Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Jiang Yuan approached the alley step by cautious step. At a time like this, the firelight felt far too dim, nothing like the clear visibility of daylight. Palm trees and the swaying sea breeze carried a salty, fishy tang, casting shadows in the flickering torchlight. Faintly, she could hear a man roaring and begging. A woman was crying, and the violent shoving and arguing joined with the shadows in a hideous tableau, like the bared jaws of a beast. Jiang Yuan leaned against the mouth of the alley and took a look inside.

She was not very familiar with Abdul’s build. After all, the two of them could be considered fierce rivals coveting the same inheritance. Abdul was extremely hostile toward her, and because she was a woman, he looked down on her as well. Jiang Yuan knew this perfectly well, so she had deliberately kept her distance from him. During their days in Baghdad, they had barely crossed paths. The people inside were collecting their spoils, lowering their torches to examine the valuables on the ground and divide them up. Jewels and silk garments were scattered everywhere. Rings, waist chains, jeweled sabers, and coin purses were being picked through and allocated.

“Little Abdul! Skeleton Abdul! Look at those bones of yours, not a shred of muscle on you.” They were noisily mocking the loser too, laughing as they kicked him back and forth. Between seven or eight pairs of boots, the emaciated body of a man could be seen faintly, his mud-stained pale skin rolling in wretched humiliation, exposing every shameful angle of himself and drawing wild laughter from the crowd around him. “Wojidani, this is the old dog you fancied? He looks like a stray that hasn’t had a full meal. I bet he couldn’t even put any strength into lying on top of you!”

The woman called Wojidani was weeping beautifully, tears streaming down her face. “Abdul, I didn’t mean to!” she said. “I… I was afraid of my husband…!”

All she got in return was a burst of laughter. “Once your old mangy dog buys our satisfaction with gold, it’ll be your turn to take the whip!”

This was truly a little difficult. Even Jiang Yuan could not fight eight people at once. Visibility was poor, and she could not see clearly. Although she judged that a few of them were all bluster and no substance, she could not be sure of the exact situation. Besides, men were much stronger than women, blades had no eyes, and a melee in a narrow alley would do her no favors. It was too late to report this to the authorities now. This had clearly been premeditated, and there was not even anyone nearby who could stop it. But she could not simply abandon Abdul and leave. Fortunately, during her time with Abal, she had learned plenty of schemes and dirty tricks.

She casually chopped off a few old palm fronds from the lower part of a palm tree and held them to a torch to set them alight. The stems were long enough to give her time to tie them to the little mule’s tail. She lifted the tail so the leaves could burn properly without touching the mule’s tail itself, then led it to the mouth of the alley and greeted the people inside.

“Pardon the interruption, gentlemen. Abdul Adnan’s gold coins have arrived.”

Jiang Yuan was clearly not the person they had expected. The people inside glanced toward her. “Who are you? Where’s Ghassani?” Then their gazes fell on the conspicuous mule tail in her hand. “Who the fuck are you?”

Jiang Yuan said calmly, “I am Jia Nan Adnan.” A small disturbance immediately ran through the alley. Aside from Abdul’s groans, even Wojidani looked over at her in shock. The firelight happened to fall across Wojidani’s face, and Jiang Yuan quickly swept her eyes over her. Then she was somewhat speechless. This woman really was quite pretty. …But how to put it? Perhaps only another woman could tell at first glance that her face was entirely that of a calculating little green-tea bitch.

This matter might be even more absurd than she had imagined. But the people inside did indeed immediately confirm her identity. “That old man Adnan’s adopted son?” Deep suspicion entered the voice. “Don’t try to fool us. His guard Ghassani already went back to fetch the money. You’re not Ghassani! Who are you? Jia Nan Adnan is still far away in Taif!”

“Unfortunately, I am right here.” Palm leaves burned slowly, but not that slowly. Time was limited, so Jiang Yuan cut straight to the point. “Release my elder brother. No matter what he has done, it is not a reason for you to pin him down in an alley and beat him.” She said, “Otherwise, I’ll let my mule go in and have a proper talk with you.”

The alley was a dead end. Ten people were trapped inside, and although this was only a small mule, it was still an animal that could go mad. The poor little mount had already realized something was wrong. Its tail was thrashing desperately under Jiang Yuan’s hand, trying to break free. If Jiang Yuan had not been holding its reins with a firm posture, conveying her will to it, it would already have been on the verge of frenzy.

The people inside made a last stubborn stand, and in doing so exposed even more information. “You are Adnan’s adopted son, yet you dare openly murder your adopted elder brother and seize the family property!”

Jiang Yuan gave a laugh. “So you do know he is my adopted elder brother.”

“Of course, the absence of a blood relationship is always the hardest part to make people believe. To make it convincing, I’m afraid I’ll have no choice but to hand that fellow Ghassani over to the authorities as well, so the governor of Alexandria can clear my name.” With the light behind her, she could take in every panicked expression inside. She had learned this move from Abal. “How much money did this honey trap swindle out of him? If you don’t want to die here, you’ll have to give me half. Otherwise, I don’t mind reporting this to the authorities, presenting that ransom as evidence in court, and saying my elder brother was accidentally killed here by you. And after avenging him, I will have no choice but to inherit this estate from my adopted father in overwhelming grief.” She asked, “Abdul, how much ransom did they demand from you?”

“Eight hundred gold coins!” Abdul shrieked breathlessly. “You’re murdering me! Jia Nan! You’re murdering me! When did you get here? How long have you been lurking? Was Wojidani your scheme? You bitch! Don’t forget I still have your secret in my hands. If you dare make a move-” Clearly, he had recognized her. Jiang Yuan shrugged. “Regrettably, as you can see, my elder brother and I have never been on good terms. You had better send him over at once.” She tugged at the mule’s tail. “For the mule’s sake.”

For a moment, the atmosphere fell into a stalemate. The leader cursed, but could only comply. They began exchanging the captive. “Send him over.” Abdul, stripped as naked as a pig, was roughly dragged up from the ground. His clothes were merely thrown over him, basically failing to serve their intended purpose of covering his body. One of the men was ordered to bring him over. Abdul had twisted his ankle, so he limped as he walked. When the man reached Jiang Yuan, she glanced at him,
European. Mercenary. Bandit. Thug. She classified him in an instant. The burly man had a face full of beard and a sinister expression, and the moment he came close, a stench rolled off him. The leather armor covering his body and the knife at his side were smeared with grease, filth, and blood. Even ignoring the fact that he was two sizes wider and two heads taller than Jiang Yuan, being approached by him alone felt like a disaster. He saw Jiang Yuan clearly as well, and at her slight build and delicate face, a bloody look of triumph appeared in his eyes.

“A sissy. Soft skin, tender flesh. Doesn’t even have the strength to kill a chicken.” He smugly shook Abdul, who was in his grip, and did not even take Jiang Yuan’s threat seriously. He pulled the blade away from Abdul’s neck outright and shouted back, “Boss, take him down! His ass is definitely going to taste good! We can demand two ransoms too!” Before his blade came down toward Jiang Yuan, she raised her brows and smiled at him. Then she let go of the struggling tail in her hand.

“Aaaagh!” The mule let out a shrill bray and bolted inward on all four hooves. There was still some space in the alley, enough for the few men who were not wrestling with the mule to circle around and charge out. Jiang Yuan blocked the downward swing of the knife in front of her with her elbow. She slid forward into the man’s arms, steered Abdul aside, and pressed in close to the man’s body. Her wrist slid up with the motion and lifted. As her knee bent, she had already spun around to his back. Crack. The bastard’s arm was dislocated by his own force, and the knife was now in Jiang Yuan’s hand. Bang! He crashed to the ground, clutching his crotch, eyes bulging as he curled up and let out an inhuman howl. Though some battle-hardened strongmen would only be enraged by a blow to the balls, this defeated underling had clearly not reached that level. In front of the crowd frozen in place with their weapons raised, Jiang Yuan tossed the knife aside, took one step back to clear the path of escape, bent her knees and sank her waist. Her hand swept across from her hip and rose before her brow, the reverse-gripped dagger in her palm gleaming with a cold, clear light.

A basic attack stance. She tilted her head toward the main road, indicating which path they ought to choose. “Please.” Abdul was wailing at her feet, and as for the woman inside, screaming as she dodged the mule, who knew if anyone was still concerned about her. A moment later, the mule charged out, braying at the top of its lungs and kicking up a trail of dust along the street. The space between them went still for a while. “Pah.” The leader said, “I’ll remember you, Jia Nan Adnan!” If all eight of them swarmed her, they could certainly deal with Jiang Yuan. But she could take down one of them in two seconds, and when no one knew who would be the first to die, this shady little deal was obviously not worth it. They gathered up Abdul’s possessions, dragged away their injured man, and left in grand fashion.

What came after was no longer much trouble for Jiang Yuan. She hired the group of mercenaries who had reported the news to her, had them bring a cart, and escorted the injured Abdul back to the inn. The three hidden gold coins were still spent generously in the end. Tonight was clearly not peaceful. Wojidani, who had been caught, came along as well. Unless she wanted to be sold off, she could only sob and spill the entire story. Ghassani was a mercenary Abdul had met in Aden. He was skilled in all kinds of men’s amusements, leaving Abdul obedient to his every word and extracting quite a bit of money from him. After they came to Alexandria, he introduced Wojidani to him too. Without a doubt, this was a classic honey trap. Abdul raised his whip and began lashing Wojidani over the head and face. Jiang Yuan held him down. “You’re going to beat a woman in front of me? Are you sure?”

The look Abdul gave her was so sinister it made one’s skin crawl. She had clearly saved him, yet he seemed to hate her even more for it.

“Pah,” he said softly. “I know your secret… Watch your hands and feet, Jia Nan.”

Jiang Yuan ignored him. When they reached the inn, Ghassani was also being shoved out of it. “If you dare harm my son!” Adnan, whose beard had gone more than half gray compared to before, commanded with impressive force. “I’ll sell you to the quarries as hard labor!” Adnan had clearly already reported the matter to the authorities. A group of soldiers had the place brightly lit with torches, and from the toppled boxes among them, great swathes of the property Ghassani had stolen lay exposed. Adnan was speaking with the guard officer, readily gifting these goods to the soldiers who had “worked tirelessly and devoted themselves to the people” tonight, so that they would go rescue his son. Compared to two years ago, the old man seemed to have shed the slickness of a merchant and become more nostalgic, and more resilient.

Then he lifted his head and saw the people approaching. As if unable to believe it, he widened his eyes and opened his mouth. “Jia Nan?” he said blankly. “My dear adopted son?” Jiang Yuan quickly stepped forward two paces, though she knew the one behind her was his biological son. But she truly had missed Adnan for far too long. “Adnan!” She grinned, smiling beneath her beard. “My dear adoptive father!”

As usual, I slept through a day of vacation and am starting updates again. Sorry, everyone. Work has been too busy, with overtime as part of daily life, and I also need to spend time recharging myself [reading novels], so I haven’t had time to write.

Every time I read a brilliant novel, I become convinced that temporarily not writing is meaningful. With every book I read, I feel like I’ve learned something and improved.

This time, I strongly recommend Kingdom’s Bloodline. The most brilliant political struggle I’ve ever seen. It really is hugely beneficial for writing demons.

I’ll continue collecting ideas for extras.

The currently planned extras are: Modern Arc [maybe]

Abal’s Daily Life Arc

Yuan Yuan’s Daily Life Arc [basically the kind where she works all day, and then at night someone automatically strips naked and climbs in to warm her bed]

The Great Merchant and the Governor Think Things Over

Yuan Yuan’s Academic Expedition Arc [maybe]

I also had my wisdom tooth pulled this morning.

I’m almost tempted to just finish writing this story before going back to writing demons. My train of thought keeps getting interrupted.

Thank you to the little angels who cast Overlord Tickets or irrigated me with nutrient solution~

Thank you to the little angel who cast [Landmine]: Xinkan’s Structural Formula, 1;

Thank you to the little angels who irrigated [Nutrient Solution]:

iris, 88 bottles; Weiqi, 17 bottles; Haha, 10 bottles; Huiyi, Jiangbanfan, 5 bottles; Axiu Bai, 1 bottle;

Thank you all so much for your support. I’ll keep working hard!