The scorching sun is like fire, shining brightly in the sky.

  In the vast desert where there was nothing but sand and gravel, a group of people were moving forward with difficulty under the scorching sun that could take lives.

  As I gaze out, the desert is so desolate. In the vast and boundless sky, not a single bird can be seen flying. On the endless ground, no creature can be found walking. The scenery in my eyes is forever endless sand and rocks.

  The drifting sand is constantly eroding the ground, and the terrain is constantly changing. Here, there are no signs, the sand is blown by the wind forever flowing, and the footprints of people and horses walking on it are quickly covered up by the sand and stones, never to be known again.

  Yellow sand came rushing over, even with a thick layer of gauze covering the face, one could still feel the mighty power of the sand flow.

  "Chen Dahi!" someone suddenly shouted loudly.

  The man walking in front immediately stopped and turned around, asking respectfully: "Commander Liu, what's the matter that you're calling for me?"

  Liu Zhengzhong stepped forward and stood beside him, asking softly: "How much longer until we reach the oasis?"

  "It's near, just ahead." Chen Dahai replied after a moment of thought.

  "Right in front of us?" Liu Zhengzhong's eyebrows furrowed, he looked at the obviously exhausted team behind him and said: "You've already said that several times?"

  "This time it's real, it's almost here." Chen Dahai swallowed a mouthful of saliva, but his throat was still dry and his voice was a little hoarse.

  In the desert, what is most lacking is water. Without water, there is no life.

  There are not a few water bags on the horseback, but they cannot drink without restriction. Here, Zhang Zihua and Liu Zhengzhong, the two leaders, are not the best taken care of.

  Only those listless horses were able to get priority drinking water rights.

  "Our numbers have dwindled again." Liu Zhengzhong sighed.

  "Not bad, two less." A thick and solid voice came from behind him.

  Liu Zhengzhong hastily turned around and said, "Mr. Zhang."

  In the desert, the weather is bad and the temperature difference is even greater. At noon, the scorching sun shines directly down, allowing people to clearly feel how a steamed bun in a steamer is cooked through.

  It suddenly became gloomy and chilly in the evening. It can't be said that it was freezing, but it wasn't far from it either.

  Such a harsh climate is absolutely a deadly killer for Han people with injuries.

  In half a month, they had lost more than half of their men. These men did not die under the enemy's swords and guns, but under that unbearable weather. Due to the lack of medicine and water, and having to continue that seemingly endless march, one by one, the heavily injured warriors forever closed their eyes.

  By now, there were only fifteen people left.

  "Is it two again?" Liu Zhengzhong's eyebrows slightly jumped, a thin layer of mist dissipated in the hot air.

  "Chen Dahi, can you confirm?" Zhang Zihua's eyes stared intently at Chen Dahi, shining brightly as if they could penetrate the thick gauze and see that plain face.

  Chen Dahi nodded without hesitation and said: "Before I enlisted, I was a peddler who walked on sandy roads. This road has been walked many times, so don't worry."

  To his surprise, Liu Zhengzhong looked at him and asked: "Why did you want to join the army?"

  He has been walking silently for a long time, and if he doesn't say a few more words, he will feel somewhat stifled in his heart.

  "A small trip away from home, when I came back, my house was gone."

  "What?" Liu Zhengzhong was perplexed.

  "The Huns have been here." Chen Da Hai's eyes flashed with a hint of pain, and after all this time, his voice was still filled with hatred: "They just passed through the autumn wind."

  "Ah..."

  ※※※※

  The team fell silent again, their swaying shadows growing longer and longer in the gradually setting sunlight until Chen Da Hai suddenly stopped.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Zihua asked with a puzzled expression, his heart suddenly surging with a strong sense of foreboding.

  Chen Dahai slowly turned around, his eyes filled with deep despair and guilt.

  Liu Zhengzhong shivered and asked: "Chen Dahai, what's going on?"

  "Oasis... here..." he muttered to himself.

  Zhang Zihua and Liu Zhengzhong looked around, but in their eyes it was still a vast expanse of swirling yellow sand. Here, where could they see even a hint of green?

  Zhang Zihua's face was getting increasingly unsightly, but his tone remained calm and composed: "You say this is an oasis?"

  With a difficult nod, Chen Dahai's mouth was full of bitter and hard-to-swallow words: "I've walked through this desert for decades, and indeed, this is an oasis."

  "What happened to it?" Liu Zhengzhong asked in surprise.

  "I don't know." Chen Dahai plopped down on the ground, his voice no longer carrying its usual confidence, and his eyes were a dull blank.

  Liu Zhengzhong looked around again for a while, and finally sighed with a bitter smile: "Is this really the will of heaven?"

  Although it is unknown how far away the next supply point in the desert is, one thing can be certain: with their current stored food and water, they will absolutely not make it there.

  "Get up..." Zhang Zihua said lightly.

  Chen Dahai looked up blankly, but what he met was a pair of eyes filled with unyielding fighting spirit.

  "Don't give up, if you fall here, we really can't move forward anymore." Zhang Zihua changed his usual ferocity and squatted beside Chen Dahai, saying: "We still have to rely on you to take us all out."

  A glimmer of vitality appeared in Chen Dahai's eyes, a small flame called hope flickered in his heart and gradually grew.

  "Aren't you blaming me?"

  "You are our eyes, can we blame our own eyes?" Zhang Zihua's mouth revealed a rare and peaceful smile.

  It seemed that new strength had been injected into his body, Chen Dahai, who was already exhausted, suddenly stood up, and his eyes became firm again: "Well, let's go to the next supply point."

  "What about food and water? How long can we hold on?" Liu Zhengzhong asked.

  "There is a way." Chen Dahai's gaze shifted to the few horses in the team.

  "Kill the horse, take its blood, and cut off its flesh." Zhang Zihua ordered coldly.

  A sharp dagger was pulled out from the horse's neck, hot blood spurted out, several soldiers were ready, and several water bags were connected one after another, without wasting a single drop.

  Liu Zhengzhong's eyes had a hint of unbearable pain, he turned his head away. His gaze swept across Chen Dahuai's face. This scout from the Red Ocean was expressionless, as if this were a matter of course. His gaze fell, and he saw Zhang Zihua with an expressionless face.

  "Liu Tongling, do you think I have no compassion at all?" Zhang Zihua asked suddenly.

  Liu Zhengzhong was taken aback and asked in surprise: "Mr. Zhang, what makes you say that?"

  With a faint smile, Zhang Zihua did not answer, but slowly said: "Since that day, after Zhang Mou died to remonstrate with the Crown Prince, he had already abandoned these two words 'pity'."

  Liu Zheng's heart sank, as the Grand Marshal of the Huanglong Army, he was no stranger to the changes in the various royal palaces in the capital. Of course, he knew that the day Zhang Zihua referred to was the very day Liu Zheng entered the palace to pay his respects and obtained Emperor Hanxian's decree to marry, which was also the day of Zhang Zihua's severed arm.

  Zhang Zihua took off his face mask, took a deep breath, and through the thick gauze, although it blocked out the wind and sand, he still couldn't breathe freely.

  "I felt it, behind us, a killing intent......" He closed his eyes and said faintly: "Someone is chasing after us."

  ※※※※

  "Brother Biao, our path is correct."

  There was an excited glint in Jian Zhi's eyes, he licked his slightly dry lips and called out softly.

  "Have you dug up a dead body?" asked Ziduo.

  "That's right, we've found a Han Chinese corpse. Judging from the condition, he's been dead for less than a day. We're closing in on them."

  He rubbed his eyes and looked up, still seeing nothing.

  "Where is in front going?"

  "Oasis." Kong Zhi sneered: "That was an oasis that existed just a few years ago."

  Hearing the implication in his words, she turned back and asked: "What about now?"

  "It's gone." Qian Zhi said with a hint of regret: "Two years ago, it was buried by the sandstorm." His voice suddenly rose: "I would like to see how they felt when they found out that the oasis had turned into a desert."

  "There must be old hands in their team who are familiar with the terrain." Zuo Duo said calmly.

  "Heh heh...... The terrain they're familiar with is from years ago, otherwise they wouldn't be taking this route. They would have gone straight to the second supply point."

  "What about the second one?" After muttering a few more sentences, he suddenly said: "What if we head directly to the second supply point?"

  He stopped in his tracks, suddenly slapped his thigh and laughed: "Brother Duo said it well, that's exactly what we should do. Let's turn around now and rush to the next supply point to guard the tree and wait for the rabbit."

  "It's okay." She gently declined with a faint smile.

  "Why?" Kong Zhi asked, puzzled.

  "Although brother Kongzhi wants to go, I naturally won't stop him. But I'm very interested in that Zhang Zihua and want to see how far he can still go behind his back."

  "Zhang Zihua? Are you referring to that cripple who lost an arm?" Guan Zhi asked in surprise.

  Listening to his tone, he seems to be quite concerned about this person, and appears to value him more than Liu Zhengqi by a third.

  "Not bad, although he is physically disabled, his heart is not. If possible, I would like to meet him." Mo Duo said in a low voice.

  He gazed at the expectant-looking Tie Duo, muttering to himself for a moment before saying, "Brother Tie Duo, why go to such trouble? If you're willing, just have the young masters capture him alive and bring him before me, then I'll decide what to do with him."

  "Captured alive? I'm afraid..." A hint of disdain crept into his voice, and he pressed his eyes to the telescope's lens. Through the flashing glass, he seemed to see that one-armed man, yet suave and composed, ruthless and cunning - Zhang Zihua, the chief strategist of the Eastern Palace.

  （）

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