Huang Beishuang let out a cold snort, suddenly raising Duo Zai’s aged hand high. Everyone turned to look as she angrily declared, “Look at this! These are the hands of a centenarian who has raised five sons and three daughters. Now, all that’s left are these bony fingers. And for what? To accompany us on a journey of no return. Her children didn’t keep her, didn’t even come to see her off.”
Hearing this, everyone felt a lump in their throat, looking at Duo Zai with sympathy.
Duo Zai gazed at Huang Beishuang with mixed emotions, surprised that she had noticed even this.
However, Huang Beishuang’s commanding presence with the whip didn’t diminish due to this moment of sorrow. She continued, “You are a group of young women who have swallowed your pride for the sake of our people, armed with the wisdom of using your bodies as weapons. You walk this path with me, enduring physical and emotional anguish that cuts to the bone. Not one of you has deserted. In seven more sunrises and sunsets, we will reach our destination. Will any of you desert now?”
All twenty-four shook their heads.
Huang Beishuang didn’t smile. Instead, she cracked her whip towards Guoer.
“A daughter of the desert, devoted to her people and indifferent to life or death, can endure hardships but can’t resist the temptation to bully and vent frustrations on a half-centenarian? Do you want to be served? Want to taste what it’s like to be waited upon? When Nanny Duo Zai strains her old bones to serve you at your whim, aren’t you afraid of divine retribution?”
With that, she cracked her whip twice more before tossing it aside.
“For the next seven days, anyone who wants to leave is free to go, guards included. If you can forget you’re children of the E’naqi, I, the Naxiu, won’t stop you. After seven days, those who remain will enter Yunpei with me, and from then on, our fates will be in heaven’s hands!”
A profound silence fell over the group. Even after Huang Beishuang and Duo Zai had returned to rest in the carriage, the silence lingered.
The bonfire continued to burn brightly, and the white wind vane atop the hill danced wildly. After a while, people gradually drifted off to sleep, leaving only a few guards to keep watch in shifts.
The wind was still cold, but no longer bone-chilling. The darkness remained frightening, but no longer seemed to harbor monsters. The moon, cradling thin clouds, illuminated the land brightly. Though unable to cast its own shadow, it soothed over a hundred anxious hearts.
Living in the wind was the Naxiu of the E’naqi.
Sleep now, for after today, there will be seven more sunrises.
In the carriage, Huang Beishuang slept leaning against the window, while Duo Zai beside her was covered with her new wedding silk quilt.
“Naxiu, you’re not asleep, are you? Nanny knows you’re pretending. You’ve been watching the wind vane on the mountain.”
Duo Zai’s voice still sounded like a shaman at a sacrificial ceremony. But Huang Beishuang neither opened her eyes nor answered. Moonlight fell on her face, giving it a mythical haziness. Duo Zai finally fell silent and turned her head to sleep, the edge of her pillow dampened by tears. After a while, her breathing became even—age made her tire easily, and she seemed to have fallen asleep. Exhaling softly, Huang Beishuang opened her eyes and stared fixedly at the wind vane on the mountain.
In the desolation, the moonlight remained unchanged, as did her face. Only the wind had grown gentler, soothing this realm of lonely dreams.
The next day, only a few charred embers remained in the fire pit. All one hundred and fifty people, not one missing, were ready to depart.
Day and night in the desert were forever worlds apart. It seemed to have forgotten the bone-chilling winds before dawn, leaving only an arrogant sun perched high in the sky, scorching their mortal flesh from the moment of its rising!
No one complained; they had long grown accustomed to this pain that melted flesh and bones.
But they were unaware that another danger was approaching.
“This prey looks promising!”
The speaker was a burly man wearing an earthy yellow coat, with a knife, gun, and sword at his waist. His face was rugged but featured sharp eyebrows and bright eyes. His voice carried undisguised excitement as he gestured to those behind him.
Looking around, it was far more than just a few people. A sea of heads rose from behind dunes, easily numbering over a thousand. They had been tracking Huang Beishuang’s caravan for days, waiting for them to enter deep into their ambush.
Undoubtedly, these were bandits, and the speaker was their leader. Dressed in colors matching the desert, they lay hidden behind the yellow earth, waiting to strike.
“Brothers, take the women you fancy, sell those you don’t. As for the men, kill any who resist on the spot!” This young leader commanded great respect; his orders set his men itching for action.
“Charge!” Drawing the curved saber at his waist, he led his men, teeth bared, towards Huang Beishuang’s caravan. Many of them let out uncontrolled, high-pitched screams, shrieking like vultures that had found their prey.
“Bandits! Bandits! Protect the Naxiu!” The guards, who had been packing up, were first to be alerted. They quickly took up their bows and arrows, forming a tight circle around Huang Beishuang’s carriage and the two dozen maids.
Arrows were aimed at the approaching mad horde, but not a single attacker slowed their charge. They wielded large sabers, determined to fall only if struck in a vital spot. Those in the lead began a frenzied slashing, filling the air with the clash of weapons and the sickening sound of slicing flesh, punctuated by agonized screams as people fell.
Huang Beishuang sat in her carriage, her face filled with worry. She parted the curtain slightly to look out, despair flooding her eyes. Despite the thousand-strong attack, only a little over a hundred guards protected her, and even some of these guards and servants had truly abandoned them, fleeing for their lives. Those remaining seemed to fight desperately, unwilling to fall even as they were reduced to a bloody pulp.
Huang Beishuang furrowed her brow, her mind in chaos. She had been vigilant about wind and weather throughout their journey, fearing that a single misstep could bury all one hundred and fifty of them in this arid sea, failing her kinsmen. Now, having guarded against the elements, she found herself defenseless against human malice; having protected against the earth, she could not protect against fate.
With this realization, she resolutely stepped out of the carriage. Standing firmly on the front board, she called out in a commanding voice, “Stop! Lay down your weapons, cease resistance.”
The guards immediately withdrew, gathering around her.
“We are a marriage procession from the E’naqi tribe, passing through on our way to a political union. We had no intention of becoming your cup of water or dish of food. We are willing to offer up all the gold, silver, jewels, water, wine, and remaining food in our carriages. We ask only for safe passage. If fortune smiles upon us again, we will not forget to repay your kindness!”
Though not loud, Huang Beishuang’s voice carried clearly to everyone’s ears.
These bandits, seemingly never having encountered such a bold woman before, were at a loss. They looked at each other in bewilderment, then turned as one to their leader.
The leader’s curved saber still dripped with fresh blood. He stood in the center, staring at Huang Beishuang. After a long silence, he suddenly burst into laughter—amused, arrogant, unceasing laughter.
“Truly, the world is full of wonders! In over ten years of rape and pillage, I’ve never seen prey walk out to negotiate terms!” Halfway through, he let out another scornful laugh. “How interesting!”
Huang Beishuang pressed her lips together, her expression unchanging.