Chapter 252. Begging
Translator: Fan Translation Studio
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 hadnât expected her to do such a vicious thing.
Tarico stood up and took the poison from her hand. âHow could you do this in front of the mountain G.o.d? Why did you do it?â
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.
âWhy?â she sneered. âTarico, I didnât 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 youâre such an a.s.shole that you donât even give me a chance!
âBesides, 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, donât you feel it very dangerous? Arenât you afraid that they will make our land theirs? We are herdsmen and have lived here for generations. We canât allow them to invade our home! If they want to settle down here, they must be our slaves! We canât let them dominate us!â
Tarico fell silent.
Wong Wen thought Tarico had been persuaded and hastened to retort, âTianshan is not yours. Itâs Daqiâs. Weâre all under the rule of Daqi. Besides, youâre still the hosts here. Both the Sixth King and the Seventh King wish you to live a better life, and thatâs why they gave us the task.â
Guri gave Tarico a challenging look. âTarico, what do you think? If weâre still regarded as the hosts here, why canât 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?â
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, âInvade? Be the hosts? Youâre 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, heâs been getting richer and richer. What about us? What about them?â
Tarico pointed at the men beside him. âThey were once paupers who couldnât even afford a lamb. Have you ever thought of helping them? Why do they listen to the southern people? Thatâs 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. Whatâs more, those southern people donât guard against us like your father. Instead, they trust us and give us important work to do. Weâre treated equally and get rewards according to how much we do. This is the life we want! No one wants to be your fatherâs slaves!â
After he finished speaking, all the men applauded immediately. Just now, these local guys had suspected that they might have betrayed the mountain G.o.d by helping the outsiders. But hearing Taricoâs 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 G.o.d and poisoning the camels.
Wong Wen asked Tarico, âWhat should we do with this woman? Although sheâs your tribal member and we canât interfere too much, sheâs too detestable to be forgiven. If we hadnât noticed her evildoing tonight, the consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate. Without the camels, all our efforts would be vain and we wouldnât do any business across the desert in spring.â
Tarico thought for a while and said, âThis is not a trivial matter. We certainly canât spare her easily. Letâs take her to her father now and see how he will deal with this. I donât believe that he knows nothing about this.â
Guri shouted angrily, âTarico, Iâm the tribal leaderâs daughter! You canât do anything to me! Even if you donât care about me, you should show respect to my father!â
âRespect can only be earned by yourselves. Do you think you deserve our respect after doing such a thing?â
ââ¦â
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.
Mahalâs 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.
âWhatâs 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!â
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 couldnât tell them that her father was an accomplice, or he would lose face and have difficulty in building up the prestige in the tribe.
âDadâ¦â Guri said in a pitiful tone. âI just played a joke on them, but theyâ¦â
Tarico snorted, âYou wanted to poison our camels, and you say it was only a joke?â
She pouted her lips and retorted, âYour camels are all fine.â
Tarico asked, âSo I can also poison your goats tomorrow and say itâs just a joke, right?â
âNo! If you poison my goats, you must compensate me!â she said imperiously.
Tarico said, âI see no point in further negotiation. Sir, sheâs 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 weâll inform the Seventh King of this after we return to the tribe. Heâll decide how to treat her.â
Mahalâs face turned pale with fright. If this thing reached the Seventh Kingâs ears, the consequences would be very serious.
âTarico⦠what aboutâ¦â Mahal wanted to persuade Tarico to forgive Guri.
But Tarico ignored him and said to his companions, âLetâs go.â
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, âDidnât you say they wouldnât notice you? What happened?â
âI⦠Actually, they also noticed me the first two times, though they didnât say so. They⦠they thought I went there to see a man, but how could that be?â 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 hadnât gone with her, or he would have also been caught. But he didnât express this feeling and just said, âAlas, I didnât expect that man to be so vigilant. Now that they found out what you did, they must think Iâm your accomplice.â
Dati said, âYouâre indeed an accomplice.â That was quite an irrefutable fact.
âDad, what should we do now? They will give me to the Seventh King next year.â Guri felt a terrible headache when she thought of the straight-faced king. He smiled at n.o.body but the Xiaos and the Lius.
Mahal thought for a moment and said, âI⦠Iâll talk to Tarico tomorrow.â
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 gra.s.s between his lips.
âTarico, the weather is so good today. Why donât you go fis.h.i.+ng?â Mahal said with a smile as if he was on good terms with Tarico.
But Tarico replied in an indifferent tone, âI donât want to.â
Seeing the mutton and the alcohol pot, he realized that Mahal wanted to b.u.t.ter him up and beg him, so his face suddenly fell.
Mahal sat next to Tarico and handed the mutton to him. âItâs freshly roasted. Take it and share it with your brothers.â
Tarico didnât take the mutton and merely asked, âDo you want me to beg for your daughter in front of the Seventh King? Iâm sorry I canât. Those camels are my life. If someone wants to take my life, I wonât spare him or her.â
Mahal said with embarra.s.sment, âSheâs still young and thoughtless. Please forgive her this time.â
âYoung? In the Central Plains, a woman at her age has been married.â Tarico thought of Ye Xiaoxian who was slightly younger than Guri but far more sensible.
âAlas, itâs all my fault for not disciplining her wellâ¦â
Tarico interrupted, âThen you should discipline her rather than begging me. If I forgive her this time, she may do it again. I wonât take any risks with the camels.â
âTarico, please⦠do me a favor this time. Iâm the tribal leader. I can watch your back in the tribe.â Mahal continued to beg.
Tarico replied, âWhy did both you and your daughter remind me youâre the tribal leader? Can one do evil deeds because he or she is a tribal leader? Sir, donât beg me anymore. Itâs useless. I must tell the Seventh King about this thing.â After saying this, Tarico rose from the gra.s.s.
Mahal hurried to say, âWh-what about two roasted lambs? You can share them with your brother. Or I can also compensate you with money!â