Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The first thing Jiang Yuan did when she got home was look for chalk. At daybreak, the servants who had received her order immediately went to the East Market. Jiang Yuan herself thought it over for a long time before having someone draw a Half-Flower on the wall. Following her repeated instructions, they added more than a dozen heavy triangular strokes inside the flower, making it huge and conspicuous.

Who knew whether this signal could call Abal over, or whether he would understand that she wanted him here for serious business. Serious business, emphasized three times. Back then, she really should have agreed on a more proper emergency signal with Abal, Jiang Yuan thought. Still, by now Old Yijin had probably been stunned senseless by the gold and the One-winged Golden Eagle. Whatever the case, the urgent message should have been delivered clearly enough.

Jiang Yuan, meanwhile, forced herself to stay calm and pretended everything was as usual, handling her work step by step. She did indeed have plenty of odds and ends to take care of. After making arrangements at home, she went to the workshop and focused on inspecting the papermaking. About ten days later, in the afternoon, Abal knocked on the door of the papermaking workshop.

He really did know every place there was to know. As a bandit chief, his intelligence network was impressively competent. He was travel-worn, his face covered in dust, his white robe nearly turned black. Night and another horse he had used as relay mounts were filthy with dust as well, panting hard and drenched in sweat. It seemed he had indeed kept his promise: he had come as fast as possible, though that speed was, admittedly, worlds apart from what modern people understood as fast.

The first thing Jiang Yuan said when she saw him was, “I found the eagle.”

Abal gave a low laugh. “I know. You really know how to pick your timing. When I got the message, I was climbing off a woman.”

She had to admit, hearing that made her breathe easier. Abal noticed, and his smile carried a trace of mockery. Clearly, he still held a grudge over her stringing him along for half a year, though he did not make much of a show of it. He asked for water and bathed first. Meat, flatbread, and fresh water were set beside the wooden tub so he could eat while washing.

The water had to be changed three times before it ran clean. Compared with Abal’s usual style, it was enough to inspire a sigh. Only when he sat down beside Jiang Yuan, gnawing on a fresh green apple, his hair still wet and droplets still running down his neck, and unceremoniously snatched her rice bowl away, did Jiang Yuan tell him exactly what she had seen at Lady Fatini’s place.

Abal judged at once, “It was Huasan.”

Jiang Yuan had a small room of her own here too. It was a little smaller than the one at home, but still comfortable, with a large windowsill, a simple bed, and soft bedding. Come to think of it, this was the only place Abal could come; the maidservants at her city residence recognized him. Night had fallen. He sat on the windowsill with one leg propped up, casually grabbing food from the bowl she had eaten from.

“The things the Devil eats always taste this strange,” he mocked.

Of course Jiang Yuan gave herself special meals, food stir-fried in an iron wok specially ordered from Baghdad and brought all this way. To outsiders, she claimed it was a flavor taught to her by her mother. Eating it meant she was missing her late mother. Naturally, there was nothing strange about missing one’s late mother seven or eight times a week.

Jiang Yuan ignored him. She could tell what old score that mockery was settling. Abal continued, “I chased Huasan for a long time. The last news I heard of him said he escaped with a caravan to Kievan Rus.” A cold smile appeared on his face. “If he had that kind of nerve, would he need to run?”

Kievan Rus was in the area of present-day Russia. If he only wanted to avoid two wolfish brothers, hiding east of Persia or north of Azerbaijan would have been enough. He would not even have needed to leave the country. Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and said, “Lady Fatini’s caravans go to Kievan Rus.”

Abal nodded, then grinned, the expression as vicious as a wolf’s.

“I’ve already confirmed his whereabouts. He loves comfort too much to run far,” he said. “He’s hiding in Taif. I’m sleeping first.”

Before Jiang Yuan could react, he had deftly snatched the cloth towel she had just used to wipe her mouth, flipped it over to find a clean spot, and wiped his hands and face. After that, he stripped off his clothes as he nimbly leaped into the room, climbed onto her bed, placed his sheathed knife beside the pillow, lay down, and closed his eyes. Within a few minutes, soft snores rose from the bed.

Jiang Yuan stood amid a floor strewn with robes and headcloths, glaring at him. Rather than glaring at him, it would be more accurate to say she was glaring at the water droplets he had not wiped dry, now running from his dark curls and soaking into her pillow. She only had two duck-down pillows. Did he have any idea how troublesome it was to collect duck down in this era?!

This revenge was truly petty. When she first met the bandit chief of the Blood Eagle, Jiang Yuan had never dreamed things would turn out like this. She had not eaten her fill, so she had no choice but to go out and find something else to eat, then sleep in the guest room originally prepared for Abal. Rattan pillows were common in Arabia, and pillows woven from Egyptian papyrus were also famous. They were very cool to sleep on in summer. The dry, hot wind blew past the vine trellis outside the window, gathering a little coolness and a faintly astringent fragrance as it came in. Jiang Yuan leaned against the pillow, listened to its distinctive rustling, thought through the process of making another duck-down pillow, and fell asleep.

She was woken at dawn. A finger poked her shoulder, and a pair of azure eyes looked down at her. Abal looked full of energy, and he was clearly in the mood to torment her. He said, “The Devil’s pillow is as strange as the Devil. There was even cloth over the pillow. It made me sweat all night.”

Good. It was supposed to make you sweat. How could there be someone like this? If he could not sleep well, he would not let her sleep well either. Jiang Yuan was also very puzzled. Last night, when she had furiously hauled up his head to put a cloth under his neck, fully prepared to get into a fight with him, he had not woken up. He had even taken her for one of the women he was usually around, wrapped an arm around her waist, and let his hand slide naturally between her legs.
Jiang Yuan really wanted to kick him out of bed. The pillow was ruined after all.

Abal watched her expression, and the mocking smile on his face gradually took on a strange edge. “Or,” he drawled, “did you do something to me while I was asleep?”

“Yes,” Jiang Yuan admitted. “While you were asleep, I picked up your knife and slaughtered you so I could take your head to Governor Fashir in Egypt and collect the bounty.”

“Excellent idea.” He arched a brow and shot back, “Too bad you don’t know how to kill.”

After Jiang Yuan told Abal that she had agreed to take her attendant to visit Lady Fatini’s house, the look he gave her could only be described as maliciously mocking. Considering that, no matter how one looked at it, she did not have a dick, Jiang Yuan endured it. “Lady Fatini is quite beautiful.” After thinking for a moment, she corrected herself. “Very beautiful. With an excellent figure. I think the two of you would be well matched.”

Abal eyed her with a smile that was not quite a smile. “I knew that Half-Flower was up to no good. A triangle drawn inside a Half-Flower – you really went to great lengths, Jia Nan. I gave you so many gifts, and here you are trying to push me onto another woman.”

I paid for those gifts, thank you. Jiang Yuan said nothing. Although she felt she had done nothing wrong, and Abal had indeed given up later and spent the night with another woman, for some reason, she still felt as though she was in the wrong. She thought it was probably because she was too kindhearted.

In any case, their visit to Lady Fatini’s residence would have to wait until Abal confirmed Huasan’s whereabouts. After that, there was nothing for Jiang Yuan to do. Once the area was narrowed down, the bandit chief was perfectly capable of mobilizing every snake, insect, rat, and ant in the entire city to turn over every gutter in Taif in search of his prey. He did not return to the city with Jiang Yuan, instead leaving early and coming back late for several days. Once Jiang Yuan had come up with an excuse to smooth over why he had stolen the clothes and pacified the maidservants, Abal came calling again.

This time, he played the role of a handsome prodigal son who had suddenly come to his senses, arriving to apologize for his past mistakes and bringing a great many valuable gifts – which, of course, Jiang Yuan had paid for. Because he truly was handsome and charming, the maidservants accepted the beautiful jewelry and once again looked at him shyly, striking up conversation with him. Abal put on a black robe properly, wound on his headwrap, and fastened a curved saber at his waist. Standing behind Jiang Yuan, he looked tall, vigorous, and exceptionally dashing. To atone for his sins, this foreigner hoped to serve as her attendant for a few days, and Jiang Yuan agreed.

Jiang Yuan noticed that his jeweled ring was gone. It had practically been his signature, setting off his striking face and making him all the more memorable. She understood at once. Abal then said nonchalantly, “Exactly. Once I take off the jeweled ring and leave Night and Moonlight behind, people have a hard time recognizing me as Abal.”

Jiang Yuan had never asked Abal what he planned to do in the future. Banditry was naturally not a lifelong trade. When they were together, they had never had this kind of identity or opportunity to look ahead to their own futures. Jiang Yuan herself was still a little lost, unsure whether she was meant to keep living the rest of her life disguised as a man. Adnan was getting old. After he passed away, perhaps she would pack her things and go look for Li Jie-or for Great Tang. Even so, there was not a single place in this world that was her home. Abal sat beside her, looking far more certain than she was. The two of them sat together beneath the grape arbor, gazing at the clear moonlight. The stone wall blocked their view; it was nothing like the great desert they had once crossed, where moonlight shone for a thousand miles.

Propping his cheek on one hand, Abal said, “Once I deal with Huasan and Fashir, I can give my people new identities.” He turned his head to look at Jiang Yuan, a wicked smile appearing on his face. “Don’t you want to know what I plan to do afterward?”

“No,” Jiang Yuan said. She had no interest in learning the bandit chief’s secret plans for changing his name and starting over. Abal snorted. “You’re still as boring as ever. I’ve never met a woman with as little curiosity and desire as you.”

His words seemed to carry some hidden meaning.

“Being boring is one of the secrets to living a long life,” Jiang Yuan replied.

Last time, he had forced her to listen to him talk about Faisal. This time, however, he did not continue. Instead, he changed the subject. “Lady Fatini really is quite beautiful, but unfortunately, she’s too old for my tastes,” he said. “Give me a thousand gold coins, and after I take care of Huasan, I’ll help you deal with her.” He had already figured out Huasan’s regular movements. Within the next day or two, he could kill the man. After that, he could focus on dealing with Fashir, who was far away in Egypt.

Jiang Yuan very much wanted to say, Aren’t I older than you too? But reason made her hold her tongue. She nodded.

Abal smiled in triumph. In that moment, he looked just like he had when they first met, sitting among a pile of jewels-bloodthirsty, dangerous, and arrogant.

He said, “Then we have a deal.”

The backlog is gone.

All right, I think tomorrow’s Friday update will probably have to wait until evening.

It might even not happen, and I may have to update together on Saturday…

And Saturday will probably be very late too, because I still have to work overtime for a whole day…

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

A little spoiler: Abal was lying to Yuan Yuan when he said he had just climbed off a woman.

He would rather die than admit defeat.

Thank you to the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets!

Thank you to the little angel who sent [Land Mine]: & Bai Xiaobai, 1.

Thank you to the little angels who watered me with nutrient solution!

Thank you to the little angel who watered nutrient solution: Shuzijun, 20 bottles.

Thank you all so much for your support. I will keep working hard! ^_^