Unknown Knight

Outside the village of Tamnu, a small truck pulled by a donkey came rumbling over. The vendor Sayyid wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the sun above his head. It was just right, and they finally arrived at the village before noon.

This time the employer was very generous. He paid him a silver coin in advance and told him that as long as he delivered the goods on the car to the village, he would be paid two silver coins when he returned. This way he made a net profit of three silver coins. Now the country was at war with the Kugits and business was so depressed that he might not be able to earn so much money in two months. He was naturally very happy.

However, the employer was very generous in paying him, and his request was also very strange. Thinking about the name that the employer asked him to remember before he came, Sayyid began his performance:

"Hadi, the beer you ordered has arrived; Old Umm, the beer you ordered has also arrived; Yusuf, yours has also arrived; hurry up and get the buckets and take them back, find a cool place to put them, otherwise they will not taste good if they are exposed to the sun in this weather."

He had been to this village before. Usually there were a lot of people there, but today he didn't know what happened. There was no one around. Was there a wedding going on somewhere?

But he was not worried, because his employer said that as long as he delivered the three barrels of beer on the donkey cart to the square in front of the village chief's house, he could go back to Dukuba to collect the remaining two silver coins.

Thinking of this, his bad mood of hurrying on the road before dawn improved a lot. He hummed a little tune softly, and after walking a dozen steps, he shouted to the doors of the new families:

"Shakir, the beer you ordered has arrived. Go to the village chief's yard to buy it. And Nasir, Hariri, everyone go to the village chief's house to buy it. If you are late, the beer will be mixed with the bottom of the barrel and lose its taste. Don't blame me, Sayyid, for not reminding you."

In order to make himself feel at ease with the money, Sayid even added drama to himself, as if he was really an old acquaintance with the people in this village. However, this village was strange today. There was no one in sight. After walking a dozen steps, he thought for a while and then said:

"Jafar, the beer you ordered has arrived. It was just shipped from Dehrim yesterday. It's made from fresh wheat and is guaranteed to be refreshing. And Shasim, Abu, and Hudayil, I won't wait for you. I'm busy with business right now. I just got a big job last night."

Just as he finished his performance, five or six men with guns and knives rushed out of the village chief's house not far away. The leader had a full beard and cursed:

"What is that blind vendor yelling about in the middle of the day?"

When Sayyid saw that they all looked ferocious and were holding weapons, he quickly replied without waiting for them to come close:

"Gentlemen, I am a beer vendor in Dukuba. Today I am delivering the beer they ordered to the village. I look unfamiliar to you. Are all the other villagers busy?"

"The villagers? Hahaha, yes, they are all busy. The men are busy for us, and the women are busy by us. They are very busy."

The bearded man laughed loudly, and his words caused the other companions who followed him to laugh wildly as well, which made Sayyid feel uneasy.

These people came to his donkey cart, stood up a barrel of beer without paying attention to outsiders, and were about to open the lid. Sayyid hurried forward and held the lid, saying:

"Gentlemen, this wine was ordered by the village to celebrate the Harvest Festival. I haven't delivered it yet. Please be kind and buy it from the village chief later."

The bearded man was displeased when he heard this. He drew out his scimitar, chopped it on the wine barrel, then pulled it out and pointed it at Sayyid, saying:

"We have never bought alcohol before, are you looking for trouble?"

When Sayid saw the golden fresh wine gushing out, he ignored the threatening scimitar of the bearded man and covered the gap with his hand in pain, and said in a low voice, almost begging:

"Please forgive me, gentlemen. I have been paid for the wine. If the wine is not delivered, I will not be able to get the balance if I go back."

The bearded man didn't want to reason with him. He kicked him in the chest, drank the wine in big gulps, pointed his knife at Sayyid, and laughed:

"Hahaha, good wine! I'm in a good mood today, so I'll spare your life. But get out of here before I twist your head off and kick it like a ball!"

Sayyid wanted to stand up and argue, but he felt a chill and sharp pain in his chest. He looked down and saw two spears against his chest. One of them had already penetrated the flesh and was bleeding. It seemed that if he dared to say no, the tip of the spear would pierce his chest without hesitation.

He was so frightened that he screamed "Oh my God!" and took a few steps back. Then he got up and ran away in a panic, causing a burst of laughter behind him.

After seeing Sayid fleeing in a panic, the bearded man laughed wantonly for a while, then said loudly:

"Tell the brothers that there will be plenty of donkey meat and beer today."

Sayyid fled out of the village in a panic, feeling sorry for the donkey he had raised for many years. However, he bumped into Niza who was about to stick his head out from behind a mud wall at a corner. He looked closely and saw that it was Niza and a group of fully armed people. His howling voice immediately became quieter, and he said aggrievedly:

"Master, please help me. My donkey and cart were stolen while I was trying to deliver beer to you. What should I do?"

Niza knew what he was thinking, looked at him playfully, and said to him jokingly:

"Okay, I know you lost your donkey and cart. Tell me the situation in the village in detail and truthfully. As promised, the master will reward you."

When Sayyid heard this, he was afraid that Niza would not even give him the remaining two silver coins, so he told them in detail what he had seen and heard after entering the village, as well as his conversation with the robbers without missing a word.

After listening to his story, Niza and Aix smiled at each other. It seemed that the plan was successful and the robbers really took the bait. Niza patted Sayid on the shoulder and said:

"Well done. Here is the balance of your two silver coins. Here is five silver coins for the donkey, which is enough for you to buy a strong donkey again. If you want your donkey cart, you have to wait a while, or you can come back tomorrow."

The money given by Niza was enough for him to buy a new set of goods transporting equipment. Touching the wound on his chest that had just stopped bleeding, Sayyid dared not stay here and ran back to Dukuba, thanking him profusely.

Led by Afanti, Aix and his men walked through a ditch full of thorns outside the village, found their way to a collapsed adobe house near the village chief's house, and hid there.

The aroma of wine mixed with the delicious smell of roasted donkey meat drifted into the room. Aix heard that the village chief's house not far away was bustling as if it was New Year's Day.

The robbers were clamoring, howling and laughing wildly, revealing a lawless spirit and a rebellious arrogance. Judging from the voices, there were probably more than thirty people there.

But within half an hour, the robbers' voices gradually died down, accompanied by the sound of several clay bowls being broken.

The fully armed people nodded in tacit understanding and quietly moved towards the village chief's house.