The sand dunes undulated and heatwaves stacked upon each other. The radiant sun hung like a disc in the heavens, over an endless expanse where no vegetation grew and all that met the eye was rolling yellow sand. This place was the Desert beyond the Outside.
At the edge of the desert lay a small town with ethnic charm. Bright and colorful feathers adorned the felt tents, and semi-worn flags fluttered in the wind. At night, the Nomadic Tribe residing there lit a bonfire, and lamb legs slathered in butter were roasted over the fire, crackling as the fat dripped onto the flames.
Everyone joined hands and danced around the fire, singing loudly. A cheerful woman with her hair in many braids, adorned with bone and silver ornaments that jingled, performed the tribe’s traditional dance barefoot, joy and simplicity evident on everyone’s faces.
Dong Huiying and her companions had only arrived in the town that afternoon, and they decided to spend the night there before moving on.
Their carriage was stored in the town, and they switched to desert camels.
Three of the camels were for riding, and five others were used for transporting supplies.
This small Nomadic Town, with its deep desert traits, had ancestors who came from deep within the desert, used to migrate around, and later settled by a small oasis they discovered at the fringe of the desert, guarding a water source. Originally planning to move on when the water ran out, they found the source lasted for decades and appeared inexhaustible, so they settled there permanently.
The vastness of the desert often meant not seeing a soul for ten days to half a month. If luck was bad, it might be months before new faces appeared. In such cases, it was easy to lack water and food, which meant it was essential to carry plenty.
Moreover, the temperature in the desert varied greatly between day and night; the sun could peel layers of skin off during the day, and at night, the cold wind cut like a knife. Fortunately, Dong Huiying had already stockpiled enough supplies during her time in the Golden Triangle, making this aspect relatively straightforward to handle.
She, draped in a cape, was tallying the supplies on the camels when Hong Xiangjun found her and, grabbing her arm, chattered rapidly, "Stop messing with this stuff and go check on your husband SiLang!"
Hong Xiangjun pointed. Following her finger, Dong Huiying saw a small crowd of town’s girls, with Lao Si surrounded in the middle and the kitten Black Cat lying on his head, paws propping its chin, looking adorably at the women encircling them.
"Hey, big brother, where are you from?"
"Are you a merchant? Are you planning to travel through the Desert?"
"What’s your name, and how old are you?"
Seeing this, the young wife’s face immediately darkened.
She glowered as she barged into the crowd, eliciting displeasure from those she jostled, "Hey? What are you doing, why are you pushing!"
Without pushing, she really couldn’t get through!
She burst in, grabbed Haoming by the wrist, and then pulled him out of the crowd.
Liang Haoming had a cold expression, but his lips quivered in a quick glance at her, looking somewhat timid as if he feared her anger.
She dragged him, head down, charging forward.
After a long while, she paused and suddenly turned back, gazing at him expressionlessly.
Feeling suddenly guilty for no apparent reason, he shrunk his neck and blurted out subconsciously, "I didn’t touch!"
He hadn’t touched them, he really hadn’t, not even a strand of hair, otherwise he wouldn’t have been like a wooden stake, surrounded by those women in the middle.