Desert Arc ー Chapter 20 (Part 1): Night Attack
That night, we slept at halfway up the mountain. Although we were far from the direction of the wind and it was summer, it was still extremely cold when it reached the wee hours. Unfortunately, we didn't even have a simple tent. I could only follow my instincts to move towards the fire. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew. The flame flickered towards me and I was frightened until I hastily rolled back. With me coming back and forth repeatedly like this, I simply couldn't fall asleep.
Xiao Xuan was awoken by me making noise. He asked in a daze, "What's the matter?"
I said, "The endless night is long, I'm not in the mood for sleeping."
Xiao Xuan said, "Just sleep, we still have to walk for a whole day tomorrow."
I saw that he was really sleepy. Them, I thought about how he had jumped into the water to save me, rush about for food and even carried the child and walked for half a day's travel for today. I presumed that he must be terribly exhausted. Thus, I said, "I know already. I'll sleep now. You should also sleep."
Xiao Xuan laid back down. I shifted to a convenient position and also laid down.
I started to feel slightly warmer but as I slept, I gradually felt colder. Amidst my daze, I shifted towards the warm place. Finally, I could not endure the weariness anymore and fell asleep.
It seemed that I had only simply shut my eyes when the sky was already bright. I inhaled and opened my eyes. I suddenly found an arm across my chest.
I blinked my eyes. I turned my head around and saw Comrade Xiao Xuan's intoxicated sleeping face.
I was dumbstruck for two seconds, then rolled and crawled to escape from under his body.
His Highness Xiao Xuan rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Woken up already?"
I tried to find a thicker tree branch on the ground. A harder stone was also okay. If those were still of no help, then I would use my waist sash.
Xiao Xuan said, "That's enough, that's enough. I also didn't do anything to you. If I didn't press you down, with you tossing around like that, all of us wouldn't need to sleep anymore."
I trembled with rage. "You this wretched man!"
Little Jue Ming asked, "What is a wretched man?"
Old Monk translated, "It is a man who touches a girl's hand without her consent."
"But Elder Brother didn't touch Elder Sister's hand."
"It's more serious. He even hugged her for a whole night. In the normal course of events, they should immediately get married…"
'Whoosh!' I pulled out Xiao Xuan’s sword. Old Monk tactfully shut his mouth.
When we were eating breakfast, Xiao Xuan received a message from a bird again. "We can't walk towards the east anymore. We'll directly go towards the north."
I asked, "What difference is there?"
"Towards the east is the town's market and the assassins waiting for us. Towards the north is the dense forest and the wild beasts waiting for us."
I said, "I'll listen to you."
Wild beasts with low IQ generally have to be easier to deal with than humans with high IQ.
Xiao Xuan's face seemed to be immersed in water. I thought, 'He probably recalled that escape from ten years ago. A hundred heroic men sent him out of the frontier and it even included his good friend's life so that his safety could be exchanged. He is worried that he may have to pay a heavy price again this time.'
As we walked towards the north, we gradually climbed the mountain. Xiao Xuan was still responsible for carrying Jue Ming on his back. What made me astonished was Old Monk. Looking at him, he was already getting on in his years but his movements were dexterous and he traversed the dense forest with ease. I was a far cry from him that I can only the dust he left behind with no hopes of catching up. Next, I looked at Xiao Xuan. He also took vigorous strides as though he was walking on flat ground. People who have trained in martial arts before are simply different.
When it was noon, we finally climbed to the mountain's ridge. I was tired until I was drenched in sweat and my two legs kept trembling.
Old Monk looked at me and felt rather sympathetic for me. "Rest for a while. We'll walk along this mountain ridge, then sleep in the open for one more night and we can exit the mountain tomorrow noon. We'll reach Ren Shan County soon."
Old Monk brought Little Monk to sit in meditation and regulate his breathing. Xiao Xuan sat beside me and looked down on me. "See, I said already. Exercise more."
I was in a very sorry state. "If you hadn't brought me along, you all would have long walked more than half the journey."
Xiao Xuan pinched my face and boosted my morale. "Don't be so mournful. It's not like you at all. Come, sing a song for me to hear."
"Alright." I sang, "This little nun is sixteen years old, right in the prime of youth but my hair is shaved off by my mentor. I am originally a young beautiful girl and not a real young man*…"
*T/n: From an opera called 'Si Fan'. The character sang this after she met a young and handsome scholar but her heart was still affected by the worldly matters and was not satisfied with life as a nun.
Xiao Xuan quickly covered my mouth. Little Jue Ming had already heard and asked Grandpa Mentor, "Why is the little nun not happy?"
Old Monk said, "Because she doesn't want to become a nun."
"Why doesn't she want to become a nun?"
I broke free from Xiao Xuan and smilingly said, "Because that young lady wants to marry you!"
Xiao Xuan was angry until he was almost driven crazy while Old Monk was all smiles. Little Jue Ming had a hundred thousand whys. "Why does she want to marry me?"
I continued to deceive him. "Because our Little Jue Ming will become a high-ranking official in the future. The girls will all want to marry you."
"But Grandpa Mentor said that monks cannot marry."
I smiled. "Then you can just don't be a monk."
Xiao Xuan almost wanted to throttle me to death.
I was suddenly in an enjoyable mood and taught Little Jue Ming to sing all the way.
"Our motherland is a garden, the flowers in the garden are really bright-colored*…"
*T/n: From a Xinjiang folk song. It is also a nursery rhyme now.
Xiao Xuan was sneering at the front.
I thought, 'Xiao Xuan is clearly on the run this time but he still brought along a child. It's obvious that there's a reason why this child can't stay in Nation Qi. Then this motherland is clearly not this child's motherland.'
I could only change to another piece. "There's only Mum who is good in this world. Children without mothers are like a stem of grass…"
*T/n: It is a Chinese children song sung for mothers. I found an English translation of the lyrics if you are interested in the rest of the song.
Old Monk coughed.
'That's right, this child is an orphan.'
I changed again. "I am a little blue dragon, how many little secrets I have*…"
*T/n: From a children's song called 'I am a little blue dragon.'
The two people in front coughed simultaneously.
Even this is not okay? I could only change again. "Two tigers, Two tigers, run fast, run fast…"
*T/n: A children song called 'Two Tigers'.
A link if you are interested in the rest of the song:
Both Old Monk and Xiao Xuan coughed until their throats were almost breaking.
I laughed heartily and the sound of my laughter reverberated throughout the forest.
There were no bushes on the mountain ridges and the trees were also more sparse so it was much easier to walk than previously. As soon as the sweat on my body was blown by the wind, I immediately felt cold and sneezed.
Xiao Xuan turned his head back. "What's the matter?"
I quickly said, "Nothing much. Just continue going your own way."
He knitted his eyebrows as he looked at me then held my hand. This was only a very simple action but it had a lot of technique. I immediately felt that there was a force dragging one side of my body and it instantly felt much more relaxed beneath my feet.
I said gratefully, "Second Elder Brother, you're so great."
Xiao Xuan felt that it went without saying. "Of course I'm great."
We walked and rested like this and finally reached the summit in the evening.
Old Monk was very excited. He stood at the peak like a lightning rod. His kasaya was blown by the wind until it swelled like an opened paraglider.
He exclaimed. "This old monk hasn't climbed until the summit of Yu Long Mountain for decades. The last time I climbed to the peak, it was even with that taoist priest, Xu Yuanzi. We appreciated tea and faced each other to discuss about Buddhism and talk about Taoism."
When I heard it, I smilingly said, "Let's not mention that Buddhism and Taoism are not compatible, just drinking tea and playing chess on this mountain top alone is an extremely foolish thing. If you have the heart to, you can also gain silence from noise. Won't it do if you just randomly find a teahouse?"
Xiao Xuan hated me until he gnashed his teeth. "Great Master, just treat her as farting when she's speaking. You don't have to mind."
Old Monk smiled instead. "These words of Benefactor Xiao Min show a considerable amount of enlightenment in Buddhism. As expected, she's worthy to be the moth…" My expression sunk. He corrected himself, "She's going to be a person who's going to carve out an illustrious and successful path."
I was satisfied. I secretly grabbed Xiao Xuan over to ask, "What do you exactly owe this old bald Buddhist monk, why did you suddenly start clinging to his thigh and lick his boots?"
Xiao Xuan snorted disdainfully. "I'm a benign and generous person and I also respect old people!"
I smiled sarcastically.
Old Monk lamented about something at the top of the mountain. "All conditioned phenomena, are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow, like the dew, or like lightning, you should discern them like this*…"
*T/n: From the Diamond Sutra
I took the English translation from this source:
There's another slightly different version from this source:
Overlooking the range of mountains, I recalled Grandpa Mao's Quotations*. There was one sentence, 'The deep green mountains like the vast sea, the setting sun like blood.' This was the portrayal of this magnificent scenery.
*T/n: Should be from a published book called 'Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung'.
Here are two versions of the translation for your reference:
After Old Monk finished sighing with emotion, he said, "Let's descend the mountain. We'll find a woods at halfway of the mountain to camp and rest properly for a night."
I also didn't know who among us suddenly had very good luck and actually found us a mountain cave.
Old Monk seemed to be very experienced. After he looked at it, he said, "Wild beasts lived in here before but they have left a very long time ago. The grove in front of the cave entrance is dense so it can't be seen from outside when a fire is lit."
Great, we still had to make do with staying in the wild for another night.
This night, I learned to be well-behaved and hugged Little Jue Ming as I slept. A six-year-old child has no gender. He was chubby and warm like a small heater. Both of us slept very soundly.
I wasn't sure how long we had slept when someone suddenly shook me and I woke up. Xiao Xuan gestured to keep silent.
I used my gaze to ask him, "What's the matter?"
The sky was still dark. I was half asleep and half awake and rubbed my eyes. "So urgent?"
Xiao Xuan was indeed very anxious. He pulled me and wanted to pull Jue Ming.
At this moment, Old Monk came back from outside the cave. As soon as he saw Xiao Xuan, he anxiously asked, "Prince, you haven't left yet?"
I was wide awake now and knew that there was a change in the situation. I said, "Second Elder Brother will bring Jue Ming along to leave first. I'll find a place to hide while Old Monk will go deal with the pursuing troops."
Xiao Xuan anxiously said, "What did you say?"