Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 174

1 st November 1408
Shower
After days of tiring walks across the land of sand, we arrived at a densely populated place, where locals called this city
“Kuzubai”.The locals were not very kind at the start, but after they knew that we were from China, they became
friendly to us. They probably knew about the great power of China since the Tang Dynasty. I am proud to know
that our country is known by people far away!
Welcomed by the locals, we further asked about where the Emperor of this place lived. They pointed to the
building which is conical in shape to us. Before we set off, they brought home to the cardinal importance to choose
our words carefully with the presence of the Emperor. It was the last thing one wanted to see when the Emperor’s
feather was ruffled.
When we arrived at the palace, the Emperor was inside a room. When he saw us, he instructed some guards to
check whether we were hostile to the king. Knowing that we were representing China, he quickly walked out and
said, “All of you must be very tired after such a long journey, please come in and take a rest.”
The beach we landed on and the palace were polars apart: There were green patches with pink and yellow flowers
with bees and butterflies flitting everywhere. All of us were absorbed in this scene of ethereality.
At dawn, I decided to have a meeting with the Emperor.
“Why are you coming to us?” asked the Emperor inquisitively.
“We China would do to invite you and your people to fight the tribes that are hostile to us,” I stated.
“Undoubtedly, China is a strong country throughout the world history. What is the purpose of this cooperation?”
asked the Emperor sceptically.
I knew why he t o o k w h a t o u r o f f e r w i t h a p i n c h o f s a l t . He was afraid that China would
use this opportunity to invade his countr