Suddenly, something was put on Ye Xiaoxian’s head, protecting her face from some of the sand. She opened her eyes slowly. Only then did she realize that the person in front of her was Tarico. He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat that looked like a southern bamboo one and was tough enough to give some protection from the sand. Since the hat was not that big, it could hardly protect both of them. Without hesitation, Tarico held her tightly in his arms. She didn’t resist it.

  Amid the raging sandstorm, he created a small cocoon around them where she could feel his warmth and caring. In such a situation, she didn’t feel offended. It was purely for protection. It was just like an accident she once confronted when she started her career as a cook. With a lack of qualifications, she had to work in an ordinary restaurant where fire safety was neglected. There was once a fire in the restaurant and she was trapped inside. When she was almost choked by the thick smoke, two firefighters rushed in, found her, and escorted her out. Such physical contact was unavoidable in saving her and made her feel warm.

  Now, she thought of Xiao Baozhu again, hoping that Tarico could help her also. But she couldn’t speak and had to wait. Slowly, the wind weakened, the impact of the sandstorm softened and her vision began to clear. She was still held in Tarico’s arms. Feeling that the sandstorm had abated, she had a glance at him and found he was also looking at her. His eyes were burning with affection. Unlike a firefighter’s, they were mixed with other emotions beyond care.

  Stunned, she took a step back subconsciously. But he didn’t look away and instead gazed at her with greater passion. She suddenly realized something. Squire Liu had once hinted that if she wanted to marry, Tarico would be a good choice. Had he seen Tarico’s special feelings for her?

  As the howl of the wind continued to lessen, she heard someone spit the sand out of their mouth. A man then shouted, “Are you all right?”


  She also began to spit out sand.

  The camels moved, shaking off the sand before standing up slowly. Then, Ye Xiaoxian saw a few men rise one after another. After the last gust of wind, the people’s faces became clearer. Ye Xiaoxian began to look for Xiao Baozhu. Seeing Baozhu half-buried in the sand, she hurried over to pull her out.

  Fortunately, Xiao Baozhu wasn’t hurt. She was just a little terrified. After spitting out the sand, she threw her arms around Ye Xiaoxian. “Sister Ye, I thought I was going to die here.”


  “Don’t be afraid. The wind in the desert is just like this. Everything will be fine. Look, you’re all right, aren’t you?”


  Xiao Baozhu asked, “How is Uncle Tieshu now?”


  They began calling out to Xiao Tieshu loudly. Soon, the saw him emerge with a dirty face and sand all over. It took him a long while to shake the sand off. The rest of the people also stood up one by one, coated in sand. Eventually, the wind stopped.

  Ye Xiaoxian took off her cowhide bottle and gargled with water. Xiao Baozhu followed suit. Although it was a little extravagant, they would feel very uncomfortable if they didn’t rinse the sand out of their mouths. The others also gargled before gathering slowly together.

  Ye Xiaoxian then counted heads. Thankfully, none of them were missing.

  Except for Ji. “Where’s Ji?” she asked.

  The others shook their heads and said they hadn’t seen him. Tarico also couldn’t find him. That wily old fox must have slipped away in the sandstorm. With his rich experience, he could deal with such a storm easily.

  Ye Xiaoxian pointed at the front and said, “Look, the sand dune was there. Ji asked us to hide behind it, but it’s disappeared now.”


  The others looked to where she pointed and found the five-meter dune had become a small pile of sand. It was such a blessing that they had not gone there, or they might have been buried alive.

  “Did he want to murder us?” Wong Wen asked.

  “That goes without saying. He wanted to kill us. I knew he wasn’t a good guy,” Wong Wu said.

  Xiao Tieshu asked, “Why would he do that?”


  “It’s safe to say that he wanted our property. If we die, he can take all our things freely,” Wong Wen explained.

  Xiao Tieshu fell into silence. Wong Wen and Wong Wu came from the Seventh King’s palace and had seen much of the world in the capital. Their words were very convincing.

  Dawu asked, “Did he run away because his plan failed and he wanted to trap us in the desert?”


  Xiao Tieshu looked discouraged. “Oh, we survived the sandstorm. But how can we get out of the desert by ourselves?”


  They looked at Tarico in unison, hoping that he could lead them out.

  Tarico didn’t show any nervousness. He lifted his cowhide bottle to his mouth and took two gulps of water. Then, he said confidently, “Follow me!”


  So they mounted the camels again and followed him onward.

  The sun was nowhere to be seen in the sky and the desert was as empty as usual. They couldn’t distinguish directions at all. Neither could Ye Xiaoxian. She looked up at the sky but only saw dense layers of cloud. After the sandstorm, the ridges on the desert had completely changed. The dunes had been reshuffled, making it hard to distinguish from which direction they had come. At this moment, they could only trust Tarico.

  Gradually, night fell again. Thankfully, the clouds dispersed in the night sky, revealing the bright stars. They could finally tell the directions from the stars. Seeing the Pole Star, Ye Xiaoxian knew Tarico was going the right way.

  They then set up theit tents. Tarico got a bucket from a camel and allocated water for everyone. When he came up to Ye Xiaoxian, his blazing eyes lingered slightly longer on her. Again, she was stunned. But soon, she behaved as if nothing had happened. Getting no response from her, he went away to ladle water for the next person.

  The brilliant stars generously illuminated the desert. The men swept the sand off the camels and cleaned the items that were soiled. They didn’t make the two ladies do this rough work, so Ye Xiaoxian and Xiao Baozhu got into the tent and slept early.