Chapter 288 : Islam (2)
Chapter 288: Islam (2)
The sun was sinking toward the horizon when Il-mok and his group finally reached the outskirts of Samarkand's walls.
True to form for a walled city, several soldiers stood guard at the entrance, their eyes sharp and watchful.
"Halt! Who are you people?!"
The apparent leader of the guards barked something in a language Il-mok couldn't understand. Ohalak quickly stepped forward to interpret.
"We're a merchant company from the Land of Han, the place you call the Central Plains, beyond the desert."
As Ohalak relayed Il-mok's words, the soldiers huddled together, whispering among themselves with suspicious glances.
"Wait here!"
Just as Ohalak translated the leader's command, one of the soldiers took off running into the city at full sprint.
‘What's going on?’
While Il-mok and his companions exchanged confused looks, the remaining guards kept their wary eyes locked on the group.
"If you're merchants, I assume you're here to sell whatever's in those crates?"
Il-mok confirmed this through Ohalak, and the guard leader nodded sharply.
"For the city's safety, we'll need to inspect what you're carrying."
The moment Ohalak finished translating, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult members tensed, their hands drifting closer to their weapons.
"What are your orders, Young Master?"
Ouyang Hyeok asked on behalf of the group. Il-mok turned to Ohalak first. "Don't translate what we're saying right now."
"Got it."
Il-mok let Ohalak's lack of formal speech slide and turned back to Ouyang Hyeok.
"Let them inspect the cargo. But if these guys make any suspicious moves, I'll give you a signal. When I do, you're free to draw your weapons."
Basically, play along but be ready to fight.
Understanding Il-mok's intent, the Black Tiger Corps members relaxed their outward demeanor while secretly preparing to strike at a moment's notice.
"Tell them they can inspect the goods."
Only then did Il-mok nod for Ohalak to translate.
Internally, he was forming his own theories.
Are they trying to nitpick so they can shake us down for a bribe?’
The guard leader's attitude definitely gave off that vibe.
The leader approached and began opening the crates one by one, examining their contents with sharp eyes. He took his time going through the medicinal herbs, silver ingots, silk, and porcelain.
Just as he finished checking the last crate, someone came toward the gate with a relaxed but powerful stride. The soldier who ran earlier came back with a middle-aged man dressed in the distinctive robes of Islam.
When the middle-aged man arrived, the guard leader approached him and they exchanged whispers. Then the middle-aged man spread his arms wide and walked toward Il-mok's group with a broad smile.
"Welcome, welcome to Samarkand! Hahaha! It's been so long since we've had visitors from the Central Plains! My name is Karim Azizi."
He was so welcoming that Il-mok basically understood him before Ohalak even opened his mouth. The moment Karim Azizi finished his greeting, the soldiers who'd been blocking their path stepped aside to clear the way.
The Black Tiger Corps members looked confused by this sudden shift in attitude. Meanwhile, Karim Azizi walked past the soldiers toward the city and gestured for them to follow.
"Please, come inside. I'll give you a tour of the city myself."
Everyone looked at Il-mok for a decision, and he nodded.
"Let's go in. There's nothing to gain from standing around out here."
And so they followed Karim Azizi into Samarkand proper.
"Hahaha. You look surprised by how the guards acted. I apologize for that. It's been so long since we had visitors from the east, the guards just got a little fussy because they didn't know what to do."
Ohalak condensed Karim Azizi's lengthy explanation into:
"Don't worry. Eastern visitors rare. Soldiers confused."
"..."
It was way shorter than what Karim Azizi actually said, but Il-mok got the gist.
‘So the Silk Road's been abandoned by the traders for that long, huh?’
The Desert Road had been shut down for nearly two hundred years thanks to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. The Northern Route was not only much longer than the desert path, but also dangerous with various nomadic tribes carving out territories along it. That left the Sea Route, but merchants taking that path wouldn't have any reason to stop at Samarkand.
"Hahaha! And here we have the oasis that sustains all of us in Samarkand!"
They walked for a while as Karim Azizi showed them around.
After a while, Il-mok began to notice something odd.
‘For a city with walls this massive, it feels kind of... empty.’
If he had to describe it using Seo Ji-hoon's modern perspective, it felt like arriving in an old downtown district, a place that had once thrived but had since lost its population, leaving behind a somewhat desolate atmosphere.
‘Is this also because the Silk Road's been blocked?’
The thought naturally led to concern.
‘At this scale, I doubt we'll get fair prices for the porcelain and silk.’
They'd probably need to find a larger city to do business in.
‘...Though I guess it's fortunate the place hasn't been completely abandoned.’
That last thought wasn't just about the blocked Silk Road.
According to the history Seo Ji-hoon knew from his previous life, most of the cities along the Silk Road should have been reduced to ruins by now thanks to the Mongol Empire’s hands.
Seo Ji-hoon wasn't exactly an expert in world history or Chinese history, so he couldn't pinpoint exactly which cities the Mongol Empire had destroyed. But he at least knew the basic fact that the empire called Yuan had devastated everything from the Middle East to Eastern Europe.
Yet during their entire journey through the desert to this point, he had neither discovered any ruins nor heard any stories related to invasions by nomads.
‘So the Yuan Dynasty doesn't exist in this world at all.’
It was something he'd suspected while studying history for the Hall of the Demonic Way entrance exam and during his year living in the Central Plains.
‘The history seems mostly the same up until the Song Dynasty era.’
The Spring and Autumn Period, the Chu-Han Contention, the Three Kingdoms Era, and the Tang Dynasty—all the historical idioms and classical references from those periods were used identically in this world.
But Genghis Khan's invasion had never happened. Instead, the Song Dynasty had collapsed due to conflicts with the Jin Dynasty and internal corruption.
From that collapse, a new empire had risen and that is the current Han Dynasty that ruled the Central Plains. It was founded by an emperor who claimed to be a descendant of the ancient Han emperors.
Back when they toppled the corrupt Song Dynasty and kicked out the Jin Dynasty from the North, the Demonic Cult racked up a lot of merit for fighting under the banner of “Exterminating Evil.”
And obviously, because of their violent doctrine, they'd been cast aside by the newly unified Han Dynasty once their usefulness ended and driven out to Xinjiang about two hundred years ago.
That's why Il-mok estimated they were currently in roughly the 15th or early 16th century by modern reckoning.
He wasn't well-versed enough in Chinese or world history to pinpoint an exact year, but his study of Korean history for the civil servant exam let him make a rough guess.
‘It's strange to think about it this way. I’m looking at historical sites that wouldn't even exist in my previous world.’
He was essentially visiting Silk Road cities that had never been destroyed by the Yuan Dynasty.
While Il-mok was soaking in the sights with his modern perspective, they followed Karim Azizi through the city. They eventually arrived at a building that was too small to call a palace but too large and ornate to call a mere mansion.
"This is the palace of the Rahman Family who govern Samarkand. The family head, Lord Bazakh Rahman, has invited you all to stay here tonight."
Il-mok held back a sigh as Ohalak translated.
‘So this was his plan from the beginning.’
The city tour was just an excuse; his real goal was to bring them to this mansion.
Still, refusing an invitation from the city's ruler seemed like it would cause more trouble than it was worth, so Il-mok decided to accept.
Following Karim Azizi's lead, Il-mok and his group entered the mansion.
They walked down a fancy hallway until they reached a huge door. The guard shouted something in a foreign language, and the door creaked open.
A lavishly decorated great hall filled Il-mok's vision.
Sitting at the seat of honor was a guy with a bushy beard and a turban, absolutely dripping in gold and jewelry. Around him sat a bunch of other men in Islamic garbs.
"Hahaha! Welcome to Samarkand, merchants from a distant land! I am Bazakh, Head of the Rahman Family."
The man in the seat of honor remained sitting as he bellowed his greeting.
For some reason, Ohalak looked confused and didn't translate. Karim Azizi said something to him, and only then did Ohalak relay the family head's words. He added sheepishly:
"Islamic language. Don't know."
Apparently, the greeting had been in the Islamic language, not the nomadic tongue Ohalak was familiar with.
"We're grateful for such a warm welcome. I'm Il-mok of the Heavenly Light Merchant Guild from the Han Empire."
The name Heavenly Light Merchant Guild was something Il-mok had improvised by mixing elements from the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and the Maitreya Luminous Cult.
"Hahaha! Welcoming guests is an ancient tradition of our Islam. Please, sit and make yourselves comfortable."
Through the two-stage translation process via Ohalak and Karim Azizi, Il-mok and Bazakh Rahman exchanged pleasantries.
‘Welcoming guests is an Islamic tradition...’
Then what the hell were all those bandits who'd been attacking them this whole time?
Hiding these thoughts, Il-mok gave instructions to his companions and took a seat in one section of the banquet hall.
The moment they sat down, women with their faces covered by hijabs entered carrying platters of food.
They set dishes before both the Rahman Family's men and Il-mok's group.
"Hahaha! This is simply how we treat all our guests, so don't feel too burdened. Ah, I've heard that people from the east enjoy alcohol, but our Islam forbids it. I hope you understand."
"That's perfectly fine. We're not particularly fond of alcohol ourselves."
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had actually banned alcohol after research showed it worsened mental illnesses, so Il-mok didn't mind at all.
"Hahaha! How fortunate! Instead of alcohol, we've prepared much more entertaining diversions. For now, please enjoy your meal."
With that, Bazakh Rahman set an example by beginning to eat from his own table.
As a precaution, Jin Hayeon, Jeong Hyeon, and Ju Seo-yeon tasted the food first.
Watching this, Bazakh Rahman spoke with an amused expression.
"Hahaha! I see you have three wives. You must be quite a capable man yourself."
When the translation finally reached him, Il-mok looked flabbergasted.
"Ahem. They're not my wives."
"Oh my. Does the Han Empire only allow one wife, like those in the West?"
"...That's not exactly it, but does Islam allow multiple wives?"
"Ha ha ha! The Quran says that as long as you treat them all equally, the more the merrier. A capable man like me deserves many wives, don't you think?"
"I suppose so."
While Il-mok gave this lukewarm response, Jin Hayeon finished her taste test.
"There's no poison."
Her expression remained impassive as always.
Ju Seo-yeon muttered something about "typical men," while Jeong Hyeon's face had turned bright red for some reason, probably uncomfortable with so many people crowded into one space.
Hearing there was no poison, Il-mok took a bite of food. Bazakh Rahman immediately spoke up.
"Is the food to your liking?"
"It's excellent."
"Hahaha! How wonderful."
Bazakh Rahman suddenly clapped his hands, and the doors opened again as more than ten women entered the hall.
"Hahaha! To celebrate your journey, my six wives and these dancers have prepared a performance for you."
No sooner had his words ended than the women, arranged in formation in the center of the place, bowed once and began to dance.
They held dull scimitars in both hands as props, swinging them gently so the ribbons attached to them fluttered in the air.
It was mesmerizing to watch.
Though the women had covered half their faces with veils and wore clothing that covered their bodies, the dance occasionally revealed glimpses of skin, and the thin fabric sometimes turned translucent.
From a strict Confucian point of view, it was pretty scandalous, but well, this is their territory. Cultural differences and all that.
Maybe they wanted to make the mysterious, dreamlike vibe even stronger. At some point, a faint white smoke started filling the room.
After enjoying the excellent and dreamlike dance prepared by Bazakh Rahman for a moment, Il-mok smiled with interest.
"A Formation that combined with drugs. How interesting."
But behind that smile was pure bloodlust.