Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Chapter 760: Chapter 58 Part-time Ganquan — the grandnephew of the Firestarter, Turu Koda of the Terdon Tribe — did not yet know that the Taltai Division had been utterly destroyed.
Ganquan was even unaware that the cunning bipeds had lured away the majority of the nearly thousand horses of the Taltai Division with estrus-generating mares, clear water, and wheat sprouts.
In contrast to the Taltai Division, which had been pummeled from the start, the Ganquan Tribe’s invasion of the lower Iron Peak County was almost effortlessly accomplished because there were simply no defenses upriver along the Big Horn River.
But Ganquan had his own troubles — he couldn’t find any people.
Following the streams that flowed into the Big Horn River upstream, Ganquan quickly found the first village. Continuing down the road, they found the first town.
But everywhere was dead silent, houses were all abandoned, possessions had been taken, there was no barking of dogs, no sign of human life, the empty villages and towns were eerily quiet.
The Hong Lingyu of the Ganquan Tribe were all in their early twenties, a new generation who had never witnessed such a scene, and they were at a loss.
“Bald-tail, you served my grandfather.” Ganquan called his old slave over: “You tell me, what should we do?”
[Note: Ganquan’s grandfather, that is, the father of the Firestarter]
“The Paratu People cannot migrate like the other tribes,” the old slave [Bald-tail] said while clutching his prayer beads, his eyelids drooping: “They are just hiding.”
“Hiding where?!” The young Hong Lingyu [Qingma] glinted fiercely in his triangular eyes.
The old slave Bald-tail did not answer directly but looked at Chief Ganquan’s boots: “You can look for soil that is moist, loose, and darker in color both inside and outside the villages.”
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“The farmers couldn’t possibly have taken all the food and possessions with them; they must have buried them nearby.”
The chief ordered his people to search around, and soon they found some clues in courtyards, under cattle sheds, and between ridges.
Without shovels, the people of Terdon used their hands and wooden boards to dig, uncovering these poorly hidden caches one after another.
The caches mostly contained food, but also farming tools, ironware, bottles and jars, and cloth… Anything the farmers couldn’t take with them in time was buried there.
The members of the Ganquan Tribe were grinning ear to ear, delirious with joy.
The group from Terdon first mixed flour to bake naan and enjoyed a hearty meal. Then they rubbed their hands in anticipation, preparing to work hard and dig deep.
Everyone was in high spirits, but Ganquan was increasingly dissatisfied.
Seeing his people quarreling and even fighting over a hemp cloth, a plate, a kitchen knife, Ganquan felt his anger burning more fiercely.
For the impoverished Terdon people, a nail, a straw mat was valuable; even the things the Paratu People couldn’t be bothered to bury were valuable to them.
But Ganquan wanted more than these.
“Ho ya ya… Look what this is?” Shi Jian called out excitedly as he ran to Ganquan, holding something carefully in both hands: “I’ve never seen such a treasure! It’s like stone, but it’s like water too! Transparent!”
The object Shi Jian held was a square foot, crystal clear, its surface as smooth and fine as porcelain. It appeared to be crystal, but it wasn’t quite right.
“What is this thing?” Qingma approached with curiosity, reaching out cautiously to touch: “Where is it from?”
“From the south, there’s this big tent, I took it from the wall of the house.”
“This is glass.” The old slave Bald-tail’s eyelids drooped, his eyes as dull as dried-up wells: “The bipeds call it [Common Language] ‘glass’.”
The old slave Bald-tail’s pronunciation of Common Language was a bit awkward, probably because he hadn’t spoken it in many years.
“Glass?” Shi Jian exclaimed: “Shouldn’t glass be colored?”
“Such transparent and smooth glass, I have also never seen before,” the old slave Bald-tail said huskily: “It must be something very precious, it can be presented to the Great Khan of the Firestarters.”
“Very precious?!” Shi Jian’s eyes lit up: “There’s a whole wall of it in that big tent! I’ll go take it all down right now.”
“Great!” Qingma said happily: “I’ll go too.”
Ganquan’s face was ashen as he snatched the glass panel from Shi Jian’s hands and fiercely smashed it to the ground.
The glass panel shattered against the rocks.
Shi Jian’s expression changed from shock to heartbreak as he knelt down, picked up a fragment of glass, and asked Ganquan, “What are you doing?”
“This is something the bipeds use to build walls!” Ganquan pushed Shi Jian away, his scarred face was especially fierce as he roared: “And you still treasure it!”
Both Shi Jian and Qingma were stunned by Ganquan’s actions, frozen in place.
With downcast triangular eyes, Qingma tried to console him: “Haven’t we seized so much food and possessions, easier than catching horses, isn’t that good?”
“What’s good about it?” Ganquan glowered at Qingma fiercely: “The bipeds have taken away the choice meats, leaving us a heap of rotting bones to treasure!”
“Why do you say that?” Shi Jian countered: “Isn’t the grain, the black money, all good?”
[Note: Iron can be used as currency on the frontier, hence the herders call it black money]
“Then don’t you want slaves? Don’t you want women? Don’t you want gold and silver?” Ganquan erupted in fury: “Are you satisfied with just these things now? After the loot is presented to Nayen, to the Firestarter, how much will be left for us?”
Qingma and Shi Jian gradually understood what Ganquan meant, and both fell silent.
The old slave Bald-tail showed no emotion, bowing at the chest, he asked Ganquan: “Kota, isn’t the plunder enough now?”
“Not enough!” Ganquan bellowed: “Far from enough!”