Enemies meet on a narrow road - Part Four
"Jiang Xi, it's alright now."
Pei Jiangxi opened her eyes and saw Han Yizhi's face.
What's wrong with me?
"You had a nightmare." Han Yizhi slightly bent her index finger and rubbed it back and forth on Pei Jiangxi's face.
“Me?” Pei Jiangxi looked around. Simple mud walls, old tiled roof. Light streamed in through the window, the faded window frame dividing the sunlight into patches of varying sizes, which fell neatly on the two of them.
Oh, right. Pei Jiangxi remembered that Wang Boyu returned to Xihe Tower last night, while she and Han Yizhi stayed behind.
"Yes, it's you."
"I don't remember."
"It's better if you don't remember."
Han Yizhi said she had a nightmare, but she couldn't remember anything about it. Her mind was indeed in turmoil. Pei Jiangxi reached out from under the covers and caught the sunlight streaming in. This tangible warmth brought her peace.
"Where is Changji?"
"I went out with Boyu early this morning."
"I see." Pei Jiangxi pondered for a moment and said, "Yi Zhi, I want to tell you something."
"Um."
"Let Boyu go find Changji; he deserves his own place in the world." Pei Jiangxi was fully awake now.
*
With the combined support of Li Letian's new identity and Li Najiong's identity as the head of Canghai Sword Manor, the three of them had a smooth journey.
The further west they traveled, the more desolate the surrounding scenery became. It was common to go for miles without seeing a single person. It was during this time, as they traversed this desolate landscape, that war broke out in the east. For some reason, the imperial court reacted slowly, and Xiang Yu seized this opportunity, leading her warriors to conquer cities and territories along the way. By the time the imperial court mobilized its army, Xiang Yu's rebellion had already taken shape.
Xiang Yu lit a fire, and war broke out across the land. It wasn't just his faction; people in other regions also raised the banner of "serving the emperor." Rumors circulated that Zhao Zheng had kidnapped the young emperor and was plotting to usurp the throne.
The story of "serving the emperor" is nothing new to the people. Those who witnessed Emperor Yongqing entering the palace to serve the emperor are still alive and well.
That day, a great fire broke out in the palace. "Emperor Wen has disappeared," Emperor Yongqing announced to the world. A country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and Emperor Yongqing, who was also a prince, naturally took on the heavy responsibility of governing the country without hesitation. At the same time, he promised that on the day Emperor Wen was found, he would return to his fiefdom and continue to be a vassal king.
From that time on, a special fund was set aside in the national treasury for the annual search for the missing Emperor Wen. Silver flowed out year after year without fail, and Emperor Wen remained elusive.
The imperial court announced that Zhao Zheng had disappeared and that the young emperor was now in charge of state affairs. This statement clearly failed to gain popular acceptance. "How old is the young emperor?" "He's just a toddler." Such pronouncements only suggested a hidden truth.
Rumors even circulated that the abbot of Xinyuan Temple, the national temple, had left the monastery to join the rebel army. It's worth noting that this abbot remained unmoved even when Emperor Yongqing stormed the palace. Emperor Yongqing's "loyalty to the emperor" was ultimately a matter of the imperial family; now, someone intended to change the dynasty's fate, which was a completely different matter. This rumor further convinced everyone that a treacherous minister in the capital intended to usurp the throne.
Li Letian and his group crossed the wasteland. As soon as they arrived at the border town, the Beggars' Sect disciples who had guided them told them all these things.
At first, Lee Na-kyung was worried that the war might make their departure from the border difficult, but to her surprise, the border officials readily allowed them to pass. It turned out that the "Jingnan" army in the northwest had already set off before their arrival. Currently, Li Letian and the northwestern princes were still allies in their "loyalty to the emperor" efforts, so granting an ally passage was not a difficult task.
Continuing westward, one encounters an endless desert. To the north lies the Baishan Mountains, stretching over 5,000 li (approximately 2,500 kilometers) and rising about 1,300 zhang (approximately 650 meters). To the south rises the Kunlun Mountains, each over 1,800 zhang (approximately 650 meters) high, while to the west rises the Pamir Mountains, 1,700 zhang (approximately 650 meters) high. Surrounded on three sides, this completely blocks moisture from all directions, resulting in unimaginably high temperatures.
After a brief rest in the small town, they replenished their rations and water. The next morning, before dawn, they awoke before the town itself and crossed the border under the watchful eyes of the border guards. They had to depart at dawn and stop to rest before noon. The sunlight was strongest between noon and dusk, so they needed to avoid traveling during this time. They could continue their journey for a while after dusk.
The desolation escalated into a desert, and the horses were replaced by camels. After traveling for some time, before the sun moved directly overhead, they stopped on the shady side of a sand dune. The yellow sand was much finer than grains of salt, and their shoes filled with sand after only a few steps off the camels.
Lee Na-kyung was completely covered up, with only her eyes showing. She was sitting in a sand dune, having taken off her shoes and turned them inside out. Yellow sand fell from the tops of her shoes like ribbons, only to be scattered in mid-air by the hot wind before it could even touch the ground.
Looking at the endless yellow sand and the distant, somewhat blurry, twisting sand dunes, Li Letian said, "I've long heard that during Emperor Gaozu's reign, there were often rebellions in the northwest. Their response was truly swift." He was about to say something more when a wisp of fine sand entered his mouth.
"Ptooey, ptooey!" Li Letian hurriedly spat out the contents of his mouth, sticking out his tongue like a puppy. But he couldn't get rid of the foreign object in his mouth.
Lee Na-kyung, who was already feeling listless from the heatwave, couldn't help but laugh when she saw his disheveled appearance.
“They’ve been wanting to act for a long time.” He Zi’an, mimicking Li Na’s actions, took off his shoes and poured out the yellow sand that had been poured in. “With the emperor dead, they’ve finally found an excuse.”
Lee Na-kyung took two scarves out of her pocket and handed them to the two men accompanying her. "I told you to wear them."
So Li and He followed Li Na-kyung's example and wrapped a scarf around their faces, making a slight effort to cover their mouths and noses.
"It's worse here than I imagined." After putting on his veil, Li Letian said, "I even said that once we got out of the pass, we could find someone to inquire about Master Li and the Blood Palace. But as things stand, we have no chance of running into anyone."
He Zi'an noticed that Lee Na-kyung had planted her sword in a sand pile some distance away from them. "Master Lee," He Zi'an looked at the longsword and asked, "what are you doing?"
"Just call me Miss Li." Perhaps because her veil was wrapped too tightly, Li Najiong tugged at the edge of the scarf and said, "We've been working together for so long, and we'll be fighting side by side in the future, so let's skip these formal titles."
“That’s exactly what I was thinking too,” Li Letian, who was sitting at the other end and occasionally lifted a corner of his veil to spit out sand, echoed.
“Use the shadow of the sword to distinguish east from west.” Li Najiong glanced at the longsword and then pointed to the sand dunes in the distance: “Look at these sand dunes, the slopes have obvious differences in steepness. Generally speaking, the northwest slope is the windward side, with a gentler slope, and it is easier to walk on.”
Li Letian pointed to the sand dunes next to them: "That steep slope is the southeast slope."
“Yes,” Lee Na-kyung nodded. “In this kind of environment, intuition is the least reliable thing. We must rely on external objects to help us make judgments, otherwise we will definitely not be able to move in the intended direction. We will most likely just wander around in circles in this desert.”
"Then how do we determine the direction of the sword shadow? Which way is the shadow facing?" Li Letian pondered for a moment, "The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so the shadow should be facing west."
“It should be to the east,” He Zian corrected.
“Young Master He is right, this method of determining the general direction is correct,” Li Najiong affirmed He Zian’s statement. She then took the jade pendant from her waist and threw it at the end of the sword shadow, saying, “If you need to know the precise location, note the current position of the sword shadow a few times. After a quarter of an hour, write down the next position. Connecting these two positions will give you the east-west direction.”
"Ah!" Li Letian sighed softly, only now realizing he had gone in the wrong direction. "I must have been delirious from the heat," he said, patting his head. Looking at Li Nagyeong with even more respect, he said, "Miss Li, you know so much. It's good that you came with us."
Lee Na-kyung lowered her eyes and said, "These are all things my father taught me when I was a child."
Li Letian and He Zian exchanged a glance and said, "Master Li knows the desert so well. Perhaps there's some secret hidden here, which is why he had no choice but to come."
“That’s right,” He Zi’an reassured him, “We will definitely find Master Li.”
Lee Na-kyung took a breath, rallied her spirits, and asked, "So you went straight to the desert without any preparation?"
“We did plan the route in detail, and of course, we also have needs such as camels, food, and water.” He Zi’an also stood his sword upright. However, since they were sitting in the shade, even with the sword upright, they couldn’t determine their direction.
"What if you go in the wrong direction, or you simply can't find your way at all? Haven't you thought about that?"
“Indeed, as Brother Li said, we originally planned to ask the local residents for directions after we arrived here, and then adjust our route according to the actual situation.” He Zi’an smiled wryly and said, “But after seeing the actual situation today, we realized that our idea was too naive.”
"That little bit, we'll make up for it with courage and perseverance," Li Letian said with a grin after spitting out the sand.
Their eyes met, and the slightly tense atmosphere eased again. Despite their own thoughts, they still smiled.
"Anyway, it's so great to have you here," Li Letian said sincerely, looking into Li Najiong's eyes.
Where Lee Na-kyung had stuck her sword, a small bird with a black head and sandy yellow feathers darted past, its legs moving quickly without any intention of taking flight. It was a white-tailed ground jay, a desert bird that is said to be almost flightless.
But Li Letian saw it spread its black and white wings and leave the ground.
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