It was late at night, and the clamor of dusk had completely quieted down. Outside the tent, the northern wind was howling. Other than the necessary sentries, everyone was curled up in their tents.
Maqiao was really a glutton. The naturally thawed milk in the tent had not completely melted. He had eaten so much beef and mutton that night. At this time, he was still holding a jar of frozen milk. He used a knife to scrape it layer by layer and put it into his mouth, eating it with relish.
This kind of temporary tent was too small. If a person slept in such a small space, they would touch the side of the tent. However, there were not many tents, and at least three people slept in each tent.
Gu Zhuting was a man dressed as a woman. No matter which tent she slept in, she could not avoid being squeezed with two stinky men. Among the many stinky men, probably only Yang Fan was pleasing to the eye. Therefore, she consciously squeezed into the same tent as Yang Fan and Maqiao.
Maqiao kept eating, while Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting sat cross-legged. They wanted to talk, but they could not find a topic to talk about. They felt uncomfortable not talking.
The tent was especially quiet. Other than the howling wind, there was only the sound of Maqiao licking the milk. "Slurp, slurp …"
This sound seemed to have a hypnotic effect. Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting sat on the side, their heads directly touching the roof. After sitting for a while, Yang Fan could not bear it anymore. He yawned and said, "Let's sleep!"
Gu Zhuting immediately lay down with her back pressed against the tent.
Yang Fan suggested, "You … should sleep in the middle. It's colder on the side!"
Gu Zhuting was shocked. She quickly shook her head at him and quickly glanced at Maqiao. It seemed that she was not willing to sleep next to Maqiao.
Maqiao did not give up. He stuck out his tongue and licked the milk on the knife. He said with satisfaction, "Then I'll lie in the middle!"
Maqiao closed the lid of the milk can and happily lay down in the middle of the tent. There was still a smear of milk at the corner of his mouth.
Yang Fan and Gu Zhuting looked at each other, turned around at the same time, and lay down.
Everyone was wearing thick clothes, which could not be taken off in the tent, so it was fine even if they were pressed against each other. It was just that the air in the narrow space was stuffy, and it was difficult to turn around, which was very uncomfortable.
Just as Yang Fan was about to fall asleep, Maqiao's snoring suddenly rang out in the tent. The snoring was not soft, and it was deafening to his ears. Yang Fan could not help but sigh, "I really can't sleep anymore. No matter what, I have to kick Qiao Ge aside tomorrow!"
Yang Fan couldn't fall asleep because of Maqiao's snoring, so he gently lay down and used his arm as a pillow to think.
"Do I snore on a regular basis? Men should be snoring, but it was a pity that he couldn't hear it. If I snore as loudly as Qiao Ge, how did Xiao Man sleep in the past? When I woke up in the morning, she was clearly sound asleep. Is it okay for a woman to listen to a man's snoring? In that case, Miss Gu should be able to sleep. "
"Before this mission, the military station has already sent news back to Luoyang. My family should already know that I am safe. Nianzu and Sirong are growing the fastest, and I have been away for half a year. When I go back, there should be a lot of changes. Maybe they will even call me father …"
Yang Fan's thoughts were in a mess, and he thought a lot in this tent in the desert. Suddenly, he would also think of Muheyue in another yurt not far away. The two of them had such a scene because of an unsolvable misunderstanding, but because of this skin contact, he could not help but think of her.
Now, seeing her husband love her so much, seeing that she had a lovely child, and seeing that she had grown into a happy woman, the worry that should not have been on his mind disappeared … The tent was full of snoring.
The snoring suddenly stopped, and Maqiao suddenly sat up.
Yang Fan curiously pricked up his ears. He felt that Maqiao sat for a moment, then suddenly moved to the side of the tent, and then pushed aside the layers of yurts on the triangular tent, and crawled out.
As soon as Maqiao went out, Gu Zhuting, who Yang Fan thought was already asleep, crawled in front of him like a kitten, and said firmly, "You sleep on my side, or I can't sleep!"
"It's so cold!"
As soon as Maqiao went out, he shivered. The wind blowing on his face was like a knife cutting. The desert night was so cold that he was not even willing to stretch out his toes.
The vast Milky Way was gorgeous in the sky, and in the tranquility and serenity, there was a glimmer of light. With the help of this faint light, Maqiao stumbled into the distance.
After waking up for the night, Maqiao ran back, wrapped in a gust of cold air, and entered the tent. Being suffocated by the warm air in the tent, he first shivered, and then hurriedly covered the entrance of the tent before groping his way back to the bed.
As soon as he reached out, he felt a pair of big feet covered in yurts, and the middle space was already occupied by Yang Fan.
"You're not obedient in your sleep!"
Maqiao muttered, and then felt his way to the side. After confirming that there was an empty space, he crawled over and covered himself with the thick sheepskin coat. Not long after, the sweet sleepiness made him snore again.
Yang Fan let out a sigh of relief, and then he felt that Miss Gu, who was sleeping beside him, seemed to also let out a long sigh of relief.
The sky had just brightened, and the sleepiness was thick, when the sound of preparing to set off rang out in the camp.
Yang Fan opened his eyes, and did not see Gu Zhuting beside him. He thought that she had woken up earlier than him, and then he felt a little heavy. He gently lifted the wool blanket and saw that Gu Zhuting had already burrowed her whole body into his arms, and her head was also buried in the quilt. She was even using his fat sleeves to cover her ears, sleeping peacefully, like a chick under the wings of a hen.
The breakfast was very sloppy, and the shepherds did not even cook. They only boiled some dirty hot water, and everyone ate some dry food and dried meat with the hot water. Then they began to dismantle the tents, pack up, and load the camels.
Gu Zhuting had been avoiding Yang Fan's gaze, as if she was a little embarrassed about what had happened in the morning. Yang Fan did not think that there was anything wrong with that, but for Gu Zhuting, who had already matured physically and mentally, but had never had such intimate actions with a man before, it would obviously take more time for the waves in her heart to calm down.
The procession continued to move forward in the boundless dawn. In the east, there was a vast expanse of bright red that burned half the sky, making the wilderness look even more desolate.
After several days of traveling, Yang Fan could no longer see the banner of Moche's Khan Tent, and then he could no longer see Musi and Muheyue's family. Soon after, he could not even see the Grand Shaman Kirstan, who glared at them every day and tried to kill them with his eyes.
The procession grew even longer, stretching for dozens of li, but there was no one to restrain or watch over these envoys from Wuzhou and Khitan. It was impossible for them to escape, for if they did, they would be seeking their own deaths. The wilderness was the best guard for the Turks. The endless wilderness made their lives hard, but it was also the most powerful army that the heavens had given them.
Even when they were at their weakest, no powerful empire dared to say that they could truly conquer them living in the desert grasslands. Their frequent wars were far more frequent than those in the Central Plains, and most of them were civil wars over limited water sources and grasslands.
The firewood and ice they had stored before they set off had been used up. Now, they burned horse and sheep dung every day, and drank the thin layer of snow scraped from the Gobi Desert, which contained not only gravel, but also cow and horse dung. But they could not survive without drinking, and Yang Fan was no exception. Although Miss Gu was a woman, she had probably experienced far more difficult conditions than Yang Fan, so she adapted earlier than him.
Of course, it was impossible for them to take a bath, but washing their hair was also out of the question. Yang Fan, Ma Qiao, Gu Zhuting, and the others all had messy and dirty hair, and their leather robes were stained with the smell of sheep. Under these conditions, no matter how beautiful a woman was, it was impossible for them to have any romantic thoughts while holding her in their arms.
Now, Yang Fan had adapted to Maqiao's snoring, and Gu Zhuting had also gotten used to sleeping in Yang Fan's arms, pressing against his chest for warmth, and covering her ears with his sleeves to avoid Maqiao's snoring …
The winter was far longer than in the Central Plains, and the land was barren, so these herdsmen abided by the laws of nature and migrated year after year, moving once every half a month on average.
This time, they traveled for twelve days and arrived at their new home.
Their new home was a winter pasture, covered in endless yellow sand and speckled with white snow. A depression in the sand dunes that was prepared for their camp was pitch-black, formed from the accumulation of cow and sheep dung in previous years. This was where the camp was to be set up.
This dung would serve as fuel for the herdsmen while they were stationed here, and it was also the building material that they used to build walls to ward off the cold in this barren land devoid of trees, mud, or even rocks. It was also the 'geothermal energy' that they used to keep their livestock warm. In this frigid place, it was a miraculous substance that could continuously radiate heat without the need for fire.
The Khan of Muxiu led them to live in a pile of sheep dung.
… …
"Our migration took twelve days!"
While the Turks were busy constructing the camp that they were going to live in for at least half a month, Yang Fan, Maqiao, and Gu Zhuting slowly walked to a sand dune. In front of them was a vast expanse of flat land, and there was nothing between the heavens and the earth.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
Maqiao, who had good teeth and a good appetite, bit on a piece of frozen meat and puffed out puffs of white smoke.
Yang Fan said: "This is Muxiu's Khan tribe. We do not know where the other tribes are headed. Muxiu's Khan tribe is migrating to the east, and they should have more than one winter pasture. The best pasture should be in the south. To the east … it seems like he is ready to send troops. "
Maqiao said with a crunch, "It is true that they are sending troops, but it is hard to say whether they are helping the Khitans or us."
Yang Fan nodded and said: "That's right! Muxiu must have asked the Khitans and is uncertain, so he sent his men to Hebei to investigate the situation. "
Gu Zhuting asked worriedly: "Is there any problem with the arrangements over there?"
Yang Fan smiled and said: "The Khitans are roaming all over the place. Although they are powerful, Hebei is still under the control of the imperial court. Even we are unable to grasp their exact whereabouts, so what can the scouts of the Turks find out? Since Muxiu is not in a hurry to make a decision, I know that our chances of success have increased. "
Gu Zhuting said: "Can't we do anything now?"
Yang Fan said: "What can we do? We can only wait! Maybe … when Muxiu arrives, I should meet him to express my dissatisfaction and ask him to send us back! "
Gu Zhuting smiled knowingly: "Good idea! Doing so is befitting of a person who has already gained the upper hand! "
Maqiao suddenly pointed and said: "Look! There is a patch of snow in that shady place, and it looks quite thick. "
Gu Zhuting rolled her eyes at him and said: "What's there to be surprised about?"
Maqiao looked at her strangely and said: "Didn't you always complain that you can't bathe? If you wait any longer, the snow will be swept away by the shepherds! "
Gu Zhuting let out a strange cry and finally remembered how embarrassing she looked at this moment. She immediately turned around and ran, muttering: "Shovel, bag!" Yang Fan and Maqiao laughed behind her …
… …
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