Chapter 143: Desert
The next morning, Chang Wei led the team out.
There were five bodyguards accompanying him, plus Chang Wei, the chief bodyguard, a total of six people, and they also brought four camels.
Chang Wei distributed three camels to Jiang Lan, Xie Yun and Ji Quan, and used the remaining camel to carry luggage. He and the five bodyguards had been walking in the desert all year round and had adapted to the desert climate. They knew how to walk to save energy and ensure the team's speed.
Seeing that Jiang Lan was small and looked delicate, Chang Wei asked an escort to lead the camel she was riding.
Although it was Xie Yun's first time riding a camel, he quickly mastered the skills. Moreover, these domestic camels are naturally docile and particularly obedient.
Ji Quan naturally didn't need anyone to lead him, and he was as skilled at riding a camel as he was at riding a horse.
When we left the city, the sun had just risen from the horizon, and the golden light illuminated the vast yellow sand in the distance. Little bits of light flickered among the sand, like tiny gems shining.
Jiang Lan looked at the rising sun in front of her, and her heart was filled with infinite hope. As long as she crossed the desert, she would be able to find him. She would definitely find him!
The first section of the road was covered with lush green grass, but the further they went, the sparser the green became and the more gravel there was. It was not until noon that the group truly entered the desert. In the distance, sand dunes stretched out to the horizon. As far as the eye could see, there was only yellow sand, sparkling with golden light in the sun, and no green at all.
Chang Wei walked in front, observing the weather ahead at all times. The climate in the desert was unpredictable. Sometimes the sun was shining brightly and everything was calm, and the next moment the wind was howling and the sky was full of yellow sand, which could bury people alive.
Xie Yun looked at the new and strange scenery around him curiously along the way. He thought that he could publish a travelogue after returning. He even thought of a name: "Heading North".
The sun made the sand feel like it was on fire, and the air seemed to be distorted and deformed, making the sand dunes in the distance look as if they were jumping and swaying. When the wind blew, heat waves came one after another, making it even hotter.
Jiang Lan was so hot that beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She kept raising her hands to wipe the sweat off with her sleeves. When she was about to open the water bag to drink some water, the team suddenly stopped.
Chang Wei raised his hand to signal not to go forward. His hawk-like eyes stared at the flowing clouds in front of him. A cool breeze drifted over from afar.
Jiang Lang had just felt a little cooler when Chang Wei immediately ordered the three men to get off. His escorts also took action immediately, forming a circle around the camels and surrounding the people and luggage in the middle. He instructed the three men to lie face down and never look up.
As soon as he finished speaking, the sky suddenly darkened, and a strong wind blew up the yellow sand all over the sky like a giant beast, crushing down and leaving nothing behind wherever it passed.
Jiang Lan felt like sand was piling up on her like an avalanche, pressing down on her so hard that she felt like all the bones in her body were about to break. She tightly covered her mouth and nose with the white towel to prevent the sand from entering...
She didn't know how much time had passed. When she felt she was about to suffocate, a hand dug through the sand and pulled her head out. She took a deep breath, breathing in big gulps of air. It took her a long time to recover.
Chang Wei said that they should be able to reach the ancient city ruins ahead before dark, and then they can rest.
The group ate some dry food and drank some water and continued on their journey. When it was almost dark, they arrived at the ancient city ruins that Chang Wei had mentioned.
Most of the city wall has been buried by wind and sand, and the exposed part has been eroded and become uneven, but it can still withstand the wind and sand.
The group stopped here to eat some dry food and drink some water.
Jiang Lan listened to the whistling sound of wind and sand outside the wall. The sound was particularly shrill and harsh, as if someone was crying. In a trance, she seemed to really hear someone crying.
"Why do I seem to hear someone crying?" Xie Yun just stuck his head out to take a look outside the wall when he was blinded by the sand. He quickly retracted his head. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, and the more he rubbed, the more itchy it felt.
"Don't rub it with your hands." An escort kindly reminded him, and then taught him to spit hard and blink his eyes. Xie Yun was embarrassed to spit, so he blinked hard until tears came out. Finally, he could open his eyes normally and asked the same question again.
Another one-eyed escort, wearing a black eye patch, laughed and said, "That's called the Ghost Crying Sand. Legend has it that it's the souls of those who died in the desert. Anyone who hears it will be trapped in the desert, never able to leave." After saying this, he revealed a strange smile, which, coupled with the shrill crying, made people feel even more creepy.
Jiang Lan hugged her knees tighter. Ji Quan glanced at her and sneered, "It's just a hoax. What's there to be afraid of?" Xie Yun asked her not to tell these ghost stories so late at night, and asked her if she had been to many places. It would be better for her to tell two new and interesting things.
The bodyguard talked about the time when he escorted a merchant caravan many years ago. They encountered sand bandits at that time. He was the only one who survived out of the group of 19 people. He also lost an eye, with his eyeball gouged out. As he was talking, he was about to take off the eye patch to show the three people, but Xie Yun quickly waved his hand and said it was not necessary.
"Don't be afraid, little brother. It won't hurt you if you take a look." He just picked up the blindfold.
Jiang Lan tilted her head to the side and hugged her knees tighter with her hands. Xie Yun quickly reached out to shield her eyes.
"Second brother." Chang Wei called out neither lightly nor heavily.
The black eye mask was not removed.
"Don't be offended, little brother. Second Master means no harm." The escort who had kindly reminded Xie Yun before apologized. "In our team, besides the head escort, Second Master is the best."
Ji Quan sneered, "No wonder he lost an eye."
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"We've rested enough, it's time to hit the road." Chang Wei suppressed the tense atmosphere with just one sentence. Two of his bodyguards went to lead the camels over. At this time, the wind and sand also stopped, and the group continued on their way.
There was silence all around, with only the stars and the moon above shining quietly on the ground.
Jiang Lan looked up at the vast starry sky above her head, and her heart felt better. Listening to the sound of the camel stepping slowly on the yellow sand, she felt a sense of peace.
Xie Yun pointed to a star in the sky and told her that it was the Purple Star, and that she would get there as long as she followed it.
Jiang Lan kept looking at the shining star, and it seemed as if he felt a little closer to it...
Before he knew it, the stars and the moon rose and set. Xie Yun observed the positions of the stars and estimated that it was almost four o'clock in the morning, and dawn would come in an hour or two.
The team stopped again when they reached a sand dune.
In the silent air, there was a hint of unusual breath.
Chang Wei noticed it, Ji Quan noticed it, and the one-eyed Lao Er also noticed it.
"Damn you!" The one-eyed second cursed. "What bad luck! I run into these murderous ghosts again."
The other four escorts were startled when they heard this and immediately went on alert.
Xie Yun also stretched out his hands to protect Jiang Lan, searching the surroundings for clues.
"Didn't I say that everything would be fine if I listened to you? How come we ran into this in just one day?" Ji Quan said sarcastically.
Chang Wei ignored his words, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the sand dune in front of him.
Suddenly a sharp whistle sounded from the sand dunes.
Chang Wei's expression changed and he cursed in his heart that he had actually run into the Greedy Wolf Gang.
The Greedy Wolf Gang is the largest group of sand bandits in the desert and also the most brutal and ruthless. They recruit only the most vicious criminals and also have the secret technique of taming wolves.
As the whistle sounded, pairs of green eyes appeared on the sand dunes.
"What is that?" Xie Yun still felt a little curious.
"Wolf." Chang Wei said the word concisely and clearly.
Xie Yun looked at those pairs of green eyes again and felt a chill running up from behind.
"Do you know where wolves like to bite people the most?" The one-eyed second man laughed.
Xie Yun swallowed nervously and shook his head.
The one-eyed second brother raised his hand and pointed at his neck. "One bite and he'll die. Drag him back and eat him slowly."
Xie Yun protected Jiang Lan even tighter, and Jiang Lan's face turned pale at this moment. She had finally come here, why couldn't she be allowed to have a smooth journey? Was she really going to die in the wolf's belly tonight? She hoped very much that a divine soldier would descend from the sky, but she also knew that this was impossible. Now she could only save herself.
"Can camels run fast?" Before Jiang Lan could finish her words, the one-eyed second man sneered, "Then you try and see if you can outrun the wolves." Jiang Lan was planning to throw away all the luggage and let everyone else ride on camels, but after hearing what the other party said, he knew that there was a high probability that they would not be able to outrun them.
At this time, a figure appeared on the hill, and the wolf mask on his face flashed coldly under the stars and the moon.
"Leave the people and the goods behind. The escort can go." The other man crossed his arms, with a condescending attitude. "Leave the camels behind too. Otherwise," he squatted down and touched the snow-white wolf beside him, "I will let my treasures tear you into pieces."
The one-eyed second man said, "Captain, let's go. Don't die in vain."
The other four also looked at Chang Wei, waiting for his decision.
Chang Wei's brows were twisted like iron locks, and he was unable to make a decision.
"Since you want to be buried with me, let's die together." The man on the sand dune stood up, stretched, and raised his hand.
"Chief escort, the fifth brother's son is not even a month old." The one-eyed second brother reminded.
Chang Wei gritted his teeth, took out the silver note from his arms and returned it to Xie Yun, whispered "sorry", and left with the five people.
Xie Yun was a little dumbfounded, he just left like that...
"Let's run separately. Whoever can run will run." After saying this, Ji Quan slapped Xie Yun and Jiang Lan's camels and ran in another direction.
The wolves quickly split into three groups and rushed down the sand dunes. The white wolf did not move, watching its people hunt like a king.
The man on the sand dune raised his wrist calmly and aimed in one direction. With a whoosh, the camel fell forward and fell to the ground, with a short arrow piercing its hind leg. He turned around and shot two arrows in a row, then lay down beside the white wolf, leisurely waiting for the prey to come to him.
Soon, the sound of something being dragged came from far away. When it was almost at the bottom of the sand dune, he stood up calmly and looked down. The wolves dispersed, revealing the prey inside.
Seeing that there were only two people, the eyes under the mask turned cold, a whistle sounded, and the wolves immediately dispersed to chase the prey that had escaped.
"Sister Lan, are you okay?" Xie Yun hurriedly crawled towards Jiang Lan. Half of his pants were torn off, and there were several deep tooth marks on them. They were bleeding, but fortunately no bones were broken. He was dragged here by one of the wolves.
Seeing that Jiang Lan was still alive, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw that her arm was bleeding, he became nervous again. She was dragged here by one of the wolves while her arm was bitten.
The two men were dragged all the way, their clothes were torn, their hair was disheveled, and they looked in a miserable state.
Xie Yungang helped Jiang Lan stand up when he suddenly noticed a figure in front of him. He immediately protected Jiang Lan behind him and asked bravely, "How much silver do you want to let us go?"
The other person held his chin with one hand, and the eyes behind the mask looked at Jiang Lan, with a lewd smile on the corner of his lips, "Turns out you are a little beauty, follow me from now on." As he said that, he stretched out his hand to touch Jiang Lan's face. Xie Yun hurriedly protected Jiang Lan and said anxiously, "A gentleman uses words, not fists." The other person sneered and knocked Xie Yun to the ground with a punch. Then he grabbed Jiang Lan and was about to flirt with her. At this time, a faint blue firework exploded in the air, which was the emergency contact signal of the Greedy Wolf Gang.
He immediately blew a whistle to call the wolves back, carried Jiang Lan on his shoulders and ran away, with the white wolf following closely behind. The wolves dragged Xie Yun behind the white wolf.
Jiang Lan's head was hanging upside down for an unknown amount of time, her stomach churning, and then she was thrown down. When she recovered, she could see the scene clearly. It was a cage, locked with iron chains, and then she found that there were many such cages around.
She could see clearly that the cages were filled with girls like her. She shouted Xie Yun's name loudly, but no one answered, only deathly silence.
Everyone in the cage squatted in the corner meekly, as if they had been tamed.
She asked the girl in the cage next to her where this was, but she just shook her head mechanically without giving any answer.
She continued to call Xie Yun's name until her voice became hoarse, but still received no response.
The place where the cage was placed seemed to be underground, with only the light of the torch and no sunlight at all.
She didn't know how long she had been in the cage, and had no idea whether it was an hour or a day.
When she heard footsteps, she immediately became alert.
The light of a torch shone in from the other end, and then there was a sound like metallic collision, as if someone in armor was walking.
She moved carefully to the front of the cage, holding the orchid hairpin tightly in her hand.
When she could see clearly who was approaching, she quickly called for help.
Although the man was wearing a mask, he was wearing armor and must be a government official.
When the other party walked towards her, he suddenly stopped, paused for a while, and then continued to move forward. After looking at everyone in the cage, he drew his sword and cut off the locks on the cage one by one, and then took everyone out.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
