Daughter of Xanadu - Dori Jones Yang [67]
I hoped it would be soon enough that I could take part.
Five days later, before dawn, we set off on our dragon hunt. Marco had gone to the local market, accompanied by one of Nesruddin’s men, and bought all the dragon gall available, using gold entrusted to him by the Great Khan. Apparently, dragons were plentiful in this region. Still, he needed to find a pair of live dragons to take back to the Khan. Nesruddin knew of a village headman who was knowledgeable about the dragons, and he offered to send a guide and porters with Marco to the village. When Suren found out that I wanted to go, he insisted on going, too, to protect me from Marco.
Even with horses, it took all day to get to the village on winding mountain trails. The winter air was not too cold, but it rained slightly during the trip, and we had to walk most of the way, leading the horses first up a steep hill, then down into a ravine. The village stood next to a river, where a stream entered it.
When we arrived at the village, the headman, Master Li, told us dragon hunting was always done at night. “These serpents live in rivers during the heat of the day and come out at night to hunt. We’ll lay our traps in late afternoon, then check the traps early tomorrow morning. My second son here is an expert and will lead you. Do you dare come with us?”
It seemed absurd, hunting dragons, yet I could see the thrill in Master Li’s eyes. He had gold-tipped teeth, wrinkles, and the look of a man who enjoyed his life’s work.
After a meal of brown-rice porridge with strange blackened eggs, Li described the dragons for us, through an interpreter. Li was a stocky man with muscled arms and legs—not how I had imagined a dragon slayer would look but perhaps better suited to the real-life task.
“The biggest dragons are ten paces in length, longer than this room. They slither along the ground, not higher than this.” Master Li held his hand a few feet off the floor. “They drag their bodies using small legs with sharp claws, like a hawk’s. In bulk, they are this round and thick.” Li pointed to a large cask in the corner of his house. “The bigger ones are ten palms in girth. The head is huge, and the eyes are bigger than a pomegranate. The mouth is large enough to swallow a man whole.”
The headman’s son, known as Little Li, showed us a dried dragon’s head. I had been skeptical, but this head proved the existence of such a creature. It was fierce-looking, as long as his two arms could reach, and flat, with bulges on top where eyes had once been. Huge jaws were lined with great pointed teeth. Its skin was horny and hard. I could imagine its huge body slithering along the ground and chomping my legs off.
Suren reached out and tentatively touched the creature’s scales and protruding teeth. His eyes were round with wonder and horror. “What do they eat?” he asked.
Master Li smiled. “They are meat eaters, like you Mongols. They eat what they can find: fish, frogs, birds, monkeys, and squirrels. The bigger ones seek out the lairs of lions and snatch their cubs, without the sire or dam being able to prevent it. Sometimes they even devour full-grown lions or bears.”
Suren’s eyes shone with awe as he stroked the dried creature’s long snout as if it were a pet. I had not expected him to be so taken with this mission.
Master Li smiled proudly. “I am the best dragon hunter in all of Carajan, and my son here is second best.” I noticed that Master Li wore gold rings on several fingers.
Marco leaned forward. “Tell us how you capture this creature.”
Master Li smiled a gold-toothed grin. “Alive or dead?”
“Alive.”
“We will show you both tonight, dead and alive. Come with us and you will see.”
I was overjoyed to be included in such an adventure. Dressed as a soldier, in a bulky coat and hat, I hoped to pass for a man. These people lived far from Cathay, and their language was different. Unsure of their attitudes toward women, I stayed silent.
I was told that the people in this village tribe looked much like the Burmese, across the border.