One person ascends to the Pure Huang Court

Zhang Huaiyi once told Hu Xiuwu that the old Taoist priest Zhang Jingxu once gave Zhang Huaiyi special training, instructing him on the dynamic exercises of the Golden Light Mantra and the Heyang Five Thunder Method, hoping that he could help to tame Zhang Zhiwei's sharpness.

However, what the old Taoist priest Zhang Jingxu did not expect was that it was Zhang Huaiyi who was taught a lesson by Zhang Zhiwei.

Hu Xiuwu spread out his palms, and the golden light in his palms flowed slowly like sticky resin. When the resin solidified into amber, Hu Xiuwu would have entered the stage of transforming into a shape with Qi.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Hu Xiuwu drew out Zhegui and practiced the Youyue sword technique. Ah Man danced beside him, swinging her short legs to cheer him on.

If he had not used Gu Lun to unexpectedly rush up the city wall, he would have been surrounded by a group of strange people. In addition, the black snakes and fire beetles attacked him in the gaps. I am afraid he and Chen Duo would have really died in the Eluohai City.

Hu Xiuwu was dancing with a sword in the yard while Chen Duo was practicing martial arts nearby. The two had no communication at all, but the atmosphere between them was inexplicably harmonious, as if they were old friends. Although they didn't talk to each other, you could tell what the other was going to do just by looking at him.

Hu Xiuwu wielded the Zhegui sword and practiced the Jade Hook Slash, which was at the same level as Gu Lun Shan.

In addition to the basic sword moves, Youyue Sword Technique has its own uses.

The Solitary Wheel Flash is used to rush in front of the enemy, while the Jade Hook Slash is used to restrain the enemy. The Jade Hook sword energy is like a hook, and the sword energy also carries a entanglement force like Tai Chi, which can hook the enemy in front of Hu Xiuwu like a hook, allowing him to be hit by the Nine-Headed Dragon Flash right in the face, and it can also narrow the enemy's range of activities.

The sword energy in the courtyard was surging, and the sword energy like a jade hook blocked the entire courtyard, which had already affected Chen Duo.

Chen Duo stopped moving quietly, but was not angry. During this month of living together day and night, not only did Hu Xiuwu get to know Chen Duo better, but Chen Duo also got to know Hu Xiuwu. He would not make such a big move for no reason. There must be a reason behind it.

Chen Duo's jade-like hands were stained with a hint of ink, and Dan Shi was ready to strike.

The jade hook sword energy filled the courtyard, and a figure was forced out from the shadows. This man was of stout build, with strong and sturdy arms. He had a pot of arrows hanging around his waist and a strong bow on his back.

Looking at the rough man's attire, combined with history and yesterday's conversation with Zhang Qian, Hu Xiuwu recognized the man's identity at a glance:

"Who are you? Father Tang Yi!"

"That's right, I am Tang Yifu."

Tang Yifu bowed somewhat awkwardly. He had heard Zhang Qian talking about Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo before, and today he wanted to test their quality. Unexpectedly, he was discovered by Hu Xiuwu and was forced out. He was really embarrassed.

It even reminded him of a psychological trauma he had in prison in the past.

Seeing that Hu Xiuwu knew this person and did not seem to be an enemy, Chen Duo dispersed the Dan in his hand and continued his previous practice.

Hu Xiuwu put away the laurel, dispersed the sword energy in the garden, and went to the hall to ask the father:

"What are you doing here?"

Tang Yifu took out a leather cylinder from his waist and handed it to Hu Xiuwu. The strange people on the grassland admired the strong, so his attitude became very respectful and he said:

"Yesterday, Envoy Zhang heard that you were going to the Kingdom of Jingjue, so today he asked me to bring you a geomancy map of the Western Regions."

Hu Xiuwu took the map and thought that Zhang Qian was a very friendly person, as he could give such a precious gift to someone he met for the first time.

You should know that in ancient times, drawing maps was extremely troublesome, requiring people to measure step by step, so a map was priceless, and a detailed military map was even more priceless. If someone stole or privately drew a map, he could be charged with treason.

If it was a map of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian would naturally not give it to Hu Xiuwu easily, but as for the map of the Western Regions, that didn't matter.

If Hu Xiuwu could stir up trouble in the Western Regions, Zhang Qian might even be there to add fuel to the fire.

The Han Dynasty does not need powerful neighbors, and now the power of the Jingjue Kingdom in the Western Regions is becoming increasingly powerful. If the Jingjue Kingdom were to unify the Western Regions one day, the Han Dynasty would have one more rival.

After Tang Yifu handed the map to Hu Xiuwu, he continued, "And Envoy Zhang also said that he had asked Xu Yuanjin and Sha Zhu of Xiaoshipan City to give you two a portion of the supplies collected for the delegation."

"He has already talked to Xu Yuanjin and Sha Zhu, you just need to go and get it."

Chapter 117 Guide

"After I thank Brother Ziwen for his kindness, please tell him that my sister and I will be heading to the Western Regions soon. I hope we can meet there."

Hu Xiuwu put the map away and said to Tang Yifu.

"Here."

Tang Yifu performed a very respectful Han ceremony, then turned around and went back to report.

After Tang Yi's father left, Hu Xiuwu unscrewed the leather tube containing the map, took out the rolled-up map and spread it out. After just one look, Hu Xiuwu frowned.

What is this thing? This thing is called a map?!

With just a few strokes on the sheepskin map, the entire picture of the Western Regions was drawn. Not to mention the contour lines and scales, even the mountain ranges were replaced by the same shape of hills.

This isn't an impressionistic landscape painting. What's the point of painting it so crudely?

You just draw two lines and mark the names of cities on them, and you can call it a map?

Hu Xiuwu felt that even the markings on the map had more strokes than the map itself.

It's really not Li Guang's fault that he got lost when fighting with such a map. It also highlights that Huo Qubing, who was able to fight guerrilla warfare on the grassland with the help of such a map, had a great sense of direction, which could be called a human compass.

The map that Hu Xiuwu got from the horse bandits was already simple enough. He originally thought it was just a special case, but he didn't expect that the Western Regions Fengshui map he got from Zhang Qian was also like this. This is an official map of the Han Dynasty.

Even the official maps are so crude, one can imagine how little the Han people know about the Western Regions. I'm afraid the only thing the Han people know about the Western Regions is that it is rich in beautiful jade.

Looking at the two nearly parallel lines on the map, Hu Xiuwu let out a breath of distress.

Gumo and Jingjue are not on the same road! Gumo and Yumenguan are on the same route, while Jingjue and Yangguan are on the same line, one in the south and one in the north, almost parallel.

Moreover, judging from the map, Gumo is farther away from Yumen Pass than Jingjue, and is closer to where the Dayuezhi currently lives.

what's the situation?

Hu Xiuwu made a profound complaint about Hu Bayi's unreliability:

Didn’t you say that you first arrived at the Xiye Ancient City and then the Jingjue Ancient City? How did you get there? Are you going around in circles in the Western Regions?

Free?

Mainly out of consideration for their brother's face, Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan focused on talking about how they relied on their profound Feng Shui skills to find the tomb of Prince Gumo and how they bravely fought the black snake.

As for the small matter of accidentally getting lost, he did not tell Hu Xiuwu, which led to Hu Xiuwu's confused understanding of the locations of Gumo and Jingjue.

I was just bragging to my younger brother. Who would have thought that he would come to use this knowledge point.

Hu Xiuwu rolled up the sheepskin map in his hand and put it back into the cylinder. He patted his palms with the cylinder from time to time and thought to himself:

"I thought too simply before. Even with this map and the guidance of the stars, it is not that easy to go to Gumo. No wonder my eldest brother insisted on finding a local guide before he was willing to set off."

"It seems that I have to find an Anliman as well."

(Anliman: a person’s name, meaning a living map in the desert.)

Putting the cylinder containing the map into the ghost tomb, Hu Xiuwu shouted to Chen Duo:

"Duo'er, I'm going out for a while. You don't have to wait for me at noon. You can eat first."

Chen Duo stopped and said to Hu Xiuwu: "I want to go with you."

"I'm just going to find a guide for us, you don't need..."

Hu Xiuwu originally wanted to refuse, but then he thought that if Chen Duo was here alone, she would probably sit facing the wall alone for another afternoon, so it would be better for her to go out with him.

"...Forget it, you should come with me."

Before the opening of trade, the Han Dynasty knew very little about the Western Regions, and traveling to the Western Regions was too difficult, so there were very few caravans going there.

But few does not mean none, because the merchants near Jiuquan County know at least one thing.

The Western Regions outside the Han Dynasty produced jade, and that was fine mutton-fat jade. Even the Xiaoshipan City was later renamed Yumen Pass because it was used to transport jade for Emperor Wu of Han.

The Chinese people's love and pursuit of jade has never declined from ancient times to the present. As long as one can bring back a bushel of beautiful jade from the Western Regions, he can exchange it for ten carts of gold.

However, only one in ten caravans that went to the Western Regions and were able to bring back jade would survive. It was a life-threatening expense, but there were always people who would rather die in the Gobi Desert than die in poverty.

Either take the risk and make enough money to last you the rest of your life, or you won't have a life at all.

So now there are still a few caravans staying in Xiaoshipan City and have not left. As long as they find a reliable caravan like Hu Xiuwu and Chen Duo, they can join the caravan and go to the Western Regions.

When choosing a caravan to affiliate with, Hu Xiuwu did not care much about the caravan's strength. The main thing was to choose a caravan that was familiar with the Western Regions, so as to avoid getting lost in the desert.

But Hu Xiuwu didn't know the situation in Xiaoshipan City, so if he wanted to find a more reliable caravan, he had to rely on the local tyrants.

Coincidentally, Hu Xiuwu met a local tyrant yesterday who was very familiar with the situation in Xiaoshipan City and had some reputation in the local area.

Sha Zhu, the county lieutenant of Xiaoshipan City.

Hu Xiuwu took Chen Duo around the county government office but did not see Sha Zhu. After asking several people in the county government office, he learned that Sha Zhu was in the warehouse of the county government office at that time, leading his men to monitor the material supply situation of the delegation.

This is the top priority of Xiaoshipan City right now. County Magistrate Xu Yuanjin takes it very seriously. Since the top boss of Xiaoshipan City takes it very seriously, the people under him naturally dare not be vague.

"Hey, that's for horses, not for humans. What's the purpose of having two eyes? Is it just for being sociable?"

When Hu Xiuwu found Sha Zhu, he saw him yelling at the people moving supplies at the door of the warehouse:

"Sha County Lieutenant!"

"Who is it? Who called me? Oh, it's Master Zhang."

Sha Zhu was busy with sweat on his forehead and was feeling a little annoyed and unfriendly, but when he turned around and saw that the person who called him was Hu Xiuwu, he suddenly became enthusiastic.

Hu Xiuwu shook his head: "I haven't become an immortal yet, you can just call me Xiuwu."

"No, no, you are not like a rough guy like me. What are you doing here this time? Are you here to take the supplies that Envoy Zhang specially stored for you?"

During the Han Dynasty, people in the streets and alleys regarded strange people as mysterious and supernatural. They believed that they were all gods who had descended to earth and could call the wind and rain and do anything.

Although Sha Zhu was not as ignorant as the common people, he still could not help but have a sense of awe for strangers, so Sha Zhu's tone was still very humble.

Hu Xiuwu said: "No, I came here specifically to see you, County Magistrate Sha, hoping you can do me a favor."

After saying that, Hu Xiuwu bowed to Sha Zhu in front of everyone in the warehouse to express his gratitude.

"Ouch, ouch, I can't do that! I can't do that!"

Shazhu's face turned red with joy. For someone as proud as him, it really made him feel honored to receive the thanks from an immortal.

Although he said that it was impossible, after glancing at the faces of the people around him, Sha Zhu's heart was filled with joy. He patted his chest loudly and shouted:

"Please tell me what you need. As long as it's within the city of Xiaoshipan, I, Old Sha, will definitely help you get it done."

Hu Xiuwu told Sha Zhu that he wanted to find a caravan to go to the Western Regions, and also told him his requirements.

After hearing this, Sha Zhu pondered for a while and said, "You know what, there are actually four or five caravans in Xiaoshipan City that want to go to the Western Regions during this period."

Hu Xiuwu asked suspiciously, "Didn't they say that not many caravans dare to go to the Western Regions? Why are there so many caravans in Xiaofangpan City now?"

Sha Zhu explained: "You also know that going to the Western Regions is a business with a high risk of death. If you are not fully prepared, you will die ten out of ten."

"But in order to help the delegation collect supplies during this period, Xiaoshipan City no longer has any extra food and grass to sell to these caravans. Many caravans are waiting to set off in the city."

Hu Xiuwu asked, "Which caravan has the most experience?"

Sha Zhu was a little embarrassed: "Going to the Western Regions to exchange for jade is a life-threatening business. Few people are willing to make two trips. Speaking of the most experienced..."