The ghost ant swarm comes quickly.
It goes quickly.
Only a moment. The silence in the sandy valley beneath him returned to its previous state.
The sky and the earth are vast, except for the howling cold wind, there are only yellow sand slowly flowing down from the heights, and Haloxylon ammodendron trees that are blown everywhere by the strong wind.
Corpse, blood, camel bones, and luggage scattered on the ground formed an enchanting picture.
"Go down and have a look."
Chen Yulou's eyebrows were calm.
Even though the pungent smell of blood is still lingering.
But his expression remained unchanged.
Not to mention that they were just a bunch of foreign devils who came to rob the ruins of the ancient city under the guise of exploration. Even if they were doing business, he would not be able to act rashly in the situation just now.
Army ants are inherently dangerous.
Not to mention the thousands of insects.
Once caught in it, it is basically a dead end for ordinary people.
He is not a saint.
Of course I won’t risk my life for a few strangers.
What's more, besides himself, there are hundreds of ordinary people in the team. He brought them from Xiangyin and is responsible for their life and death.
“Okay.”
“Yes, from the shopkeeper.”
Hear this.
Several responses came immediately from behind.
"Wait..."
Seeing that several people were about to go down the mountain, Oona looked even more anxious.
She thought that having seen the horror of ghost ants, they would retreat.
After all, with more than a dozen living lives dying in front of you, no one can pretend to ignore it, right?
“What?”
Chen Yulou turned around and his eyes fell on her.
“Danger!”
“Ghost ants live in groups. If such a large swarm appears, there must be their nests nearby.”
“And...”< br>
Oona hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you must go down, you'd better wait first."
Facing his still eyes.
Oona felt panicked and swallowed back the words that came to her lips.
As a guide, what she has to do is lead the team safely through the Black Desert.
Avoid all possible dangers as much as possible.
With her character, she would never allow anyone to be too aggressive.
But for some reason, she, who had always been fierce, could not show any strength in front of Chen Yulou, and instead gave in repeatedly.
Just like now.
If it were in the past.
Oona will remind you once at most and then turn around and leave.
“Don’t worry.”
"Chen happens to know some habits of insects and ants, and they won't come back for a while."
Chen Yulou shook his head and smiled.
Then he looked at Hua Ling who was following him, "Junior Sister Hua Ling, please stay here for now and wait here with Oona."
"Okay, Brother Chen."
Having been together for so long, how could Hua Ling fail to hear the hidden meaning in Chen Yulou's words, and immediately agreed with a smile.
There must be something wrong with the team at the foot of the mountain.
Otherwise, Brother Chen will definitely take a look at it.
“But...”
Oona wants to say something else.
But Chen Yulou had already turned around, just raised his hand and waved, and then walked straight down the sand dunes with Partridge Whistle and others.
"Sister Oona, don't worry."
"My senior brother and the others have traveled all over the world and have seen many people, so they will be fine."
Everyone who sees flowers says this.
Oona couldn’t say anything more.
But he still felt a little uneasy in his heart, and his right hand subconsciously grasped the rope of the wooden box around his chest.
The scary rumors of the Black Desert have been circulating in the village since ancient times.
As for ghost ants, there are countless more.
But since she was a child, she had never heard of tens of thousands of ghost ants appearing at the same time.
Especially when I witnessed a swarm of insects eating people.
It was a nightmare for her.
I think even Atta would turn around and run away without hesitation.
He raised his head and glanced around the sand valley. Although he was now calm, the ghost ants could not be treated with common sense, in case they were accidentally disturbed again.
Can a group of people really leave safely?
Oona lowered her eyes and thought for a while, with hesitation in her eyes.
We have been together on this journey for so long.
She didn't make a deep impression on everyone.
After all, we only have the responsibility to lead the way.
And they rarely object, and they basically execute the route they have set perfectly.
Especially those in the lead always walked silently.
But looking back carefully, they have a common characteristic.
calm!
That’s right.
I have encountered sandstorms several times before. Even an aborigine like her, who grew up in the Western Regions, is used to the extreme weather of cold snow in the Tianshan Mountains and strong winds in the sand sea, so she can't help but panic.
But they don’t have much fear.
He showed extraordinary calmness from beginning to end.
The Uighur tribe has lived in seclusion since ancient times.
But over the course of a year, there were always a few times when a team of traveling traders entered the village by mistake.
She has dealt with those people before.
Even if you do things decisively, it is only to make money after all. When it comes to life and death, you will still put your life first.
But...
At present, more than ten skeletal corpses are still vivid in my mind.
Anyone who saw such a bloody scene would be terrified, but they were able to go down the mountain to check it out with normal expressions.
For a moment, Oona couldn't figure out who they were.
As she pondered.
Chen Yulou and others have already descended into the sand valley.
The blood seeped into the yellow sand, dyeing the gray sand dunes scarlet red, like splashing ink, dotted with stars.
There are seventeen people in the team.
Without exception, they all died in the mouths of ghost ants, leaving only white bones.
However, judging from the tattered clothes and appearance, there were only six foreign devils among the seventeen people, and the rest should be hired from the Western Regions.
It’s nothing more than Weihe and Huihui.
"Shopkeeper, look."
While he was inspecting the bones, Kunlun, Yang Fang and the old foreigner had already picked up the luggage and packages scattered on the ground.
At this moment, Kunlun was holding a brass nameplate in his hand.
Tie with a slender chain.
Like an old pocket watch.
It looks like it should be hung around the waist or neck.
You can still faintly see a line of text engraved on the nameplate.
“They are all written by foreign devils, I can’t understand them.”
Kunlun frowned.
Although he has read a lot of books now, most of them are the Four Books and Five Classics, ancient Chinese poetry, and he doesn't understand foreign languages.
But he instinctively felt that this brand was extremely important.
So I hurried back and handed it to the shopkeeper.
“Let me take a look.”
Looking away from the corpse in front of him, Chen Yulou took it casually.
As soon as he got it, he could tell that the craftsmanship of the nameplate was extremely high. The words were obviously stamped and engraved. In addition, there was an eagle pattern carved around the nameplate.
In the light of the sky, read that line of text carefully.
However, as soon as he glanced at it, Chen Yulou's expression became strange.
"British East India Company!"
He heard the familiar curse before, but he didn't actually think about it.
You must know that in this era, the most plundered ancient cities in the Western Regions were from Tsarist Russia, Austria-Hungary, France and Honshu Island.
That's why he was so surprised when he saw the East India Company.
It’s just...
Think about it carefully.
It doesn’t seem to be a surprise.
East India is definitely one of the most notorious companies.
It is said to be a company, but in fact it is plunder by force.
It began to take root in the 16th century. After hundreds of years of development, today's East India Company is astonishingly large and its power is unimaginable.
The ancient desert city in the Western Regions, filled with gold, has already spread overseas. In the name of exploration and archeology, countless people come here to steal treasures crazily.
How could the East India Company sit still?
Coupled with their natural geographical advantages.
Cross the Himalayas and enter the Western Region from the snow area.
Compared with the expedition teams of Austria-Hungary, France and the United States, it was much more convenient to travel thousands of miles, either by traveling across Central Asia by land, or by crossing the ocean, often traveling for several years.
It’s just that these guys are really looking for death.
Dare to go deep into the Black Desert as soon as you arrive.
Among the thirty-six countries in the Western Regions, the ancient countries occupying the Peacock River are indeed the most prosperous ones, but if they want to advance, they must also have a destiny to go out.
"The shopkeeper?"
After seeing him read a line of text.
Suddenly fell into silence.
Kunlun on the side couldn't help being a little surprised, scratched his head, and shouted softly.
"It's okay."
"I already know the identity, but... I have to look for it again to see if there are any other findings."
Chen Yulou flicked his wrist.
Grasp the nameplate in your hand.
Then he raised his head and looked at Kunlun Road.
"Yes, from the shopkeeper."
Kunlun subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, followed the order and left quickly.
If I remember correctly, this place is not far from the capital of the ancient Xiye Kingdom. This group of people suddenly appeared here, most likely coming for the Xiye Kingdom.
However.
This is just a guess on his part for the time being.
If we really want to make a conclusion, we need to find more evidence.
For example, Mingqi!
No longer obsessed with those corpses, Chen Yulou clutched the nameplate and quickly walked around.
A moment later.
A group of five people gathered at the mouth of the valley.
Each of them was carrying large and small packages, boxes, wooden boxes, etc. in their hands.
Open it and take a look.
Except for a change of clothes, daily necessities, scattered money and tools, there is nothing else in the luggage.
At this moment, several people’s eyes subconsciously fell on the last two willow crates.
The box is more than one meter long.
Fasten it with a copper lock and fit tightly.
I don’t know what’s inside, it’s extremely heavy.
“Open it and take a look.”
Chen Yulou’s eyes flashed and he pursed his lips and said softly.
He almost doesn’t need to remind me.
Yang Fang, who had been extremely curious about the box for a long time, took the magic whip and slammed it down, and the tightly clasped copper lock broke instantly.
The lock cylinder is broken.
The old foreigner immediately took the dragon bow and used the bow body to hook the box and lift it up.
Don’t blame him for being so careful.
On that day in Wuku Temple, I heard Elder Chen talk about that past incident. Even Tie Mo Tou, a disciple of Mr. Zhang, a peerless figure with perfect kung fu, was killed because of a mistake. Hit the cover door and died.
From then on, the old foreigner no longer dared to show contempt.
I see him being so careful now.
Even Yang Fang, who has always been carefree, did not express any dissatisfaction.
In addition, these two boxes are so solemn.
Exterior iron chain, internal buckle copper lock.
You don't need to think about it to know that what is hidden inside is definitely not an ordinary object.
Click——
As the box was slowly opened.
The atmosphere suddenly became solemn.
A few people looked at it intently.
It's just...
To everyone's surprise, the box was not a gold or jade artifact, but a lying stone man almost half a meter high.
The head is extremely large, the facial features are strange, and the eyes are carved and bright, just staring outside.
“This is?”
“Stone sculpture?”
"It feels like a statue of a god!"
The group of people are all in the martial arts world.
Have seen a lot of people.
But now, looking at the stone man, there is an indescribable feeling of surprise.
“Those foreign devils go through so much trouble just for such a stone man?”
Yang Fang spat, his face full of disbelief.
"What do Yi Di barbarians know?"
"When you encounter something, you will naturally rush home to snatch it without your life."
Chen Yulou snorted coldly.
The stone man has an obvious Western Region style. Although it is not yet clear whether it comes from Xiye or Gumo, it should be between the two and they are not far apart.
"Open the other one and have a look."
"Okay, shopkeeper Chen."
Without any hesitation, Yang Fang smashed the copper lock with his whip.
It is completely different from the previous box. This one is filled with jade bis, jade articles, gold cakes, and gold ornaments. The gold and jade are still stained with yellow sand. It looks like they have just been dug out of the desert. .
“There is a word!”
Yang Fang squatted on the ground and took a closer look.
Suddenly, his eyes moved, and he took out a jade-shaped gold bead from the pile of gold and jade artifacts. The craftsmanship was amazing. Even though several people had seen it countless times, they couldn't help but feel hot in their hearts for a while.
On the golden bead, there is clearly a small inscription engraved on it.
"In the year of Taiyan, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty granted him a son to be the king."
These simple nine words made several people feel shocked.
"Taiyan is the reign name of Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Tao, before the Sui and Tang Dynasties and after the two Jin Dynasties."
Chen Yulou said it clearly.
Although the text on the golden beads is named Han Emperor, there was no Han emperor in the Northern Wei Dynasty, but a dynasty established by the Xianbei people.
However, at that time, the Sixteen Kingdoms had just ended and the world was in chaos. Anyone with great ambitions took it as their mission to unify the world. It seemed reasonable to call himself Emperor of the Han Dynasty.
"In the ancient country of Xiye, the kings and sons are united."
"This group of people should have gone to Xiye Ancient City."
In just a short moment, Chen Yulou had already deduced everything from the inscriptions.
Even though Partridge Whistle and the others had seen him many times, they still couldn't hide their amazement when they saw him talking eloquently.
Antique Mingqiu is all about discernment.
But the inscription murals are about knowledge and knowledge.
Being able to analyze everything in such a short time.
You can imagine how amazing his knowledge is.
Chen Yulou had no time to pay attention to the looks of several people, and just asked in a deep voice, "Did those people find maps or routes or anything like that?"
This group of foreign devils can travel in the vast distance Found the ancient city of Xiye in the black desert.
Without a map, it is almost impossible to rely on their crude means alone.
"Look again..."
When the people heard this, they immediately did not dare to delay, and they separated again and acted quickly.
"Brother Chen, here is a road map."
Not long after.
Partridge Whistle took out a sheepskin picture scroll from the lining of the robe on a white skeleton.
Shake it open and take a look.
There are countless lines densely drawn on the parchment scroll, and there are small text notes on the side.
It’s just that those ancient texts are extremely complicated, I don’t know whether they are Parthian or Tocharian.
Fortunately, those foreign devils were quite capable and actually translated the words in the ancient atlas, with a hand-drawn map scattered around.
English tags are used.
The Partridge Whistle and others were confused.
I can only turn my attention to Chen Yulou.
The latter watched intently.
He could only guess at the English translations of some place names.
But he could clearly see the key areas drawn.
After memorizing the route clearly, Chen Yulou raised his head and carefully compared his surroundings. Although the sand dunes changed greatly, fortunately, the time it took to draw the atlas was not long.
I can still vaguely see something.
In less than a moment.
He had a plan in mind.
He reached out and pointed deeper into the sand valley.
"Almost three to five miles ahead."
"That's where the ancient city of Xiye is!" (End of this chapter)