week, repeating the same actions over and over.
Luckily, he met a nomad who seemed to know Yosen. “Excuse me, sir. Do you know a man
named Yosen living around?” Nohara asked. His eyes were filled with hope.
The nomad looked startled, but replied, “Oh, Yosen. Nobody has ever looked for him though.
Said to be a violent one. Ugh. Sick guy,” Nohara shuddered.
Yosen seemed to be a merciless and brutal criminal to me, he thought. He thanked the man
and carried on.
As Nohara reached a rather old and abandoned village, he sighed. The cottages all looked
identical. He walked by every cottage, trying to find a different feature. Then, he saw a row of
ostrich eggs lining on the sides of the cottage. Didn’t that nomad drop an ostrich egg? Nohara
thought, and then stopped abruptly. He kicked open the door and saw a man, taken aback. He
looked around. The cottage was empty except for some cloth strips. There was nobody. The man
looked up and smiled serenely at Nohara. Nohara smiled, his eyes curved into a crescent, intently
staring at the strips.
“Oh, young man, please do not mind the cloth strips,” The man quickly said, his eyes averting
Nohara. “There … there is nothing that would concern you.”
A gleam shone through the cloth strips which caught Nohara’s eye. “Give me that orb.” Nohara
growled fiercely. “Don’t hide it any longer. I have come all the way to catch you, thief.”
The man’s eyes widened, but then he lowered his head, his brow furrowed. Nohara removed
the cloth strips, revealing the shards of the orb.
“I presume you have nothing to deny the fact that you stole my father’s orb,” Nohara scoffed.
“Identify yourself.”
The man stomped his foot in anger. “The name’s Yosen of the Sahara. I don’t know if you’ve
heard anything from those pathetic and filthy villagers, but yes, I’m a nasty man that you don’t
want to meddle with,” Yosen glared at Nohara murderously.
“I heard about the rumour of the oasis in the Gobi since I was young,” Yosen said. “The Sahara
has absolutely no treasures to be sought and I decided to come and look for the Gobi King’s orb. I
thought that if I brought the orb back to the Sahara, I would be recognised by the current Saharan
nomadic leader and I could gain immense power. And now, thanks to you, my plan is foiled.” Once
finished, he unsheathed a little dagger, aiming it at Nohara.
“Goodbye!” Yosen stabbed Nohara. His blood was pouring out like a flowing stream and he fell
to the ground, still clutching the orb. Yosen crackled, trying to retrieve the orb from Nohara. At
that moment, Nohara grinned. Yosen jumped backwards in disbelief.
“Goodness! I stabbed you in the heart! Why are you not dead?” Yosen shrieked, collapsing to
the ground in fear. His heart was thumping. He clenched his fists while his lip wobbled. Nohara
chuckled heartily, and stood up.
“I’m the descendant of the Great King of Gobi after all. I’m immortal, and nothing, not even
age, can take away my life. I am 2021 years old now!” Nohara said grimly.
Refusing to lose the orb, Yosen stood up angrily. “I … I can’t afford to lose this orb! The
prosperity and wealth of my family rests upon this orb. Didn’t the rumours mention something
about eternal life and happiness granted to the owner of this orb?” Yosen stuttered, kicking the
ground, and intriguingly developing a sudden interest in his feet.
Nohara frowned, and replied, “You don’t inherit the Will of Gobi, and thus you aren’t eligible
to hold the orb of the Gobi King. You’re greedy! If you want to please your family, you should
