Not long after.
The team sets off again.
Go deeper along the outer edge of the sand valley.
Oona looked back from time to time, but hesitated to speak.
In the team, there was a dromedary camel that was originally responsible for carrying dry food. The packages on the side racks had been replaced by two willow crates.
That was brought back by a group of people from Sand Valley.
Looks very heavy.
Even the old camels, which have always had an amazing load-bearing capacity and are able to adapt to long-distance treks in the desert, now seem to be a little unsteady in their steps, and the footprints left along the way are deeper than those of the camel team.
She wanted to ask what it was.
However, seeing that several people looked in a hurry and had no time to explain, it was difficult for her to ask further questions.
After all, she was just a guide on this trip.
Because of Qing, Chen Yulou and others hunted down the alpha wolf, solved a serious problem for Po Li, and brought a lot of food to the tribe for the winter. In addition, it was because of them that he was able to get out of the hellish place in the underground abyss.
Yu Li’s words.
Before departure, Chen Yulou insisted on paying a very considerable sum of money to the Uighur tribe.
This is a reward for asking her to come out.
Everything is done without leakage.
So she really can’t interfere at will in what the team does.
Just like now, after leaving Sand Valley, the team did not proceed according to her previous plan, but deviated slightly from the route.
“Today Chen made the decision without authorization, and there are really some things that need to be verified.”
“Please don’t blame Miss Ouna.”
As she pondered.
A gentle voice suddenly came from the front.
Oona subconsciously raised her eyes and met Chen Yulou's calm and humble face.
"No...it's okay."
Oona waved her hands repeatedly.
She was used to the roughness and boldness of the Turkic people, but suddenly she had to deal with such a handsome gentleman. The huge gap made her feel suddenly unreal.
Besides, as the leader of the team, he can decide anything.
Now, I have not forgotten to apologize to myself.
"That's good."
Chen Yulou nodded in response, then turned around.
It's already past midnight, and in two hours at most, the sky will turn dark. When night falls, it will greatly slow down the team's progress.
Don’t dare to delay for too long.
Raised his hand and patted the camel under him hard.
It was still walking slowly.
Speed up all of a sudden.
But even so, the journey of three to five miles still took more than half an hour.
Goose-feather snowflakes continued to drift down with the cold wind and patted on the body. The black scarf covering the face became wet in a short time. The hot breath condensed into frost and clung to the face. The feeling was extremely unpleasant.
There are no goggles these days, so you can only barely cover yourself with a felt hat or a bamboo hat.
Coupled with the rolling sand dunes, climbing up and down is also a great test for physical strength.
Palhat was the oldest in the team. He was already lying on his hunchback, his face was pale and he couldn't breathe.
That day at the Uighur tribe, Chen Yulou originally planned to let him stay.
After all, he is old, and if something happens, his life is likely to be lost in the sea of sand, but Pat is unexpectedly determined and must follow.
It is said that it was not easy to get the master's promise.
If things get messed up.
I am afraid that I will not be able to get rid of my slavery in this life.
I've seen him talk about it.
Chen Yulou could not refuse, so he could only let him follow.
After all, although Pat is a little timid, he does understand the habits of camels.
I encountered problems several times before.
He will solve it.
Seeing him trembling between the humps, as if he would fall down the next moment, Chen Yulou couldn't help but frown, and subconsciously glanced at Kunlun beside him.
However.
I haven’t had time to speak yet.
At the front of the team, Huamaguai and a few old guys who were in charge of leading the way had already climbed the sand dune ahead.
I don’t know what they saw.
At this moment, there were constant exclamations.
Some people even jumped off the backs of camels, stepped on the yellow sand, pointed ahead and shouted loudly.
The excitement and excitement could not be concealed at all.
"The shopkeeper..."
Kunlun's eyes moved.
Subconsciously, he was about to step forward to investigate the situation, but Chen Yulou shook his head, "You stay here first and take good care of him."
"Don't really get into trouble."
" Okay.”
Kunlun then noticed Pat on the hunchback. He was like duckweed and would fall down when the wind blew.
Not daring to be too casual, he rode a camel and rushed to Pat's side, stretched out his big hand and grabbed his shoulder.
No one in Pat responded.
I just felt like the world was spinning in front of me.
The next moment, when he opened his eyes again, the person was already sitting in front of Kunlun.
"Hold on tight."
Seeing him look panicked, his hands and feet were moving around unconsciously.
Kunlun couldn't help but frown, and pressed his hand to grab the wooden frame under him.
After being yelled at by him, Pat calmed down, and even his pale face gradually gained color.
Noticing his change, Kunlun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Since the shopkeeper told him, nothing should happen to him. Now that he was getting better, he couldn't stay any longer. He patted the hunchback and drove it forward. go.
Wait for a few people to bypass the team.
Step on the quicksand and climb all the way to the dunes.
Before he could take a breath, Kidnapper's excited shouts were heard.
"Shopkeeper, look, the city... the ancient city."
"We found it!"
The ancient city? !
There seemed to be some kind of magic in these two words, which made the group of people feel shocked.
Chen Yulou looked up.
Among the black quicksand, towers and stone houses appeared one after another. In addition, there were sections of broken city walls.
The spire and roof are like fossil forests submerged in the sea.
Time seems to have stopped flowing here, and everything is imprisoned. Heavy snow, yellow sand, and fog form a heart-stopping and dizzying scene.
“Xiye Ancient City…”
Chen Yulou murmured in a low voice, and a ray of light burst out from the depths of his eyes.
I’ve been looking for it for so long.
They finally arrived at this ancient city submerged by yellow sand.
"It's really an ancient city. Shopkeeper, you really didn't lie to me."
Huamaguai danced excitedly.
He didn't have high hopes for this trip, he just wanted to follow him and gain a lot of experience.
But ever since Chen Yulou mentioned to him the Thirty-six Ancient Kingdoms of the Western Regions, it was like a seed was planted in his heart.
Especially these days after entering the Black Desert.
Even if he was setting up camp to rest, he would take advantage of his free time to walk around with a shovel, hoping that with the blessing of his ancestor, he could dig out an ancient city with the shovel.
But the results can be imagined.
The Black Desert is so vast and endless.
Even though countless ancient civilizations have existed for thousands of years, this kind of thing can only exist in dreams.
But the boxes he obtained from the foreign expedition team, whether they were stone figures or jade, finally gave him a glimmer of hope.
Until now, the ancient city really appeared.
He finally confirmed that the shopkeeper was not comforting himself.
"You kid... you are a veteran after all, can't you be calmer?"
Chen Yulou was made helpless by him.
This kid is obsessed with digging for treasure.
"The kidnapper is just a common man, he only wants gold and silver."
Huamaguai grinned.
He does have a clear understanding of himself.
Since those foreign devils were able to take away so much gold and jade from the city, with the skills of their Xie Ling faction, they will definitely be able to find more bright weapons.
Seeing that he was already eager to try.
Chen Yulou did not waste any time. After giving a few brief instructions, he allowed him to take a few men into the city to explore the city.
Before that.
He scanned it with his spiritual consciousness. There is no smell of ghost ants and insect swarms in the city.
Just in case, when the kidnapper set off, he mentally communicated with Luofu in mid-air.
Let it stare in all directions.
Once something changes, we can respond in time.
Guaizi and his party went deep into the city, and they did not rest. They jumped off the camels one after another and approached the ancient city on foot.
The ruins are in ruins and the wind and sand are desolate.
Chen Yulou stood outside a section of the city wall, looking at the city submerged by yellow sand. He couldn't help but think of the ruins of the cave dwellers he saw when he went to Pingshan and passed Laoxiong Ridge that day.
However.
After all, Dongzhai is still not as good as Xiye.
Although it is a small country.
At its peak, Danxiye had more than 2,000 households, a population of more than 10,000, and an army of 3,000. It occupied western Khotan, with Hujian Valley as its city, and bordered Pishan, Wuju, Yarkand, and Puli. .
It even annexed the Puli, Deruo and Yina countries for a time.
Gradually.
The rear team also crossed the sand dunes and saw the ancient city under the yellow sand.
Everyone was excited.
Especially for those who are going down the mountain for the first time, most of them see such a scene for the first time.
Didn’t even think about it.
Ancient cities will grow in the desert.
Jumped off the camel's back and rushed outside the ancient city.
The cheers finally alerted Oona who came later.
At first, she didn’t think too much about it, she just thought it was their first time meeting them and couldn’t hide their surprise.
After all, when she followed Atta into the Black Desert for the first time, she was shocked and speechless when she saw this scene.
It wasn't until she saw those young people pulling out tools such as crowbars and Luoyang shovels from the backs of camels and starting to dig around the ancient city that Oona finally realized something was wrong.
"Wait..."
Oona only felt a buzzing sound in her head.
It suddenly became blank.
According to ancient legend, these ancient cities disappeared because they offended the gods, so they were abandoned and became slaves and puppets of the devil.
If you take away even a piece of gold from the city rashly.
All will attract the wrath of the devil.
Now these people are clearly digging in the sand in search of treasure.
How could she not be frightened?
If the devil is alerted, all of them will be buried here.
The people I met in the Sand Valley before were a bloody lesson.
However, after just a while, the smell of blood in their noses has not dissipated. How dare they?
"Sister Oona, what's wrong?"
Hua Ling, who had been following Oona, noticed that something was wrong with her expression and couldn't help but ask.
"Hua Ling, hurry up, stop Chen... Shopkeeper Chen, the things here can't be moved."
Oona didn't have time to explain too much.
He just said to Hua Ling with an anxious look on his face.
"Can't move?"
Hearing this, Hua Ling and the red girl beside him couldn't help but look at each other in surprise.
As a descendant of the Bishan and Xiling factions.
Although they are women, they have stolen more than dozens of fights.
Especially Miss Hong, who has followed Chen Yulou over the years and even visited several royal tombs.
Now it's just an ancient city.
It’s not as mysterious as Oona said.
How about the Tomb of King Xian in Zhelong Mountain?
It is not only the collapse of the sky that cannot be broken, but also the mountain demon and water ghost, who ascends to the sky to seek immortality.
Didn’t he finally enter it and successfully take away the Muchen Bead?
"Really, I didn't lie to you. Those ghost ants before... were the devil's warning."
Seeing that the two of them looked calm and obviously didn't listen, Oona was even more anxious and looked around constantly. His expression was full of uneasiness and tension.
“Don’t worry yet.
“I’ll go and say it. ”
Seeing that she didn’t look like she was joking, the red girl couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Because they are the only three women in the team.
There has been a lot of communication these days.
Although Oona was born in a small tribe and was trapped in that ghost place for many years, her mind was not affected too much. Instead, she had a straightforward and approachable personality.
This is the first time I have seen her so anxious.
Looked at Hua Ling and motioned for her to stay with him.
Red Girl herself rode a camel towards the ancient city.
"Devil's curse?"
A moment later.
Listen to the narrative brought by the red girl.
Chen Yulou couldn't help but look strange.
The Black Desert is indeed dangerous, but the talk of ghosts, gods and demons is nonsense.
It’s just that the indigenous people here cannot understand the great terror in the desert, so they just made up some conclusions out of thin air.
I really want to say the words of the devil.
Outside the Black Desert, deep in the Kunlun Mountains, the former snow-covered demonic country is quite consistent.
Whether the ghost mother is thinking about the evil black face, the nine-story demon tower, the unbounded demon pupil, or sacrificing human life to the remains of the snake god, many of her actions are almost the same as those of the devil.
"Go back and tell Oona."
"Just say that we are just setting up camp and will not offend the devil."
Chuckled.
Chen Yulou made up an explanation casually.
"This...shopkeeper, are you too confused? She is not blind."
Hearing this, the red girl couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Not even a three-year-old child can be deceived by such words.
"What can we do? We can't really stop because of an inexplicable devil, right?"
Chen Yulou shrugged, "Even if I agree, the kidnapper will probably go crazy."
“Okay.”
"I'll talk about it."
The red girl raised her eyes and saw that Huamaguai seemed to have visited the ruins of the ancient city and was rushing here. The cold wind and fierce sand could not cover his face. smile.
The two have known each other for so many years.
How could she not know the kidnapper’s character?
He shook his head and smiled, turned around and walked back behind him.
"Shopkeeper, we found it. Those foreign devils dug a lot of holes. Brothers went down and took a look. The sand city was almost dug through by those dogs."
Miss Hong had just left for a while.
Huamaguai rushed over.
I don’t know where the black scarf on his face fell, and his face was flushed red by the cold wind, but he didn’t care at all and simply said what he saw.
“What’s underneath?”
"I can't tell clearly, but...it feels like a royal city or an altar."
Huamaguai thought carefully for a moment before giving his own judgment.
"Then what are you waiting for? Call the brothers and follow me."
Chen Yulou did not expect that the previous treasure-stealing team could actually steal such a large building. After digging through the ancient city, I think they stayed here for at least a few months.
Nothing more.
Even they themselves couldn't imagine it.
Busy for so long.
In the end, not even a copper plate was taken away.
Instead, he left all his life behind.
"Oh, by the way, tell the other brothers to go down and don't rest. Find a place sheltered from the wind and set up camp first. It will be too late when night falls."
Just took a few steps.
Chen Yulou seemed to have thought of something again and warned softly.
After that, Cai, a few people from Partridge Post, and dozens of experienced and agile old guys followed Huamaguai's guidance and quickly hurried towards the depths of the ruins.
Only a moment.
A dark and deep cave entrance appeared in everyone's sight.
Judging from the traces of sand and water, the digging time was about the same as he expected.
However, the reason why it can always exist in the flowing sand dunes is that it is not covered and submerged by the yellow sand.
Because...
Going down from the entrance of the cave, there is a diagonal stone path that goes deep into the ground. It is dark and deep, and a faint smell of decay wafts from the inside out, as if it is straight through hell. (End of this chapter)