The Mistery of Belicena Villca
Of course , if in Sining-Fu we did not have to fear the persecution of the Tibetans , on the other hand we should avoid being involved in the continuous revolts of the bitter Chinese factions . For this time , logistics and tactics were left in the hands of the Kâulikas , better connoisseurs of the terrain and possessing a powerful support infrastructure . Their plan , beyond that , was extremely simple : we would spend the night in the stable , which we fancied a palace after the night before , and in the morning the Chinese and his son would lead us to Sining-Ho hidden in two carts of four oxen each .
The Kaulika monks let us know that they planned to return to Tibet after we were out of danger on our way to Shanghai . They would not return directly to Bhutan as they would try to find their two companions , who had stayed with the Holites at the Threshold of the Valley of the Immortal Demons . Although they did not have Daivas dogs , they knew a lot about the Kilkor magic and knew positively that the Lost Valley was in the West , in the lands of Queen Mother Kuan Yin : be it to the East , like we did , be it to the West , they would find a way to enter and rescue their Comrades or , perhaps , avenge them . Then , if they returned , they would retire to the Monastery of Bhutan , or to anyone else belonging to the Kâula Circle , to meditate over what happened in that adventure . They fought side by side with the Shivatulku , were led to the Valley of the Immortals by the Daivas dogs , and participated in their lung-svipa flight : they were certainly fortunate , the Gods had smiled on them , and it only remained to retire to meditate and give thanks .
Nothing could I object to this admirable decision , but Karl von Grossen thought differently . He called Srivirya and Bangi apart and called them " deserters ". Their mission , he told them , would only end when those who know evaluated the results of the operation ”. And such people , of course , were in Germany : both of them , therefore , were entitled to accompany us to our homeland and provide their valuable testimonies . They would then be free to return , and the SS would put at their disposal all the necessary means .
As the monks wavered , Von Grossen morally pressed assuring them that in any case they would have to accompany us until Shanghai to officiate as Chinese interpreters , and , once there , “ it wouldn ' t be so difficult for them ” to embark for Germany , “ which was almost as far away as Bhutan ”. But this was not true .
Srivirya and the Gurkha did indeed speak Chinese , but no one knew a single word of Japanese , the language of those who occupied half of China . On the contrary , Oskar and I studied Chinese and Japanese in the career of Ostenführer of tha NAPOLA ; and we were both fluent in Mandarin and Japanese . But , however , there was always the resource of English , a language discredited in Asia but with whom Von Grossen or any of us could communicate . Asia ' s universal language , as the sons of Perfidious Albion had claimed , would be English , but the truth was that it was only spoken by colonial officials and the usual sepoys ; among the learned members of the Asian peoples , call them India , Nepal , Kashmir , Bhutan , China , Burma , etc ., English was resisted and it remained habitually unknown , not to say hidden and hated .
Although we disapproved of Von Grossen ' s attitude , neither Oskar nor I denied his arguments . We watched smilingly , instead , as the two extraordinary Initiates were gradually giving way in their positions . The truth was that deep down we all wanted the two monks to travel with us to Germany . When we left for Sining the next day , they were almost convinced by the persuasive Standartenführer .
Chapter XXXV
What a city , neffe ! In those days it had no less than 130,000 inhabitants , and a perimeter of more than 20 km . Its towering walls were reached by routes from all Asia : Mongolia , Russia , Turkestan , Dzungaria , Afghanistan , India , etc ., in addition to the aforementioned Chang-Lam from Lhasa , through which the carts that transported us arrived . Our route , since the Daivas dogs deposited us at the foot of the Chan Nan mountain range , followed the same natural course : skirting the mountain range on one side , which now extended into the Ma-ha-che mountains , and the Sining River on the other ; on its right shore was Sining-Fu , at 2,500 m of altitude .
The city of Sining was a gigantic market , to which neither the civil war , nor the national war against Japan , had affected its feverish rhythm . The only alteration was constituted by the different troops that coexisted distrustfully and that from time to time staged an incident . Such troops belonged to as many unknown Lords or triads and controlled , each one , a sector of the city : there were even nationalist and communist factions , in addition to the aristocratic or noble , traditionalists , religious and gangsters . However , Sining-Fu was then a " free area ", that is , it had not fallen under the control of the Japanese . Faced with an external attack , paradoxically , each troop would take care of defending its part of the wall and all the differences would be forgotten to face the common enemy .
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