over and dug with his hands. As a result, in addition to the skull, he also dug out some other bones.

Hu Bayi couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that some people have escaped from the wind and sand here before..."

Professor Chen and others' hearts suddenly became tense.

"But that's not right..." Hu Bayi frowned again: "Logically speaking, even if someone died here, given the climate here, the body will generally not rot. How could it..."

At this time, An Liman said: "It should be a wolf. In the desert, once there is a storm, many animals will find a place to take shelter.

At that time, no matter what kind of animal it is, it will not attack until the sandstorm passes..."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang couldn't help but wonder: "Does that mean that even if a snake encounters a mouse, it will not attack? Isn't that just a nest of snakes and mice?"

Hu Bayi smiled and said: "Fat man, don't tell me, this is really possible. Animals have the instinct to avoid danger, and they will only be in awe in the face of natural disasters.

As Mr. An Liman said, when a storm comes, they fear God, so it is not impossible for snakes and mice to nest together.

After the storm...it's hard to tell.

This person was probably hiding from the wind and sand, and there were other beasts in the house..."

After saying this, the fat man quickly picked up the gun and looked around.

"Since we have met, why not dig up the corpses and bury them together."

"Alright!"

So Chu Jian and Sa Di Peng also stepped forward to help with the excavation.

Unexpectedly, a stone statue was dug out during this digging. Professor Chen and Hao Aiguo hurried forward to check it out.

"Quick, get the brush."

"is teacher."

Soon after, after careful cleaning by Hao Aiguo, he finally saw the full picture of the stone statue.

"Huh? Why are the eyes of this stone statue so big?"

Professor Chen said: "This is a stone statue with giant eyes. We have seen stone statues like this in many places such as Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia before."

Shirley Yang asked: "Professor Chen, what is the origin of this stone statue?"

Professor Chen explained: "As for the origin of the giant-eyed stone statue, there are different opinions in the archaeological community. Some say it is a god worshiped by the Mongols, while others say it is a legacy of the ancient Turks...

In short, there is no conclusion until now.

In fact, there were similar giant-eyed figures in the ancient Shu Kingdom.According to my personal speculation, this may be an exploration by the ancients of celestial phenomena, stars and even the future.

They are eager to explore the secrets of this world, such as wind, rain, thunder and lightning, but human vision is limited, so they created giant-eyed figures. Perhaps they thought that with such giant pupils, they could see further..."

"It makes sense..." The group of people couldn't help but nodded.

Before I knew it, the day and night passed, and the storm finally subsided.

"Great, it's clearing up!"

The fat man walked outside and took a look, and couldn't help but look happy.

Hu Bayi stood up and said: "Everyone pack your things quickly. We have to find water sources as soon as possible. The water we have now can last for two days at most."

Next, the group continued on their way.

That night, we found a leeward sand dune to camp and rest.

In the dead of night, Professor Chen and others were sleeping soundly. After all, they were tired from the journey and had eaten dry food for so long, and their bodies were also a little overwhelmed.

"Lao Hu, have a cigarette..."

Ding Xiu walked up to Hu Bayi, who was sitting on the edge of the sand dune keeping watch, touched the root and handed it over.

"Ah."

Hu Bayi took it in his mouth, lit it, and took a nice sip.

The two chatted for a while, and Hu Bayi couldn't help but sigh: "We have entered the depths of the desert, and the water reserves are running low. If we can't find the water source... we will be in big trouble."

Ding Xiu smiled: "Don't worry, Ji Ren has his own destiny, I believe he will be able to find the water source."

For him, the water source is actually not a problem. As long as he wants to look for it, he can find it quickly.

If you really can't find it, the worst possible thing is to quietly set up a formation to control the wind and rain... Of course, this is an extreme situation.

Before the critical moment, Ding Xiu was unwilling to use his magical powers easily.

At this time, the camels suddenly became restless.

"There is movement..."

Hu Bayi immediately stood up and looked around warily.

"Ouch..."

At this time, a low wolf howl came.

"Wolf, there is a wolf! Everyone, get up..."

Hu Bayi rushed back to the camp.

An Liman immediately stood up and rushed towards the camels to comfort them.Otherwise, if the camel is frightened, it is likely that it will not obey orders and run around.

If the camels disappeared, their group would probably end up in this desert.

"Fat man, get the gun quickly."

"Hey……"

"Xiao Sa, you and Chu Jian protect Professor Chen and the others."

Hu Bayi is the team leader, so of course he must take responsibility and do his best to protect everyone's safety.

Shirley Yang also quickly took out a gun and walked to Hu Bayi and asked: "How many wolves are there?"

"I don't know yet..."

"About twenty."

At this time, Ding Xiu's voice came from the sand dune.

"What? Twenty or so?" Fatty Wang was shocked.

It would be fine if there were just a few wolves, but more than twenty...

Hu Bayi's heart kept sinking.

When he thought about it, he, Ding Xiu, Fatty Wang, and Shirley Yang might still have a chance to escape, but under the siege of more than twenty wolves, it might be a little difficult to protect Professor Chen and others Zhou Quan. .

"Fire, hurry up, light the torch and find all the solid fuel." Shirley Yang shouted urgently.

"Yes, yes, wolves are afraid of fire...Professor Chen, you all light the torches, hurry up!"

By this time, the wolves had slowly surrounded them.

There are 27 or eight wolves in this group, but only a dozen of them appear in front of everyone.

Wolves are very cunning animals. They are good at fighting in groups and even adopt some unexpected tactics to besiege targets.

Wolves living on the grassland, whenever winter comes, they will choose a suitable place in advance, such as a large pit or a chasm.

Then, they drive away their targets, such as yellow sheep.

They will organize formations, control the escape direction of the yellow sheep by chasing and intercepting, and finally drive the yellow sheep into the pit selected in advance.

Then he rushed into the flock and bit the yellow sheep to death one by one.

This is not because they are idle, but a way to store food for winter.

Because when winter comes, it will be more difficult for them to find food.

So, you have to reserve in advance.

After killing these yellow sheep, the snow season came soon.The heavy snow buried the corpses of the yellow sheep, so that the corpses were frozen by the ice and snow and would not rot.

When there is a shortage of food, the wolves will dig through the ice and snow and drag the yellow sheep carcasses back to the wolf den one by one to enjoy them slowly.

There is also such a story in Liaozhai stories.

It is about a butcher who was followed by two wolves when he returned home, waiting for an opportunity to eat him.

The butcher was frightened, and finally found a haystack. With his back against the haystack, he prepared to fight to the death with the wolf.

Unexpectedly, he saw only one wolf, and another one was missing.

The wolf in front of him did not attack, but squatted and faced the butcher from a distance.

Fortunately, this butcher is still very smart, but he always feels that something is wrong.

Then, he suddenly burst out with all his strength, rushed forward with a butcher knife in his hand, and stabbed the wolf in front of him to death.

Then he went around behind the haystack...

As expected, the other wolf did not leave. Most of its body had already gotten into the haystack, leaving only its tail outside.

Obviously, these two wolves are fighting for cooperation.

One wolf is responsible for distracting the butcher's attention, while the other wolf quietly digs out the haystack from behind and kills the target from behind by surprise.

The butcher suddenly grabbed the wolf's tail, dragged it out, and slashed it with his knife, finally killing the wolf.

Obviously, the current situation is similar to this story. The wolves dispersed, some appeared in front of the target, and the other part circled the sand dunes, preparing to launch a surprise attack from behind.

"Lao Hu, you guys hold on, I'll go find the other wolves."

Ding Xiu shouted and then quickly rushed to the other side of the sand dune.

"Old Ding, be careful..."

Hu Bayi reminded loudly.

"Do not worry!"

"Ouch..."

"Ouch..."

The wolves began to howl.

"Bang bang bang..."

The fat man rushed forward and fired several shots.

……

(End of this chapter)