Chen was extremely concerned at the news that the

Three Devils of Guandong were out to get Huo Qingtong.

The image of her gradually disappearing into the dust

of the Great Desert forced its way into his mind once

more, but remembering how familiar she had been with

Master Lu's pupil, he decided that he was fooling

himself about her feelings for him. But he was unable

to forget her image.

The white horse was extraordinarily fast, and in less

than two days he arrived at Jiayu Fortress, the

western end of the Great Wall. He climbed up onto the

battlements and looked out at the Wall snaking away

into the distance, holding at bay the great

wilderness. He felt a sense of excitement at the

thought of once more entering the border regions, and

followed custom by throwing a stone at the wall. The

sandstorms outside the Wall were perilous, the way

would be hard, and according to tradition, if a

traveller threw a stone at the wall as he passed

through the Jiayu Gate, he would be able to return

alive.

He travelled by day, rested by night. After he had

passed the Jade Gate and Anxi, the desert changed

colour gradually from pale to dark yellow, and then

slowly turned to grey as he skirted the Gobi. The

region was uninhabited, containing nothing but endless

expanses of broad desert.

He passed through the Stellar Gorge, the main link

between Gansu Province and the Muslim regions. It was

already winter and the first accumulations of snow

coud be seen along the gorge, providing a thrilling

contrast of black and white.

"What a perfect place for an ambush," Chen thought.

That night, he lodged in a small hut and the next day

found himself at the edge of the Gobi desert. The Gobi

was as flat as a mirror, completely different from a

sandy desert with its rolling dunes. Gazing into the

distance, it seemed to him as if the sky and earth

touched one another. All was silent, and it seemed as

if he and his horse were the only beings in the

universe.

The As he rode, day after day, he considered the

problem of how to find Huo Qingtong. As a Chinese, the

Muslims could suspect him of being a spy, so to gain

their confidence he would have to resort to deception.

He decided to disguise himself as a Muslim, and at the

next settlement, bought a small embroidered cap, a

pair of leather boots and a striped gown. Riding on,

he found a deserted place and changed into his new

clothes, burying the old ones in the sand. He looked

at his reflection in a nearby stream and was so

pleased with his appearance as a young Muslim boy that

he let out a laugh.

But he met no Muslims on the road. The Muslim villages

and dwellings he came upon were all burnt to the

ground, obviously the good work of General Zhao Wei's

army. He decided he was unlikely to meet any Muslims

on the main highway, so he cut off south, and headed

into the mountains. In such desolate wilderness, there

was little chance of finding any settlement, and after

three days, his dry rations were finished. But

luckily, he managed to catch and kill a goat.

Two days further on, he met a number of Kazakh

herdsmen. They knew that the Muslim army had retreated

westwards in the face of the Manchu force, but had no

idea where it had gone.

There was nothing for it but to continue west. Chen

gave the horse its head and made no attempt to divert

it. For four days he covered more than a hundred miles

a day with nothing but sand and sky before his eyes.

On the fourth day, the weather turned hot. The burning

sun scorched down on both man and horse. He wanted to

find somewhere shady where they could rest, but

wherever he looked there was nothing but sand dunes.

He opened his water flask, drank three mouthfuls, and

let the white horse drink the same amount. Despite a

terrible thirst, he did not dare to drink more.

They rested for two hours, then started out once more.

Suddenly, the white horse raised its head and sniffed

at the wind, whinnied loudly, then turned and galloped

off south. Chen gave it its head. Soon, sparse grasses

began to appear on the sand dunes around them, then

green grass. Chen knew there must be an oasis ahead,

and his heart leapt. The white horse too was in high

spirits and its hooves flew.

After a while, they heard the sound of running water

and a small steam appeared before them. Chen

dismounted and scooped up a mouthful of water. As he

drank, he felt a coolnesspenetrate to his lungs and

noticed a slight fragrance to the water. The stream

was full of little pieces of ice which jostled each

other, emitting a crisp jingling noise, like the music

of fairies. After drinking a few mouthfuls, the white

horse gave a whinny and gambolled about happily for a

moment.

Having drunk his fill, Chen felt relaxed and content.

He filled his two leather water flasks. In the midst

of the sparkling ice fragments, he spotted flower

petals floating past, and realized it must be flower

beds further upstream which made the waters so

fragrant.

"If I follow the stream up," he thought, "I may come

across someone who can tell me where Huo Qingtong

might be." He remounted and started along the bank.

The stream gradually widened. In the desert, most

rivers and streams are larger close to their source as

the water is soaked up by the desert sands and

eventually disappears. Having lived many years in the

Muslim areas, Chen did not consider it strange. The

trees along the banks of the stream also increased in

number and he spurred his horse into a gallop. As they

turned a bend in the stream round a hill, a silver

waterfall came into view.

Chen felt invigorated by the discovery of such a

gorgeous place in the midst of the barren desert, and

was curious to know what vistas would present

themselves above the waterfall. He led the horse round

and up, and as they emerged from a line of tall fir

trees, he stopped in amazement.

Before him was a wide lake fed by another large

waterfall at its southern end. The spray from the

cascade spread out in all directions, combining with

the sunlight to create a glorious rainbow, while a

profusion of trees and flowers of many colours

surrounded the lake and reflected in its

turquoise-green waters. Beyond was a huge expanse of

verdant grass stretching off to the horizon on which

he could see several hundred white sheep. A high

mountain rose into the clouds from the western bank of

the lake, the lower slopes covered in green foliage

and the upper slopes in brilliant white snow.

He stood staring at the scene for a moment. The sound

of small birds singing in the trees and ice slabs in

the lake jostling against each other combined with the

roar of the waterfall into a work of music. Looking at

the surface of the lake, he suddenly noticed a circle

of small ripples, and a jade-white hand emerged from

the water followed by a dripping-wet head. It turned

and saw him, and with a shriek disappeared back into

the water.

In that moment, Chen had been able to see that the

head belonged to an extremely beautiful young girl.

"Could there really be such things as water spirits

and monsters?" he wondered. He pulled out three chess

pieces and lodged them in his palm just in case.

A string of ripples stretched across the surface of

the lake northwards, then with a splash, the girl's

head re-emerged amidst an outgrowth of flowers and

bushes. Through a gap in the leaves, he could see her

snow-white skin, her raven hair splayed out over the

surface of the water and her eyes, as bright as stars,

gazing across at him.

"Who are you?" a clear voice asked. "Why have you come

here?"

She spoke in the Muslim language, and although Chen

understood, he was unable to answer. He felt dazed, as

if drunk or in a dream.

"Go away and let me put my clothes on," the girl said.

Chen's face flushed and he quickly went back into the

trees.

He was extremely embarrassed and wanted to escape, but

he thought he should at least ask the girl for news of

Huo Qingtong. For a while he was undecided. Then the

sound of singing, soft but clear, floated over from

the opposite side of the lake:

"Brother, brother, passing by,

Please come back

Why have you run off so fast

Without a word?"

He walked slowly back to the lake and, looking across,

saw a young girl dressed in a brilliantly white gown

sitting bare-foot on a bed of red flowers by the

water's edge. She was slowly combing her long hair,

still covered in beads of water, as flower petals

drifted slowly down onto her head. He marvelled that

such a beautiful girl could exist.

The girl smiled radiantly and motioned with her hand

for him to come over.

"I was passing this way and felt thirsty," Chen said

in the Muslim language. "I chanced upon a stream and

followed it here. I did not expect to run into you,

miss. It was an unintentional error. Please forgive

me." He bowed as he spoke.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"I am called Ahmed."

This was the most common name among Muslim men, and

the girl smiled again.

"All right," she said. "Then my name Ayesha." This was

the most common name among Muslim women. "Who are you

looking for?"

"I have to find Master Muzhuolun."

The girl looked startled. "Do you know him?"

"Yes, I do," said Chen. "I also know his son, Huo Ayi,

and his daughter, Huo Qingtong."

"Where did you meet them?"

"They travelled to the central plains to recover the

sacred Koran and I happened to come across them

there."

"Why are you looking for Master Muzhuolun?"

Chen recognised the note of respect in her voice. "Is

he of the same tribe as you, miss?" The girl nodded.

"They killed a number of bodyguard agency escorts

while recovering the sacred Koran, and friends of the

escorts are now seeking revenge. I want to warn them."

The girl had had a smile constantly playing around her

lips, but now it disappeared. "Are the men that are

coming to take revenge very terrible?" she asked. "Are

there many of them?"

"No, not many. They are good fighters, but as long as

we are prepared, there is nothing to fear."

The girl relaxed and smiled again. "I will take you to

see Master Muzhuolun," she said. "We will have to

travel for several days." She began to plait her hair.

"The great Manchu army came and attacked us for no

reason and all the men have gone away to fight. My

sisters and I have remained here to watch over the

livestock."
关键字:书剑恩仇录
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