White Bone Monkey King

Yueqiang Kingdom is not close to the ancient river channel.

After boarding the ancient river channel, you still have to walk a while before you can see the Yueqiang Kingdom.

After the ancient river channels dried up, the melted snow water flowing down from the snow-capped mountains was diverted and merged into the underground river. There is an underground river tributary under the Yueqiang Kingdom.

The old people in the desert all believe in a legend that there is also an endless ocean under the endless desert, where the melted snow water from the snow-capped mountains for thousands of years flows into the underground river, and more and more water flows into the underground river. But no one has ever found the entrance to the underground river, which is another special world used by gods to protect desert animals.

Just when the camel team was about to enter the city, they encountered a problem. The Yueqiang Kingdom actually closed the city and prevented people from entering. Jin An concentrated on waiting in the team. About a quarter of an hour later, the bearded man who went to negotiate with the soldiers guarding the city had a look on his face. Heavy walked back and brought back some very bad news.

"A lot of big things have happened in the desert recently. Many devils have appeared in the desert. Many countries in the desert have begun to issue decrees to close the city at night and prohibit people from entering and exiting. We can only spend the night outside the city tonight."

"Fortunately, I bribed the soldiers guarding the city with a grain of gold to allow us to rest under the city gate for one night, where our safety can be guaranteed."

Hearing that there were many more devils in the desert, there was a lot of chatter in the camel team, and panic quickly spread.

If the bearded man had not brought good news, it is estimated that many people in the camel team, who were tired, sleepy, hungry, thirsty and exhausted physically and mentally after traveling for three consecutive days, would have suffered a nervous breakdown.

Although he couldn't enter the city, being able to rest under the city gate was considered good news for the worst possible outcome.

There are torches shining on the city gate, fires burning under the city gate, and vigilant soldiers on the city wall, all of which can bring a great sense of psychological security.

Although they didn't sleep well that night, everyone got some sleep and gained some strength.

the next day.

The first ray of the sun rises from the eastern horizon in the morning, reflecting the sky red, reflecting red the rippled desert and a few poplar trees with knots as knotted as dragons, an earthen city surrounded by irregular earth walls that are 10 feet high. Covered in red sun and morning glow, the city gate slowly opened.

Jin'an, who had not slept all night, was surprised to find that outside Yueqiang City, there was a circle of white crystal powder scattered, shining brightly under the rising morning glow.

Before he had time to take a closer look at what those white crystalline powders were, his thoughts were interrupted by Big Beard's urging shout. Big Beard called everyone to wake up and pack up their tents, blankets, and camels, and prepare to enter the city.

Yueqiang Kingdom was the second Western Region city that Jin An had seen in the desert. He still showed great interest in these loess cities with towers and castles. When queuing up to enter the city, he found that there were more than 100 people guarding the city gates. Soldiers and a shaman were responsible for checking whether there were demons in the camel team.

Taoist priests and shamans appear in the same place, which is really exotic.

The bearded man was in the front, responsible for negotiating with the soldiers guarding the city of Yueqiang Kingdom. Jin'an and Uncle Kremu walked together. Uncle Kremu seemed to have noticed Jin'an's interest in the shaman, so he lowered his voice and explained: "That's the 'Hekmati' shaman, which means wise man. This shaman is somewhat famous in the desert for exorcising devils..."

"It should be that the desert has been uneasy recently, so the royal family of the Yueqiang Kingdom invited Hekomati Shaman to protect the Yueqiang Kingdom."

"Unexpectedly, the Yueqiang royal family did not selfishly let Hekmati Shaman personally protect the royal family. Instead, they used Hekmati Shaman, who was somewhat famous in the desert, to guard the city gate. This Yueqiang royal family is considered rare. A wise master who cares about the safety of his people."

Keremu had high regard for the Yueqiang royal family.

There was even a hint of envy in his tone.

It seems that the people of his country are not as happy as the people of Yueqiang Kingdom.

"Uncle Kremu, why is that shaman wearing an animal paw on his neck? Is that a bear paw or a tiger paw mummy?" Jin An noticed the dry paw hanging on the shaman's chest and asked in surprise.

Uncle Keremu smiled and replied: "That's a bear claw. Shamans believe that bear claws are psychic tools that can ward off evil spirits and summon souls."

Jin An nodded thoughtfully and thought to himself that this was like the soul-calling bells and peach wood swords commonly used by Taoist priests in their rituals.

At this time, the bearded man had already finished negotiating and came back. He informed everyone that everyone would have to pay a salt tax, a water tax, and a city entry tax. There were three taxes in total, and he asked each caravan to prepare the money in advance based on the headcount. bag.

Uncle Kremu frowned and said, "In the past, I only had to pay water tax and city tax. Why do I have to pay an additional salt tax this time?"

Uncle Keremu expressed his dissatisfaction by muttering about excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes in a voice that ordinary people could not hear.

The bearded man smiled bitterly and said: "The desert has not been peaceful recently, so the salt tax has been paid there."

He raised his hand and spread a circle of snow-white crystal powder outside the city. It was actually all white salt.

Jin An was stunned for a moment.

Good guy, he really didn't think about salt at first.

Because salt is very expensive in this era, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people smuggling private salt at the risk of beheading at the market entrance.

Because the profit is high.

So he didn't think about salt at first.

However, when I think about the plateau area, there is no shortage of stagnant salt lakes. On the shores of the salt lakes are deposited snowflakes and white salt accumulated over thousands of years. Moreover, the climate in the plateau area is also very conducive to salt drying. In addition, the desert is vast and sparsely populated, so there is a demand for salt. The amount was not as high as that of Kangding Kingdom... So Yueqiang Kingdom was so extravagant and wasted salt, and he was quickly relieved.

However, he was a little curious. Could it be that in the deserts of the Western Region, salt could also be used to ward off evil spirits?

Faced with the Jin'an question, both Big Beard and Uncle Kremu laughed. Uncle Kremu answered with a smile: "The salt in the desert is just like the glutinous rice in Kangding. It can be used to drive away devils and prevent them from entering." city."

Tsk tsk, Jin An's eyes were once again opened to all kinds of strange things he learned during his trip to the Western Regions.

Another episode happened when we were passing through the city gate. When everyone passed through the city gate, they had to take off their shoes and walk in barefoot on the salt according to the shaman's request. It is said that the devil is afraid of salt. If there is a devil mixed in, In the camel caravan this way the devil shows his true colors.

Anyway, it was a matter of doing as the Romans did, and Jin An had a sense of novelty, so he would do whatever others said.

When it was Jin'an's turn, when he looked at Jin'an who was wearing a Taoist robe and a Taoist crown, and his attire was incompatible with the people of the Western Regions, those Yueqiang soldiers with high nose bridges and deep eye sockets couldn't help but look at Jin'an a few more times, and looked at Jin An. Yili started talking to him, and after that, the shaman named Hekmati also started talking to Yili of Jin An. Jin An looked confused when he heard this.

At this time, the importance of learning more foreign languages ​​is deeply reflected.

In the end, Big Beard, Uncle Kremu and the others rescued Jin'an. They chatted with the Yueqiang soldiers and shamans for a long time, and the eyes of those Yueqiang soldiers looking at Jin'an changed obviously.

There is some seriousness and respect.

There are also some doubts.

After successfully passing the city gate, Jin An asked Uncle Kremu curiously what happened just now. Uncle Kremu replied that because the desert was not peaceful recently, the soldiers would ask everyone who entered the city. Have you encountered anything in the desert recently? The bearded man talked about the strange corpses and corpses he encountered the night before yesterday. He also mentioned that you, Taoist Jin'an, resolved the crisis for the camel team, so the soldiers and shaman saw you, Taoist Jin'an. Always surprised and curious.

"Taoist Master Jin'an, you should be lucky. We are in the Yueqiang Kingdom now. We only use salt to drive away devils and let us step on the salt and walk through it. In some places, white cows are believed to be gods and they will force outsiders to drink cow urine and eat Cow dung drives away devils." Uncle Keremu joked to Jin An in a wicked way.

Well.

Jin An looked at the other party with a strange expression: "Uncle Keremu, you have never experienced drinking cow urine or eating cow dung to drive away evil spirits, right?"

Uncle Keremu changed his color when he heard this and said: "That place is very poor. Except for the large population, it is unprofitable. No businessman will go all the way there."

"Only slave traders whose consciences have been eaten by vultures will go there and sell those dark-skinned Kunlun slaves to Persia, the Western Regions, the northern grassland tribes, and the Kangding Kingdom."

While we were walking around, the camel team had completely entered Yueqiang City. As the day broke, some people from the Western Regions with three-dimensional features and deep eye sockets appeared on the road one after another. Those people were just curious to take a look at the camel team entering the city so early. , and soon passed by.

The pace of life here in the Western Region is much slower than that of the people in Kangding. Many shops along the road have not yet opened. For example, pubs, restaurants, naan bakeries, roast mutton restaurants, etc. are still closed. People here may not be able to get out of bed until nine o'clock in the morning, just like it doesn't get dark until nine o'clock in the evening in the highland desert.

It's half an hour later than it gets dark in Xizhou Mansion.

Big Beard and the others have been doing business in the desert all year round and have a familiar inn in Yueqiang Country. This saves Jin An a lot of trouble. Jin An only needs to follow him throughout the whole process and finally check in easily.

There were so many people in the camel team that one inn would definitely not be able to accommodate them. Jin An followed Big Beard and stayed in a medium-sized inn, renting out two courtyards to accommodate everyone.

This inn is run by a family of four. The innkeeper's name is Kuturuk and his wife is Nurli. They also have a daughter and a hard-working son-in-law. All four of them can speak more or less Chinese.

The daughter and son-in-law also gave birth to two fat boys, a four or five-year-old brother, who was playing in the lobby with his younger brother who was not yet weaned.

This is a happy family of three generations.

Materials were scarce in the desert, and there wasn't much to eat. After everyone had a hasty meal of naan bread and goat's milk, they were so sleepy that they went back to their rooms and fell asleep.

The two courtyards under the bearded man are Datongpu. A dozen people are crowded into one courtyard. The snoring and the smell of sweaty feet can drive people away. Jin An likes peace and quiet, so he did not live in Datongpu, but stayed alone. He built a courtyard, and he was the only one living in the large courtyard, and there was a goat.

Finally, the boss's diligent son-in-law led Jin An to stay in the yard.

In fact, it is a courtyard, which is a simple mud house, and there is a grape vine shed in the courtyard. Materials are scarce in the desert, so everything is made do.

Before leaving, the son-in-law of the innkeeper kindly reminded him: "Taoist priest, your goat is very strong, so be careful that some thieves will target it."

"I have lived in the desert for so long, and this is the first time I have seen such a strong goat. Your goat's horns are very, very valuable in the eyes of some people."

He made two special remarks, which attracted Jin'an's attention.

This really attracted Jin An's attention: "Thanks for the reminder."

Although after practicing, he rarely relied on sleep to replenish his physical strength, but this time even Jin An felt a little tired, and he fell asleep after returning to the guest room.

evening.

As soon as the bearded man walked outside the courtyard where Jin An lived, Jin An had already pushed open the door. The bearded man who was about to raise his hand to knock on the door was stunned and said: "Taoist Master Jin An, you haven't rested. Do you want to catch up on your sleep?"

Jin An smiled and said, "I've already slept."

Then he looked at the bearded man curiously and asked, "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

"I just want to see if you, Taoist Jin An, have woken up. If you do, I would like to invite Taoist Jin An to have dinner with us."

"OK."

Jin An followed the bearded man to the yard next door. Good guy, there were a lot of people crowded in the yard, and there were several roasted whole lambs roasting on the fire. Golden grease was dripping down, and the aroma was fragrant.

He also saw Uncle Kremu and several leaders of another caravan.

Looking at this posture, does the bearded man have something to talk to them about?

"Even the Yueqiang Kingdom is on alert, saying that a lot of big things have happened in the desert recently. Big Beard, did you find out anything?"

There were people sitting on two sides in the yard. On one side were the people brought by Big Beard from the family, and on the other side were the caravan leaders such as Jin'an, Big Beard, and Kremu. There were six or seven people in total.

Jin An saw that the faces of the bearded people were a bit serious. He declined the offer of mutton offered by others and asked with a slight frown.

Ever since he entered Xizhou Prefecture and the Western Regions, he had no choice but to give up mutton. He ate vegetarian food all along the way, and his mouth almost turned pale. Pork was almost invisible in these places, and people only ate mutton as meat.

At first, the goat would resist others eating mutton, and injured many people. Every time, Jin An apologized and paid money. Later, after being blasted by Jin An several times, a tacit understanding was reached between one person and one goat, and others could Eat, but Jin'an must not touch mutton.