Diamonds of the same size—Andrew Thompson wondered if he had misheard. A diamond the size of an egg—what kind of priceless treasure would that be? He hesitated and asked, “How much is it?”

　　“This much!”

　　Reed held up one finger. “One thousand strings of cash.”

　　Andrew Thompson quickly did the math. One thousand strings could buy five hundred mu of prime farmland, but was an egg-sized diamond only worth five hundred mu of land? He shook his head and joked, “One thousand strings? No way. I’d need at least ten thousand strings to sell it.”

　　“Fine! Ten thousand it is.” Reed agreed without hesitation.

　　Andrew Thompson’s eyes lit up. He gave his warhorse a hard whip and galloped away at full speed, his laughter echoing from afar: “Ten thousand strings of cash—how am I supposed to carry that?”

　　……

　　Note: The official currency of the Tang Dynasty was copper coins and silk, but the court also minted silver ingots, usually twenty-five taels per piece. These were not in circulation and mainly used as rewards, though they could be exchanged for money on the black market.

Chapter Six: The Sun Gem

　　An hour later, the shop assistant hurried back to the store, found Reed, and said, “Boss, I’ve found out about that man.”

　　Reed perked up and quickly asked, “Tell me, where did he join the army?”

　　“I heard from Manager Yang at the tavern that he’s a border soldier at the Suluofeng Garrison. He’s already gone back.”

　　“He’s already gone back?”

　　Reed paced back and forth in the room, frowning. What should he do now?

　　The assistant quietly suggested, “Why don’t we go to the Suluofeng Garrison again and have a proper talk with him, see if he’ll sell it to us?”

　　Reed sighed and shook his head. “I could tell—he’s not going to sell the gem. It’s my fault; I shouldn’t have gotten carried away and agreed to ten thousand strings. Now he knows how precious the gem is. I’ve trapped myself!”

　　“So what do we do now?”

　　Reed looked up at the fiery sunset, then couldn’t help but kneel, pressing his palms together in prayer toward the setting sun: “Ahura Mazda, great god! Today I finally saw your incarnation. Please tell me, what should I do now?”

　　After a moment of prayer, he suddenly stood up and said, “I need to return to the Stone Kingdom. Take good care of the shop.”

　　……

　　The Stone Kingdom is today’s Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan. Since ancient times, it has been a crossroads of East and West, a place of cultural and political conflict. During the Tang Dynasty, it was home to the Nine Sogdian Clans, with nine countries of various sizes. Kang (later Samarkand) was the largest, followed by the Stone Kingdom. Before the Islamic conquest, the Sogdians mainly believed in Zoroastrianism, the Persian fire-worshipping faith, venerating the god Ahura Mazda, with fire as their national totem.

　　There were two routes from Bahuan City to the Stone Kingdom. One crossed the Bodaling Mountains to Suyab, then west for over seven hundred li to reach the Stone Kingdom. The other went through Shule, over the Congling Mountains, and along the Zhenzhu River westward, also reaching the capital city of Tuo Zhi.

　　Reed chose to cross the Bodaling Mountains to Suyab—not because it was closer, but because he was a merchant, and merchants always seek to maximize profit: go to Suyab first, then to Tuo Zhi.

　　Half a month later, Reed arrived at the important city of Suyab. Suyab had once been the westernmost city under Tang rule, stretching over sixty li. The Anxi Army had rebuilt it in the layout of Chang’an. In the seventh year of the Kaiyuan era, the ten khans of the Western Turks requested to settle in the Suyab plain. To support the Western Turks against the Arab expansion, the Tang Dynasty abandoned Suyab. During the Kaiyuan era, a branch of the Western Turks, the Turgesh, grew stronger, and Suyab became their stronghold.

　　But the Turgesh’s treachery eventually led to their abandonment by the Tang. After several defeats by the Tang and the Arabs, the Turgesh declined. Especially in the eighteenth year of Kaiyuan, the Tang army launched a major offensive, defeating Suluk Khan. Later, in the Battle of Zhuerzhan, the Arabs defeated them again. Suluk Khan was killed by his generals Mohe Guogan and Dumo Zhi, and the Turgesh split into the Yellow and Black clans, plagued by infighting for over a decade.

　　Reed did not go to Suyab, but instead arrived at Helie City south of the Rehai, the stronghold of the Yellow Turgesh. There, he found the great chieftain Peter Morris, who actually controlled the Yellow Turgesh.

　　Peter Morris was about fifty years old, tall and very ugly. When he heard that the chief steward of the Stone Kingdom’s royal palace had arrived, he immediately summoned him into the tent.

　　“Reed, what brings you here? Did your king send you?”

　　Reed bowed deeply. “Respected chieftain, I am no longer the chief steward of the royal palace. I was expelled two years ago and have been making a living as a merchant in Bahuan City.”

　　“Is it because of the theft of the ‘Eye of Light’ from your king’s scepter?”

　　“Yes! I remember you were also interested in that gem, chieftain. If I tell you where it is, what reward can you give me?”

　　Peter Morris squinted and smiled. “I heard your king lost two sons and his queen over that gem, so I was curious. But you must first tell me—why is this gem so important? Only then can I decide whether to buy your information.”

　　Reed sighed and slowly began to tell Peter Morris the story of the gem’s origin.