Chapter 4: The Journey to Bohuan

It was an adult black panther, lying on a thick branch that stretched outward. Its snake-like body was pressed tightly against the trunk, its enormous front paws poised to pounce at any moment, the razor-sharp claws extended from their sheaths, firmly gripping the bark. Its eyes, glowing with ferocity, waited angrily and greedily for the invaders to get closer.
A black flash rushed at Li Qing’an, the nearest one. Caught off guard, Li Qing’an was knocked to the ground by the panther. His sturdy Mingguang armor protected him from the panther’s sharp claws. The panther shook its head and bit down on his neck with its bloody maw. Li Qing’an quickly shoved his bow and arrows into its mouth, freeing his hands to strangle the panther’s neck.
The Tang soldiers below panicked and rushed forward with their swords drawn. Li Qing’an roared, “Step back!”
In this life-or-death moment, his wild instincts surged. He grabbed the panther’s neck with his strong hands, flipped over, and pinned it beneath him.
The panther’s eyes turned blood-red; it spat out a foul stench from its mouth, thrashing its neck desperately as its sharp claws tried to scratch Li Qing’an’s face. Suddenly, it let out a wild cry and gradually stopped struggling. The light in its eyes vanished, replaced by a gray hue of death. Its tail swung weakly, and finally, it was motionless. Li Qing’an slowly pulled out a dagger from its heart. He sat down weakly in the snow, feeling exhausted.
After a long while, Li Qing’an stood up, brushed the snow off his clothes, and smiled at his stunned soldiers. “What do you think this black panther is worth?”
Ten Tang soldiers gathered around, discussing eagerly. “The year before last, Li Feishu captured a spotted leopard and sold it for ten guan. We’ve never seen a black panther like this; it must be worth more—at least twenty guan.”
“More than that! Way more!”
Veteran Han Jinping shook his head. “That was sold to foreign merchants, so of course the price was low. If sold in Bohuan City, it would be worth at least five times as much.”
Li Qing’an slung the black panther over his shoulder and smiled. “Then let’s take it to Bohuan City to sell it.”
……
Bohuan City is what is now Aksu, about 200 li away from Sulou Beacon Fort. It was the capital of the powerful Guumo Kingdom in the Western Regions. This place was a vital route from Kucha to Shule, with abundant grasslands and many rivers, making it a densely populated area since ancient times.

This place was also one of the military strongholds where the Tang army stationed large forces, with a military commander stationed there. That afternoon, Li Qing’an, He Yanming, and Qian Shu, whose real name was Qian Mian and who was Li Fei Yuanli’s deputy, arrived at Bahuhan City. Qian Mian had come to handle Li Qing’an’s promotion to fire commander. After entering the city, Qian Mian went to take care of his duties, and after agreeing on a meeting place, Li Qing’an and He Yanming went to a shop run by foreigners, carrying sheep heads and deer antlers.

Bahuhan City was not large, with low houses mostly built with flat roofs using stones. There was only one main road running east-west through the city, leading straight to the palace. Along both sides of the road, various shops were densely packed, selling gems, silverware, spices from the regions west of the mountains, as well as cloth, silk, tea, grain, and other goods from the Central Plains. The streets were bustling with people. The foreigners in Bahuhan City were mainly descendants of the Wusu people. After the Turks invaded from the south, the Anxi region also saw the integration of Turkic bloodlines. There were also many Han people in the city, mostly the families of military personnel, along with some merchants who opened shops here from the Central Plains. As a result, taverns, inns, brothels, and gambling houses with Central Plains characteristics could be seen everywhere.

The argal was considered an auspicious animal by the locals, and many foreigners liked to hang argal heads in their homes as decorations. Along the way, foreigners would often stop them.

“Sir, how much for an argal head?”

The foreigner’s Mandarin was quite rough, but the sound of the money bag he shook sounded very attractive. Li Qing’an stopped his horse and smiled, “How much are you willing to pay?”

“Three strings of coins. Will you sell it?”

“I’ll give you a deer head for three strings. An argal head costs at least four strings.”

“Four strings is too expensive. How about I add another 500 coins? Is that acceptable?”

“No! At least three strings and 950 coins, still less than four strings.”

“Fine, four strings then! Let me pick a good one.”

“Hehe! Deal.”

As soon as one deal was made, a crowd of foreigners surrounded them, competing fiercely. In no time, they snatched all the argal and deer heads from their hands, in exchange for a large sack full of yellow copper coins. Li Qing’an was overjoyed and said to He Yanming, “Xiao He, let’s go drink.”

He Yanming hesitated for a moment before whispering, “Fire commander, I’d like to go home and check things out. Is that okay?”

His home was just outside Bahuhan City, and since Qian Mian was busy with his duties, he certainly didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Li Qing’an nodded and smiled, “Go quickly and come back soon. We still need to head back this afternoon!”

“I’ll just go home briefly and be back right away.”

He Yanming turned his horse and rushed outside the city. Li Qing’an felt an itch in his throat and went to a tavern run by a Han person.

“Sir, have some wine!”
Hu Xiaoer came over eagerly. He could understand Chinese to some extent. Li Qingan pointed at the sack and said, “Take this money inside for me, and I’ll give you ten coins as a reward.”
“Sure!”
Hu Xiaoer happily picked up the sack, but the nearly 200-jin weight of copper coins almost crushed him. It took him great effort to drag the sack into the tavern.
The tavern was quite spacious, half filled with people. A Hu girl who encouraged people to drink came over like a butterfly, leaning against him with a smiling face and asking, “What kind of wine would you like, sir?”
“Bring two pots of high-quality Gaochang wine, and also three jin of marinated mutton.”
“Please wait a moment, sir. I’ll be right back.” The Hu girl flew away like a butterfly again.
Li Qingan sat down. He had been in the Tang Dynasty for over a month and had gotten used to many things, except for sitting. There were no chairs in the Tang Dynasty; people either knelt on mats or sat cross-legged on low Hu beds, which caused his legs to ache.
Li Qingan sat down on a Hu bed and placed the leopard-skin wrapped package on the low table. At that moment, the shopkeeper came over and bowed, saying, “Sir, it seems this is your first time at our shop!”
“I serve in the Sulou Beacon Fort and rarely come to Bohuan City.”
“Oh! That’s quite far away, sir. My name is Yang. I’m the owner of this shop. Please come back to our store often if you visit Bohuan City in the future.”
“Sure! Definitely!”
Li Qingan nodded with a smile. Suddenly remembering something, he asked, “Shopkeeper Yang, which is the most famous gemstone shop in Bohuan City? I mean, one that specializes in precious gems.”
Shopkeeper Yang thought for a moment and said, “It should be the ‘Sogdian Old Shop.’ It’s the most famous.”
“Thank you!”
Li Qingan opened the package and pointed at the black leopard skin, asking, “Shopkeeper Yang, may I ask again? How much can this leopard skin be sold for?”
“Ah! It’s a black leopard.”
The shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise, drawing the attention of the customers around. Everyone gathered around, discussing it in amazement.
“Sir, leopard skin is already expensive, and a black leopard like this has never been seen before. I estimate it’s worth at least 150 guan. If sold in big cities like Chang’an or Luoyang, it could fetch over 500 guan.”
Only then did Li Qingan suddenly realize that a black leopard was likely a jaguar, as they didn’t exist in the East. This leopard must have resulted from a genetic mutation. In that case, it might be the only one of its kind in the world. It would indeed be a shame to sell it just like that.
“I was just asking casually. I don’t intend to sell it.”
Li Qingan changed his mind and put the leopard skin away. Seeing that he didn’t want to sell it, the customers returned to their seats. By then, the food and drinks had been brought over.

Just as Li Qingan picked up his wine cup, he suddenly heard a clear voice, “Soldier, sell me your black panther skin.”