The Challenge of the Legion

by Oscar Luis Rigiroli

  Furious, Lian spread her leg over the man's torso and said in a feline tone.

  -You know? Mongolian girls are known for devouring men.”

  After a two-year stay in the oasis near Khotan, Chief Ganzorig decided to move the camp across the Kunlun Shan towards Tibet.

  The Kunlun Mountain Range is one of the most extended in Asia, more than 3,000 kilometers long in an approximate west-east direction. It is born in the massif of Pamir and stretches eastward forming a natural border between the Chinese Xingiang to the north and the Tibetan plateau to the south while farther to the east lays the great Chinese plain.

  Having exhausted the possibilities of feeding livestock in the narrow world of the oasis in the Taklamakan desert, Ganzorig had made the difficult decision to cross the Kunlun Mountains along the lower valleys and canyons during the summer in order to try his luck in Tibet. The fame of fierce warriors of the locals was not capable of intimidating a Mongol chief.

  Enkhtuya was traveling in the heavy wagon, overcoming the discomforts of her new pregnancy, accompanying her one year old son who was startled by the blows of the wheels on the rocks of the road and wept frequently. The woman knew that it was the first emigration the child endured, but he was a Mongol, a son of a nomad horde chief and would surely one day replace his grandfather in the direction of the clan and therefore he should get accustomed to that way of life.

  Cosimo rode on the side of the wagon and looked at it every so often, so that the child could see his father whom he resembled physically. However he had no illusions, for now the little child idolized his mother and his grandfather. In a moment Ganzorig put his horse side to side with the one of the Venetian. The chief used to walk the caravan back and forth as they were on their way to make sure everything was going well. He stretched out his hand and looked inside the wagon. The boy looked at him and smiled at Ivo's jealousy, while Enkhtuya ran a curtain of cloth to avoid the entrance of a draft of cold air. Ganzorig patted Ivo on the shoulder and extended to him one of his few smiles. The boss expected a scion of his favorite daughter every year and the foreigner was fulfilling his role so far. True, the old man would have preferred a Mongol of pure descent son-in-law, but his daughter made her own decisions and had chosen the tall, skinny foreigner with pale complexion and red hair.

  Ganzorig wanted to approach Karakorum, the important city that played an important role in the economy, politics and commerce of those days. The chief's purpose was to participate in this prosperity in some way, whether as merchants, looters, or guardians as the opportunity arose. He knew that riches in gold and silver were difficult to access, but he had heard from Persian merchants that the Arabs were trying to introduce opium into China and that they used that route to do so. The uses of this precious product were not clear to Ganzorig, but apparently they were mainly medicinal, especially to maintain kid or life force and as an aphrodisiac for Chinese nobles, too accustomed to being surrounded by wives and concubines. Ganzorig boasted that he did not need such means and was grateful that his son-in-law did not need them either. In fact, Mongolian women, and in particular his daughter Enkhtaya, could turn men on more than opium or any brew.

  Chapter 9

  Still deeply asleep, Ivo heard some ring bells he believed were part of the plot of his dreamlike activity, generally profuse. In fact it was always the same dream, in which he was lost in relatively familiar places but in which he could not find a way back home. He turned on the bed and tried to get asleep again. A sixth sense alerted him that there was movement in the hotel room and sliding his hand on the side where Lian usually slept noticed that it was empty. With the dim light coming from the hallway under the door he saw a shadow that was going to the bathroom in the dark. Partially incorporated in the bed Ivo realized that it was the girl and when she turned on the light of the toilet he noticed that the woman was carrying her cell phone to her ear. Thinking that there might be a problem, the man climbed out of bed and walked after her with stealth whose cause he could not explain. Even though the bathroom door was closed Ivo could hear the muffled voice of the woman, who was obviously whispering. He came to realize that she was speaking in Chinese, or at least in some language he did not know. Embarrassed by his stalking attitude and unwilling to violate the girl's privacy Ivo returned to bed. On the way, the man wondered what kind of cell phone was able to receive and send signals in the middle of that loneliness and in the proximity of the mountains.

  啊 啊 ... 与 国外 国外 ..., 想去 哪里 哪里? ...... 好, 我 也 必须 走 走 (1) yes ... I'm with the foreigner ... where do you want me to go? ... Well, but I must take him too.

  Lian listened intently to the answers of his interlocutor, unable to prevent her stomach from shrinking. She turned off the cell phone and returned to the room. It was then that she heard Ivo's voice.

  “Are you all right?”

  "I´m fine, I just went to the toilet.”

  The two young men walked absentmindedly by the streets of Lanzhou. On arriving at the restaurant where they used to go to breakfast they walked into it. In the course of the collation Ivo told Lian casually.

  “I do not know anything about you. Why do not you tell me something?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “Where do you live? Whether you were born in Beijing or in the hinterland? Something about your family, your studies, who you work for.”

  "Summing up, you want my curriculum vitae."

  "No, nothing so formal, I just have an interest in you and I want to get to know you a little better.”

  Lian decided that the boy's request was logical and did not want to look evasive, so she said.

  “Very good. I will do it. Then it will be your turn. I do not know much about you either, just what was in the memorandum I received when I was asked to accompany you to Liqian.”

  She shifted his position in the chair and began her story.

  "My name is Zhou Lian and I have a degree in Asian Anthropology by the Beijing University. However I was not born in that city, but in a small town of the Kunlun Shan, or Kunlun Mountain Range. Have you heard of it?”

  “Never.”

  "It's an important place in Chinese folklore. The mythical Palace of Jade of the not less legendary Yellow Emperor was supposedly in Kunlun. It is a site populated by legends and has even been chosen as the location of films from video games to Chinese TV series.”

  "You're surrounded by mysteries," Ivo said in a deliberate voice. The girl laughed loudly and continued.

  "My family has been in the area for generations, my father is a clerk of the Chinese Post office and serves as a supervisor in a large region. In one of his business travels to Beijing he took me with him and as I was in the capital I took an examination in the University and won a scholarship between among aspirants”.

  "I have no doubt you're a brilliant woman." the man said half-seriously.

  "After my graduation I did extensive fieldwork in northern China, in Mongolia and Tibet. I have collected quite a vast experience for my age.”

  "Where do you currently work?"

  “ In a special agency of the Ministry of Culture that is dedicated to cultural diversity in China."

  "I do not think much cultural diversity is allowed in China.”

  "We are talking about the different cultural groups that exist in the country. Ethnic, linguistic, and other.”

  "Are you affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party?"

  "It is difficult to progress in the state if you are not affiliated.”

  "So, yes, you are."

  “Yes I am. Does that upset you?”

  Ivo took the girl's hand in his.

  “Not at all. In fact you're not the first communist I've ever been in love with.”

  "Are you declaring?"

  “Yes.”

  "Then tell me about the other Communist woman in your life." She made a pause. “But first, tell me about yourself. I told you, it's your turn.

  Ivo gave a long expla
nation about his family in Milan, his studies in History, his transfer to Venice and his work in the Fondazione Italiana per gli Studi Storici Superiori in that city.

  "And you say it's presided by a nobleman?" Asked Lian.

  “It's a private institution, privately funded so they can choose whoever they want.”

  "What future do you have there?"

  "I think they're preparing me for the time when the Cavaliere retires." He is about to turn ninety.

  "To take over?"

  "I think so."

  “You must have important supports inside the institution.”

  "That's right." the young man replied evasively.

  "Is it the other communist in your life?

  “Yes.”

  "Come on, tell me about her."

  Ivo gave a succinct description of Federica and her relationship with her.

  "So it's another noble."

  “ Not strictly, she is just a member of one of the traditional families of Venice.”

  “Describe her. I mean physically.”

  The man did what was required.

  “You love her?”

  "In my way, yes. But I do not feel the same way I feel about you.”

  "And you live with her?"

  "Yes, until I came to China."

  Lian winced as an attacking tiger and the man burst into laughter.

  "There are other things you should know." Ivo added.

  "You will not tell me you have a child with her."

  -No, no, no. It is something else ... she is the woman who has a spot on the neck identical to yours.”

  "Two women with marks on their necks fight for you." Lian did not give up the ironical vein in her comments. Then she suddenly stood up and said.

  "Come on, let's go to the hotel and straight to bed." I want to take advantage of my rival´s absence. I'm going to erase her and her neck spot from your mind.”

  When they got up it was time to go to lunch. They decided to go to the hotel restaurant so they did not have to take shelter of the intense cold prevailing outside.

  After having desserts Lian said.

  “I want to tell you something. Some explorers have found additional traces of populations of European origin further west. I think you'd be interested in traveling there.”

  "I need the foundation to authorize me to take more time and make extra expenses."

  "Ask that Federica woman."

  “Where is that place?”

  "In the area where I was born, in the Kunlun Mountains.”

  Chapter 10

  "Where's the driver?" Ivo asked.

  "He had to return to Beijing in a public transportation." Replied quickly Lian. "I'll drive from here on, for it's an area I know." She then hesitated and added. “Do you want to share the driving?”

  "Yes, although I come from a flat area, the Po River plain. Is it a mountainous area?”

  "There are parts with cliffs." Do you have experience in cornice roads?

  "I've driven in the Alps.”

  "Anyway, do not expect us to have here the routes you have in Europe. Never mind, I will do the driving in the high mountain parts.”

  The two of them had already been driving for more than fifteen hours. The asphalt road had ended many miles back but the gravel was at an acceptable maintenance level. In fact, they found gangs of workers making repairs on the route several times. When the sky darkened they decided to stop at a miserable lost inn just where the first foothills of the mountains began to permit themselves some rest before the following day of driving. The place was attended by an elderly woman and her two grandchildren. The hostess prepared them an acceptable meal and the hosts found that the room and bathroom were modest but clean.

  "In rural China you never know what you're going to find." Lian had resignedly commented.

  At the end of the meal the girl asked.

  "I'm going to walk out to the nearby grove to stretch my legs. Do you want to come with me?”

  “No thanks, I'd rather go to rest.” As up until then they had traveled on a flat road Ivo had driven most of the time. Lian left and the man retired to the room, which was on the ground floor. After entering and laying in bed his mind reflected on the situation and decided that it was not safe to leave the young woman walking alone in the open field and with little light. Overcoming the complaints of his body he rose, went out to the inn lobby where he gave a greeting to the lady and began to march along the path poorly drawn on the earth. In the dim light of the evening he saw Lian sitting on the trunk of a large tree, staring up at the mountains. From far away he thought she was holding her head with her hands. Ivo approached and the whisper of a nearby stream covered the noise of his steps so Lian did not notice. The man came within ten yards of her back without being noticed. Then he saw that he was speaking on a telephone of certain dimensions and heard her voice above the flow of water; Lian spoke in Chinese. Although Ivo did not understand the subject of the conversation, he was certain that the girl had actually retired to that place to be able to speak alone and that the invitation to walk had been only a pretext. Ivo decided not to violate this need for isolation and silently started the return to the inn.

  如果......我们已经在山脚下......你确定道路是否安全？

  (2) Yes ... we are at the foot of the mountains ... are you sure the road is safe?

  When Lian returned to the room she found his partner sleeping.

  The next morning the surroundings were wrapped in a thick fog and the road was barely visible three paces away so they had to wait for the mist to rise. Just as the innkeeper had anticipated that happened at about 11 a.m. so they had to stay in their room all that time, since it did not even make sense to walk in the sticky fog without being able to tell the nearest grove. Finally, and almost at once, the mist came out. The night before they had already loaded the utility car so that they set off without delay, praying that the fog would also have disappeared in the mountains. In the initial stretch Ivo was driving since as a Milanese he was accustomed to deal with the steering wheel even in the middle of the fog. When the car was started the man said with a gesture of satisfaction.

  "This inn was more welcoming and comfortable than I imagined when we got to it."

  Surprised at Lian's lack of response Ivo looked at her as she sat in the passenger seat and watched her absorbed in the contemplation of the exterior rearview mirror of the car at her side. So abstracted was the girl that it was obvious she had not heard Ivo's words. He frowned at the vehicle's rearview mirror and determined the object of the woman's interest. Partially hidden behind a tree the son of the innkeeper stared at them in a fixed form. Evidently there was something about them that interested him. The young man shrugged his shoulders, dismissing the fact that there might have been some reason for Lian's attention and he remained silent for a while, but the procession went inside and finally asked the girl.

  "Tell me, Lian. What was it about the boy at the inn that caught your attention?"

  “I do not know what are you talking about.”

  "I think you do. So concentrated were you that you did no even hear what I was telling you.”

  "Oh! I am sorry. And what were you saying to me?”

  "I really do not remember, but that's not the point.”

  "And what's the point then?"

  "Your interest in him and his interest in us."

  “I do not know. I swear I've never seen him before.”

  "I'm sure of that, but the reciprocal control was obvious.”

  The girl remained silent.

  "Lian, I have followed you everywhere and I am now accompanying you on a journey whose purpose is not clear to me, but I have the persistent suspicion that you are hiding something from me.”

  "I cannot believe you're jealous.”

  "I'm not, my suspicions go in another way.”

  "Which way?" Lian's questioning system was exasperating. Ivo came to conceive that she was trained to face interrogations, and he ha
d to admit that her system was very effective.

  "It's just what I do not know. Do not think I have not noticed your mysterious calls over the phone, even in areas where I cannot explain how you got a line.

  For a moment Ivo took his eyes off the route and looked at the woman's face, so she could feel the blush that covered it for a moment.

  “There is nothing that you have to worry about .” She answered without giving further explanations and leaving the doubts of the man unresolved.

  Then Lian closed her eyes and fell into what seemed to be a deep sleep, but in reality it was a state of slumber in which, as the defenses of consciousness descended, the deep contents were easier to express. A warm feeling rose from her gut and invaded her head. At last Lian began to suspect that she had fallen in love. It was the first time in her young life that she experienced this feeling, so that the first stage of confusion was followed by another of rejection of the idea when she realized that falling in love would somehow restrict her options and give her a certain point of reference that at first sight would introduce rigidity in her life. However, after being seized by that rational thought, that other eminently irrational and primitive feeling that had ascended from the guts made its way and filled her with a sweet remnant. At that point Lian stopped fighting and surrendered to love and sleep.

  Chapter 11

  As Lian woke up she saw a reflection of sunlight on a snowy summit in the distance. Ivo continued driving the vehicle that was already running along increasingly narrow and rocky mountain roads. In fact the girl realized that what had awakened her was just one of the jumps when the vehicle stepped on a rock that had then rolled downhill. She looked at the man and saw the weariness on his face.

  "Let me continue driving," She said. "You need to get rid of the tension and get some sleep.”

  "Oh! Did you wake up. Leave it, I can still go a little further.”

  As was her custom Lian ignored Ivo's response and indicated a widening of the path, which on the left side showed a dangerous precipice.