Pet King

Living in such harsh conditions, the average lifespan of Bedouins wasn’t long. Nabari was forty-plus years of age, so it wasn’t shocking that his father had already passed away. But this also meant that the only person that knew the route was gone.

Zhang Zian observed him, and he didn’t think Nabari seemed to be lying. That kind of fear that came from the depths of the heart and the unwillingness to revisit the memory was impossible to fake. There was no reason for him to lie about it, anyway. Why would he reject a business deal that had basically walked voluntarily through their door?

Fina quietly took a step closer, watching Nabari with interested eyes while sitting at the door to the house. It wasn’t sure whether it was interested in his story, or him as a person.

Different from the arrogant and cold Fina, Famous was exceptionally popular with the kids. Even though there were many stray cats and dogs in the cities, for these children, who hadn’t left the tribe since their birth, they had never seen a dog before either.

There were no pets in the tribe. Camels and goats weren’t really their pets. They were more like their property, livestock, and wealth.

It wasn’t just the kids—even some of the teenagers kept looking at Famous. Some of them had been to the cities nearby, like Siwa Oasis and Mersa Matruh, and had seen stray dogs, but there definitely hadn’t been a pure-bred German shepherd amongst all of those dogs. Especially with Famous’ extremely handsome sunglasses, it looked just like a movie star.

Back in China, in order to not scare the kids, it had always closed its mouth when there were children around. But Egypt was really too hot, so it had to occasionally open its mouth to dissipate the heat that was gathering in its body.

In the beginning, the kids were a little afraid of Famous’ fangs and didn’t dare get close, but they realized that Famous was really kind and that there was no aggression in its eyes after some observation. Some of them gathered their courage to get closer to it, and their confidence grew after seeing that it didn’t run or bark. They started to touch its back, and it responded by rubbing its entire body against them.

Famous started playing around with the kids. It bit onto the string that had bottles connected to it, running in the front with the bottles dragging behind it. The kids chased after him, laughter bubbling from their lips.

Even though it seemed to be having a lot of fun, Famous was actually really down. It had always thought only the children in the midst of war in Africa were still suffering from starvation and lack of proper education. It had never expected that in a not-that-poor country like Egypt, there were still kids who had to live a primitive life due to the wishes of adults.

If it had just been due a lack of money, it was willing to film more movies so it could donate the funds to help the kids. But it doubted that there would be any change even if they had a lot of cash.

The other elfins were invisible right now, and they each found a shady spot to cool down, but they all thought that living such a lifestyle in this modern day and age was ridiculous.

Old Time Tea sighed, “Is insisting on tradition really that important?”

“Gah gah! In my opinion, they just need a good shower in my pee to know how wrong they are!” Richard fussed at the feathers at the front of its chest. “Sadly, it’s too hot here, and I don’t have the need to go yet!”

Vladimir huffed, “These people are even worse than those traditionalists in China that pretend to have moved on from ancient times even though they haven’t, full of bullsh*t like ‘We can’t go against the holy words of our ancestors!’”

“Cheep cheep,” Pi sighed.

They could complain all they want, but the elfins couldn’t change anything. This was how the Bedouins had decided to live. Maybe when Salem’s generation grew up and gained control of the tribe, some changes could be made.

In the house, Zhang Zian believed Nabari’s words, but he also believed that he hadn’t told the full story and was still holding back. But since he wasn’t willing to tell it, there was no reason to force him to.

Nabari was still staring at Fina. Even after so many years, he could see that this cat should be completely different from the one he had seen in the desert, but there were many details that were similar. Their long tails, big ears, stripes, and spots—they must be related in a special way.

Zhang Zian mused over it. Even though Nabari couldn’t remember the exact location where he’d seen the few cats, he should be able to remember the generic location. The great western desert was so huge, it would be a significant help if they could lessen their search area by ⅕, ¼ or even ⅓… Nabari was their best bet.

He sincerely said what he was thinking, hoping Nabari would agree to it. Salem joined in, trying to convince Nabari to help these Chinese tourists who’d come from so far away.

“I’m no longer as strong as I was, and my eyesight is getting blurry. I had planned to retire and no longer accept jobs as a guide,” Nabari said calmly.

The sun in Egypt was too strong, and even scarier was the invisible UV light. The UV rays were extremely harmful to one’s eyes, and without the habit of wearing sunglasses, many Egyptians’ eyes failed before they grew old.

Zhang Zian felt down. If Nabari wasn’t willing to accept the invitation, it would be difficult to find another guide on such short notice. His brain started scrambling for their next course of action. They could either convince Nabari to change his mind or find a viable backup plan.

For safety’s sake, if they couldn’t find a reliable guide, it would be better to just convince Professor Wei Kang to cancel their expedition into the desert or try their luck at the borders of it. But would Wei Kang agree to that? Unlikely. Wei Kang had prepared so much for this trip. He wouldn’t give up just like that. Besides…

He sneaked a look at Fina. If they didn’t enter the desert, would Fina feel regret? Nothing showed on Fina’s face, as though Nabari’s answer had no effect on its feelings.

Salem was disappointed. He had bragged too much before his savior, and he felt that Zhang Zian must now look down on him. He had wanted to get a cut of that cake too, and now the whole plan was in the toilet.

He wanted to convince Nabari, but Nabari suddenly changed his tone. “But I am willing to bring you into the desert one last time.”

Zhang Zian was surprised in a good way, not knowing why Nabari had suddenly changed his mind.

Nabari’s eyes landed on Fina’s gently. “I think God has lent your hands to bring this cat to my eyes and bring certain memories back to me. They must have plans for me, so I wish to go back into the desert one more time and end my work without any regrets.”

No matter how Nabari felt, as long as he agreed, Zhang Zian finally could relax. He could answer Wei Kang then.

Fina instead huffed. The god he was referring to wasn’t the same god it had.