Chapter - 38 Boundless Desert (7) (2/2)

Hearing that, the man looked somewhat relieved, but that soon changed when he saw that Guo Jing had just brought out his own little toy bow and arrow. He let out a little laugh before frowning: ”I need the fighting kind, the big one.” Guo Jing merely shook his head.

The pursuers were getting closer, theirs banners could be faintly seen waving in the distance. The man figured that, with his horse injured, he wouldn't be able to get away. While hiding is always dangerous, he had no alternative. ”I can't beat them all by myself, so I've got to hide.” He said, turning to Guo Jing. He looked around and noticed that there was nowhere to hide in or around the hut. In desperation, he settled on the big pile of grass outside.

”I'm going to hide in there. Could you chase my horse as far away as you can? Be sure to find a good place to hide for yourself too and don't let them catch you.” he instructed as he dug himself into the grass pile. Traditionally, as soon as the scorching summer has passed, Mongolians would immediately cut down all the available tall grass and pile it up. During the harsh winters, Mongolians relied on these grass piles for feed for the animals as well as fire for warmth. Often these grass piles would be bigger than their gers. The man was actually very well hidden inside the grass pile and probably wouldn't be discovered without careful inspection.

Guo Jing turned and gave the black horse a couple of good lashes, causing the horse to gallop off. Only until it was almost entirely out of sight did it finally stop and started to graze. Guo Jing jumped onto his little horse and took off to the west.

The pursuers, noticing that someone was there, sent two advanced scouts forward to give chase. Guo Jing's pony wasn't fast and the two scouts soon caught up. ”Kid, did you see a man riding a black horse around here?” One of them demanded.

Guo Jing didn't know how to tell a lie, so he couldn't find the words to answer the question. The two scouts asked several more times, but there was still no answer. ”Let's take him to the First Prince!”, one of them finally suggested, seeing blank looking face on the kid. The two scouts took hold of Guo Jing's reins and led him back to the hut.

”I just won't say.” Guo Jing made up his mind on the way back.

A good number of Mongolian soldiers surrounded a tall and skinny young man. Guo Jing recognized the face, he had seen him on the hill two days before. Noticing that the soldiers were all obeying his commands, Guo Jing decided that he was an enemy of that black robed general. ”What did the little kid say?” The First Prince shouted.

”This kid is scared stiff; he hasn't said a word.”

The First Prince looked around and suddenly noticed the black horse grazing in the distance. ”Is that his horse? Go and bring it here,” he quietly ordered. Ten Mongols split into five groups and quietly surrounded the horse. By the time the horse noticed and tried to escape, it had already run out of places to run.

”Isn't this Jebe's horse?” The First Prince asked rhetorically in an arrogant voice. ”Yes sir, it is!” The solders answered in unison.

The First Prince, using his riding whip, lashed the side of Guo Jing's head and shouted: ”Where is he hiding? Spit it out. Think you can fool me?”

Hiding in the pile of dried grass, Jebe held his broken saber tightly. Seeing Guo Jing getting hit and a huge welt immediately starting to develop on his head, his heart began to beat wildly. He knew that this was Temujin's eldest son, Jochi, whose cruelty and savagery was famous throughout the entire Steppe. He figured that the kid would undoubtedly be frightened into telling where he was hiding, and then he would have to jump out and fight to the death.

Guo Jing wanted to cry, but, trying with all his might, he kept back the tears. Holding his head up high, he asked: ”Why did you hit me? I didn't do anything wrong!” He knew kids only get beaten when they did something wrong.

”Trying to be tough huh?” Jochi shouted angrily before he whipped Guo Jing again, making Guo Jing burst out crying.