Chapter 26 A Glass of Water, Twenty Cents

The scene just now frightened the white dog so much that it kept barking and turned around and ran away.

The monster chased after it, and both of them soon disappeared behind the sand dunes.

The porter in the team behind cursed fiercely. There was one less guest to escort, and his wages were correspondingly reduced.

This was the greeting that Panlong Desert gave to everyone.

The relaxed atmosphere of all the teams that witnessed this disappeared in an instant.

Zeng Feixiong retracted his gaze and murmured, "It's his fault. On Hongya Road, children and dogs must be tied up."

"This is the first time I've seen such a big yellow flounder." He Lingchuan was amazed. The original body often hunted and knew that the yellow flounder was not a fish, but a monster lurking in the desert and Gobi, specializing in ambushing small animals passing by.

It can dive and float freely in the desert, and it can run faster than four-legged creatures.

But this thing is at most a little bigger than a dog, and even if it becomes a monster, it shouldn't be the size it was just now!

"This is Panlong Desert." Zeng Feixiong has escorted caravans through it many times and is no longer surprised. "The resentful spirits affect everything here. Even the originally intelligent monsters will be alienated if they stay in the desert for a long time."

That's the truth. So although the sand leopards also enter the Panlong Desert to hunt, they must stay in the West Mountain to live and reproduce.

...

The magnificent desert remains unchanged after a long time.

The journey is peaceful and boring. As long as you don't step out of Hongya Road, you only need to deal with the troubles of hot wind, bright sun, and sandstorms.

For a prepared and experienced team, these can be tolerated.

After three days of walking, the team finally arrived at Baiyuan Station.

This is a relay station on Hongya Road for traveling merchants to rest. Its predecessor was an ancient city.

There are more than ten ancient cities on Panlong Desert, but only a few survived after a hundred years. Baiyuan City was also swallowed by the yellow sand. It was later generations who excavated its old base and built several rows of houses on the side of Hongya Road.

Like Hongya Road, the ancient city is not attacked by resentful spirits and monsters, so it is a good place for merchants to stop.

When the team entered Baiyuan Station, He Chunhua hurried over to negotiate with the postman.

Yes, Heishui City has a post here and assigns special people to manage it. However, the control here is very loose, not as strict as in Dayuan.

At this time, in this place, the power of money is reflected.

Baiyuan Station allows passing merchants to camp in tents, and food and water are also sold here. If people want to be extravagant, they can also rent a small house.

Of course, there is no water source in the Panlong Desert itself, and all ingredients, clean water, and building materials must be transported from Heishui City.

Where there is demand, there is business. Those who want to do this business must first establish a relationship with the postman, and then go to great lengths to transport things to the barren land. After adding up all kinds of costs, the basic set meal of a steamed bun and a bottle of clean water sells for thirty coins. Isn’t it expensive?

A bowl of mutton soup with steamed buns, the kind with only oil and meat but no diced meat, costs two coins, isn't that expensive?

A small overnight hut costs five taels of silver to rent, and you feel like you're getting a bargain, right?

If you also want to take a hot bath in the desert to wash away the dust and fatigue from the road -

Sun Guoshi, Nian Duwei and He Dagongzi all want this, so He Junshou can only spend money.

This expense alone can buy five acres of good farmland near Heishui City, which is permanent real estate.

After taking a bath and eating a few luxurious meals to eat half full, He Lingchuan finally recovered.

With his strong body, he was very tired after walking for three days, and he didn't know how many difficulties there would be in the future.

On the other hand, He Chunhua seemed to be at ease, and he was obviously not as weak as he looked on the surface.

He Lingchuan also bought a few meals for Zeng Feixiong, otherwise this man would have to eat cold steamed buns with the soldiers because he was short of money.

Zeng Feixiong felt bad and tried to refuse several times, but unfortunately he was not as resolute as Mr. He, so he could only accept it in the end and thanked him.

He Lingchuan knew that this man was straightforward and not reckless. This time he was the one leading the troops into the desert, so he patted his shoulder and said, "Eat well and drink well, so that you have the strength to work. The safety of our father and son is in your hands."

"Mr. He has been very kind to me and saved me from future troubles. I will repay you with my life!"

"You are too much." He Lingchuan laughed, "By the way, I heard that your father is the only living person who returned from the Panlong ruins?"

Zeng Feixiong's expression was slightly gloomy: "Yes, 20 years ago, someone paid a lot of money to find him to be a guide, and he was the only one who survived. But he has lost his mind since then, and even the great shaman can't cure him. No one knows what happened to them. He only mutters one word all day long - water."

"Water?" There is indeed a lack of water in the desert. What kind of 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 people, and wanted to summon several leaders to his hut for a meeting.

The guards went outside and brought him a lot of yellow sand, and poured it on the table.

A simple sand table was ready.

"Hongya Road, we are almost finished." 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 start from then."

"Hongya Road originally connected Panlong City." As for the transportation of troops, at least the soldiers and food must be transported to the edge of the city to count. "Not long after Panlong Desert became a desert, the nearby mountains fell down and smashed this road."

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 from the gap of Yingshan Mountain."

This long road is not on Hongya Road, and the danger they are about to face has increased greatly.

In comparison, the journey of the past three days was as relaxing as a vacation.

Then everyone discussed various countermeasures.

Although the father and son of the He family had a rift with Sun and Nian, they were very focused on the discussion because it was about their own lives.

He Lingchuan had been listening silently until the discussion was almost over, and then he asked a long-standing puzzle:

"As an isolated enclave, Panlong City has held on for 32 years under the attack of enemies on all sides. It can be said to be superb. So why was it finally breached?" This is also the mystery of the Panlong Desert. Neither historical books nor local legends have left a conclusive explanation. Only the storyteller left a far-fetched explanation, "Could it be that, as the locals of Heishui City said, because Zhong Shengguang died of illness, Panlong City lost its backbone?"

People tend to find a reasonable explanation for unsolved mysteries. Zhong Shengguang has been guarding Panlong City for more than 30 years, and has grown from a young and strong man to an old man. Long-term wars will cause great damage to the body and mind. This explanation is still the most reliable one among the many legends He Lingchuan has heard.

He was very curious about the truth.

"From the clues I have, this legend actually makes some sense. Panlong City has indeed lost its backbone." Sun Fuping poured himself a glass of water, which cost twenty cents. "But it wasn't Zhong Shengguang, but General Hong!"