Chitose words

And then later.
Then it was the fifth day of the first lunar month of the third year of Jingan's reign. It was a deep snowy night and there was no daylight.

Fu Jingci, the "Thousand-year-old Sword Immortal" who was the eldest princess of Tianchen at that time, escaped from death, betrayed her relatives, and lived in the world, never caring about her past.

It can be said that Xie Zhao's original ambition of allowing women from Nanchao Tianchen to take the scientific examinations and become officials just like men was put on hold.

However, even if the incident in Jing'an three years had not happened in the future, if she mentioned it to Jing Yan, there was a high probability that Jing Yan would be furious and refuse to do so.

In the ancient rites of Tianchen of the Southern Dynasties, it was shocking for a woman to take the imperial examination and become an official.

Jing Yan is a kid with great ambitions, but unfortunately, his ideas are still too conservative after being taught by the old masters.

Xie Zhao was thinking so much that even her father Wei Di and her younger brother Jing Yan didn't even ask her if she was tired or suffering.But now that she heard these words from Ling You, who had known her for less than two years, she couldn't help but have mixed feelings in her heart.

She paused, lowered her eyebrows looking at the starry sky, and looked at her feet quietly.

Only then did she realize that her boots were a little dirty.

Xie Zhao smiled.

"Is it hard? To be honest, it's very hard."

It's just that she was too busy before to feel hard work, but now she can no longer feel hard work.

Ling You said calmly: "You know? Sometimes when I look at you, I feel like you are like a string that is both loose and tight."

Xie Zhao raised his head and blinked his long eyelashes.

She has a pair of fox eyes, which are very large, but the arc at the end of the eyes is slightly raised.

This kind of eye contour between fox eyes and almond eyes makes her look somewhat innocent when she blinks.

"Nonsense, where is the tension?"

Ling or shook his head slowly.

"This is exactly what I'm confused about. Why would you give me this inexplicable illusion under the illusion of being idle and doing nothing?"

However, other than him, no one else seemed to notice anything strange about Xie Zhao.

His master "Aurora Mace" Ling Jackya once said that although he was taciturn, his mind was too sharp and thoughtful.This is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

So, is it really just his illusion?
Xie Zhao tilted his head and looked at him, smiling softly.

She neither denied nor confirmed, just shrugged noncommittally, and then said with a smile:

"Ling You, thank you for not cultivating the 'Sentient Way'. If you were like Bo Xi who specialized in the 'Sentient Way', I'm afraid you would have to worry about everything in this world."

Ling or slightly paused.

She was right. With his temperament, if he really cultivated the "path of sentient beings", he would be worried and overthinking, and he would inevitably follow the path of his predecessor, Magaya, the Holy Envoy of Hulu.

After Xie Zhao finished speaking, he turned around and continued to look at the night sky.

The nights in the desert of Western Xinjiang are very quiet. If there are no storms and dust, there is a particularly open and deep beauty.

It's beautiful, but it's also a bit too empty and desolate.

The silver moon in the sky is extremely bright, but it is not round.

If you want to watch the sunset in the desert during this solar term, you may be disappointed.

Fortunately, there are not many stars in the sky, only a few here and there, but they are exceptionally clear and bright under the dark sky.

Xie Zhao looked at it quietly for a moment with a slight smile on his face. After a while, he turned his head and said with a smile:

"It seems that we are going to have a bad weather tomorrow. There should be good weather tomorrow. At least there is a high probability that we will not encounter storm sand and dust during the day. We can take advantage of the bright sky to go out a little further."

Ling You didn't ask her how she knew, and he never doubted her judgment.

He just heard the elegant meaning, frowned and asked: "There is a high probability that there will not be a storm during the day, so you mean there will be a storm tomorrow night?"

Xie Zhao nodded lightly and said: "It's smart, it's almost the same. If we can find a sheltered sand wall to place the horse before sunset tomorrow, that would be the best; if not."

Ling or looked up at her.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and he instantly understood what she meant, so he nodded slightly and said:
"I understand. If we can't find a place to place them, we will let them escape to the northeast."

Xie Zhao said "Huh" and said: "Yes, after all, we are all martial arts practitioners, and we have some skills. If we look after each other in the storm, we will not be in fatal danger, not to mention you and Bo Xi. A master.

——But horses can't do it. They are too big. Once they are buried and covered by wind and sand, it is difficult to get up and survive. If they are frightened and run like crazy, it is not sure where they will go. What's more, tomorrow we will probably go to the storm zone in the center of the Western Xinjiang desert. of. "

Ling or nod.

“The northeastern part of the desert is the edge of the Western Xinjiang Desert, and relatively speaking, the sandstorm will be much weaker.

If we release the horses before the storm tomorrow evening, they should be able to escape.But wouldn't they get lost in the desert? "

Xie Zhao chuckled lightly, shook his head and said: "Don't worry, old horses know the way. If they weren't running around when frightened, these horses know the way better than people. Besides, Yu Wenxin also said that the horses he gave us were of such good quality. My son is extremely smart and will know the way back to Arruo Grassland by himself."

Ling You gave a slight "hmm" and said, "That's good."

But after thinking about it for a while, he felt something was wrong.

"But if there are no horses on the road ahead, will it be too strenuous to walk on foot the day after tomorrow?"

Although Ling You didn't explicitly say who would have difficulty walking on foot, in fact he was only worried about Xie Zhao and Han Changsheng.

Because one of him and Bo Xi are in the Saint King Profound Realm and the other is in the Mahayana Heaven Realm, they have deep internal strength and relatively strong energy and physical strength, so naturally they are not afraid of carrying water bags and dry food while carrying heavy loads.

However, that may not be the case for Han Changsheng and Xie Zhao.
The climate in the desert of Western Xinjiang is extremely dry. When the sun is shining at noon, people will feel dizzy due to the scorching heat.

Hiking is extremely difficult. If a person's internal energy is not pure enough, he will inevitably lose his energy later on. The longer he walks, the more tired he becomes, and he may even become dehydrated.

Xie Zhao smiled after hearing this. She knew what Ling Huo was worried about.

So she consoled her: "Don't worry, it's okay. When we start walking again the day after tomorrow, we should not be far from the edge of the desert. We can hike for two days at most."

We've only been walking for two days. You don't think Han Changsheng and I are pampered young masters, right?Don't forget, we went all the way from Wei County to Ruyang City. We were so poor that we had to walk on legs. "

Ling You glanced at her lightly.

Even so, Xie Zhaoke at that time looked much tougher than she does now. How could she be the same?

Seeing his expression, Xie Zhao laughed and added: "By the way, don't you still have Lu Heng Pill in your bag?
At worst, if we can't walk anymore, Han Changsheng and I will take one pill each.

That thing also has the effect of increasing physical strength and internal strength, but it is just too much and a waste of natural resources.Don't waste it unless necessary. It's better if you save it to build up your inner strength so you can break through the realm. "

Ling You said calmly: "As long as it is effective, it is not a waste for anyone to eat it."

not to mention.
Those extremely precious "Lu Heng Pills" were originally hers.

However, Ling Or thought about it. The desert in Western Xinjiang was only a few hundred miles away. They had covered a lot of distance by riding horses in the past two days. After thinking about it, there really wouldn't be much to go.

So, he stopped worrying and spontaneously changed the topic.

"Have you figured out the direction of travel tomorrow?"

Xie Zhao nodded with a smile and raised his head triumphantly: "Hang, that's not a piece of cake, it's easy to catch!"

Ling You had a smile in his eyes and said lightly: "Hey."

Xie Zhao laughed, raised his eyebrows, and smiled brightly and wantonly.

"It should be noted that a young man's ambition is not allowed to be the best in the world - people are not frivolous and waste their youth!
But it's a pity that I am too old to be frivolous now. I can be called a model of prudent duty and honesty in the world! "

As he spoke, Xie Zhao seemed to be happy, looking around happily, and then said: "Don't tell me, this infinite artistic conception of the Western Xinjiang desert cannot be seen anywhere else."

Ling You looked at her helplessly, wondering how she could always enjoy herself and have fun all day long.

He smiled softly and said, "Have you been here before?"

Xie Zhao made a sound and said: "That happened many years ago. At that time, I had things on my mind, and came and went in a hurry. Where could I calm down and appreciate the loneliness of the desert?" Views.”

She suddenly discovered that there was a half-hidden but lush camel thorn on the edge of the sand cliff.

Ancient books say that there are grasses and trees in the sand, green hairs on the branches, and juice and honey growing in the hairs. The Hu people called it "Gibuluo", also known as "Camel Thorn".

This is the favorite grass and plant in the desert for horses and camels.

In fact, it's not that they like to eat, it's just that once they enter the desert, there is no fresh food to eat.

Camel Thorn has extremely strong vitality and can still survive well even in the desert.

Xie Zhao pointed with a smile and asked:

"Is that why you brought the horses here to eat this?"

Ling You followed her fingers and replied with a smile:
"It's not this piece, it's the camel thorn on the other side of the sand wall. Bo Xi said it was edible, so we took the horses to eat it. Han Changsheng was curious and picked one to try, but he pricked himself with blood. .”

Xie Zhao smiled and shook his head when he heard this.

"As expected of a little idiot, his curiosity will kill him sooner or later, and he dares to put anything in his mouth randomly."

The grass branches of camel thorns are hard and easy for camels and horses to eat.

However, if it is eaten directly without any treatment, wouldn't the skin and flesh in the mouth be punctured like Han Changsheng?

After Xie Zhao ruthlessly laughed at Han Changsheng, who had already met Duke Zhou, he turned around and walked towards the way he came from. He patted Ling on the shoulder when he passed by him.

"Young Master Ling, there will be many opportunities to sing the wind and the moon in the future, so go back to sleep first, there is still a 'tough battle' to be fought tomorrow."

Ling You smiled faintly, then turned around and followed silently.