The elm stick is easier to say, but the main difficulty lies in the ivory.

The Celestial Dynasty's love for ivory products can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. Archaeologists once discovered an ivory product named "Two Birds Chaoyang" at the Hemudu Cultural Site of the Neolithic Age.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, ivory is still a very valuable treasure, and only the truly rich and powerful nobles have the qualifications and strength to collect it.

Wu Liang could imagine how difficult it would be to find ivory in an inaccessible place like Yuanquan.

If it were a trading center on the Silk Road like Dunhuang or Shanshan, there might still be some hope, but even if he could find it, the cost would probably be a figure he couldn't afford now, and this time he went out for

To avoid revealing his wealth and being in danger, Wu Liang only brought a small amount of gold to prepare for emergencies.

Thinking of this, Wu Liang was stumped again.

So he still threw this problem to Ngawang with the mentality of "taking care of a dead horse": "Uncle Ngawang, although I promise you to try your best, it is difficult for a clever woman to make a meal without rice. If you want to completely solve the problem of underworld.

The 'monster' in the lake needs to use elm sticks and ivory to make magic weapons, otherwise there is nothing I can do."

In fact, he didn't have much hope for Awang.

If he couldn't find ivory here, he had to put the matter aside for the time being and lead the Hu army to move forward. First, he went to Shanshan Kingdom to look for the Tomb of the Sun where Fang Qiong had been.

If you are lucky, you might have a chance to get these materials when passing through Dunhuang and Shanshan Kingdom. Then you will have to wait until you return to verify the magical method of "Hu Zhuo Clan" to expel "worms".

And if the materials are not obtained in Dunhuang and Shanshan, then... I will definitely do it next time.

As a result, I had just finished speaking.

When Wu Liang was mentally prepared to say goodbye to Ngawang, Kabul and others with apologies, Ngawang unexpectedly asked: "Sir, can I just ask for elm sticks and ivory?"

"Um?"

Wu Liang was stunned and looked at Awang subconsciously, "Uncle Awang, can you find me?"

"There are two elm trees in Zhuangzi that I planted myself. As for the ivory..."

Awang nodded and said, "Two years ago, a merchant was robbed and fled to Yuanquan in a carriage. At that time, he was seriously injured. Although I tried my best to treat him, I still couldn't save his life.

Before he died, he gave me the goods in the carriage, just asking me to let him bury him in peace. Among these goods, there happened to be a few ivory tusks, which are now hung on the wall of my house as decoration.

If you can use it, Master, feel free to take it."

"this……"

Isn't this a coincidence?

At this moment, Wu Liang even felt that he met the Kabul family in Yumen, met Awang in Yuanquan, and happened to meet the residents here suffering from "fox confusion".

There is providence.

Especially this ivory.

It can be said that there is no place to be found after wearing iron shoes, and it takes no effort to get it, as if it was arranged by God.

"Uncle Awang, don't you know that this ivory is a valuable and rare thing?"

Wu Liang couldn't help but ask.

Awang showed a smile as ordinary as a millionaire, and said with a smile as if he had seen through the world: "How could you not know, but look at my village, now I want fields and livestock, and I don't have to worry about food on weekdays.

Chouhe, wars are rarely involved here, and the tribesmen take good care of me. I feel that I have lived a prosperous and happy life. Therefore, no matter how valuable and rare this ivory is, it is still a dead thing that cannot be eaten or drunk.

As far as I'm concerned, it's just a bone."

Versailles!

This guy understood the essence of Versailles literature, and although he spoke in a rather humble manner, to Wu Liang's ears it sounded like he was showing off!

However... you have contracted the "fox confusion" and may not be around for long.

Thinking of this, Wu Liang finally forgave Awang for showing off his wealth in front of him, nodded and said: "In this case, I won't be polite to Uncle Awang, please donate those ivories to Uncle Awang."

Come out, and after I make some preparations, how about we go to Mingze and try to solve the 'mysterious' disaster?"

"Very good."

Awang nodded generously.

…

Half an hour later.

Wu Liang's magical weapon has been successfully produced.

Completely in accordance with the records in "Zhou Li", two ivory crosses were pierced through one end of the elm stick. This shape looks like a common TV antenna erected on the roof in the 1980s and 1990s.

As for the process of throwing hot stones into the water to scare away the "worms", Wu Liang chose to ignore it.

He planned to use the sound of the mysterious little drum to drive away the "worms". He just had to ensure that he would not be attacked by the "worms" when he threw the "magic weapon" into Mingze.

After being prepared in this way, Wu Liang set out for Mingze with Awang and others.

There were only four people on this trip. Apart from Wu Liang and Dian Wei, only Awang and Kabul were traveling together.

After all, this is not something that can be solved with more people. One more person might bring more risks, so Wu Liang thought it was best to keep everything simple.

…

Yuanquan is not that far from Mingze.

However, there is an ancient Great Wall separating the two.

Yuanquan is on the south side of the ancient Great Wall, while Mingze is on the north side of the ancient Great Wall.

If it were placed in the Qin Dynasty, this ancient Great Wall would still be garrisoned by soldiers and horses. It would undoubtedly be an insurmountable chasm that could only be seen even if it was close at hand.

However, after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty expelled the Xiongnu, the entire Liangzhou became the administrative region of the Han Dynasty. This ancient Great Wall gradually lost its original role. It was no longer stationed or maintained, and gradually began to deteriorate.

When Wu Liang and others went to Mingze, they passed through a large gap in the middle of the ancient Great Wall.

I don’t know whether this gap was caused during the previous war, or whether it was destroyed privately by the people of Yuanquan later to facilitate the connection to Mingze. In short, the ground has become a small road, which is exactly what Lu Xun said, "There are too many people walking.

And it became a road.”

And we just walked out of this big gap.

A rather magnificent lake appeared in front of Wu Liang and others.

The Great Wall was built on the mountains, and Mingze was just under the mountains. From where Wu Liang and others stood, they could have a panoramic view of the entire Mingze.

This is indeed a large inland lake as Wu Liang knew.

There are also a large number of water birds gathering together in the lake, sometimes taking off and circling, sometimes floating comfortably on the water, forming a beautiful picture of water and sky.

At least judging from this situation, it is difficult to imagine that there is such a terrible and harmful insect as "worm" hidden in this lake.

If a colleague from Kabul hadn't arrived at Yuanquan first and learned about the dangers here through Ngawang's mouth, Wu Liang might have had to camp at the edge of Mingze for a few days to rest and recuperate when he led the Hu army.

Once you wash away the dust from your body, you will probably be attacked inexplicably.

"This is Mingze. My tribe and I come here to bathe. We usually stay on the south bank here. If we want to reach the north bank, we have to take a long detour."

A Wang is undoubtedly a qualified guide. While Wu Liang stopped to look around, he introduced the situation in a timely manner.

"When you were bathing, which area were you in?"

Wu Liang turned around and asked.

"That stone formation."

Awang raised his hand and pointed to a stone formation not far away, and said carefully, "Aside from those huge rocks, there are mostly hard but round pebbles on the ground, which are not easy to scratch the soles of the feet, and the water is not deep.

, the tribesmen usually have an agreement that the men will bathe on the left side of the middle boulder with strange patterns carved on it, and the women will bathe on the right side of the boulder, so that conflicts can be avoided."

"Strange pattern?"

Wu Liang was surprised. Since Awang said it was a strange pattern, he probably couldn't understand the content of the pattern. In other words, these patterns were definitely not carved by Awang and his tribe, and they had nothing to do with the Yuezhi people.

.

Thinking like this, Wu Liang asked again: "Uncle Awang, do you know when those patterns appeared?"

"I don't know."

Awang shook his head and said, "As far as I know, our tribe has lived here for hundreds of years. It seems that the strange patterns on the boulders existed before that, but our ancestors never said

No one has ever thought about the origin of those patterns, but no one has cared about the origins of the patterns.”

"I see. Let's go down and take a look first."

Wu Liang nodded slightly, but he already had a strong interest in those patterns.

Since those patterns existed before the arrival of the Yuezhi people, they are likely to be traces left by an older civilization, and this is what Wu Liang has been pursuing.

…

Soon after, Wu Liang and others had arrived at the foot of the mountain along the path.

"Dong-dong-dong! Dong-dong-dong!..."

When approaching Mingze, Wu Liang beat the mysterious small drum on his waist in advance, and while beating the drum continuously, he walked towards the huge rock that Awang had pointed to before.

The water in Mingze is extremely clear, especially the water near the boulders is shallower, and you can see the bottom of the water at a glance.

In this way, as he slowly approached, Wu Liang could vaguely see some dark things under the water in the distance quietly retracting deeper and further into the middle of the lake. He didn't know if they were "worms" or not.
To be continued...