to blame

"It should have been very prosperous back then," Ming Xia muttered to himself, estimating the area of ​​this ancient city in his heart, compared with the ancient cities he had seen during his travels, he felt that its area was nearly a quarter larger than the Stone City of Taxkorgan one.

He didn't study history, so he couldn't tell what era the dilapidated well and ruins in front of him belonged to.However, when he was traveling in Xinjiang, he had seen several famous ancient cities. Loulan and Jiaohe were all dilapidated. Unlike here, the streets are flat and the shapes of houses on both sides can be seen faintly. The walls are even intact.

Mingxia walked through the street, and besides relatively complete houses, he could occasionally see traces of collapsed stones and decayed wooden pillars.Apart from these, there is nothing else—thousands of years of wind and sand erosion have already erased the traces of human life.

Ming Xia picked up a wooden stick that was dry and hard with almost no texture, held it in his hand and made gestures.

Let's use this thing as a weapon, it's not strong enough.But it is a pity to use it as a torch, after all, it is considered an antique.But carrying such a thing in his hand can at least give him courage.

Ming Xia walked to the end of the street and saw the best preserved Buddhist pagoda in his field of vision.

The pagoda is seven or eight meters high, and it is built of rammed earth, with some grass and wood fibers mixed in the adobe.The bottom of the tower is a stone wall base and a lotus base, which are typical Buddhist architectural features.There is not much space inside the pagoda, and the murals on the four walls are severely peeled off. Judging from the color of the remaining lines, the paintings should be Buddha statues.

Ming Xia turned around in and out, and found a small pile of ashes in the corner.He planed with the wooden stick in his hand, revealing the things buried under the sand: unburned dead branches, three or five empty cans, and a few cigarette butts.

Ming Xia checked it carefully, and found that the date on the can was five years ago.

Ming Xia was a little frightened, but tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart.Although it is possible to say that anything can happen in the land of monsters, traveling back to a few years ago is still too challenging for his nerves.

It shouldn't be crossing.Ming Xia comforted himself in his heart, he just separated from his teammates.

This must be only temporary.

The moon gradually rose up, and the disc-like full moon coated the boundless sandy sea with a layer of bright mercury. The walls of the nearby houses were completely visible, as if they could be seen more clearly than during the day.Stars are twinkling on the vast sky, and every star seems to be so clean that it has just been wiped.

The wind whimpered, hovering between the ruins, far and near.

Ming Xia didn't dare to wander off, he didn't know what was going on outside, and of course it was even more impossible to go back to the underground river.I had no choice but to shrink into a half-collapsed corner next to the pagoda.Both sides are walls, and the safety factor is relatively higher.

At least, he will feel a little safer psychologically.

Ming Xia hugged the dragon tongue bow and quiver to his chest, took out the arrows one by one, and put them back one by one.They were still there, and he felt a little more secure in his heart.

Then he thought, could all this be an illusion?The purpose of the illusion created by monsters is to let them destroy themselves effortlessly?

Ming Xia shook her head, feeling that if she thought about it too much, she would start to get scared again.

At this moment, his heart suddenly became alert, and there was a subtle feeling that something was approaching him.But then the fluctuation suddenly jumped up and became chaotic, just like a piece of music suddenly changed in frequency and rhythm, turning into noise.

He could feel that this might be a kind of energy interference.

Ming Xia felt that the blood in his whole body was churning, and he was indescribably uncomfortable.In the midst of these bouts of dizziness, he heard a familiar voice calling him.

"Ming Xia? Ming Xia?"

Ming Xia opened his eyes, and in his slightly shaken vision, a cloud of blurred white was rushing towards him from a distance.

Ming Xia felt at ease.Qingqiu is not only his comrade in arms, but also his relatives, meeting him in such a strange and strange place is a great comfort to Ming Xia.

"Mingxia, why did you run so far?" Qingqiu said with grievance in his voice, "I was so anxious to find you!"

Ming Xia hugged his fluffy body, "Where is this? How did you find it?"

"As soon as everyone disappeared when I woke up, I knew we had been trapped by monsters." Qingqiu said angrily, "It means to separate everyone one by one with a blindfold. I can't see anyone... Oh, I can't tell, that's what it means."

Ming Xia laughed, "I understand. My Qingqiu family is really well-informed."

Qingqiu's anxious expression gradually calmed down, and he narrowed his eyes happily.

Ming Xia pondered his words in his heart, "How can we break the blindfold?"

If he really wanted to be locked up in this illusion of isolation from the world for ten days and a half months, he would go crazy if he didn't die.

Qingqiu clapped his fingers and pointed to him, "The "Ancient Medicine Classic" says that black dog blood, black donkey blood, and black glutinous rice are used to break through obstacles..."

Ming Xia, "...Forget it, pretend I didn't ask."

Qingqiu looked at him dissatisfied, "For ordinary people without demon power, this is the most effective method!"

"I know, I know," Ming Xia stroked the furry fox, "I was just thinking, what kind of magic is it?"

From an objective point of view, the so-called spells and demonic powers of monsters are the control and use of energy.The blindfold method sounds like it controls the conduction pathway of the human nervous system, allowing the brain to receive wrong visual and tactile information.What, then, is the means by which this influence is exerted?

Ming Xia laughed after thinking about it, he pinched Qingqiu's ear, "I recalled a sentence in martial arts novels: The only thing that can't be broken is speed."

Qingqiu blinked ignorantly, "Martial arts novels...is it a drama book?"

"There are drama books, as well as movies and TV series. When I go out, I will find some classics for you to read." Ming Xia took a deep breath and shook Qingqiu's big neck, "Qingqiu, I thought of a way. You can fly with me on your back. Let's try!"

"Where are you going?"

"Not going anywhere, just flying to high places," Ming Xia said, "Like a helicopter, straight up."

Qingqiu didn't understand what he was going to do, but he carried him obediently and flew up, and it was really like a helicopter, rising from the flat ground and rising into the air bit by bit.

When I stood on the ground, it was clearly early in the morning, and it was dark everywhere.But as the altitude changed, the night surrounding them seemed to fade away slowly, turning into dark blue, and then continued to fade, turning into the hazy blue-gray in the morning.The ancient city below gradually disappeared in the foggy morning mist, and even the highest Buddhist pagoda began to become indistinct.

"Do you want to raise it again?" Qingqiu was a little uneasy.

"Can you still raise it?"

"Of course." The big fox was unconvinced, "Just watch it!"

One person and one fox continued to ascend, and the world under their feet became smaller and smaller, more and more... more open.Then they seemed to have penetrated an invisible barrier suddenly—just like when they entered Qingqiu Mountain at the beginning, with a soft plop, the bright morning light rushed towards the face, instantly stinging Ming Xia's eyes.

It turned out that morning had come.

Ming Xia hugged Qingqiu's neck tightly, his face was buried in the white fur, it was warm and comfortable, as soft as a blanket woven from the finest cashmere.

"Qingqiu, tell me quietly, how did you find me?"

Qingqiu looked back at him, and snorted unhappily, "It's all a trick. I just can't take care of so many people at once. Compared with them, of course you are the most important."

Ming Xia rubbed against his neck.

Qingqiu's hooves stomped back and forth in mid-air, carrying Ming Xia on his back and continuing to rise.

As the sun rose higher and higher, the cloud of chaotic mist under his feet gradually dissipated. Ming Xia saw the hole on the slope they drilled from the underground channel, the crooked embankment, and the long-standing river. The winding traces washed out on the Gobi Desert.

The outline of the ancient city is gradually becoming clear. The houses, streets, and dilapidated temples are like small pieces of paper in a jigsaw puzzle. The people trapped in the ancient city are more like small beans one after another. The place turns around, as if everyone is surrounded by a transparent box.

"It's really spectacular." Ming Xia didn't seem to be in a hurry, he stretched out his hand and scratched Qingqiu's chin, motioning him to look to the other side of the ancient river, "What's over there? Go and have a look."

In fact, looking down from mid-air, Ming Xia couldn't see what was there at all.But what is certain is that there are slopes to cover it, and the terrain of the ancient city is relatively low, so people in the ancient city cannot see it anyway.When they got out of the cave, they were also immediately attracted by the ancient city. They never expected that there was another mystery on the other side of the hillside.

Qingqiu obediently lowered his height, approaching the direction of the hillside.

"Go down," Ming Xia continued to scratch his chin.Both canines and felines love to be scratched.But unfortunately, Qingqiu didn't like it.

Or it's not that he doesn't like it, it's just that he desperately restrains this nature in order to make himself look more mature and reliable.His catchphrase is: That's a game only kids like.

But now, Qingqiu was being scratched by him obediently, without thinking of resisting at all.

Ming Xia couldn't help laughing, "We can see more clearly, I suspect there might be someone there."

Qingqiu also asked him in a low voice, "Is it someone who played tricks?"

"Maybe." Ming Xia patted him on the neck, "Talk to me quietly, don't let others hear it. Now it seems that only we can move around freely, and it will be very troublesome to be found out."

Qingqiu nodded quickly, lowered his voice to protest, and said that he was actually very smart, "I know, I know, it's up to you to say."

Qingqiu flew lower and lower, and Ming Xia saw that the other side of the hillside was also in ruins.There are houses, streets, and dilapidated pagodas.

Across a dry river, the ancient cities on both sides are like mirrors facing each other.

And this piece of ruins is surrounded by a white mark.It was as if there had once been a river there, and the surging water had left deep marks on the earth.However, with the passage of time, the river slowly dried up, leaving only the traces of erosion stubbornly.

There seemed to be something moving in the ruins, but before Ming Xia could see clearly, the ruins disappeared under their noses again.

Ming Xia suddenly understood that after they came out of the cave, the technicians did not make any mistakes. They scanned the nearby terrain, but found nothing unusual, because this place was hidden.

"Isn't it a trick?" Ming Xia asked Qingqiu in a low voice, "Do you think it will be useful for me to shoot an arrow?"

Qingqiu shook his head, "I don't know."

"Then let me try, you fly more steadily," Ming Xia reminded him, "Let's try."

Ming Xia took out the bow, put Qingqiu's head in his arms, and put on an arrow, as if to teach him how to shoot, he gestured in front of him, trying to aim at the hidden ruins.

"Tell me, where should I shoot?"

Qingqiu leaned back, feeling that the position of being hugged by him was very awkward, "You're strangling me. It's uncomfortable!"

"No." Ming Xia said softly, "As long as you are honest and don't move around, I promise I won't strangle you."

Qingqiu was taken aback, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the arrow on the bowstring.

He finally realized what was wrong.

Because the arrow in Ming Xia's hand was held upside down, the tail end of the long arrow was aimed at the front, and the tip of the arrow was right between his collarbone.