Chen asked.
"It"s said that all the people of the city turned into ghosts when they were buried by the sand, and that they bewitch visitors who try to take valuables away with them. But if you put down the valuables, every single piece, then it"s easy to find your way out."
"I doubt if many people would be willing to do that," said Chen.
"Yes. Seeing such riches, who wouldn"t want to take some? It is said that if you don"t take anything, but even leave a few extra taels of silver in one of the houses, then the wells will spurt clear, fresh water for you to drink. The more silver you leave, the more fresh water there is."
Chen laughed. "The ghosts of this secret city sound very greedy."
"Some members of our tribe who were badly in debt have gone to look for the city, but only those who didn"t find it have ever come back," Princess Fragrance continued. "Once, a caravan crossing the desert came across a man who was half dead. He said he had entered the city, but had found himself going in circles when he tried to get out again. Finally, his strength gave out and he collapsed, and the next thing he knew was the arrival of the caravan. The caravan leader asked him to lead them to the city, but he refused. He said he wouldn"t take one step into that haunted place again even if he received all the riches of the city as a reward."
"It doesn"t necessarily have to be that these people were bewitched by ghosts," said Chen. "If someone suddenly came upon a huge amount of gold and jewels, it could affect their minds and make it difficult for them to think clearly. But if they decided they did not want the riches, it could clear their heads, and make it easier to find the way out."
"The map hidden in the scabbard shows the way to the Secret City," Huo Qingtong said quietly.
"Ah," exclaimed Chen, suddenly understanding.
"The map indicates that the city was built around a high snow-capped mountain." she continued. "From the look of it, the mountain should not be too far from here. We should be able to see it. I cannot understand why we can"t."
"Sister, you"re wasting your time," said Princess Fragrance. "Even if we could find the mountain, what use would it be?"
"We could escape into the city. There are houses and fortresses in the city and our chance of escaping the wolves would be much greater than here."
"That"s right!" Chen said. He stood on the horse"s back once more looking west. But all he could see was a hazy white sky stretching to the horizon.
Zhang and the Three Devils could not understand a word of what they said, but they watched suspiciously as Chen stood on the back of his horse twice, and wondered what devilment he was up to.
Princess Fragrance took out some dry rations and divided them up amongst all of them. As she sat eating, she gazed out beyond the flames at the horizon. Suddenly, she jumped up.
"Sister! Look!" Huo Qingtong followed the direction of her hand and saw a black spot stationary in the sky.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It"s an eagle," Princess Fragrance replied. "I saw it fly over from here. But how could it suddenly stop in mid-air?"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I clearly saw it fly across."
"If the black spot isn"t an eagle, what could it be?" asked Chen. "If it is an eagle, how could it remain motionless in mid-air? It"s very strange." The three watched the spot for a while, then saw it move and become larger. A black eagle swept over their heads.
Princess Fragrance raised her hand to tidy her hair, which had been blown about by the wind. Chen looked at her snow-white skin and the white material of her dress next to it and realised the answer.
"Look at her hand!"