* * *
honestly Ming, you’re going to drive Kay and I insane,” shouted the man dressed in red.
“Believe me, Kay, Wang, I understand your stance. But good news comes first. I got us a job.
It will pay well, and I don’t foresee us needing to do anything for the next year if we complete
this job because the financial reward that comes attached is ridiculously lavish. We will live like
kings, because it is the imperial government paying our bills. However, the bad news is that the
task is to capture a creature of a magnitude that we have never attempted to capture before. This
job isn’t something like smuggling alcohol as we have done in the past. It’s capturing a chimera,
that is in the middle of the Gobi Desert… which of course, spells potential death,” sighed Ming as
he took a sip of fine Korean Baekju, the white alcohol from the flask formed of tiger skin.
The three brothers sat in their underground wine cellar, discussing their next heist that could
change their lives permanently. They debated the risks of venturing into the perilous Gobi in
order to capture a Chimera that they had previously never seen. However, the three brothers, were
desperate enough to take the gamble. Ming set out the map on the table and started to explain the
treacherous task that lay in front of them.
“We have all heard of the Kirin. Brilliant creature, rumored to be the single most majestic
animal. Emperor Kim has recently passed away. The Kirin is to appear at the deathbed of great
rulers, sages and religious leaders but unfortunately one did not appear at Emperor Kim’s
deathbed. Now this means one of two things. One, Emperor Kim was a terrible leader, and the
Kirin would be disgusted if it came to the Emperor’s funeral. Two, the prince is desperate to
acquire a Kirin in order to prove to the population and the religious leaders that his father was a
superior leader of the country and perhaps have a chance of preserving the untainted reputation
of the Kim bloodline.” Ming then reached across the table to take a drag from his cigarette and
threw it on the map of the Gobi Desert.
“Apparently the Kirin is in the heart of the Gobi desert. The funeral is in two weeks and in
that time we have to get the Kirin in a cage and transport it back to Goguryeo. Twist is, we are
not the only people who are pursuing the bounties of the imperial government. There are going to
be Chinese, Japanese, Middle Eastern hunters all going after it and attempting to bring it back to
Goguryeo themselves. We cannot let that happen for our sakes. That is why brothers, we are going
to invest every single thing that we own into this hunt. This is potentially the highest risk we
will take but yet the biggest profit we will ever make in our lives. Let’s just try not to die,” Ming
sighed and folded the map of Asia.
“Tomorrow, at dawn, we hunt.”
The sun crawled over the horizon the next morning as the three brothers rode through
the desolate Gobi desert. Their backpacks were filled with weapons and ancient drawings,
recollections of what the Kirin was expected to look like. Of course, it was rumored that only a
select few had been able to see the Kirin and escape with their lives, which meant that all these
drawings may not be accurate. For a fortnight, the two brothers rode on their camels into the
desert in search of the Kirin. They knew not sleep and when they did rest, they dug a small
burrow in the sand and curled up there. The restless nights and their famished stomachs only
strengthened their determination to find the Kirin.
In the pitch-black night of the 15th day, the three brothers had already buried themselves in
