She rode for more than ten li. The sun had already risen for quite some time. Riding over several sand dunes, she saw a hilly ridge in the northwestern direction. On the ridge grew lush verdant vegetation. Seeing this greenery in the desert was like seeing a heavenly paradise. Several sand dunes rising from the desert, hiding the ridge from view, thus one could not see it from far away. Li Wenxiu quaked, “Could this be a ghost hill? How come I’ve never heard anyone mention the existence of this hill?” Then she thought, “It’s best that this is a ghost hill; perfect for luring these five bandits inside.”
The horse moved quickly, and reached the front of the ridge in no time, and entered a valley. Between two hills flowed a little stream. The white horse gave a joyful neigh and dashed straight towards the stream. Li Wenxiu leapt off the horse. Using her hands, she scooped up some clear water to wash the sand and dust off her face. She then drank a few mouthfuls, and felt that the water tasted slightly sweet, and could be even considered as cool and refreshing.
Suddenly, she felt a hard object pressing against the back of her head. A hoa.r.s.e voice said, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” Li Wenxiu was stunned, and was about to turn around when the voice said, “My staff is aimed directly at the back of your head. The slightest movement and you will die from serious injuries.” She felt the hard object move forwards slightly, and immediately felt dizzy. She did not dare to move, thinking, “Since this person is able to talk, I suppose he is not a ghost. He also asked me what I was doing here, which means that he must live here and therefore must not be a bandit.”
The voice continued, “I’m asking you something, why are you not answering me?” She responded, “Some bad people were chasing me, and I fled to this place.” The person queried, “What kind of bad people?” Li Wenxiu replied, “Many bandits.” That person said, “What kind of bandits? What are they called?” Li Wenxiu answered, “I don’t know. They used to be protection agents, but after they came to the Muslim Region, they became bandits.” That person asked, “What is your name? Who is your father? Who is your master?” Li Wenxiu said, “My name is Li Wenxiu; my father’s, White Horse Li San; my mother’s, ‘Gold and Silver Little Swords Sanniangzi’. I have no master.” That person grunted in reply, and said, “Oh, so ‘Gold and Silver Little Swords Sanniangzi’ married White Horse Li San. Where are your parents?” Li Wenxiu said, “They were killed by those bandits who also want to kill me.”
That person grunted in reply, and ordered, “Stand up!” Li Wenxiu stood up. That person then instructed, “Turn around.” Li Wenxiu turned around slowly. The sharp metal tip of that person’s wooden staff left the back of her head. He withdrew, and then extended the staff, so that it was pointing at her throat. But he did not exert all his strength, using only a little force to point the staff at her throat. Li Wenxiu glanced at him, and was surprised by what she saw. When she heard that hoa.r.s.e, cold voice, she a.s.sumed that that person probably looked fierce and fearsome. But she saw a withered old man, who was thin and frail, and had a worried expression. He was wearing Han clothes which were extremely tattered and torn. But his hair was curly, and he did not look like a Han.
Li Wenxiu asked, “Old Uncle, what is your name? What is this place?” That old man was astounded to see that Li Wenxiu was rather beautiful. After being momentarily stunned, he answered coldly, “I don’t have a name, nor do I know what place this is.” Then they heard the indistinct sounds of hoof beats come from far away. Shocked, Li Wenxiu cried, “The bandits are here! Old Uncle, hide quickly.” That man said, “Why must I hide?” Li Wenxiu replied, “Those bandits are extremely evil, and they will kill you.” That man answered coldly, “We are strangers to each other, why do you care about my life or death?” At this time, the sound of the hoof beats came closer. Without caring that the tip of his staff was pointing at her throat, she stretched out her hand and grabbed his arm, saying, “Old Uncle, let’s escape together on the horse, or else it will be too late.”
That man shook his hand, trying to escape from Li Wenxiu’s grasp. But his shake lacked strength, and he was unable to free himself. Li Wenxiu asked, “Are you ill? I’ll help you up the horse.” She supported his waist with both her hands, and pushed him up onto the saddle. He was thin, and even though he was a man, his weight was lesser than that the weight of a well-proportioned Li Wenxiu. He sat in the saddle, swaying from side to side, as if he would fall off the saddle any time. Li Wenxiu also mounted the horse behind him, and urged the horse towards the interior of the hills. Within their delay, the five bandits had already ridden into the valley, and their cries could even be heard indistinctly. That man turned his head back suddenly, and cried, “You are in cahoots with them, aren’t you? You set a trap for me to fall into.” Li Wenxiu saw the sickly expression on his face turn to a hideous one, and a fierce light shone in his eyes. Frightened, she said, “No, no, I’ve never ever met you before, what trap would I set for you?” Sternly, he said, “You want to trick me into taking you to the Gao Chang Labyrinth…” Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly shut his mouth.
When Li Wenxiu had fled to the Muslim Region with her parents, she had heard her parents mention the three words ‘Gao Chang Labyrinth’ in their conversations. At that time, she did not understand what the term meant, and so she did not take much notice of it. Ten years later, this old man suddenly brought it up. She could not remember at once when she had heard someone mention it, and asking ignorantly, “The Gao Chang Labyrinth? What is that?” The old man saw that her expression was honest, and did not look as if she was lying. His voice relaxing, he said, “You really don’t know about the Gao Chang Labyrinth?”
Li Wenxiu shook her head, saying, “I don’t know, ah, it must be…” The old man asked severely, “Must be what?” Li Wenxiu replied, “When I was young, I fled to the Muslim Region with my parents, and heard them mention the Gao Chang Labyrinth before. Is that a very fun place to be?” Harshly, the old man questioned, “What else did your parents say? You’d better not lie to me.” Sorrowfully, Li Wenxiu answered, “If only I could remember more of the things my parents said. Even if it were just one more word, it would still be fine. Unfortunately, I can never hear their voices again. Old Uncle, I’ve always foolishly hoped that my parents would return from the dead so that I can have another look at them. Ai! If only they were alive; even if they were to hit and scold me continuously every day, I would still be very happy. Of course, they would never ever hit me.” Suddenly, she seemed to hear the sounds of Su Lu’ke whipping Su Pu cruelly, and his furious scoldings.
The old man’s expression softened, and he grunted a reply. Suddenly, he asked loudly, “Have you married yet?” Li Wenxiu blushed and shook her head. The old man asked, “Who have you been staying with all these years?” She answered, “With Grandfather Ji.” He continued, “Grandfather Ji? How old is he? What does he look like?” To the white horse, Li Wenxiu urged, “Good horse, the bandits are catching up, run quickly, run quickly.” She thought, “In such a critical situation, why do you keep asking about such unrelated matters?” But when she saw suspicion cloud his face, she finally said, “Grandfather Ji is more than eighty years old. He has a head of white hair, and a face completely wrinkled, and he treats me very well.” The old man asked, “Do you know any Hans in the Muslim Region? Who else lives in Grandfather Ji’s house?” Li Wenxiu replied, “There is no one else. I don’t even know any Kazaks, much less any Hans.” The last sentence was said indignantly. She recalled Su Pu and A’man, and felt that even though she knew them, it was equal to not knowing.