Desert Rhapsody - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Jiang Yuan had fully expected herself to swing one leg over the horse’s back, flip over like people did in TV dramas-or in her imagination-and land seated in front of Abal. Reality proved that, when you had no experience, it was best not to make reckless assumptions. The world turned upside down, and she ended up draped over Abal’s horse, her stomach bouncing against the hard, jutting bones of its back.

“Wait…” She tried to stop him, but the thigh she was bracing herself against had already clamped down by instinct, and the horse broke into a run. Faster and faster, until the jolting made her dizzy. Jiang Yuan couldn’t get a word out unless she wanted to bite off her own tongue. She clenched her mouth shut, face flushed, and struggled to slide toward the saddle pad in front of Abal. To his credit, he had indeed left her some room, even shifting back slightly.

The enemy cavalry’s horses were already done for, leaving only infantry behind. Against the mobility of Abal’s side, there was simply no comparison. The bandits brandished torches, shouting loudly in the night as they galloped into the desert, hooves kicking up sand and dust with dull, heavy thuds. With Abal leading them, they rounded behind a dune. As they emerged from it, Abal raised a hand and gave a sharp whistle.

The hunting falcon cried out, beating its wings as it plunged through the night sky, marking the direction. The bandit leader’s armored arm, curved saber in hand, pointed forward and down. Like a battle formation wheeling around, the blade indicated their path. Jiang Yuan heard the earthshaking howls behind her, swallowed up by the vast desert. The camp was already blazing with firelight and panicked cries. Abal slowed his horse, and from behind him and all around, countless laughing gods of death seemed to spur their horses out, sweeping forward like a flood.

Jiang Yuan slid off the horse. Because she’d been upside down for too long, she rolled twice in the sand before finally finding a good spot, crouching down, and throwing up. Abal stood beside her with his arms folded, watching, along with two or three of his trusted men. Jiang Yuan knew he would not wait for anyone for free, so once she finished vomiting, she wiped her mouth, rubbed her hands with sand, buried the mess, and forced herself to stand despite the acid burning in her stomach.

The world was still spinning a little. The blue eyes in front of her were almost impossible to make out. The desert wilderness was so bright, humanity so small beneath it, as if the vault of the heavens were a cage of stars. Abal said, “Looks like you should learn how to use a blade and ride a horse.”

Jiang Yuan said, “I was thinking the same thing.”

“But you don’t have a horse, and you’ve lost the blade you were given.”

Jiang Yuan turned her head and glanced at the camp. “There should be at least one usable horse over there.”

“That isn’t exactly how our rules work,” Abal said. “But you’ll always be able to trade for one. I hope you learn quickly, because we still have road ahead of us.” The bandit leader said it carelessly. “Otherwise, you’ll have to be like a captive, hands tied, dragged along behind our horses.”

His eyes curved slightly above the face covering, like an amused sneer. He seemed very much to be looking forward to seeing the scene he had just described. In any case, Jiang Yuan couldn’t be bothered to study his expression when his face was covered. This time, Jiang Yuan was finally able to sit properly in front of Abal-Abal did not allow anyone to ride this magnificent horse behind him. Abal said, “I’ve never let a woman sit here before.”

“I’ve never let a man sit here before either.”

Abal laughed once and said nothing more. They began to pick up speed in the night. Jiang Yuan could indeed feel the excellence of a horse from Arabia, even though she had never ridden before, only sat on a camel while someone led it slowly along for show. It felt as though she were seated on a cloud, rushing into firelight and slaughter against the wind and night pressing in from every side. And so they, too, became the wind blown forth by the god of death.

Only then were the spoils in the camp truly gathered. Usable equipment was stripped from the dead, and the wounded were finished off with a single cut. Supplies and treasure were loaded onto the camel train, and the slaves were tied to ropes one after another. Abal went to inspect the battlefield and make the final preparations for departure, while Jiang Yuan went to find Jamal. That morning, she had only just asked around to find out who he was and gotten her boots back from him. He was the brown-skinned young man Jiang Yuan had tripped by hooking his foot first. He was one of Abal’s trusted men, responsible for managing the loot and distributing it when Abal was unavailable.

“You don’t have enough money. You’ll need at least three more shares before you can buy even a poor horse,” Jamal said bluntly.

Jiang Yuan remained perfectly calm. “I can buy one on credit. Deduct the difference from my future shares.”

Buying on credit from bandits-surely a first in all of history. Jamal stared at her. “What if you die next time?”

“First, I don’t know how to kill people, and I don’t know how to ride, so I won’t be taking part in the fighting,” Jiang Yuan said, still perfectly calm. “Second, the chief would rather give up a ransom of five hundred dinars than give me up, so at the very least, I’ll still be here for the next share and the one after that. Also, I’ll give you one dinar if you teach me how to choose the horse best suited to me.”
The bandits who hadn’t been assigned any work and had come together to collect their spoils all looked at Jiang Yuan. She stood amid a crowd of young men holding torches, fresh from killing, their bodies spattered with blood, yet she did not seem to lose to them in presence at all.

“The chief wants you, but that doesn’t give you the right to overstep!” Jamal said viciously. “If you don’t know how to kill, then you’re useless. Why should I give you a horse?”

Jiang Yuan flexed her fingers. Her five fingers curled and stretched, her knuckles cracking. “Because I’ll teach you how to kill better.”

All around her, everyone suddenly held their breath and stared. It had only been a day; the legend of the devil had yet to die down.

In the end, Jamal still led over a young mare for Jiang Yuan. It was white with gray-black patches, its coat not quite pure. Abal’s horse was black, so the bandits here liked black horses too. These youngsters had not yet reached the age of pragmatism, so they could only disgust Jiang Yuan with petty things like this. Jiang Yuan first led it back, then, following what she remembered of the essentials of feeding camels, brought over grass for it to eat. When Abal returned with his eagle, the young mare had only just begun eating the fodder from her hand.

The youth reached up and undid his face covering, letting the scarf flutter before his chest. Only then did Jiang Yuan see that behind his jeweled headband, there was also a ribbon tied on, making him look especially dashing and handsome as he walked. Abal’s gaze swept over the horse from head to hoof, but he said nothing. Then: “Where’s the saddle and tack?”

“There isn’t any,” Jiang Yuan said. “So I came to borrow money from you.”

A bandit den was no charity. Apart from the spoils one was due, anything else had to be bought with one’s own money. But Jiang Yuan had already given all her money to Adnan. Hearing this, Abal crossed his arms and looked her up and down. “Why should I lend it to you?”

“Because you still don’t know how to tell whether I’m teaching you with all my heart.”

At the cost of another five dinars, Jiang Yuan had Abal help her put together a saber and armor while he was at it. She would take a spare set from here first. Once they reached Abal’s place, he would have a blacksmith and a leatherworker make her a set to her measurements.

They busied themselves through the night, finishing the remaining matters. Abal sent men to escort the slaves and baggage back, while he set out with light cavalry, his own horse hung with jewels. Jiang Yuan, who did not know how to ride, was assigned to the camel train and returned to the bandits’ main stronghold together with what had once been Adnan’s cargo. Abal and the camel train did not seem to be taking the same road. Before departure, several trusted men were summoned once, reporting their intelligence together to confirm the next route.

Faisal said, “He appeared in Damascus.”

Jamal said, “He went to Persia. Supposedly to hire mercenaries.”

Persia and Damascus were two different places, and the routes were different as well. An extremely abstract map had been scratched every which way into the sand. Jiang Yuan could not understand it no matter how she looked, nor did she know what reason she had to sit in on this, but since Abal had ordered it, she could not refuse. So she could only sit there and watch Faisal and Jamal argue. They were both Abal’s trusted men, one the son of his wet nurse, the other an attendant who had followed him since childhood. They each had their own version of where Aklan Emir, Abal Emir’s second elder brother, had gone. The only thing certain was that he was continuing to search for troops to use against Abal.

So they decided to strike first and kill Aklan. They sat in a circle on the ground, Faisal and Jamal each occupying one side, arguing so fiercely they were almost about to come to blows. Their relationship did not seem good. Abal listened for a while, his gaze fixed on the fire as he quietly thought. After a moment, he asked, “What do you think, Jia Nan?”

What does that have to do with me? Jiang Yuan said, “Although the pieces of news came at different times, there is only one person. If there is no more supporting information, draw lots. Whichever one is chosen, let that be the one. See how fate deals with him.”

“Fate.” Abal gave a laugh. “Not a bad suggestion.” His jewel-ringed fingers tapped against the sand table. “But his fate is not yet fate’s to decide. We go to Damascus. It’s closer, and there are more channels for information there.”

Jamal and Faisal both said solemnly, “Yes.”

They left the tent to prepare for departure.

Abal said, “Do you know them now?”

Jiang Yuan turned her head to look at him. “I do.”

Abal said, “These are the second and third people you are to teach. But,” he said, “you don’t need to teach them with all your heart.”

A popular custom among young men of Arabia: tying a ribbon behind the headband, so they look handsome and dashing when they walk.

This morning I read the full biography of Harun al-Rashid. Maybe it wasn’t inflation after all; Byzantium was just too poor. At Harun al-Rashid’s peak, annual tax revenue was forty-two million dinars.

Seventy or eighty thousand is barely enough to get stuck between the teeth.