The caravan leader's expression immediately turned fearful when he heard Ye Qiyan mention the name Nephthys.
He dropped to his knees at once, gazing at the sky and kowtowing incessantly while muttering some sort of prayer.
Only after a long while did he rise, trembling. Seeing that Ye Qiyan was about to speak again, he hurriedly interrupted:
"N-no, don't mention it. Don't mention that name! If the Heavenly God hears you, you'll be punished!"
"Is that so? Then leave out the name and tell me what you know."
Clearly, the caravan leader did not want to talk, but he remembered what had happened during the day. Gritting his teeth, he cautiously looked around.
Only after making sure nobody else was around did he speak in a very quiet voice:
"The desert wasn't called Matem before. It used to have the name you mentioned."
"Nephthys's Court?"
"Yes... oh, please, don't just say that name out in the open. If a follower of the Heavenly God hears you and reports you to the temple, you'll be in serious trouble."
The caravan leader moved a little closer and lowered his voice again.
"I heard this from my grandfather. Apparently, a few hundred years ago, the desert's guardian deity was defeated by the current Heavenly God and disappeared.
"From then on, the desert's name became Matem, and mentioning the name you just said was forbidden."
"Temples to the Heavenly God were built in every city and tribe. If a merchant caravan traveling through the desert like ours doesn't have a follower of the Heavenly God with it, it's bound to receive divine punishment."
The caravan leader pointed to a tent in the middle of the group that was a different color from the others.
"Look, that tent houses the Heavenly God's followers. They're all