Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Jiang Yuan felt as though it had been ages since she had walked beneath a blazing sun like this. Perhaps the agonizing memories of thirst and cracked skin from when she first arrived in this world had already blurred, but even then, she had been walking with many others: the vicious bandits and the people who, like her, had been taken captive. A group of camels and people crossing the desert together at least did not make the journey feel quite so dangerous.

Her throat was parched, but she endured it and did not drink. They had only just set out, and the waterskins had only just been filled. They had to conserve it. The scorching sunlight beat straight down from overhead, baking her scalp until it ached. In silence, she wrapped the cloth over her head more tightly around herself. Beneath the loose white robe that the oncoming air pressed back against her body, sweat rolled down her skin in one line after another, carrying an unbearable damp heat.

Ahead of her, the guide she had hired at great expense had already ridden his camel a dozen or so paces forward. He stopped by a small, dried-out ruin to examine the traces left by those who had passed before them. Calling it a small ruin was generous; what he was looking at was a piece of laid brickwork, only about knee-high, more than half buried in sand, its top still being used as a stone for tethering horses.

There were still traces of urine and excrement beneath the bricks. He lay down to sniff them, scooped up a pinch of sand, put it in his mouth, pressed it between his lips, then spat it back out. Jiang Yuan’s camel happened to reach him just then. He looked up and gestured, speaking in simple words. “Camels! Horses! Lame foot! Good camel!”

There was even a trace of regret in his voice. For people who lived in a place like this, camels and horses were their lifeblood. Jiang Yuan knew they had found the right place. The people she was chasing had an injured camel. She nodded and used the few simple phrases in the language of Egypt that she had learned over the past few days to communicate with him. “How much farther?” The old man, with dark brown skin, a cracked face, and sand covering him from head to toe, stretched out a filthy hand and, fearfully yet carefully, indicated a number. “Three. Sun. Three sleeps. Sun.”

Jiang Yuan took that to mean there were still three days and nights of travel ahead. She raised her head again and looked into the distance. Her view was filled with dunes and dazzling light. Even with kohl smeared beneath the corners of her eyes, looking for even a moment longer made her feel as if she would go blind. They had been chasing into the desert for two days now. This group had set out south from Fustat, clearly following the course of the Nile River, yet instead of entering a major city to vanish and sell their stolen goods for money, they had uncharacteristically fled west into the desert, twisting and turning as they ran, moving as fast as though their lives depended on it.

Jiang Yuan was already exhausted in both body and mind from the chase, but she could not show it, and that only made the fire she was suppressing burn hotter. Her budget was nearly spent. Before they found this guide and pursued the trail into the desert, he had told her they were five or six days behind the other party.

It seemed that fellow had caused no small amount of trouble along the way. She let out a breath and said simply, “Continue. We need to catch up as quickly as possible.”

The guide said hesitantly and slyly, “Agreed, agreed. No, no fighting. I no fight. Only lead there. One day.”

Jiang Yuan said, “Fine. Set out at once. Catch up.”

She extended the hand hidden beneath her robe. On the finger wearing the ornate sapphire ring, she held a pouch. The pouch gave a clinking rush of coins, and the old guide hurriedly nodded again and again.

They urged the camels onward and continued forward. In the desert, routes were even more constrained by water sources, so it was easy to imagine that their path needed little deliberation and would largely overlap with the people they were pursuing. That also made the guide’s work somewhat easier. The next day, they reached an oasis and found torn pieces of magnificent clothing by the water, proof that the bandits had also stopped here. A white silk under-robe, edged with silver thread, scented with storax and ambergris from Oman. Jiang Yuan did not really remember what the other person had been wearing, but it matched the description given by the person who had commissioned her.

The camels and horses needed to rest and drink, so they would sleep here for the night first. Jiang Yuan sat beside the campfire and took out the letters she had hidden carefully in her bundle. There were two or three of them, written on parchment, each sealed perfectly tight with wax and marked with a triangular symbol, then sent with the utmost urgency to her shop in Alexandria. They were all anonymous, and all of them contained the same message.

By the firelight and the first pale glow of approaching dawn, she softened a flatbread over the flames while taking out one of the letters to read again, comparing it with the scrap of fabric in her hand.

Dear Jia Nan,

Enclosed with this letter is a piece of troubling news. Your loyal business partner can no longer meet with you as agreed. Five days ago, he disappeared. Before his disappearance, he was supposed to deliver a treasure obtained through the Triangle channel to the port of Suez, then take a ship from there directly to Baghdad. But the servants in Suez reported that he never arrived. We have reliable evidence to conclude that he never entered the city. Before he could do so, he was abducted by an unknown group of people.

We are still investigating who committed such a reprehensible act, and we are still tracking the retinue that vanished with him. The bad news is that, as I write to you, I have already received word of one attendant’s corpse…

Jiang Yuan was not actually hungry, but she still forced all the flatbread into her mouth and ate it to replenish her strength. The water at the oasis was truly cold. She had just washed her face with it, and perhaps because she had not washed thoroughly enough, the skin on her face felt cold and painful, while the sand drying on it hurt as well. The old guide had already wrapped himself in his tattered sheepskin jacket and fallen asleep, letting out piercing snores. She stared at the letter for a while, confirming that she had not taken the wrong road. Then she finished her food, drank a little boiled and filtered water, scrubbed the grease from her hands with sand, and swiftly lay down.

There was no time to set up a tent now. Everything had to be kept simple. She wrapped her cloak around herself and tied a strip of cloth over her eyes to block the light. She had thought she would not be able to sleep, but as she closed her eyes to rest and once again reviewed the clues stated in the letter, it was not long before she fell into a deep sleep.

…As you also know, this lord has recently been competing for an important position and has made enemies on all sides. It is difficult for us to find someone trustworthy and reliable to pursue the matter, so I am writing to you to request your assistance.

Enclosed are the details of his attire at the time. If you incur any expenses, you may request full reimbursement from me afterward. Also enclosed is a sapphire ring, to serve as a deposit.

Yours dearly,
Baitullah Fatini Emir

The extra-long bonus story begins! If my calculations are correct, it will be 70,000 Chinese characters.

110,000 for the main text, 70,000 for the bonus story.

You can also tentatively treat it as the next volume, with the main text as the first volume.