Chapter 279 [Straight ahead]
The float on the water was trembling, and Sang Ziping was slowly lifting the pole to take up the line. After wrestling up and down a few times, he pulled a big fish up and put it in the bucket beside him.
Then he put away the fishing rod and turned around.
At this moment Fang Chang was looking into the distance, so Sang Ziping asked, "Where are they?"
Standing on the bow of the boat, he stretched out his hand and pointed in one direction. Fang Chang said: "There, the demonic aura is soaring. It seems to be the place where the enemy's training is imposing. I didn't expect them to not hide it."
Sang Ziping understands this very well: "The Western Region is vast and sparsely populated. It is very difficult for practitioners to pass by and meet them. Moreover, with the power of the enemy, they are not afraid of being discovered by these sporadic people."
The boat turned in a different direction, cut through the waves and headed towards the destination without sails or oars.
Fang Chang took the fish bucket beside Sang Ziping, looked at it, and then took out the big fish inside to check.
In the past few days, the dry food on board has been eaten, and the firewood has also been used up. The two did not go to the shore or find a small island to replenish fuel, so the fish caught as cooking materials can only be made into fish sticks and eaten raw.
Fortunately, both of them have deep cultivation bases, and they are not afraid of parasites at all, but they can taste the delicious taste of fish with peace of mind.
Although the monster stronghold is around Juhai, it is still some distance away from the coast.
When they finished eating the big fish that had been sliced into thin slices, they also came to the edge of Juhai. Finding a flat place to land, Fang Chang stretched out his hand, picked up the boat, and stuffed it directly into the green cloth package behind him. This made Sang Ziping next to him slightly taken aback.
Fang Chang said with a smile: "Anyway, the package fits well, so maybe I can use it next time, so I won't have to look for it when I get it."
Sang Ziping had no objection to this, he nodded and followed.
The Juhai here is still salt water, so there is no vegetation, no oasis and no human habitation. On the other hand, a lot of salt flowers condensed on the rocks on the shore.
"How far is it?"
"Estimated tens of miles." Fang Chang said.
If there is no accident, the two of them let go, and it only takes a few hours to complete the last few dozen miles.
...
But the accident came quickly.
"There is an oasis ahead." Fang Chang has good eyesight, and when he crossed a sand dune, he was the first to see the oasis in the distance.
The sand dunes here are relatively fixed, and in a low-lying place, the groundwater protrudes here, forming a small pool, which is full of fresh water.
Although there are no rivers or creeks flowing in, the groundwater here is surprisingly abundant, and the pools are not dry all year round. There are small farmlands and some shrubs around, and there are more than a dozen families. The house styles are all common styles in the Western Regions.
But after walking for a long time, Fang Chang realized something was wrong.
The atmosphere above several houses is very chaotic, and there are streaks of black air entwined, which seems very dangerous. Immediately, he saw a monster with a weapon in his hand, dragging a man out of a house. Relying on the extraordinary hearing power, I can still hear the monsters shouting and cursing.
Fang Chang immediately concealed himself and Sang Ziping, and then quickened his pace.
"My lord! My lord! Please forgive me. There is no harvest this year, and the family is really unable to open the pot. There is still grain to pay tribute to... Please allow some time for this year's grain to enter the warehouse before paying."
"How can this be done?! Don't even think about it!" The monster waved his weapon and shouted: "Since you haven't starved to death, it proves that you must have food. And you have food, but you are not willing to pay tribute. It seems that your Conscience is broken! Not loyal enough! Hand over the food you hid!"
As he said that, he wanted to raise the weapon in his hand and give this "cunning" human being on the ground a ruthless blow.
The people on the ground were terrified when they saw the monster raising the knife. He closed his eyes and prepared to accept his fate to meet his end.
As a result, there was a scream, but it didn't come from his own mouth.
He quickly opened his eyes to check, and then found that the monster who was standing in front of him just now, showing off his might and even planning to hurt him, had fallen to the ground without making a sound. Not far away, two strangers appeared, one in hemp clothes and hemp shoes in good spirits, the other in white clothes with a long sword on his back, with a smile on his face.
Suddenly saved, he didn't turn his mind for a while, and stood there in a daze.
It wasn't until the two in front of him went to take care of other monsters in the village that he realized that he quickly got up from the ground, pointed out the way loudly, and helped them catch the monsters.
After piled up these monsters who were oppressing kindness regardless of life or death, Fang Chang came over and asked:
"What are these evil animals doing in the village? Why are they asking for food and preparing to kill people?"
The two masters on the opposite side didn't ask his name, so he didn't want to inform himself. He just explained: "Twenty or thirty miles to the south, there are a group of sand caves, and many kings live in them. They train soldiers all day long there, The momentum is huge."
"It is said that because of excessive consumption, they wiped out the forces with a radius of hundreds of miles, and then sent small teams to collect money and silk everywhere. And they were in a hurry, and they didn't care about the amount, just like just now, if my family can't get it anymore If you donate tribute, you will be beaten to death as a model to warn others."
Nodding his head, Fang Chang took out the most energetic monster from the pile of monsters behind him, and after a little torture, they all responded.
He also specifically asked about the location and location of the training hall. As a result, the monster in front of him had no sense of confidentiality. Under the threat of life, he just made threats and said everything like a bamboo tube.
It's in the sand cave ahead.
Because of the high demand for trained monsters in the headquarters, the hall is overloaded.
This caused tension in logistics, so they had to organize their staff and go down the mountain to collect food. Unexpectedly, they happened to be bumped into by two practitioners, and the next road was even more difficult to determine.
Seeing the calm outside, the other residents in the village also let go of their worries and walked outside vigilantly.
Someone brought food to Fang Chang and Sang Ziping:
"Thanks for your hard work, both of you, let's have some food to fill our stomachs."
After finishing speaking, he came over with a large square wooden tray, inside which was like a hill, piled with some pasta, and the smell of mutton came through.
"Eat it while it's hot. Just after taking it out of the naan pit, it was a little burnt. I blame these debt collectors. When I saw them coming to the village, I was so scared that I didn't dare to go out."
"Mmm, delicious!"
Fang Chang and Sang Ziping immediately cleaned up all the monsters, and each reached out to take two gnaws. After tasting the wonderful taste, they praised again and again.
The small buns are square in appearance, with thin and tough skin. Inside are fat and thin mutton, bulbs of certain plants, and sibba. After roasting, although it is oily, it is not greasy at all, and the skin is crispy, tender and delicious.
Then, they declined the enthusiastic villagers and said that they would go to the sand cave to have a look.
(end of this chapter)