Chapter 28 The Road to Liusha

The sun is scorching the earth, and the ground of the country full of yellow sand is distorted by heat waves. Connor felt like he was breaking free from a solid prison every step he took. The gravel wrapped around his ankle and kept dragging him down to swallow him. He had to fight hard and struggle crazily, just like the fear he had fallen into.

He was thrown into the sand pool by red-robed monks. The hot and cold gravel engulfed his ankles, his legs, his waist, and his chest... He shouted and struggled hoarsely, but this only made him sink faster. The sand flooded his neck. His lips tasted the bitterness of yellow sand.

"Help me." He begged helplessly.

"Don't move! Calm down. Feel the life in this sand." The red-robed monk stared into his eyes, and his eyes had the peace of seeing death in the world. Feel its pulse, Connor. It is the earth under our feet, and all life is born from it. Listen to its voice, and it will naturally give you a metaphor.

Connor doesn't know how he survived. He only remembers that when he woke up, he was already lying on the hard poplar**. However, the squeeze on his chest still refused to retreat, so that he could hardly breathe. He even thought that he stayed in the dark room, and the comfortable hard touch under him was his hallucinations.

However, at this moment, he felt that he was indeed alive.

They left Bombed Carre and were safe. Despite life and death and the war, compared with the scene he imagined... he thought it was simply incredible. Countless demons, crazy spells, the head, the dark golden eyes, and the black sun that the alchemist kept whispering... All of them seemed to have easily survived, and he suddenly understood the meaning of the oracle.

Thanks to the gods. He prayed devoutly.

So now, Connor is listening to another metaphor revealed to him by the gods and leading them to another place. But he didn't say it to them. They are unbelievers, and Connor knows this well. Whether it is an alchemist, a female mage, or a silent female swordsman or an extraordinary bachelor, they do not believe in gods. If he says it, it will only attract opposition. That will only disappoint the grace of the gods, but he also knows that it will also squander their trust.

They trusted him, so they let him lead the way.

However, Connor is a little uneasy. After all, he is repaying the trust of the other party with deception, and may be destined to bury his own trust in exchange for fighting side by side. But after careful comparison, he found that he cared more about the glory of the gods.

The white devils behind them walked with deep and shallow feet. Connor didn't know whether the white devils could keep up with him: the soldiers among them were still carrying heavy armor - full of dents and cracks cut by axes and swords. Several girls who had no power to bind chickens were tortured. He turned his head and took a look and found that they were crumbling. But the oasis is still five miles away, and there are several sand dunes waiting for them to climb one by one.

"Where is this going?" Connor's biggest worry finally happened. Before the oasis arrived, the Miss Bachelor in the team found something unusual. He sighed long in his heart and thought about how to answer.

"Where are we going, samurai?" I mean, Brandick." The alchemist asked. His eyes are full of doubts.

Connor tasted guilt. There is an oasis not far ahead. We are going there. Connor looked at the girls in the line, "They... I think we need to have a good rest."

They rushed all the way out of Bombardier and walked non-stop for a whole day and night until they left the dilapidated temple far behind and under the horizon. Everyone is coming to the limit. Tiredness, lack of water and hunger are inseparable from them.

"Good proposal, but..."

"There is no mother of the desert there," the female mage's sneer is so harsh. I don't want to meet a sandstorm again.

Her words sounded like she was pointing at the locust.

God has no warning. The sky is also clear and cloudless. No." Connor answered firmly.

Their eyes are still confused and full of suspicion. Connor thought they must have sensed something wrong, but they didn't make it clear and still gave him a chance. But he is destined to fail them. Connor didn't say a word. He saw the alchemist shake his head at the girls who liked him. Connor breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that their conversation could finally stop and end for the time being.

However... "This is definitely not the direction of going to the seaside, to Shesri County." The merchant's son suddenly interrupted.

Connor raised his head and glared at each other. Although he knew that this could not be concealed, he still couldn't suppress the rising anger. Mouthful guy! He thought to himself that he dared to claim that he believed in the gods.

"She is in the east, and we are moving northwest." This is his father's voice. Stupid father and son.

"Don't think we don't know the direction!" Sasha Jore roared at him. I am also a citizen of the gods. Pseudo-believers! Connor clenched his fist. We are going deep into the hinterland!"

"Where are you taking us?" The alchemist asked again.

"I don't want to be a mummy." The female mage's words were like fueling, and the white devils who had fought side by side looked at him with hostile eyes, as if he was regarded as a traitor, just like the guy who had been dragged into the sand before. This look hurt him. The knights stood up, approached him, and clenched their swords.

Connor knows that he can't hide it anymore, so he has to tell the truth. However, he couldn't know, but he said again that it was due to the metaphor of the gods, how they would react. He opened his mouth in hesitation and hesitation.

The sand sea at night is quiet. The clear water surface shines slightly, shining like silver coins in the silver moonlight and the stars. Connor scratched his leg and belly, and a lizard climbed over it. The sound of water splashing in the lake not far away came from far away. He vaguely heard the girls' conversation, and almost every word was separated from the alchemist. Connor felt a certain degree of envy for the alchemist's female fate, and a physiological impulse suddenly appeared in his heart.

He soon felt his ugliness. You are a warrior of the gods, not the face of demons!" The red-robed monk held a long whip full of spikes in his hand and beat him hard. The hot pain swept over his body, and he was hung up and couldn't break free. His whole body was naked, and the whip fell everywhere - including his lower body. He once thought that he would be treated by the eunuch in the story. He was extremely frightened. However, when the red-robed monk was tired, he threw down a long whip. We do not abstain from it, but we do not want to vent your desire in such an ugly and sinful way!" He said to Connor, "Stop your imagination of women. The gods will arrange a woman to come to you, but the time has not yet come.

Connor doesn't know when the so-called time is. Since then, training and fighting have been the whole of his life. He thought that his sacrifice for the gods was his destination, but at this time, he really felt his own moleth. He tried his best to suppress the ** that made him feel embarrassed and hateful, sat cross-legged under a dead tree, breathed lightly, gasped evenly, and then entered meditation.

The surroundings soon became silent, and Connor entered a state of soul wandering. He floated on a mass of wool-like clouds, surrounded by darkness, but there was still something unknown to project light. He found himself able to see everything around him. His heart beat like thunder, and his breathing was like a sharp wind. In a gradually bright and soft light, his godless and empty eyes saw several hazy human bodies composed of darkness and several gray eyes.

This is the image of the gods. Connor is not the first time he has seen them. He knelt down and worshipped. He thought that tonight's meditation would hurt exactly the same as before, and it was no different. After worship, he will withdraw from deep meditation. However, when he raised his head, he saw another completely strange shape under these tall human bodies.

"Who are you?" He asked with confusion and uneasiness.

"You are Connor, I know." That body said.

In his mind, a thought and an impression gradually took shape. Are you that old man?" Connor said in surprise, "The prophetic astrologer."

"It is also the messenger of the gods."

The messenger? Then... he was shocked. Those sounds I heard..."

"It's all from me."

Connor felt that he had been deceived. The metaphor he got was not from the gods, but from another mortal who was exactly like him - although she was a respected astrologer who could predict the future. But he can't stand the other party's lies pretending to be divine. You lied to me." He looked for his own weapon, but in the world of soul travel, steel no longer exists.

"I convey the will of the gods, that's all."

Her words seem to have some magic. Connor believed her, or he chose to escape and did not want to delve into the real facts. How can you... How can you appear here?" He asked cowardly, "What are you trying to say when you are here?"

"For your responsibility, for the way of the gods you practice."

"I don't understand."

"You will know soon." The old lady said. The round and eternal eyes showed sadness and regret. There are many obstacles ahead... The gods are watching you, my child. They will guide you, but they won't give you an answer... I'm afraid there will be a long way, and you have to go alone."

"Go alone?" Does this mean that his prayers will never be answered again?

"The gods are not omnipotent." The old lady told him. Their strength is weakening, and they need their believers to fight for it to regain their glory. Her voice gradually faded away, as if there was some force urging her. As she pulled her out of her meditation hall, her voice became frightened and panicked, and her body became twisted and hazy, and then disappeared.

Without warning, the invisible world disappeared in the dazzling flash. Connor opened his eyes as if he had woken up from a dream. He lay down on the sand, away from the fire and the white devil who argued loudly with each other. He didn't understand what they said, but he knew it was mostly related to him. However, at this time, what he kept recalling was the old man's words. He still couldn't figure out what the so-called suffering and obstruction were. And the gods... have they... Connor quickly extinguished the unclean thoughts in his heart? Before his sleepiness surged, he decided to ask his mentor, the monk in red, and asked him to give him some guidance.

In the morning, when the sun rose, the alchemist woke him up.

All night, Connor was immersed in entangled dreams. The demons and the wailing gods hit his soul, and he felt his faith crumbling. He can't wait any longer. He stood up.

"Let's enjoy a hot meal." The alchemist said, "Only with the strength can we move forward."

Connor thanked him for his kindness. However, although it is a hot meal, it is still the most common dried meat and light and tasteless broth for desert travelers. He has long been used to the taste, but he can't eat anything at this moment.

"I have no appetite." He sighed long. Put the dried meat into your pocket with only one bite. I will keep it to eat on the road."

The alchemist looked at him. Connor suddenly felt that when the other party was experiencing all kinds of troubles and suffering from toxins, his eyes seemed to see through him. Brandick. The alchemist's problems made him feel at ease. How far is it?"

Connor took a breath, "I'll be there this evening."

The monastery is located in a sandy sea basin half a miles away from the sand dunes at Connor's feet. Under the breeze, the flowing yellow sand is like a river flowing into the sand lake in the basin from the trench between the wide sand dunes. From afar, the sand sea reflects the slightly succuling orange light in the evening, as if it were a sparkling lake with fish scales.

"That's the monastery." Connor pointed to the bare earthy-yellow building. A small oasis outside the half- collapsed monastery wall is in sharp contrast to the dead scene around it. He came here once when he was young, but then he found that the oasis had shrunk by half. The world is changing. He sighed. We will be there soon. My teacher prepared everything early. Let's speed it up.

"Is your teacher, the red-robed monk, a person?" The alchemist asked. It's too remote here."

"There are also some children taken in by teachers." Connor explained, "The monks are responsible for teaching them. I was one of them. When they grow up, someone will be responsible for sending them out.

Where to send it? Bombard? Miss Bachelor said.

"Yes." Her words reminded him of the past and thought about the demon city today. He doesn't want to talk much.

"Why do you call it a sanctuary of silence?" The alchemist asked.

"Because the people who live here are monks and penitators. They seek to repay their sins in meditation, prayer and silence. Connor explained in detail, and he felt that his explanation was necessary. He can't let the white devil disturb the peace of the monastery. In the monastery, only red-robed monks and children can talk, and those children can only talk at a specific time of the day.

"What?" Connor heard the alchemist ask. The female mage just muttered a few whispers. This place is more like a prison. She opened her mouth again, but he heard that it was not a repetition. The ascetic will love here, but I don't like it."

Connor jumped off the sand dune, and his feet were flat, and the gravel no longer seemed to be soft. Solid ground. He heard the clear gasps of the white devils: they relaxed their vigilance. So he raised his hand and made a careful gesture accurately.

"What's going on?"

He asked the white devils to take out the ropes and connect each of them. If you want to sleep under the hard boards** and eaves tonight, you must do this now and cross the fast sand with me. We call it the road of free sand. He trembled uncontrollably. Countless children who tried to escape fell into it. Everyone who survives knows the lesson and the difficulty of life. Even if I know this place well, I am still afraid of it and be careful where to settle down. Remember, line up in a row and only step on the place I have stepped on to reach the other side. Alchemist, take good care of your girls."

The monastery stood in the northwest. Connor did not go directly towards it, but turned east and walked to another sand dune. The distant sun has landed behind the sand dunes. The sand sea turned into a smooth and reflective mirror. It's all the same everywhere. However, Connor became more vigilant and stopped from time to time to explore carefully. His short spear became a crutch for the blind. He turned west for a while, and after walking a hundred meters, he suddenly walked south for a while, completely away from the monastery.

"I don't see any difference." Connor heard a knight talking. Under his inquiry, the alchemist behind him translated the words. Aren't you going to that place?" The knight shouted in the back, "We seem to be wandering around, but we didn't go there."

Connor stopped. Take a good look." The dried meat in his pocket was thrown into the sand one meter away by him. The knight's sneer was suddenly cut off halfway, like a duck suddenly strangled by the neck. Huangsha covered the dried meat without warning, and the dried meat disappeared in front of their eyes in the blink of an eye. The white devil's face is full of fear.

"The road to faith is rugged and hard to find." Connor said, "Only faith, patience, waiting, persistence and piety can help us find the way to peace." He repeated the words of the red-robed monk.

The color of yellow sand changes around. As the sunset falls, hundreds of mottled tones have changed in a short period of time. The golden sand and orange stones gradually darkened into red or purple spots, and a string of footprints they stepped on were five meters away from Connor. He turned one corner after another, and when the ground became strong, he estimated that he had walked at least a half miles.

Connor untied the rope tied around his waist and walked the way of flowing sand. When he stood in front of the monastery, Connor felt that the confusion in his heart was far away from him, and his faith became firm again. He knelt on the hard stone steps of the monastery and lowered his head to kiss the dusty steps.