Chapter 32: 32

Two days later, Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming bid their farewell to everyone in the barracks. Each riding a horse, they rushed East, traveling day and night. On their way, they found a post station where they stayed for the night and set out again the next morning. After traveling until evening, and crossing the Gobi desert, an oasis suddenly appeared in front of them.

They stood on a high area, and when they looked down, they could see a huge crescent-shaped clear lake. A small village was hidden in a poplar green forest, where the trees were tall, and the grass was lush and full of vitality. It was like a hidden treasure left behind in the yellow sands of the desert.

Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan stopped their horses and looked from afar. Mu Zhiming said: “This should be it.”

“Hmm.” Gu Heyan nodded.

Mu Zhiming said: “This place is actually bigger than what I thought it would be.”

Gu Heyan: “It doesn’t look like a village. It looks more like a town.”

Mu Zhiming nodded: “Exactly! Let’s go and have a look.”

When they rode all the way to the lake, they came across a woman who was fetching water by the lake. Her clothes were unique. Even though they looked similar to the brocade clothes of the Great Jin, the fur she used to keep herself warm, and the braids she had in her hair resembled those used by the Gouji Kingdom. Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan glanced at each other, as if agreeing on something. Then, both of them dismounted from their horses, and as they held the reins, they walked towards the woman.

After the woman poured the water into five or six large leather bags, she put her hands on her waist and exhaled lightly. After wiping her sweat, she tied all of the leather bags with hemp rope and prepared to carry them home. At that moment, she heard the sound of a rattling horse. As she looked up in confusion, she saw two distinguished Gongzi walking towards her.

One of the Gongzis walked faster than the other, until he stood right in front of her. He wore a plain white thick brocade garment, as well as a cloak decorated with a pattern of dancing clouds and flying cranes. With great politeness, he saluted her: “Miss, is there an inn or a place we could stay in the village ahead?”

The woman, who seemed used to meeting long-distance travelers, and wasn’t afraid of newcomers, smiled kindly then asked: “I wonder why these two Gongzi came here?”

Mu Zhiming replied: “I came to collect medicinal herbs. I heard that there’s an herb called ‘Locked Soul’ growing near the border. My best friend’s father is seriously ill and is in need of this herb to cure his illness.”

“I see.” The woman nodded. “Since the war between the two countries started, no herbalist has come here for a long time. There is a small inn in town, but it has been inactive for several months. I’ll lead the two Gongzi there.”

“Thank you.” Mu Zhiming cupped his hands and thanked her. “Miss, you can put the water bags on our horses, to express our gratitude.”

The woman didn’t refuse: “Then I’ll have to trouble the two Gongzi.”

After Mu Zhiming said, “It’s no trouble,” he went forward to pick up the water bags for the woman. However, before he could do so, Gu Heyan passed him without saying a word, easily picked up those water bags, and put them on his horse’s back.

The three of them walked along the crescent-shaped lake towards the village. From afar, they could see the smoke rising from the kitchens in the houses built with yellow loess within the poplar forest. It looked quiet and peaceful. At that, Mu Zhiming sighed: “This place is so close to the Gouji Kingdom, and not long ago, war erupted between both countries. How can this place remain so peaceful?”

The woman said: “It’s precisely because we’re so close to the Gouji Kingdom that we can live peaceful lives! The bandits are afraid of the Gouji Kingdom and never dared to set foot on this place for fear of encountering foreign soldiers.”

“Didn’t the Gouji army come to loot this place?” Mu Zhiming was puzzled.

“They won’t come, we have that stone protecting us.” The woman replied with a smile.

Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan looked at each other, becoming more and more puzzled. “A stone?”

“Yes,” the woman nodded. “A stone.”

After saying that, the three of them had already reached the village. At that moment, the woman pointed to one place: “That’s the stone.”

Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan looked towards the place indicated by the woman, only to see a large stone. Its size was about one person tall and two wide. It was placed right in front of the Town Gate made of yellow loess. That stone had many words engraved on it. It seemed that the stone had been standing in this place for many years, as the yellow sand of the desert and the wind had eroded the words over time, almost completely erasing them. The words were so blurry that it was impossible to understand what was written on the stone.

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“As long as this stone is here, the Gouji Kingdom won’t come to plunder this place.” The woman said with certainty.

“But….How can a stone prevent the Gouji Kingdom from looting this village?” Mu Zhiming wondered.

“I’m not so sure myself.” The woman shook her head. “I heard that there’s a 100 year old woman in this village, who may know the reason why. However, no matter who asked her, she would only repeat the words ‘the world has changed, it’s not the right time’, and so on. Then she would only begin to sigh, as if she had thought of something sad.”

When Mu Zhiming heard the woman’s words, he looked at the big stone in a daze. After confirming that there was nothing strange about it, he became even more confused. However, since he couldn’t find any kind of clues, he had to follow the woman into the village first.

They first sent the water bags to the woman’s house, then the woman took Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming to the inn.

However, although it was called an inn, it was actually a simple two-story yellow loess house with a kiln. Since the innkeeper has had no customers for several months, and has been closed for a long time, he had to properly clean the rooms where the visitors will stay in.

Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan arrived late in the evening. By the time the innkeeper had finished cleaning up the room, it was already late at night. Mu Zhiming, sitting by the wooden table, was so sleepy that he even yawned while supporting his head with one hand. Soon, the innkeeper hurriedly came down from the second floor to warmly say: “Guests, the room is ready. I’ve made you wait for so long, quickly go up and rest.”

“Thank you, may I please ask where the room is?” Mu Zhiming stood up right away.

The innkeeper replied: “Upstairs, the first room after turning left.”

At that, Gu Heyan frowned slightly: “One room?”

The innkeeper nodded: “Don’t worry, guest, that room is big enough for two people. It also has two separate beds.”

Gu Heyan fell silent.

When Mu Zhiming saw that there was something wrong with Gu Heyan, he thought: ‘Maybe he doesn’t want to share a room with me.’ So, Mu Zhiming said: “He-xiong, if you dislike sharing a room with other people, then you can go rest first. I’ll ask the innkeeper to clean up another room for me.”

Gu Heyan raised his eyes to look at Mu Zhiming, stood up abruptly, and said. “No….it’s alright….”

After hurrying on the road for two days, Mu Zhiming and Gu Heyan were so tired they didn’t talk much. When they arrived at their room, they each got ready for bed and went to sleep. The next morning, when Mu Zhiming woke up, he found that Gu Heyan wasn’t in the inn. Puzzled, Mu Zhiming got up from bed and tied up his hair. Right when he was about to go downstairs to look for Gu Heyan, the door of the room was pushed open and Gu Heyan walked in holding a basin of water.

“He-xiong, where have you been?” Mu Zhiming asked with a smile.

“Exploring the surroundings.” Gu Heyan lowered his eyes and placed the basin of clear water on the wooden table. “Use this water to wash up.”

“Many thanks, He-xiong.” Mu Zhiming thanked again and again. As he approached the basin of clear water, Mu Zhiming discovered that the water was actually lukewarm. Neither cool nor hot, but just at a comfortable temperature.

Mu Zhiming was stunned with this for a moment and hurried to look at Gu Heyan. However, as soon as Gu Heyan put down the basin of water, he sat on the edge of his bed and began to wipe his sword, giving off the impression that he didn’t want to pay attention to Mu Zhiming. Mu Zhiming, on the other hand, had to bitterly withdraw his gaze.

After Mu Zhiming cleaned himself and tidied up his clothes, the innkeeper brought breakfast. Warm millet porridge and pancakes. With such a breakfast, they could be in good spirits for the rest of the day. After having breakfast, Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming went downstairs to look for the innkeeper, asking him about the large stone near the town gate. However, the innkeeper shook his head and said: “I only know that with the protection of that stone, the Gouji Kingdom will never come to plunder the village. As for the specific reasons, I’m not sure.”

Mu Zhiming thanked him anyway and bid him farewell. Mu Zhiming then asked Gu Heyan: “He-xiong, in your opinion, how could a stone prevent a village from being looted by foreign troops?”

Gu Heyan shook his head.

Mu Zhiming laughed: “I’m so confused. Why don’t we go to the stone and take a closer look together?”

Gu Heyan replied: “Hmm.”

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