The opening of the Celestial Fragment of the Sands was supposed to close today, and I sent the Nei Wei hours ago to make sure Lianhua returned safely, but the air in the courtyard seems thicker than usual, and every time I try to distract myself, my mind insists on thinking about everything that could have happened to Lianhua, such as flashing images of her being chased by a rolling boulder through a ruined tunnel.

  I never thought I would curse myself for having seen so many Indiana Jones movies.

  Next to me, Xia tries to keep me calm, her small hand resting on mine in a gesture that is meant to be comforting, but even her efforts fail to silence the tangle of thoughts dancing in my head.

  "Wen, I'm sure she's fine”, Xia says in the most reassuring tone she can muster, though the doubt in her voice is palpable.

  "I know”, I reply automatically, even though the knot in my stomach contradicts me. Clenching my hands on the armrests of my chair, I struggle not to show my growing anxiety.

  The sound of the palace's front door opening makes me sit up straight, and my gaze fixes on the entrance.

  As I watch, the door swings open and a group of Nei Wei cross the threshold, escorting the unmistakable figure of Lianhua, and my heart skips a beat when I see her. She doesn't appear to be injured, but her condition leaves much to be desired. Her clothes are stained and torn in several places, and the leather backpack I made for her is in a deplorable state, though miraculously it still serves its purpose.

  As soon as she enters the courtyard, Lianhua strides toward me with determined steps, followed by the Nei Wei. Despite her appearance, her expression is firm. She stops in front of me and bows slightly as she says “Zhāohuán Wen, I have returned. I am ready to present my report."

  For a moment, I feel the urge to scold her because those are the first words she says upon her return, but those words die before they leave my mouth. I watch her silently, and instead of what I had planned to say, I let out a sigh and extend a hand.

  "Come closer, Lianhua”, I say.

  Her eyes fill with surprise, but she obeys without question. When she is close enough, I gesture for her to bend down. Although hesitant, she does so, and then, without warning, I wrap my arms around her.

  "Thank you for coming back safe and sound”, I say, my voice trembling slightly, but I don't care.

  Lianhua stands still, clearly surprised and shocked by what I have just done.

  But she seems to recover quickly because after a few seconds she steps back and looks at me with a slight frown as she says “Zhāohuán Wen, you shouldn't do that. It's not appropriate for someone of your rank."

  "I decide what is appropriate or not”, I reply firmly before covering my nose with one hand as I look at her with a smile. "But first, go take a bath. You stink."

  The comment elicits an unexpected laugh from Xia, who until now had remained silent, watching the scene.

  Lianhua purses her lips, clearly irritated, but says nothing. Instead, she bows slightly and says “Then, with your permission, I will go and freshen up to be more presentable, and then I will report to you on what happened at the Celestial Fragment of the Sands."

  I gesture for her to leave as I say “I'll wait for you in my room."

  Lianhua withdraws with a respectful bow and enters the palace. My gaze shifts to the Nei Wei who remain at the entrance, and I ask them “Didn't the Fifteenth Prince return with you?"

  One of the Nei Wei steps forward and replies “When we left, the Fifteenth Prince had not yet left the Celestial Fragment."

  I frown, but nod and say, “Inform Nei Baihu of your return. You may leave.”

  The Nei Wei salute militarily and walk away toward the area of the palace where they have their barracks, their footsteps echoing in the silence left behind them.

  As I watch her leave, I signal to a maid to take me to my room while I say to Xia “Come on, let's wait for Lianhua in my room."

  The wait in my room is brief, but every second seems to drag on. Xia, sitting in a nearby chair, drums her fingers on the table, making little noises with her mouth that fail to distract me. I am too restless and cannot help thinking about Lianhua's backpack, what it might contain... or not.

  "Do you think she'll be long?" asks Xia, leaning toward me with curiosity she can't hide.

  "No”, I reply, shaking my head. "Lianhua is efficient. If she said she'd be back soon, she will be."

  And as if to prove my point, the door creaks open, revealing Lianhua. Now clean and properly dressed, she looks like a completely different person from the disheveled figure who arrived a short while ago. However, my attention is immediately drawn to the somewhat worn leather bag she is carrying, and a strange weight settles in my stomach as I wonder if that is all she was able to recover from the Celestial Fragment.

  Lianhua walks toward me with a steady gait, stops at a respectful distance, and bows slightly as she says “Zhāohuán Wen, I am ready to present my report."

  "Of course”, I say, keeping my voice calm despite my eagerness. "But please sit down first. There's no need to stand."

  She hesitates for a moment before nodding. With measured movements, she takes a seat across from me and places the leather bag on her lap. My gaze is drawn to the object as if it had a life of its own, but I look away toward Lianhua when she begins to speak.

  "After crossing the portal, the heat hit me like a solid wall”, Lianhua begins. Her voice is calm, but laden with details that paint a vivid picture in my mind. "The sand stretched beyond what the eyes my could see, as if the world were wrapped in a golden blanket that glistened under the scorching sun. The air was so dry that it seemed to steal the moisture from my lungs with every breath."

  "How horrible!" Xia exclaims, her eyes wide.

  Lianhua smiles slightly but continues without pausing. "Thanks to my cultivation, I was able to withstand the heat and keep my health stable, but I knew I couldn't let my guard down. The books I bought mentioned scattered oases, but finding them in such vastness would not be an easy task, so even though my cultivation allows me to go longer without drinking, I decided to ration my water."

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  "Did you find any?" Xia interrupts, anxious and clearly enjoying the story Lianhua is telling us.

  "Yes”, Lianhua nodded. "The first one appeared on the third day of the journey. I saw it in the distance, a faint glow on the horizon that I almost mistook for a mirage. As I got closer, I noticed a group of trees and a small pond surrounded by low grass. But it wasn't empty."

  "What was there?" I ask, leaning slightly toward her, unable to contain my curiosity and completely captivated by Lianhua's story. But above all, I am surprised to learn that she hides such talent for storytelling and drama.

  "Beasts”, Lianhua replied in a serious tone. "A group of spirit scorpions had settled there. They were huge, each the size of a dog and with shells that reflected light like polished obsidian. They didn't give me time to plan because as soon as they saw me, they attacked."

  "And what did you do?" Xia exclaims, clutching the edge of the table.

  "Fight”, Lianhua says simply. "I used the terrain to my advantage. The creatures were fast in a straight line, but clumsy when they needed to change direction. Moving between the palm trees, I managed to stay ahead of them. Their pincers were strong and even cut down some of the trees I was using to keep them at bay, but I was able to avoid them and attack their weak points at the joints. It took time, but I finally defeated them."

  "After that, I cleared the oasis of any traces that might attract more beasts and rested for a while before continuing”, Lianhua pauses, as if remembering something unpleasant, before continuing. "The desert gave me no respite. Every day something new appeared. From spirit snakes lurking under the sand, their bodies so long they could wrap around an entire dune, to birds descending from the sky with beaks as sharp as blades.

  "But without a doubt, the most terrifying were the giant worms”, Lianhua continues. "I only saw them twice, but both times I was forced to flee."

  "What were those worms like?" asks Xia, clearly scared and fascinated at the same time.

  "Colossal”, Lianhua tells us gravely. "Their bodies could easily reach ten

  Zhang long, with grayish skin covered in hard plates. When they emerged, even the earth shook, and they formed cascades of sand with their bodies. There was no way I could face them alone, so every time one appeared, I used my speed to escape before it could catch up to me."

  "Didn't you find anything else in the desert?" I ask, intrigued and at the same time terrified by the worms over thirty meters long that my mind has already associated with the worms of Dune.

  "There were some interesting things”, Lianhua admitted. "On one occasion, I discovered a black rock that didn't seem to belong in the environment. Upon examining it, I realized it was covered with strange markings, possibly ancient engravings, but I couldn't linger long because I noticed movement under the sand. I suspect something was living nearby, probably a worm."

  "And what happened next?" insists Xia, clearly determined to squeeze every detail of Lianhua's adventure out of her.

  "I kept walking”, Lianhua replies. "The desert was endless, but with each step I felt closer to the river. Finally, the sound of water led me to an area where the dunes rose into a small hill, and when I reached the top of it, I could see the river, a huge stream of water at least six Li wide that seemed to split the desert in two.

  The figure surprises me and makes my eyes widen, as after a quick mental calculation I realize that it is almost three kilometers wide, so I say to Lianhua “That's... colossal."

  "That's right”, Lianhua confirms with a slight nod. "The area around the river was green, but mostly flat. There were scattered groves here and there, but it was a much more dangerous place, and the spirit beasts were much more numerous and aggressive."

  Imagining that she would now begin to tell me all about the beasts she encountered and how she fought them, I cut her off before she could go into unnecessary details to tell her to get straight to what interests me, so I say “If you're here, clearly none of them were strong enough to kill you. But tell me about the ruins. Did you find any?"

  Lianhua is silent for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts before continuing her explanation "The ruins were... imposing. From a distance, in the courtyard where I spotted them, I could see what looked like giant teeth emerging from the ground, tall columns worn by time that still maintained an ancient dignity. When I got closer, I realized that each column was engraved with intricate reliefs, scenes that seemed to tell stories. There were elongated figures, stylized in proportion, but everything was so damaged by time that it was difficult to make anything out."

  Xia jumps slightly in her seat as she asks excitedly “Were they drawings of men or beasts?"

  "I don't know”, Lianhua replies with a slight nod. "Or maybe they were something more symbolic. I don't know for sure. The material of the columns looked like limestone, but it had a yellowish tone that reflected the sunlight, giving them a golden glow. Between the columns were huge statues, some knocked down and others still standing, though worn. Their faces were mutilated by time, but you could easily sense that they were important figures to those who built this place."

  "What was inside?" I ask, caught up in the narrative and wanting more details, since unfortunately I had not been able to be there in person to see the ruins.

  Lianhua sighed before answering. "The main entrance was a gigantic archway that opened onto a dark, cold corridor, in stark contrast to the suffocating heat outside. On the walls of that corridor were engravings similar to those outside, but more detailed. They seemed to show a procession, figures carrying offerings to a figure I couldn't identify because that part of the relief was damaged."

  "Weren't you afraid to go in?" asks Xia, clearly fascinated.

  "There was tension”, Lianhua admits. "But no fear. However, I wasn't alone inside. Just a few steps after entering, I heard the echo of movements in the darkness. Spirit beasts. Some were creatures that looked like disproportionate versions of felines, with long, dagger-like fangs. I had to fight several of them to move forward, and in certain cases, I backed away when I saw that there were too many for me to handle."

  I gesture for her to continue "What else did you see? What was beyond the hallway?"

  "More chambers”, she tells us, her tone more thoughtful now. "They were large spaces supported by pillars that mimicked the exterior columns, but with even more detailed reliefs. On the floor were the remains of what appeared to be carved furniture, but it had been reduced to splinters by the beasts that lived there. I also found some broken ceramic urns and fragments of metal objects that had lost all their shine."

  Lianhua pauses before continuing her story "In one of the deepest chambers, I discovered a distinct structure. It was a pedestal surrounded by a circle engraved with patterns that seemed to flow like water. On top of the pedestal was an object that had been shattered. I couldn't determine what it was originally, but the engravings around it seemed to represent something important, perhaps a ceremony or ritual."

  "And that was it?" I ask, trying to hide my disappointment.

  "Not quite”, Lianhua says, her voice brightening slightly. "In another chamber, in an area that, based on its layout and the remains of furniture, appeared to be the bedrooms, while exploring a wall that looked plain, I noticed a small indentation, and following the instructions you gave me, I ended up finding a secret compartment."

  My eyes light up and I lean forward "What was inside?"

  "Jars”, Lianhua replies. "Although their contents had decomposed over time. But there was also a small chest. It was closed, but when I opened it, I found some well-preserved papers."

  My eyes light up when I hear that, so I quickly say as I reach out my hands “The papers, you have them in that bag, right? Let me see them."

  Lianhua sighs, but doesn't protest. She reaches into the bag and carefully pulls out a stack of papers. My hands tremble slightly as I take them from her, almost reverently. As I open them, my gaze is fixed on the signs and symbols covering the pages.

  My mind goes blank at the sight of the writing, and for a moment, all I can think about is the impossibility of what I have before me.

  They are ideograms and phonetic signs that I recognize instantly, but my mind cannot comprehend why something like this would appear in a context that I had until now assumed belonged to a wholly Chinese culture.

  "It can't be”, I murmur to myself, unable to look away from the text. The idea that something so completely foreign to this world has appeared here is inconceivable.

  "Wen? What's wrong?" I hear Xia ask as she leans over me to look over my shoulder.

  But I don't answer, as it's impossible for me to tell her that I've recognized that the text before me is written in what are clearly Egyptian hieroglyphics.