The Journey to the North-West
Harrow International School Hong Kong , Lam , Tienson - 11
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The camp was flowing with dozens of orange lights , dancing to the silence of the barren Gobi Desert ,” would have been how Tao Zi ( a former refugee ), Ju-Long ( a current prison guard ), and his Binturong ( in simpler words , bearcat ) would have described the outstanding , yet frightening , Mongolian camp in front of them .“ What a magnificent structure ! It reminds …”
Tao Zi was quickly interrupted by Ju-Long , who scolded , “ Shhhhhhh ! Don ’ t speak loudly here . We will wake up the Mongolians , and they will kill us if they found us here spying for the Ming Dynasty ! Just remember , all we have to do is steal those “ notes ” from the leader ’ s ger and we ’ ll be done with the task .” Apparently , it appeared that they had been detected since footsteps hastily approaching them in the sand were audible . The binturong ’ s hands started flashing into some rapid hand signals which directly translated into ,“ Quickly ! Hide behind that miniature ger or we ’ ll become the Mongolian ’ s next lunch !” They dashed behind the ger and twisted around the side of it . None of them dared to breathe as an enormous night guard trudged past , observing their footprints on the sand . The guard looked in their direction and started striding there . Thinking fast , Tao Zi picked up a pebble and lobbed it into one of the petite gers . A cacophony of fracturing pots and glass which could be heard from miles away was audible . The night guard then scurried off to see what in the world could have happened . A small interval of silence followed after the whispering . Ju-Long finally muttered , “ You were lucky there , Tao Zi . You could have woken up everyone else ; they would have attacked us .” Then there was whispering in Mongolian . Silence then smashed upon them . Tao Zi could only decipher a few words , which were : intruders , leader ’ s ger , and 5th one to left and 3rd one up . Tao Zi ’ s heart was filled with fear and befuddlement . The night guard was going to caution everyone about them . But how did the guard know what he was searching for ? And for some reason , the guard ’ s voice sounded familiar … Tao Zi ’ s thoughts were interrupted by the rushed voice of Ju-Long , who hissed , “ They know we ’ re here . I heard them communicating that over there ,” he pointed at the direction of the whispering , “ We have to hurry and get those ‘ notes ’,” he stated that word while doing air quotes , “ Does anyone know the location of the leader ’ s ger ?” After another small interval of awkward silence , Tao Zi finally brought his mouth to say , “ I did interpret a few words in Mongolian , and they seemed to say ‘ 5th one up and the 3rd one left , I have not a single clue what this means , do you two have any ?” The binturong suddenly leaped up and started to sprint away , sniffing at the air for danger . Thinking that the binturong knew the way , Tao Zi and Ju-Long chased after the him , while minimizing the racket made from the footsteps .
Then they all ended up in a ger . To be precise , an enormous ger in comparison to the others . The ger was filled with outstanding paintings depicting Mongolians dominating war over China , with gold frames surrounding them . Bars of silver and platinum were scattered over the floor , making the rock floor nearly invisible . There was also a throne of pure jade standing on … “ Wait ..” Tao Zi wondered out aloud , “ Shouldn ’ t jade only be found in China ?”
“ Yes , it should .” A blade flew past him , just skimming past his neck , and planted itself on the floor a few centimetres away from him .
“ Yes , it should come from China , and I have a few words to say to you before we execute you ,” said Emperor Wan Li .
The emperor of the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia slowly circled around him , knife in his hand . He then questioned , “ What did my messenger tell you ?”
Tao Zi replied , “ He told me and them ,” He pointed at Ju-Long and the binturong , who were tied up to a pole , “ to steal the ‘ notes ’ from the Mongolian south-east camp .”