Wong Wen and Wong Wu really loathed Guri. Tarico and the others also felt angry about her behavior. Although they were aware of her insolence, they hadn’t expected her to do such a vicious thing.
Tarico stood up and took the poison from her hand. “How could you do this in front of the mountain god? Why did you do it?”
Guri felt like a naked clown being questioned by these people after failing in her plan. It was too shameful. She had an urge to salvage her pride.
“Why?” she sneered. “Tarico, I didn’t treat you this way before. I showed my affection for you in every way, but you never responded. You would rather be attracted to that southern woman than consider me. Do those outsiders really deserve your help? If you showed a little kindness to me, I would have told my father I want only you to be my husband. But you’re such an asshole that you don’t even give me a chance!
“Besides, what the blazes have those outsiders done? They show off their camels and make us obey them. They have almost become the hosts here. As a member of the Tianshan tribe, don’t you feel it very dangerous? Aren’t you afraid that they will make our land theirs? We are herdsmen and have lived here for generations. We can’t allow them to invade our home! If they want to settle down here, they must be our slaves! We can’t let them dominate us!”
Tarico fell silent.
Wong Wen thought Tarico had been persuaded and hastened to retort, “Tianshan is not yours. It’s Daqi’s. We’re all under the rule of Daqi. Besides, you’re still the hosts here. Both the Sixth King and the Seventh King wish you to live a better life, and that’s why they gave us the task.”
Guri gave Tarico a challenging look. “Tarico, what do you think? If we’re still regarded as the hosts here, why can’t my dad join the project? Why can you edge the tribal leader out so easily? Who will believe our kings wish us a better life?”
She imposed her value of tribal unity on them and represented everyone, especially the locals, as barbaric and unreasonable. So they all looked at Tarico and waited for his answer. But Tarico burst out laughing. This puzzled Guri greatly.
He said with a sarcastic smile, “Invade? Be the hosts? You’re not eligible to say such words. If you ask those who help us, you will find out that they are the ones downtrodden by you! You take their best pastures, fattest cattle and goats, and even money if they earn any! Since your father became the leader, he’s been getting richer and richer. What about us? What about them?”
Tarico pointed at the men beside him. “They were once paupers who couldn’t even afford a lamb. Have you ever thought of helping them? Why do they listen to the southern people? That’s because the camel team makes us locals no longer poor. Now, we have money to buy cattle and goats and can eat naans with meat. What’s more, those southern people don’t guard against us like your father. Instead, they trust us and give us important work to do. We’re treated equally and get rewards according to how much we do. This is the life we want! No one wants to be your father’s slaves!”
After he finished speaking, all the men applauded immediately. Just now, these local guys had suspected that they might have betrayed the mountain god by helping the outsiders. But hearing Tarico’s words, they were convinced that he was right. Since there was a camel team, their living standards had been greatly improved. They could even wear cloth shoes and socks which had been a luxury to them before. So, they supported Tarico and seriously criticized Guri for threatening them with the mountain god and poisoning the camels.
Wong Wen asked Tarico, “What should we do with this woman? Although she’s your tribal member and we can’t interfere too much, she’s too detestable to be forgiven. If we hadn’t noticed her evildoing tonight, the consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate. Without the camels, all our efforts would be vain and we wouldn’t do any business across the desert in spring.”
Tarico thought for a while and said, “This is not a trivial matter. We certainly can’t spare her easily. Let’s take her to her father now and see how he will deal with this. I don’t believe that he knows nothing about this.”
Guri shouted angrily, “Tarico, I’m the tribal leader’s daughter! You can’t do anything to me! Even if you don’t care about me, you should show respect to my father!”
“Respect can only be earned by yourselves. Do you think you deserve our respect after doing such a thing?”
“…”
Therefore, Guri was escorted by a group of men to meet Mahal. Since they made quite a noise, some people who were awake nearby went out to watch what was going on.
Mahal’s yurt was dark, showing no light from inside. After Tarico knocked for a while, Mahal finally opened the door and pretended as if he had just woken up and knew nothing.
“What’s wrong? Oh, Guri, why are you with them? Why are you tied up? What have they done to you? How dare you tie my daughter up!”
Guri said nothing. Her father not only proved his nimbleness when escaping but also showed a gift for acting. What a sly old man! But she also understood that she couldn’t tell them that her father was an accomplice, or he would lose face and have difficulty in building up the prestige in the tribe.
“Dad…” Guri said in a pitiful tone. “I just played a joke on them, but they…”
Tarico snorted, “You wanted to poison our camels, and you say it was only a joke?”
She pouted her lips and retorted, “Your camels are all fine.”
Tarico asked, “So I can also poison your goats tomorrow and say it’s just a joke, right?”
“No! If you poison my goats, you must compensate me!” she said imperiously.
Tarico said, “I see no point in further negotiation. Sir, she’s your daughter and I can give her back to you now. But many of us saw her evildoing, so her crime is beyond doubt. We have no right to punish her, so we’ll inform the Seventh King of this after we return to the tribe. He’ll decide how to treat her.”
Mahal’s face turned pale with fright. If this thing reached the Seventh King’s ears, the consequences would be very serious.
“Tarico… what about…” Mahal wanted to persuade Tarico to forgive Guri.
But Tarico ignored him and said to his companions, “Let’s go.”
Then, the men followed Tarico out right away. Those who hid nearby also had a rough idea of what had happened. Afraid of being discovered by Mahal, they sneaked away in the darkness immediately.
Mahal was nervous and worried. He wanted to chase Tarico, but he was reluctant to lose face in front of so many people. So, he untied Guri first and asked her, “Didn’t you say they wouldn’t notice you? What happened?”
“I… Actually, they also noticed me the first two times, though they didn’t say so. They… they thought I went there to see a man, but how could that be?” Guri rotated her numb wrists which had been tied very tightly by that strong man. How could he be so rude to a woman?
Mahal felt fortunate that he hadn’t gone with her, or he would have also been caught. But he didn’t express this feeling and just said, “Alas, I didn’t expect that man to be so vigilant. Now that they found out what you did, they must think I’m your accomplice.”
Dati said, “You’re indeed an accomplice.” That was quite an irrefutable fact.
“Dad, what should we do now? They will give me to the Seventh King next year.” Guri felt a terrible headache when she thought of the straight-faced king. He smiled at nobody but the Xiaos and the Lius.
Mahal thought for a moment and said, “I… I’ll talk to Tarico tomorrow.”
The weather was pleasant the next day. Mahal went to find Tarico with a pot of alcohol and a roasted leg of lamb. At that moment, Tarico was enjoying some sunbathing with a blade of grass between his lips.
“Tarico, the weather is so good today. Why don’t you go fishing?” Mahal said with a smile as if he was on good terms with Tarico.
But Tarico replied in an indifferent tone, “I don’t want to.”
Seeing the mutton and the alcohol pot, he realized that Mahal wanted to butter him up and beg him, so his face suddenly fell.
Mahal sat next to Tarico and handed the mutton to him. “It’s freshly roasted. Take it and share it with your brothers.”
Tarico didn’t take the mutton and merely asked, “Do you want me to beg for your daughter in front of the Seventh King? I’m sorry I can’t. Those camels are my life. If someone wants to take my life, I won’t spare him or her.”
Mahal said with embarrassment, “She’s still young and thoughtless. Please forgive her this time.”
“Young? In the Central Plains, a woman at her age has been married.” Tarico thought of Ye Xiaoxian who was slightly younger than Guri but far more sensible.
“Alas, it’s all my fault for not disciplining her well…”
Tarico interrupted, “Then you should discipline her rather than begging me. If I forgive her this time, she may do it again. I won’t take any risks with the camels.”
“Tarico, please… do me a favor this time. I’m the tribal leader. I can watch your back in the tribe.” Mahal continued to beg.
Tarico replied, “Why did both you and your daughter remind me you’re the tribal leader? Can one do evil deeds because he or she is a tribal leader? Sir, don’t beg me anymore. It’s useless. I must tell the Seventh King about this thing.” After saying this, Tarico rose from the grass.
Mahal hurried to say, “Wh-what about two roasted lambs? You can share them with your brother. Or I can also compensate you with money!”