Chapter 65: Chasing the Camel Herd to Catch a Fawn

Chapter 65: Chasing the Camel Herd to Catch a Fawn

Sui Yu learned that Uncle Old Niu had kept watch outside all night. She took down the salted chicken hanging on the wall and soaked it in warm water. She asked Sui Liang to stay home and guard the door while she went to Seventeen Villages to find Uncle Old Niu.

Tong Huaer saw Sui Yu enter and her heart skipped a beat. The two had encountered each other many times before, but never had they gotten along well.

Sui Yu stood at the doorway, scanning the courtyard, and asked, "Is Uncle Old Niu not home?"

"He went to fetch water. W-would you like to come in and sit for a bit?" Tong Huaer rubbed her hands.

Sui Yu waved her hand, trying once more but still feeling reluctant to interact with Tong Huaer.

She turned and left, changing her mind.

After returning home, Sui Yu washed the salted chicken several times, chopped it into small pieces, and put it in a pot to stew. Thinking of Uncle Old Niu's lack of teeth, she went to the vegetable garden and pulled out three radishes.

The chicken was boiling in the pot when she added the diced radishes.

"Smells delicious! Eating meat again?" A passerby slowed their pace, jokingly saying, "Captain Zhao isn't home, yet you two siblings indulge in good food."

"My cousin gave me a wild chicken. I've been preserving it for days, but since Uncle Old Niu stayed up all night last night, I decided to cook it as a thank-you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so generous." Sui Yu explained, laughing, "Don't be jealous; enjoy the aroma for free."

The person outside pouted, muttered something under their breath, and walked away quickly.

Sui Yu chuckled, tied her hair back with a headscarf, and said, "Brother Liang, you stay here and tend the fire. I'll take this half-basket of ash to the garden to spread it."

Sui Liang tapped the stone he was sitting on, acknowledging her words.

Sui Yu lifted the half-basket of ash, gritting her teeth and grunting, leaning sideways and using her hip to lift the basket as she stepped out.

"Where are you going?" Uncle Old Niu had just entered the alley and stopped when he saw her, standing at the entrance and calling out, "I heard from your auntie that you were looking for me. What's the matter?"

Auntie? Sui Yu laughed.

"Nothing. Don't prepare any dishes for lunch today. I'm stewing some chicken and will bring it over when it's ready." Sui Yu struggled with the basket, shouting as she turned and continued walking.

Aunt Sun came out upon hearing the commotion, standing by the door and asking, "Won't you help her?"

"She's not my wife; I don't need to worry about her." Uncle Old Niu shrugged, adding, "If Captain Xiping hadn't instructed me before leaving, I wouldn't bother with these things."

Sui Yu's face always seemed to attract trouble. If he both kept watch and showed kindness, it wouldn't take three days for the gossips to start speculating about his intentions towards Sui Yu.

"Has Captain Zhao been gone for almost a month now?" Aunt Sun asked.

Uncle Old Niu nodded, also concerned about Zhao Xiping's whereabouts, hoping he would return soon. As an old man, taking care of two households was exhausting him.

Meanwhile, the man everyone was worried about was still in the Gobi Desert. Zhao Xiping sat beneath a massive boulder, catching his breath. The Gobi Desert had no grass or trees, only dryness and heat, with the shadow of the boulder providing the only respite.

This was his second trip. The previous caravan he escorted had encountered no bandits, and after returning to Yumen Pass, he was assigned to accompany another group of Hu merchants across the desert.

"Teachers, come have some food." The Hu merchant brought meals, which consisted of soaked rice—boiling water poured over sun-dried and roasted rice grains until they expanded into a bowl of food.

Zhao Xiping took the bowl, drank some water, and started eating. Midway through, a black bird perched on a nearby boulder suddenly squawked twice. He turned his head, lowering his gaze, and saw sand rising from the ground in the distance, forming a cluster, not the result of wind.

"Brother," he called, gesturing for others to look.

The leading soldier nodded, saying, "Eat quickly. When you're done, we'll leave."

Zhao Xiping chewed and swallowed the rice, then set the earthenware bowl aside. Pretending to lead the camels, he actually moved them farther away. After settling the camels, he slung his bow and arrows, strapped a knife to his waist, and hid behind a boulder to listen.

Suddenly, a camel cried out, and the black bird took flight. Several black feathers swirled and fell, struck by an arrow.

Zhao Xiping identified the direction the arrow came from, circled around the rocks, and spotted the bandit hiding behind one. He drew the bowstring, and an arrow flew out, striking the bandit, who fell with a gush of blood.

On the other side, the clash of weapons rang out as soldiers and bandits engaged in battle. Unsuitable for archery, Zhao Xiping sheathed his bow, drew his curved sword, and charged into the fray.

Thick smoke rose, and sand billowed, blinding those caught in the storm, making it hard to distinguish friend from foe. Zhao Xiping dared not linger and quickly retreated.

Others had similar thoughts, and those who strayed alone dared not make a sound, fearing they might attract enemies instead of allies.

For a moment, the Gobi Desert echoed only with the sound of running footsteps.

Zhao Xiping retreated from the sandstorm, rubbing his eyes and seeing two bandits approaching him. He ran, creating distance, kicking up sand to obscure their vision.

Noticing the footsteps behind him weaken, Zhao Xiping swiftly turned, raised his bow, drew an arrow, and shot. One bandit fell screaming, while the other hid behind a boulder.

With one less enemy, Zhao Xiping felt less threatened and approached, slashing the fallen bandit and retrieving his arrow. Hearing footsteps, he swung his sword to meet the attack.

Another bandit fell, and Zhao Xiping caught his breath, following the footprints back, shooting arrows at any bandits he saw. With each fallen enemy, he felt more grateful to Sui Yu for teaching him archery.

As the sun began to set, the bloody Gobi Desert returned to calm. The hidden Hu merchants emerged to help bandage wounds, and Zhao Xiping, holding his curved sword, counted the enemy dead, finishing off the wounded and cutting off their left ears for proof of his deeds.

"Brother, there are twenty-three dead bandits, and some may have escaped," Zhao Xiping said, dragging eight bodies. "These are the ones I killed."

Soldier: ...

"I'll report truthfully to the commander upon our return, but I doubt these minor bandits will be enough to free your wife from slavery," he said.

Zhao Xiping understood that military merit wasn't easy to accumulate and didn't expect immediate results.

"Just keep accumulating. Eventually, it will be enough," Zhao Xiping said.

The soldier glanced at the string of bodies, noting the arrow wounds on their upper bodies, which, though not fatal, rendered them immobile.

"You have quite a good aim," he praised.

"Mostly from ambushes. If they were moving, I wouldn't be as accurate," Zhao Xiping admitted.

The soldier shook his head; many couldn't even hit a target three steps away with a rock, let alone shoot accurately.

The Hu merchants approached, and Zhao Xiping tactfully left. With the bandits taken care of, they could return tomorrow. He longed to go home, to eat soup noodles, flat dumplings, and meat, and to sleep soundly.

"The sky is getting dark; we should travel a bit further to avoid attracting other creatures with the smell of blood and the dead," ordered the military guard.

Of the eleven guards, five had died, three were injured, and only three remained unscathed.

Zhao Xiping carried two lifeless colleagues on his shoulders. They had eaten together just half a day ago, but now they were worlds apart. As the adrenaline wore off, cold sweat broke out on his back. This time he was still standing, but next time it might be him lying down.

When the stars filled the sky, the travelers stopped. The gravel plains baked in the daytime sun and chilled to the bone at night. The Hu merchants started a fire, and all the survivors gathered around it.

"Brother Zhao, next time there's a mission, I'll call you along," said the military guard, offering him half a bowl of turbid wine. "It's cold at night; have some wine to warm up."

Zhao Xiping waved his hand, pointing to the wolf skin draped over his shoulder. "I'm not cold."

The military guard sat down and asked, "Was it worth it? Would you come out again?"

Zhao Xiping fell silent for a long while. A gust of wind blew, and he pulled the wolf skin tighter around himself. "Yes, I would. If there's a suitable mission, please let me know."

"You must be bewitched," the military guard scoffed.

Zhao Xiping remained silent.

Half asleep and half awake through the night, they parted ways with the Hu merchants at dawn after receiving their silver payment. One group headed west, the other east.

The six survivors, accompanied by camels carrying the dead, retraced their steps. The footprints from the previous day had already been erased by the sand, and the corpses scattered across the gravel plains emitted a pungent odor from insect bites and bird pecks. Zhao Xiping glanced at one corpse, covered thickly with sand. In a few days, before another merchant caravan passed, the twenty-three bodies might sink beneath the sand. Years later, mounds of sand would pile up over the bones.

Thinking about this, Zhao Xiping felt a chill in his heart when he looked at the gravel plains.

"If I were alone, I wouldn't make it out of here," the military guard laughed. "Endless mounds of sand in every direction; if you take a wrong turn, you'd starve to death."

Humans might lose their way, but camels knew the path. All eleven camels were well-trained and remembered the way home. After four days crossing the gravel plains, they emerged on the fifth day, with the walls of Yumen Pass faintly visible.

Upon leaving the gravel plains, the first thing the six survivors did was dig graves. Buried inside the plains, the bodies would be hard to find, but buried outside, their families could relocate the graves later.

"Aren't you going to pick a good spot for yourself?" the military guard teased, walking up to Zhao Xiping.

"Get lost; I won't die even if you do," Zhao Xiping kicked him and led his camel toward the river. Stinking badly, he jumped into the river for a thorough wash.

That night, they camped by the river. At midnight, Zhao Xiping woke up to urinate and noticed camels drinking on the opposite bank. There were calves among them. Memories of Sui Yu's words flashed through his mind: building an inn, raising camels to rent to merchant caravans...

As dawn broke and the six men prepared to continue eastward, Zhao Xiping glanced more than once at the desert on the opposite bank. "Go ahead without me. Last night, I saw a herd of wild camels. I want to chase them and see if I can catch a calf or two."

"Don't you already have camels?" the military guard asked.

"I can never have too many," Zhao Xiping chuckled.