Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Nabari agreed to the invitation without much concern over details such as remuneration, which relieved Zhang Zian.
While waiting for the business discussions following that, Salem suddenly said, “Uncle Nabari, I also want to go with you guys!”
Nabari and Zhang Zian were both stunned.
“Aren’t you working in the Port of Mersa Matruh now? Before, when your father asked you to come back, you refused no matter what. Why do you want to follow me into the desert now? Don’t you know that the desert is dangerous? It’s not a place for you to hang out.” Nabari reprimanded him in a solemn tone.
Salem had made up his mind to go with Nabari, who was the best guide in the tribe, and this was the last time he would lead a team into the desert.
One couldn’t learn to be a desert guide by studying things being closed doors with textbooks. He must be taught and pass down knowledge from generation to generation, precious experiences that could not be described easily. Nabari had gone into the desert with his father to learn how to be a guide. If he missed this opportunity, it would be an unacceptable loss for Salem, who wanted to be a guide.
Salem pleaded pathetically, “Uncle Nabari, you’re the best guide in the tribe, but you’re going to retire soon. If someone wants to go into the desert, who’s going to be the guide? Wouldn’t it be a pity to lose lives in the desert because there were no qualified guides?”
Nabari’s heart was moved. He looked at his children that were on the floor mat just mumbling and learning the languages, crawling on the floor on all fours. He was silent and did not speak.
He had several children. The first few were daughters. His daughters had grown up and gotten married, but his sons were still young. He did not have the opportunity to wait for his sons to grow up and then pass on the experience of desert guide to his sons. Would he then just have to watch as the experience he’d had for many years was not passed down?
After thinking about it, he finally nodded. “Okay, but you have to get your father’s consent before I can take you into the desert. If he doesn’t agree…”
Salim jumped a foot high and embraced Nabari. He almost knocked Nabari into a stumble. “Thank you, Uncle Nabari! As for my father, don’t worry. As long as I am willing to return to the tribe, whether it means going into the desert or herding sheep, he will agree—in my opinion, he would rather I learn from you than become a shepherd!”
Nabari shook his head helplessly. “It’s not enough to get my consent. You have to get the consent of the science team. After all, they are the main players in this trip.”
Salem looked towards Zhang Zian with wide eyes.
Zhang Zian knew what he wanted to do in his heart, wanting to be a guide and easily earning a lot of money, but the reality was not as simple as he thought it was.
As for letting him follow the science team into the desert… Zhang Zian estimated that it wouldn’t be a problem. As long as he told Wei Kang the meaning of the guide, he thought Wei Kang would not have any comments. Plus, an additional person would only spend a few dollars more.
“In the scientific research team, my words don’t hold any weight. I’m only responsible for the miscellaneous work, but I can help you to tell the principal person in charge. As for whether the person in charge agrees or not, I can’t say.” Zhang Zian held himself back and did not say anything too confidently.
“That’s great! Jeff! I knew you were the best!”
Salem was not foolish. Since the scientific examination team had entrusted Zhang Zian with such an important task as finding a guide, Zhang Zian must have had a great deal of speaking power in the scientific research team. As long as Zhang Zian was willing to help, this matter would definitely be confirmed.
He also wanted to hug Zhang Zian, and at that moment, Fina looked sideways. It heard a lot of footsteps approaching. Its pupils shrank slightly, and it saw someone it knew.
“Look at who this is! Jeff! We met again! And it’s actually at this kind of place! This proves that we have a lot of affinity between us!”
A familiar voice sounded from the doorway of the shack house.
Zhang Zian, Nabari, and Salem all looked over at the same time.
It was Peter Lee, or Lee Peter, whom Zhang Zian had met in the Queen’s Tomb of the Great Pyramid.
Behind him was a group of middle-aged people, men and women, members of the Cosmic Information Society, who had been hand in hand in a circle in the Queen’s Tomb.
Zhang Zian instantly understood. The rough terrain cars parked at the doorway of the village were driven by this group of people.
But what were they doing in the deserted Bedouin tribes?
There were only yellow sands and the Gobi desert—no pyramids and no ancient, mysterious buildings. Bedouin itself was not old. Although it was somewhat mysterious, it was absolutely not the most mysterious people on the planet, and it was only independent.
By right, there was no special reason for these believers of mysticism to be here, unless they had other reasons.
Lee Peter wore a casual white suit that would be very easily dirtied in this environment with pink scarves in his chest pocket, white pointed leather shoes, crystal sunglasses, a decorative stick, and a refined, old-fashioned gentleman’s demeanor. No one could have imagined that his mind was full of mysterious self-created theories.
Others also looked like they were not lacking money. They wore happy smiles on their faces, like a family, with their eyes on Zhang Zian. They stared at him.
Zhang Zian had a headache when he saw these people. He didn’t want to mix with these fanatical mystics. He couldn’t communicate normally with them at all. But the doorway was blocked. He couldn’t break the wall forcibly to leave. Although the wall, made of branches and reeds, was easy to break, it was Nabari’s home. He could not be too rude in people’s homes, and there were some details he had to discuss with Nabari.
Salem and Nabari did not understand Chinese, and they did not know what the origins of these people were. They did not know what their relationship with Zhang Zian was, either, and so they did not speak rashly and stayed silent.
He had a way out, and Zhang Zian said calmly, “So it’s Mr. Lee Peter. This is really a coincidence. What brings you here?”
While saying that, he raised his head to stare at the infinitely large blue sky. “Or are you saying… That there is strong pure spiritual energy here as well?”
As if he had not heard the mocking in Zhang Zian’s words, Lee Peter spread out his hands and said lightly, “Jeff, what are you joking about? With your sensitivity to the pure energy of the universe, I’m sure you know there’s nothing here except stinky camel dung.”
As evening was approaching, Zhang Zian did not want to spend the night here and had no time to speak in riddles with him. He said, “Mr. Lee Peter, since there is no pure energy here, what are you going to do here?”
Lee Peter smiled, and his gaze landed on Nabari. As if he had everything in his control, he said, “Of course I’m here for the same thing as you—to find a guide to go into the desert.”
