Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 242: Too Lack of Public Morality
After leaving Tuoling Town, we gradually entered the endless Gobi Desert. The wind blew up dust and it was desolate as death. The morning sunlight shining on the Gobi Desert gave it a pale color.

Grass debris danced in the wind, smoke and dust swirled and blew away into the distance. Occasionally, vultures and crows rested on dead plants and patrolled the surroundings. Broken skeletons could be vaguely seen in many places, both animal and human.

This is only about 10 to 20 miles away from Tuoling Town. Countless lives have been buried in the Gobi Desert, not to mention the vast desert outside the Great Wall.

"Why would two innate masters go to such a remote place to fight? Is it shameful? Or does a showdown in the desert seem impressive, just like a showdown at the Forbidden City?"

Chen Xuan walked to the next door and couldn't stop complaining in his heart. He was carrying a stick that he had picked up casually when he went out, and a small package containing seasonings, water and food. He felt so small in the Gobi Desert.

The people who came to watch the fun had already set off early. Since no one was traveling with him, he was not afraid of getting lost. There was a trade route that went out of the customs and across the desert. He could just follow it. The road was very clear within a few hundred miles.

He didn't care about such an environment. He just treated it as a trip and took in the scenery along the way, if the desolate scene could be considered scenery.

As for those with weak cultivation and ordinary people who are doing business, they will probably suffer a lot. A sudden illness or injury may cause them to be buried in such a desolate place.

That is, there is no huqin, otherwise a song like "Eight Hundred Miles of Yellow Wind Ridge" would definitely be appropriate for the occasion...

Following the footsteps left by his predecessors, Chen Xuan leisurely saw Shamen Pass from afar after a few hours.

It was a pass built between two barren mountains. The thick stone wall was nearly five meters high. The gate was covered with iron and hoisted two meters high by a winch. Chen Xuan always felt that the gate was like a huge gate knife, which could block the inside and outside when it fell.

Although he was not very proficient in military defense, he could see that Shamen Pass had an excellent geographical location. The barren mountains on both sides stretched out for a hundred miles. It would not be easy for the army to cross it. The best way was to go through the gate. Outside the gate was a trumpet-shaped canyon of more than ten miles, which was only a few dozen meters wide at the gate.

No wonder a garrison of a hundred or so people can guard this place. When they see an enemy attack from afar, they can lower the gate and wait for support. There are also outposts in the desert. It is almost a pipe dream for a large army to launch a silent sneak attack.

Things like military defense definitely require the transmission of information every once in a while. If there is no news after a certain period of time, something must have happened. Chen Xuan is not a professional and does not dwell too much on these issues.

"Another one joining in the fun. You've fallen so far behind, and you don't have a companion. Aren't you afraid of dying in the desert?"

In the earthen and stone barracks at the foot of the wall inside the pass, a fat cook was stirring the bone soup in a large pot. He looked up at Chen Xuan walking on the road outside the window and muttered to himself.

They have seen a lot of similar people during this period. While they envy the freedom of those people in the underworld, they also despise them for not doing anything productive and just busying themselves around.

Guarding the pass is a tough job. Normally, you can't bear to see a single hair of anyone except the passing caravans. After a long time, it is easy to develop mental illness, so that the soldiers guarding the pass all look gloomy and listless.

Unless they were on duty, they would rather stay in the barracks and sleep. The guards on duty on the city walls were a little absent-minded. This damn place was really uninspiring.

They turn a blind eye to the passing gangsters. If there is a conflict, they will run away and no one can find them. But if it is a passing caravan, they can exploit it and get some benefits. It is a rare opportunity. Anyway, they can treat the person they like according to his situation.

As a result, Chen Xuan didn't feel much of an experience when passing by here. He wanted to go up the city wall to take a look, but the defenders had expressly forbidden unauthorized persons to approach, so he had to give up. There was no need to cause trouble just to satisfy his curiosity.

In fact, it is still allowed for a few people to go and experience it, provided they show some consideration. The higher-ups will turn a blind eye to such matters, and as long as nothing goes wrong, everything will be fine.

This place has not seen war for a long time, and people from all walks of life have become lax.

After passing the pass and passing through a canyon that becomes wider and wider over a period of more than ten miles, there is an endless desert in front of you.

Chen Xuan quickly climbed up a sand dune, but before he had time to sigh at the vastness of the desert, the corners of his mouth twitched and he looked gloomy.

The filth of the cycle of grains can be seen in many places behind the sand dunes. The people in front are so damn unrespectful, they just dump waste everywhere and have no mood at all.

Although it's quite normal, where can you find a toilet in the vast desert? But it's still disgusting.

So lacking in public morality.

'Those female martial artists must have solved it this way when they couldn't hold it anymore,' Chen Xuan secretly complained. He felt happy when he thought that those high-flying female martial artists also solved their urgent needs with their butts sticking out like most people.

Poor Tuoling Town. Thousands of people left, and the surrounding mountains and fields are covered with poop. Wow, it makes me sick just thinking about it.

After entering the desert, I felt its vastness at first, as if my mind was opened up. But after a while, the unchanging scene became just the same. It wasn’t so dizzying, but I felt bored.

So Chen Xuan unknowingly quickened his pace.

The desert is desolate, but it also has a vibrant side. The miracle of life is everywhere. Snakes, rats, insects and ants have their own ways of survival, and the protein content is extremely high.

Originally, Chen Xuan was hoping to get some cactus fruits or something to try, but it turned out that the people in front of him had already plucked all the similar things along the way, leaving him with nothing.

I didn't see any "good stuff," but there were plenty of "markers" along the way. It would be a miracle if I could go the wrong way. I also occasionally saw corpses, some of which were still fresh. The valuables on those corpses had been taken. Fighting and killing are normal in the underworld, and with so many people joining in the fun, it would be absurd if nothing bad happened.

After entering the desert for more than a hundred miles, Chen Xuan saw more than twenty corpses. This kind of place is a perfect place to settle grudges. Just kill them and don't bury them, nature will erase all traces.

There were many women among the dead, and their clothes were intact. It was estimated that they would not do anything insulting in public.

All beings are equal in the face of grudges in the martial arts world. If a person is killed, he will die. No matter how beautiful a woman is in her lifetime, she will look the same after death.

"I'm so bored, I finally understand what the six major sects are feeling when they besiege Guangmingding. They've come so far, their resentment is greater than that of ghosts, it would be unreasonable not to fight."

As the speed increased, it was almost noon. They had gone nearly two hundred miles deep into the desert. Chen Xuan estimated that the place where the fight was to take place was not too far, so he was not in a hurry to get there. He decided to fill his stomach first.

So he took a quick stroll in the area of ​​dozens of miles and found a small oasis. It was really small, only one acre in area. There were only a few sparse plants growing on a water source that was about to dry up, and the most common ones were cacti.

Here he harvested a lot of cactus fruits, which were sour and sweet and very delicious, but there were too many seeds and they were a bit harsh on the teeth.

Where there is water, there is life. There are many small animals such as snakes, rats, insects, ants, etc. that rely on the water for survival. However, they were all scared away when he revealed a little bit of his innate aura, and no one dared to bare his teeth at him.

I found some firewood and made a fire, roasted a piece of meat and some naan, and after eating, I had some fruit, which was very comfortable.

It's good to have martial arts skills, otherwise, let alone being so leisurely, it would be a miracle to be able to walk here alive.

After eating and drinking, they returned to the route and continued to move towards the destination. Soon Chen Xuan met some people. After all, there were so many people joining in the fun, and there would always be some who fell behind. Not everyone could arrive with the first group.

We went so far into the desert before encountering people who had fallen behind. Those in front of us were really trying hard.

The first person who straggled along that Chen Xuan encountered was a middle-aged swordsman with rudimentary internal skills. He was sitting in a sheltered place under the scorching sun, eating a dry biscuit. He had a face full of bitterness and hatred, and he seemed to regret having followed along to join in the fun. There was no village in front and no shop behind, and there was not a single hair on his head. Why bother coming?

Autumn is the hottest season, especially in a place like the desert. The guy was sunburned and had fallen behind, so no one cared about him and he died here accidentally.

Not knowing him, Chen Xuan took a look and continued forward.

However, the other party's eyes lit up, and he stood up and kept up with the pace, saying, "Wait a minute, little brother, you are also left behind, how about we become a team?"

He seemed quite happy because there were people who were even worse off than him. He was probably too careless to notice that Chen Xuan was dressed neatly and not in a mess.

Chen Xuan turned around and said cautiously: "We are not familiar with each other, so we should go our separate ways."

"Hey, brother, don't be like this. I don't mean any harm. It's just boring to be alone, so I want to find someone to talk to," the other person said familiarly.

Quickening his pace, Chen Xuan trotted out and said, "Let's go our separate ways."

"Hey, why are you running? Do I look like a bad guy?" the middle-aged swordsman said speechlessly, and started to chase after him.

However, Chen Xuan looked frightened by his actions and ran even faster.

After a few miles of chasing each other, the middle-aged swordsman was exhausted. His internal strength was already at its limit after going so far into the desert. He could not keep up the pursuit for long under the scorching sun.

Looking at Chen Xuan who was leaving in front of him and could never catch up, he simply gave up, stopped to catch his breath, and was so sad that he couldn't even cry.

What's going on? I finally met someone, but he ran away. How come you are left alone when you have such good physical strength?

In the vast desert, he only felt pitiful and helpless. He would not die here, would he? What the hell was wrong with me to join in the fun? Wouldn't it be nice to be at home drinking and eating meat? Why did I suffer like this?

Looking back, the man had disappeared from his sight, and Chen Xuan slowed down his pace.

He didn't know whether the other party had bad intentions or not, but he didn't want to have too much contact with him. Think about it, if they become familiar with each other, wouldn't he have to give some of his water or cactus fruit to the other party as a token of his appreciation?
It's not that he's stingy, but there's no need to contact people with whom you'll probably never have any contact again.

Since he has encountered someone who is alone, Chen Xuan must be not far from the main force.

Sure enough, as he continued to move forward, he encountered more and more people who were falling behind on the road. No matter who they were, he always acted like a loner.

What's the point of setting off early? Even if I set off an hour earlier than him, I would still be caught up by Youzaiyou...

(End of this chapter)