Under everyone's discussion, Hongjun gradually understood that the battle Atay had to face to restore the country was not just a simple rebellion, but also a battle to win the hearts of the people and regain power. The real difficulty was that this was a process of fighting against the gods.
Zoroastrianism had once died out in the land of Sassanid and was replaced by Islam. The former temple became a mosque. From birth to death, generation after generation, the children firmly believed in the new god. The records of the old gods were burned. Once the words were lost, the miracles and stories could not be passed down for more than fifty years. Zoroastrianism had already declined before the Isai family left the land.
The Ramadan of today had long been unfamiliar with Zoroastrianism. They did not recognize the Zoroaster and the ancient Persian scripture, Avesta, that once gave the land faith. Even the caravans and interpreters who covered their advance had long become Islamists.
Can this battle be won? Hongjun could not help but think.
They left Jiayu Pass and went to Yadan. On the way, Hongjun specially visited his uncle, Jia Zhou. It had been several years since they met. Jia Zhou was very worried about the An Lushan rebellion. Hongjun received a lot of information from his uncle. Li Heng succeeded as the emperor, changed the name of the dynasty to Zhi De, and allied with Huihe.
When they arrived at Guazhou, a large number of Huihe troops had just entered the pass and rushed to the Central Plains to help Li Heng recover the lost land. An Lushan had fled back to Luoyang, and the demon race had been subdued. The rest was the battlefield of the mortals. Guo Ziyi led the middle army and joined forces with the Huihe troops to break through Shan County in one fell swoop.
Li Jinglong looked worriedly at the Huihe troops passing by the city. He was afraid that he was driving the wolf into the tiger, but this was not something that the Exorcism Department had the right to intervene in.
"Come." Jia Zhou said, "Hongjun, I advise you to drink a cup of wine. Leaving the Western Pass, there are no old friends. Cheers! "
Hongjun and the exorcists drank with Jia Zhou. Jia Zhou personally led people to escort them out of the pass. The wind and sand were far away, and the Tang army turned and left.
After leaving the Yang Pass, the road was desolate and lonely. Along the way, there were large expanses of the Gobi Desert. Every day or half a day, there would be a relay station to replenish fresh water. Many of the relay stations were empty, leaving only a pond behind the station and a small oasis. The temperature difference between day and night was so great that even a drop of water would turn into ice at night.
Hongjun liked the night sky here. There were no mountains to block it, and it was always cloudless. At night, he often wrapped himself in a blanket with Li Jinglong and snuggled under a pile of rocks, looking at the stars in the sky.
"Qing Xiong is right."
One day, Hongjun finally couldn't help but talk about the Holy Land. Li Jinglong suddenly commented.
Hong Jun stared blankly and said, "Do you know everything?"
The corners of Li Jinglong's mouth curled up slightly as he said, "I guessed."
Hongjun sighed, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that to you …"
"No." Li Jinglong said, "If you don't tell me, you will miss a lot of things from the details."
Hongjun said, "What can I miss? Anyway, as long as I'm alive, I won't agree to any of their proposals on this point. "
"Who?" Li Jinglong asked again.
Hongjun said, "Of course it's the Four Great Demon Kings."
Li Jinglong said, "Do the Four Great Demon Kings approve of him?"
Hongjun instantly seemed to feel something when he heard this. Li Jinglong said carelessly, "When I said that Qing Xiong did the right thing, I didn't mean that the demon race would replace the human race and last for thousands of years. It's that he chose not to force you to make a decision. This is very important. "
"That's because Feng 'er appeared." Hongjun said, "At that time, I even felt that his gaze was a bit dangerous."
Li Jinglong waved his hand and said, "Feng 'er just happened to give him a way out. Thinking back, when the Four Great Demon Kings made Qing Xiong's proposal, what did they say? "
Hongjun said, "They also didn't want to …"
At this point, the reactions of the Battle Corpse, Ghost King, and Yu Zaoyun quickly flashed through his mind. The other two Great Demon Kings wanted to say something but stopped. Kun Shen's silence finally made Hongjun understand Li Jinglong's hypothesis.
"Kun Shen is helping him." Li Jinglong said carelessly, "It's impossible that the two of them don't know what the other is thinking."
Hongjun muttered and nodded. Li Jinglong said, "As for the Fox King and the Ghost King, I don't believe that they agree with Qing Xiong's choice."
"But they're not familiar with the Dazzling Gold Palace." Hongjun said, "I think … the Ghost King is still … uh, more friendly to the human race. At least, he's friendlier than Chong Ming. Yu Zaoyun, I even think that she fell in love with the old emperor. "
"That's the problem." Li Jinglong said, "So they definitely won't choose Qing Xiong as the new Demon King Regent. Because compared to Qing Xiong, they're closer to the human race. It just so happens that they can accept you as the leader. You're from the Dazzling Gold Palace and have connections with Qing Xiong and Yuan Kun. You're a descendant of Chong Ming, and you're also my … "Li Jinglong smiled and said," … and the wife of the Marquis of Shu. "
"Yes." Hongjun's face was a little red. He nodded and said, "Maybe."
"Kun Shen and Qing Xiong are very clear." Li Jinglong said, "From the perspective of benefits, only you can reunite the four Great Demon Kings and establish a new Holy Land. Otherwise, Yuan Kun wouldn't have asked me for a corpse and a soul. "
Hongjun gradually understood. Li Jinglong said again, "If Qing Xiong forces you to make a decision, the demon race is bound to fall into division again. Feng 'er seems to have interrupted this conversation, but in reality, he's giving him a way out. "
Hongjun was silent and frowned deeply. Li Jinglong finally said, "Sometimes I even suspect that Yuan Kun is the one who drove Qing Xiong to appear and influence your decision. Yongsi also often said that Kun Shen's thoughts are too difficult to grasp. "
Hongjun said, "That can't be … It's all thanks to Yuan Kun that I can survive."
Li Jinglong nodded and said no more. Hongjun pondered and said, "There's always a way to solve it slowly, as long as we're together. Speaking of which, it seems to be getting colder and colder. Are you cold? "
The two of them curled up in the blanket. Li Jinglong unbuttoned Hongjun's collar and touched his skin. He whispered, "Let me warm you up."
Li Jinglong's naked body was like a vigorous furnace fire. Every time he entangled with Hongjun, mingled, and entered, it made Hongjun feel incomparably blissful. After leaving Yang Guan, the exorcists had meetings every day at first. During the second half of the journey, they had more or less said what they wanted to say, so they each stayed in the carriage to avoid the sun. Although it was close to October on the Silk Road, it was still scorching hot. During the day, it was really difficult for the two of them to be intimate. After rubbing a few times, they were sweaty and greasy.
But once, Lu Xu told Hongjun a trick. Instead of being afraid of the heat, it was better to just ignore it. Hongjun tried it, and unexpectedly, it had a different feeling. The two of them were sweating profusely in the carriage. The sweat on Li Jinglong's shoulders, back, and chest emitted a strong masculine scent that simply made Hongjun's blood boil. Once they started, it was almost impossible to stop.
Of course, this kind of play was also limited by conditions, and that was, they had to take a bath every day. Fortunately, when they entered the second half of the Silk Road, every relay station had sufficient water. At dusk, everyone could take a bath and apply some spices to their bodies. Hongjun finally understood why the people of Semu and the people of the Western Regions had such a strong scent.
Nearly twenty days after leaving Yuzhou City, the caravan arrived at an important stop on the Silk Road — Bazin City under the Aral Sea. The merchants were here to replenish their goods and would stay for a short three days. Hongjun did not sleep well in the carriage last night. The autumn was strong, the weather was cool, and the noise of the market was sometimes far and sometimes near. It was like a lullaby that made him fall into a deep sleep.
"Hongjun," Lu Xu whispered in Hongjun's ear and gently shook him. "Accompany me to a place."
Hongjun sleepily got up and looked at Lu Xu. He changed his clothes and followed him dizzily.
"Where are we going?" Hongjun asked.
Lu Xu only walked in front. Bazin City was very small. Rather than calling it a city, it was more like a village. Ten or so mud huts built of rammed earth were open for passing merchants to do business. There were two roads, one vertical and one horizontal, forming a cross. There were no city walls around it. There were only ten or so residents, most of them businessmen passing by.
Walking towards the back of the city and climbing over a slope, they arrived at the Aral Sea. To the west of the Aral Sea was a tall mountain. On the mountain stood a strange building.
Hongjun woke up and looked at the building in the distance.
Lu Xu said, "I'll give you a ride. Let's go up." As he spoke, he transformed into the White Deer. On a sunny afternoon, he flew across the Aral Sea, parted the waves, and flew towards the mountain peak.
"Where is this place?" Hongjun asked in surprise.
"Brother Qiong and Atay's former home." The White Deer said.
Hongjun remembered. Atay did mention before that a temple of the Zoroastrianism was on the tall mountain by the Aral Sea. It was the place where the prophet Zoroaster explained the scriptures. Later, it was built into a temple.
"Atay and Brother Qiong were both born in this temple." Lu Xu and Hongjun walked side by side into the abandoned temple. It was now overgrown with weeds. "Trandol and Atay also met here."
"How do you know so much?" Hongjun cleaned up the messy ivy and pushed open the door.
Lu Xu said, "Brother Qiong told me."
Hongjun said, "Yo."
"What does' yo 'mean?" Lu Xu said expressionlessly.
"It means literally." Hongjun glanced at Lu Xu suspiciously and said, "Do you often secretly chat?"
Lu Xu said, "No! What do you mean 'secretly'! We only chat a little when we're sent together on a mission! "
Ashina Chong never told Hongjun about his past. Because Li Jinglong and Hongjun were together, Atay often warned Ashina Chong not to look for trouble. Ashina Chong had always been very restrained. He didn't even joke with Hongjun. In the past, he used to tease Lu Xu, but now he didn't even dare to interact with Lu Xu. It was also sullen to stay in the Exorcism Division all day.
Hongjun said, "He can flirt with Zhao Zilong."
Lu Xu, "…"
Hongjun liked Ashina Chong. Not only him, but all of his companions were exceptionally reliable and had risked their lives for each other. When Lu Xu walked towards the altar, Hongjun roughly understood.
"You want to know more about him," Hongjun said.
"No." Lu Xu replied, "You're thinking too much. I just think that he's a little …"
There were a lot of mottled murals in the temple. On them were Zoroaster's preaching and mythical stories from ancient Persian scriptures. The two stood side by side and looked at it for a while. Lu Xu replied, "Lonely."
Hongjun frowned slightly. Lu Xu said, "But that's not my purpose. The Chief just asked me to check if Brother Qiong is also one of the holders of the artifact. After all, he and Atay were both born here."
Hongjun investigated every place in the temple, including the cemetery behind the mountain. There was an inscription on the graveyard that was written in Persian. Neither of them understood what it was, but Hong Jun suddenly discovered a symbol. It was the same symbol as the one embroidered on Ah Tai's robe.
"The Holy Maiden," Hongjun said, "is the master of Li Guinian and Atay."
"See if there's any mechanism," Lu Xu said.
"Why didn't Jinglong and the others come in person for such an important thing?"
Li Jinglong, Qiu Yongsi, and Mo Rigen were inquiring about Atay's whereabouts. It turned out that Atay had been to Bazin and had seen a person here. According to Li Jinglong's speculation, it was very likely that it was Amman Hukrador. However, Atay and Ashina Chong did not return to their birthplace and left in a hurry.
Lu Xu and Hongjun's task was to find if there was an entrance to the leyline. Logically speaking, there should not be one. However, once Hongjun and Lu Xu went out together, the two of them always liked to talk about random things. Sometimes they talked about Qiu Yongsi, sometimes they talked about Ashina Chong, Mo Rigen, and Li Jinglong. Strangely, they were not very interested in Atay. Perhaps they thought that he was more beautiful than a girl, so they did not have much interest in him.
The sacred fire had been extinguished and could not be reignited. Several altars were full of embers from the fire. Lu Xu suddenly said to Hongjun, "Come and take a look at this."
Hongjun came to a room. Sunlight shone in through the gaps at the top of the garden. This was a very standard Persian courtyard. There were several small fountains in the center. Lu Xu said, "Look at these two sculptures. One on the left and the other on the right. Both are very smooth, as if someone turned them forcefully."
Hongjun thought to himself, 'What kind of people are you? You can't even let go of such small clues.' He reached out his hand and worked together with Lu Xu to turn them. The moment the two sculptures turned at the same time, the ground suddenly rumbled and caved in, revealing a passage.
"Wow." Hongjun said, "Is there a treasure?"
The two of them scratched their heads. Hongjun took the lead and went in first. In the dark space, Hongjun snapped his fingers. Sparks burst out from his hand, illuminating the basement.
The basement was empty. There was another door at the end. Behind the door was a deep passage that led deeper into the ground. Hongjun counted the steps and whispered, "This should be the bottom of the Salty Sea."
Lu Xu suddenly stumbled as if he had kicked something. The two of them looked down at the same time. The light illuminated a person's face.
Hongjun and Lu Xu shouted at the same time.
It was a man who was tied up with ropes. His hair was disheveled and his body was covered in blood. Hongjun said, "Why is there someone here?!"
"Is he dead?"
"Take a look …"
Hongjun patted the man's side face and pushed his blood-stained hair away. A familiar face was reflected in his face. It was a face with stubble that had not been trimmed for many days. The corners of his eyes had burst open. He was so thin that he did not look human. All of his fingers were broken.
— — Ashina Chong.
Hongjun: "…"
Lu Xu: "…"