Sand Vessels in Search of Horses

Sun Fuping signaled Nian Songyu to wait a little longer.

That wait lasted nearly fifteen minutes.

The creatures beneath the sand had all been driven away. Within several dozen feet, nothing stirred except the wind, which howled and whistled.

"Is it still not here?" Nian Songyu asked impatiently. "Time is precious." The Coiling Dragon Desert grew dark quickly. Night would fall in another two hours, and they had little time to waste here.

"Not yet." Sweat covered Situ Han's forehead; it was hard to tell whether from the heat or his anxiety. "It might be a long way off. It takes time to get here."

He Lingchuan didn't forget to speak up for Situ Han. "I've seen one. It's enormous. There's a chance it really can carry us across the desert, saving us time and effort."

"A chance?" At those words, Nian Songyu's tone turned ominous. "You'd waste our time on something you're not sure about?"

Another two incense sticks' worth of time passed, but the end of Red Cliff Road remained quiet.

A gust of wind swept by, passing through the motionless crowd with a hiss before racing off into the distance.

Nian Songyu tapped his index finger against his scabbard. Tap, tap-tap. It was a sign of his impatience.

As time went on, he grew more and more convinced that the sand bandits had taken He Lingchuan's cue and were deliberately making trouble for them. He Lingchuan had been the first to mention the so-called "Scented Dumpling," too.

Nian Songyu's gaze grew increasingly unfriendly. He Lingchuan pretended not to notice, though he was beginning to feel anxious himself.

The sun was sinking farther west. At last, even State Preceptor Sun lost patience. "We're not waiting any longer. Everyone, board the boats..."

During the wait, he had divided everyone into three groups and assigned each one a Walnut Boat.

Time was precious. They couldn't afford to wait; they had to set off now.

But Situ Han raised a finger to his lips and gave a forceful "Shh!" "It's coming!"

It was terribly rude to make such a gesture in front of so many important figures, but his expression was tense, and he couldn't bring himself to care.

The moment he finished speaking, there came a loud splash. The desert split like a body of water, sending yellow sand flying everywhere as if a sandstorm had erupted on the spot.

A colossal creature burst nearly a yard above the surface, a piece of cured meat clamped in its mouth, then crashed heavily back down.

Dust billowed everywhere once more.

Despite its size, the creature plunged swiftly and nimbly beneath the sand. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the sea of sand.

Situ Han didn't even bother wiping the sand from his face. He cheered, "It's here, it's here! Just like I said! Ah, ptooey, ptooey!" He hurriedly spat out several mouthfuls of sand.

A few people, including State Preceptor Sun, had promptly raised protective qi barriers. Everyone else was left covered in dust.

Still, at least they had all gotten a good look at what Situ Han had lured in with his long line and big bait.

The creature looked like a cross between an eel and an earthworm. It was long and round, with no legs, but its body was segmented, and its coloring was almost identical to the yellow sand. If it lay still beneath the sand, even someone with excellent eyesight would have a hard time spotting it.

Unlike an eel, however, its mouth was astonishingly large, opening wider than its body was thick. It was packed with fine, closely set needlelike teeth. Two long barbels dangled beside its mouth, apparently used to sense the shifting sands.

Zeng Feixiong cried out, "That earth dragon is enormous!"

The thing was eight zhang long—twenty-six meters!

The soldiers nearby instinctively took half a step back. No amount of reason could dispel the oppressive feeling that came with a creature of that size.

Earth dragons weren't sea-dwelling moray eels; they were creatures unique to the desert. In fact, whether they lived in the desert or the sea, some animals seemed to have no need for legs.

But in other deserts, these creatures usually grew no longer than one zhang, and experienced travelers even caught them for food. Yet this one... Zeng Feixiong had led patrols back and forth along Red Cliff Road, but he had never seen an earth dragon this big!

Situ Han let out a breath of relief. "And this isn't even the Earth Dragon King... The biggest one we've seen was over twelve zhang long."

"If it's such a big fellow, a little meat won't be enough to feed it." He Lingchuan pointed at the three Walnut Boats. "Earth dragons are incredibly strong. One ought to be able to pull a boat. Hmm, and they usually travel in groups."

In other words, the foul meat had attracted more than one earth dragon.

Children by the sea learned to fish, while He Lingchuan's original body, raised beside the Coiling Dragon Desert, had caught earth dragons many times.

Of course, he had never used such a heavy bait before, so he had never seen prey this huge.

Situ Han nodded. "Everyone, please board the boats. We'll do it the same way again, and then we can use them like horses to pull us."

The soldiers split into three groups and boarded the boats. At the bow of each Walnut Boat, the boatman took up a towrope and tied a slipknot, ready for action.

This time, everyone covered their noses and mouths. So when the sand bandits brought out another large piece of cured meat and poured foul-smelling liquid over it, no one was caught off guard. Nian Songyu personally picked up the specially seasoned meat with a long pole, stood at the bow, and raised it high.

The boatman's pole was part of the Walnut Boat, and its length could be changed at will.

The sand bandits' specially made foul liquid could drive away most creatures in the desert. It was also their last-resort treasure for escaping danger. But every advantage came with a drawback: earth dragons loved the stuff.

Strictly speaking, what earth dragons loved was the "stench."

They fed on carrion. The stench of decay that other creatures couldn't tolerate smelled like a feast to them. A stink of this caliber was like the bell announcing the annual forty-eight-dish banquet in a village. No matter how far away they were, they would come.

Situ Han warned them, "They're stupid as can be. Dangle foul meat in front of them, and the boat will move!"

Since these creatures had come all this way, they wouldn't leave again anytime soon.

Sure enough, as soon as the foul meat was raised, an enormous earth dragon burst through the sand and lunged for it.

It was even bigger than its companion had been.

Nian Songyu reacted quickly, flicking his wrist and making the cured meat leap. The earth dragon missed.

The boatman standing nearby tossed the towrope, looping it precisely around the earth dragon's neck.

Though it was round and limbless, its body had deep grooves between the segments. The knot slid past two segments before catching in the third.

Taken by surprise, the earth dragon bolted forward more than thirty zhang in an instant. Only when the rope pulled taut and cinched tight did Nian Songyu lower the pole, letting the cured meat dangle just ahead of and above the earth dragon.

The meat smelled delicious, and the earth dragon's brain was tiny. It immediately forgot that it had been caught in a noose, drooling as it swam toward the meat.

It was strong enough to drag the boat and everyone aboard with ease.

And so, the boat set off.

All Nian Songyu had to do was flick the pole, and the earth dragon pulling the boat would obediently turn wherever it led. Below them, a rasping hiss rose as grains of sand rubbed against the bottom of the Walnut Boat—a sure sign of its powerful pulling force.

The helmsman's most important task was really to keep adjusting the bow so that the earth dragon and boat traveled with the wind. That way, the foul meat hanging high in front wouldn't stink out everyone aboard.

For the moment, nothing mattered more.

In the blink of an eye, Nian Songyu's boat had traveled more than a hundred zhang.

"Now it's our turn." Seeing that it had worked, everyone's spirits soared. Sun Fuping and Zeng Feixiong led their group aboard one boat, while the He father and son and the sand bandits boarded the last one. They did everything the same way.