Chapter 40: Fantastical Tales (III)

As the sun set and the moon rose, the inn in the southwest corner of Bahanna City was brightly lit.
Ever since Zhang Yanji entered his room, he had not stopped complaining.
“This inn run by those Kharazmians is even more shabby than I thought!”
In Zhang Xiaolangjun’s opinion, even a military camp could not be more primitive than this room!
No, it couldn’t even be called a room. The half-ruined house didn’t even have a complete set of tea utensils. The large bed meant for five or six people was full of holes, and the wooden basin for washing feet had multiple cracks…
Most importantly, after nightfall, he heard eerie howls of wolves, which made his hair stand on end. It wasn’t that he was timid—he had never flinched in the face of Tubo or Uyghur warriors! But those sounds were simply too harsh, too terrifying, to avoid making one tremble.
After asking the innkeeper, Hui’er, he was told it was because of the location near the mountain ridge, and it wasn’t a big deal.
Since he didn’t live there himself, of course it wasn’t a big deal! Let him stay in that spooky room for half a night and see if he would still complain!
Of course, the inn wasn’t fully occupied. But although there were many empty rooms in the back yard, Zhang Xiaolangjun felt too embarrassed to ask to switch rooms—it was truly frustrating!
“No, Brother Kuo, these sounds are too terrifying! I can’t stand it!”
Zhang Yanji tried to endure, but he couldn’t help complaining. If it were just one or two howls, it might be okay, but those beasts kept howling nonstop. Even the horses in the stable became restless, kicking against the bars—how could anyone sleep like that?
He absolutely had to switch rooms. Who could sleep with such howls?
“Well, who was it who patted my chest and said I wouldn’t mind the conditions of the room when we first checked in?”
Li Kuo smiled mockingly at his friend, his eyes full of teasing.
“Well, at that time, I didn’t know it would be like this… Ah, it’s all that bastard Ashina Luoxie’s fault!”
Zhang Yanji had no argument left and could only blame the old Turk as a scapegoat.
Brother Kuo had given him so much money to be a guide, and he just led everyone here!
“Ah, mortals, nothing but mortals! Can’t you learn from Qi Lang? When you’re out in the world, why do you still act like a spoiled rich kid?”
Zhou Wucui swallowed the half-soft, half-crunchy baked flatbread and teased Zhang Yanji. They had come all the way through the Segani Marshes to avoid being detected by the Great Eaters’ sentries, and they were extremely tired and exhausted. If they could find an inn with better conditions, they certainly wouldn’t skimp on themselves.

But these days, many inns and shops in Bahuanna City have closed for some unknown reason. Ashina Luosi spent a great deal of effort to assign nearly six hundred men to stay in a dozen inns. It’s already a fortune not to have to sleep on the streets tonight—what more can one expect regarding the condition of the inns? Moreover, the inn they stayed in was already considered the best among those dozen lodgings. “Actually… I think that owner is kind of strange. Have you noticed that there’s a hint of anger in his gaze when he looks at us, but it’s hidden deep beneath his greedy eyes? I feel like he must have some ulterior motives.” As soon as Zhang Yanji heard the howling, he instinctively trembled. Thinking of Hu Yier’s somewhat peculiar behavior, he naturally came up with many unfounded suspicions. What if this inn was a trap, and the owner used some kind of sedative to steal from and kill them while they slept? Various legendary scenarios unfolded in Zhang Yanji’s mind, further confirming his suspicions… “Alright, if you’re really worried, go sleep in Yu Cheng’s room. I really can’t stand your anxiety.” Li Kuo helplessly waved his hand, signaling him to leave. “Who’s afraid! I was just talking casually. If you don’t take it seriously, that’s fine!” Zhang Yanji straightened his chest and encouraged himself. “Hmm! This baked flatbread tastes pretty good. Qi Lang, try it.” Zhou Wucui put another piece of flatbread in his mouth and chewed hard. The young man’s chubby cheeks trembled, occasionally forming two dimples. “Mm.” But Li Kuo didn’t have the mood to enjoy the food now; his entire focus was on the mission ahead during this trip along the river. The reason they chose Bahuanna as their first stop was that King Ashilanda of Bahuanna was considered one of the more pro-Tang rulers among the various Hu tribes. If the Hu tribes along the river formed a chain of interests, Bahuanna was the weakest link in that chain. The young man wasn’t entirely confident he could persuade Ashilanda to side with Tang, but since he had to choose a Hu kingdom to test his plans, he naturally opted for the one with the lowest risk. However, after arriving in Bahuanna City, he realized things were even worse than he had imagined. Not only was there not a trace of Tang culture here, but even the local culture of the Hu tribes had been completely suppressed. In its place was fanatical Zoroastrian culture—everyone on the streets wore Persian robes and spoke in Persian… If the local people had already been completely influenced and controlled by Zoroastrianism, could King Ashilanda even take control of the situation in Bahuanna City even if he were persuaded?

“Tomorrow, I want to take a walk around the palace.”
Li Kuo pondered for a long time before deciding he should go to the palace in person. Although their lobbying trip had no time limit, delays could lead to problems, and such an important matter couldn’t be postponed.
“I’ll go with you!”
Zhang Yanji didn’t want anyone to think he was timid again, so he immediately stepped forward. It was better to go out and walk rather than stay here feeling bored.
“I’ll go too, General!”
Dou Qing, who had been promoted by Li Kuo himself, naturally couldn’t let the young man go alone into danger, so he declared his willingness loudly, slapping his chest.
“Yanji and Brother Dou going with me is enough. Too many people would be inappropriate.”
Li Kuo nodded, thinking about his next steps: “Wuzei, tomorrow find Yu Cheng, Xiao Chun, Li Sheng, and the others to explore the city. There’s no need to ask anything specifically—just learn more about the city!”
“Don’t worry. Hmm! This baked naan tastes really good. Try it…”
Zhou Wuzei’s cheeks puffed up and softened as he had no moment’s rest.
“Sigh.”
The young man helplessly took the baked naan and chewed it.
Mm, it indeed tasted good….
The palace in Bahwana City was located in the northern part of the city, on a very high elevation. Even Ameihu Zier Market, the closest to the palace, was over 200 meters vertically apart. Thus, it wasn’t easy for Li Kuo to find an opportunity to get close to the palace.
Walking slowly from the inn in the southwest corner of the city, the young man noticed many differences from Ashibulai City. The local customs here were more influenced by the Abbasid style, and the markets were quieter. Even Ameihu Zier Market had fewer people than a sub-provincial capital in the Tang Dynasty.
People on the streets all seemed in a hurry, as if those who wandered around without a clear purpose like them were outliers. After much effort, the young man found a teahouse facing the northern gate of the palace and sat down, ordering a pot of tea.
Unlike Ashibulai City, the northern side of Bahwana City was even higher. From this angle, there were many more watchtowers surrounding the palace. This meant the young man couldn’t climb over the walls from the side and rush to the palace along the mountain path as he had done last time.
As for the back mountain, it was likely the private garden of King Ashilanda of Bahwana. Its stepped, enclosed layout allowed the king to enjoy the view of the Pearl River, while also preventing assassins from entering the palace through that route.
How could he get in then?
As the young man pondered, his tea was delivered.

The owner of the teahouse was a light-gray-skinned Khurt with fluent Turkish and Persian, the two standard languages spoken in this region. Tang dialect was truly secondary. Seeing that the young men were all wearing Persian robes, he greeted them in Persian. “May Allah’s blessings be upon you! Your tea is ready. That will be one Persian silver coin.” Li Kuo couldn’t understand a word he said and could only shrug helplessly. Though somewhat surprised, the teahouse owner, being highly professional, repeated himself in Turkish. Fortunately, Li Kuo had learned some basic Turkish and roughly understood what he meant. He took out a Persian silver coin from his pouch and handed it to him. “Thank you, thank you!” The teahouse owner snatched the coin, wiped it on his sleeve, and stuffed it into a small bag he carried. With such high taxes on zakat in Bahuana City, he needed to charge more to cover the taxes. Alas, there were few customers as generous as this! Zhang Xiaolangjun, already extremely thirsty, picked up the teapot and poured himself a full cup. “Pfft!” But perhaps he wasn’t meant to enjoy it—as soon as the tea touched his lips, Zhang Yanji spat it out. “Is this even tea? Even water used to scrub pots tastes better than this.” Zhang Yanji wiped the water from his mouth and complained loudly. If this had happened in Chang’an, with his temperament, he would have taken it all the way to the Jingzhao Prefecture! “General, this merchant is too greedy—charging a silver coin for such tea!” Dou Qing also tried it and showed a bitter expression, deeming the price unjust for just one silver coin. “This isn’t the Tang Dynasty; it’s good enough to have tea to drink.” Li Kuo waved his hand, signaling the two not to worry about such trivial matters. They were speaking Tang dialect, so the other tea drinkers around couldn’t understand a thing. However, the foreigners seemed quite curious about this language and turned toward the three of them without exception. “Hmm, drinking tea!” Not wanting to attract attention, Li Kuo was the first to gulp down a full cup of tea. Rarity makes things precious. What was most scarce in the palace… Just then, a cart loaded with various vegetables slowly made its way toward the palace in the northern city. It was it! A brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Li Kuo’s mind!