Chapter 776: Joys and sorrows in the desert (I)

Pan Yuyin was worthy of being the disciple of the "world's number one miracle doctor". With her help, Zhao Xin, who had been ill for a long time, recovered in just two or three days. Not only did her illness disappear, but her spirit and complexion were even fuller and rosier than before she got sick. This attracted An Chen, Su He and others to praise the miraculous Central Plains medical skills and sigh with emotion.

Pan Yuyin's appearance was like a rain after a long drought. Not only Zhao Xin benefited, but also Liu Xunyi, Su He, Feng Tianba and others whose old injuries had not yet healed. Even Li Haitang, who had serious internal injuries, gradually recovered under Pan Yuyin's skillful hands. After taking two doses of medicine, he was able to walk on the ground and even chatted and laughed with everyone.

Seeing Zhao Xin recover from her illness, he was overjoyed and rewarded Pan Yuyin according to Chen Xun's promise. What's more, he wanted to win Pan Yuyin over to serve in the Mongolian army. As expected, he was rejected on the spot.

Zhao Xin and Pan Yuyin did not reveal the content of their conversation that night, and even Liu Xunyi was kept in the dark. Afterwards, Pan Yuyin joined the wedding procession on the grounds that "the princess is weak and in urgent need of care."

It is worth mentioning that Wuchan, who wanted to leave, was repeatedly persuaded to stay by Liu Xunyi and Feng Tianba. In the end, he could not resist their insistence and had to stay "reluctantly" and return to Shaolin after sending Zhao Xin to Helin.

As for the real reason why Wu Chan stayed, it is not something that can be told to outsiders, and people with a discerning eye will know it.

On the fifth day of June, in the early morning, the bride-sending team, which had been resting in the Jingbei camp for several days, finally set off slowly under Long Yu's impatient urging.

In compliance with the order of the Mongol Khan, the "King of Hexi" stayed in the camp north of Beijing with Sui Zuo, and therefore did not travel with the others.

Long Yu selected 300 elite soldiers from the Jingbei camp to escort along the way. Su He, Liu Xunyi, Feng Tianba, and Ding Qinghong remained the same, but there were Pan Yuyin, Wu Chan, and Li Haitang in the team.

Gradually, this disorganized wedding procession split into two factions due to disagreements: one was the Mongolians led by Long Yu, and the other was the Han people led by Liu Xunyi.

Su He was between the two factions, and he maintained and reconciled the relationship between the two sides on his own, so that this precarious team had not fallen apart.

Ding Qinghong's situation was very awkward. He neither gained Liu Xunyi's trust nor was he liked by Long Yu. He often wandered alone in the team, eating and sleeping alone along the way, like air.

But Liu Xunyi knew that with Ding Qinghong's cunning and ambition, he would never keep quiet and was just pretending to be low-key. Therefore, Liu Xunyi ordered Feng Tianba to monitor him secretly to prevent Ding Qinghong from plotting anything wrong.

Time flies like an arrow. Before they knew it, the wedding procession had left the Jingbei camp for more than a month. Everything was just as Jin Fuyu and Qin Ku had guessed. The further north they went, the stronger the Mongolian power became, and the more awed people became towards the wedding procession.

No matter whether they are heroes of Jianghu or good guys of the green forest, they no longer dare to target this team, so Liu Xunyi can hardly live a leisurely life without any debt.

Most importantly, without Xu Guangsheng's constraints and the pursuit of the Jianghu heroes, Liu Xunyi can spend time with Zhao Xin. Especially with the company of Pan Yuyin, Li Haitang and others, the group is carefree, laughing and happy, and very happy.

There are no disasters or troubles, and no twists and turns. The peaceful days often pass by like a flash.

It was already the tenth day of July. They had been crossing the vast grassland and entering the endless desert for three days and three nights, but they still could not see the end.

Due to the undulating terrain of the desert and the soft and unpredictable soil, everyone had to abandon their horses and sedan chairs and switch from "horse team" to "camel team", walking with difficulty in the northern desert, taking one step deep and one step shallow.

At noon, the scorching sun was very low in the sky, almost within reach, and the poisonous sun baked the earth with scorching heat.

The desert without any shade is like a steamer in the sea of ​​​​air baked by a blazing fire. My feet can clearly feel the scorching heat through my boots. At this moment, it seems that the air between heaven and earth has become very sticky, and every time I breathe in and out, layers of mist condense at my mouth and nose.

Mongolians such as Su He and Long Yu have lived in Mobei all year round, so they are accustomed to such bad weather.

On the other hand, Liu Xunyi and others, although accustomed to the heat in the Central Plains, had never experienced such fierce desert heat.

Along the way, whether riding camels or stumbling on foot, everyone was sweating and exhausted.

When Liu Xunyi saw Zhao Xin and Pan Yuyin, who were dying and staggering on the camel's back, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

I am a martial artist, and even facing such scorching heat, I still feel dry mouth and fatigue, let alone a woman with a weak physique?

Out of concern for Zhao Xin and Pan Yuyin, Liu Xunyi subconsciously quickened his pace and caught up with Long Yu, the leader, and said with a cupped hand: "The sun is scorching, and everyone is already exhausted. Why don't you take a break?"

However, in the face of Liu Xunyi's proposal, Long Yu acted as if he didn't hear it, and rode on the camel arrogantly and walked forward.

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi's face darkened. He suddenly grabbed the reins and forced Long Yu's camel to stop.

Ever since Long Yu sent someone to force his way into Zhao Xin's tent, Liu Xunyi has always been resentful of him, and the grudge between the two has been growing. In just one month, they have had countless arguments, big and small. It's not the first time that he's been so "impolite" today.

"What are you doing?" Long Yu looked down at the sweaty Liu Xunyi with contempt through the white gauze in front of his bamboo hat, and said with a smile, "Are you feeling unbearable due to the heat and want to slack off?"

"It's true that the heat is unbearable, and it's also true that I want to rest. As for 'laziness'... if you insist on thinking so, I have nothing to say." Liu Xunyi was distracted by the heat and had no intention of arguing with Long Yu. He said nonchalantly, "We have been walking for most of the day, and we even ate our dry food while walking. It's time to rest for a while."

"We've only been walking for half a day and we need to rest? Is it possible that the endurance of you Han people is so fragile?" Long Yu said sarcastically, "Anyone picked out from my Mongolian army can walk for days and nights in a place like this, even without sleep. If you don't even have this ability, how dare you talk about recovering lost territory and conquering the Central Plains?"

"One thing is one thing, you don't have to insinuate. The princess grew up in the south of the Yangtze River, so it's inevitable that she's not used to the climate in Mobei." Liu Xunyi retorted, "I think everyone is tired, so let's just find a place to set up camp nearby and continue our journey tomorrow morning when the weather is cooler."

"You want to?" Long Yu said with disdain, "Then just keep thinking! Without my order, who dares to stop?"

Liu Xunyi seemed to be angered by Long Yu's sarcasm, and said unwillingly: "I have made up my mind, the princess must rest!"

"you dare?"

"Why shouldn't I dare? Humph!" After saying that, Liu Xunyi no longer paid attention to Long Yu's icy gaze, and suddenly turned around and left.

"court death!"

"bass!"

With a fierce roar, Long Yu flew up, drew out a dagger in mid-air, and a ray of silver light shot straight at the back of Liu Xunyi like a meteor chasing the moon.

At the same time, Ya Kun, who was leading the camel for Long Yu, suddenly let out a roar, and then took big steps and pounced towards Liu Xunyi with his teeth and claws bared.

Because of his huge stature, every step he took was like an earthquake, and his powerful feet dug one shocking deep pit after another in the desert.

"stop!"

Before Liu Xunyi could make a move to meet the enemy, a figure from the camel caravan suddenly soared into the sky, stepped over the camel humps one after another, and in the blink of an eye, he was above Liu Xunyi.

He first used the move "Throwing a Knife to Ask for Directions" to lift Long Yu's short sword high into the air. Then he used the move "Dragon Kick" to force the indignant Liu Xunyi back several meters.

As he rolled over and landed on the ground, he used both hands to push the scimitar, which had not yet been unsheathed, forward with all his strength, and it immediately hit the oncoming big fan-like hand of Ya Kun.

"boom!"

Accompanied by a dull sound, Ya Kun, who was unable to stop in time, staggered and fell forward involuntarily. Fortunately, his strong arms supported the ground in time, otherwise he would have fallen into the mud.

Looking at the rescuer, facing Ya Kun's reckless charge, he simply couldn't bear the terrifying force released by Ya Kun, so he didn't resist it, his body lightened, and he flew backwards, falling several feet away. After landing, his feet still rubbed a dent about three or four meters long in the desert, and he just managed to stabilize his body.

"Su He, it's you again?" After identifying the person, Long Yu's eyes suddenly turned cold, and he said coldly, "You have been protecting Liu Xunyi all along. Are you going to help him today?"

"I'm not helping anyone, I just don't want to see you two confronting each other." Su He said righteously, "You want to reach Helin as soon as possible and travel day and night, which is indeed reasonable. Brother Liu is concerned about the health of the princess, and he is not unreasonable. I don't expect you to shake hands and make peace, but I hope that you two can put yourself in each other's shoes and make concessions."

"Give way? How?" Long Yu said unhappily, "They are dawdling, taking one step forward and stopping three times. At this rate, when will they be able to reach Helin?"

"Since we set foot in the desert, we have been on the road for almost eight or nine hours out of the twelve hours a day. How can we talk about 'taking one step and stopping for three steps'?" Liu Xunyi retorted without any reservation, "You have been walking in the desert for years, so you don't think so, but we are new here, how can we be compared with you?

"What a joke! Normally it only takes me five days to get from Wangguipo to the desert, and less than two days to cross the desert and reach Helin." Long Yu sneered, "But you, it took you eight days to walk from Wangguipo to the desert, and you have been in the desert for more than three days, and you still can't see the end. Humph! Even if my leg is broken, I can still crawl faster than you."

"How can you be confused with a group of hundreds of people traveling alone across the desert?"

"Stop arguing!" Su He interrupted the heated debate between the two and said without question, "We will set up camp at the nearest sand dune ahead, spend the night there, and set off at dawn tomorrow."

"Don't blame me for not reminding you, there is not much drinkable water in the team." Long Yu smiled sinisterly, "If we can't get out of the desert tomorrow, we will either be trapped here to death or drink human blood to quench our thirst."

"This……"

"Is that... a lake?"

Before Su He could respond, Li Haitang's surprised and suspicious voice suddenly rang out from the camel caravan, startling everyone and causing them to look up.

"Where is the lake?" Feng Tianba rubbed his eyes desperately, but no matter how he looked, he could not see the shadow of the lake. He said disappointedly, "Is it your hallucination?"

Feng Tianba's words immediately drew the support of others. It seemed that no one had seen the lake that Li Haitang was talking about.

"No!" Facing everyone's doubts, Li Haitang was serious, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said firmly, "There is indeed a lake in the distance."

"Far away?" Pan Yuyin asked curiously, "How far away?"

"About... ten miles away."

"This……"

Li Haitang's "absurd" answer made everyone look at each other in shock.

Although there is nothing blocking the desert and one can even see through the sky at a glance, the field of vision ten miles away is absolutely chaotic and ethereal, far beyond the reach of the eyes.

Su He gazed into the distance, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something. He suddenly asked Li Haitang, "Brother Li, how big is the lake you saw? And...what shape is it?"

"It's a few feet in radius, not too big." Li Haitang held his breath and stood on the camel to look around. "It looks like... a crescent moon?"

"Yes!" Su He was overjoyed. He subconsciously looked at the skeptical Long Yu and nodded excitedly. "That is the only Crescent Spring in this desert. We won't die of thirst or being trapped. We will camp there tonight."

……

(End of this chapter)