Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Thutmose relayed the message, bowed to them once more, then left. Abal acted as if he had not taken the words to heart. He walked in on his own, casually surveyed the room’s furnishings, and remarked, “Not bad.”

“It is our duty to satisfy you.” Even for such a perfunctory assessment, joy was obvious on the priestess’s face. The way she looked at Abal was almost infatuated. It was easy enough to imagine why. If, as a priestess, she could receive the Divine Envoy’s favor-and if she were fortunate enough to bear a child from it-what an immense honor that would be. A living miracle. When Jiang Yuan had bathed, she had already dismissed quite a few handsome male servants. Of course, it was not that serving a female Divine Envoy was worse than serving a male one, but only a male Divine Envoy could leave a priestess with a child, could he not?

The priestesses followed behind Abal, speaking softly as they asked him to go to the other bedroom that had been prepared. Their intentions were practically written on their faces. Clearly, the two of them had been given separate rooms, but Abal had no intention of complying. He merely tilted his head and looked at the attendants who had come in behind the priestesses. Their style was obviously very different from those who had served Jiang Yuan during her bath. A meaningful smile appeared on his face, as if he shared a perfect understanding with the priestesses-but when they lifted their heads in hope, his expression shifted seamlessly into arrogance and coldness.

“Tell them to get out.”

Such displeasure, such implied condemnation, was more than the priestesses could bear. They immediately dropped to their knees in terror, apologizing and begging forgiveness, while he said with haughty disdain, “Insolent and presumptuous! Which of these filthy mortals could ever compare to me? And you dare place them before my master.”

Arms crossed, he glared down at the women at his feet with a dark, oppressive expression. He was not stingy about presenting himself as a servant filled with possessiveness toward his master. How could any of those priestesses compare to Merit-Pu, or to the Divine Envoy’s exceptional nature? Then he turned his head toward Jiang Yuan, as if only then noticing her standing there watching them. His expression changed without the slightest resistance into tenderness, lingering affection, longing, and desire. He strode toward her and looked at her with admiration and yearning, as if this were the first time he had ever seen her dressed in such finery. Then he knelt on one knee at her feet, lifted her hand, and kissed her fingertips.

“You are truly beautiful.” His praise was reverent, almost feverish. “How could those mortals compare to you? Everything I am belongs to you-my master, my soul, my love. I beg you to grant me the right to keep my love for you.”

He gazed up at her. Once that exquisitely handsome face had been cleaned and adorned, it seemed almost to glow among the gold decorating him. Though his features were foreign, no one could deny that arresting beauty. Because his beard had been shaved clean again, Jiang Yuan liked the sight and could not help taking a couple more glances. Why could a man like this not serve at once as guard, attendant, servant, and lover? He certainly had the qualities for it. Jiang Yuan did not pull her hand back, so he lowered his head and devoutly kissed her toes.

She felt a damp heat against her toes. This bastard was taking advantage while no one else could see. She immediately kicked him, then turned and went to sit by the window, her expression cool as she looked out at the night scenery. The priestesses were implicated by association and went pale with fear, trembling like sieves. Seeing that no one spoke, they slipped away one by one in awkward silence. With his audience gone, the Governor of Bakum was not annoyed. He smiled leisurely, rose on his own, walked to Jiang Yuan’s side, and naturally reached out to take the water jar from her hand to drink.

Like her, he was dressed in resplendent gold ornaments, his body fragrant with perfumed oils. Men’s adornments differed from women’s-simpler, more vigorous. White linen was wrapped around his waist, revealing a long, powerful body. His arms were also painted with intricate patterns, and jeweled armlets clasped his upper arms, accentuating the smooth, alluring lines of his muscles. Seeing that she ignored him, he casually knelt at her feet, held her leg, and rested his head and arm against her thigh, dutifully playing the role of a slave and lover determined to monopolize his master.

Tomorrow, she had to meet the queen. Another hard battle awaited. Casually, she told him what she knew: Egypt’s system, Egypt’s pharaoh, and the reason Prince Thutmose had come to visit late at night. Her voice was not loud, and the night wind carried their conversation far away. No one should have been able to hear. Abal said lazily, “They asked me for that traitor’s name, so I told them everything I knew.” Jiang Yuan asked, “The area of skin will grow larger day by day, won’t it?”

“More than that. Mine disappeared here.” He showed her his waist. A patch of skin there had begun to turn empty. There were not even blood vessels in that spot; it seemed possible to see the floor through it. Yet when Jiang Yuan lowered her head and reached out to touch it, she could still feel warm skin. Abal said without the slightest concern, “Maybe it will vanish completely. Who knows?”

She thought for a moment. “Sending the gemstone back should fix it, right?”

Abal said, “When you fall asleep, do you see a corridor? A dark stone chamber, and a statue looking down at you?” Jiang Yuan nodded, and he gave a soft sneer.

“Then it seems that is the source of the nightmare.”

At this point, there was nothing more to say. After so many upheavals, they could still sit on the highest level of the temple in Thebes and look out at the night and the desert. The lake swayed beneath their feet, shimmering with light. The flames seemed bright enough to illuminate the night sky, and the river of stars was so vast, unchanged from two thousand years ago to two thousand years later. There was still so much to do. She had already brushed shoulders with death, and in truth, there was nothing much to fear. It was surprising-Jiang Yuan realized she was not nervous at all. She could actually look at this life-or-death crisis with such calm. And so she could also calmly listen as he said, “Now, how about you explain your past?” He knelt beside her, gazing up at her in the moonlight, then softly added, “My queen.”
When it came down to talking about the past, it did not seem so difficult after all. Jiang Yuan remembered many things. They seemed blurred with time, yet also as if they had happened only yesterday. If she had never met Abal, perhaps the path of her life would not have been so different from now. She would have followed Adnan back to Baghdad, become his capable right hand, inherited his estate, come to Taif, and taken root in the eighth century, living steadily as a merchant disguised as a man.

Fate was an extraordinary thing. Since it had fallen into her arms, she could only accept it whole. Abal said, “So the piece of paper I tore up could probably have sold for a fortune.”

He did not look the least bit regretful. That strange painkiller had long since been used up or handed out to his subordinates during the recapture and suppression of Bakum, spent drop by drop to win men’s loyalty until not a single bit remained. He said, “I want to see what the world looks like two thousand years from now.” Jiang Yuan replied, “Perhaps it wouldn’t be so different from how you see this place.”

He looked up at her, his expression half a smile and not quite a smile.

“You’re lying.”

Jiang Yuan gave a soft snort. “I am.”

She lowered her head. When she moved, she felt as if strings of pearls and jade were chiming beside her ears. Those blue eyes looked back at her, while beneath her, fingers idly stroked her calf. The night breeze was cool. He held her foot again and brushed it lightly with his lips. It seemed this particular themed attire had made everything that happened tonight feel especially novel, and his interest was running high. Come to think of it, after fleeing for so long, it was about time she relaxed a little. The man before her was the best diversion possible. Jiang Yuan did not refuse. Abal’s gaze on her did not waver, a flirtatious smile on his lips.

“You truly are heartless and cold, but that is exactly what I love about you.” Her slave, bold beyond belief, pulled her down and tempted her with his own body. “Grant me the honor of pleasing you tonight, my queen.”

Entering the palace was also an experience Jiang Yuan knew she would treasure. The palace occupied a full third of Thebes, a towering complex built from enormous blocks of stone. As she swayed in the carriage and entered the compound along the broad stone road, she thought she would never forget the shock of it for as long as she lived. It was impossible to imagine that two thousand years ago, people had built such magnificent halls with their bare hands. A river flowed past the side of the palace, carrying away the scent of countless powders and perfumes. If you looked closely upstream, perhaps you could scoop up flecks of gold dust and shattered gems, while fragrant oils floated on the surface, drunk together with lotus blossoms and water lilies.

The palace of Thebes and the people of Thebes belonged to two different worlds. She sat in the carriage with the temple’s High Priest at her side, and she could almost no longer remember what she had experienced the day before. She wore a wig, ornaments, and a golden crown. Kohl and turquoise traced the corners of her eyes, and gems embedded in her sandals glittered in the light. People knelt all along the broad stone road. At its end was a plaza so vast she could not see its boundaries, and farther in stood the hall of governance. To call it a grand hall was perhaps a little generous, but it was still seven or eight meters high. Behind layer upon layer of gauze curtains, the queen waited for their arrival in full regalia.

Aside from her, no one dared lift their head and look directly ahead. Jiang Yuan stepped down from the carriage and stood beneath the stairs. She easily found Hatshepsut on the throne at the very top. The woman was younger than she had imagined, older than she had imagined, more majestic and more beautiful. She sat there, covered in jewels and gold, radiating an oppressive, fearsome power.

Jiang Yuan looked up at her as if she were looking at history itself. On her black wig, which fell to her shoulders, rested a towering crown. The red and white double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt rose high above her head, while the cobra and the sacred falcon spread their forms upon the throne behind her, sheltering the divine bloodline of Egypt. Jiang Yuan stood below the steps and heard the queen say, “Meri□□, why do you not kneel?”

Jiang Yuan’s gaze shifted to the side of the stairs. A beast-taming slave knelt there, but the lion and leopard leashed by the chains in his hands were not cooperating. They had clearly been starved for several days. With no command to hold them back, they growled low in their throats and flexed their claws, eager to pounce out and devour the bait. Abal laughed softly beside her ear. Paying no mind whatsoever to the occasion, he took a step forward, walked over to the beasts, and examined them closely.

“These two animals have offended my master,” he said casually. “Why not let their pelts apologize to my master in their stead?”

He drew the curved blade at his waist, pressed one hand down on the leopard’s head, and slit its throat with the other. Blood instantly sprayed three feet high, staining his body. The leopard roared and struggled, but he forced it down with sheer strength, leaving it unable to resist. A moment later, it convulsed and died. Abal straightened and went looking for the lion. Only after the lion had also been killed did he sheathe his blade in satisfaction.

“That may have been somewhat impolite,” he said, as if only just realizing it. “Honored Pharaoh, please forgive me. After all, your slave was far too ignorant. He actually dared obstruct Meretseger’s most favored Divine Envoy from meeting you.”

The innocent slave wept soundlessly as the guards dragged him away. Hatshepsut sat upon the throne, watching them with utter indifference.

Jiang Yuan climbed the steps one by one and came face-to-face with the female pharaoh. Up close, she was thinner and smaller, and also more beautiful, more proud, more arrogant, and more cold-blooded. A false beard was affixed beneath her jaw. Though it could not conceal the bones of a woman, it displayed her hardness and blood-soaked authority. She was a princess and queen of noble blood, and she was also the unquestioned holder of power. She was Pharaoh, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the sole ruler and child of god in the greatest nation of the age. Before her, Thutmose was nothing more than a helpless chick with no power to resist.

Jiang Yuan knelt on one knee and, following the etiquette she had learned earlier, lifted Hatshepsut’s hand and kissed her fingertips. Abal knelt behind her and kissed the ground as her attendant. Even as a Divine Envoy, he was not qualified to touch the Daughter of Amun. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Amun, proven by the murals recorded in the temple: the god had coupled with her mother and begotten her. The supreme Sun God had long since proclaimed that he would grant the land and power of Egypt to this queen of noble blood.
She said, “The Goddess Meretseger sends you her blessings and greetings.”

Hatshepsut looked down at her from on high, then swept her gaze toward Abal. He was in the prime of his life; killing two tame lion-leopards had taken him no effort at all. Kneeling there beside Jiang Yuan with such solemn brows and eyes, he looked so heroic and imposing, so dangerously captivating. She said, “What a beautiful foreign man. I find myself quite in agreement with the Goddess’s taste.” Then her gaze shifted back to Jiang Yuan, without the slightest trace of delight.

“For what purpose has the Divine Envoy descended?”

Jiang Yuan briefly repeated what she had said to Thutmose the day before. The queen said, “What offerings must you receive for you and the Goddess to be satisfied and depart?”

Jiang Yuan answered the same way. “The blood of the traitor, the recovered treasure. Offerings dedicated to the Goddess: the strongest calves and lambs, and the freshest, most delicious fruit, meat, and grain.”

She could feel the queen nod above her. “Your demands shall be granted. May the Goddess rejoice, may the Goddess bestow her blessing, and may Amun-Ra, my father, hear my prayer and send down the Divine Envoy. May my Egypt endure forever in prosperity.”

The audience ended simply, just like that, leaving Jiang Yuan rather dazed instead. A moment later, she understood. Hatshepsut was merely using her to display her own authority. Only a pharaoh could receive a Divine Envoy, obtain her blessing, and accept her kneeling reverence. The priests were overjoyed, holding a festival and laying out generous offerings because the Divine Envoy’s arrival had allowed the temple’s power to rise again. The pharaoh, however, had made both her and divine authority submit and serve her purposes. In truth, it was no different from Thutmose’s reason for coming to her last night. That prince was, after all, a pharaoh-not a priest.

Abal had no interest in this kind of power struggle that had nothing to do with him, even if he and Thutmose might have had plenty in common. He explained the fugitive’s background to the army in detail: his skills, appearance, weapons, and the gems he carried on him-that was the important part. He pointed out which direction they should search in and, based on what they had heard in the desert, said that if the tomb robber did not want to die, he could only personally bring the gems back to Memphis. “That man stole the Goddess’s most beloved treasure. It bears an extraordinary spell; any mortal who touches it will surely be cursed and die a miserable death. For the stability of Egypt, we descended by command to bring it back.”

After that, of course, they would naturally have to escort the gems to Lower Egypt, deal with the curse, and throw them into that barren gulf. Naturally, they could not tell anyone the real location. Even with more than a dozen dynasties between them, Jiang Yuan did not want to gamble on whether the Egyptian Queen would have them flayed on the spot if she said they intended to dig up a pyramid. They changed the destination to the future city of Alexandria, the place in Egypt Jiang Yuan knew best. When she told Abal that Alexandria had not been built yet in this era, his eyes widened in surprise, and he declared with great interest that he had to go see what it looked like now.

They showed the pharaoh the abnormalities in their bodies. Perhaps it was because they were in ancient Egypt, closer than ever to the era of the pyramids. Aside from the hallucinations that forced them to run day and night through that dark stone corridor, enduring the pressure and scrutiny of the statue, the signs of the curse on their bodies were spreading faster and faster. In just two short days, the symptoms had spread from their abdomens to half their bodies. Everything told them that there was not much time left. In their role as Divine Envoy, they naturally declined the pharaoh’s invitation to stay and returned to the temple to reside there. Abal shut himself in his room and sketched in the sand table over and over again, trying to excavate and refine, from the details of his memory, the location where that gang of tomb robbers had dug up the treasure, preparing to set out at any moment.

His attacks came on faster than Jiang Yuan’s. From a distance, half his body was a bloody mess of flesh, while the other half was transparent and gone. Compared to the strikingly handsome, martial appearance he had had when she first met him, this was obviously far more horrifying. Many slaves were so frightened they trembled, preferring death to coming to serve them.

On the third day, the priestess came to tell them that the pharaoh had sent word: the wicked traitor had been found. “A herdsman identified him, and the army pursued him and found that gem. But…” The priestess hesitated. Even though she had not seen it with her own eyes, merely repeating the story seemed to stab at her mouth, as if she might suffer divine punishment. With a deeply uneasy expression, she fell silent, and Thutmose, standing to one side, continued, “He disappeared.”

Thutmose was one of the priests accompanying the army. Though his status was awkward, it seemed he still had a share in matters great and small. It was said that in a few days, his stepmother and mother-in-law, Hatshepsut, the great female pharaoh of Egypt, would send him off to Nubia. Jiang Yuan asked, “What do you mean, disappeared?” Thutmose had witnessed the scene himself. There was still some apprehension on his face.

“He disappeared. His body was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. We believed he had been contaminated by the gem’s spell and badly injured. We wanted to take him alive, so we only forced him to run.” Part of that was probably also because they did not want to touch the gem directly. A very wise consideration. “When we chased him to a river valley, he was out of the scouts’ sight for a short while. Then he vanished. Only his clothes and the gem were left on the ground.”

Jiang Yuan and Abal exchanged a glance, then nodded. The time they had to return the gem was extremely tight, and they did not know whether the curse might worsen if they continued approaching the pyramid. They had once discussed what their bodies would become in the end, but that had only been idle talk. It could only be idle talk. Would they burst apart? Or would they simply vanish into thin air, leaving no trace on the ground that the person had ever existed? Now, it seemed, they finally understood what the ultimate end would be. Abal had once asked Jiang Yuan, “Do souls exist?”

She had answered, “I don’t know.”

“Even two thousand years later, you still don’t know?”

“Yes,” she said. “Even two thousand years later, we still don’t know.”
Abal gave a derisive laugh. “That really is about the same as two thousand years ago.”

The time spans they were talking about had already reached four thousand years. Only in this kind of messy, rambling conversation could anyone even keep up.

In short, they kept their composure, counted the luggage they had quietly gathered, then bathed and dressed with solemn care before going to the palace once more. It was still the same place as before. The blood of the lions and leopards on the steps had been washed clean. Their pelts had not yet been tanned, but the meat had already been delivered to Jiang Yuan’s table. Hatshepsut I ordered a golden tray brought forward. Piled haphazardly on it were old, foul-smelling clothes, and atop those clothes lay that gem.

It was honestly moving. Jiang Yuan had never imagined that seeing this damned gem again would feel like seeing a way out. She managed to hold herself back and thanked the Pharaoh. The queen seemed much more amiable as well, a gentle pleasure softening that dark, imposing face.

“By the command of the Goddess Meretseger, as the Daughter of Amun, I naturally have a duty to fulfill her will.”

Jiang Yuan lowered her head in thanks. At the same time, she expressed that there was no time to lose and they should set out at once. The day they returned to the Goddess’s side was near; if they delayed any longer, Meretseger might be displeased. Hatshepsut I tried to keep them there. “Why not remain here? I have enough manpower to work day and night and deal with the gem for the two Divine Envoys.”

“It bears an extraordinary spell,” Jiang Yuan repeated. “Anyone who touches it will die an unnatural death.”

“To give their lives for a god is their honor,” the queen said coldly. “Just as you descended upon Egypt bearing Meretseger’s blessing. To serve her and complete her mission at any cost must also be the duty of a Divine Envoy.”

Jiang Yuan’s expression did not change. After all, the thing on her looked much more like a curse. It was only normal for people to mutter that it was a god’s harsh shackle rather than a blessing. The gods of Egypt often took animal forms and had always been fierce, bloody, and mercurial. “That is precisely why I must complete this matter personally. We do not have much time. If we do not leave at once, I fear it will be difficult to fulfill Meretseger’s command.”

Hatshepsut said, “There is no need to worry. I have a faster method, one that will save you time.” She still wore a smile, her black hair falling along the sides of her face and covering the elongated peacock-green corners of her eyes. Fine gold dust and gems clung to her cheeks, set against coppery skin and high cheekbones. She rose, both hands crossed before her chest, looking warm and hospitable, as though she sincerely wished the Divine Envoys to stay. Cold sweat broke out all over Jiang Yuan. It was like the needle-prick palpitation of sudden danger. Abal tugged her from behind; she shot to her feet and kicked him hard downward.

Caught completely off guard, Abal rolled down the steps. Before anyone around them could react, blades were drawn. Amid the ringing clash of metal, Jiang Yuan shouted, “Run! You know Egyptian!” Then she turned and charged forward.

The female Pharaoh sat motionless upon her throne, watching Jiang Yuan’s struggle with arrogant, cold contempt. Wigs and crowns fell to the floor. False nails snapped apart. Gauze tore with a sharp, ripping shriek, and gems and gold shattered in the struggle. Jiang Yuan rushed straight at Hatshepsut, but countless slaves and guards threw themselves at her without regard for their lives. Jiang Yuan broke the arms and legs of seven or eight of them, but even more people pinned her to the ground and forced her still.

Even so, the sounds of fighting and shouting below the steps faded into the distance. Abal had stolen the Sacred Bull and charged out first, vanishing to who knew where. Jiang Yuan panted, her bones twisted the wrong way where she had been forced down. Drenched in cold sweat, she raised her head and looked at Hatshepsut icily. The female Pharaoh smiled back at her.

“As expected of a Divine Envoy,” she praised leisurely. “I have never seen such miraculous skill. But why refuse the kindness of the Daughter of Amun? I was willing to hold a festival and send you and the offerings to the gods, helping you please Meretseger and complete the Goddess’s blessing. Yet you were ungrateful. You even dared offend me and injure my body.” She said, “Such a sin cannot be forgiven.”

Jiang Yuan said nothing. She felt she had been far too stupid. She gasped for breath and still tried to gather her strength, but even the slightest struggle brought iron-like force down on her, making her bones ache. She could only watch as the queen walked to her side. With a crack, the queen’s shoe crushed the jewelry in front of her. The gem rolled aside, bright red as blood. At a signal, a slave picked it up with reverence and fear and carried it to Hatshepsut. She only glanced at it and did not come close. She ordered, “Send it to the temple. Have the High Priest make the arrangements and, in accordance with the Divine Envoy’s words, send this sacred gem to the Boundless Waters.”

The footsteps receded, taking the gem with them, as well as Jiang Yuan and Abal’s lives. Jiang Yuan closed her eyes. Although Abal had escaped, who knew whether she could count on him? It seemed highly likely that they were going to be buried two thousand years in the past. Hatshepsut said, “As for you, honored Divine Envoy Meret/Pu, I will fulfill my promise and hold a sacrifice. I will offer you the richest offerings and slaves, allowing you to return to Meretseger’s side.” She smiled in triumph. “You may rest assured. The guarantee of Hatshepsut, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, is always valid.”

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

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