The next morning, Li Zhen and the other four arrived at Gaochang City on horseback. Gaochang City belonged to the Xizhou of the Tang Dynasty. After the foreign army occupied the towns in Anxi, Gaochang City was the only city preserved by the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions.

It was under the repeated begging of the governor of Xizhou Tang Xiujing that Wu Zetian resolutely decided to recover Anxi. Three years ago, Wu Zetian ordered Wang Xiaojie as the main general and led a large army to attack Anxi and recovered the four towns of Anxi from the Tubo people.

Like Dunhuang City, Gaochang City is also a must-pass place on the Silk Road. Its commerce is prosperous and all ethnic groups live in harmony in this Western Regions city. Compared with Dunhuang City, Gaochang City has fewer Han people and is more exotic.

Gaochang is Turpan in later generations. It is not only prosperous in commercial business, but also has a very developed winemaking industry. The unique climatic conditions and high-quality raw materials make it the largest production place of Datang wine. Every year, hundreds of thousands of barrels of Gaochang wine are continuously transported to Chang'an and Luoyang along the Silk Road.

Secondly, Gaochang also planted cotton from the West and weaved a unique product of Gaochang - white stacked cloth, which is very popular among high-ranking officials and nobles in the Central Plains.

Li Zhen and the other two entered the North City Gate, and the exotic style came to their faces. Most of the houses here were flat-topped mud houses, which were built very densely, making the entire city appear a grayish-white tone.

There were not many Han people on the street, but were mainly Hu people of all ethnic groups. There were vendors and shops selling various goods everywhere. One winery next to another made the streets have a strong aroma of wine scent.

"A Zhen!"

Kang Dazhuang urged his horse to come from behind and said to Li Zhen: "I have inquired just now. Uncle Ban's caravan has not arrived yet, so I guess it is still behind us."

"Will something happen?" Xiaoxi asked worriedly, the sandstorm that day left an indelible impression on him.

"It shouldn't be. Camels can withstand sandstorms. They all have experience and nothing will happen."

Li Zhen nodded, "Let's find a place to stay first and wait for their news."

At this time, Jiuzhi asked in a low voice: "Lao Kang, where are the Tochar Trading Company you mentioned?"

“That’s there!”

Kang Dazhuang pointed to a shop not far away. The signboard of the shop was also white and old, with blurred handwriting on it. It can be seen that this shop has been a bit old. Looking at the goods at the door, it seems to be a fur shop.

"Dazhuang, is this store reliable?" Xiaoxi asked a little worriedly.

"It should be reliable. This store has been here for twenty years. The owner is a very kind old Tocharian man. He is kind and generous, likes to help others. He has a very good reputation. I met him three years ago."

Kang Dazhuang turned around and asked Li Zhen, "Will we go?"

Li Zhen thought about it and of course he had to ask, but he couldn't be too reckless, he had to be a little more implicit. Seeing a restaurant not far away, he smiled and said, "I'll just go and ask. Lao Pang and Xiaoxi go to the restaurant to order food, and we'll be back soon."

Jiuzhi reminded him a little worriedly: "Old Li, don't take out that thing! If it's really a treasure like Heshi Bi, they have the intention to see money and have bad intentions..."

"Okay! OK!"

Li Zhen was also overstated by him, "Go to the restaurant quickly! Order a few more dishes and ask for two pots of good wine, so you can eat it first."

Jiu Zhi smiled and took Xiaoxi away. Li Zhenze and Kang Dazhuang went to the Tochari Trading Company on the other side of the street.

When he walked into the shop, the shop was covered with all kinds of furs, but he did not see the so-called kind old man. Kang Dazhuang asked loudly: "Uncle Dorry, are you here?"

At this time, a young man walked out of it with deep eyes and thick eyebrows, dark skin, and a typical Tocharian appearance. He asked in fluent Chinese: "What's wrong with you?"

"Is Uncle Dorry here?"

"The owner has something to do when he goes out and has not been here for the past few days. I am his friend. Now I am the shop for him for the time being. Can I help you with anything?"

Li Zhen and Kang Dali looked at each other and found out that the owner was not there. Li Zhen knew that the old monk must be related to the store, otherwise he would not have left the parchment piece with the store name with it. He was also telling the person who found him that he could go to find the store.

But Li Zhen didn't want to say the old monk easily. He pondered for a while, took out a piece of paper copied in advance and handed it to the young guy, "Can you translate the Tocharian place name on it for us?"

The guy took the paper and looked at it, and said to the two: "This is the name of a temple, called Xiao Adu Temple, located in Ayan City. This temple has thousands of monks and is one of the three major temples in Tochar."

"Thank you!"

Li Zhen turned around and walked to the door of the store. He stopped and turned around and asked, "Does this temple treasure any famous items?"

The guy smiled: "The Tocharan temples are all rich, with countless treasures of pricelessness. I don't know what you are referring to?"

Li Zhen remembered the old monk's death, pondered for a while and asked again: "Are there any poisons that have become golden and stiff as a stone after taking them?"

"You ask the right person, and only we know about Gaochang City. You are talking about a famous poison called Tochar, called Sale, also called Chilianjin.

It is actually a snake venom, extracted from the body of a desert venomous snake. The venom is colorless and odorless, and has a long-lasting toxicity. Its biggest feature is that it becomes golden all over, but that it can penetrate directly from the skin and is extremely toxic."

"But the person I met seemed to die after being poisoned for a few days, and it was not very poisonous!"

"That must have been diluted. The real original venom can poison dozens of people in a small drop. This kind of poison is rare and only exists in the area of ​​Ayan City. There is no such thing as this Western Region. Where did you see the poisoned person?"

"I just heard that, and I didn't see it with my own eyes, so I said goodbye."

Li Zhengong bowed and walked out of the shop. The old monk was a monk from Xiao Aduo Temple. Then this copper box should be something from this temple. You can ask through the shop owner, but the shop owner is not here, so you can only wait for this matter for a while.

Just as Li Zhen and the others left, the gang called a little boy and pointed at the backs of them and whispered a few times. The little boy nodded and jumped and followed them.

Li Zhen and Kang Dazhuang came to the restaurant they had made an appointment. Kang Dazhuang was really hungry and went straight into the restaurant. However, Li Zhen stopped for a moment and looked back and felt that someone was following them.

Not far behind him was a group of children playing, and they didn't see the suspicious person. It seemed that he was suspicious. Li Zhen shook his head and walked into the restaurant.

"Old Li, here!"

As soon as I entered the restaurant, I heard Jiuzhi calling him loudly. They were sitting in the innermost part of the lobby. The lobby of the restaurant was very spacious and bright. Unlike the Central Plains, it was not sitting on the ground, but was full of stools, sitting on the stools to drink and eat.

The business in the restaurant was good, and most of the seats were full, and merchants from all over the world spoke different languages.

Li Zhen stepped forward and sat down and smiled, "Why do you sit in the lobby?"

"There is no second floor here, it's all here. There are all Hu benches here, and we also have one in Dunhuang. Are you used to sitting?"

"I'm OK! I've sat there before."

The wine and food were ordered on the table, but there was only one dish. A whole roasted golden lamb was placed on the wooden grid. There was a lot of wine, and each person was filled with a large bowl of thick black wine.

"Why are there only one roasted lamb and other dishes?"

Jiu Zhi said lazily: "I want to eat Dunhuang's sweet and sour mandarin fish, braised boy chicken with oil, and fried three fresh foods, but there is nothing here! Grilled whole lamb, roasted camel, roasted horse meat, and red wine to cook lamb legs, but unfortunately it's sold out."

"That's it, but there are a lot of fruits and vegetables here, why not come a little?"

"I've asked the bartender to buy it, huh!"

Jiuzhi pointed at the door in surprise, "Why did a group of guys with knives come?"

When Li Zhen turned around, he saw more than a dozen Hu men dressed in warriors standing at the door, wearing a triangular hat, black leather armor, five-colored belts, and long swords. A group of people were so murderous. They were negotiating something with the bartender. Li Zhen's face changed. He saw the Tochar guy who was asking about things in the store just now.

The Tochar guy also saw him, pointed at them and shouted, "There's there!"

More than a dozen Hu warriors pushed the bartender away and rushed in. There was a sudden chaos in the diner. Li Zhen kicked the table over, picked up his skin and shouted: "Go through the back door!"

Just as the Hu warrior rushed in, Li Zhen had already seen a small door beside him, and he rushed out of the back door with his three companions.

They were also lucky. Outside the back door was the horse house. Their horses were tied to wooden stakes outside the horse house. Li Zhen's red-blooded BMW was too silly. He specially dyed it, looking like a mottled hairy horse, but it looked a little taller and stronger than other horses.

"Old Li, what happened?" Jiu Zhi is still confused. He didn't eat the whole roasted lamb, but ran around like a fly.

"Get on your horse quickly, let me know later!"

The four of them untied the reins and turned over the horse. At this time, more than a dozen Hu warriors rushed out from the back door and rushed towards them with a sword. Li Zhen drew out his long sword and stabbed more than a dozen swords in a row. Only a few screams were heard, three of them had already been hit by the sword. The rest of the Hu warriors were stunned and were so scared that they retreated one after another.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Li Zhen clamped his horse with his legs, and the war horse ran out of the back door, and the other three people followed him and ran away quickly.

...........

The four of them ran out several miles in one breath and found a secluded place. Jiu Zhi asked anxiously: "Who are they? Why are they chasing us?"

Kang Dazhuang said in a deep voice: "Those people should be famous Tocharian samurai on the Silk Road. They are all cruel and ruthless, with high martial arts skills. They are usually hired by the caravan as guards."

"What?" Jiuzhi was stunned for a moment.

At this time, Li Zhen sighed and said, "I'm afraid things are more complicated than what I expected. Not only the Scarface people are looking for the Tochar monks, but I'm afraid there are others looking for him, and the visitors are not good."

"It's all for that copper box, what's inside?" Jiu Zhi couldn't help but say hatefully.

"Brother Fat, whisper!"

Xiaoxi, who was climbing on a big tree, whispered to them: "I saw that scarface."

Li Zhen was secretly shocked and asked hurriedly: "Where is he?"

Xiaoxi pointed to a wall not far away, meaning behind the wall, the three of them stopped talking, and for a moment, Xiaoxi jumped off the tree.

"They had more than twenty people on horseback and had already walked away."

The three of them looked at Li Zhen. When he made up his mind, Li Zhen pondered for a moment: "Let's find a place to hide first. We are in the dark, they are in the light, and the initiative is in our hands."

Kang Dazhuang said: "I know that an inn run by Sogdians is nearby. Come with me!"
Chapter completed!