One month later.
The mummy of the late king was completed. Rong Mian led the members of the House of Priests to the tomb to perform the final dressing and ornamentation for the king. Uskhaf wept so bitterly that he was a complete mess of tears, his speech disjointed. The general gist of his words was that the king should have a safe journey and remain radiant and glorious on the other side.
When the final sacrificial rites were complete, Rong Mian let out a sigh of relief. After waiting for so long, he had finally sent Ehser on his way. The mountain was secluded, and Ehser had chosen a remarkably grand facade to continue his underground rule.
Coming out of the tomb’s entrance, Rong Mian cast one last look back before turning to leave.
Now that the new king had ascended the throne, Titmos would likely soon begin constructing these magnificent tombs for himself as well.
Only, he wondered where the king would choose to locate it.
At that rate, he would be busy all over again.
Climbing into the carriage alone, Rong Mian stumbled the moment he sat down, almost falling over. Fortunately, his hand was quick enough to grab the side doorframe. Aka, who was driving the carriage, heard the commotion inside, looked at the curtain, and asked anxiously, “High Priest?”
Rong Mian rubbed his brow and replied, “It’s nothing. Keep driving.”
He watched as the sky gradually grew dim and yellowish. The weather was muggy and stifling, carrying the heavy feel of an impending rainstorm.
Aka drove the carriage as the rest of the entourage successively departed. Inside the carriage, Rong Mian supported his head with one hand. The suddenness of the sensation just now had left him dizzy, unlike the dry, unbearable heat he had experienced in the past. Instead, it was an unprecedented sense of drifting lightness, accompanied by a sharp, stabbing pain in his lower abdomen. It came and went just as quickly, lasting only a brief moment. Through his robes, he touched his lower abdomen. He had clearly eaten breakfast that morning, and his daily routine was regular; it couldn’t be hypoglycemia or overexertion. What could it be?
Rong Mian was deep in thought. Perhaps he was just exhausted from organizing the sacrificial ceremonies.
With one hand still covering his abdomen, he stared fixedly at the curtain ahead. Outside, his ears caught the clattering sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the muddy stone road. I don’t know how much time passed before a low rumble of thunder echoed in the sky above. Rong Mian lifted the curtain and saw that the convoy had already crossed the cliffs and reached the main street of the Theban Royal City. This was the absolute center of the entire empire, and the street was the most prosperous and bustling thoroughfare in the country.
It looked like they were almost at the palace. Rong Mian breathed a sigh of relief inwardly; right now, all he wanted was to go back and get a good night’s sleep.
Just as he closed his eyes, the carriage suddenly jolted violently from side to side as if spooked. The body of the carriage became unstable, and Rong Mian was shaken back and forth inside. He frowned, having no time to ask why, and could only instinctively grab the sides of the door, attempting to steady his body. Outside the curtain came the shrill whinny of the fine horses, followed by Aka’s frantic shouts and the cracking of his whip in an effort to control them.
“Don’t move! Don’t move!”
“What is it?”
Rong Mian asked calmly from behind the curtain.
“Reporting to the High Priest, someone suddenly rushed into the middle of the road and spooked the horses.”
“Are you blind? You’re the ones who spooked them! It’s you who startled our household.”
The words were cut short by another calm and composed voice: “Yuka, stop.”
The voice was low yet resonant, not particularly loud, but it possessed a soul-shaking power that made anyone who heard it dare not act presumptuously. Rong Mian’s heart stirred slightly as he lifted the edge of the curtain to look outside. He saw a group of men dressed in Egyptian attire standing in the middle of the road. The leader was the tallest, and his attire differed from the rest; he looked very much like the head of the group.
The man seemed exceptionally sharp. Even though Rong Mian was observing him quietly, he was still discovered. Meeting his gaze, Rong Mian revealed a partially hidden face and offered a slight smile. The man paused, a flash of astonishment seeming to cross the depths of his dark green eyes before he quickly masked it and returned the smile. Those unique green pupils seemed to possess a kind of magic; this was the first time Rong Mian had ever seen eyes of that color in Thebes.
“Boss, their horses don’t have eyes. They veered toward us while walking, and yet they blame us?” The man standing beside the tall fellow appeared to be a servant. Dressed in hemp-gray coarse cloth, he was half a head shorter than the tall man, with plain facial features, single eyelids, and an inch-long scar on his temple that gave him an unprovoked air of fierce hostility.
Aka said indignantly, “Our horses are specially trained. How could they possibly charge at you at random? You’re clearly talking nonsense.”
“You must be carrying something on you that made it stumble, and besides, you weren’t walking on the edge of the road, you were right in the middle! If we don’t crash into you, who do we crash into?”
Aka raised his chin, looking utterly fearless. He was a member of the House of Priests, the closest personal servant under the High Priest. A bunch of strangers in coarse cloth dared to complain to him? If he were to reveal his background, who knew how scared they’d be.
The other man stared at him fiercely, not showing the slightest bit of fear: “If a road isn’t meant for people to walk on, why was it built here? Did someone stipulate that we aren’t allowed to walk in the middle?”
Hearing this, Aka turned red with anger, holding his whip and trembling: “You, you’re twisting logic! If you don’t look where you’re walking and get hit, it serves you right!”
“Ha, so you finally admit your horse hit me.”
“You, you, you, you, you.”
The scar-faced man suddenly smiled, looking at Aka with a triumphant expression.
People on the street had already begun to gather toward this spot. Forming a circle, they quickly surrounded the carriage convoy. Aka was young, and seeing this array of people made him both furious and indignant. Tears welled up in his eyes as he turned to look at the carriage curtain. A moment later.
The curtain was lifted. Rong Mian placed his slender hand against the doorframe, then revealed the upper half of his masked face. Looking at the few men ahead, he laughed out loud, “You gentlemen must not be locals, right?”
Hearing this, the other party immediately grew alert. One of them already reached his hand toward his waist. Seeing this, Rong Mian remained unhurried and composed: “According to the Theban Royal City Traffic Safety and Passage Regulations, ordinary residents walking on the street should stay on the sidewalk close to the roadside, and pedestrians crossing intersections or roadways must use crosswalks or pedestrian crossing facilities. In the absence of crossing facilities, they should confirm safety before proceeding straight across.”
After finishing, Rong Mian looked at the group: “These are things every citizen of Thebes keeps firmly in mind. If you are citizens of this country and forget or fail to follow national laws, you will be subject to punishment.”
The scar-faced man was choked for words, looking at him sheepishly as he said, “We brothers are outsiders doing business here for the first time. Who knew about these things?”
Aka instantly came back to life. He had grown up in the House of Priests, reading only scriptures and serving Rong Mian, so he didn’t know much about these laws. Hearing Rong Mian put it this way, he felt they had turned the tables. Feeling invincible, he immediately pressed the attack: “Outsiders? Then you’d better learn the national laws first before coming to talk business with us!”
The scar-faced man was furious, his expression dark as he shot a fierce glare in Aka’s direction. Aka was so scared he instantly shut his mouth, looking angrily at Rong Mian.
“Damn little brat, today I’ll whip you to death and see if you still have the energy to bark!” As he spoke, the whip at his waist had already been uncoiled, but another large hand quickly pressed down on it. Seeing the other man’s stopping gesture, the scar-faced man endured his anger and pulled the whip back halfway.
The tall and well-built man pressed down on his companion, then turned his gaze back to Rong Mian. There was not a trace of anger in the depths of his eyes; instead, there was a bit more appreciation and interest. His attitude was neither servile nor overbearing, without the slightest panic, displaying a calm and composed poise far exceeding the others. “It’s our first time here. I trust Theban law won’t deliberately make things difficult for a stranger. My friend was rash, and I apologize to you on his behalf.”
With that, he bowed slightly, a faint, unreadable light flashing in his eyes as he stared straight at Rong Mian.
Those dark green eyes seemed to possess some kind of magic. Rong Mian gasped inwardly, and then the man took a few steps closer to him, lowering his voice with a chuckle right by his ear: “Do you Thebans not dare show your faces? Going out as a young man and you still wear a veil.”
This was a blatant provocation. Seeing the playfulness hidden in the man’s eyes, Rong Mian’s heart sank, and he replied in an equally low voice: “Of course we dare show our faces, but you are not worthy to see them.”
With that, he took a step back. This man was tall and built with an indescribable, hidden aggressiveness, giving off a sharp and formidable vibe. Retreating to a safe distance, he looked around: “We welcome outsiders to come and cooperate with us in business. Since today’s matter was a misunderstanding, I accept this apology.”
“Aka, let’s go.”
Having said that, Rong Mian turned back and climbed into the carriage.
Even without looking, Rong Mian could feel those mysterious eyes of the man staring intently at him. This feeling was very unsettling.
The curtain dropped. Aka glared fiercely at the scar-faced man one last time, then drove the carriage toward the royal city.
Seeing that the disturbance had come and gone in a flash, the surrounding people smiled, chatted amongst themselves, and gradually dispersed.
After the people left, the man looked at the gradually receding carriage with a smile on his lips. His companions looked at each other, completely baffled: “Boss, you.”
Why be so indulgent toward an Egyptian?
“Yuka, we’ve come in secret; it’s not time to make our presence public yet,” the man said to his companion in a different native tongue. He had entered Thebes ahead of time precisely to see how far they had developed by now.
Still, he had met someone interesting today.
Looking at his snow-white attire and the direction the carriage was traveling, a glimmer of exploratory intent surfaced in the man’s eyes.
“Let’s stroll around here for a bit. Once the main force arrives, we’ll go together to meet the King of Egypt.”
Yuka and the others lowered their heads in compliance. The man looked at the bustling scene on the main street, where the dazzling array of goods was enough to daze the eyes. The Egyptians had grown wealthy to such an extent, and the center of the royal city was so brilliant and prosperous.
A fierce gleam of predatory intent dyed the depths of those dark green pupils.
The figures of the few men gradually melted into the crowd and disappeared.
The carriage drove into the royal palace. Images of the tall, handsome man from earlier were still flashing through Rong Mian’s mind; his eyes were too rare, and such dark green eyes had never been seen anywhere in the entire Theban Royal City.
Deep down, he felt that today’s event was a bit strange.
Supporting his brow, he felt an inexplicable wave of irritation.
Stepping down from the carriage and returning to the House of Priests, Rong Mian felt a wave of fatigue washing over him. He dismissed Aka, took off his outer robe, and draped it aside. Having traveled through dust and wind all the way, he wanted to take a bath to wash it all off.
“Heh, you’ve worked hard today, High Priest.”
A low, teasing chuckle sounded. Rong Mian snapped back to reality just as a pair of large hands from behind wrapped around half his waist, pressing against his lower abdomen. Against his back was a warm embrace, and those pleasant words, carrying a wave of heat, drifted over from behind Rong Mian’s earlobe.
It was Titmos.
When had he arrived?
Damn it, holding him by the waist, when had they gotten this familiar?
He tried to struggle away, but those large hands used subtle force to hold him tyrannically in place. Not daring to move around carelessly, Rong Mian could only keep his back pressed against the man’s chest as he said indifferently, “Why didn’t Your Majesty send someone to announce your arrival beforehand when visiting your subject? That way, I could have prepared to welcome you.”