The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 205: Ghost Mother Beach (asking for monthly ticket)
The capital of the Kingdom of Kucha was called Yiluolu. There was only this one city in the entire country, and the rest were just small towns and villages.

The city is not very big, being built of earth and stone, but it has everything you need. It is not like the yellow sand tones commonly seen in the Western Regions, but is painted in distinct colors, many of which are very bright.

At this moment, the Uighur Mingjiao guide was whispering to everyone not to chat with the women on the roadside, and not to respond if they spoke.

Everyone was dazzled by what they saw, and Wu Xiong asked casually, "What will happen if we respond?"

The guide sent by the Huihu Mingjiao was a skinny old man in his fifties or sixties. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "When you chat with them and they take the initiative to talk, and you can't help but interrupt them, they will mistakenly think that they are interested in you and want to invite you to live in their home. If you don't comply, they will report you to the authorities and they will abduct you."

Wu Xiong laughed and said, "That's perfect. I've been single for half my life, and I haven't found a wife because I'm shy. Now I can get married just by saying yes. Isn't that a good thing?"

The old guide smiled and shook his head, and said in a clumsy Song dialect: "Brother Shangbang, although you look strong, you are not here to marry a wife, but someone else is marrying you."

Wu Xiong was surprised and asked, "Marry me? How can a woman marry a man? Although I don't live in the Western Regions, I have seen a lot, but I have never heard of such a thing."

The old man said, "There is no such saying in Kucha. Men marry women, but men from outside are called that. And the sisters in the family will serve this man. I'm afraid that even if you are strong, you won't be able to handle it. It won't be up to you to decide then."

Wu Xiong patted his chest and said, "I am afraid of this. The more the better."

The old man smiled and said, "There are more women than men in this country. Most women are officials and many men work at home every day, just to have children and not do anything else. After a long time, even the strongest man can't stand it."

Wu Xiong blinked his eyes, took a breath and said nothing. Jiumozhi then clasped his hands and said, "I have heard of the customs here. The locals are fine, but foreign men must be careful."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Be careful and don't talk carelessly. If you are caught, I won't care about you. Just stay here and be my son-in-law."

Everyone burst into laughter. At this moment, a group of women suddenly came in front of them. They were dressed in bright clothes, with scarves half covering their faces, and stopped everyone.

Huo Linglong looked towards Zhao Ti and wanted to go up to him to ask what was going on, but then she saw the group of women suddenly start dancing, occupying the entire street and preventing anyone from passing.

The old guide hurriedly whispered, "You can look, but don't speak after you're done. This is a female official from the Kucha Palace. Seeing that we are outsiders, she deliberately seduced us. If anyone speaks, she will be taken away and sent to the palace."

Everyone was surprised and quickly shut up. After a while, the group of women finished dancing. A middle-aged woman who seemed to be the leader came forward and spoke in the Kucha language. Everyone was silent. She thought for a moment and then switched to the Song language.

The area of Kucha has had frequent exchanges with the Central Plains dynasties since ancient times. After the Tang Dynasty established the Anxi Protectorate, the Central Plains language became one of the official languages and was passed down.

In addition, Kucha also speaks Sanskrit. Many eminent monks have come to Kucha, stayed here and translated scriptures. The famous Buddhist master, the eminent monk Kumarajiva, was from Kucha.

His father was an Indian nobleman and also a monk. He later went to Kucha to spread Buddhism. He was then noticed by the sister of the king at that time, who kept him there and gave birth to Kumarajiva.

Then the middle-aged woman said, "Are you distinguished guests coming from the Song Dynasty in the Central Plains?"

Everyone remembered the old man's guidance and kept silent, for fear that they would be dragged into the palace to become the concubines of Princess Kucha and lose their freedom.

Seeing that no one spoke, the female official couldn't help but let out a bitter smile: "I know what you are worried about. Please rest assured, we stopped you from dancing not because we want to marry you into our family, but because we have something else to discuss with you."

They are all veterans. They look at each other, but still remain silent.

The female official continued, "It is true that my country has encountered an emergency, and I am asking for help everywhere. That is why I disturbed you all. It is not what you think."

At this time, Zhao Ti nodded slightly, and Huo Linglong said to the female official: "Look carefully, I am a woman, I am talking to you, you can't pull me away."

The female official asked hurriedly, "How could this be? You are all from the Middle Earth?"

Huo Linglong nodded. Judging from the hairstyle and clothes of the group of people, they were from the Song Dynasty and were not likely to lie.

The female official said: "Many of you are holding weapons, so you must have martial arts skills. My Kucha royal family is in trouble right now and is seeking help everywhere. I hope you can lend a hand and help us. The Kucha Kingdom will be grateful."

"You're in big trouble and you're looking for help?" Huo Linglong looked puzzled. "You have soldiers in your country, why do you need to seek help from outside when you encounter trouble?"

The female official said, "Your Excellency may know that our country has more women than men, and our army has only a few thousand soldiers. We have always relied on the Uighur Qingtang for survival."

The old guide whispered, "Kucha does have few soldiers. It is not like the ancient times. There are only about one or two thousand people."

Huo Linglong said: "If that's the case, why don't you go find the Hu Qingtang? Why are you still begging on the street? Besides, your country has one or two thousand soldiers, but they are useless. How can we help?"

The female official shook her head and said, "We have sent people from all over the place to invite them, but we are afraid that we will not be able to do it in time, so we have to go out of the palace to look for them. Our army is ordinary, and most of them are women. They don't have any martial arts skills, let alone masters, so we have to go out to look for them."

Huo Linglong sneered: "Are we experts?"

The female official's eyes lit up when she heard this and she said, "Our country has always received merchants from all over the world. Those who come from far away usually have martial arts skills. It is rare to see so many distinguished guests. It is impossible to say that they have no martial arts skills."

Huo Linglong snorted when she heard that, and said nothing more, looking at Zhao Ti.

Zhao Ti thought for a moment and said, "Ask her what happened in Qiuci and how she can help."

Huo Linglong spoke again: "What happened in your country? How can you help us?"

The female official realized that Zhao Ti was the one in charge, so she bowed and said, "Well... please discuss this somewhere else."

Huo Linglong said: "How do we know whether what you said is true or false, and whether you are trying to trick him into becoming a... live-in son-in-law?"

The female official said, "Don't worry, everyone. A notice was posted in the city yesterday. You will know at a glance that this is not a sudden plan to deceive our distinguished guests."

Huo Linglong asked, "Where is the notice?"

The female official said, "Please follow me. It is on the wall of the guest house in front."

A guesthouse is an inn, and in the Western Regions it is also called a dishe.

Everyone followed to the front and saw that there were indeed several notices on the long wall, written in Song, Uighur, Tibetan and Khitan languages, and it seemed that they were not just posted.

The notice stated that the Kingdom of Kucha was seeking help from a passing expert, and the royal family offered a generous reward of gold, jewelry, etc., but it did not specify what the matter was.

Huo Linglong asked, "What kind of trouble did you encounter in Qiuci? It doesn't look like a war, so why are you asking for help on the streets? Aren't you afraid of disturbing the people?"

The female official shook her head and said, "Your Excellency, you don't know. Our country doesn't have so many sayings. We are not as powerful as in ancient times. When we encounter problems, we can only ask for help. The people are used to it and don't care."

Zhao Ti turned his eyes away from the notice and asked, "What's the matter?" The female official said, "You may talk in the guest house."

This guesthouse belongs to the Kingdom of Kucha. All places related to traveling merchants in the city are basically built by Kucha itself and belong to the royal family. Kucha has been an important trading place in the Western Regions since ancient times and has always been famous.

When they arrived at the lobby of the guest house, the door was not closed. The female official looked around and said bitterly, "To be honest, our princess was taken away by a monk."

"Princess?" Huo Linglong wondered.

The old guide couldn't help but ask: "Isn't your princess the Queen of Kucha?"

The female official nodded: "That's right. The princess has been on the throne for a short time, and people in the palace still call her that. It's easy to call her, and it's hard to correct it for the time being."

"He was taken away by a monk..." Huo Linglong couldn't help but look at Jiumozhi.

Jiumozhi looked at his nose with his eyes, looked at his mouth with his nose, and looked at his heart with his mouth. He put his palms together and said, "Amitabha, what are you looking at me for, Mr. Huo?"

Huo Linglong snorted, and then said, "Your princess eloped with a monk, so you should look for the monk. Sending soldiers to chase after her, what help can passers-by get? Besides, family disgrace should not be made public, so how can you let us know about it?"

The female official sighed and said, "My dear guest, you don't know that in our country... In fact, such things have always happened since ancient times, but this time is different."

"It has always happened since ancient times?" Huo Linglong blinked her eyes. "Is it always with monks? What's different this time?"

The female official said awkwardly, "It is indeed mostly related to domestic or foreign monks. This time it is because the princess has been the only daughter for three generations and now she has left without giving birth to any children. This is really worrying."

Zhao Ti said, "Can you catch up with her? Or do you know where she went? If she doesn't want to come back, can you still tie her up and return?"

The female official said, "What the distinguished guest said is true. We do know where the princess and the monk went, and the queen has ordered that the princess must be brought back even if they have to be tied up. Because the monk is strange and took the princess to a bad place, it is better to say that we rescued the princess rather than kidnapped her."

"Oh?" Zhao Ti smiled and said, "Tell me in detail."

The female official nodded and began to narrate.

After a while, everyone had roughly understood that the fact that the Princess of Kucha eloped without leaving any offspring was indeed the reason why the royal family wanted to pursue her.

But a more important reason was that the monk named Youlou had no known origins and led the Princess of Kucha into a dangerous place. No one knew what he was going to do and it didn't seem like he wanted to live with the other person.

Zhao Ti pondered and said, "That monk is not from your country, and we don't know where he came from. But he is a man of great talent and well versed in scriptures and teachings."

"That's right..." The female official said, "The princess once said that the Mingwang Jiumozhi of the Great Wheel Temple in the Great Snow Mountain is probably no more than that."

Jiumozhi raised his eyebrows and said, "Namo Amitabha."

Huo Linglong asked, "Why does the master often change the Buddha's name?"

Jiumozhi said: "What does it have to do with the donor?"

Huo Linglong sneered: "Master, I think you regret not coming to Kucha earlier, right?"

Jiumozhi's expression did not change: "Shariputra, color is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from color, color is emptiness, emptiness is color, feeling, thought, action and consciousness are also like this..."

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and said, "Monk, have you ever heard of the monk named You Lou?"

Jiumozhi shook his head: "Never heard of it."

Zhao Ti thought, "This shouldn't be the case. Since Buddhism is so profound, it should be well-known in the Western Regions. Even monks from India should be famous here."

Jiumozhi said: "Donor, let alone the eminent monks, I know almost all the monks with some fame, from Tianshan in the north to India in the south. There is no such person in the Western Regions, so it is possible that he is a monk from the Central Plains."

Zhao Ti shook his head: "You know I am familiar with the various sects of the Central Plains temples. The monks in the Central Plains are ranked according to their seniority, so there is no such Dharma title. Moreover, Kucha has been known as a Buddhist country since ancient times. The Princess of Kucha must be familiar with the Buddhist scriptures. This monk must have some Dharma knowledge, but his origin is suspicious."

The female official said, "That monk was strange. He did not tell the story. Unlike the foreign monks in the past, who would always talk about their origins, he kept silent about it. However, he deceived the princess and secretly took her away. Fortunately, we found him early. Many soldiers chased him and found that he had taken the princess to a bad place."

"What a bad place it is?" Zhao Ti asked.

"There is a place in the southwest of our country called Guimu Beach, on the bank of Heizhou at the foot of Youshan Mountain. It has always been strange and mysterious, with few people going in and out. It is rumored that ghosts live there. Merchants traveling back and forth avoid it, and the common people in the country dare not go there either." said the female official.

"Oh?" Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the old guide of the Uighur Mingjiao.

"Ghost Mother Beach..." the old man said, "Master, I have heard of this place in Gaochang. It is indeed an evil land. It is rumored to be the place where the ancient ghost mother is buried. It is not like the green oasis and yellow sand outside. All colors are dark. It is said that the sand is black. There are ghosts hiding there that eat people and animals. People stay away from it."

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, then looked at the female official and said, "Isn't your queen suspicious that the monk Youlou came from here?"

The female official's expression changed, and she nodded, saying, "Your Excellency is very knowledgeable. The Queen suspected that the monk was a ghost from the Ghost Mother Beach, who had bewitched the princess and brought her back to the beach. I wonder what evil things he is going to do."

Zhao Ti asked, "Didn't the soldiers chase into Guimu Beach?"

The female official said, "To be honest, my dear guest, we relied on our numbers and killed nearly a thousand people, but only seven or eight hundred came out. They said that the light inside was dim, there were strange noises and it was difficult to find the way, so they didn't dare to go deeper. In the end, they found nothing and fled in panic. The whereabouts of the remaining one or two hundred people are unknown."

Zhao Ti shook his head and said, "This kind of thing is so bizarre and full of dangers. It's not easy to help casually. The reward your country offers is too low."

The female official said, "The rewards listed on the list are only for single merchants. With so many distinguished guests waiting, we should thank them twice as much. The queen also promised a Zhuchen Pearl, but if you can save the princess and bring her back safely, this pearl will be used as an additional reward."

The Zhuchen Pearl? Zhao Ti nodded. The Zhuchen Pearl is known as the top of the three great pearls in the Western Regions. It looks like a jade eye dyed with gold. Because its shape resembles the pupil of a phoenix, it is also called the Phoenix Eye. It has always been one of the top tributes from the Western Regions to the Central Plains.

The female official continued, "Your Excellency, do not worry that Kucha will not keep its word. Kucha has been a merchant country since ancient times. If it does not keep its word, how can it survive? We have already sent people to seek help from all directions. We will definitely not cover up the news or deny it."

Zhao Ti asked: "How many merchants are coming to help now?"

The female officer said, "There are already more than a dozen teams, about a hundred people, who have passed through Guimu Beach."

Zhao Ti smiled and said, "After we eat, you can lead the way and see what kind of place it is."

(End of this chapter)