When they reached the last row of tents, NgGung headed for a moldy old one off to one side that was small, dirty, and dank. No matter where they set up camp, NgGung was always made to pitch his tent at the point furthest downwind from the prevailing winds. Seh saw Long wrinkle his nose.
Seh whispered to Long, “It smells worse than Malao’s feet in there. Enter at your own risk.”
“Home sweet home!” NgGung said with a grin. “Come on in.”
“No, thank you,” Long replied. “I think I will wait out here.”
“Suit yourself,” NgGung said. “I’ll be right back.”
NgGung headed inside and soon emerged with an armload of clothes. He dropped them in the dirt and began to sort them out, using his nose as the main criterion for grouping the items. When he had finished his sniffing and sorting, he pointed to the smallest pile. “Those are for you. I wouldn’t recommend the others.”
“I will take your word for it,” Long said. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. You can give them a quick wash in the horse trough if you’d like, but personally I think they’re fine. Too fine, in fact. I don’t think I’ve ever worn them. They were gifts, but I hate silk. Too slippery.”
Seh watched Long lean over the smallest pile and take a quick sniff. He picked up the clothes and smiled. “These are very nice,” Long said. “I am no clothing expert, but they look expensive. They smell just fine, too.”
Long disappeared behind a tree, reappearing as a new person. The brown silk pants and matching robe fit him surprisingly well, as did a fur-lined black silk jacket.
“Very nice,” NgGung said. “Now, just a few more items—” He headed into his tent once again, coming out with a pair of leather boots, heavy leather gloves, a fur-lined leather hat, and a short knife in a small sheath.
Long appeared speechless. He took the items and tried them on, and to Seh everything appeared to fit well. Long seemed pleased, but held the knife out to NgGung. “I am sorry, but this is one thing I cannot take.”
“Sure you can,” NgGung said. “It is nothing, really. Those boots cost more than that knife. I am almost ashamed to give it to you. However, I noticed that you don’t carry one. You need to change that.”
“You do not understand,” Long said. “I dislike weapons.”
“It’s not a weapon,” NgGung said. “It’s a survival tool. You should never travel alone without one. Cang won’t even let you get up on one of his horses without something sharp handy. What if you or your horse gets tangled up in something? Horses have all sorts of ropes hanging off them. Knives are for cutting more than just people, you know.”
Long blushed. “You are right. I am sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just slip it behind your sash and forget about it. You won’t even know it’s there. I need to grab a few things from our storage tent, and we’ll be on our way.”
NgGung hurried off, and Long slipped the knife between his robe sash and the small of his back. He turned to Seh.
“I guess this is it, Brother,” Long said.
“So it is,” Seh replied. “It is the beginning of something big. I can feel it.”
Long nodded. “I feel it, too. Please give Fu, Malao, and Hok my best wishes.”
“Give them your wishes yourself. We shall see you at the Forbidden City.”
“Do you think so?”
“I know so.”
Long and NgGung made excellent time traveling over the next four days on their way to Kaifeng. They slept little and ate even less, but Long still enjoyed himself. NgGung was an interesting companion, and he knew the region like the back of his hand. He knew exactly how far they were to travel each day, and where the best rock shelters and tree hollows were for spending each night. They made a few stops for water, but those were rare, as they each carried over their shoulders a pair of large water skins that Long was to use on his trek across the desert to Tunhuang.
In addition to the water skins, NgGung had provided Long with a saddlebag packed with dried meats and fruits for his journey, as well as a map. NgGung said that it was a thousand li from Kaifeng to Tun-huang, and that it would take a person at least thirty days to make the trip on foot. With a normal horse, it could be done in ten days, but with one of Cang’s “Heavenly Horses,” it could be done in five or six. Cang’s horses were renowned for their speed as well as their stamina. Now that he’d had some experience on horseback, Long could not wait to ride one.
They arrived at the southern edge of Kaifeng well after nightfall on the fourth day, which suited NgGung just fine. He knew this city as intimately as he knew the countryside, and they slipped unseen through back alleyways and little-traveled side streets until they’d passed clear through the southern half of the city to its midpoint at the Yellow River’s icy waters. There they turned west, following the river upstream for hours in the cold before reaching the city’s outskirts as the sun finally began to rise and bring them some welcome warmth.