Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Jiang Yuan felt as if she could no longer see through the darkness. When people suddenly lost the light, they always lost sight of everything. All was chaos, the world spinning around her. Before her mind could grasp what had happened, pain tore violently through her body, robbing her of the ability to move. The knife fell through the air with a clang and spun once across the ground. A heavy net came crashing down from above, covering her like a beast trapped with nowhere left to run.

She coughed, unable to move. The ambush had come too suddenly. Who could have known Huosen had not been captured at all, but had been waiting here for them? If they had not been too careless at the final moment, they never should have ended up like this. She strained to reach out, grabbing blindly in every direction, but all she touched was a cold knife hilt and its edge.

The other side of the net sagged inward. Abal should have been there. But she felt nothing. There was nothing there. Only then did Jiang Yuan realize she could see again. A torch had landed beside her, lighting her field of vision. She was burned and jerked her hand back in agony, only for the billowing black smoke to sting her eyes until tears blurred them. She could not struggle free. Along with the gemstone that had landed heavily in her palm, there was only a cloth bag. Irregular spheres rolled inside it.

Abal… where was he?

There was nothing. No one answered. It was so lonely it felt like another world. She coughed as if her lungs were being torn apart. Above her, countless wooden poles and spears were thrust across the air. Huosen had realized the net had not caught everyone and immediately took measures, sealing off the passage on his side. He truly had come fully prepared. Jiang Yuan almost wanted to laugh as she listened to him roar from above, “Don’t think you can bluff your way through this. I know you’re wounded! Get out here, Governor of Bakum!”

But there was no sound inside the pyramid. In the darkness that had sunk into silence, only Huosen’s heavy breathing remained. Even Jiang Yuan’s coughing gradually stopped. She lay on the ground. When she closed her eyes, there was only darkness. Then came a sharp whistle splitting through the air. An arrow landed beside Jiang Yuan’s foot, its feathers still trembling.

“Send the gemstone up!”

In a faint voice, Jiang Yuan said, “I can’t move.”

She truly could not move. The net covered her, pinning her in place. Or perhaps, for one instant, she was simply too exhausted and had lost all strength in her body. The gemstone and the cloth bag lay in her palm. Fuck, Jiang Yuan never wanted to set foot in the desert again in this lifetime. But Huosen did not care about her injuries. More torches were thrown down roughly. Oil jars shattered on the ground, and kerosene, reeking sharply, flowed everywhere, soaking the ropes and her clothes.

There were not many flammable things in the stone chamber-except Jiang Yuan. She could only endure the pain and tear apart the ropes that had been burned brittle, then stagger to her feet and crawl away from the flames. She was a turtle in a jar and could only obey the fisherman’s orders. “Climb up one level. Only one!” the voice roared through the air. “Bring the gemstone!”

Jiang Yuan raised the gemstone high and showed it upward, proving she did have the thing he wanted. Then she began climbing up. Each massive stone block was roughly over three meters high and required real effort to scale. Jiang Yuan struggled to prop herself up on her arms, feeling as though every breath in her chest was tearing her open. Climbing a height like this without making any sound or movement was impossible. Huosen practically held his breath, listening to see whether another person was coming up with her. Then another kerosene jar landed on the ground. He shouted anxiously, “Pour that jar of oil down! Don’t leave a single patch untouched!”

The rising flames nearly dried out Jiang Yuan’s skin. She could barely breathe; the air here had already been limited. She did as she was told, only staring at the sea of fire beneath her feet without saying a word. There was no movement that should have made anyone nervous, but Huosen remained on guard. He ordered her to climb up another step, and a kerosene jar was thrown in front of her. Jiang Yuan clutched her chest. She felt as if she might have broken a rib, though reason told her that if her ribs really were broken, she certainly would not be moving this easily. “If you keep burning things, we’ll all suffocate in here.”

If she could see that illiterate bastard’s face, it was surely twisted in a disgusting, savage grin. “Cut the crap. Do it!”

The area below the second step also became a sea of fire, cutting off any possibility that there might still be a third person. This time, there was so little oxygen that even Huosen began coughing, while Jiang Yuan’s head started to ache. All she could do was force herself to breathe deeply and stay alive. A long pole extended down from above, a rope hanging from it. Without question, the only thing that could go up with that pole was the gemstone. Even after confirming that Abal was not there, this experienced tomb robber remained thoroughly cautious and refused to let her come close.

Jiang Yuan exhaled and pulled the end of the pole toward her. A thin cord had already been tied around the gemstone. Its previous carrier had once worn it around their neck and kept it with them. Before tying the gemstone to the pole, Jiang Yuan asked with hopeful pleading:
“The governor is dead. There’s no grudge between us… I’ll give you the gem, and you take me back, all right?” She lifted her head and looked up into the air, certain she must look utterly wretched right now. Tears spilled from her eyes, scalding hot against her skin. “Please,” she choked out, her voice booming through the stone chamber until it was almost impossible to make out. She could not see Huosen. Her line of sight stretched unobstructed behind her. The lampstands on the platform had been lit so the surroundings could be seen, making it unmistakably clear that this was the very place from the dream. A deep, narrow corridor climbed upward, without a single friendly step. It was a space piled together from stone, its walls covered in murals. The Egyptian Gods reached out with both hands to welcome her, leading all the way into the underworld.

“I don’t want to die here…”

There was a moment of silence above, as if he had realized she would not hand over the gem unless he made her a promise. But how could Huosen possibly climb down to seize it by force? At last, he snapped impatiently, “Fine, fine! You damned woman, tie the gem on already!”

Jiang Yuan broke into a feverish smile of wild relief, like a drowning person clutching a piece of driftwood. She agreed loudly, as though terrified Huosen might go back on his word, and immediately wound the rope around the gem and the long pole, tying it tight with meticulous care. “I’m done! Hurry and pull me up!” she called. Her fingers had not even left the wooden pole when a voice laughed, “Go to hell!” Jiang Yuan grabbed the tip of the pole as it stabbed toward her. The cloth bag absorbed part of the impact. Staggering, she used the momentum and threw her own weight down, dragging the wooden pole straight into the sea of fire.

The gem hit the ground, splashing up sparks and oily filth. There was a blind spot invisible from above that had not been soaked in kerosene. Jiang Yuan rolled once and scrambled up at once before the flames could catch her. A loud clatter came from above. A heavy body tumbled over stone and crashed into the fire with a howl. But the kerosene on the second level had been scarce to begin with, only a thin layer of flame floating over the ground, not enough to truly burn anyone. Jiang Yuan lunged over and raised her dagger. The blade that had once been buried in Abal’s body sank into flesh again.

But she could not see, and the strike missed his vitals. A force from midair flung her to the ground, followed by a furious assault. The man was far too strong. Jiang Yuan had no strength to resist. Stars burst before her eyes, her vision whitening as he pinned her to the ground. Only because one of her hands had locked back around his throat was her neck not snapped at once. She thought her arm had been dislocated. She panted and struggled, but it was useless. She was too weak. Huosen was practically laughing as he tightened his grip inch by inch, around both her hand and her neck…

“Bitch! Whore!” Jiang Yuan could hear only his filthy abuse. “You dared set me up!” Her legs thrashed. She could not breathe. Shadows swam before her eyes. Was she really going to die here? That stubborn breath of defiance lodged in her chest somehow would not rise again. Perhaps she still had not recovered from the shock of Abal’s departure. What had she done wrong? Why had she come to Baghdad? Why had she come to ancient Egypt? Why had she abandoned everything that had been fine, only to be strangled alive by some bastard inside this pyramid…

As she suffocated, she felt something tracing against her body. Something else was drawing lines in a frenzy, over and over again. Her heartbeat felt as though it would burst. Gasping, she forced out, “Ngh…” Her other hand waved weakly around her. But in the darkness, she saw those lines. They were being drawn over and over on her hand. Sometimes they broke off, sometimes they vanished, but they never stopped, enough for her to complete the pattern in her mind. At last, she could see the lines, turning from chaos to clarity, from complexity to order.

The blood vessels in her brain felt ready to explode. She flailed her hand across the ground and finally caught hold of the cloth bag. It had been hanging from her wrist, and the balls inside rolled out. Jiang Yuan grabbed one, crushed it, and slammed it hard in front of her.

A howl tore through the air. Powder sifted down over Jiang Yuan, searing hot as fire. A twisted human face took shape, steaming in midair with scorched smoke and blisters. Jiang Yuan coughed and backed away, yet did not forget to seize the chance to crush another ball. Abal probably had never expected his little contraptions to come in handy today. Otherwise, he would definitely have sprinkled another whole bottle of poison inside. A faint spark touched human flesh, then suddenly exploded together with the powder. Blue flames wrapped around his head and face, burning like ghost fire. Huosen screamed and rolled across the ground.

Inside the pyramid, hearing screams like that and witnessing such a sight was truly hell on earth. Jiang Yuan beat her chest and coughed, then staggered over and gave Huosen a clean end.

The screams ceased. The sparks burned for a while longer before dimming as well. The shadowed stone chamber still stood in silence, the corridor deep and dark, like a road leading to the realm of the dead. She looked around and, after great effort, finally found the gem. She snapped the long pole underfoot and hung it back around her neck. The strokes pressed against her body followed like shadows, persistent and eerie. They kept drawing, again and again: a circle, countless circles. A circle, countless circles…
She said, “That’s fucking enough.” Her voice was hoarse, her body battered from head to toe. But the strokes kept coming naturally, without pause. Jiang Yuan went back to where she had started, gritted her teeth, and began climbing.

Just as Jiang Yuan and Abal had originally guessed, Huosen had prepared a full set of equipment for entering the pyramid. Maybe he had been too afraid to go up himself and had waited here on purpose, intending to seize the gem and return it to its place only when there was no other choice. Whatever the case, Jiang Yuan happily accepted it all. Climbing upward alone inside a pyramid was truly an experience she would never forget. Imitating Huosen, she found the lamp stands along the corridor and carried a torch with her, lighting them one by one along the way. The fire spreading upward gradually illuminated this thousand-year-old tomb. Not to mention that behind her, there was still a circle being drawn. Drawn and drawn, over and over…

It still vanished, disappearing from time to time. The force behind it grew weaker and weaker, like wind skimming over sand. Jiang Yuan said nothing. She simply kept climbing without stopping for even a moment. She was too tired. This was more exhausting than killing someone. She felt as though she would tumble down in the next instant. In fact, she had rolled down the stairs once. Fortunately, she had not broken any bones. Unfortunately, she still had to keep climbing.

The long, mechanical labor and the pain in her body left her dazed. She felt as though she were dreaming. The Egyptian Gods closed in around her from all sides, reaching toward her, trying to crush her into dust. She realized she was standing in a room, staring around in confusion. It was not a very large place, only big enough for people to stand and walk. It was empty, decorated simply with stone. Yet lamps blazed all around, illuminating countless flashes of treasure. Beneath the coffin at the center, glittering gold burial goods surrounded the pharaoh, quietly awaiting Jiang Yuan’s arrival.

Jiang Yuan quickly found her destination. On the wall opposite the coffin, a carved relief statue stood facing her. It stared at her, a ruby embedded in its chest. Jiang Yuan dropped onto the ground, drenched in sweat, stars bursting before her eyes. Even with the final destination right in front of her, she could not muster the strength to go forward for a while. The drawing on her body continued, like an annoying ghost, yet as faint as breathing. Jiang Yuan said, “…It’s so different from the dream, isn’t it?”

No one answered her.

She smiled. “The gem is right there. How do you think I’m supposed to put it back?”

Still, no one answered her. She sat alone inside the pyramid, visiting a pharaoh who had slept for countless years. Even if he did not need her visit. Even if Jiang Yuan was an unwelcome guest, sitting here and disturbing the peace of his afterlife. No one had ever said that returning the gem would solve everything. If she simply placed the gem beneath the statue and nothing happened, Jiang Yuan would not be surprised in the slightest.

“Fine… I’ve already made it this far,” she said. “Abal, you just wait. I am absolutely going to kill you.”

Stroke by stroke by stroke.

Stroke by stroke by stroke.

The circle blurred and changed, becoming three clean, decisive lines. She lowered her head and smiled, then grimaced as the movement tugged at the wounds on her head and face. She pulled the gem down and began wiping it with her clothes. The fabric soaked up the grease, and the gem flashed with a bloodlike luster in the firelight. Wind suddenly surged around her. Jiang Yuan moved her foot away as countless grains of black sand rose from the ground like waves, catching hold of her body, just like the strange tide on the night she had first come here. A stretch of black sand opened toward Jiang Yuan, as if lifting upward, outlining something, a silent empty space.

Jiang Yuan placed the gem on it and sat there. This service was not bad. The black sand wrapped around her layer by layer, and she was too exhausted to feel nervous anymore. She leaned back against the wall and slowly closed her eyes. The last thing that entered her vision was the statue staring straight at her.

She felt someone poking her, but she was too tired to open her eyes. So that person kept poking. She opened her eyes.

The weather was truly beautiful. Sunlight shone brilliantly, and trees cast shadows over her face. When she looked up, the towering tomb rose so high she could not see its top. She was lying in the sand, aching all over and filthy from head to toe. She thought she must look like a sand ghost, because another sand ghost with grime on his face had leaned in front of her, stubbornly and relentlessly trying to wake her up. His face was covered in scruffy stubble, and he was shockingly dirty. Only the curved blue eyes in that face remained, so blue they were almost frightening.

“My dear Jia Nan,” he said with a smile. “You’re awake? How do you feel?”

Jiang Yuan turned her back to him and gave him the middle finger.