Chapter 27: The Legend of the Blue-Faced Wolf

I took my flashlight and returned to the spot where I had just encountered the Blue-faced Beast. Carefully inspecting the area with the beam, I discovered a small hole. The entrance was narrow, not quite like an animal's den. Taking out my black-gold dagger, I used it as a shovel to dig around the opening, and soon realized something was inside.

After a few more digs, I finally saw that there was indeed something there—a small object, faintly glowing white under the moonlight. I took it out and saw that it seemed to be a beast’s tooth: long and especially sharp, just under the length of a human palm. I was puzzled. Was the Blue-faced Beast fiddling with this thing? Was it hiding it or trying to take it away?

Could this be its own tooth? It did look similar, but seemed a bit smaller than the beast’s actual fangs. I was unsure, so I casually slipped the fang into my pocket. I remembered that many people liked to make wolf teeth into necklaces, and this fang was much cooler than a wolf’s. I thought I’d have it made into a necklace for myself when I had the chance.

Returning to camp, I lay on my mat and, after some thought, fell asleep until dawn. The next morning, I was awakened by the sounds of an argument. When I got up to see what was happening, I found Zayi quarreling with one of the explorers. Listening in, I gathered that one of the young men in the explorer team—a blond who was always a bit brash—had caught a rabbit somewhere that morning. The locals called it a sand rabbit, and he was about to roast it. Zayi intervened, insisting that the sand rabbit was a messenger of Huda and shouldn’t be eaten, or else Huda would be offended and bring misfortune upon us all.

The blond was the youngest in the explorer group, known for being cocky and having once tried to flirt with one of the female researchers, only to be put in his place by Black Sunglasses. I was never fond of him.

Of course, this guy paid no heed to Zayi's warnings and kept plucking the rabbit, which made Zayi furious.

“Young man, why won’t you listen? If you eat the rabbit, the whole team will be cursed with bad luck...” Zayi protested.

The blond cocked his head and grinned, retorting, “So what, if I don’t eat the rabbit, am I supposed to eat your camel instead?”

“You! Are you really thinking of eating my camel?!” Zayi fumed.

“Then tell me, what in this desert isn’t one of your Huda’s? Next time, I’ll be careful,” the blond shot back, clearly just looking to argue.

“Everything in this desert belongs to Huda: the sand, the water, the animals, the plants. But we mustn’t harm the animals, lest we anger Huda!” Zayi insisted.

The two kept bickering—mostly Zayi scolding and the blond bantering back. Black Sunglasses and the others pretended not to hear as they fiddled with their gear nearby.

Soon, Li Ling came out, tidied up, and gently persuaded Zayi to calm down, leading him away to his camel.

“We’re relying on Zayi here in the desert. Let’s all try to do as he asks, OK?” she said to the explorer team.

Li Ling spoke tactfully, smiling as she addressed the four explorers. The blond gave her some respect, since she was their employer, though he didn’t look up, muttering, “Yeah, yeah, I got it. Won’t happen again. But the rabbit’s already dead—leaving it would be a waste.”

Li Ling didn’t say more. She truly had a good temper. I wasn’t one to meddle, and honestly, I thought it was fine to eat wild animals in the desert.

I watched Zayi feed his camel and went over to speak with him, telling him not to bother arguing with the blond. Zayi, always talkative, soon started chatting with me. After a while, I asked, “Brother Zayi, I wanted to ask you something.”

He seemed pleased by my polite tone. “Ask away, little brother.”

I described in detail the animal I’d seen the night before. Zayi froze, then fell deep into thought, as if recalling something from long ago. At first, I thought he had no idea, but after a while he suddenly exclaimed, “I remember now! How do you know about this creature—did you see it, or just hear of it?”

I wondered why he was so agitated. He explained that he’d heard a legend as a child. According to the tale, the true god Allah once punished a sinful creature with the body of a deer, the head of a wolf, a blue face, and fangs—matching my description. The creature was called Mondaula, also known as the Blue-faced Wolf, a symbol of evil, abandoned and exiled to the desert, condemned never to leave and to suffer the harshest sun and endless black storms.

Zayi had never seen such a beast himself, but the legend was well-known. Supposedly, long ago, someone had encountered one and soon after fell gravely ill and died. The elders said the creature brought misfortune and doom.

I couldn’t help but smile inside—I didn’t believe in such things. Besides, with my own days already numbered, what did I care for curses? Still, I reassured Zayi, “I just read about it in some books. Coming into the desert brought it to mind, that’s all.”

Zayi waved it off with a laugh. “I thought so! It’s your first time in the desert, after all. It's just a legend—who knows if it’s true? Maybe Huda has already wiped such evil from the world. There are many legends here. If you’re interested, I’ll tell you more sometime.”

After chatting a bit longer, I packed up my things. Today we were setting out later. Li Ling was busy confirming our destination—now quite close—adjusting advanced, imported equipment, all labeled in English. Anna helped her, while the students watched and took notes, eager to learn.

By noon, Li Ling called everyone to eat and prepare for departure, as our course was set.

We all ate and rehydrated, rested, then set out together. Honestly, by now I was disoriented and couldn’t tell north from south, but thankfully we had a compass. After a short while, Li Ling pointed ahead and told us that our destination was just ahead.

Looking forward, I could barely make it out—perhaps the sun was too bright—but with my binoculars, I saw it clearly: a blackened mountain, striking against the sea of sand. Seeing our goal, everyone grew excited and hurried their pace. Glancing back, I noticed the four explorers lagging behind, as if plotting something among themselves.

By late afternoon, we finally reached the black mountain. It wasn’t very large, nor truly black, but the sand here was darker, making it stand out in the expanse. At this point, Zayi grew uneasy. “This black mountain is unlucky. We shouldn’t get too close,” he warned.

When asked why, he couldn’t give a clear answer, only urging us to leave. But this was our main destination, and no one was deterred by his superstitions—especially the students, who had no patience for such beliefs.

Seeing no one heed him, Zayi stopped insisting and squatted off to the side, muttering prayers under his breath.

We found a sheltered spot behind some large rocks half-buried in sand to set up camp. Li Ling organized everything: pitching six tents in a circle, securing them with ropes and iron stakes, and arranging all the equipment and supplies inside the ring, with the camels outside. It took until nightfall, the long desert day just ending, to finish setting up.

Li Ling instructed everyone to rest well, as we would enter the ruins at dawn. She assigned the night watches—same groups as before. I was paired with Liang Qiu. The night was quiet and uneventful.

At first light, Li Ling gathered everyone. It was finally time to enter the ruins.

The entrance had been opened by the explorers Li Ling had contacted, but they hadn’t ventured deep due to supply issues. Now, after a morning’s effort searching through shifting sands, our team finally located the entrance.