Ballad of the Desert

Chapter 21: First Kiss

Huo Qu Bing and I walked ahead, while Brother Wolf and Snow Lady followed behind me. Little Princess would sometimes run ahead to chase a butterfly, run next to me to make me carry her, or mimic her parents and walk leisurely besides us.

After spending more than two days together, Snow Lady has lowered her caution towards Huo Qu Bing and doesn't stop him from getting close to Little Princess as long as I'm around. "If we continue down this road, we will be headed towards the chief Xiong Nu tribe's territory. Even though they have lost many battles, but there are likely troops nearby and it might be hard to avoid running into them." Huo Qu Bing smiled and reminded me.

I replied "I know. The Xiong Nu live along the water ways, and the Qi Lian Mountains are the Xiong Nu's most beautiful and fertile lands. The Xiong Nu army might have been defeated, but the nomadic Xiong Nu herders who live here are likely loathe to depart. Even if we don't run into the army, we'll likely run into some herders." He asked quizzically "You said we were going to see someone. Is it a Xiong Nu person?"

I glanced at him "What if it is a Xiong Nu person?" He confidently laughed "Yu Er, smile. This whole way your expression has gotten more and more somber. Who cares if it is a Xiong Nu person. Even if it is the Shan Yu of the Xiong Nu, I will gladly go with you to meet him."

He looked at my outfit "But I don't think it is a Xiong Nu person. Of the outfits I got you, there was a Han outfit, and various Xi Yu outfits, and even a Xiong Nu outfit. You chose a Gui Su outfit, and the Xiong Nu outfit was the first outfit you tossed aside, with a look of disgust."

I lightly sighed "I ought to be wearing a Han outfit, but the Gui Su outfit comes with a face veil." I checked him out "But it's enough that you're wearing it."

Over one mountain and another, we traverse the dense woods. Brother Wolf has already realized where I am headed and he impatiently followed behind me and then rushed forward. He came back after some time and lowly growled to me. I immediately stop walking. Huo Qu Bing asked "What? Someone is ahead?" I nodded, hesitating for a moment before walking forward. Both the humans and the wolves silenced our footsteps.

Huo Qu Bing and I crouched down and moved behind the heavy brush. When I saw a figure in front of the gravestone, I immediately froze. Huo Qu Bing also stopped and peered out between the brush. There was one large gravestone and one small gravestone. A man was quietly sitting in front of the gravestone drinking alone. Behind him stood two guards a respectful distance away. Huo Qu Bing recognized the person sitting in front of the grave and turned to give me a questioning look. I only silently stared at Yi Zhi Xie sitting in front of the grave.

In the growth of the mountain side came the sound of insects buzzing. Bits of sunlight shone down on the grave through the tree tops and on Yi Zhi Xie, giving off a sense of isolation. He faced the grave and was quietly drinking. His shadow reflected his melancholy, with every raised cup he seemed to be drinking in his sorrow.

Yi Zhi Xie used his hands to fix the weeds around the grave. His two guards immediately stepped forward to do it but he silently waved them away. The two looked at each other and then retreated. My hand was unconsciously gripping the branch next to me, tighter and tighter. By the time Huo Qu Bing realized it and removed my hand from the branch, it was already covered in blood. Yi Zhi Xie cleaned both graves and then he poured a glass for the large grave and toasted it.

"Brother Xu, you ought to be happy today. Half of Qi Lian Mountains has already been stolen by the Han dynasty. Perhaps soon you will be resting here under Han owned earth. I hope you don't mind drinking with me. You told me before that the nomadic tribes, compared to the agricultural communities, will always be at a disadvantage. In the short term, the nomadic tribes can use fast speed to conquer the agricultural cultures. But if the nomadic tribes don't quickly adapt to an agricultural basis, the citizenry and the wealth will always not measure up. In the long run, it will lose to the agricultural communities. I asked you then, what if we adopted the agricultural way of life, and you said then we could potentially rule successfully. But then after a few generations, our nomadic culture and identity would disappear, and over time the nomadic descendants would become the minority and subject to discrimination. At that time I refused to accept this. Our Xiong Nu braves have lived like this for generations, and as long as we had warriors, we would never disappear that easily. But now I finally understand what you were trying to say. Things are happening now like you predicted. After a period of growth, the Han dynasty is rich and powerful. Compared to the Xiong Nu, we cannot match up in man power or wealth."